Briggs Models MLW RS-3 Build Thread

[BCR 570]

I have received my replacement short hoods for the RS-3s, thus allowing me to move forward on this project once again.  Jeff moved the rear grab irons to the correct locations, and moved the rear end door to the right.  Here are the new short hoods after printing and priming:




After de-spruing, it is possible to lay them flat and photograph them from an angle which better illustrates the corrections:




With new components in the mix, it was a good idea to test fit them with the existing long hoods and cabs:




The new rear grab irons are either centred on the left rear corner (small ones) or offset to the side (large one).  Here are the short hoods with the new grab irons bent and installed:




These two photographs illustrate the earlier location and the new location of the rear end grab irons:

original short hoods:




replacement short hoods:




So I am now back to where I was on January 15, with all of the grab irons and handholds bent and installed.  I can now move forward with the installation of remaining carbody details.


Tim

[BCR 570]

The short hoods required only two additional detail parts.  The first of these is the brake wheel at the rear end.  I had some etched brake wheels which match the earlier style for 567 and the later style for 570 and 574.  With the rear corner grab irons and rear doors now moved to their correct positions, there is no issue with the location of the brake wheels.  Here they are installed:




The final addition to the short hoods is the Sinclair radio antennas, which are mounted centrally on the long hood.  Curiously they were mounted opposite in direction to other units, and on the roofs of the short hoods rather than the roof of the cabs.  I used Sunrise Enterprises N-3002 for these - here they are after installation:




This completes the preparation of the short hoods, and they now look like this:




Now for the long hoods . . .


Tim

[craigolio1]

They look spectacular Tim. Get those things painted already!!

[BCR 570]

They look spectacular Tim. Get those things painted already!!

Thank you - more assembly work yet ahead of me, but definitely looking forward to seeing them in two tone green. The painting requires considerable research so I have been studying photographs to try and determine the exact colour scheme for these three units; there were lots of variations!

[BCR 570]

Time to return to the long hoods.  The first addition is the exhaust stacks, which are a printed part supplied with the kit.  They glue into a recess on top of the long hood:




The next addition is the bell mount on the top left hand corner of the long hood.  I was not aware of an appropriate part in N Scale so I asked Jeff to print some for me:




The bell mounts come with two mounting pins for which I drilled #80 holes on the roof.  Here are the bells after mounting:




Next up is the screen atop the radiator fan housing.  I had some etched parts for these and lightly tacked them in place for photographs.  They will need to be removed in order to paint the fan blades underneath and then re-attached.  Here they are after initial installation:




This completes the parts installation on the long hoods, which now look like this:




And that completes assembly of the carbodies, which now look like this:






With assembly of the carbodies now complete, I will turn my attention to detailing the Atlas cabs.


Thanks for looking,

Tim

[philippe.whyte]

Precision work as always Tim, they are looking good!

Philippe

[peteski]

The next addition is the bell mount on the top left hand corner of the long hood.  I was not aware of an appropriate part in N Scale so I asked Jeff to print some for me:

That bell looks awfully long and skinny (like it has been on a diet).  Did those bells really look like that?  I have never seen one quite that shape.

[cgw]

how difficult has it been to trim the sprues from the smaller detail parts like the bell assemblies?   They look very fragile.

[BCR 570]

That bell looks awfully long and skinny (like it has been on a diet).  Did those bells really look like that?  I have never seen one quite that shape.

Yes I think there is a little too much height in the bell.  Fortunately, with the 3D process it is a fairly easy fix.

how difficult has it been to trim the sprues from the smaller detail parts like the bell assemblies?   They look very fragile.

I use a pair of sprue cutters from Micro-Mark which helps, but it depends on how well cured the parts are.  If properly cured, fragile parts are easily de-sprued with the proper cutters.  If not properly cured and the resin is too brittle, fragile parts will tend to shatter when cut.  Jeff usually provides a few spares for fragile parts to guard against parts damage, and he has been learning a lot about attachment of parts to sprues and curing.  There is definitely a learning curve with 3D printing and the standards are of course higher if you are printing models for commercial sale.  It has been interesting to be involved in the development of some of Jeff's kits and to learn more about the process.


