Cut holes in model locomotive roofs so as to model various combinations of having the vents open.
Involved drilling, carving, filing. Then making sheet styrene representations of the hatch covers.
Next stage will be modeling open cab front doors on one or two; the probably 40 year old molds offer NO representation of the cab front doors.
I would really like the Southern Pacific one, the one in light grey Testor's Acryl primer, at least, to have the cab doors open.
I have 2 books with HO scale dimensioned drawings of these USRA 0-6-0 locomotives; one book from 1947 and one from 1960, reprinted 1984.
Those doors are about 15 inches wide by about 4 feet high.
Roughly 4mm and a fraction wide by about 13mm and a fraction high in HO scale, 1/87 scale.
Can see building them from 3 layer sandwich of sheet styrene; exterior framing, clear, interior framing
Am I up for doing that with my health the way it is?
Which also affects adding all the, literal, bells and whistles,
A real USRA 0-6-0 with engineer's cab door open, on a turntable in Washington, DC, 1923,
https://www.shorpy.com/node/11371
Picture enlarges to pretty good sized.
It also shows other details the models do not have, such as the rods and levers to work the sand domes.
Speaking of details, is that guy standing the gangway, who I presume is the fireman, wearing a bow tie
A B&O one in a less sharp image,
https://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/bo366sa.jpg
Another B&O, and another guy with a tie,
https://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/bo376s.jpg
That's what's been happening here in the sub-freezing and the snow.