Latest from W. Pacific Shops

Finished up another one that had been waiting for me for a while. Came into the world as a PFM Northern Pacific 4-6-0. Stripped, new stack, domes, cab, smokebox front, pilot and redetailed. New scratchbuilt tender. Powered by flat sided can motor with original gearbox. DCC Econami sound.
Only one left on the shelf to finish.

 

Beautiful! Your locomotives are always top notch. The details are as crisp as any I've seen.

 

Neat Don, as always! The slanted cylinders give a different view - I noticed you did the same number as the pic coming into Lindenwood in Joe's book with the troop train. The slant really looks neat on that front view. Nice!

Ken

 

Thanks Ken. I just touched up the corners, put another lens in the right Class light, ran the headlight wire, put numbers in the headlight wing and a few other little things. Dirtied up the smokebox some more. Pictures don't lie, they tell you what you need to fix. She's due for a run on the local to break in. Model was new.

 

I don't get to spend as much time as I'd like to on these projects. I'm nearly done building my roster and then I can devote moe ime to the layout.

 

What's the one you have left on the shelf to finish, or do you want to keep that as a surprise? Just curious.

K

 

Another masterpiece Don, very inspiring work.

 

That's just the problem. I've aged into having tremors and I have cataracts that aren't quite bad enough for Medicare to pay for them. Can't see worth a damn.
I just bought a couple of the LED 4' fixtures for over the work area and a 100W LED bulb for my task light. They are much brighter than the fluorescent fixtures that I had. It helps, makes my eyes stop down a couple of f stops.
Getting old ain't for sissies.

 

Add me to the list of those with some hand tremor problems. Very bad when you are trying to do detail work on HO models!

I am fortunate in that my cataracts (both eyes) qualified for removal, and Dr Morey did a great job on both. Very impressive skill! I was fully awake for both procedures and he provided me with a play-by-play description of what he was doing on each. The difference with the new lens implants on both was like night and day!

I had to drive my Audi back to St Louis from Naples just before the second surgery (left eye) in 2014. That cataract had developed very quickly, and by the time I drove back after being in Florida for ~4 months, I could not read the highway signs. When I came up on a sign I needed to read, I had to close my left eye and let the good right one do the trick. It was kind of scary!

Don is correct - "getting old ain't for sissies"!

Ken

 

Don, these photos bring up a detail issue that I'd never thought of before: cab and doghouse interiors. Did you use any particular shade/type/brand of green? I reckon that any shade would do, especially for an interior color that's usually in the shadows.

Second, for any steam experts, is there a name for the bolted joint where the underframe forms a little vertical "lip" right underneath the smokebox front on the locomotive's centerline? Seems like a little detail that I could probably add to my El Cheapo units with some styrene and bolt heads.

You fellas aren't giving me much hope, vis-a-vis the aging process. Steady hands are not a problem, but at the ripe age of 44, I can't see anything small (print or detail parts) with my glasses on, but I can't walk across the house without my glasses. All of this has transpired in about the last year and a half.

The family's *this* close to launching an intervention and forcing me to an optometrist and a pair of bifocals. Since one eye is much worse than the other, I suggested just getting a monocle, but that motion was defeated for lack of a second.

Best Regards,

 

That is where the cylinder halves are bolted together. I have to use an Optivisor for detail work now. I used to tease a friend for using one when at that time I could work right up to the end of my nose with no glasses or anything.
As far as the green, I bought a little squeeze bottle of green at the art store or Michaels. Just guessed at the color.

 

LOL great stuff Don and all. I use reading glasses (X3) with those fold up, clip on magnifying glasses. LOL eyesight starts to fade in the 40's, everything else is down hill from there. As long as you come to terms with that, you will be OK.

 

A friend of mine said to take a drink or two before starting. Steadies your hand. My Dad used to say sign painters were always partially hammered to keep steady.

 

My doctor said the same thing about my shaking - and it works! A wee nip or two of a good single malt solves a lot of troubles.

The shaking is mainly in my right hand and arm. I'm left handed and that side is a bit better. The adult beverage drink helps a lot, but then after a few I start getting sloppy. You can't win!

Don, funny story from your dad about the sign painters! Ha!

Ken