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!

Proto 2000 50' Single Door Boxcar Kits

I picked up another couple of boxcars for Godinez, these are Proto 2000 50ft single door boxcars in kit form, the original Life Like release from around ten years ago.  

These cars are available in the Walthers Proto range as assembled models for around £22 but I picked up these kits for less than £6 each on ebay.

These are the first Proto boxcar kits I've bought, but they are every bit as detailed as the Proto locomotives and include lots of detail parts and come complete with knuckle couplers and metal wheels.

I'm planning to paint over the roadnames and decal these models for 'The Rock' with the expectation that the weathering will cover any differences in the paint colour becasue matching the exact shade of brown on these cars will be tricky.

Modelling the Peoria Local - Motive Power

Here is a look at the second part of the Prototype Modeler magazine article on modeling the Peoria Local train.  This is from the September/October 1988 issue and details how to build and detail two of the most common locomotives then seen on the Bloomington line.

The article covers two different locomotives, a high nose Southern GP38-2 and a low nose N&W GP30, the older geep being unusual as a low nose unit because most of these locomotives were high hood units on the Norfolk & Western and Southern routes.

The article goes into a lot of detail on how to improve and detail the old Front Range (Bachmann) GP30 and create a detailed and accurate model of these unique locomotives.
A great project and two very nice looking locomotives, although these days there are off the shelf options for both of these prototypes, including the Life Like Proto 2000 GP30 (in both high and low nose versions) and the new Athearn Genesis GP38-2 as a high nose Southern prototype.

The Athearn Genesis GP38-2 in Southern Livery 

The Proto 2000 GP30 High Nose in Norfolk and Western Livery 

I will definitely be picking up one of the new Athearn GP38-2's when they are released at the end of the year, but getting a Proto 2000 high nose GP30 will be a lot harder, they really seem to be like gold dust, even the low nose versions are thin on the ground.  I will be keeping an eye on ebay just in case one becomes available.

You can read the entire article on this link here:  Link