One of the shortcomings of the original, cast Scale-Craft boxcar is the frame. Besides the poorly executed brake cylinder, there is no depth to the frame which visually needs to extend a bit lower and be slightly more visible under the car. It’s almost as flat as a pancake!

Introducing Scale-Craft boxcar frame 2.0

This pair of boxcars had been built with these L&N decals in mind (left over from using other car letterings in the same HO scale Microscale decal set). and needed them to be blue – a color that came up with completing the Fall River center cab switcher (more on that project soon).

For the upgraded frame I wanted to do something simple and easily duplicated. I added the 3D printed AB brake details from Jeff’s OO (more here), and a simple frame insert from 1/8” square strip wood, seen above. It is not prototypical in look from the bottom but I was more concerned about from the side with trucks on, that a bit more frame would “show” visually.

I think the look is improved. Of course, on the layout it is still not very visible in normal viewing, but I do like when I get right beside a car that the brake details don’t obviously hang below the center of the frame. As time allows I’ll add this detail to more cars that have upgraded paint/decals of this type.