At $65 car (not counting wheels, window sets, or decals), its alittle tough to justify buying them outright. I already have both the ALP46 and the PL42AC (painted, decaled and ready to go), but i have been unable to justify buying the cars.
I have some other stuff thats "cheaper" that i think i need to pick up first.
that said, the HO Multilevels were REALLY well done, compared to the Comet Vs. I've seen them in person. Joe at IMW has don't an excellent job.
Modeling Conrail, Amtrak and NJ DOT under the wires in New Jersey, July 1979.
The MLs do have windows. It is the CVs that don't. Like you said, I just wish they were a little less expensive. A 6 car set with a PL42 would be somewhere in the range of $600, probably more... And then there would be a 9 car set with an ALP. Forget it!With a small layout, maybe you could get away with, say a 4 car train and still have it look good. You could start with running just one set, and then maybe building your fleet.
And they look VERY nice. I've never seen one in person, but from the photos, they look amazing.And why do the CVs look bad (or at least not as good as the MLs)?
My Model Railroad: Tri State RailMy Photos on Flickr: FlickrMy Videos on Youtube: YoutubeMy Photos on RRPA: RR Picture Archives
well, a 4 car train could have you an ACES set. You could make those decals from Trim film, or if you have a good computer program, you can print your own decals. All I'd need is a P40DC (already have the ALP44). I think you have to buy the multilevels a car at a time. thats gonna be my plan when i finally get past the holidays. I'll buy a cab and a coach to start, then add until i get a reasonable train. I'm hoping i can make my ALP46 run well, but i'm unsure of the pulling power of the European models I'm looking at.
The Comet Vs have a lot of molded on detail that doesn't help it. there are also things like ditch lights and such that should not be there, as well as some other detail problems related to the ends. Chief amongst them are ditchlights on cars without cab ends, and on the cab car, the diaphragm is molded on. it doesn't look good unless painted up right.
there is just a whole lot of work behind the Comet Vs.
See, an ACES set would do me no good. I'd have to buy the ALP and the P40, as well as decals for both. That, and I don't model the NEC or the ACL
I'd probably do the same thing, get a cab and a trailer, and then get additional trailers later.
Hmmm, ditch lights on trailers? Very interesting... As for the diaphragm I can see how that can be an issue, although mostly just a PITA.And the fact that the windows aren't included doesn't help...
What do you mean? Atlas ALP44s come painted. they don't use the ALP46 on those trains. besides, the only major detail you'd really have to change is the dynamic break box (in my opinion). everything else is close enough for reason.
either way, it would be cool to do. I would have much fun building that train.
http://www.youtube.com/user/sbpackernut
update video. There are backdrops!
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
Uh, I have no clue why I said that! I knew that the ALPs were factory painted, but said that anyway! lol
Sawyer, very nice! Your layout is comin along quickly
lol, i gotta start making videos of my stuff. It is nearly the end of the line for me. On december 4th, i'll no longer be a teenager, lol. of course, everythign is ina continual state of creative destruction. My layout hasn't looked "nice" in years!
I still need to build catenary. GRR! to much!
Joe, thanks man. can you believe the camera on those nanos?
GEC, hehe, you're never to old to make videos; in fact, gott he idea from this fellow member of nscale.org
lol, i'm getting to old for the "teen Modelers". I am a grizzled ancient compared to you!
You got a point there, lol. idk how old I am compared to the other psoters here; know Tyler's aroudn my age, but other than that, don't really know.
GEC, how old are you? As long as you're not like, 25, I don't see why you would have to leave, unless anyone else disagrees...
Sawyer, I believe you, Tyler, and I are all about the same (I'm 15, and a Sophomore). Like you, don't kno about anyone else, though...
I'm 16. I never really thought about how old we all were. I guess it ends up being a weird question to ask over the internet at some times...
Alex
Railfan AlexI never really thought about how old we all were. I guess it ends up being a weird question to ask over the internet at some times
Yeah, same here. Hey, at least we're not like old people who don't want anyone to know how old they really are!
Can't. Wait. Till. 16.6 1/2. Months. Till. Permit. Aaaagh!lolSo happy I passed the exam, so once I turn 16 in June (day after school gets out!), alls I need is 6 hours of instruction (and about $300...)! Ah, Driver's Ed. That class was such a joke. So glad I have gym now instead. But writing next quarter. Ugh...
Railfan AlexI'm 16. I never really thought about how old we all were. I guess it ends up being a weird question to ask over the internet at some times...
True.
Yeah, I'm 15 like Joe. But I get to go take the permit test day we get out for Christmas break. Now to read that danged book we got from the DMV.
Yeah...it does seem sort of weird, and could certainly scare away newcomers to the thread. I'll be 16 this Spring.
