Is it possible to build an FA-1 out of this PA-1? A GP35 mech woudl work, without much modification... I'd love tosee one in SP&S paint...
If you use the Digitrax DZ123MO, you can unsolder the rear light and solder wires to your mars light, and just program the decoder's rear light to be a mars light active in forward, on with function 2.
would it be possible? i don't know that much about the differences to say. the ornament shell is metal, so that would be tough to work. it would take a bandsaw to cut, but i honestly don't know where the cuts would need to be made. if an FA1 is just a few feet shorter than a PA1 (with B trucks) then i would guess it's possible. time in the project was not much. redoing the trucks (frames) was the hardest part, the rest was gluing the details onto the shell (nose apron and side steps) and smoothing the plastic where the freedom train logo was inserted. this was an easy mod, overall. care must be taken with the trucks. i even took a little off the inside of the PA trucks so they wouldn't squeeze the wheels. i bet i could do a set of trucks (PA side frames glued over the MTL trucks) in about an hour -- now that i've done one. the other "hard" part was digging the screw posts out of the top of the shell. thank goodness for Dremel tools. dave f.
