Hi Guys -

I have been waiting patiently for some manufacturer to make a NS high hood GP30 in Nscale. Last night my patience ran out.

Armed with a hobby saw, file and Xacto knife, I cut the front hood off a Bachmann GP50 (and after much filing and cutting) glued it onto an Atlas GP30. All in all, it doesn't look too bad. My question is now...what should I use to fill the tiny gaps between the two shell pieces? A long time ago when I built model planes, I remember there was a putty that was used to hide the joints that you could sand smooth after it hardened. I'm sure there's still products like that out there...which one is good to use? The gaps I need to fill are very tiny, as I tried very hard to match the two shell pieces as well as possible...but there's still a very small gap around the newly added on shell.

After I get the gaps filled...I'll try the air brush for the first time and paint the whole thing black using a picture of the NS GP30 as my guide. And on that note, is it better to strip the old paint off or just air brush over the existing paint? (The Atlas GP30 that I used is in the BNSF "pumpkin" scheme with dark green and dark orange btw. The trucks and handrails are dark green as well.) Any special tricks of the kitbashing trade I should know about to paint them?

If this first attempt at building my own high hood GP30 goes reasonably well, I'm going to try it again, only this time use the Atlas GP30 in the all-black Penn Central color scheme. (That should be easier to repaint since it's basically in the right color to start with.)

The most glaring error to using the GP50 nose on the GP30 body is where the cab windows begin. On the prototype, the cab starts just before the angled roof line begins. There was no way I could see to replicate that design feature using my Atlas shell since the cab is modeled where it begins at the same point as the angled roof line. I just couldn't figure out a way to bring the windows forward. If I attempt this kitbash again, I think I'll gently cut the forward window area off the front cab from one shell and try and attach it to the other to make it closer to the prototype. (Actually, I have another Bachmann GP50 that I could use right now to try this idea out...might just grab the hobby saw again and give it a go.)

I did make a tactical error though...I used an Atlas "Classic" GP30 to build on. It isn't "DCC Ready" and from what I've read, not dcc possible. I placed this engine on the rails and it shorted out the Zephyr DCC unit. (There must be a number of places the frame touches the motor clips or both sides of the frame are touching.) So if I'm successful at kitbashing this engine to something that looks good, I might have to either find a replacement frame from another engine that fits the shell well enough, or gut the engine, remove the metal that could conduct electricity, and isolate the frame halves from each other to make it a dummy engine, or just remove the metal strips that carry power from the trucks to the engine...which I really wouldn't mind doing. ( Next time, I'll be a bit wiser and pick a "DCC Ready" frame to start with. )

Oh...I'll gladly post a picture of my progress once I figure out how to do that. I'm not adept at resizing pictures on my MacBook yet...I can make them smaller but not change the file size to get it within the prescribed attachment upload limits.

I use Squadron, ( Green, or White ) putty, and dip the tool I use to apply the putty, in Testors liquid plastic cement, and then apply that over the putty to smooth it out and help it fill in the smallest gaps or scratches. Try it on some scrap pieces that you have various different size "things to fill", to get familiar with the technique before using it on the model.

Ditto on the Squadron Green and White ... Green seem to harden "harder" than the White, and seems less forgiving if the application is a little over-zealous. In other words, the White seems to be a bit softer and sands a little easier.

Herc, if you put you pictures in photobucket, they'll be automatically re-sized to one of several options from which you can choose.

For filling irregularities, the Squadron putties work well, but for filling holes I like to either cover over the hole from the inside, using sheet styrene, then apply the putty, or, using styrene strips of appropriate thicknesses, fill the gaps as much as possible, then use a brush to apply lacquer thinner to cement everything together. After the thinner dries (overnight), I use a chisel blade in my X-Acto to shave off any protruding bits, then apply some putty, if required.
For filling mounting holes where you've removed an unwanted part, various sizes of styrene strip and rod do an excellent job that often requires no further filling. To accomplish this, select strip or rod several thousandths of an inch larger than the hole to be filled, then apply some lacquer thinner or other solvent-type cement to both the plug material and the hole to be filled, stuffing the filler into the hole until the fit is tight. Cut off the excess material, but don't trim close to the repaired area until it has fully set - usually overnight. To finish the job, use a sharp chisel-type X-Acto blade to shave off the protruding material until it's flush with the surrounding surface.

Wayne

Here's some pictures taken on the layout today. I repainted the entire engine matte black, but over the semi-gloss first coat, it did little to tone down the brightness of the semi-gloss. The trucks are painted as well as the fuel tank. It's finished with the paint shop...now I'm just waiting for decals to hopefully cover up most of the glaring errors in painting.











