Undec KATO AC4400. Removed the GPS dome and filled the hole left in the cab roof. Slight modification to the front nose, Sunrise Etched Sinclair Antenna, hand bent grabs, cab shades, MU cable, etc. Floquil paint & Microscale decals. Did not cut a window in the front door as it would have been a real pain. (SP's had windows in the nose door, the version that KATO made does not). Brian
Nice job! You would think that may Microscale would include a black or dark silver decal to represent the cab door window. They're sure to make one now...just like Atlas made a B30 after I kitbashed a pair of Kato C30-7 shells! ~Tim
Looks great Brian! 2 more, and about 40 or so Holly Sugar beet gons and you'll have a righteous beet train for the SoCal beet campaign! PS - thanks for doing this for the rest of us who are waiting for Kato to release it!
Brian, Now you could replicate this scene not ever likely to be duplicated again: Get this, I took this shot in October 2004!!!
an AC in Katy would be neat if they had survived......... oh well, such is life....... , but hopefully they'll start kicking out some KCS in the near future!! [ 21. January 2005, 17:40: Message edited by: beast5420 ]
Brian - You've inspired me to do one. I ordered an undec yesterday (with the SD70M money that I suddenly have due to not buying the Athearn preorders ) I heard that taking the shell apart is a bugger - so I may be asking for help later once I start ....
Yeah, the shell, windows, and porch mounted ditchlights are a pain to dis-assemble. The cab and "inductor" assembly slides forward and is held in place by a small pin on each side of the shell behind the cab, (don't slide it too hard or go too far as I broke one of the pins on mine). You then have to pry each pin away from the body. The handrails contribute to the hassle of it all, getting in the way as you take the cab assembly off the shell. Be extra careful when taking out the windows as they are easy to break. The ditchlight assembly then just kinda falls out. Reassembly can be a pain if you can't remember where everything goes, or the sequence that it goes. I waited for the decals, and I forgot how to reassemble. The correct decals are on order at three hobby shops in my area. I ended up using the SP Dash-9 set that seemed to work fine, but I am holding off on the dull coat until I have the AC4400 set as I may want to add the warning decals, etc. I am satisfied with this project, and I think I may do another! Brian [ 23. January 2005, 04:23: Message edited by: brian ]
I shot two unpatched SP AC4400CW's in Bakersfield last week - #100 and #156. Apart from yellow air conditioners, they looked just like God intended! It was a most excellent surprise
