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 Posted - August 25 2011 : 05:08:30 AM
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Mantua GP-20 Norfolk Southern, after raiding the Spares Box
This GP-20 started life as a Union Pacific that was in very bad shape, and in the bottom of a junk box purchased at ebay. It was so beat up, that I felt sorry for the thing, and started this project with the idea of trying to make what I could just using spare parts and leftovers, and not buying anything.
After stripping the shell, the fan housings and the weight mounting posts were repaired, and the body painted with Tamiya Pure White. The stripe was masked, then the shell painted with Tamiya Black. Decals are from some leftover Microscale, sheet 87-1225, then a coat of Tamiya Clear Semi-Gloss. Side frames from the spares box were painted flat black. I had a set of new handrails (couldn't remember what I was going to use them for, anyway) that were added and painted black after mounting. Trucks, wheels, etc., were cleaned and lubed, and I put them in using new wiring. The original motor was pretty burned-up, so its replacement is a lightly used one from the spares. The only thing that I couldn’t dig-up were the tanks; I took one from another GP-20 to use as a pattern, and using some leftover Alumi-lite, made a two-piece mold and casted a few.
It was a fun project, but at times, I thought that maybe it would have been easier just to leave it in the junk box. The challenge, though, was to make the best out of what I had on-hand, and with that, I was pretty happy. Just need to remember, next time, to take a "before" shot.
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Posted - August 25 2011 : 05:33:17 AM
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fritdude,
Just a note 'for I head to work, awesome!
A handsome loco and an interesting story to boot.
An excellent treatment.
Alco Fan
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Posted - August 25 2011 : 06:50:51 AM
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Yup, What AF said!
-Gareth
"A is A"
-Aristotle
Law of Identification
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Posted - August 25 2011 : 08:30:06 AM
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what Alco Fan & romcat said goes triple for me too  
Yes I agree next time take a "before" shot when starting these projects hehe 
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Posted - August 25 2011 : 11:34:05 AM
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| I really do wish that I had taken a "before" shot. Ever see the Nissan commercial with the kid that stomps on his toy cars and puts them in the toilet? I think he was the previous owner!
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Posted - August 25 2011 : 4:01:38 PM
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Very nicely done. I am not familiar with Alumi-lite, what is it?
I checked Alumilite on the web, cool product.
Edited by - eaglerock109 on August 25 2011 4:41:35 PM
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Posted - August 25 2011 : 7:04:32 PM
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| Nice job..... Until one does that, most people don't realize the time and effort that goes into something like that.
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Posted - August 25 2011 : 8:22:11 PM
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Great work... it really looks sharp!
About "before" photos, I now keep my mobile phone close at hand as I work. It seems to take good enough closeups even in low light.
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Posted - August 25 2011 : 9:34:24 PM
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It's like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree... maybe it just needed a little love. Very slick looking in NS's basic black.
The Tyco Depot
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Posted - September 05 2011 : 9:08:48 PM
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Sure it would have been easier to leave it in the junk box. But, where is the fun in that?
I search the bottom of junk boxes at train shows just for such projects as that.
Really nice loco.
Unspoken expectations are premeditated failures.
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Posted - September 05 2011 : 10:10:29 PM
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| Sweet...I like how you stuck with TYCO's numbering system...
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Posted - October 15 2011 : 3:31:40 PM
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Very Good, Especially For A Junker.
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Posted - December 22 2011 : 8:07:45 PM
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| Looks great,my brother in law would love it as he is an engineer for NS Railroad.
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