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 Posted - May 29 2007 : 10:51:31 PM
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The observant of you may have seen this beast lurking in the background of some of my workbench shots. Over the weekend I finally dusted it off and got back to work.
This is a HUGE project for me, my first "serious grade-A" kitbash. It all started when I was plotting the STC's "plausibility factor", as one of the influences on my design is the real-life Wisconsin Central RR. Wanting a WC loco or two, I figured the SD45 was a beloved signature for them. And if you noticed the road number on my STC loco paint tests... "7638" is no accident, as it has some personal significance.
But guess what the WC's "7638" was:
The one-of-a-kind WC Operation Lifesaver unit?! Heck yeah! So, behold my monster:
Why Frankenstein? Well... for starters I had to cut the heck out of an old RailPower SD45 shell. EXTENSIVELY. The rear of the long hood was terrible and required removal of lots of cast parts and lots of smoothing. Cast on fans drilled out (I had to purchase a large enough bit, which was another $12). The integrated cab and short hood were chopped, which made the sill frame extremely delicate.
Then I modified an Athearn chassis frame to fit - note also the shortened fuel tank, to match the unusual one on the prototype WC7638. Added Canon & Co short hood, base, and cab. Canon fans. Various misc-y bits from Details West and A-Line...
Then I got handrails from a Kato kit... but they did not fit the railpower shell so I had to fill the Railpower holes and drill new ones.
As if that wasn't enough... nobody makes a walkway kit for the RP SD45, and the newer Proto / Kato / etc kits have tread already molded in... so I bought one made for an Athearn SD40-2, figuring that offered the most raw material to work with... then custom cut-and-hacked it to fit.
Eventually I will swap-in the trucks and drivetrain from a Proto2K SD45. Which I got with the shell and all, NIB, for $30 after I had this halfway to what you see. Arrgh. That would have been so much easier and cheaper! Was a little disheartening to see all that detail, which is one of the reasons this got backshopped for a while. But this is going to be rewarding.
I still have my kitbashed tri-pane all-weather window to add, plus all the hoses, air tanks, traction cables, cut bars, etc etc which will come after paint.
Incidentally, I found a top-down shot of this very locomotive that shows the Dynamic and Radiator fan covers mixed up... a neat goof I modeled above.
Somebody please stop me now... where's that Proto SD45 shell again? [:D]
Edited by - GoingInCirclez on May 31 2007 10:57:17 PM
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 Posted - May 30 2007 : 03:41:00 AM
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in 76 you were 38. No?
Zz [:D]
I don't have a one track mind. It depends on the turn-out.
"I love your catenary!"
Is that a power-trip or just another pick-up line?
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 Posted - May 31 2007 : 2:51:39 PM
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I'd keep with it...projects like this one are very rewarding when brought to completion...and yeah there's the Proto 2000; the Kato; the Spectrum; the soon to be announced Athearn RTR SD-45's...but it's not the model in this case but the project itself.
Really like the mixed fans on the roof...happens quite a bit in prototypical applications. Cool.
Tony Cook
HO-Scale Trains Resource
http://ho-scaletrains.net
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Posted - May 31 2007 : 10:52:32 PM
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Zebrails: Nice guess... a good algorithm... but I'm afraid I only just hit the "Big 3-0" this past March. [:D] In fairness it could never be guessed as the number is a more obscure (some would say "silly") but no less personally meaningful tribute.
I've finished fitting all the handrails. Now after much thought and consternation (since I already did the hard part to the Athearn frame) I have decided to use the entire Proto chassis instead. It just makes more sense: it's heavy and weighted, with ported channels for illuminated numberboards, "empty" cab, reversing headlights, and DCC - all of which would have been a PITA to do to the Athearn chassis. Plus, the trucks don't mount the same way: kingpins are on Athearn's chassis but on Protos, they're on the trucks. [Oops!] All tabs and no slots!
I still had to completely dismantle the Proto chassis and drive, so that I can shorten the cast fuel tank weight. ARRGH what a pain that was.
The Athearn chassis will still make a nice 'bash under another unit though, so all is not in vain...
Edited by - GoingInCirclez on May 31 2007 10:59:13 PM
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 Posted - June 01 2007 : 02:21:25 AM
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the chassi... make an ex-Milwaukee Road SDL-39?
It can work!
dunno about the number puzzle...
John
I don't have a one track mind. It depends on the turn-out.
"I love your catenary!"
Is that a power-trip or just another pick-up line?
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Posted - June 01 2007 : 5:45:57 PM
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I agree, stick with it! It looks real good so far. If it makes you feel any better , I have a locomotive that I completed 2 years ago that is still missing a stripe. Call it laziness or inattentiveness, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet! LOL
Russ
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