I've always assumed the unofficial age policy (of course this is Kalmbach's forum so we really don't have any say) here is much like on a teen-only forum which I cannot name here: Teens join, although we don't ask your age, and even when you turn 20, you can still participate. (I guess you're a teen at heart! )
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Here's what's been keeping operating sessions on hold since early fall...fascia panels with bill boxes, throttle ports, and my sole reversing switch! This is the Enfield, NH, panel - industry labels on the bill boxes from left to right read LeBlanc Scrap, E&R Rail (an interchange with the Enfield & Rumney, which are both real towns), Enfield Transfer, and Agrawal Paper.
There's also panels in Lebanon (A/D 1 and 2, Class tracks 1-4, and Lebanon Cold Storage), Mascoma (Formanek Granite tracks 1 and 2), and West Canaan (Claflin Foods Inc. and Delery Pulpwood & Lumber.)
I'm trying to schedule an operating session for December 5...I'll post photos from it if I can get enough operators.
Sweet minifacias Tyler; I'm probably going to make a small shelf for the ayrd that can hold my powerpack and also a switchlist.
oh, and I now have Skype; y'all still using that?
Nice Tyler! I'm assuming you built the boxes, no?
Yes, I built the bill boxes myself, using 1" square wood rods and 1/8" plywood.
Also, I got my new camera, a Canon SX1! It takes DSLR-quality photos for half the price (although you can't change lenses) plus HD video, but only goes up to F/8. I'm still deciding whether this is the right camera for me (it was over $500 and I've been saving up for it for almost a year, so it's not a light decision...) so one of the requirements I've been testing is if the camera is able to take model photos with a deep depth of field.
Obviously F/8 isn't enough, so I used Adobe Photoshop 6 to manually stitch three different photos with different focus points together. I'm still getting the hang of it, and I've learned that I need more than three photos, so there's a couple spots that are still out of focus, but I think it'll work! This only took me about 10 minutes to create, and yes, Photobucket mangled it when uploading so now the whole thing looks out of focus!
The three focus points (I was using manual focus, so it's not exact) were the ballast in front of the train, the locomotive cab, and that building being torn down in the background. Check out the new ballast - I used over a gallon to ballast the entire seven track yard!
Nice! The only out of focus things that stick out to me are the plow and front coupler, and the WRS thingy on the rear of the long hood.
Tyler, it looks great.
I'm going to use smooth-it to try to upgrade my concrete lot. Worst comes to worst I'll rip it up and redo it.
That's what I used for my roads. But make sure you use the foam tape with it, or it'll be nothing but a mess.
And I'd reccomend trying it out on a piece of scrap foam before going ahead on the layout. My first section was awful, but by the third (and last) section, it wasn't bad.
Hey everyone
Haven't been on here in forever. Internet went down. Hope everyone has had a good Thanksgiving. I did. WRS is looking good tyler
Taylor
Bear Down!
Smooth it is just lightweight plaster. Plaster roads are difficult to look right. Something like Chip Board or Styrene painted looks fine!
The portion between the rail is styrene and everything else is a white high density cardboard product. I lightly airbrushed them with engine black so it turned a gray color. I then used AIM (Bragdon works too) Medium Gray Weathering Powder and liberally brushed it on. I used a rag to work it into the road way and brush excess off. This is a pre-dullcote picture, and as you can see there are no white lines or anything.
Guilford GuyPlaster roads are difficult to look right.
TrainManTyGuilford GuyPlaster roads are difficult to look right.
GG, depends if you've got the right sandpaper or not. The Perfectcast stuff I'm using is a PAIN to sand, lol.
Guilford GuyThus you could have completed a styrene road in half the time and have it look better!
At probably three-five times the cost. 1 unit of Perfectcast: $5. 1 pack of 2 sheets of styrene from the LHS: $10. Guesstimation of amount of required styrene: 3-4 sheets. And I can't find any danged styrene (or Masonite, for that matter) in Lowes or Home Depot.
I'll be switching to smooth-it for roads though, we'll see how much that costs.
Packers#1 Guilford GuyThus you could have completed a styrene road in half the time and have it look better! At probably three-five times the cost. 1 unit of Perfectcast: $5. 1 pack of 2 sheets of styrene from the LHS: $10. Guesstimation of amount of required styrene: 3-4 sheets. And I can't find any danged styrene (or Masonite, for that matter) in Lowes or Home Depot. I'll be switching to smooth-it for roads though, we'll see how much that costs.
For Sale signs......dang, that's expensive stryene, I can get a pack of 4 sheets for 2 bucks at my LHS. Depending on the thickness I can get 1-10 sheets for the same price...
Yeah we still use Skype...not that often though. We never know when Alex L *Cough Cough* is on...so yeah...
Same as Tyler, I'll be 16 in spring...
My Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JR7582 My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wcfan/
For Sale signs, not evergreen...