Plymouth Street

[cnw1961]

Thank you guys for your kind comments, though not much is happening here. I am still looking for the last few structures for the right side of the layout. I found two perfectly ugly structu... er ... structures with lots of character . The mockups will stay on the layout until I’ll build these structures. Then their amazing "beauty" will be revealed. Now I need to find only two more buildings ...



The detail parts for my engine have not arrived yet, so I could only make little progress with what I had at hand. I built the speed control box on the right side of the short hood and I made the snow plow from styrene.



I still had some detail parts left over from previous projects, so I worked on the rear end too. I did not inted to replace the MU hoses when I started, but now I think the Details West hoses look better than the plastic ones that came with the engine. The coupler cut lever is made from .013" piano wire and the brackets are Detail Associates parts. I won’t tell you how long it took to bend the wire and to glue the brackets to the pilot ... it is too embarrasing :oops:

[tetters]

Kurt if I may ask and perhaps others can chime in as well.

Do you normally start with an undecorated loco when you want to add detail parts are you are doing now? If not normally then how do you go about apply details to an existing color scheme? Do you paint the detail parts first and then apply or do place them on the loco shell and then paint them? I'd like to eventually start doing this kind of work, but I have some many concerns about how to do it in the first place.

Thanks as always.

[cnw1961]

Tetters, if I only wanted to add a few detail parts, I would not start with an undecorated engine. I’d add the parts to a painted engine and would try to match the color as best as I could. I prefer to apply parts first and then paint them on the engine. I hate glueing painted parts, because I often end up with damaging the paint when I apply glue. But that is just my 2 Cents. For this project I had to start with an undecorated engine, because as I mentioned earlier, a decent NYA GP38-2 is not available.

I guess there are some more experienced modelers here on the forum (e.g. Wayne) that can answer your questions better than me.

[doctorwayne]

