Kitbashing the Old Fashioned Way
Andy Harman
Nostalgia time again... but just to see how OLD some of you are, see
if you remember any of the following kitbashes from when they were
state of the art:
* Making an SD40 out of an Athearn SDP40
* Making a GP30 out of an Athearn GP35 and a scavenged Athearn GP30
roof blister or two.
* Making hi-noses out of the back ends of GP35's
* Making GE hi-noses out of the back ends of U28B's
* Modifying old metal Athearn Blombergs, or Atlas plastic Blombergs to
Blomberg-M's - there were several (mostly bad) kits for doing this,
and a bunch of homebrew methods too.
* Using putty, a mill file, and a couple gallons of elbow grease to
make an Atlas fuel tank look right. I did this once. Only once. It
was in 1982, and my arm is STILL sore.
* Making a Rivarossi U25C into a U25B
* Making an Athearn U28B into a U25B (I actually tried this, but never
finished it)
* Making an SD35 by combining an Athearn SDP40 and GP35
* Making a GP38 out of Athearn GP35 parts - I did 4 of these, one
scrapped, two Penn Central for someone else (one was even a dash 2!),
still have one. See it at http://w3.one.net/~aharman/97041932.jpg -
terrible finish, fatso hood, dummy Athearn old-style trucks... but
specwise it kinda looks like an N&W GP38AC. Did anyone else ever try
this? If so, it means you're considerably older than the Atlas GP38,
which came out in 1976 <g>. I remember local guru Mike Brestel
telling me it was "impossible" and "wouldn't be the right length" so I
just had to do it to prove him wrong.
* Making an Athearn F7 into some other F-unit (F3, FP7, etc)
* Making an Athearn SW7 switcher into an NW2 (tough, unless you want
the phase V)
* Making an Athearn SW7 into a *real* SW1500. I actually tried this
too, was going to use the Baldwin cab <g>. Didn't get very far, then
Cary did the conversion shell.
* Making a GP38 out of Bachmann's old GP40 (Jim Slaughter did one, in
L&N.. in fact Jim did many of these conversions well before I did)
* Making anything out of a Tyco shell. Usually based on the C430,
GP20, or C630.
* Trying to make a Mehano/Model Power/Life Like RS11 look like
something. Or run like something.
* Making an SD9 out of Athearn GP9's - Jim Slaughter actually did
this, of course *just* before Athearn released their SD9.
* Trying to make a whole bunch of other geeps out of Athearn's GP7
* Trying to make Model Power/Roco E-units run without self-destructing
* How about this: I once made an SD40-2 out of Athearn SDP40, even
stretched the frame (after measuring prototype with a broken stick
when I caught an SD40 and SD40-2 in the same consist stopped in front
of me) and made reasonable facsimiles of HT-C trucks out of Athearn
metal Flexicoils. Still have them, maybe should post a photo. The
shell came out decent, but in a rare fit of idiocy, I painted it in
the N&W blue scheme... just hated to slop 13D black on that much work,
even though N&W never owned a blue SD40-2. I still show this model
even though it's a dummy, and it's wrong. Sure looked better than
North American Diesel's abortion of a model.
* Putting Kadees on a !&*^%^&#%$ Atlas/Roco diesel. I think this is
the most despised job of all time. The Atlas folks did their best to
make it nearly impossible. One loco was harder: the Model Power/Roco
E-units.
* How about all the ways we used to fabricate number boards on the
long hood ends of those Athearn U-boats?
* Making MU hoses out of piano wire, or whatever else we could find
* Squadron green "sink & shrink" putty.
* Testors white crumbly-putty
* The combined smell of Squadron putty and Floquil
* Old Athearn fat motors and sintered metal flywheels
* 2-piece Athearn worm housings (on 4-axle units) that caused such
severe binding once they got loose, that the motors would run red hot
in just a few minutes of operation
A few milestones:
* Detail Associates and Details West get into the act in the late
1970's... not sure exactly when they started out.
* Athearn goes to flywheels - 1974
* Athearn goes to scale width hood, brass flywheels, and inside
bearing trucks with plastic sideframes beginning with the SD40-2 in
1983, eventually the entire line followed suit on the drive changes,
although no shells were retooled.
