Recent content by malibu43

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  1. malibu43

    Front End Friday

  2. malibu43

    Re-attach Athearn SD40t-2 radiator grills

    My two SD40t-2’s fell today, and were in pieces with trucks completely detached and detail pieces everywhere. By some miracle after only about an hour and a half I have them both back together without any real noticeable damage and both seem to run fine. The last thing I’m struggling with is...
  3. malibu43

    SP Rotary Snow Plow

    Ya, I think I've decided to imagine that they found some use for that space where the original steam engine was located in the back of the rotary unit and left it with the longer body, but still use the B unit for power...
  4. malibu43

    SP Rotary Snow Plow

    I've had a blue box Athearn rotary snow plow for probably 30 years. This was the black version with "Union Pacific 076" as the only decorative lettering out of the box. Several years ago I used some acrylic paint to paint the fan blades red and highlight the silver ladders/steps/grab irons. A...
  5. malibu43

    Christmas Trees, Trains and More - 2024

    The Southern Pacific is back in Southern California this Christmas!
  6. malibu43

    Applying road # decals long-hood end of GPs

    I ended up tackling this today, and it wasn't really that bad. I did 6539 first, and found that after I placed one number and got the next one cut out and ready to place, the first would no longer move, even with more micro-set applied. So 6539 wound up a little more packed together than I...
  7. malibu43

    Applying road # decals long-hood end of GPs

    Well, I only have two to do, and I've already got the micrscale decal sheet that I used for the nose "SP". I wasn't initially planning on adding the small road numbers, but figured I'd try since I have the rest of the sheet to use.
  8. malibu43

    Applying road # decals long-hood end of GPs

    Today I received a microscale decal sheet for SP diesel locomotives to continue the process of detailing a couple of my older Blue Box GP's. Adding the SP to the nose was very straight forward. However I also want to add the road numbers to the end of the long-hood end of the locomotive. I've...
  9. malibu43

    Thoughts on Athearn RTR "DCC Ready" SD40t-2

    Yes, it certainly looks bad. Especially compared to the two newer models in the image. I ended up selling the SD45. Actually was able to get a lot more than I paid for it. Thanks for the tips on decals though.
  10. malibu43

    Athearn RTR SD45 - remove grab irons and nose numbering

    After some more thinking and poking around, I realized I have a bottle of flat red acrylic paint from Walmart that looks to be a pretty close match for the scarlet paint on the front of the locomotive. So I may just paint over the existing numbering instead of trying to erase it off. Once the...
  11. malibu43

    Athearn RTR SD45 - remove grab irons and nose numbering

    Makes sense! Thanks.
  12. malibu43

    Athearn RTR SD45 - remove grab irons and nose numbering

    They are individually applied parts, not molded-on bumps meant to represent grab irons (I realize it's not clear from the picture). I'm not sure how you'd apply a decal over them, unless I'm missing something.
  13. malibu43

    Athearn RTR SD45 - remove grab irons and nose numbering

    Ya. That makes sense. I think my biggest hesitation at this point is how to deal with the grab irons without breaking something or making a mess glueing them back on.
  14. malibu43

    Athearn RTR SD45 - remove grab irons and nose numbering

    Thanks for the response. I wonder if it would be possible to slit or split the decal and apply it around the grab irons instead of removing them...? The SP decal looks like it would cover a lot of the "erased" numbers, even if there is some discoloration.
  15. malibu43

    Athearn RTR SD45 - remove grab irons and nose numbering

    Wondering what it takes to replace the numbers on the nose with an SP decal. A couple questions... 1. How easy/difficult is it to remove the two grab irons without breaking them and keeping them to reinstall? 2. Can I remove the white numbering without needing to repaint the scarlet before...
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