CNR MLW RS-18 (Atlas)

[sailormatlac]

Matt, you were wise to not use brake fluid on that body shell, as I've had an Atlas shell absolutely ruined by it - badly deformed and then very brittle.

Your choice of styrene for filling those notches in the corners of the hood is a good one. I did several in that manner for some CPR RS- diesels, and it's an easy job which yields better results than those commercially-available ones.

Small bits of scrap styrene, or, even better, the dust from sanding styrene makes a good filler for styrene. Simply place some in a disposable metal container (I use the bottle caps from Floquil and PollyScale paints, with the plastic or cardboard seals removed), then add lacquer thinner or your favourite solvent-type cement. Add more plastic or thinner to make it the consistency needed, then use an old X-Acto blade to apply it. Let it harden completely (preferably overnight) before filing or sanding it smooth.

For classification lights, fibre optics work well. If I recall correctly, I used some about .025" in diameter. Make a nice square cut on the end, and you can easily form a lense by bringing it close to (but not touching) a hot soldering iron. Keep it square to the heat source to keep the material from deforming. It takes only a few seconds, and without too much practice, you'll be able to form a bunch of them to the same size - the longer they're near the heat, the larger they get. I have dye which came with the starter pack I bought many years ago, but you should be able to colour them with markers.
The class lights on this old Athearn diesel were done with fibre optics, but, as far as I know, the TH&B's only showed white when lit. (Mine are non-working )




Wayne

Thanks for your welcomed advices Wayne.

About the optic fiberglass classification lenses. I understand it works for the lense itself, but how would you do the fine metal lining surrounding it on the carbody? BTW, the results your technic yelds is quite impressive and realistic. We've got some optic fiber that size at the club, I'll try something next time for sure.

Matt