tornado64 Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 an excercise to see what can be obtained from a realy terrible model , the first sight of this model gives the view of an apparently hopeless cause , i only got it because i baught a bb athern gp30 and the ebay trader threw it in and it arrived as a surprise !! so a gp30 and gp40 for £12.00p the package first requirement was a strip down and to strip the awful factory paint that if i'm totaly honnest looked like matt dulux emulsion applied with a roller , so it was duly stripped in mr muscle oven cleaner for 48 hours to reveal a lot of crisp detail on the body at first handrails were made in 1mm brass stock as it was the same gauge as the plastic ones ( wich straight away illustrated one of the problems) so they were re made in 0.5 mm brass stock next a paper pattern was made to enable chequer plate to be cut to shape that was then glued in place and filed to fit neatly as i'm building this on a budget the air tanks were cut from the handrail assembly , the awful tank representations were cut off the body whilst retaining a body clipping area that would be covered by the tanks once the underframe was filed to shape etc giving scope for better scratchbuilt fuel tanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor quinn Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Smart job, I've used .3mm steel model aircraft control wire with either Athearn or Smokey Valley stanchions. They're hard to bend but bombproof. Look forward to seeing how you get on Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 40-something Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 I like these jobs on budget models/toys, its always good to see what can be done I'll be watching with interest! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado64 Posted May 19, 2013 Author Share Posted May 19, 2013 unsure of other ways to make the uprights , only steel stock i found that was suitable for the upright stantions was 1mm x 1mm brass H section so it was filed flat at the rear and flattened and bent round the rail at the top then superglued together Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor quinn Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 I like the look of the stanchions you're doing there, it's all coming together nicely. Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 Nice work there reclaiming a sad case original. steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado64 Posted May 24, 2013 Author Share Posted May 24, 2013 plasticard and filler being employed to make nicer looking tanks to be detailed later Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado64 Posted May 25, 2013 Author Share Posted May 25, 2013 even though not perfection the tanking is gradualy taking shape and is a little improvement on the original set up !! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Ray Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 OK, so I'll be the one to nitpick the Thread Title (NOT the model, which looks to be coming along pretty well). The correct nickname for a GP locomotive is GEEP, not Jeep (when I first saw the title I though you were makng a model Willis Jeep from WWII - 1/87 Vehicle Club material!). Also, I am a bit surprised you didn't go for the Cannon & Co thinwall GP35/40 cab (which most such upgraded models featured in articles did during the past 20 years), but I gather you are trying to keep costs down for the model (fair enough, it works). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado64 Posted May 26, 2013 Author Share Posted May 26, 2013 forgive my jeep thing i'm in the uk but then the willis jeep name came from the GP designation for general purpose !!! anyway as you say i intend to spend little to nothing on the project , as i do on most builds , prefering to scratch build , as such the cab is a fair representation so it stops!!! besides being in the uk and working long hours i don't wish to spend the time and effort involved to source the parts like that it eats into my little time at home to actualy model although the thaught was good and apreciated so maybe on another build !! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Ray Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 forgive my jeep thing i'm in the uk but then the willis jeep name came from the GP designation for general purpose !!! Hold on there: Many explanations of the origin of the word jeep have proven difficult to verify. The most widely-held theory is that the military designation GP (for Government Purposes or General Purpose) was slurred into the word Jeep in the same way that the contemporary HMMWV (for High-Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle) has become known as the humvee. An alternative view launched by R. Lee Ermey, on his television series Mail Call, disputes this, saying that the vehicle was designed for specific duties, and was never referred to as "General Purpose" and it is highly unlikely that the average jeep-driving GI would have been familiar with this designation. The Ford GPW abbreviation actually meant G for government use, P to designate its 80-inch (2,000 mm) wheelbase and W to indicate its Willys-Overland designed engine. Ermey suggests that soldiers at the time were so impressed with the new vehicles that they informally named it after Eugene the Jeep, a character in the Popeye cartoons created by E. C. Segar. Eugene the Jeep was Popeye's "jungle pet" and was "small, able to move between dimensions and could solve seemingly impossible problems. Apparently this will be debated until the heat-death of the universe, so don't feel bad. anyway as you say i intend to spend little to nothing on the project , as i do on most builds , prefering to scratch build , as such the cab is a fair representation so it stops!!! I've been a modeler since the 1980s, and I recall when the Cannon thin-wall cabs (and other detail parts) came out they were such an improvement over the standard "thick" cabs that they quickly became the standard for any kitbasher (you can tell this by the mentions in then contemporary modeling articles). Eventually over the years mass manufacturing caught up (more or less), but still Cannon cabs are sort of burned into my sub-conscious BTW, I DON'T evny you the job of filling, fitting, and bending all those Stanchions - Smokey Valley is generally the way to go... