dibber25 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Here's how I made the bab interior for the excellent Athearn/George's Trains limited edition P42DC in VIA Rail green/yellow/grey. Despite the photos it is metallic GREEN and I'm pretty certain 905 is actually a blue one. Not someting that really bothers me, except I would like a blue one, too! Β I started by cutting some card shapes for the floor and rear bulkhead to gauge the shape of the inside of the body moulding. Once I'd got that, by trial and error I cut 20thou Plastikard to a nice tight fit inside the body. The floor is notched to clear two ribs and the leading end of the floor tapers inwards slightly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 I built up the control desk with some 2mm by 4mm Evergreen strip - two pieces edge to edge makes the right height. The desk is 20thou sheet cut to shape. The engineer's side is deeper than the conductor's side. My lady engineer is two Preiser figures and some plastic surgery as described in a forthcoming Model Rail. I modelled only the major details of the cab - most of it won't be seen from outside the model anyway. The instrument console is more 2mm by 4mm strip filed to shape to get the 'leaning back' angles. Β The seats consist of five pieces - seat base and back from 60thou styrene sheet filed to shape, pedestal from 1/16in diameter plastic rod. Drill the seat base and floor undersize and open out until the pedestal is a really tight fit, then glue it. Liquid poly used throughout. Two armrests are thin square section plastic strip. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 I posed a couple of questions to my friendly engineer who explained that a white shirt would be hopeless when you're doing things like uncoupling the locomotive! I had also missed out the third chair and not made a great job of the paintwork. Β Ready to go in the loco. I've added the third seat, with a hi-vis made of tissue, the engineer's computer screens are tiny print-offs from a Trainsim 'virtual' P42 cab, there's a notepad on the conductor's desk and the engineer has changed her white top for a navy blue jacket. Now to go see what it looks like in the loco. Chris Leigh Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigZ Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Well. That's right impressive! Pix when installed please Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Most intrigued by your "lady Engineer" conversion - good job with the desk and seats too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Gwinnett Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Looks spot on Chris. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 Just having to think about some slight adjustments as the wires to the front lights are just preventing the body from sitting down properly. The body has four clips concealed by the four ladders to the doors but they are really flimsy and I've already broken one (the ladder and the clip). Forcing the job will be too risky so I have to carefully redistribute the four wires and then secure them to the underside of the cab floor. I'm pleased with the way the interior looks in the model but the engineer is clearly visible - on the real thing (I've watched no end of Youtube footage) it is all but impossible to see the engineer. CHRIS LEIGH Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Gwinnett Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Could the side windows on the prototype be tinted and not on the model? Might explain her unwonted visibility. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted August 27, 2011 Author Share Posted August 27, 2011 Yes - that's the product of making the seat and the figure separately. Although, you can't actually see the seat from outside the model. To be fair, the figure was really Hobson's choice, I found one figure with the right hairstyle and really nicely sculpted hands, but she was standing and wearing shorts. I had just one seated passenger wearing trousers so I cut and shut the two figures, but the pose of the 'seated' half is still not quite right for this job. One other comment, discovered since I wrote the above. The rear bulkhead should be no more than 18mm max height, otherwise the bottom of the cab floor will foul the leading gearbox. It is advisable to make the control console a couple of millimetres lower than I did, or it may stand too high in the windscreen. I've have had to reduce the height since the pictures were taken. CHRIS LEIGH Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 The body has four clips concealed by the four ladders to the doors but they are really flimsy and I've already broken one (the ladder and the clip). CHRIS LEIGH Chris, how about a replacement casting or etch for the P42 ladders? I'll take a dozen of 'em. I've tried getting spares from Athearn but no joy. One of mine had a missing ladder straight out of the box. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 Unfortunately I'm no longer in the business of making bits. The melting pot for my casting machine failed and I wasn't doing enough business to warrant buying a new one. Etching firms now want everything done on computer and I'm still in the pen and ink drawing era. As a newer Athearn item, the loco is quite nice but - just like newer British models - some of the details are flimsy. CHRIS LEIGH Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 Here's the finished job. I've even got my five Walthers VIA passenger cars to run beautifully now - it was uneven track/baseboards that was the problem, mainly due to re-using sections of the old layout and not being careful enough about the joins between old and new sections. The sound unit for this loco was delivered in to UK Customs on 23 August. I waited to receive the invoice for VAT etc. Nothing arrived. There was no clue as to where to phone to check up, or even where in the UK the parcel was. Yesterday I checked the USPS tracking number again - and the package is shown as unclaimed and returned to sender. Unbelievable! CHRIS LEIGH Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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