Conrail Ballast Express C32-8 kitbash Project

[u18b]

Although I haven't personally looked at or evaluated what ST uses, I'm gonna guess it's more akin to Canopy Cement.  CA doesn't stick very well to engineering plastics, whereas Canopy Cement sticks to just about everything.  Sooo...soaking for a while in an IPA bath (or warm slightly soapy water) might be worth a try on future projects to see if that eases small parts removal.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

Thanks.
Whatever it is it appears pretty thin.

Worth trying different things.

[u18b]

Finished the first bath in 90% isopropyl alcohol (IPA).
Results were mixed.

First, the paint came off fine.    I'll soak some more in fresh IPA to get the residual off.



Bob was partially correct about the glue.   Thankfully, the windows fell right out.   I was dreading them being CA'ed because either the window gets damaged or the window frame or both.   That was good news.

However, I think ST did use a thin superglue because in spite of a long soak of a few hours AND that the windows fell out....
The handrail remnants are still just as fixed in place as ever.    The IPA did not dissolve that glue at all, nor did it dissolve the glue holding the exhaust stack pieces.
So it's looking like you will need to destroy your handrails if you plan on doing one of these kitbashes.

In this photo, here are the broken handrail pins.   I still can't get them out.




One more note....
Probably best to do the cab FIRST and by itself.    I did all shell pieces together.   And finding all of the window pieces in all of the paint debris was a chore.    In fact, I've lost one of the small windows (I'll replace it with clear acetate when the model is finished).

This is what it looks like trying to find the windows.   I carefully poured of the IPA and then poured the last little bit into a wax paper plate.



Here is a closer shot showing some of the pieces..... but my eyes needed cheaters and an optivisor to find some small windows.

[u18b]

Also discovered by removing the paint that the radiator grills are etched metal.



Previously, I honestly thought they were plastic like the handrails.

They did not easily come out like the grabirons.

I'll see what another fresh IPA bath does.

[u18b]

Decision making time.
Almost time to cut.

This is what we want to make.  We're interested in that area under the horn.  There are two roof hatches.  Under each hatch are three doors.
So two hatches and six doors.




But this is our starting point.  A C39-8.    There are two roof hatches, but they are over four doors each.
So two doors have to go.




The easiest procedure would be to make two cuts.   Just cut out the two middle doors and splice back together.   The splice would become the line between the two roof hatches.
The cuts would follow the lines of the doors on the side.




This would be the end result.   The advantage is that I could keep everything straighter with two cuts and one splice (each splice introduces potential error).
The disadvantage is that the door latches don't look right.    This is not a big deal, but rivet counters would notice.   I would probably also add little hinges at the splice.   Further, the hinges on the roof hatches would be wrong and would need to be corrected.




So the second option would be to make 4 cuts.   
Starting on the left of the photo....
Cut one follows the line in the hatch on the roof.   
Cut two follows the lines of the door.
Cut three follows the gap in the two roof hatches
and cut four follows the lines in the door.





The advantage is that the doors and latches would look correct.
The disadvantage is that with 4 cuts, if each one is not perfectly true, then a slight curve in the shell could be introduced.




However, there's a third option that requires the work of someone else.
Someone could 3D draw just the middle section with all 6 doors, two roof hatches, and all the hinges where they need to be.
Once it's printed, I would only make two cuts at the ends, and then splice this new printed piece in places.



Just out of curiosity, would anyone like to contribute to the project?

Once the master is completed, I think the plan may be to send it to Daniel and get castings made.
Then more than one or two people could have one.   

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I contacted Scale Trains about purchasing a C39-8 shell. Unfortunately, they are sold out.

[u18b]

I contacted Scale Trains about purchasing a C39-8 shell. Unfortunately, they are sold out.

Wow.   That’s amazing.   I wonder if I obtained the only one.
Yikes.

[u18b]

Well, I destroyed the etched radiator grills.
The pins were CA'ed and even though I filed down the pins on the inside, they were still really stuck in there.

At any rate, I'm on a pause.

Placed an order with Atlas.  I'm getting

--Top Radiator grill pieces from all of the following:  B32-8, C40-8, B40-8.  The goal is to replace the Scale Trains radiators with Atlas radiators.   (if I was not sharing this for casting, I would not be doing this).   If this works in the end.... you Conrail guys will really owe me  ( )
 
--a B32-8 body shell.   It might be a long shot, but before I cut, I thought I should at least compare.  Since the B32-8 already has the correct 6-door configuration and roof hatches, I thought I would see if it can be used.   It will be interesting to see how that Atlas section scales out as compared to the Scale Trains section.     It would be REALLY great if it was usable.   Of course, I'm expecting the door latches to not exactly match, but if they are close enough, that will be even better.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Well, I destroyed the etched radiator grills.
The pins were CA'ed and even though I filed down the pins on the inside, they were still really stuck in there.

