Lehigh Valley GP9/18s

[amato1969]

Gary, thanks!  I went into my Picasa album and used the "old" way to direct link to the pic; I hope the brains at Google add this to their "Photos" product 

  Frank

[amato1969]

Quick update...  Side sill work is done.  I added fuel fill pipes per the prototype using styrene rod, and used Archer surface details for the small louvers on the battery box:



Primer and paint is next!

  Frank

[robert3985]

Very interesting thread!  I love them Archer louvers and rivets!

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[wazzou]

Quick update...  Side sill work is done.  I added fuel fill pipes per the prototype using styrene rod, and used Archer surface details for the small louvers on the battery box:



Primer and paint is next!

  Frank

@amato1969 -
I'd be interested to know more about the process on that sill as I have some Ph. III GP-9's in my future and that has been one thing that I've been curious about how to best tackle.

[amato1969]

@robert3985  and @wazzou, thanks for the comments!  I took a few minutes to show where I modified the stock Atlas part:



First task was to remove raised details including large battery box louvers, fuel fill, and inspection tabs (black arrows).  I then chopped about 1/2 the height off the fuel tank skirt (orange line).  You can see several spots that needed Bondo filler after I carved off the molded-on details.

Finally, I scribed the seam between the frame and skirt using a metal straightedge and Xacto knife.

As always, consult your references if you're modeling a specific road/loco!

  Frank

[amato1969]

With some time off for the holidays, I was able to get back to work on this project 

I had a minor setback using Vallejo Surface Primer (major splatter/orange peel) and had to strip it off.

Moving forward, I now have the two "red" units ready for decals:



The third unit will be in the "tuscan" scheme and is heading to the paint shop next...

  Frank

[Mark5]

Frank,

Did you do any prep on the handrails before painting?

Thanks,

Mark

[amato1969]

@Mark5 yes, I shot the delrin parts with adhesion promoter followed by Tamiya grey primer - both from rattle cans.

But I have yet to find any "bulletproof" solution to get paint to stick to that nasty plastic.  If I were doing only one unit, I may have stepped up and done wire handrails.  But definitely not three 

  Frank

[Santa Fe Guy]

Nice work Frank. Looking forward to seeing the next installment.
Rod.

[amato1969]

The paint shop crew has sprayed the base coat of tuscan on the 302:



There are so many shades/variations of "tuscan" seen in photos; anything from fresh/boxcar red to nasty chalked/faded purple.  I went with Modelflex Light Tuscan, and plan to weather it thoroughly for contrast with the newer red schemes.

  Frank

[Mark5]

Thanks Frank, having fun watching this, one of these days will get rolling on my N&W Geeps 

[amato1969]

I found some time today to push this project forward.  After removing the trucks and tweaking the fuel tanks to fit the Life-Like chassis, I laid down a base coat of Tamiya Nato Black.  This is really a dark gray that will be a good foundation for weathering; obligatory crappy iphone grab:



I did, however, have a setback, batting 0-for-3 wiring up DZ123s.  Granted, they had been sitting in the stash for a long time, but I couldn't get the programming track to recognize them.  I even took the motors back out of the frames and clipped the black/red wires to the track.

Looks like it's time to reach out to Digitrax, but worst case I'll bounce them to NCE with a few $$$ for an exchange.

  Frank

[peteski]

Doesn't Digitrax offer similar repair/exchange service where you send the broken decoder and something like $18 and you get a new replacement?

DZ123 are rather old decoders.  They don't have all the bells and whistles of  the DZ125s or DZ126s.

[amato1969]

@peteski, I'll check the Digitrax website.  I have used the NCE exchange previously - $10 per decoder/no questions asked.

  Frank

[peteski]

@peteski, I'll check the Digitrax website.  I have used the NCE exchange previously - $10 per decoder/no questions asked.

  Frank

I just checked the website and I found http://www.digitrax.com/support/returns/ but the language is a bit confusing. They for example state Some Digitrax products are no longer repairable due to unavailability of repair parts. Unrepairable items will be returned to you at no charge with no repairs made.

But I recall last year I asked them if they would repair some DZ121s I had and they told me that those cannot be repaired (too old) but if I send them in, they would send me replacements (more current decoders) for something like $18 each.  There is a link on that page to contact their tech support. That is probably the best thing to do in your case to see what they tell you.

Or, if you don't mind NCE decoders, that sounds even easier.