Saturday 23 February 2013

Another dash of Kato...

Another ebay buy-it-now bargain, this as-new Kato C44-9W, fully boxed and barely used.  Perfect as a companion locomotive for the basket case I picked up at last years NMRA convention.  I just need to get the basket case fixed up!


This one will need a decoder before it can hit the rails, but other than that it's good to go.  I love the running qualities of these Japanese locomotives and they'll look good double-heading a unit coal train around the club modules.




The main issue with the model is the ditch lights, the Kato dash 9's are based on the original Santa Fe units so they have low mounted ditch lights which are wrong for Norfolk Southern, and there are a few other discrepancies around the trucks and side panels, but considering how good they are otherwise, I'm happy to have them on my roster.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

More boxcars for 'The Rock'

Here are a couple of vintage boxcars I picked up for Godinez, both of these will be stripped and repainted for Rock Island circa late sixties.


Front Range American Car Foundery ACF 40ft box car in MKT livery.



An E&C Car Works Pullman Standard PS1 50ft plug door ca in Nestle livery.

Saturday 16 February 2013

To B(Q23-7) or not to B(Q23-7)


 I've seen a couple of projects on Diesel Detailer and I really liked the look of these unique Family Lines units with an early version of the modern widecab.  These B23-7's are designated as BQ23-7 locomotives and their unique cabs were part of an early experiment in removing cabooses from trains, with the larger cab designed to hold an entire crew of five for any given route.

The only commercial plastic model of this locomotive is an old Bachmann from the early eighties, it's the usual quality for the period, with thick plastic handrails and really poor running qualities.  Despite that they usually go for a good price on ebay - I've seen them go for more than $35 even without a box.

I've been keeping an eye out for one with the idea that I could mate it with the spare Atlas B23-7 shell I have in the parts box, and mount it on a Railpower chassis with Athearn EMD trucks to create a hybrid model.

It took a few months, but finally a mis-described example came up on ebay last week, so I was able to pick it up at a cheap enough price to be worthwhile.


The model is very basic, with a one piece body shell and very poorly applied paint and lettering, the ultra thick plastic handrails almost make the model look like an n-gauge locomotive.


The cab section will need a lot of work to make it fit an Atlas body including a width reduction of several millimeters, new glazing, new number-boards.


So, yet another project for the bench, but it was fun hunting for the locomotive, seems like there is a big demand for these so getting one for a tenner was a good deal.

Sunday 3 February 2013

Top Of The (front) Range Geep

 
I already have two of these on the bench, or rather in the queue to be worked on, but I took the opportunity to pick up a big box of front range GP9 parts and chassis on ebay recently.


These kits were originally issued in 1986 and were ahead of their time for detail, including separate walkways, interchangeable battery boxes and see-through fans.   



You can see from this original advert that they retailed for the rather high price of $45 back in 1986, a lot more expensive than they sell for these days!


The only real problem with these kits is the contour of the cab roof which sits too high compared to the real locomotives.


The image above shows the incorrect roofline on the cab, it should sit much lower down, with a shallower angle.





The lot also came with a set of instructions for the kits, although they are very simple to put together and probably could be assembled without instructions.



This box of parts will help to finish off the two engines I have on the backlog, and will also yield enough parts to put together a third locomotive, all three will become motive power for Godinez, with the plan being one in maroon, one in red and the third in ex-Rio Grande black with the Rock Island heralds.