Alright, so the other day, I got this wild idea stuck in my head. Watching that classic Money Train flick again, you know, the one with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson being their awesome, chaotic selves? Something about that grimy, rickety subway train just sparked something. I thought, “Man, wouldn’t it be cool to have a tiny version of that thing?” No big plans, just pure impulse. Figured it was time to get my hands dirty.
Digging Into the Grit
First thing first, I needed to see what made that train tick. Popped in the Blu-ray, grabbed my notebook (and maybe some snacks), and started pausing every time the Money Train rolled by. Man, that thing is rough. Not some shiny, futuristic bullet train. Nah. It’s all boxy angles, faded metal, layers of grime, and those weird lights. Had to sketch out the basic shape – flat front, boxy middle cars, and that slightly weird back caboose thing Woody’s character hung off of.
Scavenging & Cutting
Went rooting through my ‘might be useful someday’ junk pile. Found some cardboard tubes perfect for the boiler-looking bits, thick cardstock from old Amazon deliveries for the main body, and thin cardboard for the finer details. Started hacking away with my hobby knife. Cutting out the basic silhouette of each car was okay, kinda therapeutic actually.
But the real headache started with the details:
- Those little vents? Had to cut about a bazillion tiny rectangles and squares.
- The doors and windows? Measuring tiny bits of cardboard to look uneven and worn without it just looking like I messed up? Total nightmare.
- The caboose roof? Holy cow, getting that angled slope right almost made me quit. Seriously pissed me off.
Glued layers and layers for the thick parts like the front bumper, hoping I could later carve in the detail. It felt like it took forever just to get the main chunks looking sorta right.
Bringing on the Grimy Paint
Prime time! Grey base coat slapped on everything. Looked way too clean. Way too new. Had to age it. Mixed up this nasty sludge – browns, dark reds, a bit of black, maybe some green? Dunked an old brush in it, wiped most off on a paper towel, and started dry-brushing. Wanted that grimy, decades-of-subway-dirt look. Kept dabbing it on, wiping it off, adding more in the corners and crevices.
Forgot something crucial though. Should’ve sealed that flimsy cardboard before painting with anything watery. The red paint I used for the accents on the caboose? Yeah, that bled like crazy into the cardboard! It looked like the damn thing got wounded! Turned into a whole thing trying to blot it and use thicker paint to cover the bleed. Messy as hell.
Painting the little figure? Woody needed that stupid conductor’s cap and blondish hair. Snipes’ character needed a dark blue cap and jacket. Painting those tiny details? My eyes felt like they were gonna cross permanently. Ended up using a toothpick as a brush. Kept muttering about bad life choices.
Putting It All Together & “Finishing”
Hot glue gun time. Burned my damn fingers about seven times. Glued the cars end-to-end. Added the tiny roof details to the caboose – yeah, the one that fought me? Stuck that on.
Needed lights. Those weird yellow-orange headlights are iconic! Used a couple of the absolute tiniest LEDs I had kicking around. Run wires? Forget that in this scale. Just glued the little beads of light in place, pretending the battery was hidden under the base.
For the base, grabbed a thick piece of cardboard, painted it like grimy asphalt with faded yellow lines. Scrounged some fake gravel stuff, glued it down to look like track ballast. Found some extremely thin wire to make the third rail – just glued little loops along one side. Finally, glued the whole train down on the tracks, slightly crooked because why would it be straight?
The Messy Result
Is it perfect? Hell no. The paint bleed is still kinda visible if you look close. The caboose roof still annoys me. Woody’s figure is a little wobbly. But you know what? From a couple feet away, under my hobby light? That grimy vibe from the movie? It’s totally there. It looks like the beat-up workhorse from the film. Seeing Snipes and Woody (my crappy little versions, anyway) hanging off the back? Actually giggled to myself. Mission accomplished. Way more hassle than I thought, but damn satisfying to have it sitting there, looking dirty and cool. Makes me want to go watch them try to rob it again!
