I got to tinkering around with one of my F40phs and I was wondering How can I improve it? Since the Kato one is hard to find at a good price. Maybe I could do something with the LL locomotive. Now one rule, DCC is not an option. I can't afford to update my fleet to DCC yet. The biggest problem I have had with LL locomotives is the darn drive springs, If you have you train running and something jams the gears in the trucks, its going to mess the spring up(its happened to me 3 times!). I have one F40 that I replaced the drive springs with u-joint shafts taken out of an old Bachmann B-23. I also was thinking of just putting the shell on another chassis. Maybe a Atlas GP40?. I thought maybe with that I can modify the sills and use the pilot to give it a nicer look. Any other ideas? Vince
Vince, I don't have a lot of experience with the kinds of projects you are talking about, but you can get Kato F40s off ebay usually (probably about the same price you would pay for an Atlas GP-40). Also, I'm sure that Kato will rerun them eventually if you want a brand new unit (s). Chris
I believe N Scale magazine had an article on this quite a few years ago. I thought it involved a Kato GP38-2 though. maybe a newer LL gp38-2 would work? dave t
The Life Like shell is moderate because of: a) fan tops look bad -- but BLMA cures that easily. b) open pilot-- but styrene can fill that c) windows not flush-- oh well. d) fuel tank 2d instead of 3d. I made a 3D white metal casting of a fuel tak/battery boxes/air tanks for BLW that they sold for a few years that greatly enhanced the appearance of this model. I doubt you could find one now. You could kitbash them though. As for a GP38-8 Kato Chassis, I would never recommend that. It is an outdated chassis that will go bad on you when it goes out of alignment. By the way, in case folks didn't know. The Kato F40PH shell is a phase 3 shell, and the Life Like shell is a phase 1.
You could remove the pilot and make it body-mounted, as well as the front & rear coupler (rear could go under that rear deck). Are you using MT's? As for that chassis, I'd think you could use a GP chassis and Walthers had some Proto GP18's for like $30, there's some on Ebay now for under $30!! That's one of the finest affordable drive mechanisms I have seen. You could sell the GP shell and the F40 chassis to make some $ back too. Perhaps you could use some LED's and resistors to add a white headlight/red backup light to it, which prototypically I think is in the nose light? Correct me guys.... and you won't need anything but a red LED if you use a newer split-frame chassis because it comes with 2 light boards already. Just remount/solder both of the boards up front. Should be plenty of room in that chassis but you may need to cut the frame down for the stepdown in the cab area.
That sounds like a good idea. I may try that. I did test fit my f40 shell on my Atlas GP38. While it will fit, Its a tad bit wide and the truck won't swivel freely, the steps to the cab door are in the way. One note, I compared trucks, the LL trucks have a longer wheel base then the Atlas GP40, looks Like Life like missed that detail. Vince
I have thought about doing that too. One thing to to consider when you do it. If you plan on running it at the end of a train, make it a dummy. that way you won't have it pushing the end of the train causing derailments. Vince BTW Alex, I looked at you photo album, I love the Aussie locomotive. I wish I had some on my layout.
Here are a few Life-Like F40 projects: MPI F40PH-2c the phase is incorrect for the MPI version, which is a lenthened phase III. MPI built about a dozen after EMD retired the longer model. MPI ended up rebuilding the EMD models in the late 1990's. The model was built using three shells and features correct doors/access panels. The model is mounted to an Atlas B40-8 chassis. I need to update these pictures. The unit is basically done now.
Replace the Life Like motor with a Kato GM-5 motor and replace the spring drive shafts with a set of ball and socket universal drive shafts. I just used RTV or Silicone to mount the new motor in the chassis. Add some weight with some lead and there you go.............
LL Upgrades.... Before the Kato's were available: LL Shells Atlas GP40-2 Chassies (with Decoders) A-1 Fan Grills Atlas GP9 Tanks and Scratchbuilt Equipment Boxes Sunrise Plows MV Lenses Gold Medal Wiper Blades, Mirrors and Stirrups Miniatures by Eric Horns Floquil Paint Microscale Decals Micro Krystal Klear Windows and MT 1015s ..and I still think they look better than the Kato's.
Doofus, Replace the motor? What in the world for? The Life Like F40PH has a powerful 5-pole skew wound motor that is wonderful. The problem with the loco is the trucks. HIGH HIGH friction and poor electrical pick up.
Well heck, I wonder if you could use a Bachmann dual-flywheel skew wound Spectrum motor? I have one in a box and I think I'd like to give this loco a shot..... of course it'll be a fantasy NP paintjob
Actually, a Life Like E8/E7 with the old plastic frame uses the same motor and has big old flywheels. And you can sometimes pick up an old E8 really cheap- like for 10 or 15 bucks (the motor is worth that). I've never done a project like this, but I'm wondering... since it is the same motor ..... I wonder if the E8/E7 motor with flywheels could be dropped in. Hopefully the motor mounts would not be a problem. Of course, the real challenge would be the worm shaft linkage since space would be tight.
