Got my JnJ SD45B units in the mail a couple days ago and got right to work on one of them. I don't know if it was bowed just enough or what, but I had to do some chiseling to the insides of the steps to get the trucks to clear. I got it though, I think. I've got the holes drilled and I'm about to drill out the radiator rooftop grills. I'm also in the process of separating the handrails from the Kato walkways. That's tedious and annoying. More to come.
Sweet!! I love those units, really looking forward to seeing yours finished! You're going to have a very unique and enviable ATSF roster with this and your GP60Ms!
Got the left side of the mechanism done. I added the airlines from the brake cyclinders on the sides of the trucks. I think it really adds to them since airline design is unique to bottom mounted brake cyclinders. Although the placement and bends aren't perfect, the trucks look way better. Got the handrails cut off the walkways too.
This shopuld be a beautiful engine. What's the finished paint scheme? Bluebonnet or blue and yellow pinstripe? Did the SD45B's ever wear the pinstripe livery?
They were rebuilt in the 80s, so I suppose you could say they had the bonnet scheme, except they were cabless so they didn't have bonnets. http://www.trainpix.com/atsf/EMDRBLD/SD45B/5502.HTM
I had to add the step plates and steps on the front right side, and the left rear parts next to the battery boxes.
Looking sweet. How well did the paint coat? I remember some prototypes that Freight Yard did about 9 years ago and paint wouldn't stick. What handrails are you using?
The primer stuck to the shell really well. I recommend all JnJ shells. SD45's are kind of hard to mask, so some weathering may be in order. I was just going to use the stock KATO handrails cut out from the walkway sill, but the stock handrails are "squarish" so I'm going with brass handrails. I have some etched stanchions from both GMM and JnJ (part of the GP60M kit) so I'm all set with the right size stanchions. I'm just hand forming them with the original KATO handrails as guides.
Those are soo cool! I read in the beginning about shell possibly being a little warped? Was that a hard fix? I used to see them in Richmond, Ca when I was working out of there. I wish I had took more pics of them! Are you gonna do any SD45-2B's? Your Santa Fe fleet is great, especially the 6B's together!! Keep up the good job! dave
The insides of the steps had a little more material than a KATO SD45 so that took a little doing. I heard you can run them under warm water, then straighten them, but I was too scared to try that. I really, really, want some -2 B's, but I'm still looking for a job, so it may be a while. I'd like to do 5510, then 5 or so "hammerhead" versions. I eventually want to take a picture of several ABBA sets side by side like a ABBA set of SD45's , SD45-2's, and GP60's.
When you say hammerhead, is that refering to the dynamic brake blister at the end of the unit? I was also wondering what mech is under those GP60B's? dave
Flash, The SD45B's where rebuilt from wrecked SD45's. ATSF/BNSF was the only road to have them that I know of.
very nice looking shells and very nice paint job. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your progress on these units.
SD75: Your right about the hammerhead nickname. They have the relocated dynamics. The GP60B's are TMB Models custom built (need to be sent back to fix a few things, but am out of funds) and are running on LL GP60 chassis. I heard that they were rebuilt SD45's to experiment if the cabs electrical systems were the cause of some of the problems they were having with their SD45's. They never got their cabs put on after the experiments. IIRC they were rebuilt at the San Bernadino shops.
Looking good! You say "some weathering may be in order." I'm surprised you would even have to decide about it! Question: would it work to cut the jNj shell off from the walkway and use the Kato walkway? I can't tell from drawings and photos, and maybe the jNj shell is scale width.
