Sunday Photo Fun - December 30, 2018 Happy New Year Edition
Dec 30, 2018 8:47:55 GMT -8
valenciajim, riogrande, and 15 more like this
Post by fr8kar on Dec 30, 2018 8:47:55 GMT -8
I've had a little time off around the holidays so I've been taking inventory of projects finished, stalled and forgotten. I have made some progress over the break on several models and the end is finally in sight.
My Rail Power/Atlas B39-8 finally got some handrails this week. I used Utah Pacific stanchions and 0.015" wire. The end railings are from an Atlas B40-8W set and are a decent fit. Since I used an Atlas B40-8 sill for the steps and pilots, the B40-8 handrails would be the best fit, but I don't have any spares. The good news is that the details for the B40-8 are a perfect fit. What you can't see inside is the Athearn hex drive components and the frame that is designed for a Kato HM-5 motor. Right now I have a couple motors on order for this and other projects, so hopefully soon this locomotive will be pulling its weight.
I also managed to get this Atlas B30-7 really close to the finish line. It has a 3D printed "used to be L window" cab installed in place of the Atlas cab. I replaced the original cab with an L window cab from an Atlas U33C at one point, but that cab is probably the second worst GE cab out there (just ahead of the regular window Atlas U33C cab). After I 3D printed a proof of concept GE cab I made this variation with the air conditioner base and antenna ground plane and used to be L window. Details were harvested from the U33C cab, it was repainted and decals were applied. I ran out of the "PINE BLUFF" decals that go under the numbers on the cab sides, so it's not quite there yet.
I did get the lighting finished, which involved a lot of trial and error trying to time the rate and dial in the intensity of the gyralight. After many hours of watching videos taken around Cajon Pass and Tehachapi Loop and comparing the model's lighting to the prototypes I feel pretty good about the effect.
One thing I was concerned about was the front side railings, which had broken off. I was able to drill through them and create new brass pins to mount them on the model again. I'm surprised how easy it actually was and how durable they are.
Finally, while I was looking through a junk box for some Athearn drive components I stumbled across an old blue box dummy F45. I bought this model in 1993 and got started on it right away. Just as I was attaching the metal handrails I spilled a lot of super glue on the rear engineer's side of the hood. I tried to remove as much as I could, but it looked pretty bad. I moved on to something else and forgot about it.
As I looked this thing over a couple days ago, I thought it might be fun to use what parts I have on hand to see if I can dress this thing up. I installed some Athearn plastic fans that were part of a set I bought awhile back when I was designing some replacement dynamic hatches. I removed the frame pins and filled the holes in the body. I also replaced the front pilot with sheet styrene cut to match the rear pilot. Then I used some Atlas SD35 coupler boxes to secure the frame to the body. I had bought a Smokey Valley GP60B handrail set for the tall blower housing stanchions, so the end stanchions were surplus and ended up being used on the front of this model. Other than the Tangent drop grabs, I used brass wire to bend the rest of the handholds and railings. And the rear end railings came from an Athearn SD40-2 snoot handrail set. They aren't a perfect match for the prototype, but they were a great fit on the model. After two days of messing with this model, I decided to order some AMB Laserkit windows for it. Once that kit and some nonskid color decal film gets here I'll finish it up, hopefully next week. It's no Genesis model, but it's not too bad for something I forgot I even had.
My Rail Power/Atlas B39-8 finally got some handrails this week. I used Utah Pacific stanchions and 0.015" wire. The end railings are from an Atlas B40-8W set and are a decent fit. Since I used an Atlas B40-8 sill for the steps and pilots, the B40-8 handrails would be the best fit, but I don't have any spares. The good news is that the details for the B40-8 are a perfect fit. What you can't see inside is the Athearn hex drive components and the frame that is designed for a Kato HM-5 motor. Right now I have a couple motors on order for this and other projects, so hopefully soon this locomotive will be pulling its weight.
I also managed to get this Atlas B30-7 really close to the finish line. It has a 3D printed "used to be L window" cab installed in place of the Atlas cab. I replaced the original cab with an L window cab from an Atlas U33C at one point, but that cab is probably the second worst GE cab out there (just ahead of the regular window Atlas U33C cab). After I 3D printed a proof of concept GE cab I made this variation with the air conditioner base and antenna ground plane and used to be L window. Details were harvested from the U33C cab, it was repainted and decals were applied. I ran out of the "PINE BLUFF" decals that go under the numbers on the cab sides, so it's not quite there yet.
I did get the lighting finished, which involved a lot of trial and error trying to time the rate and dial in the intensity of the gyralight. After many hours of watching videos taken around Cajon Pass and Tehachapi Loop and comparing the model's lighting to the prototypes I feel pretty good about the effect.
One thing I was concerned about was the front side railings, which had broken off. I was able to drill through them and create new brass pins to mount them on the model again. I'm surprised how easy it actually was and how durable they are.
Finally, while I was looking through a junk box for some Athearn drive components I stumbled across an old blue box dummy F45. I bought this model in 1993 and got started on it right away. Just as I was attaching the metal handrails I spilled a lot of super glue on the rear engineer's side of the hood. I tried to remove as much as I could, but it looked pretty bad. I moved on to something else and forgot about it.
As I looked this thing over a couple days ago, I thought it might be fun to use what parts I have on hand to see if I can dress this thing up. I installed some Athearn plastic fans that were part of a set I bought awhile back when I was designing some replacement dynamic hatches. I removed the frame pins and filled the holes in the body. I also replaced the front pilot with sheet styrene cut to match the rear pilot. Then I used some Atlas SD35 coupler boxes to secure the frame to the body. I had bought a Smokey Valley GP60B handrail set for the tall blower housing stanchions, so the end stanchions were surplus and ended up being used on the front of this model. Other than the Tangent drop grabs, I used brass wire to bend the rest of the handholds and railings. And the rear end railings came from an Athearn SD40-2 snoot handrail set. They aren't a perfect match for the prototype, but they were a great fit on the model. After two days of messing with this model, I decided to order some AMB Laserkit windows for it. Once that kit and some nonskid color decal film gets here I'll finish it up, hopefully next week. It's no Genesis model, but it's not too bad for something I forgot I even had.
