My bench Well how does 14 new decoder installations, and 9 decoder resets and reprogramming sound? And I look at the other 25 locomotives sitting there next to the stack of 25 decodrs........
I have been working on some fire trucks Over the past few weeks, I have been working on some new fire trucks. I'm not sure why I like them, I have way more than any layout could handle. Anyway, there are two areas that have been completly ignored in fire apparatus: 1960's and present day. This model is loosly based on an E-One HP75. The turntable is fully operable. I still need to finish the paint, decals and details such as lights, mirrors and tools. Here is a photo of a real HP75: http://www.massfiretrucks.com/Natick_Engine_1_2010.jpg
Here is a Ford/ALF pumper. The model is a Bachmann ALF pumper body mounted to an Athearn Ford C short chassis. ALF produced comercial chassis pumpers along with their specialized pumpers. This model is based on the 1960's ALF 900 series pumper body. The model is about 20% smaller than the Athearn "short wheel base" pumper.
Swab Wagon Company has been building vehicles in PA since the 1800's. Today they build ambulance, animal control and recue bodies. This rescue body came from the Ferrero candy egg toys fire engine set. the body was thinned out by more than a scale foot, the rear was opened up as per prototype and modified to mount on the Athearn Ford box truck chassis. The front taper was used to flush mount the recue to tapered cabs such as the Mack CF and ALF engine cabs. The body was also used on Ford C and International cabs.
First coat of paint over the styrene and resin parts. Belpaire firebox done, now adding appliances on top, new steam dome, and replacing the cast on Bmann stack. After that its on to the smokebox front for a brass plate over the old headlight area and see if I can fabricate a set of number boars to go over the new headlight.
I've been working on this structure kit and am pretty much done except for detailing, which will likely come later..
Shay No. 17 with a new cabbage stack, and a modified bachmann bobber caboose showing signs of wood rot and abuse.
I'm working on the mill from the template by Mark. I was so absorbed in building I forgot to snap in progress pics. Next up is paint and weather! Greg
Thanks, I am trying to get that rescue body into production. If successful, the body would fit the long wheelbase Ford C chassis.
Well, I finally have something smaller than a workbench on my workbench. I decided to take a step back from layout building and backdrop painting and try my hand at scratchbuilding a plate girder bridge. So far I have the girder box made. It seems crazy to me looking at it now that there are 100 pieces in the girder box alone. I am trying to decide whether or not to handlay the deck with bridge ties or use a piece of Microengineering bridge flex track. That will be a while away though. Does anyone have any ideas for rivets? Prototypically, based on a photo, they are spaced at 2-3". That would mean they would be less than 1/64" apart. I don't think I have the patience or the eyesight to do that. The pier is carved out of hydrocal. I still have a bit of work to do on painting and weathering it, but I am fairly happy with how the stone turned out. With some lighter mortar lines, it should look O.K.. Still trying to get the concrete and parging colour right yet as well. Cheers,
I recently did these. I used ME bridge girders as the starting point and scratched the rest of it. I thought about using Archer rivets to finish out the top edge of the bridge and realised that it was going to cost close over $100 just in decal sheets to do it, let alone the time involved. I opted to skip the rivets. They will be hidden behind shortened Kato Truss bridges so the missing rivet detail won't be as noticable. PS. That bridge pier looks great!
Starting a model of the standard plan version of the ATSF sandhouse as a way to ease an injured index finger back to the X-acto knife.
Well the big 4-8-4 continues to occupy my workbench. Added some more details and finally started the front of the smokebox area after adding a couple more pieces to the firebox area. Trying out the RR Vandy but may opt for the Bmann Vandy used with the heavy mountain. The chassis is one of 3 that were examined as power options. This is the survivor that has pick-up from the drivers plus pony and trailing trucks and a set of wheels that don't wobble. Problem with several incarnations of this chassis was the drive wheels working loose and also spinning out of quarter. This is the later and better one. Also don't really like the stack I came up with out of styrene tube and probably will go back to the parts box for a large Baldwin stack by Detail Associates. Added the supports for the smokebox airpumps and scratch built a three piece set of number boards to go above and to either side of the lowered headlight.