Here's a thought- what if you used some super-flexible compund, like a soft silicone sealant, to connect the driveshafts into the flywheels? You know, like a rubber glob that not only acts as a driveshaft, but as a harmonic balancer? I know that would be worth a try but it would have to be a good sized glob on either side in the flywheel, conencted to the driveshaft where the spring used to be. Of course between that & the flywheels your loco's weight would be (as they say in Boston) wicked compromised! ??? thoughts?
WOW, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that thinks there is room for improvements. I I like a lot of the ideas so far. I agree about using the life like E8 motor for the flywheel. I looked at my E8 and found that the worm gear and the flywheel is connected with a soft plastic tube. So if one wanted to go that route its wouldn't be too hard to do. But as mentioned the trucks on the F40 are hard to turn so you would still have that issue. Plus as I said before the wheel base of the trucks is off. RAY, I like the what you did to your F40s and I'm glad that I'm not the only one that thinks the KATO F40ph doesn't look quite right. I know its a different phase then the LL models. There is something that looks odd about, I can't put my finger on it. Maybe if I look around I could find someone with an Atlas GP9 of GP40 that they are willing to sell for cheap. Vince
ok, after spending some time reading the replies in this thread and looking at what parts I have in my workshop and came up with a good start in at least improving the the pick up in the locomotive. I took a set of contact strips out of a KATO superliner. I figured out how to mount the strips on the F40 chassis. Now I need to figure out a new pick-up for the trucks. Any ideas or subjection? Vince P.S Sorry for the shaky photos, my hands shake real bad.
The F40PH is one of my all-time favorite locomotives, and Kato did a great job with their phase 3 F40! Unfortunately I neglected to get any, so I'll either have to go on Ebay, or wait until they are re-released. Until then, I have decided to take a look at improving the Lifelike model, hence this thread is perfect for what I am looking to do. It's neat to see what you all are doing to improve your models, and I look forward to sharing what I plan on doing at some point in the future. Some of the things I noted right from the start is that the truck wheelbase of the Lifelike unit is 10', where as the prototype is 9'. I quickly measured an Atlas Blomberg truck and noticed that theirs is 8', however, it looks much better and more proportionate under the Lifelike shell. The next thing I measured was the truck centers on the stock chassis, which was roughly 33 1/2'. According to drawings that I have of the F40, the truck center should be 33', so not a big deal, but with the elongated truck wheelbase there is a visual disproportion that cannot go unaltered. The first idea that came to mind was to change the chassis. I've read of modelers using a GP7/9/18/20/30/35/40/40-2 chassis to repower their models. I had all three on hand, so again, I took out my scale rule and measured each one. The GP9 measured 31', the GP30 measured 32', and the GP40 measured 34'. I set the GP9 asside because it was too short, and after carefully and continually fitting and refitting both the GP30 and GP40 chassis, I decided to go with the GP30. Yes, it's one scale foot short, but visually it looks better than the longer GP40 chassis. Regarding the frame/chassis, the other alternative is to scratchbuild one similar to this: Pacific Fast Mail/Samhongsa (Korea) Brass EMD F40PH thus obtaining the correct 33' truck center. Of course this takes skill and patience and a bit of ingenuity as to how to get the trucks, motor, and drive lines to mount, and the body to sit at the correct height, etc. My prliminary thought was to use the Lifelike plastic frame as a pattern and create a metal frame from brass stock using Atlas trucks, motor, and drive components. One advantage of this is that the weight of the metal frame will increase tractive effort. Addtioanlly, the smooth underside of the frame would create a perfect canvas for mounting the fuel tank, battery boxes, and air reservoir detail. I know that its a lot to go through just to get this locomotive running, but I kind of like the challenge, as a modeler. Moving from the chassis to the shell, the are a couple modifications I am going to make, and they include: - removing excess rivets on roof panels (way too many) - adding etched grilles to fan housings (maybe even machining new fan housings!) - adding grabirons and handrails on hood sides, ends, and nose - adding lift rings to roof - adding rear handrails using GMM stanchions and .008" phosphor bronse wire - cutting custom flush-fitting windshields and cab windows - adding mirrors and wipers to cab - resizing the jacking pads (they hang way too low and impede truck swivel) - closing up the front and rear pilots and adding detail (custom plow as Kato is sold out) - adding inward-mounted couplers to facilitate close coupling - surface-mount sunny-white LED Front and rear headlights - DCC Now, for the things like to do, they include: - flashing strobes - sound Yes, it's an ambitious undertaking, especially since I have to finish four more GP60Bs first. But, I think it'll be fun! Donnell
