Interesting that they have altered the dust bin collector... some appear to be the tapered E/F-unit while others appear to be the type used on some GP35s. Wonder how well this works compared to the original dust bin collector? The side grills also appear to stick out further... http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2399497 http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2617337
I'm under the impression that it is an intercooler fan. Unless this is a slang term I'm unsure of where/what you are referring to? I am fine with modelling NS 6900 as I am really not dead set on a roadnumber. 6900 will have the circular IC fan. I continued along with my kitbash, which is going pretty well I must say. I almost finished to brow on the cab. I used more .20 styrene to build the top portion of the brow. I forgot to take a picture of the upper portion before I put filler on it... oops. Basically I just used a 3 pieces to match the level of the existing roof. One long piece and two shorter strips for the sides. Before I put filler on everything, I used a flat file to level the styrene with the roof and the bottom portion of the brow. I plan on letting the filler set over night, as the testors has a tendency to flake if it is not totally dry. Next, I started work on the long hood. I began by cutting the air intake grilles from the body. I cut at an inward angle as I worked to keep the cuts tight, and was sure to go slowly so as not to damage the longhood. I did slip once or twice, so some filler will be required down the road. Then, I used .40 styrene to model the extensions for the intake. They are stll a bit rough, so some filing will be done to even out and clean up the edges. Lastly, I began on the intercooler fan. I was corrected earlier on the terminology. The intercooler fan will go on the intake blister. The dynamic brake blister already has an existing fan. I used .80 drill bit to drill holes in a tight circle. Then I used my exacto to cut a small circle. Finally, I used a cicular file to open the hole up. I was sure to work the hole at an angle so that the fan could drop in seamlessly. As mentioned earlier, I picked up a cheap Microtrains shell to donate the F unit fan. I then cut the corners from the donor fan area, and carefully filed away the plastic down to the edges of the fan grille. I then filed at an inward angle to allow the fan to drop into the hole in the blister. Here is a picture with the cab on the long hood. Before I can begin adding details and paint the shell, I will attempt to file the cab door a bit more so it isn's so bulky. I will also have to trim the corners from the windshield glass and file it to fit the new dimensions of the windshield frame. I will also have to wait for the parts from Atlas to complete the brow area.
I must say you are one brave man for attempting a SD60E build in N scale, but it looks like you've got some great progress so far. Do you think you will add ditch lights?
Yeah I was a bit nervous, but its turning out ok. Atlas shells are pretty cheap so I figured why not. Yes, I do plan on it. I installed some on an SD40-2 High Nose so I think it would be good to add them here. Although, I think I am going to to the route of grafting some Kato ones from an SD70M deck to save a bit of money and effort.
Brave indeed, event if the SD60E is the ugliest EMD I've ever seen. Great progress anyway, excited to see the finished product.
Hey, hey whats with all the hate towards the SD60E's cab? I must say the SD70ACe has a quite a mug on it as well hahaha. Thanks for all the kind words so far. I spent some time working on the cab again tonight. I used 1000 grit sandpaper to wetsand away the filler. I also filed away some more material from the intake extensions. I also had to work on the styrene strips I added to the inside of the front of the nose as the .40 styrene interfered with the fitment to the body. Here is a pic of the shell assembled. I put more filler down to fill in some microscopic gaps in the seam on the cab roof. I also laid a bead on the sides of the cab where the nose meets the windshield pillars. I think once everything is ready, I'm going to spray a light layer of primer on the whole thing just to double check for imperfections. Paint has a wondeful way of bringing the imperfections out into the light. Then I am going to install details and paint the whole thing. Stay tuned.... -Josh
Your build looks excellent so far. I was doing side by side comparison photos of your last one posted of the head on shot vs the 1:1. Are you planning on taking some of that angle out off of the top of the short hood? The 60M's had that steep angle, almost a 45 that jived with the windows, the 60E's are less of an angle if you compare head on shots. One other thing is that notice on the step to cab mounted handrails, one side is straight, the other is curved. Keep up the good work and keep us posted!
More progress I added some filler to the intake extensions as there were some gaps in the grafted grills. I haven't had a chance to clean that up yet so no pics just yet. I then cut some donor pieces off of the donor 3 window cabs. These pieces were from the top of the short hood on the right and left side. I used these pieces to take some of the angle out of that partcular area. As mentioned by another member there is a bit of an angle difference between the top left and right sides of the SD60M short hood and the SD60E. Furthermore, the angle starts further to the outside of the shorthood, rather than being centered in the middle of the windshield panels. I used 1mm strips of .20 styrene to change the angle of the areas in question. Here is a shot of the left side in progress. I repeated the process on the opposite side. I was forced to eye-ball it a little bit as I couldn't think of a better method to mirror the sides. I then filed both sides down to try to match them as much as possible. Obviously this is still a rough work-in-progress. I think they match up pretty well but are not perfect. Filler should even things out though. Edit: I really do apologize for the blurry pictures. My iPhone doesn't have a macro mode... I will be sure to try to take pics with my DSLR from now on. I would re-take the pics but the cab now has filler waiting to dry. Here's a shot of the 60M and 60E for nose-shot comparisons just to show the angle difference
Looks really good so far! Have you ever modified the cabs on the C44-9's to better match the NS configuration?
The nose looks good now with the angle changed. The headlights are simple to move on Kato's 9-44CW to still be able to keep and reuse the Kato casting along with using some .030" fiber optic tube to make the light shine up to the new location.
Good to hear. However, I will still need to figure out if I want to move the ditchlights or not. The Kato version has them under the anti-climber instead of the porch mounted ones on the NS proto. The other thing is deciding whether not to try to match the paint of the cab with the longhood or if I should just repaint the whole darn thing.
Ah you are talking about the old school Kato's that were actually in NS paint. I bought 2 undec 9-44's that had porch mounted lights and moved the headlight, added all the detail parts and gave them a coat of black. The only thing I did not change per proto was the front and rear handrails
Because more than that is wrong with the cab.I believe Mark4Design has a replacement cab. I am not sure, I got some proper Dash 9's a few years back.
Okay this may be an ultra nooby question, but how exactly do you know which thickness of styrene to use?
Honestly, I just use whatever seems strong enough to hold up to some sort of abuse (filing, a drop to the floor, etc.) I used .40 styrene for the nose blank because its about as thick as the original cab and is less flexible than say .20, etc. I used .20 for the brow because I knew I would eventually need to run fiber optics through it, etc. I use .10 at times because it is the thinnest stuff I have and I don't want to spend a lifetime filing it down, also its easier to beef up a contour line or patch a wide gap. I just use common sense lol.
What else is wrong with the Kato Dash 9 cab? Headlight location and lack of St. Clair's is all I see and both are a quick fix
Although it may not look like it, I have put a lot of work into the cab since the last time I've posted. I laid filler and worked it with a nail file and flat file, and then added more filler and worked it again. I repeated this process a few times, just to get everything as close as I could. I then sprayed the cab down with a light layer of flat black to see if anything ele needed attention. While I was filing the cab, I didnt realize I was slowly eating away at the windshield post. I cut it off and plan on added a fresh one when my spare cabs come from Atlas. Don't mind the spatter on the sides of the cab, I focused the spray on the parts of the cab that have been worked on/potentially need more attention. Comments welcome, as a fresh set of eyes will help me address any major issues. Also, I plan on spraying the whole thing in a gloss black, as this Loco is fresh from the Loco Works. -Josh
