Finish-up project: BN SD7 6019

[Packer]

I don't know if this really goes here. It's almost near completion as it was, but it needed some help.

Anyways; I had bought a custom-painted and detailed SD7 off of ebay. I though it needed glass, but that was just the beginning...

This is the picture used in the listing:


The good: It has an NCE DSR15 decoder, the beacon has a 1.5v bulb (not controlled by the decoder yet), and the paint work is pretty good (will look better after a glosscoat to hide the decal film)

The bad: It was missing a door, missing windows, air tanks were floating around in the box, runs really noisy, and the mechanism is dirty

I fixed the missing door by using a door from my busted up BN GP18. The seperation line on the GP18 door and the SD7 line up perfectly, and the colors are almost spot on. I just had to glue it shut. The airtanks were re-attached by drilling out the hole for it in the frame, and then CAing it. As for the glazing, I tried the ones from P2K GP9s and atlas SD24s and they both were too large.So I'm looking for some windows from p2K SD7/9s, I haven't checked AMB to see if they have glazing for it.

So far I'm in it about $60 bucks, decoder, custom paint, and all.

Tomorrow I'm taking the mechanism apart to see why it's so runs rough and noisy and get a picture of the replaced door.

[dekon]

The noise might be the famous Proto cracked axles which if it is you can replace them with Athearn axles.

[Packer]

It's not that. That only applies to P2K FA's, and GP7 through GP30s. The SD7/9 has trucks closer to a kato. It's more of a grinding noise.

I've gotten the mechanism apart and it is really dirty. I think a cleaning and check to see if anything is hitting will help.

I'm still lost about what to do for windows. AMB doesn't have glazing for the P2K SD7/9, the ones from the GP7/9/18 is larger, and same with the ones from an atlas SD24. I'm gonna call walther's up tomorrow, and if they don't have any I'll try modifying some of the AMB ones I won't use on the SD7. If that fails, then I'll just glue clear styrene behind them.

[Packer]

Update: Walthers actually had the glazing in stock, so I ordered a set; but forgot to order a speed recorder at the same time.

Pics when the glazing is installed, and I think I have an idea for making a speed recorder.