The old Atlas yellow box Alcos were Atlas/Roco and therein lies the problem with installing sound, unless you are willing to use the cab space. An article I wrote was published in Railroad Model Craftsman, November 2017 illustrates the minimal clearances within. In that installation, I used a first generation SoundTraxx Tsunami TSU-AT1000 decoder which is no longer available, and the newer TSU-PNP Alco decoder's overall thickness will not fit without changing to a smaller motor.
Trying to get back into the swing of things. These arrived last week: scale ties from Kappler and two Westerfield B-50-1 kits and a R-30-1 Kit that I snared from the Resin Freight Car group. I should probably pause at 9 unstarted kits until I can finish something. Bob, I’m intrigued by your suede dye and alcohol treatment. I’m thinking of using that on my ties and maybe go a little darker.
Well, like I said, you've done an excellent job on the removing/smoothing drilling/installation of the grabs. Superb. Yes, the recent Atlas China S-2's have separate wire grabs. Jealous of the stack! Andre
Chris, I will try to find a small bottle to put some dye in and ship to you. I have enough to last five or more lifetimes.
Tom - Looking good! Glad you are going to add the "nail". This should be a really nice model when you get it finished. For those of you looking in - don't knock the Atlas "Yellow Box" HO models. Pretty good lookers and good runners. Ken
Thank You Ken, Don, Andre and everyone, Made a little more progress on this old Atlas model. I like it, its heavy enough to maybe pull 15-20 cars out of the bowl tracks. Should be a good trimmer locomotive. The Nail antenna was added as well as the re-railers under the sill towards the front, also added the hangers for the chain behind the boxes under the Firemans side sill, prolly hard to see these, the chain will likely be the last detail added. And those class lights, cant believe I had those on hand, after drilling and dry mounting, I noticed those little electrical connections were too short to go to the appropriate spot on the hood end. NUTS! I clipped the cast wire off, flattened the bottom with a dremel, then drilled a .016 hole up thru the bottom to mount my own electrical wire. Now I don't know how many of you have tried drilling a tiny brass casting, with a drill bit that small. The phrase "and they wonder why a guy has a drink" comes to mind. Just trying to hold the class light without hurting it is a challenge on its own, trying to hold it without hurting me was the gamble I was going to take. Many times in the past I have felt that special little jolt from a tiny drill bit being sent spinning into the tip of my finger. But I did prevail this time, got the holes drilled without getting any holes drilled in my fingers. Now to take the shell off and wash it with warm soapy water, let it dry a few days get some primer on it, take the grabs off and then a coat of Scalecoat II black. Thanks for stopping buy!
Looks great Tom, a lot of details makes it come to life and you have done it well. Will be patiently awaiting to see it painted. Are you done yet? Haha Joe
Great stuff there Tom! A great build indeed. I pretty much failed to progress this week, other than to paint up some backdrop area, so here are a few photos...recently added rolling stock, mostly. (Click for larger photos) (Last add is one with some color balancing by Jim Six). Take care all, -Bob T.
Looks great Tom. Very nice,but I’d expect nothing else! I can relate to the feelings you describe too! Ha Bob great shots. I got a request for an R/C truck paint job so I worked on that this week and made no train progress either.
I haven't got much done with trains lately, either. I did work on some projects the last couple of weeks, though. I ended up with a basket case Bachmann Spectrum k4: It probably took a dive to the floor in the past. It seems to run but it waddled like a ruptured duck. Not the easiest loco to get apart. It turns out one of the axles was cracked, so I ordered a new one. I got it in, and have been trying to adjust the quartering by eye, making minor adjustments little by little. It runs ok, not great, forward, but still waddles in reverse. Trying to find a pilot, too. I also got a Powerhouse 2-8-2 that runs well, and installed a decoder: Someone removed the lettering from the cab and tender but they rubbed a little too hard, so I'll need to repaint.
A day late again....oh well. Spent the past few days working on another structure build. This one is "Randy's Auto Repair" and is a Mine Mount Models kit. (Click Images for Larger Version). I have completed some of the component painting and worked on parts and have made it to an initial assembly. Working now on the roofing and a little more trim for the door. The model comes with something that looks like a roll up garage door, and I thought swinging doors would be more appropriate for an earlier time period (for my layout, 1920s). Going to add detail to the garage door to give that impression. Need some 1920s signs....any suggestions? Take Care All, -Bob T.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HO-Scale-G...-Weathering-Buildings-Structures/201598261834 No this seller always has some neat scale artwork. Maybe something that will help. Check out all his items usually quite a few.
Scroll thru this thread you will see some signage to copy and paste at will. https://www.trainboard.com/highball...igns-for-your-layout.45212/page-6#post-586861
Here is the 1/10th scale RC truck I painted last week. Rust of course. I pinched the bed like a typical rock crawler. For the fake weld I used bondo spot putty And tooled it to look like weld bead. I Then painted to look like heated steel. For the mud splatters I put MIGs splatter mud and paint on a brush then sprayed it on the body with an airbrush across the bristles for a random effect. No paint in the airbrush just air. Sorry no trains, I feel like Gary! With his home projects. Ha!!
If I fold up like a carpenter rule I could probably fit inside. LOL I think this is the longest tread on this website. Joe
Ah, a 1979 1/2 Toyota 4x4! I sold the first ever Toyota 4x4 Limited Edition pickup (1979 1/2) delivered to Cape Girardeau to a fellow that became a good friend of mine.