N scale "What's on your workbench?"

Ready for paint.....
Bruce

 

Hey John - did you happen to come across my numberboards in all that junk? :silly:

 

Resurrected 2 LL F units from the scrapbox and one Bmann B unit. Repaired wiring on the LL and did some body repairs to the shells. Added Sunrise plow pilots to both As with MT 1015 couplers and American Limited Diaphragms to both As and the B unit and decals for NP making a mixed number set.

Set of E-7s in the rear nearing finish lettered for CB&Q. One is an old Atlas which has had the mechanism overhauled the other a Lifelike. The old Atlas shell has had Gold Medal stirrup steps added where there wern't any and both will get American Limited Diaphragms.

 

I just noticed this post, but I really like your caboose build, Marty. I'm just curious if that one sits a little high off the rails... I'm working on my own idea for a freelanced drover caboose using an old Bachmann heavyweight with an Atlas caboose cupola on it. The only thing I've noticed with my project is that the cupola is quite high off the rails, even taller than my super dome car. I was just curious how your caboose compares with normal RTR models for height.

 

Nope, but just so you know I do look for them every time I end up on the floor while attempting to find some other N scale item that I managed to fling, plop, drop, or just plan slip off the table or model. No luck yet. Maybe we better just order a set.

By the way the decoders are on the way. :jump:

 

PGE

No higher than a commercial caboose. The underframe is Atlas that has been lengthened. To get the most easy and correct height, I cut the ends from a standard offset cupola caboose and made the underframe match the ends. Hope that answers your question. I think it is visable in an earlier photo

 

Yes, that answers the question. I had trouble quoting you in the post, for some reason. I was just getting a little nervous with the height of my drover's caboose fitting inside tunnels and such. I will try to post some pictures of it later, but what I was trying to achieve was something like this:

http://members.fortunecity.com/gknowles/hon3/rolling_stock/pagosa_1.jpg

As you can see, it does have a quite tall cupola.

 

B&M F7A

I love EMD F units and I was trying to figure what to do with an old Santa Fe Minitrix F9 (F7) that had been sitting around. The paint was worn and it didnt run so I decided to fix-er-up for a quick project. I stripped the mechanism down, lubed it, got it running (it actually runs very smoothly, even at low speed) and set that aside. I model Boston and Maine so I decided to go that route on the paint. I didnt have any "Blue Dip" units so, after some research, I settled on 4266's late blue scheme with the oversize RDC decal on the nose and no nose number plate (see it here:http://newenglanddepot.homestead.com/files/BM_4266_BIG.jpg). It isnt immediately obvious but there are white B&M heralds on each side centered on the second panel. The last decision was road number, 4266 is the only unit to where this specific paint, but I have an Undec Kato F7 I am thinking of turning into a Minute Man scheme 4266 and I wanted to be able to run both. 4268 was a former EMD demonstrator and had a passenger pilot, so it wouldnt have looked right, but I did like the black roof on 4268's blue scheme. 4265 was blue dipped but had a very specific scheme and I wasnt too sure I liked it. The only remaining B&M F7A was 4267 and it was wrecked on Mascoma Lake long before the others were blue dipped (actually I lived almost directly across the lake from the wreck site for the early portion of my life and ride/run the rail trail when I go back up to visit my family). At any rate, I settled on a fantasy Blue Dip scheme combining the herald arrangement of 4266, the black roof of 4268, and the road number of 4267 (mostly because a blue 4267 would never be on the market). I am still tracking down a second horn and Micro Trains 1103 conversions for her, but she can still mingle for the time being.

 

Installed a plastic dual headlight housing inside the lower headlight housing on the old LL F unit. Lenses were made from Micro Kristal Klear. Biggest problem was sealing off all the light to the upper headlight and light leakage into the cab which I solved after this photo was taken.



Then the number board lenses were too deep in the shells. So I took some .030 x .060 styrene and made fillers. Painted them black and gloss coated them, then added numbers.


And the refurbished old LL Fs and one Bmann B unit with new number boards and finally finished.

 

Thanks, I thought I had some more Minitrix F units on their way, but lost those auctions. I am having to bid on 6 or 7 at a time to try to get another mech. and some horns, I had no idea these locos were so popular. I have another B&M project in mind if I can get my hands on another working mechanism.

 

I am in the process of removing the top detailing on a pair of Kato E9B shells to be converted into Amtrak HEP cars #1919 and #1920.

I am still in the process of trying to find a detailed photo of what the top of the car is supposed to look like. I just know the steam generator is gone as are most of the roof top details.

After I remove the details, what is the best modeling putty to use so I can put a good final finish on the roofs?

Photos to follow soon.

Thanks!

 

I use both the Squadron Green and Squadron White for a number of my projects. The white dries extremely fast and is best for small filling jobs. The green is slower and you have more time to work a larger area.

 

Thanks guys!

 

well, This is what my attempt to create a drover's caboose looks like, so far.

 

Ready for lettering!










Will try to get this done before running into work this evening...perhaps tomorrow, if not...

 

Does these help?

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2751743
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2751819

 

Well - multiple projects today - mostly worked on the Walthers Water St, but also some painting of the Switch Tower, and filing the fat edges off of the AHM Station Roof edges