Athearn SD50 Clinic NS 5424

[modelmaker87]

Hi Guys,

 

This clinic will be a serious build using a bog standard Athearn Blue Box SD50 and turning it into an RPM display model. The premise is to try to make the parts without resorting to purchasing any after market detail parts at all. Not entirely possible I know, but I will go a long way to show you what you can make yourself with a little patience and determination.

 

The build will be sectionalised, such as Plow - Roof changes - Under the sill - Cab changes and so forth. So in a way more or less each section will be a mini-clinic in itself. The manner in which I do these builds is usually, or when its possible, to do each part or area as a complete separate model. I then end up with a load of finished parts and join them altogether. I try to do this in all cases if possible, it helps to reduce breaking added on parts for a start and that saves a go back. A lot of the mods I do will work for many EMD engines, not just the SD50. I chose the SD50 btw, because I bought it off some guy at one of the RPM meets for 40 bucks.

 

Any questions, please please post them. Non of us are going to learn anything from each other if we questions are not asked, its the only way I will improve my modelling, learning from you guys, suggestions are also welcome. If you are a shy type, bung a PM down the pipe, no sweat. Ha, obviusly what I just typed depends if I leave any question sot b asked on the table. Challenge for me then. Anyway, that's the intro - Enjoy, the clinic starts now.

 

THE PLOW

 

This is the prototype pic of the front pilot and plow.

 

 

This is the model outta da box. Load of work..eh.

 

 

Backatcha later Guys. Tony

[modelmaker87]

Hi Guys,

 

First my starting point, the raw Athearn plow. Remember the premise of this clinic, using what Athearn provide and doing as much as one can without spending

good money on after market parts. I know I could have purchased a Details West plow but there would still be the apertures to cut, hand grabs to make and fit plus

a few other items. Then I would still have been left with an incorrect plow profile. Can't add material so easily onto white metal, but plastic you can.

 

 

I start by drilling a hole in the area where the MU doors are located. This image shows one door aperture filed, the other with the starting hole.

All dimensions are in inches in this pic, so get your calculator out, enter the numbers and multiply by 25.4. You'll get the metric equivalents.

 

 

Modifying the back of the plow so that from certain viewing angles it will look prototypically thin.

 

 

Here I'm shaping the bottom ledge of the MU aperture which is viewed very easily when the plow is oriented correctly and fitted to the pilot. It shouldn't

be sharp like the working edge of a blade.

 

 

The near vertical edge is thinned down in similar fashion. I don't pay too much attention to all the scags and marks on the face of the plow, in fact some are

good. This being a super sized image, those marks need a 5x magnifier to see in the flesh.

 

 

I'll return to shaping the plow profile when I come back.

 

Meanwhile, be safe down by the tracks.

 

Cheers, Tony

[Allegheny1600]

Hi Tony,

Looking really good, i shall be watching with interest! Will you be replicating the dents in your prototype photo?

Is the prototype a (ex?) Conrail unit - looks to be the right shade of blue!

Cheers,

John E.

[modelmaker87]

Hi Tony,

Looking really good, i shall be watching with interest! Will you be replicating the dents in your prototype photo?

Is the prototype a (ex?) Conrail unit - looks to be the right shade of blue!

Cheers,

John E.

 

Hi John,

 

First off, welcome to my thread and I hope you continue to enjoy it. Second, thank you for your kind comments of my work. Its truly appreciated.

 

To your question. Yes, its an ex Conrail unit. The actual model is NS 5424. Here's a couple of proto shots of her. You know, I never did do those dents,

an area I honestly forgot, darn it man, you've shown me an error already, I love it. :icon_thumbsup2: :icon_thumbsup2: Good on you for spotting them.

 

 

 

Always amazes me to see photos taken on different days and different time and light conditions how it affects the colours so much.

 

Cheers, Tony

[davknigh]

Hi Tony,

 

This looks like an interesting thread to follow so I'll join if I may? A couple of questions, are you going to get into wheel width here or strictly details and the cut-outs on the plough seem to have hinged covers, are you doing them too or am I getting ahead of you here? :icon_biggrin:

 

Cheers,

 

David

[modelmaker87]

Hi Tony,

 

This looks like an interesting thread to follow so I'll join if I may? A couple of questions, are you going to get into wheel width here or strictly details and the cut-outs on the plough seem to have hinged covers, are you doing them too or am I getting ahead of you here? :icon_biggrin:

 

Cheers,

 

David

 

Hello Dave, sure, you're welcome, dive in and enjoy it.