* Cannon cabs and parts - late 1980's
* Atlas/Roco arrives on the scene - 1975
* Kato arrives on the scene - 1984
* Stewart arrives on the scene - 1984
* GSB Rail Ltd. becomes the first rogue manufacturer to complete a
diesel locomotive - March, 1983, 2-1/2 years after announcement.
* First Proto 2000 locomotive - 1990 or 91
INFINITY and BEYOND:
* Athearn Genesis Series (1998?)
* ???
So, not to start up another "old pharts" thread... but what was it
like back when you started out?
Andy
Visit the Prototype Modelers Group Web Page at http://w3.one.net/~aharman/index.html
Sorry I must resort to anti-spam practice, reply to aharman at one (spelled out) dot net
PeterH5322
>>
* Making an Athearn F7 into some other F-unit (F3, FP7, etc)
>>
Yup, I did that.
I developed an even better way that the two that were published in MR.
PeterH5322
>>
* 2-piece Athearn worm housings (on 4-axle units) that caused such
severe binding once they got loose, that the motors would run red hot
in just a few minutes of operation
>>
The "DD40A" is still that way.
PeterH5322
I'd like some thoughts on how to make some really GOOD likenesses of high-hood
GP20s.
Mantua's GP20 with a high hood from an AHM GP18 just doesn't cut it.
F. DABNEY
On Tue, 16 Dec 1997, Andy Harman wrote:
> Nostalgia time again... but just to see how OLD some of you are, see
> if you remember any of the following kitbashes from when they were
> state of the art:
>
> * Making an SD40 out of an Athearn SDP40
A member, now deceased, of the local club did one. I only recently
disposed of it.
> * Making a GP30 out of an Athearn GP35 and a scavenged Athearn GP30
> roof blister or two.
Same person had a bunch he was working on at the time of his demise.
> * Making a Rivarossi U25C into a U25B
He did this, even using the original Rivarossi drive, with the truck
gearcases cut down in length. The only non-original parts he used were
some old hobbytown styrene sideframes and wire for the handrails.
> * Trying to make Model Power/Roco E-units run without self-destructing
Mine ran like a hobbytown. A bit noisy, but smooth and powerful.
> * Putting Kadees on a !&*^%^&#%$ Atlas/Roco diesel. I think this is
> the most despised job of all time. The Atlas folks did their best to
> make it nearly impossible. One loco was harder: the Model Power/Roco
> E-units.
You must not have asked Atlas. I have, in my file, a method I suggested
to Atlas that Ted Steppak there had drawn up to send to people who asked
them. Hint: involves the Kadee #4 coupler and a touch of silecone seal.
For the E-units and Sharks, I placed a piece of brass channel across the
frame and mounted the #5 coupler in its box, getting scale coupling
distance. I made a drilling jig out of brass to make all the conversions
match, the work of another five minutes. It did require removing some of
the plastic gearcase, but that was simple as well.
> * How about all the ways we used to fabricate number boards on the
> long hood ends of those Athearn U-boats?
Odd. And here I am, disgusted that I have to fill the damned things /in/
on the Atlas C-30-7 for Santa Fe. And on the Athearn GP-50, etc.
Fred D.
Watching the action from BNSF MP 1112, El Paso sub
KB2BDB
aha...@one.removethis.net (Andy Harman) writes:
>A few milestones:
How about MRC adding pulse to the "Throttlepack" series?
May not exactly been a milestone, but in 1974 it helped to make that !@#$%@#$
Life-like F unit manageable! (Couldn't afford an Athern on my allowance being I
was 16 at the time!)
>>* Stewart arrives on the scene - 1984<<
Didn't they build all those Athern re-gear kits? I put one in my U30 in 1985.
MAN! What an animal!
Left the hobby in 1986 when I got married. (Funny how that happens) Just got
back in this summer. I am amazed at the changes!
Scott M.
JimVice
In article <3496315d...@news.one.net>, aha...@one.removethis.net (Andy
Harman) writes:
>Nostalgia time again... but just to see how OLD some of you are, see
if you
>remember any of the following kitbashes from when they were
state of the
>art:
Nostalgia? You talk about nostalgia, and how "OLD" someone is?
and then to go on and talk about things that happened only 10 to
15 years ago? (chuckle, chuckle) You folk are just young kids.