I can't recall ever having detailed a pre-painted locomotive, although I have done so with pre-painted rolling stock, including so-called ready-to-run stuff. The first step is to remove any things you don't want or want to replace with better parts. Most details which are added-on to the basic body shell can be either "popped" off or cut off - use a sharp blade and take care to mar as little of the surrounding area as possible. If the unwanted details are cast as part of the shell, carefully shave them off using an appropriate blade in your X-Acto. I like the #17 chisel-style blade - it's easy to re-sharpen as needed, and, if you have a Dremel and a cut-off disc, you can create narrower versions of it - clamp the shank of the blade in your vise, then, working slowly to avoid overheating the blade excessively, cut away one or both sides to create the blade width you need to get into a tight space.
One mistake beginners make (some old pros, too) is to use the blade incorrectly - for carving away unwanted details, the bevelled side of the blade should go against the work. That way, if the blade slips, it will skip off the work rather than gouge into it. Also, don't try to remove larger details in a single pass - multiple light ones work better. To speed up such cuts, you can also make multiple vertical cuts into the detail being removed - simply push the blade into the detail as far as it will readily go, repeating until the area is covered, then make a horizontal pass at the same depth as the cuts - each notched segment will pop off as the blade moves along, prevent binding or the need for excessive force.
Smooth any of these areas before adding the new parts - if you work carefully, this can usually be accomplished with the appropriate knife blade - the chisel-type blade is also an effective scraper - hold the knife vertical to the surface being smoothed, with the non-bevelled edge facing the direction of travel, then drag the blade over the material to be removed. You may have to make several passes. In all cases, keep the blade sharpened.
Sometimes the removal of details creates gouges or holes in the body shell - if the new part will hide such a flaw, don't waste time filling it. If you must use a body putty, apply it sparingly - several light coats will shrink less than one heavy one. The chisel blade can be useful as an applicator for filler, too - use it like a miniature putty knife. If at all possible, avoid sanding unless there's no other way to get a smooth finish - sanding sticks can be made by affixing sandpaper to bits of wood or styrene, using contact cement.
If the removed detail leaves a hole in the body shell from its mounting pin, either use the hole to attach the new detail part or fill it with styrene rod. I keep a selection of styrene rod on hand for filling holes to eliminate them or for filling them so that I can re-drill a more appropriately-sized hole for the new detail part. Select a rod that's several thousandths larger than the hole, or, if the hole is too small for the rod available, re-drill it to a suitable size. Using a small brush, apply some solvent cement to the hole (work from inside the shell if possible or use a brush that will fit into the hole - you don't want to mar the visible surfaces) and also to a short piece of the filler rod. Press the rod into the hole, and push it in as far as it will go - it should stop rather than slide too far. After 24 hours, slice off the protruding stub with your chisel blade and re-drill if required.
Many detail parts have mounting pins - use them - a glued mechanical joint is much stronger than one that's merely glued. Also, use the correct adhesive for the materials involved. While it's tempting to use ca to affix a plastic part to a pre-painted body shell, this is a weak joint that will usually fail - it can be improved if there's a mounting pin involved, but a plastic-to-plastic joint with solvent-type cement will be more permanent. Scrape or sand away paint to make such a joint - chances are the detail part will require painting anyway.
If the detail parts don't have mounting pins, consider adding them where appropriate. Drill holes for a "press fit" in both the model and the detail part, cut a "pin" from suitably-sized brass, steel, or stainless steel wire, then ca it into the detail part, then ca the pin-mounted part onto the shell.
If you're adding grabirons and nbw detail, do this as two separate operations. I like to add the nbw detail first - drill holes for the shanks of the castings and install them using solvent cement for plastic or ca for brass parts. If using styrene parts, allow the cement to fully harden, usually 24 hours, then drill for the grabirons. I like to use a spacer of suitable thickness to position grabirons the proper distance from the surface upon which they're mounted, then bend-over the wire legs on the inside of the body shell. Remove the spacer, then apply ca from inside the body - if you leave the spacer in place, it can cause the ca to "wick" through the holes, bonding the spacer in place. If you've carefully plotted and drilled for the grabirons, you may be surprised to see that they appear crooked. This is caused by the fact that the bent-over ends inside the body shell aren't necessarily in the same horizontal plane as the visible section. This is easily corrected, "by eye", using a pair of smooth-jawed pliers - simply grasp the grab and give it a slight twist in the desired direction.
To paint newly applied details, check to see if the manufacturer of the model specifies the brand and colour of paint used originally - you may be able to get an exact match. Some details will required painting in a contrasting colours, usually allowing you plenty of leeway in selecting something that looks suitable. Make a note of the brand and colour used, so you can paint subsequent rebuilds to match.
The same advice applies when trying to match a colour that you have to mix - keep track of your "test" versions - I like to use the "brush load of this colour, two of that", and so-on to get a rough idea of a paint mix needed, then try it on the model. Once it's dry, you should be able to determine the adjustments needed. For freight cars, of course, an exact mix is seldom required - while there are many versions of "boxcar red", they're all fairly similar. For a diesel, you may want a closer match - many manufacturers offer specific railroad colours, but you'll need to choose the version which you think looks closest and give it a try. Don't be afraid to alter it if required - just use a small portion for your experiments - colour mixing is partly an innate ability, but practice can enhance it. I seldom use paints "right out of the bottle". If you can't get the colour exactly right, don't worry about it unless you're modelling a brand new locomotive - the prototypes got altered with new parts or repaired ones and the new paint wouldn't appear exactly the same as paint that had been in service for some time, either. You might even consider re-painting some things that are un-altered parts of the original model - for instance, if you painted a new horn and a couple of new fan housings in a slightly different different shade of blue than the original paint job, you could also do the same on two or three hood access doors - instant repairs or replacements modelled with only some paint.
Small details can be brush painted - use a good quality brush and don't overwork the paint - most will self level. Allow to cure fully before re-coating, too, or you'll lift the earlier coat. For larger modifications (smaller ones, too, if you wish) use an airbrush. Unless you're looking for a distinct demarcation between colours or between parts of the same colour, don't use masking tape. Instead, use paper or cardstock to shield adjacent areas - cut it to fit around things you're painting and hold it slightly away from the model - this allows a small amount of overspray onto the shielded area, better blending the new part/shade into the old.
In many cases, you'll want to add a clear finish - this can help blend the new paint into the old, or it can make a new (or old) part look as if it truly is new. For the former, I'd recommend coating the entire model and, for the latter, use masking tape to protect the original.
Don't count on weathering to hide a poorly-done job. While it can work wonders for poor paint jobs or botched lettering, it seldom covers poorly-fitting parts, sloppy glue joints, or improperly finished surfaces. Work at your own pace (detailing isn't a race) and don't be afraid to re-do something with which you're not entirely pleased.

