IronBeltKen
Lazy Daydreamer
Ok, time for another model loco upgrade thread! Not sure whether this qualifies more as a kitbash, since it started as a GP7 and ended as a GP7. Either way, lots of time went into it - a LOT more than I originally planned. I have ~ a dozen GP9's of various brands, but not a single GP7 suitable for painting in later [post-1967] B&O livery. My Atlas Kato GP7 runs quite nicely, but since everything below the cab & hood is solid cast metal, I can't make it look like the B&O geeps that had their side skirts cut away. And I'm not about to try to mill the that frame - way too much work and risk!
This started out as a Bachmann "Sound Value" unit decorated for Pennsy. Since I am lucky enough to live within 30 minutes driving distance of MB Klein, I went there and had one of the guys run it on their test track before buying it since I've never really trusted Bachmann's QA. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it ran nicely at slow speed [though definitely not like a Kato], and that the headlight LEDs actually shine like incandescent bulbs, not the horrible peachy-orange color of their earlier models! And the Soundtraxx decoder [a stripped-down Tsunami?] sounded pretty good for the $107 price tag. This, plus a modifiable shell, provided a good starting point to eventually get a good-running and nice-looking GP7.
The first thing I did when I got it home was to install some Cal-Scale grab irons. Then I carved away the side skirt so the body would resemble B&O #6406: [url]http://rr-fallenflags.org/bo/bo6406jpa.jpg[/URL] . Masking the windows and headlight lenses, I airbrushed it with PollyScale Enchantment Blue followed by a very thin coat of Krylon Clear. I used Microscale decals for the lettering and the sill stripe, and the decal film blended in quite nicely with the surface of the Krylon Clear that I didn't feel that an over-coating of DullCote was even necessary. Here is what it looked like with the decals applied:
This started out as a Bachmann "Sound Value" unit decorated for Pennsy. Since I am lucky enough to live within 30 minutes driving distance of MB Klein, I went there and had one of the guys run it on their test track before buying it since I've never really trusted Bachmann's QA. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it ran nicely at slow speed [though definitely not like a Kato], and that the headlight LEDs actually shine like incandescent bulbs, not the horrible peachy-orange color of their earlier models! And the Soundtraxx decoder [a stripped-down Tsunami?] sounded pretty good for the $107 price tag. This, plus a modifiable shell, provided a good starting point to eventually get a good-running and nice-looking GP7.
The first thing I did when I got it home was to install some Cal-Scale grab irons. Then I carved away the side skirt so the body would resemble B&O #6406: [url]http://rr-fallenflags.org/bo/bo6406jpa.jpg[/URL] . Masking the windows and headlight lenses, I airbrushed it with PollyScale Enchantment Blue followed by a very thin coat of Krylon Clear. I used Microscale decals for the lettering and the sill stripe, and the decal film blended in quite nicely with the surface of the Krylon Clear that I didn't feel that an over-coating of DullCote was even necessary. Here is what it looked like with the decals applied: