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Post by Judge Doom on Jun 12, 2012 11:31:00 GMT -8
Proto 2000 GP38-2: Originally came out with 36" radiator fans instead of the 48" ones they all had. Oops!
Proto 1000 RS10/11/18: Hood height issues
Athearn and their mislabeled BB GP9 (GP7) that was actually a mix of spotting features: mostly GP7 but with GP9 (sometimes found on very very very late GP7's) hood doors...and jumping the gun on the DD40 (never made)
Intermountain sprucing up their FP7 and calling it an FP9. With the majority produced being Canadian units, there's a lot more differences than a louvre and horn placement.
Intermountain again: very noticable SD40-2W nose slope. True it's not too bad when you're viewing it from a distance, but it really shows in photos of the models.
Athearn bilevels: the models feature a mix of variations and spotting features, so getting one right for a specific prototype or road is like drawing straws. Just one example: all the modern cars (blt mid 90's? until today) have welded sides, and Athearns models have riveted sides (representing those built 1978-1990's).
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Post by el3637 on Jun 12, 2012 14:10:33 GMT -8
Proto 2000 GP38-2: Originally came out with 36" radiator fans instead of the 48" ones they all had. Oops! They were more like 42" because they apparently took the 48" dimension as the base flange rather than the fan shroud itself. They still looked wacky. One of the problems with going to China. Dimensions like those of standard EMD fans are not known, so if there is an error in the drawing or the interpretation of it, they won't catch it. The P2K GP38-2 has other issues as well. The P2K RS10/11/18 et al were very disappointing. Can't do anything with them at all unfortunately, unless you're willing to live with the fact that the overall dimensions are wrong across the board. Andy |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jun 12, 2012 17:20:03 GMT -8
The P2K RS10/11/18 et al were very disappointing. Can't do anything with them at all unfortunately, unless you're willing to live with the fact that the overall dimensions are wrong across the board. Andy I've been sorta hoping there was a way to put the Atlas body on the P2K drive/deck/handrails. Folks who know the models can see why, though I truly admit I haven't gone much further than wondering--as in actual research and thought. Ed |
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Post by scalecraft on Jun 13, 2012 9:25:57 GMT -8
If you are into narrow gauge, one of the more interesting is the K-27. MR did the drawings in 1973 (I have both issues), and back then, it was pen and ink drawings, so.....you get to the end, find a major error, you "dummy" it.
Dennis Berry has a book titled "Mudhens" that has the drawing overlaid on a prototype photo.
None of the K-27's were ever re-boilered....yet the drawing shows what is now referred to as "fat boiler syndrome", where the had to angle the lower inner edge of the front cab doors.....and all were done that way, FROM the MR drawings, until Soundtraxx/Blackstone commissioned new drawings, therefore the Blackstone H0n3 K-27 is the first one right since the MR drawings (which state you cannot use them for commercial purposes) came out.
I talked to a magazine editor about this once, he checked with an "expert" who said I was full of beans, editor called me to tell me....and 20 minutes later, he got a call back from the "expert" who went and looked, and said, basically, "Oh, shxt, he's right!"
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Post by el3637 on Jun 13, 2012 10:12:49 GMT -8
I've been sorta hoping there was a way to put the Atlas body on the P2K drive/deck/handrails. Folks who know the models can see why, though I truly admit I haven't gone much further than wondering--as in actual research and thought. Sadly the shrunken vertical dimensions of the P1K RS11 extend even to the handrail stanchions. Even if you could live with that, there is also an error in both hood lengths - the long is too long and the short is too short - thus placing the cab and battery boxes in the wrong place. I ended up using exactly nothing from the P1K model. I couldn't even use the fuel tank, and I really didn't care for the drive and trucks anyway. The Atlas model is a reasonably accurate, if somewhat dated model of a phase 1 RS11 with the steps on both sides and external shutter actuators. It can be modified to later phases with some careful splicing. In terms of bringing the detail level up to newer standards, that involves a lot of fabrication depending on your prototype. While my RS11 took many years to complete from the point at which I started it, I did much of the detail work in a span of a few months. In the end it's one of the most satisfying models I've built to date because I feel I was able to address 99% of the issues in one way or another. If I were to build another (and I will), I hope I can improve my execution a bit when it comes to the pilot details, handrails, etc. but the detail level overall I'm satisfied with. It also ended up being heavily photographed so I have all of that as a reference for the next one. Andy |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jun 13, 2012 13:15:16 GMT -8
Andy,
Thanks. Not what I wanted to hear, but it does tell me what direction to take if I ever get to this project. Now that they've dumped the cast-on grabs, my big complaint is the ginormous handrails. Maybe I should just fix them instead.
Ed
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Post by el3637 on Jun 13, 2012 13:43:50 GMT -8
Smokey Valley made a set for the Atlas RS11 that is pretty decent. I had to modify the end uprights for the mu stands to be in the right place, which was a major pain but other than that I used the stanchions as-is. About the only source for those diagonally braced end stanchions.
The Atlas RS11's other main weak points are the sideframes and fuel tank. The sideframes can be easily replaced with the new Atlas ones (as used on the C420 and new run C425s). The fuel tank is a bit more work - depending on your prototype. N&W's units have the basic rectangular tank without the extensions, and I just scratchbuilt it out of styrene, which was a fun and fairly easy project.
Andy
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