|
Post by mlehman on Aug 3, 2014 7:38:15 GMT -8
Mostly finished the PSC DL-535E once the decoder arrived promptly (order placed early afternoon W, shipped later W afternoon from AZ, arrived in the mail Friday afternoon; good show Litchfield Station and USPS for just $6 ) Popped the decoder in, adjusted CVs and a driveshaft, plus oiled the gear train and all was well after some break-in running. Still not as quiet as the first one, but an amazing improvement just by running it in circles for a couple of hours and then exercising it some more. Now that there's 2, they make a great plow train together. I tried it with the SNRR flanger, but that light little thing just didn't want to stay on the tracks in between all that HP yanking it around. Looked real good, though. But since both units have flangers built into their front trucks, no real need for another flanger. The crews need a little more space than available in the cabs, though, and the caboose had enough mass to track well. Checking clearances this morning revealed a couple of areas that need attention, but these units pretty much go anywhere a C-19 can go. Here's the plow train in Animas Forks. Imagine it's all white and the wind is howling... Red Mountain was glad to see the plow train. That means more coal isn't far away... And the Cascade Branch was plowed, too. I added a bunch of pics of the build in progress to the thread of my first build from a couple of years back: PSC HOn3 WP&Y DL-535E Brass Kit Build - One Week to Modern Motive Power Care to share what you've been up to?
|
|
|
Post by dti406 on Aug 3, 2014 8:25:04 GMT -8
Well, I finally got to some modeling and finished up a few cars this week especially after putting together a raft of Stewart Ore Cars in preparation of the NMRA Convention. First up is an 1937 AAR Monon Boxcar from IMWX, substitued A-Line Sill Steps for the cast plastic ones, painted with Scalecoat II Boxcar Red and lettered with Champ Decals. This is the fourth IMRC Great Northern 12 Panel 10' Inside Heighth Boxcar I have finished recently, all have different paint schemes. This one was painted with Scalecoat II ATSF Red as a close match to the GN Vermillion Paint and then lettered with Champ Decals. Finally a Red Caboose X29 Boxcar Kit, only change were A-Line Sill Steps. The West Indian Fruit and Steamship Lines were formed after WWII offering car ferry service to Cuba, they first acquired some used 1923 AAR Boxcars before acquiring the more familiar 1944 AAR Boxcars that everyone models. The Railroad ended operations in 1961 due the political situation. Car was painted with Scalecoat II Boxcar Red and lettered with Champ Decals. Thanks for looking! Rick J
|
|
|
Post by mrsocal on Aug 3, 2014 9:06:14 GMT -8
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 9:17:36 GMT -8
This is the fourth IMRC Great Northern 12 Panel 10' Inside Heighth Boxcar I have finished recently, all have different paint schemes. This one was painted with Scalecoat II ATSF Red as a close match to the GN Vermillion Paint and then lettered with Champ Decals. Thanks for looking! Rick J Model Master Guard's Red #2718 is an exact match to the Great Northern Vermillion paint chip in the Great Northern Railway Historical Society reference sheet number 28.
|
|
|
Post by fr8kar on Aug 3, 2014 10:37:41 GMT -8
Model Master Guard's Red #2718 is an exact match to the Great Northern Vermillion paint chip in the Great Northern Railway Historical Society reference sheet number 28. [/quote] That's good to know. I use Model Master paints when I can since I can get them at my local hobby shop.
|
|
|
Post by dti406 on Aug 3, 2014 10:50:46 GMT -8
Model Master Guard's Red #2718 is an exact match to the Great Northern Vermillion paint chip in the Great Northern Railway Historical Society reference sheet number 28. That's good to know. I use Model Master paints when I can since I can get them at my local hobby shop. [/quote] Thanks also, but the only hobby shop that carried an extensive line of Model Master Paints closed last year. Rick J
|
|
|
Post by mlehman on Aug 3, 2014 13:32:22 GMT -8
I've found Model Master at Hobby Lobby, so that's an option.
