SP AC-9 # 3809 ; Train # I-990

[superturbine]

Welcome back, dude. Hiatus?? 


-Mark

No, unfortunately my wife filed for divorce and absolutely tried to destroy me.  The good news is....... The trains are safe!

[Mike Madonna]

Carl, I second what Phillip mentioned earlier! While I am my own worst critic, we have to look at the "big picture" when modeling and trying to capture the prototype. This is regarding any project whether locos, rolling stock, structures, etc. If one is going to "sweat" a detail like the trailing or lead truck, we are NOT going to see said loco pulling a 50 car train and look good doing it! 

BTW Jason, IMHO THE important thing is that YOU made it through.... 

[John5614]

like i said not trying to be mean great model by the way. my mind set is if i'm going to spend that amount of time and money on a model i wont it perfect but thats just me
 

[superturbine]

like i said not trying to be mean great model by the way. my mind set is if i'm going to spend that amount of time and money on a model i wont it perfect but thats just me
 

Well John,
Welcome to the rail wire.   Just a small suggestion, any complements should be provided well before criticism.    With that in mind,  we want to see what you have done.  I am excited to see your level of perfection.

[JMaurer1]

Superturbine, it's great to see that you're back. Speaking from experience, given the choice of the wife or the trains, take the trains. Still sorry to hear about that but glad to see you are back.

[superturbine]

Superturbine, it's great to see that you're back. Speaking from experience, given the choice of the wife or the trains, take the trains. Still sorry to hear about that but glad to see you are back.

Hey,  thanks!! I have had some awfully dark days.  It's good to be back.

[Lemosteam]

This just means jason will be cranking out locos FASTER than before! Dammit.

[mmagliaro]

I wanted to point something out about these close-up photos and barrel distortion.
For a while, I've been looking at some of these thinking "something is whacked", like parts are bent or
put together crooked.

Then I realized that it the barrel distortion of the camera.   I thought I would post this because I discovered this about my own model photos a while back, and straightening that distortion out makes a huge difference in how a model appears.

Attached below is one of Carl's original photos, and on top of it is the same picture after I read it into GIMP and applied
Filter->Distort->Lens Distortion  and set the "Main" to about -9.5

Most cameras and especially the point-and-shoot and even better "pro-sumer" cameras that many of us use have a lot
of curvature distortion.  You can really see it if you take a straight-on shot of the side of a loco on a straight piece of track, very close up.  The track will appear to be curved like a banana!  And while you might not always notice it in your model,
when you straighten it out, the improvement is dramatic.

In this case, look at how much the cab appears to bend down and "droop" in the back, when in fact, this is the curvature distortion of the camera. 




And now that I've done this so I can really look at it,
congratulations on a very nice model, Carl!   

And by the way, I have read this thread, and I understand the practical and dimensional compromises that have been
made to convert the EM-1 into the AC-9.  I went and looked at some other prototype photos.  I think it looks like an AC-9.

[superturbine]

J

[superturbine]

This just means jason will be cranking out locos FASTER than before! Dammit.

YES!!!

[carlso]

Well ,well, didn't I stir up lively discussions, that's good for TRW.

KATO and IM took care of two of my must haves but nobody other than Key offered my 3rd wish and that was an AC-9. Then I became acquainted with Jason and his plans for an AC-9 shell. I think, and he surely remembers, that I pestered him for one. I got that chance and decided to take on my project. Now, at 74 years of age, my fingers, my eyes and my (oops better stop there ) do not work as well as 30 years ago, but I still took on a personal challenge. And for what it is worth, I completed the project. Could it be better? Well of course and in viewing the closeups I see lots of bad spots. But guys, it is what it is and I am perfectly happy with it. It isn't 100% prototypical, for sure, but it will run like a Swiss watch and that to me is what counts. On a club layout, who in the audiance, at 5' viewing range is going to notice flaws and non prototypical applications. As I said, it is what it is, and I will enjoy the heck out of it. BTW, Jason is sending me some KATO ladders for the cab area. They will look much better than the etched ones that I used.

Finally, I want to thank all of the responders to the thread as that is how we learn from each other. My gosh Max, I never heard about barrel distortion unless we are talking about a beer barrel distorting my figure. Really food for thought. Also, again thank you for the pony truck, I think it looks great.

Jason, I told you on the phone that if you need to talk sometime just give me a call. I have never experienced what you just went through as my bride and I have been together for 50.5 years now but I know this event can crush a person. So glad to see you come out of the darkness and rejoin with your friends. Oh and by the way, how about a real nice SP Sunbeam 4-6-2 shell. As an SP'er that would be one of my next wishes.

[Roger Holmes]

No, unfortunately my wife filed for divorce and absolutely tried to destroy me.  The good news is....... The trains are safe!

Superturbine--So glad to see you back!  I had the good fortune of meeting you and seeing your locos run flawlessly last summer in Milwaukee.

Sorry about the divorce.  I've "saved" (read bought back) my trains twice which is a pain on top of dealing with the divorce itself.

Not to get too far off topic but Model Railroader approached me a few years ago about writing an article about modeling with disabilities--a topic I really don't know anything about.  I had pitched an article or series dealing with estate planning, prenuptial agreements and divorce for model railroaders written from a participant and Judge's perspective but they thought that sounded too depressing.

Back to the topic--Beautiful job Carl and looking forward to more Superturbine steam projects!

[Loren Perry]

YES!!!

Nice to hear from you again, Jason! Not good news concerning your personal situation. But it seems your spirits are recovering and for this we are all grateful. Life is a constant series of tests and with the Lord's help, you'll pass this one.

[JMaurer1]

Jason,

While the beginning can be dark (as well as the middle and some of the end), at some point you will wake up and find that the sun is still shining and trains are still running. I've been through what you are starting and it SUCKS...but then suddenly it doesn't anymore and things are SO MUCH BETTER than they were. If you even need to talk, I'm here for you...of course I will want to talk about that SP 2-8-0 you teased several months ago. It DOES get (much) better (I was married over 20 years). Nobody can ever take away trains and the internet. Good luck my friend...

[superturbine]

Hey guys I really appreciate the kind words.  It's good to have friends in times like these