Best Of SP&S 4-6-2 #626 Project

[sirenwerks]

Max, it's a masterpiece.  I'd love to see it running someday, and your layout.

[wazzou]

Top shelf Max. 
I would like to see it with that louver added to the cylinder jacketing if you can.

Really great craftsmanship.

[mmagliaro]

Thank you, guys.  I have enjoyed this project tremendously.  You better believe it is a source of great joy to watch this thing run on my layout.

Peteski:  Not to worry.  I am keenly aware of the fact that the pin striping on the pilot wheels is too wide.  I knew when I was doing it, but I do not have a good way to reshape those wheel faces to make a thinner, flat, "rim" to paint.
I considered a fox valley wheelset, but they have a very sharp "edge" there, and I doubt I could paint
a neat, flat line on that.  I might be able to flat-file the outside of a FV wheelset to make that rim edge into a small flat surface. 

Wazzou:
That louver... Ha!   Yes, I did notice those, but I never realized what they are.  What are they for?
You are referring, I presume, to this (in the photo below, circled).

I thought about that as the project has gone on, but I haven't thought of a way to make that sort-of "house-shaped"
thing.      I wonder if BLMA makes some sort of diesel louver that would work.

[peteski]

Here is an idea for the louver.  Make a stamping die made of a piece of aluminum or brass (something easy to work with).  Using files, shape it like the louvered plate. Or, since you have a milling machine, mill the the stamping die. Then take some heavy-duty aluminum foil (or maybe even heavier gauge stuff from disposable roasting trays).  Place the foil on a piece of dense wood which is not too hard (poplar?) then emboss it with the "stamping die" you made.  Lastly, cut the plate out (probably chopping the rectangular plate off with a hobby knife).

Of course, photoetching that miniscule part would be much easier, but that would get much more involved (and costly).

[bbussey]

... Peteski:  Not to worry.  I am keenly aware of the fact that the pin striping on the pilot wheels is too wide.  I knew when I was doing it, but I do not have a good way to reshape those wheel faces to make a thinner, flat, "rim" to paint.
I considered a fox valley wheelset, but they have a very sharp "edge" there, and I doubt I could paint
a neat, flat line on that.  I might be able to flat-file the outside of a FV wheelset to make that rim edge into a small flat surface.  ...

Max — the current Atlas metal wheel introduced on the PS-1 boxcar and ACF TOFC has a face profile that I think you would find suitable for the pinstriping, and they are darkened as well.  You probably can get a pair of wheelsets directly from Atlas without having to buy one of the RTR models from which to salvage the wheels.

Also, Archer makes various louver configurations.
 

[garethashenden]

The GMM GP-18 detailing etch has a bunch of louvers.

[mmagliaro]

The GMM GP-18 detailing etch has a bunch of louvers.

Those are very similar to the BLMA ones.

I need to make a 5-sided plain blank panel.  I think if I make that out of .005" styrene, and put an etched metal
square louver part in the center of it, it should look about right.

[Mike C]

Top shelf Max. 
I would like to see it with that louver added to the cylinder jacketing if you can.

Really great craftsmanship.

  Its not just a louver. The N & W # 578 has these also. They are axcess panels that slide upwards on tracks . The tracks are just u shaped guides on the chest. Don't know what they are for, but I have seen them on other locos.......Mike

[delamaize]

awesomeness.

[eric220]

Such potential for so much K4 awesomeness... Wasted... 

In all seriousness, very cool Max.  That is a model to be proud of.

[up1950s]

Another Max Masterpiece , any other SP&S iron on the build list .

[mmagliaro]

Guys... THANK YOU!   

Richie, I will be building more engines in the future, but right now I am going to REST and PLAY with my layout,
maybe get some more ground cover and ballasting done, build a few structures,..
My distant future "pencil in" list is an NP W-5 (from the GHQ W-3 kit with some mods),
an SP&S late 1800s 4-4-0 using the Atlas 4-4-0 (doesn't fit my era at all... it's just something I want to build),
an SP&S 2-8-0 (the SP&S version of the NP F-1) using the Athearn 2-8-0, and beyond that,
I have no idea.

Now, to the improvement I'm posting about...

After some consideration, I decided that the pilot wheel pinstriping is the most important of all your suggested improvements.   That louvered door would be nice, but the pinstripes, I think, jump out as "too wide" to any observer whether they know the prototype engine for reference or not.

The PS-1 wheels won't work, as those are 33".  These pilot wheels are 36"  After looking at every type of wheelset I have, I decided none would really do, but I hit upon a way to alter the face of the metal Atlas 36" metal wheels that I used.  So here's a few photos.

In the end, I actually like the engine shots on a plain white background after all.








When I saw this, it really became apparent how important a fix this was:




Here's a few engine shots with the wheel fix in place.  I like these better than the first group I had.
(Although there are a few white flecks of dust on one side that I wish I had noticed and brushed off, but
oh well)

[Chris333]

You are nuts    but it does look much better!

[RAILCAT]

You are a master modeller.

[peteski]

There is nothing else that I can point out anymore...  That's no fun! 

But seriously Max, you've just made my night!  Awesomeness!

Such a small detail and it made such a huge difference!  I don't know how you managed to use just tweeters to hold the wheel while using a drill on it, but it worked!