BY GARY NICHOLS

FIRST ALTERATIONS

Before you begin kitbashing in earnest, if you want track-powered lighting, attach two 5 to 6 inch wires to the motor brushes. Remove the power truck and carefully snap off the bottom retainer plate and remove the wheels, metal sub-frames and motor. Solder the leads to the brushes and drill a small hole in the motor block case near the cab end. That allow you to feed out the leads under the cab floor. For more electrical insurance, I put a touch of LGB conductive grease on the axle bushings and their sub-frame slots before I reassembled the truck. Tape the ends of the lighting leads to prevent shorts until you connect the lights.

Now assemble the model. I first attached both plastic sideframes to the engine deck and clamped them with clothes pins until the cement set. I ground the tops of both metal pilots smooth before gluing them to the deck with CA (superglue). Before the glue set, I lightly center punched both metal mounting pins on the back of the pilots from the inside, to expand them as though they were rivets. That insures solid attachment of the pilot. With a little trimming on the sides, Kadee® "G" gauge couplers (without base) will slide right into the LGB coupler slots in the pilots. I pinned mine in place from above with a small brass rod, then secured all the parts solidly with CA. The coupler height worked out exactly right.

I added 1/2-inch square by 3 9/16 inch long wood pilot beams to the tops of the die cast pilots, building them up to just above the level of the engine's deck. I finished off the new pilots with Precision Scale and Ozark Miniatures brake line fittings, large nut-bolt-washer castings, poling pockets, and 1/32-inch diameter brass coupler release levers with mounting stanchions. I also added two 1/16-inch diameter brass rod flag poles to the front pilot. I attached 3/8- by 1/8-inch wood side sills between the new pilots, under the molded-on edge of the MDC side frames.

DETAILS

On each corner, I attached a spare USA Trains reefer strap step. To compensate for the loss of a fuel tank from the roof, the right side sill has a fuel filler cap and mounting plate. I made the plate by embossing thin styrene and the filler pipe from a short plastic filler pipe, a cap (the air cleaner from a hot rod car kit) and some small chain. I covered the deck with Evergreen 1/16-inch scribed styrene to represent tread plate and two Rolls Royce running boards from a Monogram kit I found the scale auto junk bin. They go just under the cab doors.

I put a small Kalamazoo sand dome on the hood because my model is a road switcher. The base is a square scrap of plastic. Two 1/16-inch diameter brass sand pipes feed down through the deck. I ran a wire cable to the MDC bell to simulate an automatic ringer line.

The exhaust pipe has a "flopper" top. I made it from cardstock banding, scrap plastic angle iron, and a round plastic disc (use a common 1/4-inch diameter office punch on thin styrene). The cab and hood have USA Trains grab irons I found in the spare parts bin.

I filed the original cab roof smooth, removed the tank brackets and light mount, curved Evergreen corrugated plastic by hand, and broke (not cut) it to fit, leaving the edges a little jagged. I cemented one air tank to the back of the cab, under the window, with Russ Simpson plastic straps for support. Two hoses (electrical wire) feed down from the air tank through the deck just behind the cab.

I drilled small holes through the back of each headlamp shell for electrical leads. The front light leads go directly under the hood through another small hole. Leads for the cab light run from the inside back center of the roof, over to the inside left rear door jam, then down through the cab floor. Although they are visible, I neatly tacked them in place with CA; after painting, they closely resemble scale interior wiring. I finished the outside of the cab by adding O scale brass air horns to the roof and a hook for the water bag on the back. Before painting the model, I drilled holes to attach windshield wipers and side curtains.

To detail the cab interior, I cemented 3/32-inch U-shaped Plastruct channel above and below all the windows to allow for pop-in installation of clear, thin plastic windows later. The cab interior details reflect no prototype but I chose parts to look as plausible as possible. The dash panel, pedals, shifter and other "control levers" came from the model auto scrap bin. I mounted a MDC brakewheel vertically, on the right side of the instrument panel, near the new wood floor. I cut the engineer's seat from another scrap bin item; I think it is a Bachmann part.

PAINTING...

