N Scale Rocky Mountaineer - modern version.

[craigolio1]

Hey all. By the title you’ve figured out that I haven't had my fill of the Rocky Mountaineer.  Which is why, with the paint barely dry on the original variant, I’ve decided to start on the modern variant.

Pretty much the only reason I want to do it is because of its striking, yet almost ugly, and definitely very difficult to paint, paint scheme.

Like the early variant the consist is made up nearly entirely of ex-VIA nee CN Daynighters. With a sampling of Ultradomes as well.

The power on the train consists of mostly wide nose GP40-2LW, and few regular cab GP40-2R

Here are a few pics of the prototype.





 





There’s also some daynighter coaches and a baggage converted to a generator car. I’ve built the generator car already and I have I think eleven Rapido coaches. I’ll post pics of those later.

Switchline Decals, now Fusion Scale Graphics has made, and will soon again be making decals for the locos and consist.

For the locomotives I plan to model two wide nose GP40-2LW. These are both Briggs Models 3D printed kits. Pics of those later as well.

For now I’ve been working on the art work for the masks. I plan to print them on paper and use them as templates to then cut reusable templates from .006” stainless steel shim stock. One set of templates can do both sides of a loco and will be re-used four times. The passenger cars will be reused even more.

Why not just make decals and do the sides? It’s so much easier. Well, maybe for the passenger cars as they are largely flat. But on the locos the decals would have to go on more like a wrap. There’s four sides. Actually eight if you include the front and back of the cab. The odds of me making the decals to perfectly fit, and then perfectly applying them with no bubbles, no seams, perfectly confirming to every detail, and not needing a paint touch up…. With paint that I have to perfectly match….. are pretty slim. For me. I’m not saying it can’t be done. But my best results have always been achieved with paint. Plus that’s a lot of big custom decals which will cost a lot more than paint.

So step one was to use an app in my phone called Perspective ++ to fix the photo. I imported that into Inkscape and made a rectangle the same size as the side of my model loco. I then scaled the photo to fit that rectangle and voila…. Something close to what the artwork should look like in N scale.



The plan is to paint the model white. Mask for gold, and shoot white to seal. Mask for blue and shoot gold and white to seal. Then shoot blue. I don’t plan to layer all of these coats over one another as I’ll end up with at least six coats of paint.

I’ll make each mask so it’s just for that colour.

Here’s my first go at the masks for gold.



That’s where I’m at for now. Lots to do yet. This will be a build that last many months.

Thanks for looking in.

Craig.

[Angus Shops]

OK, Craig, now you’re going to far.

I’m noting some differences in the loco paint schemes in those posed on the Ottertail River bridge and all the other photos. For example, on most photos the white stripe touches the front of the radiator intakes, while the radiator intakes on those on the bridge are entirely surrounded in gold. Looks like the units on the bridge have larger crests on the sides of the cabs - big enough that they cover the gold and white stripes. Just trying to help…

Jokes on me though - now I see the the bridge piers are stone, not concrete as they are on my layout. Damn.

G

[Dwight in Toronto]

Craig, I don’t know HOW many times I meant to ask you if you thought you might tackle the current RM livery. 

I like your factual and historical backgrounders/lead-ins to your projects. 

Way to go … I’m really looking forward to following another of your modeling adventures. 

[craigolio1]

OK, Craig, now you’re going to far.

I’m noting some differences in the loco paint schemes in those posed on the Ottertail River bridge and all the other photos. For example, on most photos the white stripe touches the front of the radiator intakes, while the radiator intakes on those on the bridge are entirely surrounded in gold. Looks like the units on the bridge have larger crests on the sides of the cabs - big enough that they cover the gold and white stripes. Just trying to help…

Jokes on me though - now I see the the bridge piers are stone, not concrete as they are on my layout. Damn.

G

Great catch!  I had t noticed the differences. I’ve been studying mostly just the wide cab locos.

Guess you need to rebuild your bridge!!

Craig

[craigolio1]

Craig, I don’t know HOW many times I meant to ask you if you thought you might tackle the current RM livery. 

I like your factual and historical backgrounders/lead-ins to your projects. 

Way to go … I’m really looking forward to following another of your modeling adventures.

Thanks Dwight. If it’s a Canadian passenger train I probably want to model it. Haha.

But more progress.

Here’s the blue masks for the loco.



And here’s both the gold and blue masks for the single level coaches.





Craig

[craigolio1]

More progress with the templates. I printed out what I had made and test fit them on the models. Small adjustments were needed to make sure stripes went though windows and exited the ends and top of the car at the correct spots.

Here’s the final result.

With the combined blue and gold masks.



This would be just the gold.



And here’s just the blue mask. This one is critical that white stripe under the top mask merges with the gold roof just after the fourth window. Check.



For the loco I didn’t separate them all for testing. I simply printed out the long hood and cab sides to see how the whole thing fit. Some of the stripes are so small it would not be possible to cut them accurately. Same as the coach, some adjustment was needed but the end result is just right in my eye.



Painting stripes as small as they are on the cab sides will be a night mare. I’m thinking of making a decal for the cab sides. I’ll print a faint pattern on white decal paper. Then with a fresh blade cut through the film but not fully through the backing. Then I’ll paint a golf decal and a white decal so that they match the paint on the rest of the train. This way I’ll have painted stripes but won’t have to mask. It’s worth trying anyway.

I’m beginning to think I may have the mask templates laser cut instead of trying to cut .006” stainless. I haven’t decided  yet

Craig.

