I'm going to start this thread for those of us who aren't content with factory locomotives. This is a thread not to debate the "why", but to discuss the how and the what. Feel free to share your successes and your... well you knows. Let us know what parts you used and how you applied them. Painting techniques and chop jobs, lets see them so we can learn when to use what and how to make our locomotives that much better. To start off with I'll show a couple of my current projects. ILSX SD40-2 202 and SCXY GP9 1363. The SD40-2 is a straight up kato (modifying the ratchet brake to a wheel) with BLMA 15" grab irons and a #93 rear curved grab iron. I also used BLMA lift rings. I'll be putting BLMA "Q" Fans on the radiators and 8 blade fans on the dynamic brakes. I'll be putting a Miniatures by Eric (MBE) Firecracker antenna and exhaust silencer on this unit as well as a host of other BLMA accecories and even some Atlas parts. The GP9 is a chop nosed Atlas body with an Atlas SD26 cab. It has BLMA lift rings and grab irons as well. I already have the MBE winter hatch and firecracker antenna installed and the first coat of black paint shot on. This is a more long term project.
CN 6256 Here is a more factory unit I did some mild detailing to. I added BLMA cab shades, cut levers and 10 blade fans. What a difference a few details make.
Karl- Nice work! I'll move my SD60 progress over here- just to catch up: This is a stock Atlas SD60 in SOO line candy apple red. This was an unumbered unit so I made it into 6056. There is another thread I started a ways back about issues with the Atlas SD60 and how it looks odd. To battle the oddity I am following Mike Danneman and several other's suggestions to add a traction motor to the front truck and some type of "skirt" such as Kato and FVM put on their locos to hide the area between the trucks and frame from view. The first several easy steps I have taken is to give the red areas a bit extra coverage with some pollyscale SOO line red that darkened the red a bit from the factory paint that was not quite dark enough. I used a silver sharpie to hit the area around the headlight (as per the prototype). Next I moved the horn from the cab to the mid-roof as on the proto-type and filled the holes in the cab with some modeling putty. I than used a bit of black powder on the vents and in areas where carbon is often blown during operation- you can find these by simply looking at proto-photos. I put an airline hose on the front truck- following the recoomendation in the SD60 thread, I drilled holes in each side of the truck where I wanted the "airline" to go and than used a small piece of brass wire that I glued in place once slid through the holes. Next I made a nasty little traction motor, trying to follow instructions from Danneman's article in an old NSR magazine- its not as nice as his but it fills that space nicely. I added the winter hatch (it needed some mild filing to fit well) and drilled holes for a sunshade and rearview mirror on the conductor's side of the cab (they have been added now) and added an all-weather window on the engineer's side. I also added BLMA MU hoses to the plow at the front. Finally, I have now added a "skirt" to the conductor's side rear truck (more on that to follow) but did not add it to the front truck as this unit will be getting a bell there that I do not want to block with a skirt. Still to come are BLMA fans, Miniatures by Eric firecracker antenna and bell, and that should do it for this one. Love to see everyone else's work! my best, Jan
karl looking good !!! how do you know the sd40 needs 15'' grabs? i have a bunch of 40's and c44-9w's i want to do..
BTW, there is a Trainboard Group set-up for Diesel Detailers that you are welcome to join and post details of your projects to. Thats some nice work though Karl!
The most convincing detail you can put on a locomotive is painting the window gaskets black. It takes a fine tip black Sharpie marker and some flat black paint and a steady hand. Costs almost nothing and the results are stunning when placed next to a unit without painted gaskets.
Thanks! I bought the BLMA grab iron template (Part #57) and compared it to the molded grab irons, 15" lined up beautifully. The 18" would have been too long (3 N scale inches makes a pretty big difference). Luckily both the prototype engines use the same "drop" style grab irons so I got the bulk bag (Part #57) Today I was allowed to take some close up shots of the prototype of the engines I'm modeling. Go figure, of all the new BLMA horns, they don't have the one I need. My engine has a Nathan K3 (MBE NH12 should do it).
Checked in late tonight. Thanks N&W for forwarding that info about the Planet Of The Apes quote. My second favorite movie quote of all time just behind, "I think we're gonna need a bigger boat". Here is an example of window gaskets having been painted black:
One small point of contention, no diesel I know of, whether EMD or GE, from GP 7s & 9s and U25s to SD70ACes and GEVOs use 15" grabirons. 18" grabirons are correct. Donnell
The 15 inchers are out there, pretty railroad and locomotive specific though so you have to look hard. You might find them on switchers (SW's) more than anything else.
That may be true, but sometimes it is about doing what looks right. the BLMA 15" grab irons look right on the back of an SD40-2 (and matched the size of the molded grab irons), the 18" look way to large. What they actually scale out to, I don't know. I bought both, but only installed the 15".
ILSX 202 Made some progress on my SD40-2 project. I know I have the wrong plow on it. A few details left to add, but it's closer to done.
A front end shot of my SD9 rebuild project (ILSX 1374). gotta love BLMA details, it'll look even better once the number boards are in.
A little bit of progress, some good, some not so good... The DM&IR weights and racks I will have to redo, I did add some etched metal ladders and I am happy with how they turned out.
For this DMIR unit did you use an SD24 low nose and cab? I am thinking of someday getting around to making an NNW Nebraska Northwestern unit #303.
The nose is the SD9 shell chopped down filled a little and sanded out. The cab is an SD24. SD24 noses slope down and the chops I am modeling all have level noses.
