SP U25B Detailing Project

That's what I call attention to detail - well done:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
Excellent Gav. The Rio Grande did not use the U-boats and I have not really been a fan of them but your fine detailing bash really does make the Aristo model very appealing.
 
Thanks for the kind words folks and many thanks again for following my progress! :)

Here it is now with the handrails painted up and little light weathering to get it ready for our open day this Sunday. Also note the small step (modeled folded up) which allowed crew members to cross between locos when MU'ed up together.

Here's the back:

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The Cab:

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The roof:

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The front:

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All that's left to do is to re-work the brake handle, but I think I'll attack it fresh next week as I need a wee break!
 
Looks fantastic Gavin a first class make over :)
 
Thanks guys! James you've spotted my secret ;) oh, the weathering will fix it...
 
Hi Gavin
Managed to get a few shots of the air hoses and hand rails that i made for this NW-2 loco .
Air hoses were made from black outer core wire the silver fittings were made from spare USA Trains Reefer grab handles cut in half and used on each end of the wire. All the hand rails and lift bars were made from brass rod and brass square tubing and soldered together .
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Hi folks,

Thanks for those pics Richie, that looks really good :) I always encourage people to try this kind of thing as it's amazing what just a few little details can really do for an out-of-the box, ready to run item. Even if you don't fancy weathering the whole the loco, a little brown rust colour over the coupler and the wheel faces can also make a huge difference too. I really like it!

I've got some photos of the U-Boat making it's debut at our open day on Sunday just passed, so I'll try and get them up as soon as I can.

Just as an aside, the loco ran really well and had quite a few admirers, but it I still felt that it was a little on the light side. The new updated Aristo motor blocks are much heavier than the older ones so they really helped, but I feel the running and pulling characteristics could be slightly further improved by just a little more weight, probably in the fuel tank. One for further experimentation...!

Thanks again, G
 
Thanks for the comments guys! :) will post the photos soon..
 
Hi Folks,

Here are some shots of the U-Boat at our recent open day as promised. The pics come courtesy of some of the members of Stirling & Clackmananshire MRC who very kindly made the trip up to visit us. The day was a great success and the weather was just perfect!

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Thanks again for looking!
 
Excellent Gav...it really looks the part...well done that man!.....:clap:
 
Outstanding detail work, I love it. Where did you get the brake line hoses? I would like to add that detail to my U25B.
 
Thank you for the kind words :)

The hoses are all USA Trains parts which I have slightly modified to give a more realistic appearance.

The following photos show the parts that I use from USA Trains. I get them in bulk from the spares department at Charles Ro, the retail front end of the company. They are extremely helpful and have a large stock of all the detail and replacement bits from their stock:

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The larger air hose is one from the boxcar range and I use it to add train line brake hose detail to rolling stock that has it missing. The lower pipe is originally from the NW2 I believe and I use this piece mainly to model the trainline brake hose on locomotive pilots, etc. I basically just cut the centre section out leaving me with two pieces: the hose end and the glad hand. I file the cut smooth, then I use a pin vice to drill out two small holes in each piece. Using a piece of black single core cable, I strip back a couple of milimetres off the outer flex and then superglue this into the holes. It is important to select a cable which is the right diameter to match the existing bits.

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This method gives the hoses a much more natural look as the real thing was never dead straight, plus the cable gives it a realistic drooping look. The only other thing is to paint the glad hand piece a metallic silver colour. I found a really nice colour from the Games Workshop, "Bolt Gun Metal" that is slightly darker and thus gives a heavier metal colour than sparkling silver.

The following two photos show one I did on an Aristo two bay hopper that I'm currently detailing:

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As for the other MU hoses, they are originally from the USA Trains F3 model, and they are made in exactly the same way as explained above. I have some some more cars sitting on the bench so I'll try to remember to post more pics to better illustrate the process!
 
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