Nice work, guys. Guess a lot of folks are on vacation.
|
|
|
Post by TBird1958 on Aug 3, 2014 13:58:31 GMT -8
I've found Model Master at Hobby Lobby, so that's an option. Nice work, guys. Guess a lot of folks are on vacation.
I think you could have done the large "Rio Grande" lettering on the DL-535E Mike!
My outdoor 1:1 scale scenery project took most of my time this week, however the 2 Moloco 50' RBL's arrived and I'll have some nice before and after shots for next week - Happy Summer!
|
|
|
Post by dti406 on Aug 3, 2014 14:36:25 GMT -8
I've found Model Master at Hobby Lobby, so that's an option. Nice work, guys. Guess a lot of folks are on vacation.
I think you could have done the large "Rio Grande" lettering on the DL-535E Mike!
My outdoor 1:1 scale scenery project took most of my time this week, however the 2 Moloco 50' RBL's arrived and I'll have some nice before and after shots for next week - Happy Summer! No they need White Pass and Yukon paint and lettering, as an ex-Alaskan resident! Very seldom use Hobby Lobby, they close too early during the week, I usually work till 8:30 and they are not open on Sunday's which is usually my only day for shopping. Rick J
|
|
bigzmn
Junior Member
Posts: 91
|
Post by bigzmn on Aug 3, 2014 16:10:48 GMT -8
I haven't doing any modeling lately with all my health issues, but this weekend I felt well enough to do some "un-modeling". I stripped the paint off four old Walthers gons so I can fix them up and make them into Southern Pacific gons. Chris Z.
|
|
|
Post by bdhicks on Aug 3, 2014 16:26:08 GMT -8
I don't really have any new modeling pictures, but I did recently pick up a model of Granite Rock 10: The real one pulls excursion trains about 20 miles from where I live, or at least it did until recently when they found some issues getting it re-certified. I suppose now I need to add some sightseeing gons to my to-do list. I also want to swap out the coal bunker for oil and add a back-up light.
|
|
|
Post by UPhater on Aug 3, 2014 17:19:01 GMT -8
Care to share what you've been up to? Compared to you, not much. Mostly just wanted to say I like what you are doing. My "what if" narrow gauge railroad portion is still all steam thanks to Blackstone. The idea of you bringing the power up to date looks very real, and is sort of a fair turn around considering where many of the NG tank cars wound up during the war. Got my eye on you, looking forward to what ever comes next.
|
|
|
Post by carrman on Aug 3, 2014 17:36:14 GMT -8
I don't really have any new modeling pictures, but I did recently pick up a model of Granite Rock 10: The real one pulls excursion trains about 20 miles from where I live, or at least it did until recently when they found some issues getting it re-certified. I suppose now I need to add some sightseeing gons to my to-do list. I also want to swap out the coal bunker for oil and add a back-up light. Who's the importer on that little gem? Dave
|
|
|
Post by mlehman on Aug 3, 2014 18:01:38 GMT -8
UPhater, Welcome to the forums! Glad you like my somewhat unprototypical tastes in modeling. The great thing about NG diesels are they're considerably more affordable than steam and inspire the sort of tinkering I'm kinda leery of with coupled drivers. While some may argue the point, I am a prototype modeler, I just do it differently than others. I know what happened, who stabbed who in the back (the Rio Grande actually had a war with the Santa Fe, complete with forts in the Royal Gorge, etc, etc), what was scrapped when, etc. That's all good stuff to know. I like to know what the rules are, so I can enjoy them to my advantage -- or just bust them all too heck. For instance, the road numbers for my DL-535s, 60 and 64, are open slots in the Rio Grande's diesel roster, as are more of my other diesel locos. I'm a historian by avocation, so get quite enough of the historical accuracy thing "at work" so to speak. I prefer to use it as a jumping off point sometimes, rather than always as an end point, when I relax. Thus you see a lot of what I hope is rather plausible "could have beens." Rick, Love that Monon car! Mr. SoCal, Neat little diorama. Looks a lot more practical than doing something in a bottle. TBird, Gotta give Rick a break here, those White Pass fans already lost those locos once and the line went to great efforts to get them back. They tend to be a bit nostalgic for them. I actually did think of the big Rio Grande, jokingly. You see my official cut-off date come with the first Tunnel Motor delivery. They weren't the first to get it, but I think the first full order to wear it. So things would look wrong to me to do it that way, even if I am only making this up as I go. On the other hand, the idea of the narrowgauge getting the latest and greatest does have a certain appeal... Rick, I can assure you, all fantasy Rio Grande DL-535E locos on my layout are new production, and not loco-napped from Skagway. The Rio Grande management just thought they liked what they saw on their hush-hush visit there, but came back to place order with Alco -- despite the PA thing -- to repeat the excellent design for their still thriving NG lines. That whole containerization idea seemed just a little too far ahead of its time, but rumor is that container traffic may be coming to the narrowgauge, too. Chris, Glad you're on the mend, returning to the workbench, even for light duty, is a good sign. Brian, Beautiful loco, I've always had a soft spot for tank engines.
