Updated 1-15-2017
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| Updated SP 1050, October 2016 |
I decided to do a bit of updating on the progress with SP 1050, but instead of making a new post, I will update the very short update from August 2016, with some photos taken during September. Also of interest is this car's relation to the materials I found for the SP and SD&AE Consist Modeling blog post from last week.
I also did some editing of the SP 1050 Coach (Part 1) blog post, with more reference photos, information, and links, since it was one of my oldest posts.
Completing New Decals
The windows are still out of it for a bit longer, until I overcoat the car to seal the decals.
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| A photo indoors under LED lighting, bit more blueish than the photo below. |
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| Interesting how the sun picks up the lighter shades and the brown of the Dark Olive Paint |
Gloss Coating - Near Disaster!
The next step is to seal the decals to the car side. This will both protect them and also further blend in any remaining edges of the decals that are visible.
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| Showing the interior from the right side in the sunlight before decal sealing |
The Gloss Coating went badly, as it seems that the newer batches of Testors GlossCote are not compatible with the StarBrand and even the Testors Wet Clear Gloss Coat. This was the first car where this has EVER became an issue... Very strange indeed.
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| Showing the interior from the left side in the sunlight before decal sealing |
The Testors GlossCote turned the whole car side nearly white and opaque instantly. Looking it over quickly I realized that the new layer of overcoat was attacking the underlaying paint layers. The pitting was also making the light refract out causing the white look.
This does happen if DullCote is sprayed onto a car, followed by weathering the car using alcohol, however I hadn't done that on this car. Dullcote uses Teflon powders to create the dulling effect of the finish, which is attacked by the alcohol and turns white. Is that what happened here?
I decided it was too much work to completely strip the car body AGAIN, so I risked overcoating the whole car body with my usual Testors Wet Clear overcoat. If this didn't work, then I'd not really have lost anything to have to take an extra layer off stripping the car again, but I might be able to save it....
Thankfully, the Wet Clear overcoat leveled the pitting from the ClearCote and restored most of the proper color of the car. I start to wonder if the newer bottle of GlossCote had a formula change because of some new EPA reg. In any case the new bottle of Testors GlossCote went straight into the trash can so this mix up will not happen again!
The Wet Clear overcoating left a few spots that I decided to leave a bit of the "frosted" look on along the bottom and at the end of the car over the truck as weathering.
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| Right side of the SP 1050 after recovering from near disaster. |
These cars were usually assigned to the Argonaut running through the deserts of the southwest, so it would fit into the light weathering of the car.
Window Glass
The next step after sealing in the decals is to reinstall the window glazing to the car. Thankfully the glass sections were able to be popped out rather easily. They go back fairly easily too.
Window Shades
With the window glass back in, I can focus on installing the window shades.
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| Shades installed |
I use manila file folder card stock to make my window shades from. Tamiya Masking Tape is cut into thin strips to tack the shades in place while a few small drops of Testors Canopy Cement dry holding the shades in place.
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| Left side of the car after window shade installation. |
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| Right side of the car after window shade installation. |
The window shades are cut with a Xacto blade to various heights to appear used. Cars leaving a originating terminal will have all their window shades set at a standard height by the car attendants before departure. The shades then start to become more randomly set as passenger adjust them during the trip to suit their desires.
LED Lighting
I plan to light the car with my standard LED strip lighting. These are 30 LED/Meter material. There is also 60 LED per meter strips available. I use the "Daylight White" (bluish) LED strips in modernized cars with fluorescent lighting and the "Warm White" (yellowish) for the older electric lighting in cars.
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| Similar dropping resistors (2x10k Ohm) and marker installed on SP 2701. |
Dropping resistors of about 10k Ohms upto about 20k Ohms are used to control the lighting intensity in the car. I don't like the light so over powering that it's blinding in a darkend layout room. The lighting is subtle and when the room lights are on, it is barely noticeable. The wires will be feed down from the ends of the LED strip to the trucks.
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| Planning of the LED lighting strip installation. |
On the SP 1050 I plan to install the LED's pointing down, not like the SP 2701's which are facing up and using a defusing reflector to bounce the light back down into the car. I expect the SP 1050 will need a higher dropping resistance than the SP 2701 uses because of the direct lighting.
In Closing
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| SP 2701 brings up the markers for now on No.56, the Tehachapi Mail, until SP 1050 returns to service. |
Well, that's it for this update. In SP 1050 Coach (Part 3), I will be covering the installation of the LED Lighting, Installing the rear-end marker light, and the car's unique A/C ducting on the roof.
Jason Hill
Links to Related Blog Posts:
Modeling Index SP Heavyweight Passenger Cars
How to get SP Dark Olive Green painted cars
SP 1050 Coach (Part 1)
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