At any rate, I'm on a pause.

Placed an order with Atlas.  I'm getting

--Top Radiator grill pieces from all of the following:  B32-8, C40-8, B40-8.  The goal is to replace the Scale Trains radiators with Atlas radiators.   (if I was not sharing this for casting, I would not be doing this).   If this works in the end.... you Conrail guys will really owe me  ( )
 
--a B32-8 body shell.   It might be a long shot, but before I cut, I thought I should at least compare.  Since the B32-8 already has the correct 6-door configuration and roof hatches, I thought I would see if it can be used.   It will be interesting to see how that Atlas section scales out as compared to the Scale Trains section.     It would be REALLY great if it was usable.   Of course, I'm expecting the door latches to not exactly match, but if they are close enough, that will be even better.

Dumb question, but couldn't the B23-7 engine door compartment be used here as well? The roof hatches and door orientation match. If the hood contour does not match the C39-8 bump out area under the stack, that entire section (engine compartment doors back until the radiator flare) could be swapped. This would bring the hood down to two splices: C39 dynamic brake hump forward, B23 engine doors and exhaust, and C39 radiator back.

I have plenty of C40-8 radiators and B23-7 hoods if you need them.

[u18b]

Dumb question, but couldn't the B23-7 engine door compartment be used here as well? The roof hatches and door orientation match. If the hood contour does not match the C39-8 bump out area under the stack, that entire section (engine compartment doors back until the radiator flare) could be swapped. This would bring the hood down to two splices: C39 dynamic brake hump forward, B23 engine doors and exhaust, and C39 radiator back.

I have plenty of C40-8 radiators and B23-7 hoods if you need them.

Good call.
It's possible.

I'll dig one out and does some measuring and checking.
I work weekends, so I'll get to it when I can.   

On the radiator.... thx.   But I already placed the Atlas order.   And they weren't very expensive.

[kiwi_al]

Too late for this time but Acetone loosens AC Glue. One drop one the underside pin and leave for a few minutes (warning leave it too long and it will eat into the plastic) 

[Ike the BN Freak]

B32-8?!?! who does that? Not that I need a BN one, being they were all returned to GE by my era, but would be a cool unit to have.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

B32-8?!?! who does that? Not that I need a BN one, being they were all returned to GE by my era, but would be a cool unit to have.

It's the B32-8WH, the Amtrak "Pepsi" engine.

[Ike the BN Freak]

It's the B32-8WH, the Amtrak "Pepsi" engine.

Ah, got one of those, never honestly paid that much attention to see if the hood was that different from the B39/40 shells

[u18b]

Well, sometimes you feel like a dummy.   You don’t notice details right in front of you.

I have not received the Atlas order yet, but I discovered the the B32-8W shell will not work.
And the reason is the door handle location.   The number of doors is correct, but not the latches.

The C32-8 we want to make has latches that are centrally located on the doors.



However, the B32 has the latches at the top and bottom of the doors.  So that shell is out.



By the way, the same is true of the U23B.   It is out as well.




So that leaves the B23-7 shell.
The 6 doors are correct and the latches are correctly centered on the doors.
However, the mold-presentation is a bit different between ST and Atlas.

Here is a close shot of the latches Atlas has.


And here are the latches on the Scale Trains shell.



The Scale Trains latches (and door hinges) are a bit bigger.   Also, with a macro look, the ST latch is like a letter C, while the Atlas latch looks like an upside-down T.

At this point, I've decided not to make this decision based on the latches.  Once painted, you will be able to notice a difference with good photographs, but you cannot tell using the three foot rule on your layout.   A better deciding factor will be overal dimensions of the section.... and whether I want to make two cuts or four as described above (I'd rather make 2).

I did some preliminary measuring, and the ST C39 section is 11.81mm wide.
The Atlas B23 shell is 11.96mm wide   for a difference of  0.15mm  - which if I did the math correct, is about 6 mil. 
Which is a good bit.

However, I still need to measure the width of the adjoining sections on the ST shell.   Because what we want is the "stepped" look where the body goes inward on the section we are working on.

Also, I need to measure the height.

[u18b]

I did some measuring and I think the B23-7 body shell will work.

I'll need to buy another.  The shell I had on hand was to a BQ23-7 kitbash and I don't want to use that one.