Good Old Jim
The scenery only changes for the lead dog!
F. DABNEY
I made up little clips of sheet brass that held the housings in alignment-
a few seconds worth of work that easily paid me back in better running. I
also had trouble with the early "C" truck gear cases having the bottom
cover plate pop loose, dragging and derailing, and I did brass clips for
those as well.
As I nearly always do if I need more than one of anything, I made a little
forming jig so that all I needed to do was bend the brass around it to get
the right length.
From time t time I'd cut strips of the proper thickness of brass so when I
needed a set of clips, all I needed to de was cut and bend.
F. DABNEY
On 16 Dec 1997, PeterH5322 wrote:
Mantua's GP 20 with /anything/ doesn't really cut it, by today's
standards, but at least you could try a P2K GP 18 shell. I thought
seriously about grafting the GP 20 hood to a lo-nose GP 18, but decided
that someone, somewhere is bound to come out with a decent -20.
VRB
aha...@one.removethis.net (Andy Harman) wrote:
>Nostalgia time again... but just to see how OLD some of you are, see
>if you remember any of the following kitbashes from when they were
>state of the art:
This stuff is all ultra-modern Diesel -- and you're talking about
"old-fashioned"? I must be missing something.
-v-
Warren Cheney
Andy Harman wrote:
>
> Nostalgia time again... but just to see how OLD some of you are, see
> if you remember any of the following kitbashes from when they were
> state of the art:
>
Guilty as charged. Also tried to repower one of those AHM
SD-40 units. Ouch. Had fun weathering it to destruction, though.
> * Making hi-noses out of the back ends of GP35's
Ditto. But a source of great parts in the long run.
> * Making GE hi-noses out of the back ends of U28B's
This is eerie. (OTOH, wasn't everyone doing this back then?)
> * Modifying old metal Athearn Blombergs, or Atlas plastic Blombergs to
> Blomberg-M's - there were several (mostly bad) kits for doing this,
> and a bunch of homebrew methods too.
*blush* Um, I do believe I did that to match that, er, shortened
fuel tank mentioned below...
> * Using putty, a mill file, and a couple gallons of elbow grease to
> make an Atlas fuel tank look right. I did this once. Only once. It
> was in 1982, and my arm is STILL sore.
Two words: bench grinder. Of course, I also wound up recreating a
shortened fuel tank that I had seen on some units. Don't ask. :)
[snip]
> * Putting Kadees on a !&*^%^&#%$ Atlas/Roco diesel. I think this is
> the most despised job of all time.
Oh, come on, it wasn't *that* hard. Was it Kadee #7's and you had
to file down that pointy thing so it would fit in and then discovered
*why* the pointy thing existed? (aaaah, so they looked good, who needed
the centering thingie anyways, and ooooops, we forgot about the coupler
height issue until *after* they got wedged in there, oh joy)
> * How about all the ways we used to fabricate number boards on the
> long hood ends of those Athearn U-boats?
Decals, paint, and "good enough?"
> So, not to start up another "old pharts" thread... but what was it
> like back when you started out?
Parts of these describe what I was up to as I dropped out.
Something tells me I should get hold of a Walthers catalog to see
what fun I have ahead as I ease on back *in*...
-----Warren (whose last kitbashing project was a wide-nose CN GP-40,
I figured, hey, these wide-noses will *never* make it
into the States...)
--
Corinne receives a Potty Training Kelly (Barbie's baby sister) doll,
which wets after feeding it water. She plays with it for a while, then
grumbles: "Think it'd look a lot more real if I used lemonade."
Warren Cheney Can't stand spam? http://www.cauce.org
Charles F Seyferlich
Andy Harman wrote:
>
> Nostalgia time again... but just to see how OLD some of you are, see
> if you remember any of the following kitbashes from when they were
> state of the art:
>
>
> * Making hi-noses out of the back ends of GP35's
>
Did a N&W SD45 this way. Seemed pretty easy. The SD45 was one of three
or four Bicentennial units I got around to doing. I still have a bunch
of Miller decal sets to do some more.
