With the hope of digging more into building my layout and trying some painting projects, I bought a few old locomotive shells and two Athearn GP35 dummy locomotives at a show this weekend. I figure if I buy them, it'll motivate me to get working.
With the dummy units, my goal is to paint them for my freelance railroad and upgrade them with any missing parts or replace existing parts. The shells will be practice for painting before for I try the dummys.
I have a few questions about doing any upgrades or replacements in terms of parts needed and when to apply them in the painting process. The wheels and trucks look extremely dirty, do these require and good cleaning or replacing?
The two locomotives came with the railings and that's about it, what other parts are needed to complete a "modern" GP35? I know I would like a snow plow, but not sure of what else? How do I know which parts to buy to fit the Athearn GP35?
Lastly, when applying the parts, do I use typical glue that would be used with putting together rolling stock and structures? When do I put the detail parts on in the painting process?
I believe that is all for now. Thank you for any and all advice.
The Athearn GP-35 does not need much. Wire grab irons, snow plow, MU cables/hoses, windshield wipers, and cab sunshades will make a fine locomotive. You can add more to suit your tastes for your free lanced private roadname.
.
I apply all details before any painting. I know most people do it differently, but this method works for me.
Do not bother cleaning the wheels on powered units. Replace the wheels with nickel-silver wheels from North West Short Line. You will be glad you did.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Yeah, for openers, you want to disassemble the gear towers on each truck. Keep track of which goes where. Use a good strong grease cutter, alcohol, paint thinner, lacquer thinner, to clean out all the old grease from the switch tower and all the gears. Use a pipe cleaner to wipe each tooth of each gear. This will pick up bits of invisible black plastic flash stuck to the gears that make them run noisy. Clean all the wheels. Reassemble and test run.
Snow plows were only used on snow country northern roads. They were often removed for summer operation. Detail parts sold by Walthers are either the sort of thing that fits any diesel (like grab irons) or they will be advertised to fit such and such model of locomotive.
As for what goes where and customizing the locomotives, you want to look at photos of the prototype. There are good books of color photographs of most railroads, even if they have been out of business for decades. They can be expensive, but worth it for modeling. And some googling of the internet will turn up decent photos of prototypes of nearly anything.
For Athearns, glazing the cab windows improves the appearance greatly. And removing the lamps from the cab and placing them close behind the headlight lenses in the hoods will avoid the "campfire in the cab" look. Paint the truck sideframes grimy black (or dark gray auto primer from a rattle can).
To attach details to the Athearn shells, use "plastic welder" cement to attach plastic details (grab irons and such) to the plastic shell. Use super glue (CA) to attach metal parts ( brass castings, wire grab irons and handrails) to the plastic shell.
If you are going to paint the entire locomotive, you might as well attach all the detail parts before painting. If you intend to keep the original paint and lettering, you can brush paint applied details like grab irons without spoiling the original paint job.
Good luck. Post some photographs.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
Thank you both for the responses! I have been collecting several books of a few favorite railroads, so I'll refer to those as I prepare everything. I'll be modeling an area similar to western Wisconsin or eastern Minnesota, so a plow would likely be found during the winter months.
Do you have any recommendations for lubricants for the wheels/gears?
Any recommendations for glues to use? I have some generic Testors stuff, but if there is something better, I would prefer to use that.
What are some good tutorial videos for working with the lighting? I have a GP50 that will need this done eventually. For now, I'm focusing on the dummy units.
To add on to what Kevin suggest, replace the molded in radiator fans, with Cannon fans, add lifting hooks on the top of the loco for the air cleaner hatch, and the fan hatch, on top of the cab you can add antennas, and a strobe, depending on the prototype your modeling, also on the cab, you can add an all-weather window on the engineer's side, and arm rest on both sides, just to name a few more.
A good site to visit with your questions:
http://dieseldetailer.proboards.com/
I hope I haven't broken any rules here.
