I'm glad this is done for everyone. thanks, Tim, for taking it on. just one thing ... the master is promised and needs to be returned to me for painting for Tony Brucia. If you want to make another casting before sending it that's your call, but please don't forget to ship the master back to me so i can honor my obligation. Thanks, Tim, for all you've done, dave f.
The Original David, Send me your mailing address too! I left my Rolodex in Georgia. Will send you Tony's shell this weekend too. Email me at sgt_tim1@yahoo.com Thanks!! Hobo Tim
Got It!!! David, I got it!!! Thanks!!! ------------------------------------------------------- WARNING!This is another precautionary message!!!! When you recieve your kit in the mail. Remember you will have a small amount of touch up filing/sanding. But what you need to pay very close attention too is the alignment of where the brass handrails (long side handrails in particular) mate to the sides of the walkway especially at the cab sides. When you apply CA glue to attach these pieces make sure you have test fit, test fit, and test fit again the pieces before gluing!!!! I wouldn't be repeating this message if I didn't think it was important. It is the most important part of assembly. Plus, I have no extra side handrails in the event you bend up your pair trying to remove them because of a mis-alignment occuring!!! So, Test Fit, Test Fit, TEST FIT all pieces before gluing!!!! Thanks!!! You guyZ are the Greatest!!!! Hobo Tim p.s. Probably next weekend, I will assemble one shell and photogragh my progress. I'll post the photo assembly in this thread for all to use as a guide or just reference. If you have taken apart one of AZL's SD70/75 shells, you pretty much know how simple it is, but the kit in some aspects, is different, but similar. When it is all done and assembled, I think you will all be surprised at the shells beauty. 100% different appearance from the SD70/75.
Today, 13 August, 2010 Today the project of SD70ACe shell kits comes to a close. All parts have been sorted and packaged. Those packages were assembled into complete kits and inserted into boxes. Those boxes were sealed and addressed to all points of the globe. Tomorrow they will head to the local Post Office for shipping. I am so happy that the project is over on my end. All that remains is for the fellow modelers to receive, assemble, paint/decorate, and them show off!!!!! The final part is what I so look forward too. I'll post another message tomorrow after the packages are secure at the post office!!! Have a great evening! Hobo Tim
Mission Accomplished This is THE official message to say the SD70ACe shells have been shipped. Everyone except Henrik and Jurg should get their box Wednesday, at least by Friday. Mike Donders has not replied my emails to him. What happened to Mr. Donders, anyone know??? Ed Turner, you have sun shades and horns headed your way. I need to cast 5+ more for the other guyZ who recieved the first batch shells. Please post photos of your SD70ACe creations!! Hobo Tim
That was quick! Wow JD, that was quick!!!!! For the record, what paint scheme are you planning on using? Hobo Tim
shell game Hello shell owners. If anyone wants to part with one of these prized shells, I would like to hear from you. Send me a send me a personal message on this site. I snoozed and delayed and missed out on a great item...Bummer. bh
An SD70ACe on ebay! Mike/Everyone What I will be doing is placing one of the two Completed Shell/Chassis units that I have assembled. Will be a complete set, RTR minus a paint scheme/decorated. Just last week I made changes to the AZL LEDS. I cut off the yellow and installed white. Not that blue/white type but the yellow/white that looks real. The chassis runs great. It must be from the second generation that was produced. The previous owner of the chassis, Jeffrey White, is known for keeping his Z running smooth. I'll probably put the shell/chassis on ebay in the middle of next week. If I remember how, I'll make a Youtube video and post it here. Been 3 years since I posted the one video I made of Armand Marx's signal system. Stay Tuned for more info on this unit!!! Hobo Tim
