4.
Winterization hatch (Illustrated twice HO scale)
built), the hemispherical side vents, pi- lot opening fillers to address the over- ly-large coupler pocket opening, step well, and cut release handle brackets may be fabricated from styrene. Esti- mate the dimensions for these parts using features on the model and photos as guides. It is more important to get them proportionally correct relative to existing features rather than work to exact (and unknown) prototype dimen- sions. For example, scale the length of the horizontal, curved nose grabs to the number boards above them. Mark the handrail mounting hole lo-
cations, then drill them using a No. 80 (.0135″ diameter) bit. If this produces too snug a fit, especially after painting, a No. 79 bit may be used to ream out the holes. Some of the existing mount- ing holes can be re-used, but these need to be filled with .020″ styrene rod and re-drilled to suit the smaller wire. The tips on some conventional scribers are too large for such precise work, so I use a dressmaker’s pin inserted into the wooden handle from a small paint- brush. I carefully drill a centered hole in the cut-off end, then secure the pin with cyanoacrylate cement.
The grab irons are similarly made with .010″ phosphor bronze wire. When bending the horizontal, curved nose grabs, take care to ensure their 90-de- gree ends properly align with the holes and will not mar the body finish when you install them. A rod with the appro- priate diameter, such as the shank of a drill bit, can be used to achieve the de- sired shape; periodically check against the nose contour as you work. Each of the ladder grabs near the windshields has an “S-curve” at each end; form it with the looping pliers. It is a good idea to make up a few, select
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
the best one, then make as close a copy as possible to get a matching pair. Cut the tiny grab iron mounting lugs from styrene and attach them to the shell with solvent cement. The vertical side handrails have a more pronounced mounting lug; simulate it with styrene and two bits of wire trimmed short to simulate the mounting bolts. For now, leave off the handrails and grabs that will not be painted in the adjacent body color or will be in the way of the decals. The bell and horn are lost wax brass castings from Miniatures by Eric (B16, CNR FA2 bell, and H21, three-chime horn). The Sinclair VHF antenna is a Detail Associates plastic part (No. 1803). The winterization hatch comes next. More than one design was used by CNR, so, if possible, find a photo of the roof of the unit you are modeling. (This won’t be easy.) The diagram shows the one I made from styrene. The back of the locomotive needs new ladders. Piece them together from Tichy No. 3066 tall boxcar ladders (14″ rung spacing) with the two lower rungs more closely spaced than the others (see the photos). Other details on the rear include a Miniatures by Eric L13 lost-wax MLW backup light and con- duit (drill the mounting hole but add the part later), lift rings (make them from curved, then flattened .020″ soft copper wire), and new grab irons. Pre- drill the m.u. hose mounting brackets for the Hi-Tech Details No. 6034 m.u. and brake hose set (add these after painting) and scratchbuilt cut levers. The cooling coil on the upper right should have been removed from the Proto 2000 shell; I only noticed this when I wrote this article. Fabricate the cut levers from .010″ wire and a narrow strip of .003″ brass
shim stock folded in half. I used DuPont Kapton®
tape to hold the pieces in posi-
tion on a block of hardwood, then sol- dered them together using a pencil-type iron and rosin core solder and liquid rosin flux. One of the industrial uses for Kapton tape is to mask printed circuit boards prior to wave soldering. It with- stands temperatures from minus 100 to over 500 degrees Fahrenheit; the com- monly used 60/40 tin-lead solder melts at around 370 degrees.
While the pieces are still jigged-up with the tape, excess solder can be re- moved by holding a piece of braided solder wick between the joint and the tip of the iron for a few seconds. Attention can now be turned to the headlight and backup light. The MLW FA’s featured a recessed headlight set in a distinctive louvered housing in the nose. Originally, it had a single bulb in a large parabolic reflector behind a glass lens reminiscent of a steam engine head- light. However, the FPA-4 featured a dual, sealed-beam headlight in basically the same lamp housing minus the para- bolic reflector. It’s important to capture the look of a prominent feature like this, so the existing FA-2 headlight has to go. Make a new headlight from a piece
of ¹₄″ diameter brass tubing with its outer edge carefully chamfered inside and out with jewelers files. I had a brass casting of a dual sealed-beam light (of unknown origin) and soldered it to a piece of brass shim stock. This was subsequently soldered to the back of the tube and drilled to accept a pair of Miniatronics 1.2 mm diameter, 1.5- volt, 15 milli-amp micro-bulbs. Ream out the headlight opening in the Proto 2000 carbody until the tube just fits, then paint the inside of the light sil- ver. Insert the bulbs from the back and
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