As you can see, there are some serious flaws in this first attempt. First off the incorrect choice of semi-gloss paint. (I won't do that again...from now on everything gets matte paint.) You can also clearly see the horizontal line where the two shells are attached. I should have cut off the entire low-nose from the Atlas GP30 BNSF shell, then added the full high hood from the Bachmann NS GP50. That way, the seam where they attached would have run vertically along the cab and not horizontally. (I've never taken a saw to any of my engines and I was trying to do as little damage to the GP30 unit in case this whole project wouldn't work out.) Next time, I'm making a vertical cut and completely removing the entire low nose from the shell. This will make it far easier to mount the high hood from the GP50, plus, using the Squadron Putty (green) to fill in the gap will be an easier challenge.

Since this first attempt is more of a "proof of concept" than "final solution", I'm only somewhat pleased with the result. There were quite a number of things I'd do differently (now that I know where most of the biggest mistakes are.)
- I'll take the entire model apart and paint each part separately when I try this again.
- The BNSF decals bubbled off both sides of the cab below the windows, and I had to wipe them off and repaint there. You can clearly see the remains of that attempt. When the NS lettering and numbers are placed there, I don't think that will be as evident. But the next time I try this, I'm going to remove all decals and as much existing paint as possible.
- You can still see the line where the two shells are joined, and I plan on working on that more to make it less visible. But the white stripes of the NS symbol should hide where the two shells attach well enough.

The decals are on order and should arrive in about 10 days or so, according to Walthers. Once installed, I think the overall effort will be good enough to place on the layout, but not spend a lot of time in front of the camera.

Well, this is the first time I've tried to build something that doesn't exist in Nscale. I really like the GP30 high hood, and now that I've tried this, one of the major manufacturers will probably announce their intention to mass produce them. But I've learned a lot from this first attempt. I could have planned things out a bit better, and taken more time to prepare the model for painting. But, at least you can look at it and say..."Hey, that's a high hood GP30."

And as always, I'm open and hoping for some critiques, criticism, and suggestions.

Thanks!

Herc ...

Edit your post ... get PhotoBucket open, too ... Click and save the IMG syntax (the bottom one) and then delete what you had put in your post (the http one) and paste in it's place the IMG code and ...

We should have an image!!

Latest work...

Does it look like a GP30 yet?





Comments? Please, I welcome all comments, critiques and suggestions.

Herc---you deserve a big "high 5" for a job very well done---now that have have completed your first kit-bash,I'm sure your future endeavours will get better and better---it's really good to see you posting pictures again,hope there's lots more to come

Looks like a GP-30 to me...
A little weathering wouldn't hurt, and help to draw attention away from the few "imperfections"...

Tough Room

Real nice job Herc

It's about done...with hand painted handrails and step guides. I had to paint them by hand because I couldn't see a way to easily remove the railing and later reinstall them without cutting them away and glueing them back in place. I plan on "dirtying up" the handrails as well as covering everything with a light coat of clay brown below the cat walk. I also need to find a horn, which I think flew off somewhere during construction. Granted the decals hide most of the nose/shell joint, but they aren't exactly the right size for the panels, although supposed to fit according to Microtrains. It still needs a radio antenna as well. With a little weathering here and there...it should look a bit better. (Wow...black is a tough color to photograph.)









You're right about the weathering hiding the imperfections...and as soon as that yellow paint dries, that's going to get done.

Thanks for the comments guys. And keep those comments coming - don't worry about how it's going to be received - I trust all comments are for the best and meant to help me improve. This is my first attempt at bashing two engines together to make one, and I know there's a "learning curve"...so if you see a place where I could make an improvement, please don't hesitate to point it out.

Thanks!

Herc, that turned out darned good! i appreciate you guys who work in N scale!

When you do the weathering, a bit of drybrushing on the handrails would help them stand out a touch against the black body.

I gotta say that I'm impressed. I have a hard enough time bashing locos in HO scale!

Ralph

I've gotta completely echo what Ralph said. Very nice job creating a unique loco. in N scale to boot. One of these days, I want to make a small N-scale layout and try some kitbashing and detailing.

My sincere thanks for the kind words everyone.

Thumsup - Thanks for the kind words.

Gus - You're absolutely right...it needs some strategically placed weathering. I think that will help as well.

CN - I hope to try this one again...only with better results. I've seen so many cars and engines changed, bashed, improved, refurbished, redone, it was about time I started. I don't know if this was the easiest project I could have started with...but it certainly taught me a lot of "what not to do's".

Kevin - get on it...go get a Kato Nscale set (I'm thinking ATSF F7 Freight) and take the plunge! I find, even with good eyes and glasses, it is still a challenge to add details that look convincing in Nscale...but one tries.

Ralph - I'm not buying it...I've seen your work and results...lots of what you've posted has inspired changes for the better on my layout. Your HO work sure looks good to me!

Gary - Thanks! I plan on weathering and taking the shine off those newly painted handrails and well...just about everything else.