Hey everyone. So, i bought a few sets of Details West headlights that I want to upgrade some of my SP diesel engines with. Is there anywhere I can go to get like, suggestions or tips on how to go about doing such work? Im going to be ordering the book Detailing Diesel Locomotives by jeff wilson, but i’d like to get some work done in the meantime, if possible.
anyone with experience doing this?
Posting in the correct forum would help for starters[:-^]
[#ditto]
Well, there are really two parts to this.
One - you have to know where the parts go. That takes research or photos of the model you want to detail or duplicate.
Two - is attaching the parts to the body or shell. Just glue it on. I use super glue and apply it with a small applicator made from a sewing needle eye.
ehh… its a little more complicated than just gluing them on, lol. I’m actually replacing headlight fixtures…
Like, heres an example. I have 2 SP SD45’s, and I want to put this headlight on them, which they don’t come with: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=21198
I just don’t know how I would go about cutting out the original one from the plastic shell and whatnot…
edit: heres a better picture (and instead of a link)
I’m trying to put the headlight from that, on this model:
Fill in the old holes by dilling them out and stuffing them with 2mm Styrene. When dry, glue on the new fixture. Drill out new headlight holes and install lights.
David B
Well, that’s the basics of how it’s done. Actually doing the job takes some time for the glue to dry etc. You might also have to paint the area when done of course. And you may have to build a sort of housing so the new light fixture doesn’t hang out in space on the ends. Replacing things on a model is just like engineering the real thing. Just use some common sense.
It isn’t a simple project! It can be a real PIA and can have a big GDSOB factor. You can screw the shell up real quick if you have never installed one of these before. The “answers” you have gotten so far are very vague and generic at best. I’m not trying to be rude. It helps to know what that light package really looks like on the prototype. You might try these links http://espee.railfan.net/espee.html http://www.detailswest.com/spdiesels_info.htm
If you have an Athearn Espee SD45t-2 or SD40t-2, take a look at them for a reference ( or look a the loco on the home page of Details West at http://www.detailswest.com/). The light package is inset into the nose of the locomotive and doesn’t “hang out in space”. I am assuming your are going to use the Details West part http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/235-200 or maybe a SRE part (out of production, I’m told). For best result you will need an X-acto knife, needle file or files (flat and square), body filling putty (like squadron green), CA glue, touch-up paint, scrap styrene sprues (to fill the old headlight holes. Some sprues from Canon&Co. work real well), styrene glue, some thin (0.010" - 0.020") styrene strips (for filler around a too big hole) and patience. The Espee loco, in the picture is in the nose along with a emergency red signal light (most Espee modelers don’t bother lighting the red one. I don’t.), while the light on the cab is a Mars Light http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/235-290 . When installed properly, the nose light casting’s top should sick up about 0.030" - 0.040" ore about as high as the sand filler(you&
Joe Fugate has a video (Video #3 chapter 6) that shows this step step. You can check it out here
http://model-trains-video.com/volume3.php
Hope this helps
ratled
Maybe he has enough locomotives that he’ll be able to use their headlights for layout room lighting!
If you’ve never done this kind of work, I recommend you get a couple old/scrap shells to practise on first.
[#ditto]
That’s good advice. Some of us forget to ask what kind of modeling experience people have when answering these kinds of questions.
[quote user=“WP 3020”]
It isn’t a simple project! It can be a real PIA and can have a big GDSOB factor. You can screw the shell up real quick if you have never installed one of these before. The “answers” you have gotten so far are very vague and generic at best. I’m not trying to be rude. It helps to know what that light package really looks like on the prototype. You might try these links http://espee.railfan.net/espee.html http://www.detailswest.com/spdiesels_info.htm
If you have an Athearn Espee SD45t-2 or SD40t-2, take a look at them for a reference ( or look a the loco on the home page of Details West at http://www.detailswest.com/). The light package is inset into the nose of the locomotive and doesn’t “hang out in space”. I am assuming your are going to use the Details West part http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/235-200 or maybe a SRE part (out of production, I’m told). For best result you will need an X-acto knife, needle file or files (flat and square), body filling putty (like squadron green), CA glue, touch-up paint, scrap styrene sprues (to fill the old headlight holes. Some sprues from Canon&Co. work real well), styrene glue, some thin (0.010" - 0.020") styrene strips (for filler around a too big hole) and patience. The Espee loco, in the picture is in the nose along with a emergency red signal light (most Espee modelers don’t bother lighting the red one. I don’t.), while the light on the cab is a Mars Light http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/235-290 . When installed properly, the nose light casting’s top should sick up about 0.030" - 0.040" ore about as high
The sand filler is the little round cap on the top of the short hood almost where it comes to a point. It kinda looks like an old time car radiator cap. Just to know, what brand of SD45 is that?
And yes, I should have mentioned to practice cutting the right size hole in some scrap shells first.[#oops] Especially if you haven’t had much experience cutting and filling holes in plastic shells. I’ll explain more about the procedure if you’d like but it’ll have to wait a day or two until I have more time.