I would like to add SP/SSW SD45s/45Rs and SD40M-2s (rebuilt from SD45s) to my roster. I thought about buying more Katos, but they are extremely rare now days, and when you do find them they are at or above full retail. I think I'm going to go with the RPP SD45 shell w/Cannon "35 line" cab, 81" nose, and sub-base. I thought about making a resin cast of the Kato SD45's rear end and grafting it onto the RPP shell. I also know of people cutting out and replacing the long hood end with the proper Cannon part and using filler to blend the RPP "flare" with the Cannon "straight". Or maybe I'll just leave it. Haven't decided yet. As for the chassis, there are several options, but I will only talk about four here. 1. Use the Kato SD40 Chassis which is widely available due to not-so-hot sales of the re-released version. Some modifications will be made to fit the RPP shell to the Kato drive, but the plus is I can use the cab, nose and sub-base from the SD40 as replacements on the RPP SD45 2. Use a modified Athearn SD45 Chassis. By modified, I mean in addition to the recommendations by RPP. The Athearn frame is grotesquely viewable from the side just below the walkway sill. This has to go! It will be machined flat and will be flush with the frame wall just above the fuel tank, which also needs modifying. Styrene channel will be installed to simulate the locomotive frame. In my opinion the fuel tank looks aweful! Okay, so it's not all that bad, but compared to the prototype and to my one and only Kato SD45, the tank's top slope is too steep and needs to be recessed a little bit deeper. There are a few ways I came up with to fix this. One: Machine the frame's fuel tank flat using the Kato frame as your guide. Cut it to the thickness of the Kato frame and then install Kato SD40/45 fuel tanks sides (slightly modified) to the frame. Two: Add material to the top the fuel tank and file or machine to the correct angle. This should close most of the "big" space between the top of the tank and the bottom of the side sill, give you the correct fuel tank profile, and still leave room for the air resevoirs. Three: Cut the fuel tank completely off (leaving enough material for the fram to remain in tact) and scratchbuild a new tank from brass sheet. This can be detailed while off the frame and then attachedwith small screws through the top of the frame. 3. Use the RPP SD38/40/45 Chassis, which is a lot better than the Athearn fram, but still needs attention (minor machining and filing.) 4. Scractbuild a frame from brass stock. This idea intrigues me most! In the Octoer 2001 Railmodel Journal on page 40, author Steve Orth describes how he scratch-built the chassis for his SD45T-2. While the length of the SD45 frame and the way the trucks are mounted are different, the "idea" of what he did can still be applicable. He used the fuel tank from the Athearn frame, complete with full Cannon fuel tank detail set, on his scratch-built frame. I would probably build mine from sheet brass like the "real" brass manufaturers do. Trucks could be from either a Kato SD40/45 or an Athearn SD45. Anyhow, those are my lengthy plans. Maybe someday I'll get started, but for now I have to finish that UP Dash 8-40C! -sd80mac-
<font color="336633">Personally I'd go with cutting up the Athearn Frame and detailing that up by adding the chanels down the sides etc, thats what im going to do when i get round to doing an athearn loco. The Kato SD45 that i have has a very noticable chassis when looking from dead sideview so this to will recive the cut and channeling like the Athearns. As for scratch building the Chassis, it have a certian appeal to me, its nice knowing that u built something yourself from scratch... but when u been doing it for a job for the last 3 years its nice to do something else Personally I'd leave the rear end of the hoods on the locos for the SP 40M-2's and 40/45R's as these units are rather plain on the rear. Id love to see some photos when its finished </font>
Well, I guess most of you are familiar with my preferred method of doing SD45's. While the Cannon route is fun and yields a great model, it is time consuming, and not the way to go if you need a huge fleet of them. After I finish my current Cannonized SD45R project (that has been going on for about 3 years now ), I plan to start using Cannonized Katos to help meet my SD45 needs. I've started work on an undec I've had salted away for the past couple of years. First step was to mill the frame and add styrene strip to duplicate the underbody frame rail detail. Next up is to add Cannon parts to the shell (cab, nose, sub-base, hood end, ECAFB, dustbin hatch, exhausts, fuel tank parts, etc.), and then rebuild the electrical compartment behind the cab. It's still a lot of work, but not quite as much as the full-blown RPP/Cannon/OMI route.
