I finally dug out the GP60's and got them on the workbench. Now I've got a proper modelling cave in the garage I can work on a build without taking over the kitchen table.
In the meantime I've acquired a Proto 2000 GP60 shell which I was able to use as a comparison.
First thing I noticed was that the models weren't as correct as I remembered, the horn looks too low on one of them and the cannon sub-base was definitely sitting on a warped walkway.
So, a bit of jimmying with a scalpel and the nose and sub base are off the model and ready to be re-fitted. A small piece broke off the edge of one sub-base but it will easily glue back on.
I realised that I had glued them in place with the shell sitting flat, but due to the low pilot face that resulted in an upward bend on the walkway - the solution is to let the pilot face overhang the edge of the workbench when fitting the nose.
Second thing is that the horn looks too low down on the hood. It came with a really tall looking horn stand that I thought was too big, so I just glued the horn directly onto the top of the hood. Looking at it now I'm thinking the horn should be up a bit higher.
This weekend was the delayed NMRA winter meet, moved from it's usual Benson location to a hall in Northampton.
The meet was mostly focussed on traders and bring-and-buy with only a handful of layouts.
There seemed to be a really good turnout and the hall was very busy, it certainly seemed like more of a crowd than Benson usually attracts.
There were plenty of bargains to be had at the sale tables and as usual I picked up a few goodies.
Several trailers, containers and three kits - a pair of old Milepost 501 Furehaf Z-Vans and a partially built and slightly damaged Lonestar Trailmobile 40ft flatbed.
I also picked up a couple of blue box locos, a basket-case GP50 and a nicely painted GP60, both of which will become donor locomotives for my planned SD60 kitbash which I hope to have ready for this years convention.
The GP50 was clearly destined to be a super-detailing project before it was abandoned, presumeably when a more detailed rtr GP50 was announced. The frame has been very nicely milled and filled to allow space for piping and frame sides.
I'm mostly interested in the shell parts, but the trucks, motor and frame may see use in another project, either it's all good fodder for the parts collection along with some GP38-2 parts that were also in the box.
The challenge deadline is tomorrow so I sat down at the workbench and finished the final details on the gas station this evening.
The roof sign received a coat of paint before being superglued to the roof.
The gas pumps each gained a hose cut from thin insulated wire and glued to the base, as well as some extra colour on the small details, I picked out the various rags and details with some neutral blue paint using a fine brush.
I also cleaned up the edges on the tops of the walls, I plan to keep the roof removable and I decided to paint them and make the presentation a bit neater.
With all that done the model is complete. It's been a lot of fun putting it together and I'm really pleased with the final result. I still plan to use it as part of a square-foot diorama but that will need to wait for another day as I am out of time.
Here are some detail shots of the finished gas station.
The challenge deadline is two days away so I am still working full tilt on the gas station, I retouched the paint around the windows and fixed some areas where the grime wash had been a little too heavy.
I created a few more decals and printed them on my laser jet, then placed them directly onto thin styrene to make the signs and glued them in place. Each sign received a brown painted edge to make them look like rusting tinplate.
The glazing was added using canopy glue and I printed a set of window blinds on paper to add some extra detail, designing the page so that it would print double sided.
I also created a few small pamphlets and a poster to add some detail to the counter area.
The missing
gas pump details were tricky to fix, I tried creating a replacement cap
piece out of styrene but it wasn't possible to match the existing kit
part. I also realised that there were more pieces missing than I had
realised, a google search for images of the kit showed that the gas
pumps should have three parts, I only had two, there should be a
cylindrical 'sight glass' section to them.
I
pulled the pumps apart again and fashioned a pair of sight glass
sections from some sprue I had in my bits box.
I was seriously
considering buying a second kit to obtain the missing cap piece when it
occured to me that one way to get round the problem was to cover it up.
I fashioned a small 'tarp' from tin foil and made the pump look as if
it was broken and out of use. Job done.
The final work completed this evening was the rooftop sign, this is a tricky shape to cut due to my decision to try and emulate the Gilmore Gas logo with it's circle motif. I attached the sign decal to a piece of styrene and trimmed round it to create a closer match.
The sign will be painted before it is attached to the main roof of the gas station, and should look very close to the one from the original reference image I posted earlier.
An update on the gas station build, continuing the painting and adding the secondary colour to the main structure. The looming deadline made me rush things a bit and that resulted in a few mistakes and blotches in the paintwork.
I will need to patch some of the main wall colour before I add the rest of the weathering in the next session.
The missing parts for the gas pumps are beginning to bug me, so I may have to give in to the temptation to buy another kit to complete them! We shall see.
The deadline is looming so I spent an hour or so this evening starting the painting of the completed gas station model. I mixed a little white into some regular Revell Aqua yellow to approximate the Gilmore Gasoline cream colour and brush painted the main walls and the counter inside.
This first coat is a bit rough and ready, but it should be fine because I am planning to weather the finished model to represent an almost out of business station at the end of its working life rather than a brand new structure.
The roof and brickwork have been picked out in terracotta and boxcar red, and that is as far as I got this evening.
I will hopefully get the detail painting started tomorrow, with the window frames and doors getting a coat of burgundy/red to match the decals.
I also need to make a third attempt at the decals, this time I will try applying them with some Mig decal set which will hopefully help them stay put.
Today I spent a bit more time working on the Gas Station for the NMRA forum challenge. I couldn't find any suitable roofing material in my box of bits so I decided to cut my own roof tiles from styrene.
First I created a replacement roof using the dimensions of the original kit parts and braced the inside of the roof to make sure it is strong enough to withstand the handling I expect it will receive during exhibitions.
The roof tiles were measured on a sheet of 0.3mm styrene and then notched with a razor saw, I notched along an entire row then cut it from the sheet in one piece.
Once I had a stockpile of tile strips I glued them in place one at a time, using a steel rule to help make sure they were more or less straight. Small imperfections are in keeping with such a rustic prototype so I didn't worry too much about precision here.
I added a tar paper roof to the lean to shed using tin foil, I will paint it dark grey to make it look like weathered felt.
I added some bracing under the eaves to give extra detail, and also a small rain porch roof over the front door.
With the roof tiling done I started on the signage. I had already printed my decals but I wasn't sure what to expect as this is my first time trying to create my own.
I had a few problems getting the decals off the backing paper and the first roof sign ended up splitting into six parts and the smaller posters came off on the blotting paper! More practice needed I think.
The weather was favorable so I took advantage of the opportunity to get the model primed and ready for painting. I used a cardboard box as a makeshift spray booth and a rattle can of acrylic primer.
I'm pleased with the progress so far, hopefully tomorrow I will get started on painting the final base coat.
