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ES44AC scratch build

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  • Author

Well the difference is you have the good kind, with talent to spare. I keep chipping and messing up the plastic. I'm losing the "touch". I'd better invoke the 5 foot rule on the RR very soon.

I just show my successes, not my failures, and believe me, I have many failures. Tob, uh, Cob, oh oh, I mean Bob.

  • Author

Yeap. me too! but my success looks like many others..... well you can guess. I am happy overall. It just takes me longer now than it ever has.

I take some artistic choices with these things and decide what I can do to capture the look the best. After staring at the tops of my MTH dash 8s for so many years, I find the look of the ES44 could be like this:

 

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they're just laid into place for now. I have to decide whether they should be flush or protrude out a bit?

  • Author

Well that's totally top secret!

They are hopper car's catwalks that I cast and cut to size. I looked at the top of the Aristo Dash 9 and thought there wasn't anyway I could duplicate it. I looked at the MTH O scale version of the ES44 and saw they used brass etchings. After searching for some time to find the correct looking brass I gave up. So this from above seems to have that look. I may add brass screen if it helps the look.

OK, your secret is safe with me and If I tell someone, I will tell them not to tell anyone. Looks excellent to me, Bob.

  • 3 months later...
  • Author

OK, raining again and I'm bored. So I did a little bit more. I cut stuff up for the inter cooler thinger.

I made a plate to fit the hole, cut in 2 circles. Then I attached a piece of fine mesh screen. Filed it to fit. 

I made a pair of fans for looks too. I will mount them to a scrap bar of plastic.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Author

Now it looks like 80% chance of rain, 80% of the week.

So............ I'm back at it.

It's just the layout stages so be kind.

Soon I'll figure out where to go next! Lots of screens to make.  & I hate making screens!

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Author

I got several pieces cut and then noticed that they weren't right. The top of the cab is not drawn correctly. I probably should re-cut the sides while I'm fixing stuff. They should have been taller.

I like having a model near to look at. I wish I had looked at it sooner!

 

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2 hours ago, enginear joe said:

I got several pieces cut and then noticed that they weren't right. The top of the cab is not drawn correctly. I probably should re-cut the sides while I'm fixing stuff. They should have been taller.

I like having a model near to look at. I wish I had looked at it sooner!

 

Don't feel bad Joe as my 3D printer will be doing just fine then for no reason it starts acting up like the program got corrupted or something.

  • Author

I hate some of the stuff that goes on with modern tech. Seems like we are going towards automated smart houses. I can't wait to have someone in a foreign country turn on my lights, change the temp, and open doors from there!

What printer did you get? Do you like it?

  • Author

Trying to nail down all the angles on this modern GE cab is tuff. I will get it. It may take some extra time.

 

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  • Author

Sometimes I nail it on the first try.

or like this one, it takes several attempts and a lot of fine tuning. Urrggg.

or maybe I should have just made a mold of a MTH Dash 8 cab.....??? (and said close enough!)

 

 

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Yes.  That is what I would have done, but, I am not a rivet counter.  I am not bad mouthing rivet counters, but I am 72 and have only so much time to devote to my endeavors.  It's a balance. Bob.

Me neither! If the end result looks nice that's all that matters. 99% of people won't know the discrepancies and the remaining 1% would even find flaws in the real 1:1 locomotive ...no pleasing those folks!

 

Take like a Aristo-Craft product...they went about 90% with making something then stopped...devil is in the details and they knew it.

 

Yup.  Maybe someday when I finish all of my major projects, I will attempt to make a museum quality item, but then, maybe not. Bob.

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