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor quinn Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 One thing that does strike me about the stripped shell is the quality of the moulding - it's pretty good for what was sold as a toy. The cab headlights even feature the shades to stop the light shining on the cab windows and affecting the crew's view. Not all roads had them but I don't recall any other manufacturer putting them on a model. Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado64 Posted May 27, 2013 Author Share Posted May 27, 2013 Hold on there: I've been a modeler since the 1980s, and I recall when the Cannon thin-wall cabs (and other detail parts) came out they were such an improvement over the standard "thick" cabs that they quickly became the standard for any kitbasher (you can tell this by the mentions in then contemporary modeling articles). Eventually over the years mass manufacturing caught up (more or less), but still Cannon cabs are sort of burned into my sub-conscious BTW, I DON'T evny you the job of filling, fitting, and bending all those Stanchions - Smokey Valley is generally the way to go... thing is that you buy a part here a part there and it soon clocks up into quite a spend before including searching for what you want then waiting for it in the post , scratch building costs a couple of pennies , hones modelling skills and instead of waiting for delivery and ordering i can be building instead wich if you look on it, it is only a little longer as you would still have to fettle and fit kit baught items obviously there are some items worth buying that are harder to make like plows etc but i'll usualy work out how far i want to go beforehand and as most of my american locos will be mostly display only with a rare run you have to work out a realistic budget as at the end of the day it is still only going to have the aincent Bachmann pancake motor chassis !! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado64 Posted May 27, 2013 Author Share Posted May 27, 2013 One thing that does strike me about the stripped shell is the quality of the moulding - it's pretty good for what was sold as a toy. The cab headlights even feature the shades to stop the light shining on the cab windows and affecting the crew's view. Not all roads had them but I don't recall any other manufacturer putting them on a model. Nick unsurew of wich ones do or don't i know my blue box athearn SDP40 has them as does an old bachman SD40-2 but then the Bachmann gp 30 i have doesn't as doesn't an athearn blue box gp 30 so it may depend on company order specs Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor quinn Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 I suspect it depends on which photo the mould maker had in front of him. The build is coming along nicely - way faster than anything I do! Which roadname are you painting it for? Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alastairq Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 obviously there are some items worth buying that are harder to make like plows etc but i'll usualy work out how far i want to go beforehand and as most of my american locos will be mostly display only with a rare run you have to work out a realistic budget as at the end of the day it is still only going to have the ancient Bachmann pancake motor chassis !! Dunno about this item, but my old Bachmann GP40 [bought early-mid 1980's.....2nd hand!]....was /is [i still have it]....8-wheel drive, centre motor... PAncake US jobbies tended to be something like ex-LIma.... [Alco 420,for example, probably from Pemco....I have a couple, not impressed]... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado64 Posted May 27, 2013 Author Share Posted May 27, 2013 Dunno about this item, but my old Bachmann GP40 [bought early-mid 1980's.....2nd hand!]....was /is [i still have it]....8-wheel drive, centre motor... PAncake US jobbies tended to be something like ex-LIma.... [Alco 420,for example, probably from Pemco....I have a couple, not impressed]... i think this model dates to late 70's early 80's pancake motor is nothing like limas it is more like the motor mainline fitted into thier peak diesels abysmal effort !!! so this is striktly a displayer it may get a cheap dcc conversion so i can run on my planned british outline layout and so i can fit fibre optics later in the build Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado64 Posted May 27, 2013 Author Share Posted May 27, 2013 I suspect it depends on which photo the mould maker had in front of him. The build is coming along nicely - way faster than anything I do! Which roadname are you painting it for? Nick that will be revealed at a later date !! a lot depends on if i can obtain the required decals from a suplier in this country , all i'll say is it will be unusual and intresting and also being done to practice some weathering techniques !! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Not a GP40, but you may be interested in this cab conversion for a Topeka cab http://www.the-gauge.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=6182&p=121263#p121263 Page 19 first post (et seq) - may be worth checking the cost if it is of interest Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 thing is that you buy a part here a part there and it soon clocks up into quite a spend before including searching for what you want Very true - and as an excercise in keeping costs down this is great. I'd echo the fascination in seeing the plastic not covered in such a horrible coat of paint too! In practical terms if your objective was to get a loco to actually use, you can pick up examples of the superb Atlas model for under £50, provided you're ( a ) patient and ( b ) not overly picky about roadnames. 5 or 6 years ago I picked up an old Atlas (Roco) GP40 for a tenner with the intention of upgrading, but worked out that by the time i'd bought all the parts I wanted to use it was cheaper to bin it and buy the new model... Cest la vie. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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