Easter Weekend Photo fun 04/10 -- -
- Thread starter johntealon30
- Start date
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Josh
Corey, I was away all weekend at gatherings, so I will attempt to answer you now...hope you weren't put out by my silence.
Do you mean the river bed/bottom. Sorry, I am not clear on your question.
The river has a plaster of Paris bottom sprinkled while it was still semi-soft with sifted garden soil. Also, some larger pea gravel from a nearby country roadside was placed here and there to simulate boulders. Once that hardened, I poured two thin layers of epoxy, each about 1/8" thick. They would have been separated by two or three days to ensure that the first was truly set and cured. I left it like that for almost two years. You can see in the image below that is is very planar and clear...not terribly realistic with a glass-like surface.
A few weeks ago I mixed another batch of epoxy and added about 1 short teaspoon of plaster of Paris to the mix, plus one drop of what is called "Hauder Medium Green" available at the crafts paints section in the small plastic bottles at Wal Mart. It didn't look promising as I continued to mix the epoxy very thoroughly over the next four minutes. This would be about 3/4 cup that would end up covering about 3/4 of a ft sq. The mix was filled with zillions of tiny bubbles, almost like a thick foam. But I slathered it on and spread it around with a thin coffee stick until all the areas were covered and then let is settle and level itself. That took about 8 hours to fully cure, after which I stippled on a think layer of gel acrylic medium, hoping to create a wavy or turbulent look. It took some time for that layer to harden at the thickest parts, but it now looks like this:
The fuel tank & trucks (especially the wheels) screamed old Atlas, but the shell (especially the thin handrails) said something else alltogether!
I've got a few cross-bred freaks around here too
, like Lionel HO FA1's riding on Walthers Trainline chassis. The Lionels were my first (age 4) trains, with rubber band (blech!) drive. Sentimental reasons dictated repowering, but not modifying the shells. It worked!
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jeffrey-wimberly
Dr Frankendiesel
No, but you're on the right track. Let's just say the trucks on that loco were made a LONG time ago.
AyTrane
Member
Santa Fe's only GP40 was number 2964. Yours is 3507, the number board is missing, the horn is oddly square, the trucks are not gray but black. That road number actually refers to the GP40X models, which had flared radiators, so maybe that is the difference?
Or is it something else?
Or is it something else?
jeffrey-wimberly
Dr Frankendiesel
Not even close. Does the year 1976 ring any bells? Or maybe the number 3084?
jeffrey-wimberly
Dr Frankendiesel
Here's a couple of more clues.
ThoroughBreed
Dcc~detail~diesel freak
Heres some pics from a while back when I worked on this loco. I made the forward and rear ditch lights functional using a nce d13srj decoder.
jbaakko
Diesel Detail Freak
The white part, this time around. I'm going to shoot a better step-by-step on it later this week. The trucks are standard Athearn, with Branchline Code 88, 36" wheels.
Josh
Selector
Well-Known Member
Corey, I was away all weekend at gatherings, so I will attempt to answer you now...hope you weren't put out by my silence.
Do you mean the river bed/bottom. Sorry, I am not clear on your question.
The river has a plaster of Paris bottom sprinkled while it was still semi-soft with sifted garden soil. Also, some larger pea gravel from a nearby country roadside was placed here and there to simulate boulders. Once that hardened, I poured two thin layers of epoxy, each about 1/8" thick. They would have been separated by two or three days to ensure that the first was truly set and cured. I left it like that for almost two years. You can see in the image below that is is very planar and clear...not terribly realistic with a glass-like surface.
A few weeks ago I mixed another batch of epoxy and added about 1 short teaspoon of plaster of Paris to the mix, plus one drop of what is called "Hauder Medium Green" available at the crafts paints section in the small plastic bottles at Wal Mart. It didn't look promising as I continued to mix the epoxy very thoroughly over the next four minutes. This would be about 3/4 cup that would end up covering about 3/4 of a ft sq. The mix was filled with zillions of tiny bubbles, almost like a thick foam. But I slathered it on and spread it around with a thin coffee stick until all the areas were covered and then let is settle and level itself. That took about 8 hours to fully cure, after which I stippled on a think layer of gel acrylic medium, hoping to create a wavy or turbulent look. It took some time for that layer to harden at the thickest parts, but it now looks like this:
jeffrey-wimberly
Dr Frankendiesel
And we have a winner! It's a new Bachmann shell on a 1976 dual flywheel Atlas/Roco chassis. With just some very minor alteration the shell is a perfect fit.
jeffrey-wimberly
Dr Frankendiesel
kbkchooch
"retired" conductor
The fuel tank & trucks (especially the wheels) screamed old Atlas, but the shell (especially the thin handrails) said something else alltogether!
I've got a few cross-bred freaks around here too
, like Lionel HO FA1's riding on Walthers Trainline chassis. The Lionels were my first (age 4) trains, with rubber band (blech!) drive. Sentimental reasons dictated repowering, but not modifying the shells. It worked!
jeffrey-wimberly
Dr Frankendiesel
I put the Bachmann shell on it because it has better detail, not great but still better than the old Atlas shell. Also the handrails are more correct.
johntealon30
Member
The hill now has some colour and the hill on the opposite side is in place I have also toned down the backscene
The colour is not colour as such I used a pack of mortar mixed with plenty of PVA so it will go a lot lighter, the river sides/bed is a pack of concrete Post Fix so again will dry a lot lighter ready for some colour washes. (well I am a builder and you have to use whats to hand !)
John
The colour is not colour as such I used a pack of mortar mixed with plenty of PVA so it will go a lot lighter, the river sides/bed is a pack of concrete Post Fix so again will dry a lot lighter ready for some colour washes. (well I am a builder and you have to use whats to hand !)
John
jeffrey-wimberly
Dr Frankendiesel
I've been working on another GP40 today. I've been making this one a bit dirty.
Secondhandmodeler
All new now!
Crandell, yes, I was referring to the river bottom. Sorry for the confusion. What I liked about the river is the cloudy, almost muddy look to the water. Around here, the rivers are brown like the Mississippi. There's no blue or clearness to them at all! Thank you for your description of the process. I'm not to a painting point, but I want to have a good idea of what I want when the time comes. Thanks again.
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