The NW-2 Project

[u18b]

Thanks for sharing this project Ron. What is not evident from the photos is how small this unit is! It's coming along great.

Could you post some shots of working up the handrails if you have them? Hand built handrails are somewhat mysterious to me. Do you permanently attach the staunches to the sills or do they clip in like the factory delrin ones? Any other tips and suggestions would be appreciated.

Also looking forward to your treatment of decoder + fiber optic lighting.

Cheers,
Steven

Steven,  sorry I did not take photos of in-process handrail construction.

But I did take notes for a possible article I may do one day.

[wcfn100]

I pulled out my CC/Riv SW1500s and it looks like they are even wider than the LL units.  They're nearly .030" wider across the hood than the Kato units.  The CC units also lack the metal plate on the slope that the LL units have.  However, it doesn't look like the 'calf' units of the TR-2 had that panel.  I can't tell if the 'Cow' units did or not yet.  Regardless, since CC is the only one with a calf unit, I'm, going to see how it all fits.


Jason

[u18b]

As you can see from the photos, the LL hood is about 1 mil wider than the Kato- not enough to worry that much.

[wcfn100]

As you can see from the photos, the LL hood is about 1 mil wider than the Kato- not enough to worry that much.

I'm surprised that you get 1mm because when I measure, I can't even get to .2mm.

I wanted to add that the CC unit has the shorter doors like the LL, but this seems to be an artifact of the molded handrail which the Kato obviously doesn't suffer from.  There's just no way to have a molded rail and show the top of the door without making it shorter.

Jason

[u18b]

I didn't say mm.

I said mil.  As in 1/1000 of an inch.  An average sturdy piece of paper is about 2 mil (IIRC).

[wcfn100]

I didn't say mm.

I said mil.  As in 1/1000 of an inch.  An average sturdy piece of paper is about 2 mil (IIRC).

Yeah, that's me posting when I should be sleeping.  Please carry on.

Jason

[u18b]

OK, now that I have been shamed into working harder... 

Here are some added details.  You'll notice I wanted to have one drop step up and one down for added variety.







Now waiting on Archer louvers.
Ron Bearden

[central.vermont]

Ron,
Did you use GMM stanchions for the handrails? Also don't forget to remove that little
box in front of the cab on the engineers side that LifeLike added. 
Looking good!!

Jon

[u18b]

Yes, these are gold medal model stanchions.

[wcfn100]

Since you are doing handrails, you may want to look at changing the rear step grab on the cab side.  Looks like there was a production change at some point where the grab curved along the side instead of the rear.




Jason

[u18b]

Archer Louvers.

All I can say is-  Oh My Gosh!  What a great addition to modeling!   It absolutely took this model to the next level.




Frustration, however.  For this NW2 project, there were not enough on one page to do the model.
Rats!  Had to place another order.  Ordered three more sets.  These are great.

You can also note from this shot that I took my Pasche Air Eraser to the model to get the excess paint off.  I was afraid that the detail and finish might have been damaged, but as you can see, it worked great.  I used baking soda as an abrasive.


Ron

[u18b]

Since you are doing handrails, you may want to look at changing the rear step grab on the cab side.  Looks like there was a production change at some point where the grab curved along the side instead of the rear.




Jason

I noticed that also.  But I haven't decided if it is worth it yet.  Follow the rail down to its insertion point at the steps.  The "knob and hole" would have to be removed and repaired since the new rails attach on the outside surface of the step/sill triangle to the left.

[wcfn100]

Nice, nice, and nice!

You said you ran out?  Did you get the sampler?  They make just a 6" sheet.

Jason

[u18b]

Not knowing which size I would need, I got sampler set.

http://archertransfers.com/AR88057.html

Turns out the correct size was the smallest size.

And no, there was not quite enough to do the whole model.

[rogergperkins]

REVISED:
I ordered parts from Kato to get the taller smoke stacks and found the parts contain head lights which I also needed because gremlins stole the factory one. 
I had a lot of extra parts from 3 sets of Kato #920106.

The only parts I have left are the "walks."
See me off line if you interested.