Southern GP30 High Hood Build Progress Pics

[Herc Driver]

This is what I've been up to...

This is the second stab I've taken at getting the roof line right on a Southern Railway GP30 high hood. The trick is getting the angled roof line to start in exactly the right spot.

The first attempt I made at this engine, I didn't want to alter the Atlas roof line of a low nose GP30, so I just cut and glued on a high hood, painted, and added the decals. This time, I altered the roof line to (hopefully) get the overall "look" of the GP30's high hood correct.

To create the new roof, I carefully cut the nose from a Bachmann GP50 and filed it down to better match the width of the Atlas low nose GP30 shell. I filed away the excess material of the roof and added styrene to the resultant gaps created in the process. Putty was added, and a lot of sanding later, I painted it on a cold winter's day. (BIG mistake.) After realizing I had over sprayed the model, and learned a valuable lesson, I completely stripped the model with 91% isopropyl alcohol. I repainted it with grey primer, a suggestion made by another modeler, which showed all the imperfections that I just couldn't see before. More putty, more sanding, and more primer later, this is as smooth as I could get the work accomplished. I painted two coats of Tamiya semi-gloss black, glued the bell assembly on (and yes, I just realized through these pictures that I glued it on crooked), and am waiting my order of Southern decals to arrive.

This is where I'm at now. These close up pictures show ever flaw in both the first and second attempts that you just don't see from a foot away. Still, I'd like to get the sanding absolutely perfect. I feel I over sprayed the grey primer, though I was trying to get as light a coat on as possible, as evidenced by the loss of details on some of the exhaust grills. The coupler needs work, and the trucks are sort of weathered but will be reworked. The yellow was added to the handrails using a paint pen and as steady a hand as I could muster.

I can already see places I'd improve on...and am already contemplating a third attempt at this engine. So please, add your comments, critiques, and suggestions.

Thanks!