LXOH 68 - Part II

I received parts from Tangent, for the 4740 project only the rectangular, vertical jack pads are required to be added to the stock undecorated model for the purposes of this project. The only other noticeable differences from the prototype is a slightly different air plumbing routing, and the second grab iron on the stirrup - this may be modified at a later time. I cut the new parts from the plastic and removed the flash with a steel file.

 

I had to enlarge the holes for mounting the new jack pads slightly in order to ensure a snug fit. Once I was satisfied with the joint, CA cement was applied with a toothpick and adjusted into it's correct upright position. The new parts contain the small metal ring that is located to the outside on our prototype. A similar metal ring is included molded on the base model, located on the inside of the jack pad and was carefully removed and filed smooth.

 

At this time I also removed the trucks, couplers, lower draft box, and the small metal piece inside the coupler box for painting purposes. To that end, a suitable paint for this project turned out to be an alternative to "charcoal grey" rather a "chalk board black" will be used instead so that the model turns out with a pre-existing matte black finish. At this time I will not be applying the small styrene strip for the Gulf & Ohio logo mount, I elected to instead apply this feature after painting is complete (to ensure paint makes it's way behind where the logo will eventually be located).

 

 

The paint ended up coming out great this time around, however, as you can see in the above photo the photo-etched walkways popped off their supports. I suspect this is because I painted outside, and the heat expansion difference between materials caused the warping while the model was drying - perhaps it will settle back down once it returns to room temps, we shall see. If not, extra effort may be needed to even it out.

 

Overall, the paint job came out at a nice, semi-glossy black as I imagine the prototype looked when freshly painted. After the decals are applied this car will receive a nice weathering job to bring out the fine scale Tangent details.

 

It will take a rather large assortment of Microscale decals to bring out all the lettering on this car, which I have ordered and will await before continuing this project. Of note is that I am going to attempt using the GM&O decal sheet to splice together a believable G&O logo. More on that once the decal sets arrive.