Kato SDP40F in Maersk and ATSF N scale

[bman]

If anyone is surprised by this they haven't been paying attention.

But those should be really nice models. I kinda wish I had an excuse for one...

Problem solved.  I know you don't model the Water Level route, but here ya go Ed.  I used to watch CR in Berea in the 90's when visiting family and at times it didn't look like Conrail at all.   Very tempting.  I've always liked EMD's six axle cowl units for some reason but I do not model a railroad that owned one.  Go figure.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4082155

[mplsjct]

Or maybe Kato will do some FP45's now that they have a chassis to put them on, all it needs is different trucks. They do make all those Super Chief and El Cap train set.

I'm all for this, and the F45 too.

[nightmare0331]

Why no undecs in either run?

91% isopropyl alcohol makes them all undecorated...

Enjoy!

Kelley.
www.dufordmodelworks.com

[Denver Road Doug]

91% isopropyl alcohol makes them all undecorated...

You either get different Kato models than I do, or your isopropyl alcohol works harder than mine.   I've never had Isopropyl Alcohol put much more of a dent in Kato paint than tap water....meaning...none.

[nightmare0331]

You either get different Kato models than I do, or your isopropyl alcohol works harder than mine.   I've never had Isopropyl Alcohol put much more of a dent in Kato paint than tap water....meaning...none.

It's your technique.

I've stripped hundreds of Kato shells.

Use a sealable plastic container (mine is affectionally known as the 'vat-o-stripper (tm)' ), submerge the shell components.  Let sit overnight.

The next day, put on a set of latex (or equivalent) gloves, grab either a toothbrush with the bristles cut down to about half of their original length, or a rifle cleaning AP brush (looks like a double ended toothbrush, but the bristles are stiffer).  Scrub, dunk, repeat as necessary.

Use round wooden toothpicks to get into crevices and cracks to scrape out the paint as necessary.

Don't allow the shell to just evaporate dry from the rubbing alcohol solution...it leaves a filmy residue...after scrubbing, toss each piece into warm soapy water and rinse/dry.

There ya go.

Enjoy!

Kelley.
www.dufordmodelworks.com

[Denver Road Doug]

That's pretty much the exact process I use with Purple Power which works pretty good.   But I've seriously tried dozens of times using 91% (and 97%, and 99%) and never had any luck.   Guess I'm not holding my mouth right or something.        I can usually get the lettering off but that's about it.  About the only Kato's I have ever seen affected by alchohol were ones with silver paint like RDC's and Amtrak stuff.  The silver paint doesn't put up much of a fight, but then it seems like the lettering tends to be more stubborn then.   Maybe I'll try the rifle cleaning brush...perhaps my toothbrushes aren't up to snuff.  <shrug> 

[Ike the BN Freak]

The headlights were converted to the low Position beginning in early 1988 and nearly all were converted by the end of 1989 The same period is when the notches/steps were cut in.

In fact as far as I can tell 5252 is the only unit that featured Notches + High headlight and this only lasted a couple years.

The Kato shell with the high headlight is for the Maersk unit. To allow room for the large Maersk logo on the nose, NRE moved the headlight back to the high position. Keep in mind that this unit was retired at this point and never ran on BNSF in that configuration. It was essentially a dummy being pushed around by NS 3329 for the opening of LA's Pier 400.

Just the info I need, guess an SF unit will eventually make it to my roster

[mplsjct]

Re: stripping, the brush makes a huge difference, I use one of these...

http://zadroinc.com/nail-cleaning-brush/?gclid=CMWYiqqc880CFQkyaQod1UkP7w

It also helps to keep the alcohol at room temperature, around 70 degrees, this is important if you are trying to strip stuff in your garage or basement, where the temp might be cooler. I use 91% alcohol on Kato shells all the time, an overnight soak is my method, also.

[nightmare0331]

Re: stripping, the brush makes a huge difference, I use one of these...

http://zadroinc.com/nail-cleaning-brush/?gclid=CMWYiqqc880CFQkyaQod1UkP7w

It also helps to keep the alcohol at room temperature, around 70 degrees, this is important if you are trying to strip stuff in your garage or basement, where the temp might be cooler. I use 91% alcohol on Kato shells all the time, an overnight soak is my method, also.

mplsjct brings up a good point that I forgot to mention...temperature does make a huge difference.

While it will still strip in a cooler area, the soak time will be significantly longer.

These are the rifle cleaning brushes I was referencing, although someone mentioned the fingernail brush above which would work just as well.

https://www.amazon.com/SE-7615NB10PCS-10-Piece-Double-Ended-Cleaning/dp/B00CWDPF6W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1468512517&sr=8-3&keywords=nylon+cleaning+brush

Besides working on Kato, rubbing alcohol will also do a pretty decent job of killing Athearn, Atlas, P2k, and a bunch of others.  About the only one that was a struggle was a Broadway E8 that involved multiple soakings and then abrasive blasting off the rest of the paint, but that's another story.

I used to paint full time, and waiting for undecs to pop up (especially at non ******** prices) wasn't an option.  Now, couple that with the observation that even fewer people 'roll their own' any more then say even 10 years ago, you'd be hard pressed to see undecs from any current manufacturer in anything larger than token quantities if that.

Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.

Enjoy!

Kelley.
www.dufordmodelworks.com

[peteski]

When it comes to stripping paint (or even etching brass parts) I have the same experience as Kelley: the temperature makes a big difference.  Warm liquid is much more aggressive than room temperature.  I strip passenger car bodies in a tall glass jar from Goya asparagus.  It is tall enough to fully immerse a 90" N scale car and it is skinny to reduce the amount of stripper needed.  I place it on a modified coffee cup warmer to heat it up to speed up stripping.

The modification was made to lower the heater temperature. I simply added a 1N4002 diode in series with the heating element. That reduced the AC voltage by half, so the heater doesn't run very hot.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Problem solved.  I know you don't model the Water Level route, but here ya go Ed.  I used to watch CR in Berea in the 90's when visiting family and at times it didn't look like Conrail at all.   Very tempting.  I've always liked EMD's six axle cowl units for some reason but I do not model a railroad that owned one.  Go figure.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4082155

Nice. One will be on the watch list then.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Yep, SF engines made it to Boston quite frequently. Usually an SD40-2, but I swear I saw a F/FP45 or one of these things from time to time.

Once saw a NS HH B23-7 with a BN B30-7 booster unit. Now that was an odd mix.

[Mark5]

Now that Kato is making these (ATSF & Maersk), will we see a flat nose version? (units 540-649).

Mark

[squirrelhunter]

I would be very surprised if they didn't make one. They were the only SDP40F's to wear phase 3 paint.

[Santa Fe Guy]

They both look really cool. Pity my SFRSD is gone. Might just have to purchase a couple to run elseware.
Rod.