Separate. Right now I have it designed as three main pieces (with additional smaller parts) - body shell and two truck/deck pieces primarily. The pilot truck pieces will be separate and the horns will be separate for painting purposes. And while the first shell was botched in printing, the ladders and handrails came out nicely, but as several have pointed out, I think the FUD material is just too brittle and I already broke one without even getting it attached to the shell. Maybe we can convince TrainCat to do up the additional detail parts that won't break off when you blow on them! (hint hint!!) With etched details, I think this would be one insane model. -Mike
Just need a source for accurate MILW pantographs. OMI might have a few available as parts. There used to be a fellow in Oregon who made nice ones, with the bows and all.
I spoke up once before I'm a SOUTHERN RY man would like to see GP30 high short nose ( the southern way) it's different from N&W the slope on top the cab is different. would like to see a hi short hood BL-2 southern ordered then ( due to the war they were never built) the one that could have been!!!!! That's all for now thanks JT
The angle on top of the cab above the number boards is back about a 3rd of the way. I love southern, some times I wish I could just buy a shell (low nose & all) Just paint an decal it and be Dunn.
I thought I read someone here was working toward designing a high nose GP30 replacement piece. I picked up an old Raintree shell a couple months ago for a high nose GP30, but it's too narrow for the modern Atlas chassis. I agree that having a drop-in replacement nose or shell would be a nice option to have available.
I was working on a cab/high hood piece for the GP30, but got bogged down on making the cab. There are so many strange angles and compound curves that it's very difficult to do correctly. I have however released a high short hood for GP30/35s that could be grafted to the cab - like the HO guys do all of their high hood conversions. Then you would just have to figure out the angle above the cab.
I would love to see an EMC TA or SC, or an SW-1. I would also really like to see an F2 done for a Kato chassis.
I would buy a correct Little Joe, as long as it is as faithful to the prototype as possible. I'd worry about the mech after the model comes out. I'd rather work the mech around a correct carbody than adapt the carbody to the mech and the carbody be compromised in one way or another. If we had a photo etch fret with accurate pans and details for a 'Joe (including grilles for post 1966 rebuilt E78) that would be sweet.
You'll never know Mike until you ask . . . . . . I always have "free space" on a sheet that small things could be fit onto. I also have EF-1, EF-2 and EF-3 bodies designed but sadly no mech that comes anywhere close that is READILY available.
In regards to the N&W and SOU GP30s there was no significant difference with the taper on top of the cab as some of the N&W and SOU were built together, side by side on the erection floor, the biggest difference was the length of the cab on one side. All of N&W's GP30s were built between June - September 62 to what we modelers commonly refer to Phase Ib1 while the SOU units were built to Phase Ib2 (2525 - 2584) between Aug -Nov '62 and Phase IIb (2585 - 2644) between Aug - Nov 63, the last N&W and the first SOU units sharing the erection floor. The difference with the Phase Ib2s was that the cab on the fireman's side was lengthened, though I do not know by how much. The difference in the cabs remained an option on the early GP30s between the Phases Ib1 and the Id, with the extended cab becoming the standard after Jan 63. A more detailed list of changes among the Phases and subphases can be found at the link below... http://www.trainweb.org/jaydeet/gp30.htm
And another thing in no specific order.... how about the pennsy turbine 6-8-6 that lionel has made millions of.... Actually, TBH, how come this has never been done? I would safely say that is one of the biggest toys ever made, I am shocked it never made it beyond O scale world.
Bob, Again, I'd buy a 3-d printed MILW EF-1/2/3/4/5 if it were as correct as possible, and design the mech to fit. N scale needs some good MILW-style pans anyways.
How about this? This is a copy of the Rowa Dog house on the back of their Y6B tenders. Steel plate. The one on your NP 2-8-2 is timber I think, does anybody have any drawings? If you are interested in this one you can get it here! Or a pair here! -James
James, you just made my flippin' DAY. I cooooould sand off the rivets. OR, (HINT HINT, WINK WINK) I'd send you a GHQ NP Mikado wood doghouse if you wanted something to copy. I am CERTAIN there's a market, especially if multiples were sprued together. And while I'm posting, Little Joes FTW! I'd settle for one with Kato pantographs and dummy trucks LOL
You can buy Atlas AAR Type B road trucks from Atlas or on the auction sites, not sure how much work it would be to put them on a GP-7 frame though.
What about using a factory equipped GP30? Probably a pricey possibility, but I would believe it to be workable.
