here is a picture of an SP open bay hopper i just painted and decaled
…to see the step by step procedure please go to :
http://community.webshots.com/photo/137793353/321880395nqNfFx
click the next button until the album runs out …the process pictures are in TRAINS1 and TRAINS2 so please go to both of them to see all the pictures…(the webshot page ran out and i had to start another album…[:D]
Chuck
Thanks, enjoyed following the process from start to finish. Stupid question: Is it necsssary to remove the old paint and decals before priming, painting and adding new decals?
John
Austin, Texas
Chuck:
Great photo sequence! BTW, who makes the SD9 in the photo? Is that a P2K unit?
to answer your question…yes…it is necessary to strip the model to the bare plastic …the old decals from factory paint jobs embed themselves into the model and can bleed through the new paint and decal job…chuck
Joe,
The GP-9 is a BB Athearn …I used hand made grab irons using a jig i made from a block of plywood and two nails…(some really sophisticated equipment)…[;)] and the headlights are a Details West SP GP-9 headlight set…i had to whittle out the old headlights and some of the nose, drill new holes, and install the new headlights…i filled the gaps (and any stray tool marks) with plastic filler putty, sanded, and repainted and decaled the nose…i then installed a red MV lens in the top emergency light…the rest of the lighting consists of 1.5 mm fiber optic strands that run from the headlights to a white LED under the shell in the back of the locomotive… GP-9 #3509 worked out of the East Yard in San Antonio, Texas for years…Chuck
Chuck:
Oh, okay, DUH! It’s a GP9 – sheesh, being an SP prototype modeler you’d think I could tell the difference! [:I]
Do the fiber optics run to just the headlight or the gyralight too? And if the gyralight, does it do the figure-8 motion of a gyralight?
Nice job, Chuck!! It’s one thing to read about the process, but a lot more instructive to actually SEE the step-by step conversion. Thanks for the photos–and I’m glad to see that someone else uses Krylon for primer.
Tom[^][:D]
no gyra-light action…I can only get so much under the shell of the Athearn equipment…the fiber optic strands alone can case serious derailment problems if they hit the trucks…they are very stiff and i have to mount and secure them really close to the roof of the shell so that doesn’t happen…that leaves no room for anything else…one day i’m going to purchase a gyra-lite and try it out though…chuck