I want some E units without portholes. (think Milwaulee Road). I'm sure I can butcher them up nicely by myself, but wondering about tips and tricks for a sucessful outcome that you may have used. Probably using Model Power/Con-Cor/Roco shells for these conversions.
Thanks-
Mike
I have done this with P2K E units. I use a digital caliper to measure the thickness of the car body wall. I then find styrene sheet stock with the same thickness to make a 'plug'. I put some larger sheet stock behind the porthole and the cut the plug to the correct size(approx) and glue it to the sheet stock I had glued earlier. Once it has dried(leave it overnight), I use a brand new Xacto chisel point to scrape off the 'ring' around the porthole.Now use body putty to fill in the seam and wet sand with 600 grit wet/dry abrasive. I have done the same thing to remove the lower leadlight on the nose door. In that case I glue the clear lens in place and then use a brand new chisel point and sanding stick to remove the excess material.Many times you will not even need to body putty the nose headlight as the plastic lens is a really tight fit! The biggest problem is not damaging the Farr grills or the handrails.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Yeah, I know!
Jim-
Any pix?
MS
Like Jim, I much prefer to create styrene plugs for filling holes rather than use body putty, and in some cases, it's easier to replace entire panels, as I did with these Model Power Alcos.
This Phase II E7B was built from two Model Power E7As, and to get prototypically-thin material around the air intake openings, I replaced the appropriate side panels with .010" sheet styrene. Except immediately adjacent to the openings, this thin plastic is backed with .060" sheet styrene, to restore the shell's strength. The screen over the openings is from Detail Associates, and there are simulated air filters behind the screen on the smaller intake openings. The lettering and stripes were done with Accupaint, while the green is a custom mix of Testors military colours.
Wayne
A possible alternative to Jim Bernier's technique is to drill out the portholes to a size that matches common solid rods such as 1/4" or whatever -- normal measurements in other words not scale. You can then use a common punch in sheet styrene to punch out that exact size.
Dave Nelson
Squadron putty seem kinda coarse. Did you use something else?
Automotive spot glazing putty.
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
I'm not a big fan of putty for filling anything but small nicks or scratches. If you can make the plug from thick enough material, you shouldn't require any putty. For small holes, I use styrene rod, if necessary drilling-out the hole to a size .005"-.010" smaller than the rod's diameter. If you're plugging something like a porthole, punch or cut the plug from .060" styrene sheet, making it similarly larger than the porthole. Next, coat the mating surfaces with solvent-type cement and let them soften. If necessary, re-coat, and after a few seconds, force the plug into the hole. Ideally, the outer surfaces should end up flush with one another, but at least half of the plug's thickness should be inserted into the opening. Set it aside to let in harden completely - I prefer at least overnight.
If you've used rod to plug small holes, use a chisel-type blade to snick-off the protruding part of the plug. If you managed to get the outer surface of a larger plug flush with the surrounding plastic, use the same blade to remove any oozed-out material and the surface should be ready for paint. Where a larger plug didn't end up flush with the surrounding material, use the blade to trim it. Work slowly from all sides and don't try to remove everything in one pass. Keep the blade sharp and you should be able to get the entire plug flattened and flush - once painted, you will be hard-pressed to locate it, and there should be little or no need for putty.