Kitbashing a Pacific Electric Ry. derrick
lightly applied some blue masking tape so that I could neatly airbrush some black on the rest of the components. I prefer to use Tru-color brand paints, especially their Weathered Black TCP- 171. This wonderful product (like the Accu-Paint once available) dries fast and with a semi-gloss that’s ideal for applying decals without any additives. Much as I always did with Accu-Paint, I use plain lacquer thinner to thin my mixtures and never have had any craz- ing problems.
When the paint coats were dry and the masking removed I began placing the decals. Microscale’s Pacific Electric set No. 87-590 is for PE electric and diesel locomotives. For the very small warning lettering, I was forced to make a concession. The prototype markings read “DANGER KEEP OUT” but I opted to use what I had on hand. This meant combining “DANGER”
clipped from a
“600-volts” warning and white “KEEP OFF” markings meant for Santa Fe lo- comotives and tenders.
After the white-printed decals were fully dry I tinted them orange with a fine-pointed Berol Prismacolor-brand art marker, No. PM-15. I keep several of these at my workbench, their yellow, red and orange being the most useful. If applied quickly the marker will not smear the decal ink. After everything was dry I resumed
Tichy Train’s instructions to outfit the chassis (trucks and couplers), after which the forward cab assembly with winding engine was attached. It was now time to mount the altered boom and thread the “wire rope” through the boom and engine sheaves.
This point seemed to be the best 62
time to add the subtle rivet details. Archer Surface Details decal set No. AR88014, rivets/screws (.008″ diame- ter), fit the bill. Like so many other craftsmen-modelers, I used to struggle with imitating rivets, but Archer’s fan- tastic waterslide thin-film decals with printed-on
three dimensional-cast
resin rivet heads are heaven-sent addi- tions to my tool kit. The ease that these sweet decals give to projects, and their versatility more than pays for the pur- chase cost. I have yet to use up a full sheet of the sets I have while having completed over six separate scratch- built and kitbashed freight car models. They come in several diameters and for different scales, and offer textures be- side rivets.
Before I attached the two cab seg- ments together, I did some light weathering with the airbrush. My general preference is to mix and apply extremely thinned gunk, dirt and rusty tones as glazes. I keep leftover neutral colors all mixed into several bottles which I then thin with liquid Testor’s DullCote and lacquer thinner. Building up a mixture of these super- thin glazes makes a pretty convincing base weathering treatment, and it also serves as a good base for addi- tional passes of brush-applied weath- ering chalks. With the final finishing steps done and dry the cab segments were assem- bled and stand-in HO scale Pacific Electric crane No. 003 was completed. I was happy with the results. Since the prototype has long since been “cut up into razor blades” the model, like the aforementioned PE book and related archival materials, further preserves
an important Pacific Electric Railway legacy and one of the less-noticed parts of its operations.
Bill of materials
Tichy Train Group No. 4010 120-ton steam wrecking crane
Evergreen Scale Models .010″ Sheet styrene No. 9006 Clear .005″ sheet (glazing) Miscellaneous styrene shapes
Precision Scale Co. No. HO-32326 Back-up light with conduit No. HO-31565 Trolley pole kit
Detail Associates No. 3503 .010″ Dia. stainless steel wire No. 2528 .015″×.042″ Flat brass bar No. 229-101010 Headlamps
Details West WP, GN, CN and others headlights Rerailing frogs
Grandt Line Models No. 5059 Outfit car windows
High Tech Details No. 6038 Air brake hoses without brackets
Kadee Quality Products No. 158 Scale head couplers with whisker springs No. 520 Code 110, 33-inch diameter smooth back wheels
Archer Fine Transfers No. AR99014 Rivets/screws decals
Microscale Industries No. 87-590 PE locomotives
OCTOBER 2012
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