>
> * Making a Rivarossi U25C into a U25B
I picked up some dummy U25C's with intention of doing this. Never did &
assume I have the U25C's around somewhere.
>
> * Making an Athearn U28B into a U25B (I actually tried this, but never
> finished it)
>
I made a couple of U18B's from cut down U28B's. Also rearranged some
small grill & door assy's.
>
> * Making anything out of a Tyco shell. Usually based on the C430,
> GP20, or C630.
>
Used GP20 shells to make GP18's and sliced off top of nose & front of
cab as a lazy man way to low nose Atlas SD24's. Started a RS1325 with
cab/nose of GP20 & hood of Athearn SW7. May try again with P2K shells.
What was first diesel I ever had? A Globe F7 I bought for $.98 and brush
painted & decaled for AT&SF red/silver. My first HO engine was a Mantua
Booster I got in 1953.
Andy Harman
On 16 Dec 1997 15:14:58 GMT, kb2...@aol.com (KB2BDB) wrote:
>How about MRC adding pulse to the "Throttlepack" series?
Yes, that was a definate milestone... I never quite learned how to
make the transition though. Sort of like double clutching a 13-speed
truck, you had to turn the rehostat back at the same time you flipped
the pulse switch off, to avoid a big surge in speed.
>May not exactly been a milestone, but in 1974 it helped to make that !@#$%@#$
>Life-like F unit manageable! (Couldn't afford an Athern on my allowance being I
>was 16 at the time!)
Jeez! We're about the same age, I always thought Athearn was about
the cheapest. I bought my first flywheel-drive U-boat in 1974 for
about 12 bucks I think, the super-geared F-units were more like 10
bucks. But still, with a 5 buck a week allowance plus 50 cents a day
to walk the neighbor's irritable little mutt, and that having to cover
things like film, junk food and even supplies like paint, decals,
putty, sandpaper... it used to be a strain to pay for all of that
stuff. I ended up with a LOT of dummy locos back then!
>>>* Stewart arrives on the scene - 1984<<
>
>Didn't they build all those Athern re-gear kits? I put one in my U30 in 1985.
>MAN! What an animal!
That was Ernst, which we've talked about recently and no need to go
through all that again <g>. Also there was a company called Heiden
that made a slow-gear arrangement that fit over the motor, and used
the stock gearboxes... and of course the "MicroMotor" which was
incredibly slow, but not powerful enough for road use.
>Left the hobby in 1986 when I got married. (Funny how that happens) Just got
>back in this summer. I am amazed at the changes!
I never left the hobby during my marriage (1983-1994) and considering
how things turned out, I'm glad I didn't. At least that first summer
alone, I had plenty of kits to build.
Andy Harman
On 16 Dec 1997 18:42:23 GMT, jim...@aol.com (JimVice) wrote:
>Nostalgia? You talk about nostalgia, and how "OLD" someone is?
>and then to go on and talk about things that happened only 10 to
>15 years ago? (chuckle, chuckle) You folk are just young kids.
Not compared to the people who regularly bitch about things like the
P2K E-units not being made in the no-porthole East Poppycock & Gravel
Grove Transit Authority scheme.... but yep, we are kids compared to
you guys whose model railroad hobby involved the use of a coal
furnace, anvil, and bellows... :)
Andy Harman
On Tue, 16 Dec 1997 22:00:27 GMT, vrb...@nmia.comx (VRB) wrote:
>This stuff is all ultra-modern Diesel -- and you're talking about
>"old-fashioned"? I must be missing something.
Yes, apparently so. None of these "ultra modern" diesels have to be
hacked this way any more, as better models have come along. Model
railroading, like the prototype, has a rich history. The thread
header said "kitbashing the old-fashioned way", not "kitbashing old
fashioned things".
Andy Harman
> Guilty as charged. Also tried to repower one of those AHM
>SD-40 units. Ouch. Had fun weathering it to destruction, though.
I mangled one of the AHM SD40's pretty badly before I realized it just
wasn't going to work. It looks plausible at a glance, but has almost
as many mistakes as the Bachmann C40-8 and they are just as hard to
fix. That's when I went ahead and backdated an Athearn SD40-2.
