DSC01741 by wp8thsub, on Flickr
DSC01741
This Athearn F unit had the steam generator detail carved off. I used putty to fill any irregularities in the shell and sanded the center of the hatch smooth, protecting the rivet detail around the edge. The process didn't take much time.
Rob Spangler
The SG details are molded on, period. There is no "replacement hatch". and it does not take hours.
If you model the early to mid 50's, and there a chance you will have a passenger train, leave the detail on an A/B set.
Real easy.
Mike.
My You Tube
Attuvian SPSOT fan Alternately, you could keep these on as many railroads transferred f units to freight from passenger in the 60s as passenger traffic died down. Depending on your prototype and era you could just keep them as they are, the real thing of then did the same. Do some reasearch and see what your prototype did. Good idea, except that I model in the early to mid-50s. I'm fairly sure SP was still a ways off before dumping their passenger Fs to freight service.
SPSOT fan Alternately, you could keep these on as many railroads transferred f units to freight from passenger in the 60s as passenger traffic died down. Depending on your prototype and era you could just keep them as they are, the real thing of then did the same. Do some reasearch and see what your prototype did.
Alternately, you could keep these on as many railroads transferred f units to freight from passenger in the 60s as passenger traffic died down. Depending on your prototype and era you could just keep them as they are, the real thing of then did the same. Do some reasearch and see what your prototype did.
I'm not sure about "dumping" the F's to freight service. I don't about SP per se, but some railroads buying F-units back then saw them as kinda like a 4-8-2 or 4-8-4, dual-purpose engines that could pull mainline freights or passenger trains. I know GN used A-B sets of FT's between the Twin Cities and Duluth-Superior in both services - take a passenger train from the Twin Cities to Duluth in the morning, and return that evening with a freight train. Some railroads also had 'freight' F-units that had a steam generator in the B-unit so it could be used as back-up power if a passenger set went down.
The Athearn BB F units I remember had molded on SG details causing one to spend hours carving and sanding them off. As far as the bolt detail around the perimeter of the hatch itself, Archer may have something in their line of surface detail decals, that would remove any fear of damaging the shell.
As far as painting the modified roof, unless you model equipment fresh out of the paint shop, the roof of a locomotive is one of the very first areas to become discolored due to sun fading, rain washed dust and grime, exhaust soot, etc. No reason to obsess over a precise color match unless you are modeling a brand new unit.
As you mentioned, manufacturers have become more aware of the fact that molding every option onto a locomotive can make it undesirable to a significant portion of their potential customer base, thereby limiting sales.
Athearn Genesis F-units use Highliner shells, which can be used to model any F-unit from the F2 to the F9 and all the various options (one headlight vs. two, steam generator equipped, dynamic brakes, etc.) because of all the interchangeable parts.
The Athearn "bluebox" F7A and F7B are one-piece molded shells with no interchangeable or add-on pieces (except the window glazing) so you can't really "swap out" parts. Your best bet if modifying a BB unit would be to do what Mike suggested, carefully cut off and sand smooth the steam generator parts and then touch up the paint.
I would recommend taking a look to see if the generator detail is molded on. If so I think Mike‘s idea is best, if not I bet there are after market parts or even athearn parts from their more resent releases could be use as a replacement, so look around.
Regards, Isaac
I model my railroad and you model yours! I model my way and you model yours!
I cut'em all off, smooth off, and repaint. Just be careful not to mess up the "rivets/bolts" around the edges.
I don't think there is an offical hatch replacement, other than a thin piece of styrene, but then you have to duplicate the bolts around the edge.
Folks,
All of the Blue Box shells for F7s (both A and B units) have steam generator exhaust gear atop the access hatch at the rear. I understand that this was primarily, if not exclusively, for use in passenger service. Subsequent Athearn Genesis issues of Fs and those by other suppliers (IMR, etc) have the same, plain access hatches on both ends of their Bs and on the aft end of the A units, issuing them as intended for frieght service.
I do all freight service and would like to replace all or most of the generator hatches with plain ones. If there is a maker of plain hatches out there I could swap them out, though I'm not an accomplished painter and would have to mask and match roof top colors. The other option is to cut off the generator items, float and sand the surface even and then repaint.
Any suggestions? I want to keep these old shells for the extra work that has gone into their innards and the details that are in hand and about to be added (yes, I'm redoing the windshields).
Thanks,
John