Credit where Credit is Due!!! Fellow SD70ACe shell owners and All of the entire Z community As you can see, the shell project for me is over. I can not say it's been fun as the time to complete it was years more than I had originally planned but you all know about my ordeal with completing the project. What I want to talk about is a fellow Z scaler who has had little mention in this project. You've heard of David Freehling, the master who modified the mediocre shell of the SD70 into the Bad A$$ SD70ACe shell. What you may have forgotten is that he, David Freehling, modified not one, but two of the AZL shells. It is with the second shell that I was able to bring the SD70ACe shell copies to the masses. What you probably do not know is that the second shell that David modified was not his. That shell belongs to Tony Brucia. It is Tony who has been completely left out of the Thanks and Appreciation for this project. Story; From what I can recall, Tony was intrigued with David's SD70ACe project and asked him if he could make an ACe shell for him too. Tony purchased a brand new SD70 for the project. I don't even know if Tony ever ran the locomotive before David started slicing -n- dicing on the shell. This shell was never intended to be used as a mold master for the SD70ACe shell kit project. What I do know is that this project was made possible with Tony's contribution and David's modification expertise. Teamwork!! Without Tony's shell, no one but David and Tony would have an SD70ACe in Z scale. Tony Brucia, Thanks for your Contribution of the Shell and the patience you have given for the time it took to complete this project!!! So very much appreciated! Hobo Tim
Assembly Guide Fellow SD70ACe Shell Kit Owners!! Greetings!! I just spent the last 10 hours doing a photo shoot of an SD70ACe shell kit. Went a bit slowly having to stop and take photos. The Shell is assembled, tested and is the best out of the three I have built so far. Matter of fact this one is superior to the others as this one has the fiber optics installed. The only thing the shell needs now is a new home and a paint/decal job. I have decided to take this shell I just finished along with an AZL chassis and place them on that auction place no one likes. I have limited internet right now so I will be posting the photos to the SD70ACe build tomorrow. Will take better part of an hour to post them all and add a write-up so a bit of patience till the photo guide is completed. I hate the fact that TB only allows you to post 4 photos at a time. I have near 100 to post for this guide, it is indepth!!! Putting it Bluntly! If you are building one of these kits and screw it up somehow, someway, then you did not follow the guide!!! I am guessing that everyone has not yet started on their shell as they are awaiting this guide. For those of you who have started to build them, post your experiences, please!!!! Want to hear about your build!!! Catch ya tomorrow!!!! Hobo Tim
In the beginning SD70ACe Kit Build! The following set of Postings are for those who have the SD70ACe shell kits. I hope that with the text and photos the task of assembly will become much easier and possibly help prevent any Uh-Ohs or Oops!!!! Please bare with me while I attempt to upload the entire Build. I have 90+ photos to upload along with comments. Gonna be descriptive to a point. If indeed a photo was worth a Thousand words, then I wouldn't need to write anything, just follow the photos, but!!!!!! Here we go! In the beginning the castings looked like this It is at the yellow lines I had to separate the major flash from the castings. Time was about 10 minutes for each pieces as some holes had to be drilled in some parts. So casting time plus 30 minutes clean up to get ready to ship to you. This is what you got received! All you need to do is fine cleaning and some filing/sanding to get these parts ready. We'll start with the Cab. I have pointed to the areas where some micro BBs are known to have cast. Carefully remove them with a sharp hobby knife. Also, the inside of the windows have light flash. Use the hobby knife to remove that too. Be very careful not to break the verticle posts in the side windows. The bottom of the cab, where the major flash was removed might need some sanding/filing to make it level. (Note; you will notice that the cast resin sun shades have been removed from this cab)
Part 2 Next take the main body and sand/file the areas where the major flash was removed. The body might seem bowed in the middle. This part usually bows about 1mm in the middle. Looks alot more than 1mm, but not. This can be fixed by running very warm water across the area. Once it is warm it can be reshaped easily. Hold part till it cools, usually 10-20 seconds. Use a straight edge to level while cooling. Some areas where micro BBs are known to hide are in the following areas shown with red arrows. Carefully remove the BBs with a sharp hobby knife. Be careful with the detail. Reversing the knife blade can be used to re-groove fins in the grills if needed.
