MTH DCS to DCC Conversion Changing Over an MTH Steam Loco As Detailed by Ray Grosser
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Celebrating Scale the art of Trains 1:48 modeling MAGAZINE O u Sept/Oct 2008 Issue #40 US $6.95 • Can $8.95 Display until October 31, 2008 www.goldengatedepot.com / FAX: (408) 904-5849 GGD - RERUN P70s NEW CAR NUMBERS: ORDER IN PAIRS: PRR, PRSL, LIRR, $249.95 MSRP. RESERVE TODAY! VERY LIMITED QUANTITIES. RERUN PULLMAN 12-1 SLEEPERS IN ABS NEW CAR NAMES TOO: PRR, PULLMAN (GREEN), PULLMAN (TTG), ERIE (TWO TONE GREEN), LACKAWANNA (Grey and Maroon). RESERVE TODAY! COMING FALL 2008. $129.95 MSRP each. Set A: RPO/Baggage 5018 Diner 681 NYC 20th Century 1938 & 1940 4-4-2 Imperial Highlands YES WE ARE OFFERING THE 1940 STRIPING TOO! Observation Manhattan Is. Set B: Dorm/Club Century Club 17-Roomette City of Albany 10-5 Cascade Dawn 13-Double Bedroom Cuyahoga County Set C: Diner 682 17-Roomette City of Chicago Available in Late 2008 for $599.95 (RESERVE PRICE) per 4 Car Set 10-5 Cascade Glory 4-4-2 Imperial Falls 54’ STEEL REEFERS HW DINER / OBSERVATION Also: PRR - BIG CHANGE REA ORIG 4-2-1 PULLMAN OBSERVATION ACL D78br - DINER (w/3DP1 Trucks) GN B&O REA Green Pull-Green NYC SF OFFERED IN MANY OTHER ROADS WITH PULLMAN TRUCKS GGDGGD Aluminum Aluminum SetsSets -- PRICEPRICE CHANGE CHANGE - NYC ESE: 6 Car Set, 2 Car Add On ($599.95 / $299.95) FALL 2008 - Santa Fe 1937 Super Chief: 6 Car Set, 2 Car Add On ($599.95 / $299.95) FALL 2008 - Southern Pacific Daylight: 5 Car, 5 Articulated Add On ($599.95 / $599.95) Late 2008 - PRR Fleet of Mod. 2 Tone Tuscan: 5 Car Set, 2 Car Add On ($599.95 / $299.95) Late 2008 PRR Post War Tuscan: 5 Car Set, 2 Car Add On ($599.95 / $299.95) Late 2008 Scale Trucks - Scale Underbody - Scale Interior Details - Overhead Lighting - 054 Track or Larger LITTLE PEOPLE 100 TON CONCRETE (1930S-1950S) COALING TOWER Coming 2009 40 Seated $29.95 Reserve Today HIGHLY DETAILED $249.95 MSRP + $5 S&H (1-4 PACKS) Celebrating the art of 1:48 modeling Issue #40 Scale Sept/Oct 2008 Vol. 7 - No. 5 Editor-in-Chief/Publisher Joe Giannovario Trains MAGAZINE [email protected] O Features Art Director Jaini Giannovario [email protected] 4 Weathering An O Scale Hopper Learn to master the elements of weathering from Rich Divizio. Managing Editor 15 Powering Up: Block Detection Mike Cougill Ted Byrne looks at the options for sgnaling and other tasks. [email protected] 17 MTH DCS to DCC Conversion Changing over an MTH steam loco as detailed by Ray Grosser. Advertising Manager Jeb Kriigel 38 2008 O Scale National Convention [email protected] Photos from the convention floor. Customer 41 Boxcar to Caboose Conversion Service Charlie Morrill freelances a caboose based on an SP conversion. Spike Beagle 49 An Introduction to Soldering Complaints Soldering made easier the William Kendall way. L’il Bear CONTRIBUTORS TED BYRNE GENE CLEMENTS Departments CAREY HINch ROGER C. PARKER NEVILLE ROSSITER 13 The Art of Finescale – Mike Cougill Subscription Rates: 6 issues US - Periodical Class Delivery US$35 26 Traction Action – Roger Parker US - First Class Delivery (1 year only) US$45 Canada/Mexico US$55 31 The Modern Image – Gene Clements Overseas US$80 Visa, MC, AMEX & Discover accepted. Call 610-363-7117 during 32 Reader Feedback Eastern time business hours. Dealers contact Kalmbach Publishing, 800-558-1544 ext 818 or email [email protected] Advertisers call for info. 34 Modelers’ Showcase www.oscalemag.com • ©2008 All Rights Reserved Printed in the U.S.A. 45 The Workshop – Neville Rossiter O Scale Trains Magazine, ISSN 1536-9528, USPS 24457, is published bi-monthly in January, March, May, July, Septem- ber and November by OST Magazine, PO Box 289, Exton 52 Product News & Reviews PA 19341-0289. Subscription rates: US Periodical Mail, $35 per year, US First Class Mail, $45 per year; Canada or Mexico, $55 per year; Overseas, $80 per year. Postage paid 68 Buy-Sell-Trade Ads at West Chester, Pa., and additional mailing offices. POST- MASTER send address changes to O Scale Trains Magazine, 68 Events Listing PO Box 289, Exton PA 19341-0289. Contributors: O Scale Trains welcomes your feature articles, 69 Advertiser Index photos, and drawings. Such material should be sent to the above address for possible publication. If we accept, you will be notified 70 Observations – Joe Giannovario immediately. For more information concerning article preparation guidelines, please send an SASE to the above address and request our “Guide For Authors” or visit our website at: www. oscalemag.com. Cover: A lone N&W covered hopper waits on