Weekend Update 11/12/17

[Spades]

Mark the person flying the Beaver did an excellent job of landing on the the short contaminated runway located behind the station. Lame a$$ humor aside great modelling.

[Everon Railways]

I'd be interested in at least 2.       Is there a commercial made version?
 Joe D

When I complete my little fleet there, I'll make a batch to sell. I wouldn't mind seeing more N scale Dunmores running on layouts far and wide. Something very satisfying about about bringing a model into existence that isn't manufactured.

[Everon Railways]

@Everon Railways  - being a caboose guy I gotta say this look great.

Thank you Philip, I appreciate the feedback.

[Everon Railways]

Looks great!  One less model kit for me to develop. 

You could still develop one, I'd buy a few!

[mark dance]

Mark the person flying the Beaver did an excellent job of landing on the the short contaminated runway located behind the station. Lame a$$ humor aside great modelling.

That made me laugh! Lame or not...

Thx!

Md

[Everon Railways]

That's some fantastic looking cabooses, Don.  I'm looking forward to seeing some painted.

I'm curious why you designed the floor to be so thick.  Is it doubling as a weight?

Thanks Aaron. The floor is so thick because of Shapeways FUD being prone to warping. I originally made it 2 mm thick, but got tired of wrestling with the warping. That was also at the time the under frame was designed in one piece. The warping was reeking havoc on coupler height. The under frame is now cast as three separate pieces,because of difficultly casting it as one piece.

[learmoia]

Tinkering with a proof-of-concept:




Conrail SD60I. Body is the standard Atlas SD60M with a Kato SD80MAC cab grafted in place.

It fits well enough to finish the project. Conrail was the only buyer of this engine. Like other "I" series, the cab is isolated from the rest of the body to absorb vibration. The main differences between the "I" and "M" is the cab door on the engineer's side and the gasket along the nose. Conrail split the SD60 order about evenly with 75 being the "M" version and 80 being the "I". This pales in comparison to the 240 odd C40-8Ws in the fleet.

Just as Atlas announces the SD60E.. Rule of Modeling tells you whats coming next..   (don't forget the stanchions next to the cab..)

[chessie system fan]

Thanks Aaron. The floor is so thick because of Shapeways FUD being prone to warping. I originally made it 2 mm thick, but got tired of wrestling with the warping. That was also at the time the under frame was designed in one piece. The warping was reeking havoc on coupler height. The under frame is now cast as three separate pieces,because of difficultly casting it as one piece.

Makes sense.  I've been planning on building some B&O I-5 wooden cabs at some point similar to what you're doing.  I haven't thought about warping though.   I've done 2d drawings but not 3d drawings yet.

[SandyEggoJake]

So this week, while research an arcane Mexican Mogul that briefly rode the SD&A for less than a year in 1919, my 6 year old marches into my office and declares ...

I'm bored.  Let's build something!!!


Before I could ask what, he darts straight to a dusty corner that has my stock of swap meet fodder, dove in and pulles out a long forgotten HO Leigh Model Products Boxcar kit...part of a mix lot box I bought at an estate sale.   Immediately, I too was six again.  Recalling times doing kits with my late father some 45 years ago.  Kites of this type were old back then too.  Introduced in the 30's & 40's, these were the kind he built when HE was a kid. 

So with a big Veterans Day thank you salute to my Dad (and the rest you who served), and as a way to connect him with a grandfather he never got to know, our plan was made.



Paper shake box!  Wood!  Cast metal parts!  Pressed paper sides!  Zero plastic!



Kid safe glue & paint!  No solvents or spray gun. 



Parts I can see!  (OK, so we did go a bit nuts.... blacken the wheels for a bit of fun with chemistry ... sharpied the paperboard edge ... crazy on the extra stirrups and custom brake linkages not in the kit.)



Not bad for old school.  Needs some custom lettering on the end, some weathering powder, a shot of dullcote and a place on the shelf. 

Thank you, Dad.  Out of pocket cost?  $0.  Lifetime value?  Priceless!


BTW, I am very happy to STILL be in N scale! 

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I remember being that excited to build a kit.

It's a bit amazing to think that it took some 80 YEARS for that to finally get built!

[tehachapifan]

Very cool, SandyEggoJake!

[chessie system fan]

I too have been working on a kit today and the past few days.  It's been fun, though not nearly as much fun as Jake's.   



This is a Robert Ray NYC caboose kit I'm building for @Joetrain59.  I've never built a wood craftsman kit before but overall it's been okay.  I've had to kind of feel my way through it as the directions with the small, grainy b&w pictures hasn't been very helpful.  In some ways it's cleverly designed and in other ways almost deliberately obtuse.  Five very tiny parts to make a brake cylinder? Five even smaller parts to make an AB valve?  Forget that.  I'll just steal some from a junk freight car.     In the end , I think Don's way is better.  Make a perfect master and make lots of resin copies.  That's much less work.

I just need to install the windows and then it's time to paint it.  Then add the roof details.

[Joetrain59]

Wow Aaron, looking very good.  You must be much younger than my near 60 years, to handle, and SEE those little parts.
 Thank you,
 Joe D

[SandyEggoJake]

It's a bit amazing to think that it took some 80 YEARS for that to finally get built!

Well, it wasn't lonely...  This kit was but one of several mixed in a large box... which was briming with N & HO metal cast detail parts and decals. A small slice of a massive trove of an esteemed MMR who has gone on ahead to that great roundhouse in the sky.

[Bendtracker1]

Finally had the knee surgery done on the 8th of Nov.  Today I was actually able to make it downstairs, but very slowly.

After getting a lot of work on the layout over the past summer and fall I wanted to take a break for a bit.  I've been itching to get back to work on my loco roster. I've got a lot to paint and few that need some milling.   So since sitting sounded like a good thing today I pulled out my LifeLike GP18's.

I started these a few years ago, but got side tracked and they got shoved back on the pile.  Not a fan of the LifeLike drives so I thought I'd try stuffing and Atlas GP7/9 DCC ready chassis under these.  So far so good.



Didn't need much milling, just enough to give me a little clearance on top of the chassis, the LL shell seems a bit thicker than an Atlas.  I took a small pass off the top and off the top sides.

 



The most milling needed was on the ends, just took enough off the angled sections to fit the LL shell.



All done, just needs the tanks snapped on, some details added, some touch up and weathering.



I've got two more GP18's to modify.