Rock Island Geep - Weathering

I managed to put in another evening at the workbench and the Rock Island geep project is another step closer to being completed.

I weathered the shell and chassis, using drybrushing techniques to give it a suitably grungy style for that true Rock Island feel.

The effect turned out pretty well, although I probably went a bit heavier than I was intending to - although that is pretty much true to the protorype for a Rock unit!

Next step will be the final detailing, mu hoses etc, and then final assembly.  Should be done this week.

Rock Island Geep Decaling

The Rock Island geep project continued today as I finished applying the decals and tidied up a few loose ends on the main shell.

I always find the numberboards tricky to decal as each of them needs four individual numbers and the decals are so small it can be a real challenge to get them straight and even.

For this model I decided to try printing my own numberboard decals, I had already fitted a set of Microscale EMD blank decals so all I needed were the numbers.

I found a windows compatible truetype font on the B&O historical society website and downloaded & installed it.  The numbers themselves were typeset in Photoshop and printed on laser printer compatible waterslide paper.  

They went on really easily and were certiainly a breeze compared to lining up tiny individual numbers.

I'd forgotten the chassis and sideframes were in primer so I needed to break out the airbrush to shoot them with Revell 'Tar Black' as I don't have any grimy black in stock.

 
As I had the airbrush out, I gave the roof a quick blast of black to get the weathering started.  I will do the rest of the weathering with a regular brush.

Next stage will be the detail weathering and reassembly of the model.

Rock Island Geep Update

With only a couple of weeks before the NMRA convention in Derby I have finally got back to the workbench to continue work on the Rock Island GP project.  This has been on the shelf for almost two years but I finally got around to digging out all the bits and bobs for it.

The shell was already airbrushed in Polly Scale Rock Island maroon and the next step was the yellow warning panel for each end.  I opted to brush paint the ends rather than set up the airbrush for such a small job.

I masked off the ends with Tamiya masking tape and used light coats (almost drybrushing) to add several thin coats of custom mixed yellow to the model.  I used Revell yellow with a few drops of red to create a suitably orange tint to the paint.

 
The Microscale decals went on fairly easily, the stripes are a bit of a job to straighten and I realised too late that the nose heralds needed to be cut to fit around the grab irons.

I also realised too late that the nose shouldn't have upper grab-irons on the right side.   Not sure how I missed that one!  I must have been having one of those days when I applied them.

Still plenty of work to do on the model, but I feel pretty confident about getting it done before the deadline.  Next step will be the rest of the decals and then comes the weathering.

Rock Island Geep - Update

The final detail parts for my Rock Island Geep project arrived in the post this week so I was able to finish the body shell and begin the painting process.

As per the prototype this GP7 is fitted with tall MU cable stands and spark arrestors, as well as the usual handrails and other details.

I had to trim the exhaust stacks from the shell in order to fit the spark arrestors.

The Atlas cab has slightly different positions for the handrails so I drilled new holes and filled the old ones with squadron putty.

I hit a few snags with the painting, it took me three attempts to get the primer onto the shell, the paint kept clogging the airbrush and I was getting really uneven coverage.  I use Vallejo acrylic primer which I have always got good results with in the past but this was a new bottle and I'm not convinced it has not been affected by something in storage.  I will need to order a new one.

For the maroon I'm using Scalecoat acrylic Rock Island Maroon, but I'm not entirely happy with the colour, it's probably a closer match to the earlier units, I think I needed more of a scarlet shade for the unit I'm modelling.

I also ran into a lot of problems getting even coverage on the shell, especially in the corners of the hood and cab, where I just couldn't seem to get a decent even coat.   I do plan to heavily distress and weather this engine so the maroon colour and patchy coverage probably won't matter too much but I definitely need to work on my airbrush technique for next time!

First Geep for Godinez

I finally started work on the first Rock Island locomotive for my Godinez roster.  The model is a vintage 1990's Front Range GP7 kit which I will be superdetailing and painting in the late sixties Rock Island maroon and yellow paint scheme.

I started with a non-dynamic front range shell which was partially painted for Burlington Northern by the previous owner but never finished. 

The Front Range kit is the same tooling that formed the basis for the new Athearn Genesis geeps, so I knew that the cab roof was the wrong angle.  I decided to try and address that by replacing the original kit cab with an Atlas one.

The Atlas cab is slightly longer than the front range one so I had the do some trimming and filing to get it to fit, I also needed to shim the cab with styrene to raise it slightly as there is clearly a difference between the hood heights on the front range and Atlas bodies.

I also separated the nose from the long hood to make it easier to add the longer cab in between, otherwise I would have needed to file away the rivet detail on the roof.

I've added grab irons and prepared the shell for further detailing.  I've got several bags of Details West parts ready to add to the locomotive and will be giving it MU stands, air hoses and drop steps as well as adding brass horns.

Next step will be filling the gaps with milliput and sanding to give a smooth surface ready for priming.

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.

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.

Home on the Range...

I picked up yet another geep for the Peoria layout.  This one is a Front Range GP9 in ATSF livery.  I will strip the shell and repaint as an N&W unit.

This locomotive was yet another ebay cheapie, and it needs some TLC to bring it back to life.  There are no number boards or lenses with it, and the front pilot has bent steps that will need attention.

This brings my total to three GP7/9's all of them needing repainted and DCC fitted.  Of course none of them are DCC ready, so there will be some fun and games to be had with the soldering iron.

I will probably paint and decal them all at the same time in a production line fashion, especially as they will all be similarly painted.

I also picked up a low-nose GP30 dummy which will be used as part of a multiple unit consist for the layout, although it is a P2K unit and I believe they can be a little tricky to strip.

I really need a high nose GP30, so I am on the lookout for one of those to partner with this one.  Hopefully one will pop up  on ebay soon.