|
|
|
Post by bdhicks on Aug 3, 2014 18:08:58 GMT -8
Who's the importer on that little gem? Dave It's the Hornby/Rivarossi USATC S100.
|
|
|
Post by fr8kar on Aug 3, 2014 18:27:24 GMT -8
I haven't doing any modeling lately with all my health issues, but this weekend I felt well enough to do some "un-modeling". I sure am glad to hear that, Chris. I look forward to the modeling you'll do when you feel even better.
|
|
|
Post by mlehman on Aug 3, 2014 18:58:12 GMT -8
[/p] I think you could have done the large "Rio Grande" lettering on the DL-535E Mike!
[/quote] You'll have to settle for this, all in good fun... Using the big Rio Grande would be rather overpowering. It fits -- just barely. If I were to do another one, it'd be after another Aspen Gold and black scheme, then I'm not so sure. Probably will leave the rest of these rare gems on the street for White Pass fans cadging donations on the corner in downtown Skagway... "Hey, buddy, can you spare a quarter? I'm trying to save up for a shovel nose GE and maybe an Alco or two..." That's more like my budget nowadays.
|
|
|
Post by mlehman on Aug 3, 2014 19:46:27 GMT -8
Hold on a second....I am building a Kaslo SDL39 right now...it's gonna need something, because it's not gonna be Milwaukee Road paint, as much as I think that's a handsome combination. I'll have to think about that. It's standard gauge, but I've always wanted one since MR published the drawings back around 70-ish. I don't model MILW, but I do model Rio Grande. The solution seems simple to me. I suspect the only question is small or large, as I think things had already switched over to the orange lettering scheme on Rio Grande road-switchers by then. See, I do pay attention to that "prototype" thing...when I'm feeling like it. Thing is, it's pretty much the same length as the NG Alcos, but you do have more height to work with so it won't look so squashed as it would on the Alco. I am considering building a NG mechanism for the SDL39. The kit gear towers won't narrow enough and would be pretty weak by then even if they were workable on width. Awfully big loco for the NG, really too tall, so I'm probably just babbling now. Hey honey, where are my meds?...
|
|
|
Post by TBird1958 on Aug 3, 2014 20:20:21 GMT -8
Mike, try some N scale lettering for that Hood Unit!
|
|
|
Post by mlehman on Aug 3, 2014 21:20:26 GMT -8
The small and medium HO Rio Grandes have worked before, but true, the N scale BIG RG might translate well. Hmmmm.
