"What are you working on?" Thread

[abcraghead]

Well a progress report on one of mine. The first victim has been selected and stripped
WARNING Photo may not be suitable viewing for all members! Parential guidence is recommended

Cheers Willis

Did you put those trucks on it, or did they come that way?

 

[CBCNSfan]

Did you put those trucks on it, or did they come that way?

Yep they came thataway from someones junk box into mine maybe they'll be replaced depending on what kind of a job I'll do. Guess they should look like this
Cheers Willis

 

[abcraghead]

Yeah, I was just going to suggest getting some caboose trucks. I think Athearn has some cheap ones, if you replace the wheels with metal ones and weather them they'd look fine.

A side note, I've seen what appears to be a chain drive generator attached to the outer journal boxes of one caboose truck. I think you cna get these as parts from somewhere. That, and maybe some underbelly tool boxes and such could go a long way to dressing up an otherwise plain and detail-less caboose.

Oh, don't forget radio antennas, markers, and unusual stacks as options too. Also, if you decide not to replace the handrails with wire ones, highlight them with another color like white or yellow once they are painted and -- at least from three feet away -- they'll look like they are seperate.

Did I mention I love cabooses? (I think I could model cabooses alone.)

 

[CBCNSfan]

Well ABC guess I may as well go whole hog and try for the Point St. Charles Caboose look. "big windows" I planned all hand rails to be wire and painted yellow in contrast to a black body. I may have a few shells completed before I get my hands on some of the correct trucks. I think most of these cabooses came from train sets where anything goes. They only cost me one and some were two dollars Cdn.
Cheers Willis
The prototypes

 

[CBCNSfan]

I've seen what appears to be a chain drive generator attached to the outer journal boxes

The next time I'm over at the yard, I'll take some closeups of wheels and undergear, probably take a couple of the flanger and the plow, never know when I'll want them.
Cheers Willis

 

[crook]

I am doing my darndest to resist the On30 bug, and trying not to do anything related to modeling.

I find myself slipping....

 

[Niko at home]

That's a good idea, Nick. It will help you stay disciplined once you have exactly what you need to buy on the list in your hand. It's prevented me from making many impulse purchaes. ::snip::

I remember a time when money and time weren't really much of an issue - I had enough of either to buy and build what I wanted. These days, if I don't work "smart," I won't get much of anything done. Your mileage may vary.

I can be a sucker for impulse buys some times! I tend to get side tracked unless I have a specific list. Especially with something as large as this...

I don't have the time or money right now really. But anyway, I agree... working "smart" in an organized manner will be quite benefitial in terms of cash and manhours.

And I've done some work today... I vac'd the layout.

 

[mushroom2]

I'm still trying to find time to get some things done. I have a resin kit sitting on the workbench that's been 80% done for the last 2 months. It's getting to me. I'm either gonna finish it, or hide it.

 

[CBCNSfan]

I have a resin kit sitting on the workbench that's been 80% done for the last 2 months.

What kind of kit? How about a photo or two so we can have a peek at it.

I can be a sucker for impulse buys some times!

Don't worry , it's a human trait, even with the list you'll get the urge to buy some item that later you'll wonder why you've bought it. I do

 

[CBCNSfan]

I am doing my darndest to resist the On30 bug, and trying not to do anything related to modeling.

I find myself slipping....

Don't fight it, you are lost, come over to the dark side peacefully!

 

[CBCNSfan]

Due to time delays in getting detail parts I usually have several projects on the go at any one time. Another one is a GP9, CB&CNS 5967. For starters I used an Athearn GP9 ( is actually a GP7). First order is to Strip it, and here is a shot of it soaking up the brake fluid and another one of it naked
Cheers Willis

 

[CBCNSfan]

Well the weekend was a busy one in the train room. Installed a cable and a main power switch to the layout, will have to buy some more recepticle boxes to finish it up. I got a lot of styrofoam glued to the layout for scenery support on the Little Harbour yard and the mine spur area. I also enlarged the windows on a caboose in preparation for a try at modeling a Point St. Charles caboose. Looks like it may be ok. I cut the winterization hatch from the GP9 shell and mounted another fan as that is the configuration of the prototype. First pic shows the donor and recipient, the second pic of transplant complete except for a little plastic surgery to hide the scars
Cheers Willis

 

[HaggisKennedy]

I can be a sucker for impulse buys some times! I tend to get side tracked unless I have a specific list. Especially with something as large as this...

Don't talk to me about impulse buys. Went to the hobby shop to get some styrene and glue, saw some Athearn RTR AC4400s. Newer run, with the DCC plug. So, I'm looking at it and I'm thinking, well, it sure looks like the same chassis as those Blue Box CSX/NS Dash 9s I've got stored away. So, I bought it; mainly to swap the shell with one of the Dash 9s. But, since I wasn't sure if that'd work, I got the one in BNSF, that way, it'd match with something I already have....

Looks like the swap will work, except I need some headlight bulbs as the ones in the AC4400 are really glued in there.

Kennedy

 

[CBCNSfan]

Hi Kennedy, question for you. Does the RTR Athearn have the 5 pole motor or the old 3 pole motor like the blue box locos?
Cheers Willis

 

[JeffShultz]

I bought one of those Cold Solder devices at COSTCO this weekend. It does work, although the jury is out on how efficient it is.

They are absolutely correct when they say not to use pressure - the tips are rather fragile and start crumbling.

Getting a proper position on the metal to actually complete the circuit is a bit tougher than I expected.

 

[CBCNSfan]

the tips are rather fragile and start crumbling.

Hi Jeff, I was planning to get one of those, but missed the sale. Does a good supply of tips come with them, or is a person left out in left field if the tip breakes?
Cheers Willis

 

[RCH]

Grain hoppers and more grain hoppers. A friend and I photographed the same hopper Sunday from different angles as it passed by, so I'm working on modeling it. It's a dead ringer for the P2K 4427 kit (HO scale), except for a minor variation in the outlet gates. It's even missing one of its jacking pads, which P2K had the foresight to include as separate parts, but unfortunately I didn't check the photos closely before attaching it (doh!). Now that it's assembled, next step is to begin the rusting process because this car is one of the rustiest cars I've ever seen. This should keep me busy for a few days...

I've added some photos in the new gallery here: http://www.modelrailroadphotos.com/photos/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=2426

These are photos depicting the process of weathering the hopper I talked about at the start of this thread. My original tongue-in-cheek guess of a few days is going to turn out to be a few weeks. This is harder than I thought....

 

[CBCNSfan]

LOL, don't know what amazed me the most, must have thought I was looking at photos of the real thing. What was funny for a few moments was I was surprised to see the reporting info on the last shot, finally realising it went went on last. Silly me! Another perfect weathering and realistic paint job.
Cheers Willis

 

[RCH]

Thanks, Willis. It's far from done, though. I uploaded the photos in the order in which I thought they would be seen. Instead, they show up from newest to oldest. Doh! Maybe I can upload them again in the correct order....

 

[CBCNSfan]

LOL no problem, I was reading the photo captions first, think it said something like 1 st coat, 2 nd coat and the 3 rd looked like it belonged, I don't know it just suprised me to see the car info and faded out too. As I said looks like the real thing.
Cheers Willis