> Ditto. But a source of great parts in the long run.
Here are some of the things I did with Athearn GP35's and parts
thereof:
* hi-nose GP35
* hi-nose GP30 (one had scratchbuilt roofline)
* SD35
* bad attempt at a GP40 using SDP40 radiators
* GP38AC
* GP38-2
>> * Making GE hi-noses out of the back ends of U28B's
> This is eerie. (OTOH, wasn't everyone doing this back then?)
There wasn't much choice other than scratchbuilding.
> Two words: bench grinder. Of course, I also wound up recreating a
>shortened fuel tank that I had seen on some units. Don't ask. :)
The one that I did was for a DT&I GP40 #400, which had a shortened
fuel tank. I also made handrails by soldering brass wire, including
the stanchions which are just wire posts butt-soldered to the
handrails. This model involved removing the dynamic brakes and adding
a few details like the amber flasher beacon and nose "school bell".
Strangely enough this model still looks good and I've had a lot of
postive comments on it. I think I built it back in 1981 or so. I
even exhibited the thing at the RPM room in Madison. I did two other
DT&I units, a GP38-2 and a GP40-2 (kitbashed from Athearn, before the
model was made) but the old GP40 is still my favorite. I haven't seen
the GP38-2 in several years, it may have fallen down a crack somewhere
in a mis-labeled box that says "62 ft. tank car" or may have done a
five finger vanishing act at a show... not likely though. I still
have the start on a GP38 (with the flared spark arrestors) I started
back around that time and never went any farther on.
> Oh, come on, it wasn't *that* hard. Was it Kadee #7's and you had
>to file down that pointy thing so it would fit in and then discovered
>*why* the pointy thing existed? (aaaah, so they looked good, who needed
>the centering thingie anyways, and ooooops, we forgot about the coupler
>height issue until *after* they got wedged in there, oh joy)
I absolutely despised the Atlas coupler mount on these things. The
only way to get the height right was to hack the hell out of it,
before the days of offset shanks. I don't remember the 6-7-8 series
being a whole lot of help, as I think the draft gear was still too big
to slide in the hole.
> Decals, paint, and "good enough?"
DA started offering an etched brass numberboard frame for these a
while back, but never wound up using any. Remember, my last completed
GE model was a long, long time ago. I'm right up there with Gordon
Cannon in my GE production... In fact, here is a list of ALL the GE
models I have ever built, total, period, in all paint schemes -
excluding of course brass and out-of-the-box:
NW U30B hi-nose #8517 (1974)
NW U30B hi-nose #8534 (1978)
NW U30C low-nose #8001 (1974)
NW U28B hi-nose #1910 (1979)
NYC U28B (1980-something)
I also operate out-of-the-box EL U25B's and U33C's, and an NYC U25B on
occasion.
Th-th-th-thats all folks! Coming soon (just like the Highliners) are:
NS C40-9, CW40-9, B36-7, C30-7, B32-8, N&W C30-7. And detailing up my
Athearn Santa Fe (not beansniff) dash 9's. All of my super-fleet NS
GE's are brass, and I did paint two of the three that are actually
painted - C30-7 and C40-8, plus custom-painted C39-8 phase Ia. Ed
Ryan, with three complete models (NS C39-8, CR CW40-8, NS C30-7) has
beaten me out 3-0 over the past 17-odd years.
Christopher Zurek
Andy Harman <aha...@one.removethis.net> wrote:
: Nostalgia time again... but just to see how OLD some of you are, see
: if you remember any of the following kitbashes from when they were
: state of the art:
: * Making an SD40 out of an Athearn SDP40
Never tried this, but I did build some SD40T-2's out of SDP40's.
: * Making a GP30 out of an Athearn GP35 and a scavenged Athearn GP30
: roof blister or two.
Nope, too young for that. All I had to do was buy the brand new Lionel
GP30 (in a whole trainset from Sears to boot) and put an Athearn GP35
drive under it. I had to use a Sagami motor, that was still back in the
days of the Atharn monster motor.
: * Modifying old metal Athearn Blombergs, or Atlas plastic Blombergs to
: Blomberg-M's - there were several (mostly bad) kits for doing this,
: and a bunch of homebrew methods too.
