Newburg has a new switch engine

Discussion in '0-6-0 Switchers' started by frisco1522, Feb 18, 2016.

  1. Very nice Don!
     
  2. Larry F.

    Larry F. Member

    My hat is off to you. That is superb modeling! Larry F.
     
  3. patrick flory

    patrick flory Member

    How do you do the gold headlight reflector? How do you get a working headlight along with this detail?
     
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  4. frisco1522

    frisco1522 Staff Member Staff Member

    On my headlights, I have wood shank Q Tips. I put the fuzzy end in my Dremel tool, moisten it with Brasso (you could use Flitz or another brass polish) and polish the heck out of it until it looks like a real reflector. I've done this for years and have always been happy with the way it looks. I have a punch that I made to punch the front lens out of clear acrylic and put it on using a couple of very small dabs of canopy cement. On this engine, I brought the 1.2V bulbs up from underneath. On a smokebox mounted light, I drill through the back of the casting and smokebox door for the wire leads. I like the "Golden Glow" look it gives.
     
  5. patrick flory

    patrick flory Member

    So there is a teeny tiny bulb (or is at an LED) inside the headlight itself ? Wow, man, forgive my lack of knowledge but this is great. I always really liked the way prototype headlight reflectors looked and never thought you could have the look AND a working headlight. I’ll have to try it. This is a crowning level of reality detail. Might do it separately on the workbench first, not as part of a loco project.

    The other would be working lighted number boards like the SP had on steam engines.
     
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  6. klrwhizkid

    klrwhizkid Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Patrick, I follow Don's method of polishing the reflector with a Q-tip and Brasso. I then take a Warm White 0402 SMD LED (pre-wired) that and dip into Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue and allow it to dry. Once the LED is insulated with the dried glue, I insert it into the headlight housing and then use the same glue to make a lens. It dries crystal clear.
     
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  7. William Jackson

    William Jackson Bill Jackson

    Reminds me, we had a engineer out of Edgemont, SD that wore a tie and used white gloves when he ran the track. He was always 30 minutes early, read all the bulletins and orders. It was a pleasure to run with him. He used to let me run on his trips and show me different things. That's where I learned of the signs and objects that they use to run, like a culvert or tree. He would say don't ever cut that tree or I will derail, you set 10 pounds right their.
     

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