Reading GP30 project

[twilight]

Since I'm at kind of at standstill with my "get off you duff" challenge, I decided to see if I could make some progress on another project that has been sitting on my workbench for a while. It's 3 Bachmann Spectrum GP30's for the Reading Line. I got these off of Ebay at a respectable price but they all require some work. Especially in the paint department. Also, they all had the same road #5513. I don't have any picture of these assembled when they arrived at my house but all the cabs had the yellow paint peeling off them.



I've since stripped the paint and added drip rails and repainted 2 of them Pollyscale Reading yellow.


I also stripped the paint off the GP30 shells and where the yellow paint was flaking off the cabs, the yellow paint on the shells was a bugger to get off.


Also on the unpainted shell I have removed the dynamic brake shrouds and radiator shroud to correct what is called the "fan mistake" on these particular shells. Proto2000 has corrected this mistake with their GP30's. Also, I plan installing sound in these and right about where the fans are, I see the speaker going in.

More up date on this project later.

[e-paw]

That's a nice start. The "V" shaped drip edges are a great spotting feature on the Reading units. I don't know how proto accurate you want to go with these units but there are some slight variations in how the green paint was applied and the size and location of the numbers on the long hood between the geep 30's . Those differences were from the day of delivery to Conrail. You may want to check prototype pics for references. If you need them let me know, it may take a few days of digging, but I should have them.

[twilight]

Steve, its been a while since I've researched these GP30's. I like to try to keep my builds as prototypical as possible. My original thought is to keep them all in the 5500 run of loco #'s. So I do remember that the paint scheme with those will included the yellow paint on the running board above the diesel tank. And your right I do remember something about the size of the Reading Lines decal, but I'm not sure if it was the decals under the window or on the front of the short and long hoods. I'll have to dig up the info about that, again. That's what the slow times at work are for when you can check things out on the good ol' Iphone .


Mark

[twilight]

Actually, in that above picture of the 2 shells the grey one is in primer. I had hoped that I could get away with just repainting the shells without stripping the original paint. But I didn't like the way paint job came out on the yellow one and decided to strip them down to just the plastic shell. Here's a shot of the last shell to go in the Scalecoat Wash Away.


And after being scrubbed with a hard bristle toothbrush and rinsed with water. This shell has soaked in the wash way for couple of hours. Green paint is mostly gone. Stubborn yellow is still there. But it will eventually come off. Just got to work at it some more.

[twilight]

So after 24 hours or so in the Scalecoat Wash Away and a couple of sessions with the toothbrush, here's the result.


Moving on to the last cab. I had to plug up some holes from the un-prototypical horns.


I've been using this stuff lately called Perfect Plastic Putty. It's fine enough that it can be put in an applicator syringe to fill cracks. It really works quite well. This time though I'm going to use my #17 blade of my x-acto knife like a putty knife and fill the holes.




While the putty was drying I moved on and started making the drip rails for the cab. This is a process I borrowed off another modeler on another website. I make the drip rails out of styrene.


For this particular cab I found 22/32 to be the magic number.


Then I move the ruler off the edge of the workbench and line the styrene up with 21/32( doing a little math, half of 22 is 11. 32-11=21). Make a little bend in the styrene by pressing down.


Then use a little CA and glue in place.



I noticed when I was looking at picture of GP30's last night that I installed the drip rails to low on the painted cabs. So I decided to move them up.




I think I'm going to have to do that on on the right again :o .

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Looks good! I've neglected to install the drip rails on my Reading diesels, but it seems like a simple enough part to do! Might add them tomorrow.

[twilight]

Just a quick update just to say this thread isn't dead. This will probably be a slow build until I get a couple of other projects complete. But here's where I'm at with it now.

When I stripped the paint off the shells I didn't notice that the residue paint had pooled in the steps of the shell. Some were worse then others.


When I first noticed the paint that pooled, I tried dipping the shell in the Scalecoat wash away again but found that it had made the plastic of the shell brittle causing it to crack.


I'm going to try and do a repair job on this crack before I look around for a new shell.

And here is one I've repaired already.


Since I discovered the wash away was making the plastic brittle(probably because there was no paint left on shell to protect the plastic during removal), I've only applied it now with a micro paintbrush to the pooled area with better success. Needed a little help with an X-acto knife too, to scrape the paint off.

[Green_Elite_Cab]

I've had similar problems when it comes to stripping things. It is always frustrating, because some of the more experienced modelers make it sound like its no big deal to just strip a model down to repaint it. I've had others (particularly walthers cars) get soft on me as opposed to brittle, but then that's just a different kind of damage and deformity. Its definitely a struggle to get these models prepped when you can't get them Undec.

[e-paw]

I lost a troop bunk car the same way. It just turned to goo after being soaked in Pine-soil. I now only use that for stripping brass or cast models, for plastic I stay with real strong rubbing alcohol. I have yet to destroy a plastic model from 97% rubbing alcohol, even after a week of soaking.

[Green_Elite_Cab]

I lost a troop bunk car the same way. It just turned to goo after being soaked in Pine-soil. I now only use that for stripping brass or cast models, for plastic I stay with real strong rubbing alcohol. I have yet to destroy a plastic model from 97% rubbing alcohol, even after a week of soaking.

I have. Rubbing alcohol makes the skinnier parts on Walthers passenger car sides soft. It also caused pitting on a resin kit I have.

Maybe I just need to work faster.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[twilight]

Well it's been awhile for this thread. I was waiting for some resistors to come in from my Bowser H-9 project I'm still working on in the "Contests & Challenges" part of the forum, so I pulled this on to the work bench again. I added this fan hatch from Plano Models Products. This etched brass piece is to correct the "fan mistake" in all plastic GP30 models other then the Proto2000 models.


I glued it on with some Weldbond and let it dry over night.


Started to move on to the fan assembly but the resistors showed up.

[twilight]

So, made a little more advancement with this GP30 project yet again today. Made up a radiator fan using Cannon and Company's kit 1701.


Following assembly instructions you will eventually get to this point.


And with one more step, this: (I do not have these completely assembled here, they are just roughed together without glue.)


And with one final roughed in shot, in place on the GP30:

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Very Nice!

[tankertoad70]

Really love your project. I have an undecorated Bachmann Spectrum purchased many years ago and was not sure what to do with the puppy. Yer thread here gives me some inspiration!

[FiatFan]

to Big Blue, Don

Tom