Oh yeah, I remember that. I had a couple of Atlas GP40's that I converted
to SP GP40-2's. I never modified the Athearn metal trucks to M's, but I
did redetail them with new journals and separate brake cylinders.
: * Using putty, a mill file, and a couple gallons of elbow grease to
: make an Atlas fuel tank look right. I did this once. Only once. It
: was in 1982, and my arm is STILL sore.
I made an attempt once, then I decided that I would just fill in the
screwdriver slot.
: * Making an Athearn F7 into some other F-unit (F3, FP7, etc)
Did a few of those, I wonder what happened to them.
: * Making an Athearn SW7 switcher into an NW2 (tough, unless you want
: the phase V)
I didn't try it, but I picked a shell up that someone else did. The step
in front of the cab was even modified to make an earlier phase.
: * Making an Athearn SW7 into a *real* SW1500. I actually tried this
: too, was going to use the Baldwin cab <g>. Didn't get very far, then
: Cary did the conversion shell.
That thought never even crossed my mind. I just waited then Cary finally
did one.
: * Making a GP38 out of Bachmann's old GP40 (Jim Slaughter did one, in
: L&N.. in fact Jim did many of these conversions well before I did)
By the time I got into model building the Life-Like GP38-2 came out. So I
put one of those shells on an Atlas drive.
: * Making anything out of a Tyco shell. Usually based on the C430,
: GP20, or C630.
I did build a GP20 once, painted it SP. It didn't seem all that bad at the
time, considering what I had to work with. I had to put it on an Athearn
GP35 drive because the Tyco GP20 is too long for a GP9 drive.
: * Trying to make a Mehano/Model Power/Life Like RS11 look like
: something. Or run like something.
I looked at that, but figured it was too difficult. I wanted an SP RS11 so
bad at the time, and I still don't have one.
: * How about this: I once made an SD40-2 out of Athearn SDP40, even
: stretched the frame (after measuring prototype with a broken stick
: when I caught an SD40 and SD40-2 in the same consist stopped in front
: of me) and made reasonable facsimiles of HT-C trucks out of Athearn
: metal Flexicoils. Still have them, maybe should post a photo. The
: shell came out decent, but in a rare fit of idiocy, I painted it in
: the N&W blue scheme... just hated to slop 13D black on that much work,
: even though N&W never owned a blue SD40-2. I still show this model
: even though it's a dummy, and it's wrong. Sure looked better than
: North American Diesel's abortion of a model.
Nope, just did the SD40T-2's I mentioed earlier.
: * Putting Kadees on a !&*^%^&#%$ Atlas/Roco diesel. I think this is
: the most despised job of all time. The Atlas folks did their best to
: make it nearly impossible. One loco was harder: the Model Power/Roco
: E-units.
Yeah, no easy task.
: * Making MU hoses out of piano wire, or whatever else we could find
I still do that. I use brass wire that I heat red hot, after it cools it's
quite soft. Almost like lead.
: * Squadron green "sink & shrink" putty.
: * Testors white crumbly-putty
: * The combined smell of Squadron putty and Floquil
Yes to all three...maybe that last one is why I'm so strange now! ;)
: * Old Athearn fat motors and sintered metal flywheels
They drew enough current to arc weld with. A young friend of mine saw an
old one in a junk box of mine and asked 'What's that?'
: A few milestones:
: * Detail Associates and Details West get into the act in the late
: 1970's... not sure exactly when they started out.
I started building locomotives in 1978 when I was in the 8th grade. Both
companies were already round then. I thought it was great because I could
add all those lights to my SP locomotives.
: * Athearn goes to scale width hood, brass flywheels, and inside
: bearing trucks with plastic sideframes beginning with the SD40-2 in
: 1983, eventually the entire line followed suit on the drive changes,
: although no shells were retooled.
I was working part time at a hobby shop in Phoenix when the SD40-2 was
announced. There was someone in town there that had a relative working at
Athearn...we actually heard about the SD40T-2 before we heard about the
SD40-2.
