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Where to find an HO Atlas Amtrak Dash 8 in Phase IV?

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Where to find an HO Atlas Amtrak Dash 8 in Phase IV?
Posted by ATSFGuy on Saturday, March 25, 2017 1:34 PM

Hello,

I've looked everywhere on google and ebay for an Atlas Amtrak Dash 8-32BW, but can't seem to find one anywhere and those ebay pages on google search are old and need to be erased. 

Anyone have any suggestions on where they might still be available?   Is anybody willing to sell thiers?

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Posted by mbinsewi on Saturday, March 25, 2017 1:59 PM

This ones on Ebay, it's in Canada.  Read the listing, a family sale going on, you might be able to score more stuff. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/walthers-trainline-GE-Dash-8-32-BWH-Amtrak-510-931-166-/252796423456?hash=item3adbd74d20:g:XxMAAOSwSlBYuZY6

Good luck!

Mike.

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Saturday, March 25, 2017 6:00 PM

I'm looking for one in the "Phase 4 Scheme".

That one has multiple colors.

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Posted by emdmike on Saturday, March 25, 2017 6:16 PM

You are doing about all you can do, haunt ebay, train shows and maybe post on some other forums like the Atlas rescue forum.  Thats about all you can do.  Join some other forums that have a "wanted" area and post there.  Good Luck!     Mike

Silly NT's, I have Asperger's Syndrome

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Sunday, March 26, 2017 12:21 AM

Guess I should have purchased one when Atlas first released them instead of waiting 15 years.

 

The way stuff shows up on eBay is totally random, it's almost like a radio.

 

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Posted by angelob6660 on Sunday, March 26, 2017 12:48 AM

I have the same problem with N. When it comes with the 8-40BHW in all three schemes.

Some prices are too expensive to get.

Modeling the G.N.O. Railway, The Diamond Route.

Amtrak America, 1971-Present.

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Posted by PennCentral99 on Sunday, March 26, 2017 9:40 AM

ATSFGuy

The way stuff shows up on eBay is totally random, it's almost like a radio.

save the search (on ebay). once you do that, it will alert you when an item is listed.

Surprise http://www.ebay.com/itm/OMI-8-32BW-Amtrak-500-HO-Overland-Models-DCC-Sound-Custom-Weathered-/142300068338?hash=item2121beb9f2:g:fR4AAOSwTM5Yubkm

Inspired by Addiction

See more on my YouTube Channel

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 9:10 PM

Still no Atlas Amtrak Dash 8's in Phase IV on evilbay,

Ain't that a shame?

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 9:10 PM

I'll keep searching.

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Posted by NittanyLion on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 10:29 PM

If you're not allergic to it, there's a few undecorated ones on ebay right now and Microscale made Phase IV decals in the last few years.

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 11:15 PM

Nittany Lion,

I've NEVER painted or decaled an HO Scale locomotive in my life nor have I used a spray gun,  It would require supervision from a modeling pro to make sure I' don't screw up.

I've always wondered how you pro's did it!   It looks very easy to mess up if you make a mistake, Plus the decals/numbers are not stickers and have to be applied using water or something. What if the windows came glued in?  How do I remove them if I'm going to paint the shell?  The window's don't need paint!

I'll try making a wish request, maybe someone out there will hear it, and put one up for grabs on ebay. Big Smile

 

Funny right? Laugh

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Posted by mbinsewi on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 10:52 AM

Well, you have to take the loco apart, add the detail parts you want to make it the specific loco you want model, then paint and decal accordingly.  It's all part of modeling.

It's really not that difficult Big Smile  And, if you have some older unused train set cars, you could practice.

Just saying, don't be affraid to jump in and learn, like everyone else has.  Just don't start with an expensive loco.

Good luck on your search, I have been watching, too, now that I learned what the different phase locos look like, thanks to you, for pointing it out to me. Big Smile  I guess the loco I referenced you to, in a previous post, is the phase 2, or phase 3 ?

Mike.

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Posted by NittanyLion on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 10:36 PM

A few things:

You've lucked into a relatively simple paint job.  Phase IV is basically silver, with a dark gray roof.  There's some gray on the sides, but it follows panel lines, for the most part, which means its less hard to "get right."

Undecorated models tend to come semi-disassembled because they know they're getting painted. They won't have the glass in the windows. Even if they did, little bits of blue painter's tape from the hardware store (heck, Target even) will do the job masking the glass.  You don't need an airbrush.  True, a skilled hand with an airbrush can produce good results, but you're doing a relatively simple job.  A spray can will do.  Just going to take a few light coats.  Do the silver-gray first.  I'd have to consult my data on what color works good for that Amtrak color.  The gray, well, no idea on that, but there's a ton of gray shades out there in spray cans.  More blue tape, burnished down real good, covering the whole dang shell except for the roof and you're good.  Then give it *another* coat of silver.  That helps seal down the edge of the tape and any bleed you'd have had is now the same color as what you're trying to protect. Now its time for the gray and once that's good and dry, you can take the tape off.  Just be careful and pull evenly away from the masked area.  You'll get a sharp break in color without a lot of effort.  Something that gave me a lot of confidence for the future was I somehow got this step exactly right the first time I ever tried to do it.

