General Discussion (Model Railroader)

I am planning on purchasing a HO Scale Athearn C44-9W and turning it into a Norfolk Southern paint scheme but before I paint I need to relocate the front headlight and number boards. I am going to get some styrene strips to use as filler for the holes vacated by the old light and boards.

My question is what should I use, I am assuming styrene strips would work the best but how thick should they be. I don't care if the strips protrude into the cab of the loco as long as they are flush on the outside.

Will

For the lights, get some sprue from a plastic model, grab each end of a piece and hold the middle over a candle, soldering iron or someting small and hot.  When the plastic begins to soften, pull it to form two long tapers.  After it cools, stick the tapers into the holes and glue in place then trim.

dehusman:

For the lights, get some sprue from a plastic model, grab each end of a piece and hold the middle over a candle, soldering iron or someting small and hot.  When the plastic begins to soften, pull it to form two long tapers.  After it cools, stick the tapers into the holes and glue in place then trim.

one small change to Dave's recommendation.  Instead of wait for the sprue to cool, if you insert it into the headlight hole while it is still soft you'll get a better seal all the way around the openning and need less sanding and filler to get it perfectly smooth.  You could also reheat the sprue to soften it.

Not being an NS fan, I'll go ahead and ask:  Looks like Athearn will have an NS version of this engine coming out in late December of this year.  If that model has the detailing in the proper place, would it not be better to wait and save yourself a little work?

http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH78854