Geep Wreck - Proto Packaging Claims Another Victim

I picked up a nice looking mint condition Proto GP9 in the early maroon paint scheme, but unfortunately the curse of the Proto 2000 packaging struck while it was en-route to me in the post.

These older Proto models are designed to be shipped with the body shell and the chassis in separate parts of the box.  The seller didn't realise this and shipped the model in one piece.  There is too much room in the box and the model was free to slide back and forth in transit. So much so that the front pilot ended up completely mashed and most of the rooftop details were shorn off.

It was certainly a sorry sight when I opened the box.  Turned out that the seller was a top bloke and he sorted everything out for me, but I now have yet another unexpected basket case for the 'to do' box.

I was hoping to put this unit straight to work on Godinez, but with the damage it's sustained it will take a while before it sees the rails again.

If you are buying a boxed Proto on eBay then be sure to e-mail the seller and ask them to dismantle the model before shipping.  It's unlikely to make the journey in one piece otherwise!

We have the technology... we can rebuild it.

I noticed this SD50 shell going cheap on ebay and picked it up for less than a tenner, it's an Athearn RTR and perfect as a replacement for the parted out Conrail 50 I have sitting on the 'to do' pile.  The shell has clearly had a major collision with the floor at some point, but its in good shape apart from the walkways which have disintegrated.  I already have a Conrail walkway and handrails, the long hood and other parts are the pieces I needed.

I really should get around to completing some of these rebuilds soon, it's getting crowded in the parts box!  :)

High Nose GP40 - Rescue Build

I found this high nose Athearn GP40 going cheap on ebay and picked it up as a quick project.  The model has been fitted with a high-nose, which turned out to be a Cannon & Co part, but not much else has been done to the model.

It had one of the worst paint jobs I have seen in a long time, with really, really thick paint brushed on, followed by an extra generous layer of dullcoat.  A real mess!

 

 

I have an idea I might be able to spruce the model up in time to put it on the display table at the club show, this won't be a concourse model but I will add some basic details and
grabirons to make it more presentable.

First port of call is the dip tank, I sat the model in 91% alcohol overnight then scrubbed with a toothbrush, I couldn't prise the handrails off because of all the paint, so I left them on until the paint had softened enough.

I don't know what brand of paint the model has been painted with, but the thick N&W blue comes off fairly easily when scrubbed with a toothbrush, the original paint is underneath, revealing this was a Conrail unit when it left the factory.

The Cannon high-nose has been fitted in an unusual way, with the previous owner keeping the original Athearn hatches at the base instead of cutting flush with the deck making it apparent that the nose itself is very slightly out of place. 

There is a chance that it might need replacing but I will wait until all the paint is off before deciding.

The Athearn paint is proving harder to shift than the top coat, so I will leave the shell soaking for the rest of the day.

Genesis Geep Rebuild

This week I picked up an Athearn Genesis GP15 on ebay, it was in pieces so I won it for £35 which seemed like a reasonable price provided I could get it back together.
It turned up today and sure enough, the model was in a very sorry state, with a large collection of loose pieces rattling around in the box.

It appears to be brand new, the wheels show little sign of wear, suggesting the previous owner had taken it apart to fit a DCC chip and then started losing parts, no doubt getting ever more frustrated as the model continued to shed parts until finally giving up in frustration and sending it to ebay. 

I have to say the construction for these Genesis models leaves more than a little to be desired, it seems like most of the parts are push-fit, with tiny details like the frame bell, tank piping and radiator grilles coming loose at the slightest touch.

The first order of business was a test run, which revealed that the engine wasn't moving at all, this turned out to be down to the 8-pin dummy plug being loose and once it was pushed home the locomotive proved to be a very, very smooth runner indeed.

I fitted a Digitrax DH123 decoder and then assembled the locomotive and replaced the various loose parts, there didn't seem to be any missing pieces, so the end result looks very impressive.

Damage to blower duct - (small hole at the walkway edge)

The only real damage to the model are the usual handrail problems (one of the supports is broken) and there is a small hole drilled into the blower duct.  This is a strange bit of damage , and it appears to be cause by the body mounting screws being accidentally pushed through the shell, or possibly the original owner attempting to drill out the chassis screw from the top.  A bit of putty and some black paint should fix the hole.

So I'm very pleased with this one, it comes fully boxed and it proved to be a very quick job to get it back on the rails, with these models retailing for £88 currently, that means I got it for well under half price.

Clearing the backlog - DCC Programming

I spent some time at the decoder station at the club space tonight and managed to clear seven locomotives into their correct numbering ready for DCC service.

Kato CSX SD70MAC back in one piece (mostly) and DCC fitted.

I also reassembled my basket-case Kato SD70MAC, rebuilding the cab and handrails.  I still need to fit the smaller grab-irons and some of the pilot details to the front end.

Roster shot of the eight locomotives I worked on this evening.

There were eight locomotives in tonights batch, and I got seven of them up and running and logged into the roster using the Sprog Decoder, and then each of them was run in on the test track for ten minutes or so.

One of the hornby decoders I had turned out to be fried, so the Kato Dash 9 in the foreground above will need to wait on the workbench a little longer.  That locomotive is in bad cosmetic shape, so it will need a considerable amount of work before it is presentable, the cab glass is fogged with cement and there is a lot of other spilled glue and missing details around the shell.