First diesel custom paint, pictures included

[Darth Santa Fe]

I finished painting my first custom painted diesel engine today. The engine is a GSB Rail Ltd. HO scale SD40-2 in the Canadian Pacific Golden Beaver scheme. Every part you see on the engine (except the couplers and brake wheel) are the factory parts from GSB, and the detail isn't too bad either!







So, what do you guys think? I know I'm proud of it.

[Anonymous]

Nice SD40-2. Did you use spray paint? or an airbrush?

I'm painting an IANR GP38-2 right now. I tried painting the stripes since I don't have decals (yet). Oh well, live and learn.

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dingoix

Nice SD40-2. Did you use spray paint? or an airbrush?

For the colors, I used a cheap, $20 Testors airbrush, which does an excellent job for being so cheap.[:D] After it was painted, I added Microscale decals, the handrails, and the grab irons. I put the lift rings and snowplow on before I painted it. Once everything was on and painted, I sprayed it with a can of Testors "Dull Cote" so it would blend everything in.[:D]

[PennsyHoosier]

Very nice work. Well done!!!

[Anonymous]

Great work!

Can you provide some kind of review of the GSB Rail SD40-2 somewhere on this forum, sometime this summer? I've been interested in perhaps purchasing one or two of these.


Matt

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by uspscsx

Great work!

Can you provide some kind of review of the GSB Rail SD40-2 somewhere on this forum, sometime this summer? I've been interested in perhaps purchasing one or two of these.

Thanks for the compliments everyone![:D]

I might do a review sometime. I'll say now, the shell is a step above Athearn's SD40-2 because of the extra detail parts, but the drive is a step below, because of the lack of flywheels. It does have a tan Mashima can motor in it, so it runs fairly well.[:D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Darth Santa Fe

QUOTE: Originally posted by uspscsx

Great work!

Can you provide some kind of review of the GSB Rail SD40-2 somewhere on this forum, sometime this summer? I've been interested in perhaps purchasing one or two of these.

Thanks for the compliments everyone![:D]

I might do a review sometime. I'll say now, the shell is a step above Athearn's SD40-2 because of the extra detail parts, but the drive is a step below, because of the lack of flywheels. It does have a tan Mashima can motor in it, so it runs fairly well.[:D]

Thanks. Perhaps I could re-motor it, or something to make it more DCC-compatible, and run smoother.

[Anonymous]

uspscsx:

Unless somebody knows something I don't know your going to be awfully hard pressed to find a GSB anyplace except in a junkbox somewhere - GSB, I believe, departed the hobby scene twenty+ years ago. With that Mashima motor they did have a very good mechanism but they sold about as well as the Yugo did.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rtpoteet

uspscsx:

Unless somebody knows something I don't know your going to be awfully hard pressed to find a GSB anyplace except in a junkbox somewhere - GSB, I believe, departed the hobby scene twenty+ years ago. With that Mashima motor they did have a very good mechanism but they sold about as well as the Yugo did.

I have seen a few on eBay, and they haven't been too expensive. I don't know about now, though, as this was six months ago.


Matt

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Darth Santa Fe
So, what do you guys think? I know I'm proud of it.[:D][:D][:D]

Very good for a first effort. Looks like you got the painting procedure down pretty good, as evidenced by the nicely-blended decals.

I'm sure your next attempt will turn out even nicer. Several suggestions if you ever decide to add another CP SD40-2 to your roster:

- You might want to consider using a Cannon Thinwall Cab. Those make a model look a lot better because the window glass sits flush with the cab walls, rather than recessed behind deep pillars.

- Try your hand at bending your own handrails out of .015" wire and solder it to Smokey Valley stanchions. Those look a lot nicer than the overly thick plastic handrails on the GSB model, and you can put in those really intricate and unique handrail bends seen on CP units to add visual interest to the model.

- Rework the rear end of the long hood by sanding off the number board gaskets, and try adding more CP-specific details such as the single backup light, rectangular sand filler hatches, the cab-mounted bell, small Sinclair antenna, pilot-mounted large lift rings, etc. These make the model look more distinct than any ol' SD40-2.

- Flow some India Ink into the grilles to darken the recessed grille areas. It will make them look more like open grilles rather than just a mass of solid-red molded-on details.

Anyway, good job! Looking forward to seeing more.

[railroadyoshi]

That is far better than I could ever do! Keep it coming!

[Anonymous]

Great job!

Are you going to weather it at all?

I really love that bright "Christmas" CP red.

Greg

[CMSTPP]

Nice job. The locomotive looks like it was done by a professional. color is quite stunning.

James

[Cannoli]

Awesome job, it looks great to me! I think I may look into picking that same airbru***o start playing with.

[jondrd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Darth Santa Fe

QUOTE: Originally posted by dingoix

Nice SD40-2. Did you use spray paint? or an airbrush?

For the colors, I used a cheap, $20 Testors airbrush, which does an excellent job for being so cheap.[:D] After it was painted, I added Microscale decals, the handrails, and the grab irons. I put the lift rings and snowplow on before I painted it. Once everything was on and painted, I sprayed it with a can of Testors "Dull Cote" so it would blend everything in.[:D]

Darth SF,
Your results prove that more often than not, it's the person using the tool and not the tool itself that gets the excellent results. Good posting, gives heart to those of us who may have been postponing that first paint job. [tup] [tup] [tup]


Jon [8D]

[Anonymous]

Very nice.

[Anonymous]

I have a GSB SD40-2 and like what DSF said the shell is better than the Athearn but in my opinion the rest is junk. If I ever see a Kato or athearn chassis and running gear on E-bay it might get used. Until then it sits in it's box.

Mine is noisy and derailed on just about every switch on my layout. The plastic chassis is a joke.

[Darth Santa Fe]

LongIslandTom, thanks for the suggestions.[:D] I may try some of those when I have more money to burn.[:D]

railroadyoshi, I'm sure you could still do it just as well. All I used for color separation was plain masking tape cut with scissors, and a brush for touching up certain spots. The decals aren't hard once you figure them out. The decals worked best for me after soaking them from 20 to 60 seconds (depending on the decal's size) while holding them down with needle-nose pliers and a small flat-blade. After that, they would slide off the paper easily. I then positioned them with my finger, waited for them to dry a little, and then brushed them with Walthers Solvaset (if there's a large bubble, it can be fixed by poking a hole in the decal and soaking that part with Solvaset). After that, add the detail, give it a coating of Dull Cote, and it's ready to go![:D]

YardGoat18, I won't be weathering it, because I like to keep a clean look to my stuff. Interestingly, I didn't even use CP red. All my LHS had for CP red came from Modelflex, and I really don't like their paints. I used Model Master Italian Red, which looks reeal close to CP red.[:D]

Everyone else, thanks for the compliments![:D][:D][:D]

[Anonymous]

i love it,awesome simply awesome!

[Milwhiawatha]

personally I think your CP locomotive looks great. My first paint job was on a Bachmann Plus GP35. I painted it to represent the Milwaukee Road I added beacons, snow plows weed cutter brass grab irons. I didnt go to far into cutting things off and adding specific parts. But all and all it came out looking nice for my first not knowing what I am doing project maybe I should get photos and post. I also custom painted S12 diesel switchers into Milwaukee Road Along with a couple of Freelanced road locomotives

[Train 284]

She is a beauty!

[Anonymous]

Very nice! Makes me want to try my own hand at painting!

[Anonymous]

Good Job! Bravo![^][tup]