: * Cannon cabs and parts - late 1980's
: * Kato arrives on the scene - 1984
: * Stewart arrives on the scene - 1984
I thought all of these were great. Since I was already out of high school
and in the workforce I had money to buy these new 'expensive' toys. Yeah,
if only we could still get those RS3's for $39! ;)
: * GSB Rail Ltd. becomes the first rogue manufacturer to complete a
: diesel locomotive - March, 1983, 2-1/2 years after announcement.
I had one on reserve from a small shop in Texas. When I moved to Phoenix
after high school I heard about the Athearn SD40-2. I had one heck of a
time trying to cancel my GSB one. The owner of the shop wanted to know why
and I couldn't tell him that Athearn was bringing one out, it hadn't been
announced yet!
: * First Proto 2000 locomotive - 1990 or 91
Strange prototypes at first, but I was really glad to see the GP18's on
Alco trucks...sure liked them for my MoP roster.
As I type this it got me thinking...I used to do alot of kitbashing and
scratchbuilding when I was in junior high and high school. Must be why I
don't feel like doing that much of it anymore...
Chris
PeterH5322
Here's a really difficult kitbash ...
Convert an Athearn SW-7 into an SW-1 (late phase); early phase would be a just
a little more difficult.
It CAN be done and it looks great.
Oh, and I used the Athearn drive, too.
Hint: you must reverse the trucks and make certain chassis "modifications".
F. DABNEY
On 17 Dec 1997, Christopher Zurek wrote:
> As I type this it got me thinking...I used to do alot of kitbashing and
> scratchbuilding when I was in junior high and high school. Must be why I
> don't feel like doing that much of it anymore...
I did then, and still do. I tend to look at any kit, even ready-to-run
product as a box full of spare parts for the item I /really/ want. When
hobbytown drive kits were cheap, I used to buy them by the dozen, then
carefully sort them out into parts drawers- wheels in one drawer, gears
into another, flywheels and motors into yet another with the frames and
truck castings going into kit boxes for the shelf. And the EMD sideframes
going into the wastebasket...
The hardest part about getting started in kit-bashing is what I call "fear
of failure." Many of today's products are expensive to manyof us, and
indeed I have plastic engines for which I paid more than the same engine
in brass not that many years ago. The plastic one runs better, has better
detailing too. So it takes a certain courage to take a knife or saw to
such a model, knowing that a) if you louse it up, it's gonna cost ya, and
b) you are gonna louse it up.
So what I just can't comprehend is why more modelers don't get more junk
like Tyco just to practice on. Many hobby shops have tables with cheapo
junk for less than a buck. It's certainly cheaper than using that Kato or
Atlas engine or car to learn how to replace steps and ladders, or learning
how to paint and weather. It's not only a cheap tutorial but even the
junk if properly weathered can be used as a scenic detail such as a car in
a junkyard, etc. And if it /isn'/ properly weathered, well, that's t he
point of the whole exercise.
C.L.Zeni
Andy Harman wrote:
>
> Nostalgia time again... but just to see how OLD some of you are, see
> if you remember any of the following kitbashes from when they were
> state of the art:
> * Making hi-noses out of the back ends of GP35's
No, by the time I got involved the SD40-2 was out so I pinched hood ends
from them to high-nose another SD40-2, a GP-30 and a GP-50. All in
Southern paint.
> * Making GE hi-noses out of the back ends of U28B's
Did a Southern U23B that way...
BIG snip
> * Making anything out of a Tyco shell. Usually based on the C430,
> GP20, or C630.
Got a stash of Tyco C630 shells and Trainmaster trucks just for that
purpose. Then looked at the shell and said the heck with this noise...
> * Trying to make a Mehano/Model Power/Life Like RS11 look like
> something. Or run like something.
I know futility when I see it...
snip
> * Trying to make Model Power/Roco E-units run without self-destructing
Used the big horse 28x40 mm Sagami and about nine feet of silicone tube
to get rid of the interminable drivetrain rattle. Put a Cary E7 shell
on it, it then ran OK by standards of the time. Now, when next to the
P2K units it's just pathetic...
snip
> * Putting Kadees on a !&*^%^&#%$ Atlas/Roco diesel. I think this is
> the most despised job of all time. The Atlas folks did their best to
> make it nearly impossible. One loco was harder: the Model Power/Roco
> E-units.
