Keystone Customs ATSF #29 Dynamometer car is now available

[GaryHinshaw]

Excellent wire work there John!

...after pilling the door grapes out of thier respective holes.

[Lemosteam]

Excellent wire work there John!

LOL, Perfect storm of late writing and autocorrect I suppose.

Thank you for the compliment.

[Lemosteam]

Excellent wire work there John!

@GaryHinshaw , Printed grab holes and this little bending tool that comes with the kit helps alot.  It won't bend the wire for you, but if your bends fit the gauge, they will install, so long as the printed holes in the main parts are cleaned out with the correct size drill for the wire:

[Lemosteam]

Created a little online instruction for the bending tool, PM me if you cannot see this.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/96MqS3X68IjxXgiu1

[DKS]

Really outstanding work, John. But I've got to tell you, that "perfect storm" of typos has had me laughing all morning...

[Lemosteam]

Thanks @David K. Smith , quite a compliment coming from you.

In full disclosure and with apologies, I have four admissions to make after looking more at Thomas' link-

1:  I did not design the correct number of roofwalk handrail supports, I have three, the proto has two.  The original drawing provided from an old magazine article had three. The fixture can still be used to fix this, but you will have to slide the main wire to the positions you like, solder, and hand bend the rest of the wire to make the the door grab down the end of the car.  You will also have to mark and drill hole locations in the roof corresponding to your new positions and fill the old 0.008" diameter holes.

2: I did not design the steps under the door assuming the customer would want to hand bend them.  I think I have a concept in mind and I will make mine and photo-document this at the link in the previous post.

3: The underbody boxes protrude too far out from the sides (water tank is correct).  This is easily rectified by adding 025" strip inside the box along the inner surface on the inboard long edge of the box or alond the inboard long edge of the locator feature on the floor, again, I will photo-document this when I get my new floor.

4:  I did not model the underbody air apparatus shown in the picture below for reasons I cannot remember. I will think of a way to rectify this for the paid and future customers.

So back to the color discussion.  Now I REALLY want to paint this thing!

This image from the period of the model shows the car coupled to what I can only assume is an ATSF passenger car and the colors of both cars are dead ringers for each other.  This photo also shows the tarred or black roof covering as @thomasjmdavis indicates.

Weathering on the underframe is relatively dirty so black or brown would work for sure although the sun shining on the brown rust on the two visible wheels might indicate that black was used because the wheel would have seen the same level of filth and the front face should essentially match the truck frame, I would think, but it clearly does not.

[Cajonpassfan]

So back to the color discussion.  Now I REALLY want to paint this thing!

This image from the period of the model shows the car coupled to what I can only assume is an ATSF passenger car and the colors of both cars are dead ringers for each other.  This photo also shows the tarred or black roof covering as

[/quote]

Well, color is very subjective, but I tried the True-color TCP-255 on an ATSF PRB chair car and I like it. It's a "tiny tad" darker then my previous mix, but that too was subjective. The pic below shows it next to a MT Pullman car. My lighting is 3000K LED's. The proto Dyno photo above seems too blue to me, at least on my monitor, but than again, is subjective.

I'm also attaching two photos I took of an ATSF "Rider" car, supposedly restored to specs, at Perris recently. Even these two photos, taken from different angles, look slightly different.

Otto K.

[Lemosteam]

@Cajonpassfan the point of using the pic was to show that the cars MATCH color, not to define the color itself, and as such, whatever is the best color for ATSF passenger cars, will be good for this car.

Question. Some of the old Lima cars were painted for Santa Fe, were those cars close in color? Is the MT color (non-Pullman) good?

[Cajonpassfan]

Sorry, John,
my intent was to help nail down the correct color; clearly the Dyno green was the same as other Santa Fe green cars.
I don't have a Lima, but the MT ATSF-lettered cars I do have seem to be the same color as MT green Pullmans.
In the pic below, left to right, MT Pullman, MT ATSF (foob) baggage/RPO, and the True-color PRB chair car.
(Actually, the original Rivarossi ATSF heavyweights were pretty much right on IMHO).
Otto

[Lemosteam]

No worries Otto,

I may have one of those handy....  Going to stop for some paint tonight.  Those two shots really look like a variation of Olive green, especially the one in the direct sunlight.

[thomasjmdavis]

Sorry, John,
my intent was to help nail down the correct color; clearly the Dyno green was the same as other Santa Fe green cars.
I don't have a Lima, but the MT ATSF-lettered cars I do have seem to be the same color as MT green Pullmans.
In the pic below, left to right, MT Pullman, MT ATSF (foob) baggage/RPO, and the True-color PRB chair car.
(Actually, the original Rivarossi ATSF heavyweights were pretty much right on IMHO).
Otto

Now, if someone could just explain the scroll work on the plan 2410 sleeper....

I still have several Rivarossi baggage cars (I know, 1849 was a one-off car, but there were several other similar cars that were converted, and they look Santa Fe...) and diners that haven't seen any new paint- which reminds me I still need to get the number off of one of them and correct it (and maybe an obs still buried somewhere).  The others I have, I have done enough damage to in kitbashing that repaints were required.  If you look at any given train of heavyweights, there is a fair amount of difference car to car, so I don't worry about being too precise- it is clear that age, paint shop, paint shop foreman, and I suspect, in the late 40s, availability of Army surplus green paint, had a lot to do with variations. Plus the occasional dark gray or 2 tone gray car.

My own opinion, for what it is worth, based on my eye and photos in various books, is that ATSF Coach Green was "greener" right out of the paintshop than it was after a year or two. I would go with "eye of the beholder" for any given car.  My own rule is that any visitor who complains about the color of any model that I painted is not allowed back unless they bring enough pizza for everybody.  The same rule applies to "too many map cars for 1956", the aforementioned "1849", and "why haven't you installed the second headlight on #xxx?"

[Lemosteam]

"why haven't you installed the second headlight on #xxx?"

Amidst drilling out the wire passageway, the broken drill and part are floating in the MRR ether.  I joked to Otto in an email to build this thing inside of a clear storage container box.

I am actually waiting on a reprint for that reason.

[Lemosteam]

Ok here is an over/under comparo of a Rivarossi color and a Lima color, under 5000k LED lighting. I am leaning toward the Rivarossi color.

[thomasjmdavis]

Amidst drilling out the wire passageway, the broken drill and part are floating in the MRR ether.  I joked to Otto in an email to build this thing inside of a clear storage container box.

I am actually waiting on a reprint for that reason.

Sorry John. Really, I wasn't counting lights on your model. I was referring to a time when someone pointed out to me that I needed a second headlight on a particular F3.   You are doing a wonderful job assembling the Dynamometer Car. 

The MRR ether is one of those alternate dimension things. Stuff disappears in our dimension, but in some parallel universe, the carpeting is 2" thick in MT coupler springs, and no one there knows where they come from. 

[Lemosteam]

Painted parts ready to assemble (still waiting for a new floor) added LED for the spotlights. I need to devise a switch and battery concept.



Side view of main shell painted with my own concoction of Tamiya olive, brown and black(after ruining my brand new bottle of True Color SF passenger car green with an obviously incorrect thinner) I like it and it was vary close to the TC color tested during mixing.



Other side view of main shell, painted:



Side view of the roof, painted black with Tamiya TS-6 rattle can:



View of cupola:



LED's powered with my overhead lights on:



With the overhead lights off: