I am not going to make any comments on the locomotive, but what I will say that this is not the older SD40-2 snoot nose loco, it is the recently made new version. It does not have the molded on grab irons…
And what the seller says about the chalk weathering is totally wrong… I have seen some modelers here do a weathering job a billion, no wait, infinity times better. Also they mention custom details, but I don’t see any details besides what Athearn provided and that they only replaced the plastic hand rail with the metal ones (personally I hate the metal ones, not that detailed, stanchions move around a lot).
If I bought it, I would wash off the weathering and restore the model to it’s former glory!
The wheathering job might pass fair for an SP unit. But it looks like a lot of dirt and grime randomly slathered on. No attention at all to where and how locomotives develop wear and tear and get dirty.
Fortunatly the price is cheap eneugh you can strip and repaint.
The weathering is awful, but yet it is presented in the best possible way. With the backdrop and the number of photos it looks as good as it is ever going to look. I wi***hat other acutions were as well documented.
No guys, let’s be realistic here. It says that the loco has been custom detailed to enhance it’s appearance, and the guy who did the work is a modeler/artist, so it MUST be right! Obviously this particular Santa Fe SD40-2 was not built with cab A/C, M.U. hoses, grab irons, or any of the other standard Santa Fe details we are accostomed to, special order I guess. It probably has an new style invisible radio antenna also, that’s why we can’t see it. They must not have used lighted number boards with numbers on them on this loco either.
It appears this loco was also caught in one of the rare California “brown paintbrush glob storms” that seem to come down rather splotchy, not even like normal rain. This guy did a fantastic job of simulating this effect on this model. Truly way above the caliber of the “chalk and hairspray guys” that are refered to in the seller’s description. I really wi***hat I had about $200 that I could spare right now just to get the bidding started, but I had to buy licence plates with my last paycheck and things are tight until April 14. NUTS!!! I probably couldn’t have gotten it for that anyway, since it is such a well done, customized, scale replica of an actual locomotive.
Maybe the seller is branching out to a new field, fictional story writer! He seems to have a pretty good start with this item description. I will have to watch this one to see how high the bidding goes and what the reserve is! I did enjoy that the number boards could be numbered if the buyer really wants it done. I wonder how much that would add to the price?
“This is a very life-like, albeit grungy-looking custom locomotive. A fair amount of time and attention to detail went in to its production”
STRAIGHT BS! Looks like a few-minutes crappy job. But Ebay is full of so-called custom weathered guys with over hyped junk, hoping someone falls for it. I think it’s hilarious.
I wonder what Jerry Jackson would have to say about this…
***, to think I just bought to uncustomed engines brand new when I could have bought this little beauty. I wonder if Tee-usa will take returns? Boy I would love to show this engine off at the local club. I would get all the attention.
A while ago I watched a few eBay auctions by a different seller who was offering so-called weathered structures. They were just cheap plastic models and had a similar slopped on blotches of a dark color. His magnificent creations were priced in the hundreds! Never did see any sell, I wonder why?
It would be interesting to see if this crud sells. As everyone knows, there is a sucker born every minute!
I wonder if that’s what living in Southern California does to paint jobs. No wonder people are leaving there in droves. Hate to see what it does to one’s car…
LOL It looks like he acedientally spilled brown paint on to it and didn’t attempt to clean it off. If it was a little bit cheaper, you could buy it and repaint it, but it sucks as it is now!
And in the description of the loco it says “this one comes with NMRA-standard couplers at each end (Kadees or McHenrys).”
Since when have Kadees or McHenrys become NMRA-Standard?
Note there is a bid for the minimum amount of $9.99, but the seller says he’s placed a hefty reserve to protect the investment. Maybe the reserve is $12.00 - to cover the cost of a diluted bottle of paint that was spashed all over the model.
Notice in the photos the engine isn’t even on the track in many photos. Probably his “attention to detail” at work!
