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

[mmagliaro]

Excellent observation, John, about the pinstriping on the walkway also being on the little "box structure" (it is a protective cover for
a rod-actuated lubricator).  I will fix that.

As for the gloss, well, yes, I was aware of that, and I thought about trying to mimic it.  I would have used Scalecoat paint instead of Floquil, which would have given me more gloss.   It's certainly a personal preference, but I find that in practice, I prefer a flat
finish; I think it tends to look better on layouts and in photos.

Thanks for the tip on the pinstripe.  I missed that.   

Thank you to EVERYBODY who takes the time to critique and suggest.  It has made my model better and better.

Gary: Thank you for moving this to "Best Of".  I am sincerely honored, and I hope you all believe me when I say those aren't just words.

[John]

Max .. all nits picked aside . .this is a great model .. I am amazed by the work you and other steamheads are doing ..

[peteski]

I agree great job .. one thing that does strike me though .. the proto paint has a shine to it ..  also, some of the white striping on the proto extends up to that little box structure under the front dome area

I was also going to comment on the glossiness of the prototype paint, but I figured that the 1:1 photo was probably was taken fresh out of factory. I didn't notice the missing white trim - good catch. That should be an easy fix for Max. 

[wcfn100]

Thanks for the tip on the pinstripe.  I missed that.   

Inside (hub) of the pilot wheels too. 

Jason

[PGE_Modeller]

Inside (hub) of the pilot wheels too. 

Jason

But not the actual axle ends!

Greg

[mmagliaro]

But not the actual axle ends!

Greg

Ha ha... Yes. I was WAITING for somebody to notice that.  Nope.  That's not going to happen.
I attempted it when I fixed the thin pinstripes on those wheels, but
the faces of those wheels just do not have a good flat ring surface I can paint in there to look
like that, so I decided to let that one slide.
( I know, I know, I'm such a slacker )

[peteski]

Ha ha... Yes. I was WAITING for somebody to notice that.  Nope.  That's not going to happen.
I attempted it when I fixed the thin pinstripes on those wheels, but
the faces of those wheels just do not have a good flat ring surface I can paint in there to look
like that, so I decided to let that one slide.
( I know, I know, I'm such a slacker )

Ya'know, some small white ring decals printed with white ink on Alps printer might do the trick....  Just sayin'.... 

[mmagliaro]

Ya'know, some small white ring decals printed with white ink on Alps printer might do the trick....  Just sayin'.... 

&*(#*@&#(*&  you.... Peteski!   

Laugh if you want, but a I dropped off to sleep last night, the idea of using very very thin (i.e. phosphor bronze)
washers, painted white and glued to the wheel center, occurred to me.   I may have some that are about the correct size.

Or maybe.... a white HO scale decal of a letter "O", if I find one where the font makes it round and uniform....   Yes, sigh....
I'm afraid there is a way to do it.  I will investigate.

[peteski]

&*(#*@&#(*&  you.... Peteski!   

Laugh if you want, but a I dropped off to sleep last night, the idea of using very very thin (i.e. phosphor bronze)
washers, painted white and glued to the wheel center, occurred to me.   I may have some that are about the correct size.

Or maybe.... a white HO scale decal of a letter "O", if I find one where the font makes it round and uniform....   Yes, sigh....
I'm afraid there is a way to do it.  I will investigate.

It is good to know that you think about this model during every wake hour of the day! 
The added thickness might actually look good. But if that doesn't work, give me the approximate outside diameter of the white circles and their thickness and I can print some circles for you using white ink on clear decal paper.

[Lemosteam]

Max, I'm late to the party, but that locomotive is absolutely stunning.  Best of TRW? You bet!  This is one for the ages. 

Between you and Jason, steam has never been so well represented.  I only wish I could start another project (or finish some old ones).  Maybe I'll get the bug over the holiday time off.

Amazing.

[mmagliaro]

Max, I'm late to the party, but that locomotive is absolutely stunning.  Best of TRW? You bet!  This is one for the ages. 

Between you and Jason, steam has never been so well represented.  I only wish I could start another project (or finish some old ones).  Maybe I'll get the bug over the holiday time off.

Amazing.

Thank you, THANK YOU, John.
And please remember, it isn't just Jason and me.  Many others (including you) have been building really good N Scale Steam. 
Look at the authors in the NTrak Steam Locomotive book and that's a pretty good start on a list. 

Peteski:  Something I keep forgetting to comment on.  You mentioned you liked the bell rope.
That is .006" round brass wire.  Detail Associates makes it.   .006" is really fine, but it's stiff and holds
a shape because it's wire.  I didn't like how the EZ Line looked when I tried it.  It looked too much like
a rubber band and the distances are too short to make it droop nicely.
I pulled that .006 wire through, and just ran a toothpick down on it from end to end to induce the
curved droop and thought, "Whoa, that looks nice!".   A big of epoxy and ACC here and there to fix it and place,
and that was that.

[peteski]

Ah, so it is 0.006" brass rod (wire).  Thanks for the explanation Max. It doesn't look like what I would expect a wire to look like - it looks like a rope. Good job on creating the sag.