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Post by iomalley on Jul 8, 2014 22:28:54 GMT -5
Hello Gents; In my neverending quest for ultimate cheapness, I ponder all the BB Athearn shells I have kicking around and realize that with my ever shrinking disposable income, I'm going to have to bed down with them as there's no duckets for anything nicer. I drafted up an idea to improve the tops of the BB subbase with a decal that makes the detail-less area more realistic. This is just a paper mockup, with the decals yet to come. The white area will be see-thru clear, allowing either the orange (in this case) to show thru or if the top of the step is to be painted light to medium grey would show that colour thru. The low areas will be black. What do you think?   |
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Post by Mark R. on Jul 9, 2014 1:03:31 GMT -5
I'm trying to visual that in my head. It should be an actual texture that is all painted solid orange (in this case) - just wondering how it will look if the "texture" is actually black. It might give the illusion of shadow if the black isn't too intense.
Post your results when you get to it, I'm curious as to how this is going to work ....
Mark.
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Post by icghogger on Jul 9, 2014 7:26:33 GMT -5
I like what I see, Sean! Is this going to be similar to the resin tread plate decals that Archer makes, and will your decal have the knuckle buster detail? Keep us posted on your progress.
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Post by iomalley on Jul 9, 2014 12:38:43 GMT -5
In the case of my GP38-2, the raised portion will appear orange if I apply it as is. The more I think about it, the more I'm probably going to paint the top of the box with floquil rust, and apply the decal. That way the white shown on my mockup will be rust colour, and the depressed areas black...that will look more realistic I think.
The real thing is typically a fresh worn look on the high relief details, a somewhat steel colour or rust if the unit doesn't see daily use, or a combination of both. The low, depressed areas collect the dirt and are typically grey approaching black in colour. Of course this GP38-2 in service today (not the ca. 1970's scheme I did) would have the leading edge of the diamond plate worn down almost flat with no detail at all. The depression of the knuckle buster does fill up with crap too, tending to be relatively clean in there on class 1 units, and caked with crud on secondary-service units.
This is just a way to spruce up the otherwise plain Athearn BB, Bachmann, GSB or other 'Toy' shells.
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efram
Chairman
Posts: 206
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Post by efram on Jul 9, 2014 15:53:19 GMT -5
ME LIKEY!
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Post by rastorin on Jul 9, 2014 16:04:52 GMT -5
Good idea.
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spike
Chairman
They say I can't be Spike anymore, so Mr. Burns it is!
Posts: 561
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Post by spike on Jul 17, 2014 12:57:19 GMT -5
This is a great idea. The present photo etched plate will only do whichever kit it's designed for. If you kitbash, or change nose length, or add an anticlimber, then you have to fool with multiple tread kits per model. Here you cut what you need.
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dekon
Staff Member
Posts: 634
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Post by dekon on Jul 21, 2014 21:18:10 GMT -5
I like it.
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Post by enginseer on Jul 22, 2014 13:33:27 GMT -5
Isn't there a company that adds "relief" to the decal by adding thicker material in certain spots already?
Doesn't Archer do that?
Seems like it would be a "no-brainer" to make tread plate decals in this fashion...
...unless I'm missing something.
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Post by tjmfishing on Jul 22, 2014 13:54:01 GMT -5
Isn't there a company that adds "relief" to the decal by adding thicker material in certain spots already? Doesn't Archer do that? Seems like it would be a "no-brainer" to make tread plate decals in this fashion... ...unless I'm missing something. I believe Archer makes their Louvers in this fashion. |
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Post by iomalley on Jul 22, 2014 16:52:41 GMT -5
This is just an easy way to spruce up the old BB AThearns to add some detail to the tops of the subbases. I don't plan on going any further to do the rest of the treadplate, just to make the subbases look a little more realistic. Those who know me, know I'm a 75%er when it comes to model building....  |
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Post by ChessieFan1978 on Jul 22, 2014 21:05:57 GMT -5
Great idea, you may want to patent that and sell it to Athearn.
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Post by enginseer on Jul 25, 2014 12:00:04 GMT -5
This is just an easy way to spruce up the old BB AThearns to add some detail to the tops of the subbases. I don't plan on going any further to do the rest of the treadplate, just to make the subbases look a little more realistic. Those who know me, know I'm a 75%er when it comes to model building.... To be truthful, your method of model building is the way to go if you plan on using the locos. Mind you, there are some 100% folks with beautiful locomotives and lots of man-hours invested in their creation that are run nearly every day! God bless 'em! I wouldn't have the courage to do that which is why my brass just sits there... gathering dust.  Eventually, I may trade it off or sell it for more "usable" items. |
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Post by nsc39d8 on Jul 27, 2014 17:35:05 GMT -5
Archer does do the tread plate for EMD and other locos. But, their decal does not have the latches that show in this decal work. Using Archer tread plate you would have to work with Plano latches to achieve this same look. The other way to do this is Brain Banna's idea of replacing the same area with the top of a Cannon&Co sub base.
I, for one, would be very interested in this project and want several sets.
James Wall
Rural Hall, NC
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Post by railfansd40t2 on Aug 12, 2014 19:22:38 GMT -5
This looks great and I don't think you are being cheap about it all it just another good alternative to get some nice detail on a budget. I will give you another example. I built a custom Kenwoth that I fabricated fairings for which have steps in them. I did not use the etched tread plates that you can get for 1/25th scale trucks instead I used the cardboard that Day Quill Cold and Flu tablets are formed into because they look like tread plate and when sanded thinner look more to scale. Sooooo what you are doing here is very clever and being a graphics guy I think I may try this idea on all my BB locos. I really think if different shades of color, blacks, and greys are used as you have described you should get some nice effects. I have made copies of the brass tread plate sets to use as templates that get sold on Ebay sometimes just for such an occasion. I am interested in seeing what you come up with as a final project. Thank you for sharing. Paulie |
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Post by iomalley on Nov 28, 2014 17:08:05 GMT -5
The decals came from Highball today, I think me likey....    Just a cheap way to top those subbases. I think I'm going to paint the tops of the next boxes rust colour and try it out again. |
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Post by CP_8530 on Nov 28, 2014 17:30:57 GMT -5
Looks good!
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Post by geep15t on Dec 28, 2014 17:07:54 GMT -5
That is a great improvement! If you want to dial it up even more, here's what I saw when I worked on the real ones. These are battery doors for those who don't know. The door on the non-cabdoor side had very little foot traffic and would be mostly black and the paint was mostly rubbed off at the front edge towards the pilot and on the square latches. The one on the side entering the cab were heavily worn(like you have now) and the rubber on the bottom of the cab door left a sweeping wear mark in an arc and the least wear was on the sides.
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