Custom J.M. Huber Covered Hopper

J.M. Huber covered hoppers were a staple of CFC in the 1990s and 2000s. The iconic blue Huber logo has taken root in my memories and I wanted to model a better version than what I did a few years ago.

This time, instead of using a crude Athearn BB kit, I decided to purchase a few Atlas nicely detail cars that were on sale at some online shop. To make my life easier, I selected plane Jane cars. The reason is simple, using Solvaset it is possible to easily remove the unwanted lettering while keeping the paint job intact. In the case of J.M. Huber hoppers, a light coat of white paint was required which was made easier with the light gray factory paint.

Decals were custom made using pictures of cars that actually ran on CFC. Various other web resources provided more information. I can't vouch they are 100% accurate, but in all fairness, they are about 98% correct. Logos were redrawn from photos too.

As for weathering, I made it very, very light. My prototype pictures show these cars were extremely clean and well maintained. No graffiti, rust or dirt. Simply some road grime here and there and some very subtle rain patterns on the sides. I could have easily gone overboard and it wasn't my goal. I only wanted the weathering to give the impression these cars are made of steel.