Weekend Update 5/7/23

[SAH]

Nothin' puny about it!    Those look really nice, including the track, ballasting & weeds...

Excellent work!

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

Thank you Robert.  I must admit your long ago posts have a good bit to do with my going down the "fine wire for handrails and such" path.   Thanks, I suppose.     Trouble is, once you know it can be done, and you discover you can do it, it's hard to go back to the old ways.

Steve Holzheimer

[chuck geiger]

Stump Hill in Las Piedras and some new motive power up front.

[brokemoto]

there isn't enough room between the batten strips to really get in and sand well. I used Tamiya putty, and made specialized sanding tools to fit between the batten strips, but I can't really do a good job in there.

I have had success in similar situations in the past using sanding sticks.  They look like square pipe cleaners but have sandpaper on them instead of the furry stuff to pick up tar and tobacco.  They are long but can be cut.  They are small enough to fit inside a common plastic drinking straw.

[peteski]

I have had success in similar situations in the past using sanding sticks.  They look like square pipe cleaners but have sandpaper on them instead of the furry stuff to pick up tar and tobacco.  They are long but can be cut.  They are small enough to fit inside a common plastic drinking straw.

I make my own tiny sanding pads to fit the specific job.  I take some sheet styrene 0.030 or 0.040" make a rectangle to fit the sanded area (like in between the ribs of your model), then glue (using CA) some wet/dry sandpaper to one side, then trim the sandpaper to the edges of the styrene rectangle.  Then I can push that "sanding pad" back and forth with my finger over the area to be sanded. I sand wet (just placing a drop of water in the sanded area, and rinsing it off very once in a while.  I make sanding pads of multiple grits. (220, 320, 400 and 600 if needed) using successively finer grit as needed.  If your finger slides on the bare plastic sanding pad, glue sandpaper on both sides of it.

[Olivani]

If your finger slides on the bare plastic sanding pad, glue sandpaper on both sides of it.

I use double sided tape, the one with the foam core so the finger doesn't slides. Will try sandpaper the next time.

Oliver

[trainforfun]

I also weathered up my second set of Milwaukee Road FP7's for my Morning Hiawatha.  Yes, I know the B unit is an F7 not an FP7.....

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Very nice , always tought an FP7b did not exist

[Van Horne]

There were no FP7 B units. All B units were F7s. Same with FP9s. At least in Canada.

David

[altohorn25]

Very nice , always tought an FP7b did not exist

That's what I intended to say in my original post.  There were no FP7B's.  The B units in these three unit sets were F7B's.

Sorry if I wasn't clear and made it sound like I didn't know what I was talking about....... 

Nate

[nickelplate759]

Good thought.  Those were designed for Kato E8s, but might fit.  I was trying to keep this cheap and simple and not add detail parts, but that doesn't seem to be working out.

Turns out I had a set of the KV Models blanking panels in my parts box.   Unfortunately, the panel spacing on the Life-Like model is not an exact match.  It appears that I would need to file the panels a tiny bit shorter (length - height is OK) to get them to fit.   So not as easy a fix as I'd like, but easier than fixing the putty job...

[wm3798]

It's not the shrinking that's the problem - it's the lack of space to sand.  I filled the hole with the original window glazing, applied at least 3 coats of putty (sanding in between) and it's still not good.  Phooey.

Maybe trim out the entire rectangle between the battens, and put a smooth stick of styrene in.  Some time consuming and precise whittling to be sure, but the result should be much more uniform.  Odds are that's how the prototypes were patched...

Lee

[craigolio1]

Headlights installed.

4 lenses.  And a cover glass- like the prototype.






As a comparison, here is the three bulb configuration.

 

Awesome!!!  It’s so symmetrical. Well done.

Craig

[trainforfun]

That's what I intended to say in my original post.  There were no FP7B's.  The B units in these three unit sets were F7B's.

Sorry if I wasn't clear and made it sound like I didn't know what I was talking about....... 

Nate

Never tought that you didn't know what you are talking about , just tought I  had learned something new about a B unit ,maybe a special run for Milwaukee Road !

[Van Horne]

That's what I intended to say in my original post.  There were no FP7B's.  The B units in these three unit sets were F7B's.

Sorry if I wasn't clear and made it sound like I didn't know what I was talking about....... 

Nate

I kind of gathered that is what you meant to say, but thought it would be good to clarify it. I am, by no means, a motive power expert, but the FP7 and FP9 are the one locomotive I do know quite well!

David

[nickelplate759]

A little late - here's Amtrak coach 4827 (ex Santa Fe 2835) as it appeared in 1975



A little blurry because of my photo skills.
It's a Con-Cor coach, skirts removed.  Painted with Tru-Color silver, (Tru-Color light tan interior) decals stripes & arrow from Fusion Scale Graphics, car numbers and Amtrak logo from Microscale.  I kept the stock underframe, even though the details are all wrong for this car.

My first time with Fusion Scale decals.  They appear to be digitally printed, nice and opaque.  The blank film is thin and very flexible, but the ink is noticeably stiffer than (for example) Microscale decals.   Still with a little adjustment to technique I'm very happy with the results.

Here's the inspiration:

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Maybe trim out the entire rectangle between the battens, and put a smooth stick of styrene in.  Some time consuming and precise whittling to be sure, but the result should be much more uniform.  Odds are that's how the prototypes were patched...

Lee

They just used plywood.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127078465@N06/49973676508/