Tim

[trainforfun]

Great thread Tim !!!!

[craigolio1]

I’ve been very greatfull for Jeff’s spares!  If I can make one recommendation and that is to keep the bell off the model until final assembly. Those legs are super fragile and through the process of assembly, cleaning, masking, decals refitting, etc, it’s very likely to break off as it seems to take only the slightest touch to snap them off, (garaunteed to break if it’s me).

That’s why I changed to brass parts on the S13. I broke all of the resin parts.

Craig.

[jdcolombo]

This is incredible work, Tim.  I'd never have the patience.

I'm assuming these are going to get sound, right????  You can't have these tricked-out, super-duper RS's stay silent!

John C.

[BCR 570]

I’ve been very greatfull for Jeff’s spares!  If I can make one recommendation and that is to keep the bell off the model until final assembly. Those legs are super fragile and through the process of assembly, cleaning, masking, decals refitting, etc, it’s very likely to break off as it seems to take only the slightest touch to snap them off, (garaunteed to break if it’s me).

That’s why I changed to brass parts on the S13. I broke all of the resin parts.

Craig.

Yes I was thinking that.  Jeff is willing to modify the bells for me so these will come of and get replaced at some point in the process.

This is incredible work, Tim.  I'd never have the patience.

I'm assuming these are going to get sound, right????  You can't have these tricked-out, super-duper RS's stay silent!

John C.

Hi John:

Oh yes, they will get sound, following your RS-3 tutorial.  I have already made the lower speaker enclosures as per your instructions, and the LokSound decoders are waiting at Dave's for installation.  I am looking forward to adding some 244-powered engines to the roster!  Dave is a little worried about hte installations but I told him if John can do it . . . . .   

Tim

[BCR 570]

The next phase of this project is complete after detailing the Atlas cabs.

The BLMA wind deflectors with mirror at the bottom are correct for the BCR locomotives.  A review of photographs indicates that 567 and 570 had them on the engineers side only, and 574 had one on the left side.  I clamp them in smooth jaw pliers and bend the mounting pins to the desired angle, and then trim them short so as not to interfere with installation of the window glass.  Here are the wind deflectors installed on the engineers side at various angles:




The cab sunshades came from a custom fret and required folding at an angle.  The frets were stainless steel which is more difficult to fold than brass.  Fellow RW member Philippe loaned me a neat little photo etch bending tool which made this task fairly straightforward.   Again, the mounting pins were trimmed short to avoid interference with the cab window glass.  Their addition really changes the look of the cabs:




The small window wipers for the windows in the doors came from the same custom fret.  The larger wipers for the end windows are from the BLMA packet of window wipers.  The top end windows above the carbody did not have wipers.  This photo shows the wipers installed and also shows the angle of the cab sunshades:




The BCR RS-3s had a bewildering array of horns through their careers.  In the 1970s they had K3 three chime airhorns, but even these were different as some had three horns facing forward, some had the left horn reversed, and others the right horn reversed.  Reference photographs are essential for correct horn selection.  Fortunately Miniatures By Eric offers the correct horns, and fortunately my local hobby shop Central Hobbies had them in stock.  567 and 574  had the left horn reversed (Eric NH6) and 570 had three horns facing forward (NH12).  The NH6 horns are mounted on brackets with mounting pins which are suitable for mounting into the front of the RS-3 cabs; the NH12 is on a vertical post and requires a bracket for installation on an RS-3 cab.  I used an NB11 bell mount and removed the bell, then drilled a hole through the bracket to accept the post for the horn.  Here are the horns after mounting:




This completes the addition of parts to the cabs.  Here is an upright view of them after completion:




With the cabs detailed, the carbody/cab assemblies are now essentially done.  Time to combine the parts and enjoy seeing what they look like assembled together:






I am pleased to have reached this stage.  There are a few remaining tasks to undertake before final assembly, which I will detail in a future post.


Thanks for looking,

Tim

[MK]

Two words: just wow!