 

Your two questions. Wheels: For this unit they will be standard HO wheels. This based on my premise that the build will not require any special equipment other than hand tools all modellers should have in their kit, and also to build it as least expensively as possible. These parameters should encourage others to 'build along' at home, as it were. In other words, you don't need anything super special, just a bit of patience and someone to help get you there. I will do a mini-clinic if you are interested in what I do with my HO wheels to make them finer. No sweat.

 

Hinged doors, oh yeah, well pseudo hinges anyway. If they're on the prototype and this is prototype modelling major league then I try to put them on my models. But some don't get that treatment, a subject to discuss on another thread in another section that I will build later. I'll get to the plow doors mind after I have finished the other bits of the plow. What I am trying to do is keep the images and text in the correct build sequence. So the cutting and shutting comes first the details after.

 

Good to hear from you and I hope you Winter well up in Canada there. Might you be going to Jim Six RR symposium in South Bend, IN. in April...? If so, see you there. I'll probably be teaching weathering freight cars like I did last year. Was a superb shindig and I learned so much.

 

Keep warm,

 

Cheers, Tony

[davknigh]

"Hello Dave, sure, you're welcome, dive in and enjoy it.

 

Your two questions. Wheels: For this unit they will be standard HO wheels. This based on my premise that the build will not require any special equipment other than hand tools all modellers should have in their kit, and also to build it as least expensively as possible. These parameters should encourage others to 'build along' at home, as it were. In other words, you don't need anything super special, just a bit of patience and someone to help get you there. I will do a mini-clinic if you are interested in what I do with my HO wheels to make them finer. No sweat. "

 

Sounds like a plan, I have my own ideas but I'd like to see how you do it as I suspect your experience is greater than mine in this area.

 

"Hinged doors, oh yeah, well pseudo hinges anyway. If they're on the prototype and this is prototype modelling major league then I try to put them on my models. But some don't get that treatment, a subject to discuss on another thread in another section that I will build later. I'll get to the plow doors mind after I have finished the other bits of the plow. What I am trying to do is keep the images and text in the correct build sequence. So the cutting and shutting comes first the details after."

 

Fair enough, logical sequences make sense.

 

"Good to hear from you and I hope you Winter well up in Canada there. Might you be going to Jim Six RR symposium in South Bend, IN. in April...? If so, see you there. I'll probably be teaching weathering freight cars like I did last year. Was a superb shindig and I learned so much."

 

By April I'll be at panic stations getting my P4 portable ready for The Great British Train Show in Brampton, Ontario. Also a good experience if you're up this way.

 

"Keep warm,"

 

Wind chill tonight is -25C I may just stay in...

 

Cheers,

 

David

[modelmaker87]

 

By April I'll be at panic stations getting my P4 portable ready for The Great British Train Show in Brampton, Ontario. Also a good experience if you're up this way.

 

"Keep warm,"

 

Wind chill tonight is -25C I may just stay in...

 

Cheers,

 

David

 

I've got the Mid Central Ohio RPM meet the following weekend after Jim Six's RR symposium on the 16th April weekend. What date i the Great British Train Show in Brampton..? Like to go and I'm up that way anyway. Only about a 12 hour drive to Ontario from the Marion, OH. I reckon.

 

-25C, better you than me, all I'm going to get when I go out the door at 05:30 hrs tomorrow morning is -4 or 5C with a very light breeze if at all. "Rather be in Carolina in the moorrrning".

 

As I said, be warm, no, make that very warm. Get back to me on that Brampton date, ta.

 

Cheers, Tony

[modelmaker87]

Entirely in line with this, may I suggest a visit to http://www.proto87.com/ Proprietor Andy Reichert (a CA resident with ties to the UK) offers Proto:87 wheelsets for US diesels (split-axle) and cars (regular axle) including complete P:87 trucks. Unfortunately he recently had to increase prices, not so long ago a regular wheelset was priced at US$ 1.50 each... :icon_sad:

 

 

Dutch, I'm always wary of those posters who do not sign their name. You are one of them. I don't find your post offensive but if you want to share this thread I'd like you to reveal who you are and properly fill in your profile. Just my view. Would you do that for us all on here, please.

 

To answer your post, yes, I know Andy and all the products he offers very well. In fact I use his wheels in some of my models, but this SD50, no. Andy and I talk from time to time, sometimes by phone other times by e-mail when I need something or when he wants to sell me something. It works for us both.

 

I'm up for a full discussion with you about the pros and cons of P:87 plus anything else you might fancy talking or sparring over. The caveat is as I explained in my first paragraph.

 

With respect,

Tony

[modelmaker87]

Hi Guys,

 

After shaping and refining the original Athearn plow I then turn to bringing correcting its shape. I shouldn't really say 'correcting'

as the Athearn plow is probably made closer to another roads design, say UP for example. Anyhow, this image below is where I'm

are at and is in effect my next starting point.

