Well, I finally received my Alco shell today. I must say it looked better than I thought it would. In fact it does capture the flavor of Alco very well. After a cursory examination I preceded to clean it. I took a firm toothbrush and with a small amount of comet cleanser scrubbed every nook and cranny, finally I rinsed the shell in warm water and let it air dry. Now for the real work of routing the inside so it will fit more snuggly on the GP-35 drive. Deciding what road to paint it for will be hard as I have several choices. Overall this is a fascinating step forward for Z scale. Folks can you imagine where this technology will be in five years or less? I WOULD DEFINITELY LIKE TO COMMEND JIM OF SEARAILS FOR BRINGING THIS SHELL TO US. HELL OF A JOB BUD-D-D-D.
Harold, Well said. Why can't this process be done for steamer shells? Things like stacks and bells can be add ons. Cheers, Jim CCRRR
The problem with steamer shells is that they would not be heavy enough. The Marklin shells are even too light. The stacks would not be an issue for RP, but taking weight away from a Marklin loc would only make them poor pullers. Might be pretty, though. Dan S.
ALCO HANDRAILS AND SUPPORT PINS Mr. Grady, Thank you for your kind remarks, and for futher instruction for shell cleaning. Our future plans will not include the interior "bolsters". These were only to achieve "lift" and "clearance" to allow firm fit and air circulation. Instead, at each end, a shell will have pins extending from the overhead within the interior. The modeler will find these much easier to remove or cut to size. Attached is the preview of the handrails we plan to etch soon. This has been seen by a few of the ALCO clients. Each has suggested another configuration, We need to finish these, so we would like all clients of the ALCO to comment. Hopefully this message will eliminate the need to start a new thread. Jim
ok, here are some further notes on cleaning. i thought i had cleaned up my shell (the S2 switcher this time) and put a coat of PollyS acrylic on it. not so good. as the paint dried cracks appeared on the surface and the paint crumbled/scraped off easily. still "waxy" underneath. at least clean your shell with 70% (isopropal) alcohol. maybe with one of those little "between the teeth cleaning brushes" that i saw at walmart. i think i'm going to really try to find some this heptane. believe it boys and girls, if you want a good finish really get the wax off! dave f.
Here now a long out of production Baldwin RF-16 A & B unit in PRR colors for Joseph Orach. Super detailing is limited to the PRR-typical antennas and the horn
another fluid that works with RP shells is lighter fluid, the type used in zippo lighters, it cleans the wax and left over cleaner from Shapeways FUD with out needing to brush rub or scrape, I pour a bit into an old 35mm film can or a pill can from a dispensing pharmacist, pop the lid on shake a bit and let sit for awhile and shake again and let sit then open the can and the lid will pop a bit then lift out your piece and let drain on newspaper. You are left with a clean snowy white surface., let dry over night as the fluid left on the surface just evaporates. The fluid is petroleum distillates It is odorless but it is flammable so if your a smoker be aware it burns easily but not explosively. I find the surface, after a couple of hours to dry, that takes acrylic paint and testors enamel without a problem. For a really smooth surface I start with a automotive grey primer and them use a fine sandpaper on a Popsicle stick for go over surface and then respray and do it again. then add your final colour or colours.
