Another Bargain Kato

Considering I am trying to slim down my collection I seem to be buying slightly too many new models!

  
This Kato SD40 was listed on ebay with a very low starting price, as I'm looking for parts for my SD39 build I thought it might make a good chassis donor so I slung in a bid and forgot about it until the e-mail popped up to say I'd won... for £22!  That's a very keen price for a Kato and I fully expected the seller to decline the transaction, but sure enough it appeared in the post this morning.

Very nice it is too, one of the early release Kato models with the window packaging, this model predates DCC ready models and will need to be hard-wired with a decoder.  The shell was originally Canadian Pacific but it has been repainted (without being stripped) into a Southern Pacific unit.  The repaint is pretty good but I will probably strip the shell down and start from scratch if I do decide to keep the unit as an SD40.

Detail level is pretty good, but not up to the standards of the modern Genesis line, there are no see-through fans or other small details, and the walkway handrails are particularly chunky.  The best thing about the model is the ultra smooth Kato motor and drivetrain.  This model purrs like a kitten and I'm sure it's going to make a great addition to the roster, either as-is or as the basis for my SD39 build.

Ironically, the SD40 frame I ordered from the states turned up today as well, a part that cost over half as much as this entire locomotive!  At least it gives me an alternative option for mounting my Railpower SD38 shell - another potential base for the SD390 project.

Bargain Geep - A high nose at last!

After months of searching I finally found a high nose GP30!.   This was buried in the second-hand area at the Croydon MRS show, and its not just any high nose, but the exact model I have been coveting!

This is the Walthers reissue of the Proto 2000 GP30 in Norfolk Southern livery numbered as #2612 and whats more it is the sound equipped DCC version. 

A bargain indeed as I paid just over £30 for it and these models retailed for £150 new and are long out of production.  The low-nose version is due for re-issue at £190 for the sound version.

It's a bit dusty and the original owner has painted the top of the roof flat black, but other than a split porch handrail and missing pilot steps there is no major damage.  I figure the handrail woll glue back together and the roof paint should be easy to correct by either cleaning it off or overspraying it.

I'm really pleased to have aquired one of these high nose models at last, and having a correctly detailed high-nose model as reference will make it much easier to kitbash a high nose onto one of my other P2K geeps.

Croydon Model Railway Show

This weekend is the annual Croydon MRS show, being held at the John Ruskin College in Selsdon, Croydon.

I visited today and took a wander round the various rooms, the show is spread out through various smaller rooms and hallways, and featured a good spread of different layouts and traders.

There was only one US layout, an N Gauge industrial layout belongins to the Croydon club, and it was very sparsely poulated and looked like a work in progress.  The rest of the layouts were a mixture of british outline and european settings.

I particularly liked a couple of the finescale OO layouts and they had a nice display of old Hornby Dublo.

Brians trains were in attendance with their usual display of secondhand American HO and N scale models.  Some great bargains to be had.

If you are in the Croydon area then it will defintely be worth taking a trip down to the show.

High Nose GP40 - Rescue Build - Finished

I finished the Norfolk and Western GP40 build today and got all the paperwork done ready for the competition table at Kegworth next weekend.

It was a real push to get everything done it time, but I'm fairly happy with how it turned out.  I think the weathering is a little on the heavy side, with the NW logos on the sides of the engine being more covered than I would have liked.  I may go back and redo them at a later point.

Today I finished the weathering, reassembled the chassis, fitted the DCC wiring loom and chip and added the fibre-optics for the headlights.

The only things that I didn't get time to do were the windscreen wipers and the hanging MU cable for the long hood end.

I will add those missing details at some point, but for now I'm calling this one 'done'!  It's been a really fun build and the transformation from junker to runner is really incredible.

Now I really should get back to my GP60 project!  :)

High Nose GP40 - Rescue Build - Part 5

Time for a long overdue update on progress with the GP40 rescue build.  I want to have this locomotive finished in time for the NMRA convention at Kegworth, I'm hoping to pick up some credit for my locomotives AP certificate.

Some clear weather this week and I managed to shoot the shell with gloss black and get the decals placed.

The fans are fitted and the top grilles will be on soon, I discovered I had made a rookie error in fitting the all weather windows before they were glazed, but luckily I managed to figure a method to fit the glazing in situ!

Next come the fibre optics and the handrails, my deadline for getting the model finished is friday and I still plan to weather the shell so I'm banking on a clear dry day before the end of the week.

 

 

Here is a shot of the shell with stage one weathering.  The dullcote and an initial grime pass.  Next stage will be localised dirt and streaking.

 



 

It's looking more like a hard working workhorse now.  :)