 

 

Remove the zig and zag contour of the existing plow altogether and fill in with scrap styrene.

 

 

Add the second corner and file away until they start to become an invisible part of the plow to the touch. Meaning,

no edge or corner stick out anywhere.

 

 

Don't go far amigos,

 

Tony

[davknigh]

I've got the Mid Central Ohio RPM meet the following weekend after Jim Six's RR symposium on the 16th April weekend. What date i the Great British Train Show in Brampton..? Like to go and I'm up that way anyway. Only about a 12 hour drive to Ontario from the Marion, OH. I reckon.

 

-25C, better you than me, all I'm going to get when I go out the door at 05:30 hrs tomorrow morning is -4 or 5C with a very light breeze if at all. "Rather be in Carolina in the moorrrning".

 

As I said, be warm, no, make that very warm. Get back to me on that Brampton date, ta.

 

Cheers, Tony

 

Tony,

 

GBTS is May 1&2 2010 all the info here: http://www.theplatelayers.org/gbts2010.htm pics from GBTS 2008 here: http://theplatelayers.org/gbts2008/gbts2008photos.htm

 

Cheers,

 

David

[Allegheny1600]

Hi John,

 

First off, welcome to my thread and I hope you continue to enjoy it. Second, thank you for your kind comments of my work. Its truly appreciated.

 

To your question. Yes, its an ex Conrail unit. The actual model is NS 5424. Here's a couple of proto shots of her. You know, I never did do those dents,

an area I honestly forgot, darn it man, you've shown me an error already, I love it. Good on you for spotting them.

 

Always amazes me to see photos taken on different days and different time and light conditions how it affects the colours so much.

 

Cheers, Tony

 

Hi Tony,

Thanks for the welcome and comments! I rather like your prototype loco shots and i now realise that she is also your avatar - very well done!

You can always say that your model is either pre-bump or post-repair!!!!!!

May i suggest (if you should want to replicate!) a gentle brush on with liquid poly to soften the plastic and then gently attack with the tip of a pair of needle nose pliers? That may give you all the 'ding' you need!

Great work and i'm looking forward to seeing how you deal with the wheels!

Cheers,

John E.

[modelmaker87]

Respectfully PM'd

 

Read your message. A hearty welcome to my thread.

 

Cheers, Tony

[modelmaker87]

Hi Tony,

Thanks for the welcome and comments! I rather like your prototype loco shots and i now realise that she is also your avatar - very well done!

You can always say that your model is either pre-bump or post-repair!!!!!!

May i suggest (if you should want to replicate!) a gentle brush on with liquid poly to soften the plastic and then gently attack with the tip of a pair of needle nose pliers? That may give you all the 'ding' you need!

Great work and i'm looking forward to seeing how you deal with the wheels!

Cheers,

John E.

 

 

Hi John,

 

Yep, she sure be my avatar. The engine was finished this past March 2009. It was the focal point of an online clinic that took me just under two years to do, although I did put it up for nine months during that period. I was going to post the 'wedding pix' at the start of this clinic but decided to hold them until the end. That sequence thing, you know..?

 

I like your idea on how to bend the plow up. Never gave using liquid poly juice a thought, the pliers came to mind though. Thanks for that tip. My decision now is, shall I do it to a completed and fully weathered model...? There's a big ouch there for sure. Well, if I do, I'll show it on here. Or build a new plow and ding it up prior to doing the other details. I can say with certainty that with the amount of original plastic removed it probably will bend easier now than prior.

 

Pleased you enjoyed the 'Railwhales' on my site. I agree there are few images out there that show these baby dolls, especially the detail shots. I'm still building the site, plenty more to add, this SD50 clinic for one, and there are others waiting on the ready track. But I'll do those on here first.

 

Later, Tony

[modelmaker87]

Hi Guys,

 

Continuing on with the plow corner shape. First I mark the corners with a marker pen and mark out the shape of the corners. All those who don't do inches, get your calculators

cranked up.

 

 

Next up is the material removal stages. First cut.

 

 

Second cut.

 

 

Cuts 3 & 4. I fill the cracks and gouges later after I have filed the sharp edge to the plow, but that is close to the last thing I do on plows.

 

 

Now to the back support lugs. The prototype looks like this and I add some styrene to end up with as best of an S curve

shape as I can. There is a compromise here as the Athearn model doesn't provide enough room to make a good flowing

curve, so I did the best representation as I could. When the plow is fitted to the pilot Stevie Wonder would have a hard

time seeing this curvature. But if like me you carry a magnifying glass round with you at the shows, makes the demonstrators

real nervous that does, you'd be able to see it. The word on the street is that Stevie Wonder dropped his glass and smashed

it.

