Hey guys. I finally got time to begin my first REAL detailing project. After working on the NEB&W and my own layout and other smaller projects, I’ve gained enough modeling confidence to (dun dun dunnnnnn) take a knife to an engine! Haha. Getting the OK to take my hands to, and even being praised for the work done, on one of the most historic layouts ever sure does do a job on one’s ego right quick lol. Joining this club has been probably the most important step in my modeling career.
Anyway, I’d bought Jeff Wilson’s diesel detailing book thats got a D&RGW GP40-2 in it, and i basically copied him. I wanted to make this post as a sort of how-to for others, a sort of mini-clinic or demonstration to show how easy it is to make your models look wayyy cooler.
Here is a bill of materials needed, to do what I did:
X-acto knife with chisel blade (donno how much, you should have one already lol)
pin vise with #74 and #55 bits ($2.29 and $1.98 respectively)
Detail Associates MU 1508 mu air hoses (16 for $2.50)
Tichy Train Group (bronze?) 18" drop grab irons, item #3015 ($3 for 100… best deal anywhere)
Details West snow plow PL 233 (lost the package it came in… about $2)
Polly Scale Grimy Black and D&RGW orange ($4 each, but you should at least have Grimy Black already! haha)
Here is an overall view of the front of the first engine I worked on. I didn’t think of this post until after I finished, but I will follow this up with the installation of mu hoses on a 2nd engine.
Thanks for the tip about the Tichy grabs. At that price it’s not worth making my own!
I left those little dimples on my GP 40 when I did the grabs. Can’t hardly see them.
well, theres like 2 dimples per ‘dimple’, i guess you could say. There is a small circle directly above what looks to be a circular nut/bolt or washer/bolt kind of thing. The top thing seemed to be the one to be removed. Its actually good to remove it, because A) thats less material to drill through and B) it leaves a circular spot indicating exactly where you need to drill. thats just my opinion though, lol.
but yeah… i was stunned with the Tichy ones. I mean, they are brass/bronze/whatever so they need to be painted, but they are wire. And it was just by chance that i happened upon them, because they were on a little spinning sale rack thing with tonnns of other little things like stirrup steps, screws, window castings, etc. I actually had the Detail Associates ones in my hand, and couldn’t believe i almost missed that opportunity lol.
I actually have the same exact project on my “to do” list for the same exact reason (i.e., I saw it in the book and wanted to try it myself). I bought a used model from eBay, which to my surprise when I received it, already had the older style truck sideframes, nose headlight, and a PPW/A-Line can motor inside - sweet!
One thing that I find really disturbing from your photos is the noticeable difference in color between the Polly Scale orange and the color on the model. I wonder if it appears that way in person, or if it’s just a camera thing? I wonder if it will be fixed by the clear overspray coat(s) to follow? It would kind of suck to have to try and mix my own paint to try and get a close match. Especially when the paint is like 4 bucks a bottle!
Stokesda-I’m always disturbed by the mis-matched colors I get from Polly Scale…In this day and age of color detection and paint mixing equipment, you’d think stuff would match a little closer.
Thanks for the link - definitely some useful information. When I get ready to paint, I’ll check out different brands of paint to see who has the best match on the color. If it comes down to it, I can try to mix it a little to match the Athearn paint, but what a PITA that is going to be!
Looks real good. I did a engine several months ago and added hoses, mu hoses, and some ditch lights. Later the guy wanted a GPS added. It was all rather easy. The products were all detail west. Don’t let updating your engine scare you. Its rather simple.
Very impressive detailing you got going there, if your proud of your end result than you should be because I’m proud of your first “real” attempt at it.
Nice project you picked there, I’m sure we would all like too see some more of your work in the future.
Just stopping by to check out your pics and give you a big thumbs up from my neck of the woods!
Looks good, you should add working lights to the nose and tail of the engine, including the flashing mars light. Look into Richmond Controls for excellent lighting circuits, his mars and gyralites are to die for. They are also easily installed, dont require DCC if your staying with analog control of your trains. Very affordable circuits and ultra small, they will easily fit in an Athearn SW unit. Mike
Looks good, you should add working lights to the nose and tail of the engine, including the flashing mars light. Look into Richmond Controls for excellent lighting circuits, his mars and gyralites are to die for. They are also easily installed, dont require DCC if your staying with analog control of your trains. Very affordable circuits and ultra small, they will easily fit in an Athearn SW unit. Mike
Stokes, yeah there is a difference in paint, but the camera REALLY brings it out. In person, it really isn’t that noticeable, especially since the size of the area painted is really like… as big as this o. Sort of… lol.
Thanks for the praise guys. I’m proud of what i’ve done; i never knew how easy it really is to do all the stuff that I thought was for the super ultra way mega expert people like Koester, McClelland, Selios, etc.
I actually just got some SD40T-2s in the mail from ebay that have lots more stuff on them… like uncoupling levers, clear grill steps, brake hose detail on the trucks, air filters, MU cables, and all this stuff, as well as headlights, so these are gonna be a good reference for my upcoming work.