Up to this point, I had painted nothing. When I had completed all the modifications and the cement was thoroughly dry, I sprayed the engine with Floquil aerosol railroad colors. First I applied gray primer. A few days later, I added several light coats of Pullman green. Tip: Spray the cab interior first. That insures an even, professional finish. I painted the interior of the cab the same color as the body because it was easy and because any overspray from painting the outside of the cab will be the same color as the interior. If you prefer a more prototypical interior color, such as light green, let the cab interior dry for a few days and mask the windows before painting the exterior. Until final assembly, I kept the cab separate from the engine's base, only test fitting it as required. I also painted the muffler and headlamp separately.

After they had dried for 24 hours, I fogged flat engine black onto the sideframes, pilots and deck edges, being careful to mask the green hood with cardboard. I brush painted the cab roof bright silver, then lightly dry-brushed "rust" into the grooves. I painted the center of each grab iron a "cast iron" color, where they would wear. The subtle finish simulates a dark, semi-metallic, well-oiled old pipe.

I weathered the bell with everything but the kitchen sink after the first coat of "brass". I wanted an old, "at-sea-for-a-year" look, and got it. Unfortunately, I forget exactly how I did it. If you look closely, tiny flecks of light green and white corrosion show through a splotchy, inky wash. Some "brass" still shows through, too. I painted the stack and muffler silver first, then heavily oversprayed them with black before treating them with Rust-All. The lights are also Pullman green, with the insides white. The lenses are from that now indispensable Rolls Royce kit (they pressed in perfectly). The roll-up side curtains are from small strips of paper towels. I stained them with what lives at the bottom of my brush cleaning bottle. Before staining, I wrapped them around a grab iron and tied them with very fine wire.

...LETTERING, AND WEATHERING

since I had no particular road name in mind, I kept the lettering to a minimum: Three rub-on silver numbers. Next came very, very light dry brushing with diluted "dust" on the work-worn areas such as couplers, steps, decks, and other horizontal areas where wear and tear would leave scuff marks, paint would chip, or dirt could collect. The now obligatory washes of Rust-All were next, mostly on the roof, grill, grabs, deck edges, pilots, couplers, side frames, and wheels. After that came ground chalk, primarily tan, brown, yellow and orange. I use standard art store sticks, grind them down on rough sand paper, dump the tailings into a small box, and apply them with a 1/2-inch bristle brush. For more intense colors, I carefully pepper the chalk directly from the sand paper onto select areas, then use the brush to disperse it. I generally use a little more color than I think I need because Testor's Dullcote mutes colors slightly. Unless you use such a fixative, the chalk will rub off the model.

When the paint had dried, I cut out the windows and snapped them into the channels I had built. I used a fine CA applicator to put a dot of cement in each corner to secure them. The back windows slide open. The windshield wipers are 1/32-inch diameter brass wire with blades of thin styrene. I painted them black. The tools on the deck are Bachmann, with Ozark Miniatures chain and Precision Scale hooks. I painted about 18 inches of model ship-builder's rope to resemble cable and wrapped it around the front pilot poles. A small tool box with wrenches and an Ozark lantern complete the cab interior. Finally, I very lightly dry brushed silver onto the roof to highlight the corrugation ridges.

AFTERTHOUGHTS

Looking back, I should have tried to add sound! Also, despite very smooth, slow operation out of the box, the switcher ran with increasing difficulty each day. Eventually I removed the power truck and tried to add jumper wires from the metal sub-frames to the motor. The best I could achieve (without a blowtorch) was a cold-solder. I never found an effective way to attach the jumpers permanently to the hard, heavy metal. I am still trying to improve electrical conductivity to the motor. Maybe I can drill and tap small holes for screw-on leads. Track or wheel wipers might also work. The motor block definitely needs improvement.

The other problem is scale. The cab seems to establish the model's scale as 1:32. That makes it technically too small to run with my 1:24 or 1:22.5 scale equipment and I have no 1:32 scale trains. But it looks too nice just to keep on the mantle so I use it to switch LGB size cars.

Meanwhile, I need an engineer.

Wanted: A stocky, short-legged, Neanderthal-ish engineer with a pushy, bulldog attitude. Ex-Porter types welcome. Must be willing to work long hours in cramped quarters.