"Details coming soon" .. I hate waiting .... Payday is tomorrow... I hope they are ready before I spend my paycheck on lotto tickets and strippers Randy
RANDY!! Hold those horses!! It'll be worth the wait! I'll have handrails done today, and with proper trucks? OOF! This is a sweet little engine!
Looking great... it's nice to see more of these coming together. Matthew, if you have any interest in using some pictures of my shell for your Shapeways listing let me know. It might help advertising to have some finished/decorated shells for potential customers to see. I plan on taking some better pics in the next day or so and posting them in the thread.
Wow looking good! Yes, please, that would be spectacular! I was actually planning to ask you for just such a favor here in the near future. Just let me know how you would like to be credited in the photos
So I've gone ahead and taken all of the suggestions that I have received (both on and off list) and incorporated them into an updated S-4. That's the version currently available in my shop; most of the changes that I made shouldn't be too noticeable (strengthening the handrails for example). The most radical change involves the layout of the parts: I went ahead and combined the fuel tank, stacks and shell into one single connected sprue. This combined part is, by design, just longer than the FUD 'build chamber' is tall. The idea here is to eliminate the "nose up" build orientation by making the part physically too large to fit. Hopefully this should force the technician's hand and give me the orientation that I want. All of these updates have also of course been applied to the S-2. On other subjects, my newly arrived Blunt-truck-equipped S-2 has now been orbiting my Kato unitrack "roundy-round" at various speeds (in both directions) for over eight hours without issue. The Blunt frames don't pop into place with quite the same gusto that the stock frames do; regardless, once in position, they stay where they need to be. The unitrack is about the most extensive run test that I can manage at the moment so I think I'm going to make the trucks available. That said, until I've had a few more people test these on their layouts, I would advise against purchasing more than one set. The S-2 should be ready any day - I'm still struggling with how best to handle the rivets... Once it's available I'll post an update as well as more pictures. Oh yea finally, I joined the bandwagon and used Bestine (rubber cement solvent) to clean this set of models: long story short, I think that's the wax removal method that I'm going to recommend from here on out. Nothing else that I've tried is as foolproof or consistent (just make sure that you can get your hands on a well sealed jar to store it in).
Handrails. I'm very, very happy with this so far Matt! Comments, guys? I know, I need proper trucks! Being a very early version of the shell, this quality (and ease of put-together, WOW Matt!) bodes VERY well for you guys going forward!
Oh, and yes.... that's a painted cab interior. Expect glass & lighting by midweek! Guys, there's room here for a brakeman, an engineer & a foreman! The shell is so thin it's almost scale; surprised me, then, that it's very durable- I am a bit heavyhanded at times!!
Let me know what you end up doing for glass. I plan on working on the electrical pickup this set of days off and getting a start on glass if I can find time.
Glass will have to be some standard window glazing stock from a Woodland Scenics building kit (thin & very clear). Will need to make cardstock templates, as the corner frame supports are so thin that it'll have to be precise to avoid gaps. I know the windows should be beaded and flush, but that ain't even gonna happen I tried Micro-Crystal-clear but it won't give me the visibility I want.... so plastic it is. Electrically, I'm simply robbing the contacts off my SW9 to do the pickup here. Of note? There may be enough room in this shell for a small decoder under the hood, without having to stuff it in the cab! A simpler electrical connection might be to run brass along the underside of the steps, and solder coupler springs on top of the trucks' "wipers". Would be more reliable since this isn't an OEM fit, IMO.
Well gosh thanks! I'm glad to hear it's going together well! A quick bit of advice regarding the contacts - for my S-2 I essentially copied this: [http://www.pmrr.org/Articles/Equipment/SW9.htm => see part "D" near the bottom] which I had linked to earlier. Unfortunately, if the contacts are large and placed in the center like so, they are easily visible from the sides (more so than I expected). Consequently, I'm planning to make mine smaller and to relocate them closer to the ends (much like the stock contacts) in order to make them less visible. As for future S-4s - I've modified my design a bit to make the contacts easier to conceal.
I ordered two of them , I hope I have as much success as the other posters building these !!! This will use up my "spare" lifelike drives so I need a few more to build some S-2s. Next up , FM H-10-44s I have one drive to use so far. Watch for the "what's on my workbench" pics in the next few weeks , I have a group of shells to do and I'll try to take pics of the progress. Randy
I have some wicked thin pieces of polycarbonate (Lexan) that I was thinking of trying for the windows and I think Plaststruct sells clear rods I might try to cut for the head lights. Flush would be better for the windows but I dont see that happening without a resin casting or a new RP product. I wish I could use the stock wipers but two dissappeared while I was painting the SW8 shell several years ago. The system I had come up with for the SW8 was a bit too stiff and the locomotive had issues on turnouts and grade crossings because the pickup was so rigid. I am going to try a larger contact surface from thinner material this time.
Hmmm... For some reason it wouldn't let me edit my previous post. Anyway, here are some in focus higher-res pictures of the more or less complete S4. I got the electrical issue resolved and settled on a system similar to the original Life-Like but with more surface area on both sides of the contacts and mounted them on the frame instead of the shell. Matthew, use these however you want and just credit me as Joel M. if you like. If you need/want other pictures let me know:
One more: By the way, this is now in revenue service on an industrial spur and performing/looking like a champ. Glass will come later when I can sort out some proper headlights.