 

 

Be back later with this section of the plow mods.

 

Cheers, Tony

[modelmaker87]

Hi Guys,

 

To create the curve on the upper edge of the supports on the original Athearn plow, material has to be added. I glue a scrap piece of styrene on each of the supports

and let them cure for 48 hours before thinking of touching them with a file.

 

 

Then I file the curve profile and thin the scrap down to the thickness of the Athearn support.

 

 

This image also shows the inside support filed into something close to a curve, wasn't really super happy with it when I finished it. Doesn't look too shabby.

Better than nothing at all. The prototype at 3/8" scales to .004" (.11mm).

 

Cheers, Tony

[modelmaker87]

Hi Guys,

 

Next up are the small details. The MU doors. First a prototype image of these doors to give you all a clearer idea of what they look like close up.

Note the angle fitted horizontally across the door.

 

 

To make this part to scale I was forced to file the available brass angle down to the right size. A PITA I can tell you, but smaller sized brass angle is not available.

The remainder of the parts are easily made from scrap copper and brass.

 

 

Two grab handles are needed and this prototype image provides good witness if you make a mess of your model grabs.

 

 

This view shows the main hinge for the plow which is not shown on the group of parts image. I make this out of 0.015" dia brass wire. Notice the filler in

the face of the plow. At this stage I thin down the end edges of the plow to as close to a sharp edge as I feel comfortable with. I estimate about .002" thin.

 

 

After drilling for the hand grabs, gluing the angle and the hinge to the curved door and the whole enchilada to the plow, it all should come together

like this. For metric dimensions, get your calculators out.

 

 

And viewed from the side. P/type image up first followed by the model. You can see the main hinge here which I didn't show in the group of parts image.

I used 0.015" diameter brass wire for this.

 

 

 

That completes the plow and this I put in a box for later assembly.

 

Next up, a walk along the roof.

 

Cheers, Tony

[modelmaker87]

Hi Guys,

 

The DB fan of NS 5424 looks like this. Note the three lifting lugs.

 

 

Then the Athearn model. Ahhhh, bless 'em, they tried, must've run out of plastic during the pour.

 

 

So those three blips on the fan saw the sharp side of my blade. I'll go over how I made the

replacements later.

 

Cheers Tony

[modelmaker87]

Hi Guys,

 

I start with a length of brass strip and file the corners off.

 

 

Then form what will be the pin.

 

 

Then snip it off with a pair of side cutters and clean up what will be the top edge.

 

 

This specific dimensions of the lifting lugs at 1:87 scale.

 

 

This is how they looked before a lick of paint. I set the fan aside now for fitting later. I trust you all figured out that three holes have to be

drilled into the DB housing

 

 

Cheers. Tony

[modelmaker87]

Hi Guys,

 

I'm wondering if these pages ever wrap, this one is getting longer than a bonus sized toilet roll. Andy, you reading this line...?

OK, back along the roof. Athearn decided to have molded on the four engine compartment panels

an X on each of them. The prototype image shows non, all four panels flat as all can get. So these had

to be removed from my shell. Prototype image and model image shows what I'm describing here.

 

 

 

 

Later with the mods, cheers, Tony

[modelmaker87]

Hi Guys,

 

Using my favourite tool again, the sharp blade.

 

 

Then making smooth where they once were.

 

 

Some repair and make good work as expected. Paint makes a good filler in low depressions as anything I have ever found.

 

 

Cheers, Tony

[modelmaker87]

Hi Guys,

 

I leave the old panel door bumper paint infills to cure super hard for around 14 or more days, no sweat, I have plenty of other modelling projects,

one of which is to make the new engine compartment panel door bumpers. Nothing special here, just a loop of brass wire. Shown here on a

dime and for those who have never held a dime in their hand, its the size of a 5p coin.

 

 

To mark the holes for the engine compartment panel door bumpers, I first lay out centrelines using tape.

 

 

The two tools I use to mark out the holes is my old draughting dividers and a hole centre marker I made

myself from a sewing needle and a length of brass tube.

 

 

As always, to be continued when the server runs more smoothly than it is right now...

 

Cheers, Tony

[Pugsley]

Shown here on a

dime and for those who have never held a dime in their hand, its the size of a 5p coin.

Certainly is - I ended up with one in my change from a shop the other day!

 

This is fascinating Tony - proper miniature craftsmanship in action B) B) .

[Glorious NSE]

Yeah really good stuff Tony, a really good bit of inspiration.

[AndrewC]

Really enjoying this Tony. Just proves that you CAN make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Most people would have thrown about 50 bucks worth of Details West bits at the loco and hoped for the best.