Best Of The TP56/TP70 Kitbash thread N scale

[u18b]

Actually, I think the light leak is worse because after adding the window glass all around, space is now too tight.

I think I need to take the cabin weights out and file them down a bit.

[peteski]

I never liked brightly lit cabs in models. Reminds me of the early N scale locos where they just plopped a light bulb inside the shell and it illuminated the entire area (headlight,cab). Looks like a toy train to me. Besides, it seems way too bright to look realistic. Looks more like surgical suite, not a dimly lit cab. The engineer would be blinded there! 

But if you made the cab lighting more subtle, I could learn to like it.  I think that if you made a ceiling for the cab out of 0.015" styrene and fit it inside the cab, that would soften and diffuse the light to IMO a more acceptable level.

[mmagliaro]

I agree with Peteski, that if you put some sort of "shade" behind the headlight like a thin styrene strip, to soften the amount of light in the cab, it would look good.  I like the cab illumination.  It's just too bright.

[u18b]

I agree with y'all.
This was just the first look.

One thing to think about is that what you see changes depending on:

1.  Room dark/dim
2.  Room bright
3.  Camera does not necessarily match what your eye sees.

So I'll re-evaluate.

Too bad (sort of) that I already glued a weight up in the roof.  If that were not there, then I could do as Peteski suggested and make a white styrene ceiling which would diffuse the light.

I say that for the benefit of others making a TP56/70.   Maybe save the weight for last.

[peteski]

Too bad (sort of) that I already glued a weight up in the roof.  If that were not there, then I could do as Peteski suggested and make a white styrene ceiling which would diffuse the light.

I say that for the benefit of others making a TP56/70.   Maybe save the weight for last.

Well, whatever is in the roof of the cab, the light is still glaring past it.  Can't you still put a diffuser under the LED to diffuse/dim the light inside the cab?

[mu26aeh]

Well, whatever is in the roof of the cab, the light is still glaring past it.  Can't you still put a diffuser under the LED to diffuse/dim the light inside the cab?

Cab weight is all the way back on page 23 

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=42126.msg537523#msg537523

Looks like it's milled right to the top of the windows ?    Could you laminate sign material across the bottom of the roof ?

[peteski]

Ron provided me with artwork for printing the white lettering on the cab.  He decided that he wants white lettering on clear decal film. He will take care of creating the gray colored rectangle on the cab.  He will use one of the methods described in the earlier posts.

He also graciously agreed to make the artwork available for printing additional copies. If someone else building this model wants buy a set of Ron's decals PM me.

@u18b : Ron what are the dimensions of the reflective stripes, and the height of the "F" on the sill?  I'll include those on the decal set.

[peteski]

Cab weight is all the way back on page 23 

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=42126.msg537523#msg537523

Looks like it's milled right to the top of the windows ?    Could you laminate sign material across the bottom of the roof ?

Or just put a piece of white styrene in whatever opening the LED is shining through?

[u18b]

Replying to the last couple of posts.....

I and my baby are apart right now, so it will be Sunday or Monday before I can report back any details.

@peteski I'll give you a good measure when I get back.  We cannot make scale yellow stripes because the prototype stanchions are bolted on the top side edge.  But we need more than that to get a good mount for the Gold Medal stanchions.  My stanchions are mounted about in the middle of this already thin sill.

So what that means is, on the prototype, some of the yellow stripes are UNDER the stanchions (see photos somewhere previous).  But our models won't allow that.  So I fudged a little and I think it worked out well.  I just mounted six stripes per the prototype and spaced them out as evenly as I could without one being under a stanchion.  So those GATX stripes were a wonderful fit.   I'll measure them when I get back.

@mu26aeh it's worse.  I fudged to get an extra gram of weight by not making the ceiling portion of the weight flat.  So, yes, it goes to the edge of the windows (I was wise enough to leave some room for glass), but from there it actually comes down into the cab.  I figured, the only way you would know that was if you were looking into the cab upward from a low position- (very unlikely).

So that's what's going on.

Here is a good view to see where I need to add styrene.  It is just in that slot on the right, just behind the rear headlight.

You can see that big TUBE thing.      That didn't work out so well.  I was using some shrink wrap tubing to help protect the wires.  But it is WAY too big.  So since my wires are too long anyway (from plug to LED), I'm going to rip out the cab LED and start over.  So, with that tube gone, it will look a lot better in there.



This has been an evolving project.  @randgust  and I are the crash test dummies working out kinks for other's benefit (we hope!).



So I did NOT start out this project thinking I would have a detailed cab interior.   I actually figured I would fill in the whole cab with lead like Randy.  But when I used a test weight that was not even as heavy as the filled up cab, the loco was popping wheelies!  It was too much as compared to all the weight I could get up front.   So that was the turning point.  That was where I started trying to get as much weight as I could while still having an open cab.

Now, you others can decide beforehand what you want to go for.

[u18b]

Came across two more great photos of the TP70 at Railpictures.net.

http://www.railpictures.net/photo/613920/

http://www.railpictures.net/photo/610814/

[u18b]

Time for a group discussion.

I've been troubled by something.

There is no question but that the top surface of the walkway of the green TP56 is gray (or silver- same as decal?) Well at least it is NOT black or green.



But what about the black TP70?

I could find no high photo that was conclusive.  Reflected glare on black can look gray.

But I went back and saw a photo posted by someone else.

And when I look at this..... I have the nagging feeling it is gray too.  Even though the glare on the hood roof looks about the same color.



What do y'all think?

[peteski]

Instead of shrink tubing use piece of insulation stripped off a hookup wire.   I often do that as a conduit to protect very thin magnet wires.  Of course you need to thread the wires through it first, before gluing it in the cab.  But since the wires are loose in the tubing, you can position it easily wherever it needs to go.

For example the magnet wires routed in the center of the shell are threaded through several pieces of orange insulation stripped from 30AWG wire-wrapping wire.  In this example it is used to keep the wires together in a bundle before using Kapton tape to hold them up to the shell.

[peteski]

The walkway of both locos is clearly not black to me.  Probably gray (not silver).

Speaking of silver, do you think the stripe on the green loco is silver?

[up1950s]

Gray box:  4th option:  Paint a piece of clear decal gray, then cut out the piece you need.

That method never crossed my mind .

[u18b]

No.  It must be gray.

Here is the best shot to show.

Truck is silver as is nose light.

Fuel tank and stripe are clearly gray.



By the way, for those who might be drawing decals fro the green TP56....
Here is a helpful company logo.