Weathered and Detailed HO Scale GP9

[hon30critter]

You are an artist Bruce!

Dave

[HO-Velo]

"Is it live, or is it Memorex?"  Superb modeling.  Was the shot taken under sunlight?

Thanks and regards, Peter

[Attuvian1]

Photos of the prototype are available within the Western Pacific Railroad Museum website.  The model is quite incredible.  Out of the box I was totally fooled.  My only clues to it not being the real thing are the orderliness of the MU cables, the shape of the lenses of upper marker and headlights, and the apparently solid sides of the trucks' leaf springs.  There may be a couple of other tip-offs but you'll have to look hard to discern them.

John

[riogrande5761]

[Deane Johnson]

No kidding, I thought the photo was of the prototype and I'd be scrolling down to see the model you had created to dupicate it.

[Attuvian1]

Bruce,

I'm wondering what guage of wire was used for the grab iron (?) on the top of the short hood (above the left number board).  Also, really amazing detail in the photo backdrop for this diorama.

John

[Andy Miller]

Wow.  Simply, WOW!

[BruceK]

Started with a unpainted Athearn Genesis GP9. Replaced and add additional details to match the Southern Pacific “transitional/Kodachrome” theme of SP #2873 located at the Western Pacific Museum in Portia California where I was able to rent a two-hour operation.

 

Weathering effects include paint and metal oxidation, paint chipping and wear, mild rust and dirt. Installed ESU LokSound V5 decoder. All headlights have chrome reflectors with custom made light bulbs using small fiber optic cable with a very small drop of clear epoxy on the tip, and a small flat LED on the other end. The class lights use the same method with out the epoxy tip. Lenses are also made from clear epoxy, with the red headlight with red dye.

 

 

Close-up front view that better shows paint chipping, worn metal edges, window gaskets, and other details.