I used Kadee No. 7s, filing the pilot opening wider and downward only.
Snip off that centering thingy on the side and though I won't center
work a damn it's at the right height. And I made it a point just to not
screw with those E units...
> * Squadron green "sink & shrink" putty.
Eww.
> * Testors white crumbly-putty
EWWWWW...that stuff is still lousy.
> * The combined smell of Squadron putty and Floquil
Mmmmm...fond memories of hallucinations
> * Old Athearn fat motors and sintered metal flywheels
Got a few of them around...
big snip again...
--
Craig Zeni - REPLY TO -->> clzeni at mindspring dot com
http://www.mindspring.com/~clzeni/index.html
" Clucko, ergo sum." - Rene Descacchiatore
Demetre Argiro
Andy Harman wrote:
>
> Nostalgia time again... but just to see how OLD some of you are, see
> if you remember any of the following kitbashes from when they were
> * Making anything out of a Tyco shell. Usually based on the C430,
> GP20, or C630.
I still have -and operate- a consist of three Tyco high hood C630's that ride
on Athearn Trainmaster trucks and scratchbuilt chassis. They have Ernst
gearing and Mashima can motors and operate long hood forward- my favorite
position. However, that was not as big a job as the SD 30:-)
>
> * Trying to make a Mehano/Model Power/Life Like RS11 look like
> something. Or run like something.
Tried that one unsuccessfully:-(
You forgot one. American Train & Track Alco Century 415's. The Gulf Central
has two. Repowered and re-handrailed, they actually look and run pretty good.
Bye.........................D>
PeterH5322
How about turning a Model Power SW-1 (or the Alco S-1 "adaptation" of the same
chassis) into a "prototypically accurate" model.
KB2BDB
"F. DABNEY" <fda...@NMSU.Edu> writes:
>>So what I just can't comprehend is why more modelers don't get more junk
like Tyco just to practice on. Many hobby shops have tables with cheapo
junk for less than a buck. It's certainly cheaper than using that Kato or
Atlas engine or car to learn how to replace steps and ladders, or learning
how to paint and weather. It's not only a cheap tutorial but even the junk if
properly weathered can be used as a scenic detail such as a car in a junkyard,
etc. And if it /isn'/ properly weathered, well, that's the point of the whole
exercise.
Fred D.
Watching the action from BNSF MP 1112, El Paso sub<<
So, in or words, Fred, "Don't be so quick to pass up the white elephant table
at the next show," eh? Good point!
Scott Marriam
Watching the action in Central NY from under a snowbank!
Fritz Milhaupt
Now there's a GREAT idea for a hands-on clinic at a train show, meet or
convention- "An Introduction to Freight Car Detailing"- if one could get
the support of a supplier (to donate the necessary tools/parts), or
charge a nominal fee to cover the cost of parts, it should be possible
to lead a limited number of people at a time through the process of
adding Kadees, wire stirrup steps, and one or two other simple details
to a train set or Athearn car. Maybe a little basic spray-can
weathering, too. It'd probably take about 60 minutes per session, just
to keep things at a comprehensible pace for the absolute beginner.
I've run a more advanced version of this with my modular club,
specifically demonstrating how to make Athearn hi-cube auto parts
boxcars run worth a damn on our layout. I've had an article describing
this technique half-finished for about a year now- as my interest has
shifted ot the equipment of the late-1940s/early-1950s, my interest in
hi-cubes has dried up.
-fm
To reply via e-mail, remove the bit between the '@' and the 'r' from the
return address shown above.
Webmaster - Pere Marquette Historical Society Web Site, at:
http://www.rust.net/~milhaupt/pmhs/
JeffFinchX
>Andy Harman wrote:
>>
>
>> * Making GE hi-noses out of the back ends of U28B's
I can't remember exactly which Athearn shells I used but this was the last
model I started before going off to college (and a 20 year modelling drought).
Up to that time I had done only D&H units, including cutting down an ?RS11 to
make a low short hood version like the prototype RR had done. At the time
there were a lot of N&W units that came through Oneonta and I was looking for a
new challenge. Unfortunately I never finished it. Maybe some day I'll dig it
out again and resume, though with my current standards I may have to start all
over.
Jeff
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