Another #12 70 Ton

Discussion in 'General Electric (GE)' started by RK24, May 12, 2023.

  1. RK24

    RK24 Member

    I just finished my take on the #12. It's the first project I've painted completely from scratch, so it's no rivet counter, but I'm pretty happy with it.

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    I started with an undecorated Bachmann Spectrum, which I purchased before I knew of the issues the early dual motor units had. I was eventually able to pick up a DCC equipped donor for the chassis. The bodies swap directly, but the box under the frame does not. The screw and bore are different, so I shot the box black.

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    I filled the hole for the factory horn and added the A200 on the roof.

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    Paint used:
    • Primer - Tamiya AS-26 Light Ghost Grey
    • Vallejo White 70.951
    • Tamiya Semi Gloss Black X-18
    • The Army Paints Ultramarine Blue
    • Game Color Imperial Blue 72.020

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    The white went over the primer, followed by black on everything else. I did about 2 rounds of just Ultramarine before adding the Imperial to my mix. I don't have an exact number, but I'd estimate a roughly 2:1-3:1 mix of Ultramarine to Imperial was what I ended up with.

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    I did paint chip tests and determined the blue over black was much closer to the reference than the blue over grey. After shooting just the Ultramarine, I found it was still a bit too pale, and that's when I mixed in the Imperial.

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    Gloss coat for decals, a yellow diesel set from K4, and a few hand-painted details. Followed with a dull coat.

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    I will, at some point, replace the factory decoder with an ESU LokSound V5 and set it up with the proper set. Until then, the chassis needs a bit of tuning, but it does run okay.
     
    Last edited: May 12, 2023
  2. Coonskin

    Coonskin Member

    I can SEE! I can SEE!

    Love the little Frisco 70-tonner!

    All of the pics have good stuff in them.

    Thanks for correcting the issue and good job on your projects!
     
  3. klrwhizkid

    klrwhizkid Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Nice job on the paint and decals. We have a local modeler, Mike Porter that has the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern on part of his layout and all of their motive power was GE 70 Tonners. Mike's son drew CAD drawings for new chassis made from brass bar stock, then we used two NWSL Stanton drives for the trucks. There was plenty of room for a cube type speaker, SoundTraxx TSU-2200, a TCS KA4 Keep Alive and more weight. Each 70 tonner ended up weighing nearly 10 ounces and they run very, very nicely and the drivetrain sounds do not overpower the sound decoder at speed (about 30mph scale).
     
  4. mark

    mark Staff Member Staff Member

    Sirfoldalot and Ozarktraveler like this.
  5. gjslsffan

    gjslsffan Staff Member Staff Member

    Thats a fine looking switch engine Tom, nice job on the paint and decals. Adding the decals on the wind sheets would be the pro touch, but it looks great just like it sits.
     
    Sirfoldalot and Ozarktraveler like this.
  6. RK24

    RK24 Member

    Dang, I wish I'd spotted that beforehand. I had to glue the coupler bars in because they weren't press fit. I'm sure I can work around it, as I practiced decals on another tonner before without removing any of the detailing.
     

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