Part 3 Now for the roof. Here you might find some micro BBs hiding too. Same as before, sharp hobby knife to remove them. Now lets work on the Walkway section. Carefully sand/file the areas where the major flash was removed. Notice the green arrow. It is pointing to the BELL! Do not cut this off!!!!!! Fine cleaning of these areas ensure a better fit. Be careful around the corner steps. Now, if you plan on adding the Pilot to your SD70ACe, then the next photo shows the steps area with square holes cut out inside of the steps. I suggest you use this option if your SD70ACe will be leading a consist. Looks better. Please Note, I said Option for the Pilot/Plow. I never intended to cast the pilot/plow assembly. Was not part of the original offering. Neither was a horn. These are items I decided to include with the kit as extras. It was the original intent for each modeler who purchased this kit to USE THE HORN and PILOT/PLOW from their SD70/75's. For this reason I did not clean the major flash from these parts. If you want to use them, then you need to clean them yourself, otherwise use the original AZL parts.
Part 4 This section will cover the pilot/plow extras. This is pretty much what the casting looks like. Needs flash removed, some cast resin areas trimmed and a hole or two drilled. End result of cleaning. Note all arrows. Designate side pins, holes, and coupler box in middle for AZL coupler. Will cover more on this piece later. A How-To to modify an ordinary AZL coupler to work with a screw attachment. This is the plow ready to go. Note I am holding it by one of the two pegs in the back. Do not cut the pegs off. Look at one of your AZL pilot/plows if you are not sure what to cut off and what to leave on. Here it is assembled. Perfect fit! Now set it to the side for assembly to the walkway later.
Part 5 Will show the Horn now. Remember, it is an extra. It is different from the AZL horn and is more accurate for the SD70ACe. But you do not need to use it. If I am not mistaken, I circled the SD70ACe horns with a red circle for all kits. If not, look for the largest horn in the bunch. It may look difficult to clean the flash from this horn being so tiny, but it isn't. A sharp hobby knife blade, CAREFUL, will do the trick in no time. Fine tune the horn, carefully, to complete it. This is what you should end up with. You can't see it from this angle, but I actually used a micro drill bit to indent the three larger horns so when they are painted will look better. Trim the post to about 1/8" and set the horn to the side for later assembly to main body. Do not loose it. Now, lets work on the cab. I supplied several inches of .020" fiber optic line with each kit. You can use it, if you want too, to bring light to the front and rear of your shell/cab. The next part will describe what I did to accomplish this with minimum work. Actually surprised myself this worked so well. One word before continuing. SOme modelers might want to leave the cab un-attached from the main body so they can use the cab space for DCC components and wiring. The following fiber optic route is flexible and allows the cab to be removed with fiber optics in place. Perfect alignment everytime. First off, I used a drill bit that made the fiber optics snug in the hole. Digital micrometer showed the bit at .0195". Carefully drill the two holes in the top of the cab. Be carefull to hold the bit level or you might drill through the roof. Very tight tolerances. Once the bit has broken through the inside of the cab, trim the flas for easy insertion of the fiber optics. Leave the fiber optics about as long as you see in the photos. continued in Part 6
Part 6 Continuing the Lighting (Optional) Next I drilled out the rear of the main body where the two lights go. Same .0195" bit. I then took two short pieces of fiber optic line, about 1/8" each, using my small 15watt soldering iron, without the tip on it, I allowed the heat to dome the ends of the line. I then inserted the fiber optic pieces from the Inside out. This meaning the dome ends were in the insode of the main body. I then cut the fiber optics about 1-2mm long. Almost too short to use scissors. I then used the soldering iron to dome the ends of the fiber optics. Now they are domed inside and outside. Now, I took a small block of styrene, drilled 2 holes in it and then enlarged the two holes almost all the way through the block. I used this block to snuggly fit the 2 fiber optics that protruded from the back of the Cab. Tight fit but do not go all the way through the block. Shows the block with fiber optics snuggly fitted inside. NOTE: Do Not Use Superglue/CA to attach anything to fiber optics. This is why I made the block snug fitting for the optics. continued in Part 7