Decals.  Did you ever build model airplanes when you were a kid, with the decals you soaked in water?  Same kind of thing.  There's nothing to be intimidated with. Soak them in water for as long as the directions say, dry them a bit on a paper towel, and gently slide them on (help them out with something like a toothpick maybe).  They're fragile, so just be gentle with them.  If they break, there's ways to fix them too.  I could go into all the different things with the glosscoat and the different decal solutions you can use, but some of that stuff is a matter of personal taste or even what paint you used in the first place.  Definitely have to give it a coat of Dullcote when you're done, though, to protect the decals during handling.

Truth be told, I've done exactly one (no kidding one) project from undecorated to finished.  By chance, it was an Amtrak baggage car. I'd done plenty of painting and decaling before (like renumbering something or signs on buildings), but never a full-up like that.  After doing it once, I can't believe I wasn't doing it before.  It was like the floodgates opened!  Suddenly, a huge variety of projects suddenly seemed appealing because I knew I could do them.  Right now on my workbench, I'm kitbashing three scrap metal gons.  I've never kitbashed a car before.  Even building underframes from scratch.  Have custom decals being made for them.

I will concede that a locomotive might be a big one to bite off on a first go.  But, if you really want something that's really hard to find or outright doesn't exist, its a good skill to have in your back pocket. 

Also Mike: the Pepsi Can Amtrak scheme doesn't fit into the phases. Its like a Phase 3.5 that only appeared on that particular type of locomotive.  It didn't last long.  Locomotives and rolling stock phases were the same until Phase IV ended. Locomotives got a different one called Phase V and the cars got Phase IVb.  Now, to make things more confusing, they're delivering the new Viewliner baggage cars in Phase III and starting to repaint locomotives in Phase III as they get shopped.  I think a few Amfleet coaches got it too, by now.

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Posted by mbinsewi on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 11:03 PM

Thanks, NittanyLion, I did do some research, and it also seems most of these loco's were repainted from the "pepsi can" to the phase IV, which, really would be an easy paint job.

And to ATSF guy, there are a couple on Ebay, but they are not Atlas, they are the Walters Trainline model.

Mike.

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Thursday, March 30, 2017 5:29 PM

Some Atlas Santa Fe Dash 8's have turned up, but so far no Amtrak units.

I can't model the "New Amsterdam Limited" without an Amtrak Phase IV Dash 8, the First Run of Walthers Superliners appear to be scarce on ebay as well.

The Atlas version has extra details and looks so much better than the Walthers version.

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Posted by NittanyLion on Thursday, March 30, 2017 6:14 PM

When you say first run, do you mean the first run of the plated ones or some earlier run?

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Thursday, March 30, 2017 9:14 PM

The older ones that were released around 2001/2002. They don't have interiors. The #932 series numbers.

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Posted by NittanyLion on Thursday, March 30, 2017 10:34 PM

Lots of Walther's rolling stock is 932.  I can't find a reference to a run from 2001/2002, but there was a run in 1998.  Its possible (or likely) there's a run I don't know if.  However, I am somewhat perplexed: why do you want an older run like that?  If its because you don't like the plated ones, then why not Kato or Con-Cor?

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Posted by mbinsewi on Thursday, March 30, 2017 10:46 PM

If you want one you can take out of the box, just the right phase color, with all the details you want, you'll have to keep searching.  Your alternative is to use some modeling skills, and make it happen.  Smile

Good luck,

Mike

 

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Friday, March 31, 2017 2:28 AM

I'll keep checking ebay,

The "New Amsterdam Limited" is very easy to model in HO Scale, just need 4 Superliners and a Dash 8.

I first saw the Walthers Superliners in the 2002 Reference    Book. It showed a coach and a diner being pulled by (yep you guessed it!) a Dash 8 in phase IV.

I like the older runs because the silver paint on the Superliner cars match the silver Dash 8 made by Atlas.  The chrome plated ones are too expensive and while I like the interiors, the plated effect shines too much and just...well they don't look right.

Not everything has to be plated!

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Posted by steemtrayn on Friday, March 31, 2017 3:51 AM

Y'mean this? (Just teasin')

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqFS1GZL4s

 

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Friday, March 31, 2017 10:12 PM

Yes!  Exactly!!

Only mine will have 4-5 Superliners.

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Friday, August 18, 2017 9:45 PM

ok, I finally found one, took it to the club presidents shop to get a number programmed in and it's MISSING THE DECODER!!!   How does the shell come off?  is it hard to take it off? 

Right now the unit is at Harry's shop waiting for a decoder, I can buy a soundtraxx 2 function decoder on ebay, but both Harry and I are still trying to figure out how to remove the shell to put the decoder in.

Any ideas?

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