The website for this project has changed, I decided it needed an index file. You can now find it here: http://people.umass.edu/cslemp/
Heres a pic of my recent progress:
06.24.06 - I’m really crawling on this now, with summer here I’m spending a lot more time outdoors, which is good I guess except for the lack of model railroading time… and the mosquito’s. I did take a big plunge though in grinding the frame, I got a day when both the tenant below me and my landlord were gone so there was no one to annoy with the dremel-cutting-through-metal noises, and I just took the plunge. It worked out pretty well, though I still have a good deal of filing to do. Luckily, I went to the hardware store and picked up a gouple of super heavy duty files which are making quick work of the job. Here’s a pic of what I’ve go so far. I’m going to simulate I-beams by gluing some styrene shapes along the frame.
I’m still waiting on the next order of parts. I got my cab kit and have been trying to figure out how to integrate it into the cab while still having the front truck powered. Since I’m also planning on lowering the unit so it has a more prototypical stance, I think I’m going to need to cut some of the cab interior floor to fit. I’ll lose some detail, but with strategic positioning of the Preiser figures I ordered I should be able to hide the holes. I could leave the front truck unpowered, but since this locomotive will probably operate alone on the layout I’m planning, I’d rather not cripple it any.
Once these new parts come in I should be able to finish up the last of the cutting and grinding, then it’s on to the fun part!
06.15.06 - This time around the C&C nose kit has been assembled, not without some difficulty, and I’ve begun working on the dynamic brake hatch. Next up I need to order some new parts, do some really delicate carving on the pilot steps
Terminology???
Here I looked to see what he was going to make a GP40-2 into? And he was still leaving it a GP40-2. This what I call “Super-Detailing”, “kit-bashing” would be if he was making it into another locomotive model, say a GP39-2 for example, or if he was making it from and SD40-2.
It is looking good so far, so please keep us updated. Thanks
I could I guess, there are some nice one’s out there, but I enjoy the process of building a model, so I think I’ll get more out of this project than I would out of a purchased loco. I don’t really have room for a layout, I may someday have a small switching module, but until then I won’t really need a working locomotive.
And no, I suppose it isn’t really a kitbash… I’d need to be bashing another kit into the one I’ve got for it to be that.
Thanks for the comments, I’ll post an update next week sometime. Should have lots of good stuff done by then.
So far until a manufacturer decides to release one of these, a late phase GP40-2 can only be found in brass or a kitbashed version. Pilots, anticlimber, short hood, cab bases etc are only a few of the changes. Many others are road specific.
Bob K.
Hawkeye251,
Next time you are heading to Tucker’s Hobbies, ask Bob about the Steaming Tender restaurant. Great job at restoring this beautiful station- fantastic food also. Went there after the last Springfield show and was really impressed.
Bob K.
It’s Kitbashishing. I believe “kitbashing” is taking one or more kits and modifying them to make a diferent model. Hawkeye251 is using more than one kit in this project. Yes, he is still going to have a model of a GP40-2, but a later phase than what he started with. Locomotive manufacurers did and do make verying alterations throughout a model’s production (some slight and some major), these have become known as phases to the model and railfan worlds.
07.27.06 - New update, only a month late. I built the C&C cab, finished filing the frame, put a pile light blank on the nose, and did some work on the steps. I’m pretty pleased with everything so far. Here’s to finishing this thing while it’s still warm enough outside to paint!
Lot’s of new progress has been posted to the site, check it out on the site (http://people.umass.edu/cslemp/) I’d link it but that feature doesn’t seem to be working, and I don’t feel like trying to figure out whether or not basic html tags work here.