Mike.
My You Tube
Assuming these are the old blue box units (and if I'm wrong, you can pretty much ignore everything I am about to say)...
The one big problem with these old GP35s is that the hoods are six scale inches too wide, so the view from the front is a little off. These models were created in the 1960s, before Athearn developed a new narrow motor (circa 1983).
The big advantage is that they are virtually indestructible. We have some old Athearns at our club that are still running just fine after well over forty years. I'm installing DCC decoders and we'll likely run 'em for another forty years.
You said you have dummy units; assuming these are older ones with metal truck sideframes (and metal wheels? Haven't seen an Athearn BB dummy in ages) I don't know that I'd worry too much about dirt unless it is affecting the tracking.
One thing that can really improve the appearance of these units is to shave off the molded-on grab irons and replace them with wire grabs (you can buy them pre-formed from A-Line, Walthers part no. 116-29100). You can also use wire lift rings atop the hood. They're a bit big for scale but they stand out and won't breakoff.
For other details, visit your local hobby shop and ask about Detail Associates and Details West parts. Most shops will have a box of 'em -- all the little details we used to have to add on ourselves back before locos got so expensive. Most sell in the $1-$3 range and you'll find lots of fun stuff.
If you haven't invested too much time and/or money in the GP35s -- and if these are old BB units -- I would consider using them to learn to paint, then looking for Athearn blue box GP38-2, GP40-2, and GP50 units as a basis for your projects. These engines have scale-width hoods and no molded on grab irons or lift rings; instead they have cast-on bolts and "dimples" to guide your drill bit, which makes installation a breeze. They also have better detail, sort-of-see-through fans, and a body-mounting system that eliminates the unrealistic frame lugs. The SD40-2 has a scale width hood but the grab irons are molded on and the fans aren't quite as good.
Note that if you are converting Athearn BBs to DCC, older units with the gray "jet" motor draw too much current for comfort (I've verified this on our club's test track which has an ammeter). The newer narrow motors, colored gold, work just fine. I have converted several.
Hope this helps.
Aaron
PS, I've found paint pens to be a great way to paint grab irons and handrails (particularly the white/yellow bits at the end).
American Model Builders has a cab window upgrade at a relatively low cost. Really enhances the appearance v. the old slide in from Athearn.
One other thing. The Athearn blue box shells have LOTS of paint on them; so much that it hides the finer molded on details. I would suggest stripping the original paint off before repainting. I stripped an Athearn blue box SW7 and when I did, there were details there that just popped. The paint can be a little stubborn. I used 90% isopropyl alcohol for about a week with limited success. I then went to Pine Sol. It took upwards of a week to get the paint off, but, for the most part, it worked. I had to take an old tooth brush and scrub off the remaining paint in some of the creases and crevases. Some people have even suggested using Easy Off oven cleaner. From my own experiences, I believe the effort is worth it.
Thank you, all, once again. Lots of great suggestions and advice that I will definitely put to use in the coming days/weeks.
These dummys are both Athearn BB, B&O 3509 and CB&Q 989. My plan was to strip the paint and use these as practice For learning how to paint.
I'lol be taking a look at some prototype photos to help figure out what to add.
What are the best brands of glue to use when adding all of the detail parts?
Since most detail parts extend through the body shell, such as grab irons, lift hooks, fans, etc., I glue them from the inside with CA. Most suppliers of grab irons and steps, go through far enough that you can bend them over on the inside of the shell, and use CA. I use a small strip of .04 thickness styrene to provide the correct spacing between the irons and the body.
Other parts, like MU hoses, depending on the brand, usually surface mount with a tiny drop of CA.
When carefully slicing off the molded in grab irons, try to keep the dimple that represents the rivet.
I usually add all of the details parts I want on the model (except glass) before I paint. After a light prime coat, areas that need more attention will show up.
I guess in conclusion, CA is my glue of choice for detail parts.