Weekend Update 11/8/15

[up1950s]

[skytop35]

Kit-bashed CB&Q Silver Bluff (Vista Dome coach with crew room) for Twin Cities Zephyr Service. I now have the complete original 7 car train.

[Iain]

That's a Lima, all right, and pre-merger (Baldwin dropped the entire line right away on merger).  I recognized it right away.

[Santa Fe Guy]

Hi Bill (grandpa) great work as usual.
Rod.

[jmlaboda - RIP]

That model of Silver Bluff is sharp!!!

[eric220]

I thought I had finished the helix



Then @davefoxx pointed out some anomalies that require some maintenance. Something to do for next week.

[Iain]

Working on my pair of Piedmont and Northern C420s.  Started off by modifying the tanks:



I've also been working on a 1:1250th scale model of an Austro-Hungarian Huszar class destroyer:

[Catt]

My Grande Valley Railway Z scale Breast Cancer awareness loco (done for the times being) and one of my Z scale float planes painted by a younger friend with steady hands and much better eyesight. 

[robert3985]

Did a foob SP 2-10-2 3600 class F-1 for my train buddy Nate Goodman (Nato) out of a Con Cor USRA 2-10-2 attaching a long Vandy tender to it, taking out the coal load and inserting an oil bunker cut from a scrap tender in my extra parts box.  Also substituted Athearn Big Boy round marker lamps in place of the cylindrical ones the model came with, moved the bell from the smokebox face (and filled the hole)...to midway between the front and middle dome up top the boiler.  Also removed, replaced and repositioned the whistle on the left side of the middle steam dome (with a brass casting in the vertical position salvaged from my old Atlas 2-8-8-2), then removed the plastic windows from the cab, applied Details West plastic armrests to the rear of the of window and made brass awnings angled down from the top of the cab windows.  Then took a .025" brass rod, faced off one end and sharpened the other and press-fit it into a .022" hole on the front/engineer's side of the new oil bunker to represent a vent.  Also repositioned the aftermarket numberboards Nate had glued on the sides of the smokebox, filled and sanded the old holes and drilled new, precisely located holes after looking as a LOT of photos of SP F-1 2-10-2's, and mounted the new numberboards in a more "SP-ish" location.

Repainted with Polly Scale Engine Black for the tender, pilot, cab and boiler, Polly Scale UP Dark Gray for the sides of the smokebox, Polly Scale Santa Fe Silver for the smokebox face and firebox, then rattle-can sprayed Testors Semi-Gloss on the Engine Black parts.  Used Microscale decals with post-1947 big "Southern Pacific" on the long Vandy tender, and after they dried, sprayed with the semi-gloss again.  After that dried, used Polly Scale Steam Power Black, Grimy Black and Railroad Tie Brown to weather  it up a bit.

It's running at the Salt Lake City NMRA Show as I'm writing this, pulling the first section of the daily mail train from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City (#1-22) on the Wasatch N-Scaler's club modular layout.

Although the model is a foob, it still looks very "SP-ish"...which was the goal.

Had to get it to Nate yesterday because today was the first day of the show, so I didn't get photos, but I'll take some ASAP and post them here just for giggles.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[PiperguyUMD]

I have a bench full of detailed and primed models, a brand new box of TruColor paints, and 95%+ humidity for the foreseeable future 

[arbomambo]

just a bout 'done' with the depot (perhaps a tiny bit of touch-up paint needed here and there)...all that's left for the depot scene is to add a baggage cart platform between the rails and track.

[bnsfdash8]

I didn't get a whole lot done but did some more detailing to my C39-8.




I also blew some money at a show in Wyoming, MI today.

[Mark5]

Look forward to seeing that C39-8 done - I think these were the last N&W locos.

[Kisatchie]

A month or so ago, I found 100 Atlas 50' reefer body shells on eBay for $50. I immediately bought them, and when they finally arrived, there were 106 of them. I bought enough MTL jewel cases and 51' reefer nests, and I ordered 50 MTL 51' reefer underframes. They have the fuel tanks that the Atlas underframes lack, so these cars will be more realistic looking.

I'm currently busy filing down the rough sides of the underframes and cutting off the small plastic nubs on the reefer shells that are supposed to keep the shells on the Atlas underframes. Believe me, the MTL underframes are a tight fit, but by using an X-Acto knife blade, I can spread the shell sides just enough to snap in the underframes.
It's slow going, though... I manage to do about 6 cars a day.

Next month, I'll order 60 more underframes, and with the 4 extra, I'll start converting my complete Atlas 50' reefers. Then there is the matter of getting enough roller bearing trucks w/medium extension couplers for 106 cars. Ouch...

So, that's how I occupy myself these days. Hope I haven't put anyone to sleep...


Zzzzzzzzzz...

[Catt]

I also blew some money at a show in Wyoming, MI today.

Reese, that was my club's show,I had this there today . The only Z in the show.