the Mill Track for the next local at Sycamore, Indiana on Mike Cougill’s Indiana and Whitewater. Weathering expert Rich Divizio explains how he did the car’s incredible weathering job starting on page 4. Centerspread: This area on John Houlihan’s (The Irish Track- layer) layout is called “Big Bunch” after a siding on the Fresno Interurban Railroad, east of Fresno, a joint ATSF/SP station. The locomotive is Sacramento Northen #652. The packing shed is typical of those found throughout the local area. The overhead is shared by Scarmento Northern and Visalia Electric, both of which serviced a good number of packing sheds in their respective areas. Sept/Oct ’08 - O Scale Trains • 3 Before Photo 1 Weathering an O Scale Hopper Rich Divizio (Judging by the many photos I’ve looked at, O Scale mod- 3 elers seem reluctant to weather freight cars. The OST staff feels this is an important overdue subject. Therefore I com- missioned weathering expert Rich Divizio to do one of my own cars for this article in our ongoing effort to bring you the best techniques and modeling information we can. Here’s Rich. -Ed.) Fading the Car In looking at the unweathered car (Photo 1), I decided the first order of business was to fade the car down a bit and grime it up before I started to add any kind of rust detailing. I mixed a custom gray color that was slightly darker than the car’s original color using Windsor & Newton’s Zinc White and Ivory Black gouache thinned with Windex, combined with Wind- sor & Newton’s Raw Umber water soluble oil paint from their Artisan line. I mixed these colors keeping a close eye on the con- sistency until I got a dark brownish/grayish tone that would still be transparent as it was applied to the car (Photos 2-3). I quickly applied the custom wash to the side panels brushing up and down until the whole side was covered. Working fast while the 2 side was still wet, I took a wedge shaped cosmetic sponge and dabbed the side of the car left to right, up and down and back again until I achieved the desired, grimy/faded look I wanted (Photo 4). Note: by doing this you’re actually taking off what you just put on, and if more is taken off in one spot than the other, you could reveal more of the cars original color which simulates that the panel’s rusting is slowly taking over the metal. Photo 5 shows a completed side after the first wash has been applied and sponged. Fading the Letters Once both sides were complete, I wanted to tone down the lettering without disturbing the panel color, so I used the 4 • O Scale Trains - Sept/Oct ’08 4 8 5 9 same dark gray gouache mixture and a torn cosmetic sponge to carefully dab the color on, touching only the lettering (Photos 6-7). Once the sides of the car were complete, I concentrated on the surrounding areas: the sides of the roofwalk, the lower sills and ladders, and the sloping roof line under the roof walk (Photos 8-9-10). 6 10 The Magic Take-Off Technique The areas I just spoke of were treated with the same wash as the sides were. A couple of minutes after those areas were visibly dry, I took a brush dipped in some rubbing alcohol, 7 and stippled all those same areas to take off what had just been applied. By doing this, it creates the look of built up dirt over time. As far as the finer detailing on panel seams, bolts and where the supports meet their attaching points, we will fine tune those areas later once the whole car has a base layer of grime. End Detailing I approached both ends of the car the same way, by giving them a base coat of grime. I make sure that where the rungs of the ladder are attached, and anywhere the end of the car collects the dirt kicked up from the wheels, that I’m treating those areas with some extra special attention. The grime wash will take care of the basic grooves that need to be filled with collected dirt, but to create the kicked up splatter from the Sept/Oct ’08 - O Scale Trains • 5 wheels, I lightly grimed the end of the car, not going as dark 14 as the sides of the car, since this area is a bit more protected. While the surface was still wet, I took a dry brush with some weathering powder on it and, holding the car vertically, lightly tapped the back end of the car. By doing this, the pow- der is randomly dropped in specks onto the wet surface and you leave it to dry without touching it. You will seal this later using Dullcote from an airbrush (Photos 11-12). For griming up the hopper bays, bolts and other equipment, it’s the same as before, just dirty up these areas according to what you feel this car has been exposed to over time (Photos 13-14).