Okay, Here it is: My P2K SD45 MRL 680.
I took and chopped off the nose of the SD45 and installed a Cannon Co high short hood. All is done but the red lettering on the side that says MRL and the front of the steps need to be painted white. So here is my first ever custom engine. Watch, Athearn will now come out with a SD45 high short hood in Guilford Rail.
Here is the prototype I shot in Livingston, MT. back in '05:
Zach, very nice. I like it a lot. I have one question though. On the photo that you took of the prototype unit, what is written on the door to the cab? I looks like black lettering on a white background.
It says “Do Not Occupy” They don’t man it anymore. 680 is used mainly in helper service up Bozeman Pass from Livingston. They stick it in the middle of 4 other units. That was before MRL got their SD70ACe’s
Zak
Thanks for the Dail up warning !
I took my dogs for a walk while waiting But it was worth the wait !
Awesome Work [bow]
Amazing!!![bow][bow][bow][bow][bow][bow]
Even if Athearn does come out with one, it won’t look nearly as good as yours!
JaRRell
Nice job, you should be proud of it.
looks really nice, i like the high hoods, and putting it on a SD45 makes it all the better! I figure it was pretty easy to put on the high hood, it was all ready built for you, i’m taking the hard way and scratch building mine out of sheet styrene, a lot of work, filling, sanding, ect. Nice job again.
Excellent! You got da 13375|<|11z!
Zak,
you really nailed this one, it looks fantastic!! The paint and weathering is top notch, and so is the kitbash work.
The only thing I would have done different is paint it for Southern.[;)]
-Smoke
Looks sweet, Dude!
Just out of curiosity though, how did you remove the old paint?
I actually didn’t. I used some Scalecoat II paint remover with a Q-tip and whiped off the decals, then painted over the old color. Since the old color of Seaboard System was so close to the color I needed, it worked out well, like a primer.
Oh, wow. Cool.
So, would the Scalecoat paint remover remove all the paint if you worked at it? Or is there a better way to strip paint that won’t destroy the shell?
Scalecoat paint remover will take all the paint off if you soak the shell in it for long enough.
-Smoke
Smoke is right. Scalecoat II Paint Remover is what I use to remove the paint from my models.
I found a tray that is used to store ice in your freezer that I place my shell into and then pour the Scalecoat II into. I use two bottles but 3 would be best. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit for a few hours. Then with dish washing gloves on, and under warm water with an old tooth brush, I scrub off the old paint. It comes off nicely, except around places like the fans and corners. So I redo the soaking and do the scrub process over again. Scalecoat II works great (good enough for me). I then take a funnel and place a coffee filter in the cup area and pour the used liquid back into the Scalecoat bottles. Then I use it all again for the next project.
Just remember that Scalecoat II Paint Remover isn’t the best for Kato models. I’ve heard of guys using it but they only soak the Kato for short amounts of time. Never soak over night on a Kato model, where as my last model was a bachmann which I soaked overnight and had no problems with the shell.
Here is a shot of the actual MRL 680’s other side so you can see my weathering job.
B.A.
That looks great! That inspires me to get to work on my model (once it comes). I will be modeling a high-hood SD45 after 680’s sister unit, ST681. I wish I knew that Scalecoat II trick, I might have went the same route you did and modified a painted P2K (I was looking for undec. Katos and P2Ks only with no luck). Instead, I have preordered an undecorated Athearn RTR SD45HH. I went with the undecorated model because I didn’t like the paint jobs on their earlier Guilford units and, since I’m modeling Pan Am as if I ran it, it might get a custom Pan Am scheme I’ve been working on.
Yeah, anything made of ABS plastic (Kato, & older Atlas/Kato bodies) is not compatible with with Scalecoat, Paint Remover (it makes ABS brittle and can & will crack), On the other hand it works really good with the ploystyrene plastics used by Athearn, present day Atlas, P1 & 2K, BLI, etc.