Wayne

[cnw1961]

Wayne, I knew we could rely on you! That is a buch of very valuable advice. Thank you!

[tetters]

Wow! Holy schnikes! Thanks for that Wayne!

[P5se Camelback]

To paraphrase an old RCA ad ... "When the Master speaks ..."

Thanks, doctorwayne, I, too, picked up a few valuable pointers there!

Thanks!

[cnw1961]

Quite a bit happened here since my last post. I know, I should have posted earlier, but I have a good excuse. I have been too busy modeling . So here is in brief what I did the last few days.

After putting those mockups (that you can see in the pics above) along the runaround on the right side of the layout, I began to realize that the runaround did not look right. It looked much too short and the big structures enhanced that impression. So I decided to shorten Plymouth Street on the left to add almost 2 ft to the runaround.



It is looking much better now and Plymouth Street is still looking good.







Some parts for my engine arrived yesterday, so I made some progress here, too. I started with adding the missing details to the rear pilot. I really like that weedcutter.



With the new parts, the Cannon Co. 81" nose had arrived. Assembling and making it fit was exactly as bad as I had feared. The Cannon hood is a bit higher than the P2K nose and the cutouts for the battery boxes are longer. Nothing that could not be cured, but it took ages! To add the new anticlimber however, was a piece of cake.



The last step to turn the P2K geep into a mid-production version was to add the wire mesh radiator grilles (Cannon).



It is starting to look right now.

[tetters]

I like the new track configuration and the detail work on the loco is superb as always. Really inspiring work. Hopefully I'll have something as equally impressive to share in a couple days.

[mountaingoatgreg]

THe track work is really coming along nicely. It really ahs the feel of the real thing as it has the proper balance between railroad and city.
I also appreciate the work you are doing on the locomotive it keeps reminding me of all the units I need to do....

[Herc Driver]

Great progress! That engine is really going well and will no doubt look great.

[torikoos]

Cool stuff Kurt! Perhaps you've described it before, but where do you get your 'sources' for your buildings and how do you transfer that to your scal mockups and final models? I am busy trying to get my buildings through google earth, I heard bing is also good which I have not tried yet.
What would you recommend?
vielen dank! :-)

Koos

[Steamtrains]

Terrific work...!! I like the "squiggly" look of that track. It's something I've never been able to bring myself to do....

Almost forgot...Some punks went and drove a mega-screw right into your track....

[cnw1961]

Greg, Herc, this engine is a fun project, though it is taking a lot of time. It is really amazing how many hours you can spend doing just a few little details.

Koos, I get my buildings through Google street view and Bing. Both are very helpful in their own way. When I transfer them to scale models, I look for things in the pics that I know the approximate size of, like doors, people, cars etc. If you have a good pic of a redbrick building you can count the rows of bricks to determine the height of the stucture. The satellite view of Google Maps helps to determine the footprint of a building. Just measure the building on your screen and compare it with the scale down in the left corner.

Almost forgot...Some punks went and drove a mega-screw right into your track....

See, that happens when I concentrate on doing something else and don’t work on the layout for a few days. Can¹t leave it unattended ....

I made a few important steps to make my engine look like the prototype. The step wells and the handrails at the front are quite unique on this engine (as I learned from a very friendly and helpful guy who is engineer on the LIRR and worked with these engines before they got leased to the NY&A). Modifying the step wells was easy, but the handrails gave me the creeps. Defintely not the thing I will remember as the most enjoyable when I will think of this project.

[tetters]

Well they may have given you the creeps but they sure look alright to me.