(A facelift for) Iowa, Chicago & Eastern SD40 #210

A Kato SD40, this unit was painted and weathered by another custom builder in the Toronto area.  Not satisfied with the results, it was sent to me by it's owner, Nad, who has been gracious enough to let me display photos of the refinished result.  

The pilot faces were heavily re-worked, with scratch built lift tabs and MU receptacles.  Details West supplied the MU and train line hoses.  The plough is a recycled Walther's Trainline accessory, with a reshaped profile and rivets added along the bottom edge of the blade.


Three scratch built rooftop antennae were made.  Two are "firecracker" style and one appears to be a GPS satellite dome.  All were made with an assortment of wire and styrene stock.

Sand line brackets and hoses were added to the truck sideframes, along with an air drying filter just ahead of the fuel tank. A Details Associates speed recorder adorns the fireman's side front sideframe.
Roof top lift rings were added, along with cab arm rests and wind deflectors.  The cab was actually totally repainted and weathered to match the rest of the locomotive.  The "ICE" under the cab window are from Woodland Scenics dry transfer set.

The walkway and handrails were repainted to match photos of the prototype unit.

Kadee #58 scale couplers finish this fine unit off.  The weathering was achieved with the usual array of chalks, eye shadows, and dilute wash paints.

CNR GP40-2LWs #9644, 9656

These are both Atlas Master Series, factory painted and lettered HO scale GP40-2LWs.  Dave had sent them to me for the usual distressing, and the result was one faded unit, and one grimy unit. 

The CNR had a vast fleet of these unique GP40-2 variants that saw anything from hot shot mainline service to switching and way freight duties.  The Atlas units are well rendered units, with gorgeous paint and printing and the usual flawless drive train.

Details added to these units were minimal, and include truck sand lines and speed recorders.

The units were dull coated, weathered with chalks and sealed.  Final touches were done with dilute washes and dry brushing.

My apologies for the sub-standard pictures.  The weather around Bogenville has been gloomy and blustery, precluding use of the outdoor diorama.