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Steve, you'll have a unique combination there when it's done and painted. You'll drive the rivet counters nuts.
Thanks UP... Still need to get the details west super detailing kit. Probably not till after the new year.
That looks cool between the other 2 engines. How are you gonna paint it? Somehow continue the blue wave on top to match the other 2 possibly?
Definitely going to try and match the wave from the 2 lead units. This way when all 4 engines (A B B A) are together the wave looks continuous from front to back.
I think a blue wave dropping in the center would be awesome!
I've never seen that kind of Athearn box before, new?
Its the limited edition boxes for the Walthers P42 locomotives that Athearn did for Walthers exclusively. But i've seen the shamu paint sheme in the regular athearn RTR boxes so who knows.
Going to hopefully strip the paint off 2 more shells today and cut them up to make 1 shell.
Did some more work on the B units last night while at work. I started to remove the molded radiator grills on the long hood. My god is that a pita but not nearly as hard as glueing the 2 piece S&S Hobby amd 103 grills together. I think they are stainless steel but they are so thin that trying to snip the left over sprue pieces i nipped a piece of the grill. So what I did is after installing 1 i decided to glue both sprues together so when I snip them they are somewhat stiffer. But trying to open up the radiator grills is not easy. So in the mean time I used a thin razor and a #13 saw and opened up the intake grills near the front on the firemens side. Then opened up the radiator fan top so you can see thru it. I think it will look good once the fan blades are painted and the stainless fan grill is put back on. Will also help out alot if i add a sound unit in it. I'll try to post up some pictures tomorrow. Going to work tonight and if possible work on both units again.
And is it safe to use a plastic epoxy to fill large gaps? like those 5 min quick set epoxies you mix. One unit has a large gap that i dont know if i'll be able to fill with styrene since I can't cut well. Also the other unit i tried to fill in the gap with think ca. BUt that didn't work as it just seeped down and didn't fill in at all.
Steve, the five minute epoxy will have the same problem as the CA. It will just fall through the hole if there's no support. Try gluing in some styrene from the inside of the shell. Overlap the hole so the styrene has something to hold on to. Once that's dry, I'd try some Squadron Green putty to fill the remaining gap. You can lay it on in several coats, waiting for it to dry between coats. Fill it so the putty ends up being slightly above the level of the shell. When it's good and dry, use some 800 fine grit sandpaper and sand it wet. Mask off the areas around the hole so you don't sand into the good part of the shell. You should be able to sand it well enough that the hole will be unnoticeable when you paint the shell.
UP, i described the gap improperly. I do have styrene, plastic leftover from the other shells as a backing support. The glue I have somehow just does not build up and just keeps finding a gap somewhere to seep in thru. I did though fill the gap with styrene cut ver very thin. I just need to fill in some minor gaps here and there. I also filled in the former cab windows on the side and opened up the fan on the other shell so you can see thru it.
Im waiting to here back from Overland to see if its possible to buy a sheet of the v grooved mesh they use. I've found some on ebay for certain models but i'de like a larger sheet so I can cut it to the size of the other grills on the shell.
Also does anyone know what the correct colors are for the Phase V shamu paint? what blue, grey?
Does anyone know if B units had horns and bells on them?
Steve, I'd still use Squadron Green putty to fill the types of gaps you described. Five minute epoxy might work but that stuff is almost impossible to sand smooth and you'll have to do some sanding, no matter how careful you are.
As to the horns and bells question, I guess you can do whatever you want since you're creating a fantasy unit. On most modern B units, horns seem to be pretty standard equipment, as do headlights of some sort. Bells...I don't think I've ever seen a bell on a B unit but there's probably one out there somewhere to prove the exception to the rule.
Jim, i will have to use some green putty in areas. Will see what happens today if i get a chance to apply some green putty in the gaps.
green putty applied to the gaps where the rear sections were met with the long hood. Lots of filing to do at work if its slow.
Southern Railway lives on
Hmmm, sounds cool, can we see some pics? Where is the "this thread is worthless without pics" smiley when we need it. lol
Well I wont have any pictures tonight unless I stay up much later after the ball drops here in the NYC area. But god that green putty smells just as bad even after it has dried. Well dried most of the way, still had some soft spots last night. I also noticed that it softened the athearn plastic shell alot in certain spots.
I just need to fill in a small section that didn't get filled up all the way. The other spots just need final sanding smooth. There will be some parts on the shell that will be filled in that would be there on a regular cab version. I figure its a B unit, no need for these things. Pretty sure one part was the A/C doors.
Gomez Addams
Staff member
If you find yourself with even more free time, a more likely scenario for the freight guys would be an ATSF/BNSF B40-8B to mate with the B40-8W Super Fleet units, sort of like the Dash9-44CW. It would be GE's answer to the GP60B, and even more plausible.
Remember, BN had B30-7A(B) units, so why not a B40?
If you find yourself with even more free time, a more likely scenario for the freight guys would be an ATSF/BNSF B40-8B to mate with the B40-8W Super Fleet units, sort of like the Dash9-44CW. It would be GE's answer to the GP60B, and even more plausible.
Remember, BN had B30-7A(B) units, so why not a B40?
Dont tempt me. I have thought of it already and keep thinking about it. Not sure what i'll do yet after I finish this project. Start another with same body or do what you just said. If I do the same project again i have a paint scheme that I think will look incredible on these units and very classy I hope. I just need to source more shells and this time 2 dummy units instead of having 4 powered units.
I'll have pics of the slow progress later today.
yea its the squadron putty. it only softened it around sharp edges. Not like gooey soft, but it was plyable.
OK, then it's working like it's supposed to. Any sharp edges will be made a little softer so you can get a good joint.
ok cool. i just added some more putty to smooth out the roof section that had a divet. also filled in where the handrails would be to get in the cab. Will fill in small set of windows on the new rear end.
hey nysw,any new pics of the abba set?
Holy cow, i can't believe its been nearly a year already. I will take new pics tomorrow. I have 2 a units and 2 b units painted in a beautifull fallen flag, mostly decaled too. I just need the smaller detail decals and such (F for front, roof decals, builder plate decals), install the windows and railings again. And paint the frame and trucks. I've fallen way behind since this past October.....depression sucks.
Where are the pics. i was thinking of doing something like this but i wanna see yours first
Here are some quick pics. The other B unit is still in the box on the table.
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