So how do you guys like them? I got one off ebay a couple weeks ago and just did a MT conversion on it. It ran fine on my short test track. Needs some descent detailing (BLMA? ) Your opinions?
Right now, my two Santa Fe CW41-8's are in the shop, but not due to mechanical failure. I'm repainting my "botched-paint" on the cabs. Right now they have been striped to bare plastic and await the "AIR-BRUSH"! I'm not rushing it this time and I'm not sure if I'm going to use the original Santa Fe Paint, Lettering, and Numbers or do BNSF "Patches". The bodies are fine and I added a lot of detail to them. This includes speed recorders, ditch lights, real wire grabs on the nose to replace the "bulky plastic" Bachmann ones, new sunshades, MU hoses-cables, MT pilots-couplers, plows and some break reserviors I salvaged from those darn junk Bachmann Spectrum SD40-2's! I'll never understand why my CW40(41)-8's run so well and the SD40-2 didn't. Most of the details I added I scratch built myself, the plows and sunshades are the exception. The First one I bought, MT didn't have the pilot conversions made yet so I built my own. Thankfully, the second one was bought AFTER the MT conversions were done. BUT, the home made ones actually look better than the MT's! The couplers don't stick out from the pilot as far on my scratch built ones, and the front pilot really has a Unimate short shank coupler in a Bachmann coupler pocket. It looks real good. After I'm done redoing them, I'll post the finished product here. All in all, I think they are a fine locomotive. Not as refined as any of the Atlas, Kato or Life-Like offerings, but if you put a little work into them, they look and run great. Go a few months back into the forum here and search for my tips on making them run smoother.
Pretty good runner but doesn't negotiate small radii curves too well. Still, I recommend them. Russ- The Hoffman Valley RR
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Needs some descent detailing (BLMA? ) Your opinions?[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> hhhmmmm, off the bat I would say you need some 46" grab irons for above the wind sheild and there are many other wire parts you can fabricate yourself. Check out the photo of the one Tehachepi fan did, he did an awesome job on his! Oh, you also need some grab irons in the back and a sill mounted bell!
I did a C40-8 in UP. I replaced all the grab irons with .008 brass wire and added many details. It turned out great, like that Sante Fe C40-8W on a different topic, though it runs slower that KATO or Atlas. I am in the process of doing a C40-8W in UP so it can run with the other one. They run good just slow.
I have a bunch, one CSX, 4 UP and a standard cab UP. All run well and pull the walls down. Set 'em up on an Q,Z,M,P, or G train and they look great. Occasionally I throw my SP C44 in there, for a splash of color. But overall, I'm pretty satisfied.
Brent-Yeah, that conversion kit was a lifesaver for sure!!! Craig-I'll be adding money to your wallet soon Everybody else- I'd like to see some pics if I could. Mine is a CSX unit. 31.00 smackolas on ebay. I'm looking for another one and some CR units. (Maybe at the Greenberg show in two weeks! )
I got seven of the wide cabs and two of the standard cabs. I think run pretty darn good considering that I've been getting them for $25 at the GATS. Even got two used one with M/T conversion and plows already installed. With the M/T conversion costing a third the price of the engine, I asked the Bachmann rep. at the show why didn't they make them a little more M/T friendly? He said they never thought of that. With a little work, kinda hard to tell them apart from the Kato-9 at the three distance. BTW, has anybody set a 8-40CW shell on top of new Atlas B23-7 chassis to see if we got the makings for an Amtrak engine? [ 05 February 2001: Message edited by: william ]
Because of the way the body is cast, using a Dash-9 might be a better choice for this "BASH". You can't remove the walkways from the Bachmann Dash-8 and you'll have to do some fancy cutting to get it right.
Blagh, Bachmann. I find the recess mold work to be too deep and the details too large. My friends Bachmanns are louder then my garage opener and run very very slowly (actually thats a plus compared to 250 mph Katos and Atlas'). Those who converted them into good looking models (like techachapi(?)), I salute you! Mike
Well, mine not only look good, they run quiet and smooth as well. No, you can't have this loco running and looking this good right out of the box. But it only takes a little work, their SD40-2 was a different story. I worked on them for two months before I finally "scraped" them. Because of my Dash-8's, I bought four of the SD40-2's without a test run or even taking them out of the box before getting them home. As soon as I took a look at the first one and sent it down the test track, I knew I was in trouble. I should of taken them back, but I always love a challenge! Unfortunatly, I lost that one... Oh yes, I forgot to mention, I have a ABBA set of Bachmann Plus F7's that are real work horses. Except for the custom paint job i put them in, not alot of work was put into them to get them to run great. I HIGHLY recomend them. I've even had people ask me were I got the nice set of KATO F's! HA! the joke's on them! [ 05 February 2001: Message edited by: Maxwell Plant ]
Here's my Bachmann N 8-40CW that's been referred to and asked about (thanks! ). It is a factory painted unit but with several commercial and scratchbuilt details that I added. Added details include: * GMM stanchions with .008 brass wire hand formed for railings, .006 wire for grab irons and uncoupling levers. * Sunrise Enterprises ditchlights, plow, MU cable, brake cylinders, speed recorder, antenna and bell. * Kato sand fill hatches (dash-9) * GMM wipers and wind deflectors * Custom flush mount windows, interior consoles and sun visors. Russ [ 05 February 2001: Message edited by: tehachapifan ]
WOW! That looks AWESOME! HArd to believe it's a Bachman. What other detailing techniques did you use?
Thanks Moose ! Well, let's see...other techniques used. I really wanted the handrails to come out right, so I built a bending jig. This is simply on a block of wood that I drilled for wire pins that I bend the wire around. This helps with the forming of the cut levers too. Besides the handrails and grabs on top of the nose, I found that the windshields were the next feature that had to be changed. I painted the inside of the opening black to look like a gasket, then spent the better part of a day cutting flush mount windows out of acetate to fit them . I attached these with ultra small drops of 5 min epoxy, applied with the end of a small wire (ACC would run and fog). I did this to the side windows as well, but with the slider left out (open). The interior stuff I just played around with 'till it looked right. Some bright colored labels cut down to look like books and papers were placed on the scratchbuilt consoles. This window "treatment" and interior made the most improvement in the appearance of the model. I added some weathering with chalks and used a black "wash" to add depth to all the grills. Russ note - if you're going with GMM stanchions, keep the long Bachmann one! GMM does not have it. I reinforced the Bachmann one with some sprue off a GMM etched metal set. [ 06 February 2001: Message edited by: tehachapifan ]