[CNR5529]

We need to print repacement roofs for your daynighters, with the extra rooftop windows. Coincidentally, I know the engineering firm that did the design work for the actual mods to those cars 😉...

You need to biggerize those side windows too. That will be fun!

[craigolio1]

We need to print repacement roofs for your daynighters, with the extra rooftop windows. Coincidentally, I know the engineering firm that did the design work for the actual mods to those cars 😉...

You need to biggerize those side windows too. That will be fun!

I’m game. I need one of those single level domes for sure. And four ultradomes preferably.

Oh, I wonder if it would be easier to cut the sides off at the bottoms of the windows, and make a new roof piece that includes the extensions down the sides so that I don’t have to widen any windows?

Craig.

[craigolio1]

OK, before I get too far into the build I should introduce you to the fleet.

First up we have the exCN GMD GP40-2LW, with dynamic brakes.  RMR runs a fleet of five, numbered 8011-8015. As mentioned above they also run regular cab GP40-2R but frankly, they bore me, haha....so I won't modelling one.



Briggs Models did a run of these which fit on the Atlas GP chassis.  Like all Briggs kits, they are finely detailed, and include lots of model specific details and a nice fret of etchings.




The next car in the train is the generator car.  These were rebuilt from VIA nee CN 73' baggage cars. 



My car started life as an Athabasca Brass kit which features brass sides and an American Models Ltd core.  However with modifications and addition of 3d printed sides and doors... there isn't much left of that car, pretty much just the core was used.  More work is required for details but the basic body is done.





The coaches in the train are all ex VIA nee CN coaches and daynighters. 



There are many variants of these cars and so the window arrangments vary a little with each one.  The cars pictures below are all Rapido coaches which have had windows partially or fully blanked over to match a specific car.  I'd like to do approximately 12 of these.



The final cars in the train are the two varieties of dome cars.  The first is a single level that @CNR5529 and I began discussing above.  These cars were rebuilt from VIA/CN daynighters and my model will start from the same car.



And finally there are at least five varieties of Ultradome cars.  The first order of the cars have many small windows up top and two sizes of end platform.

Pictured here with the shorter end platform:



The second order had longer windows up top, and again I believe two sizes of end patform.

Pictured here with a large end platform:



Aaaaaand a final variant of which they most recently took delivery of which has the larger windows and also a unique truck design.



I'd like to do four of the first and second series if possible.  Not sure how yet.  But I know that I don't want to use the Shapeways models I used in the original consist.  For the price the models leave me wanting more.

Finally how am I going to decorate these?  Well as I mentioned before Switchline/Fusion did a decal set.  I checked the size of a couple of decals compared to the models and it looks really good so I'm optimistic about it.









For paint, Tamiya Gold Leaf looks like a really good match, so I'll try that first along with Tamiya white primer for the base coat and the white.  For the blue I'm not sure yet.  I have the Pantone reference that Rocky Mountaineer sent me.....

Gold:
PANTONE 7407 C
PANTONE 7407 U
PANTONE (PREMIUM METALLIC) 10127C

Navy:
PANTONE 295 C
PANTONE 295 U



 .....and I had an auto body shop mix me a pint of it, the pint there with the accompanying thinner on the right...



...but it seems really light compared to photos. Closer to a French blue.  That can of Duplicolor Ford Royal Blue there looks bang on but it's got a very fine metal flake.  I'll have to play with the blues.
 


If anyone has any tips they can share or suggestions on a blue that might work I'm all eyes.  As you can see by the collection of blues I amassed trying to find colours for the original consist.... I havn't had much luck.  This is such a striking paint scheme, I'd rely like to nail it.  My favourite paint to shoot right now is Tru-Color.

[craigolio1]

Here is a sheet full of masking and mask positioning templates. Off to my buddy Mike’s laser cuter. The thinnest / most robust material he has is 1/8” acrylic so we’re going to stay with that and see what happens.



Craig

[peteski]

You are planning on using 1/8" acrylic as paint masks?  That seems awfully thick.
Couldn't you make masks from much thinner material (either laser cut, or cut with a craft cutter)?  Something like adhesive vinyl materoal or even masking tape placed on a discarded paper backing from paler labels?

[craigolio1]

You are planning on using 1/8" acrylic as paint masks?  That seems awfully thick.
Couldn't you make masks from much thinner material (either laser cut, or cut with a craft cutter)?  Something like adhesive vinyl material or even masking tape placed on a discarded paper backing from paler labels?

These are to be reusable templates which I will layover a good quality masking tape and then cut out the masks.  I want them to be robust enough that I can mask upwards of a dozen cars. 

Craig

[peteski]

Ah, that makes sense.
To me it seems easier if you could directly cut the masks in any quantity needed (like I mentioned earlier), but if you don't have a good way to do that then mask templates seem like good option.

[craigolio1]

Ah, that makes sense.
To me it seems easier if you could directly cut the masks in any quantity needed (like I mentioned earlier), but if you don't have a good way to do that then mask templates seem like good option.

Hmmmmmm. Interesting idea.

I could get them cut on a Silouhette onto masking sheets like these from Tamiya.

https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/finishing/masking-sticker-sheet-5pcs/

They measure about 9.5”x 7”.

This is something to think about for sure.

Craig

[chessie system fan]

Having owned a Silhouette cutter, I think you went a better route.  The plotter cutters cut curves as short straight lines instead of a fluid curve. Even if the laser cutter acts the same way, at least the curves with your hobby knife which you'll use to cut from the laser template will be actual curves.  The sharper the curve, the more this matters.