|
|
|
Post by emd16645 on Aug 4, 2014 2:18:53 GMT -8
Hold on a second....I am building a Kaslo SDL39 right now...it's gonna need something, because it's not gonna be Milwaukee Road paint, as much as I think that's a handsome combination. I'll have to think about that. It's standard gauge, but I've always wanted one since MR published the drawings back around 70-ish. I don't model MILW, but I do model Rio Grande. The solution seems simple to me. I suspect the only question is small or large, as I think things had already switched over to the orange lettering scheme on Rio Grande road-switchers by then. See, I do pay attention to that "prototype" thing...when I'm feeling like it. Thing is, it's pretty much the same length as the NG Alcos, but you do have more height to work with so it won't look so squashed as it would on the Alco. I am considering building a NG mechanism for the SDL39. The kit gear towers won't narrow enough and would be pretty weak by then even if they were workable on width. Awfully big loco for the NG, really too tall, so I'm probably just babbling now. Hey honey, where are my meds?... If they can do one of these on narrow gauge: www.flickr.com/photos/juantrenaes/7593881252/Then you could easily justify a narrow gauge SDL39. Dimensionally speaking, the SDL39 is about equivalent to a GP39, not an SD39. The only real difference between the SDL39 and the GP39 is the trucks. The narrow gauge SD49 in the link above is actually bigger, as it is 4 feet longer than the 39 series.
|
|
|
Post by mlehman on Aug 4, 2014 5:01:39 GMT -8
Chris, Thanks for the link. Never saw a SD49 before, rather handsome despite the unfamiliar livery. They do Tunnel Motors in Brazil, too, but don't have the direct comparison with the familiar narrowgauge scenes that happens on my layout, which is what makes me leery. I mentioned how tall and bulky the SG SDL39 loco is versus typical NG motive power. Here's a direct comparison to a DL-535 to give an idea of the difference. I'll have to do some more planning before I commit. Since I remotored my HOn3 DL-531 chassis, I have the original Mashima motor and big flywheels available, I just need some trucks w/gear towers.
|
|
|
Post by emd16645 on Aug 5, 2014 15:02:08 GMT -8
So a few days late, but heres a photo of what I accomplished last week. Over the weekend I wrapped up stripping the paint off 30 proto 4427 and a dozen Intermountain cylindrical hoppers. These cars will be painted for my freelanced road.
|
|
|
Post by TBird1958 on Aug 5, 2014 15:17:29 GMT -8
You Sir, are a glutton ( I want to say for punishment) but hopefully you'll enjoy the time spend with all those hoppers! Wow!
|
|
|
Post by emd16645 on Aug 5, 2014 16:46:16 GMT -8
I have a tendency to start big projects, but not the best track record at finishing in a timely manner. That being said, I already got 20 or so of the proto kits built in the past, so another 30 won't be a big deal :-)
|
|
|
Post by fr8kar on Aug 5, 2014 19:08:05 GMT -8
Those Proto kits are great fun to build. It usually takes me a solid four hours for each one. I'm not as fond of the IM cylindrical hopppers, but they only take me about three hours each. You definitely have your work cut out for you!
|
|
|
Post by nebrzephyr on Aug 6, 2014 5:40:06 GMT -8
emd16645....just curious. What did you use to strip the Proto hoppers? Thanks. Bob
|
|
|
Post by emd16645 on Aug 6, 2014 7:10:31 GMT -8
emd16645....just curious. What did you use to strip the Proto hoppers? Thanks. Bob Bob, Proto shells are easy to strip. I used 91% isopropyl alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol takes off the proto paint really fast, I've had good results after the shell soaking for only a few hours. 91% isopropyl can be found in the "wound care" section of most pharmacies. The shells I let sit for about 24 hours for good measure. After soaking, I took the shells outside and washed the paint off with the hose. Got a bit wet in the process, but kinda refreshing on a hot summer day. The water pressure is more than sufficient to blast off the paint. I'd be concerned with the water pressure on assembled models, but an I unassembled shell you can just blast away! Probably 5 minutes of time per shell. I used the same method for the intermountain shells with less satisfying results. The lettering adhered much better and I had to scrub it off with q-tips. Chris
|
|
|
Post by nebrzephyr on Aug 6, 2014 9:59:54 GMT -8
Thanks Chris for the followup on the ISO 91%. Bob
|
|
|
Post by stevef45 on Aug 6, 2014 19:39:23 GMT -8
i love those kits from walthers. I ended up doing so many that i got assembly down to under an hour for each hopper.
|
|