Monthly Archives: June 2013

SGL Reading G-3 Tender Conversion

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Machining the two new bolsters which have been soldered together

Machining the two new bolsters which have been soldered together

I was able to line up a trade of some surplus PRR equipment for a SGL Reading G3 Pacific. These models came out in 2002. They are nice models but rather lightly detailed. The Reading Modeler dose not have a lot of choices in mass produced steam locomotive models like some other roads have.

I had earlier taken apart the tender trucks to check out their design. It used a flat brass stamping as the bolster attached by screws into cast brass truck side frames. I test fit a set of Protocraft 36 inch wheel sets into the side frames to see if the axle ends would fit into the journal tubes on the side frames. They fit nicely into the side frame but not while the stock bolsters were in place. I measured the distance between the side frames without a bolster in place to get the length of the new bolsters that had to be made.

I purchased some K&S stock at my LHS which was just about the correct width and the same thickness of the old bolster.

I started by cutting two pieces of brass from the stock a little longer than the old bolsters. I soldered them together so that they could be machined at the same time. I placed the two pieces now soldered together into my milling vise. First I squared up the sides and ends. Then I machined them to the correct width. I marked the location of the holes based on the old bolster locations. The holes were drilled and tapped for 2-56 screws.

After the conversion, the old bolster and one O scale wheelsets in front of the two trucks.

After the conversion, the old bolster and one O scale wheelsets in front of the two trucks.

Here we see the trucks reassembled. As I first stated these are a basic design. If a similar truck is ever produced in Proto48, I would love to an upgrade these trucks. Until then these will do.

Here is the Tender for the G3 after the conversion

Here is the Tender for the G3 after the conversion

The reassembled trucks were placed back under the tender using the original screws. Not that bad looking after they are placed under the tender. All in all not too rough to convert, next comes the locomotive.

Times are Changing… Again

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Will we miss the bottle of Fluquil and Polyscale on the left? Maybe not with three bottle of P-B-L Star Brand, two bottles of Scalecoat II, three bottles of Tru-Color on the right to work with. But the Greg Komar Dry Transfers in front, will be missed!.
Will we miss the bottle of Fluquil and Polyscale on the left?
Maybe not I’ve been testing P-B-L Star Brand, Scalecoat II, and Tru-Color.
But the Greg Komar Dry Transfers in front, will be missed!.

Back around the end of May there was a panic go through the model railroad boards and blogs. Testors announced it was ceasing production of Floquil, Pollyscale, Model Masters and other hobby related paints. Now this in itself is not great news for the hobby, but it’s just a small part of the changing of the hobby. I read on a number of other blogs that some guys ran out and bought their favorite colors out at their local hobby shops. That’s great! Only if they had been doing that all along Testors would have seen enough sales to keep the products alive.

Some blamed it on the hobby changing from kit building to buying R-T-R models, or that we have less hobby time in our busy lives. The focus of the model rail press now is towards more realistic operations and layouts. While realistic models are now not talked about how to kitbash a certain type of model, there is more talk about what proportions of different R-T-R models should be bought.

The hobby has changed since I built my first kit back in grade school. For me, building models, is still one of my favorite parts of the hobby. Part of building them is painting them. So this news should have really sent me into a panic, but it didn’t. It just means I’ll have to look for other paint alternatives. Truth is, I have a lot of Floquil and Pollyscale on hand. I don’t really like it. I end up using it more for weathering as it goes on so flat.

If you are in a panic over the loss of Floquil, Microscale has produce a page with some possible alternatives.
http://www.microscale.com/ResourceCntr_Floquil.html

My last few of projects I’ve tried Scalecoat II, P-B-L Star Brand and Tru-Color Paint. I’ve already made the switch away from Floquil anyway.

What really has bothered me is that Greg Komar announced he is only taking orders for his fantastic dry transfers until the end of the June. I really do like his dry transfers, I’ve used them on a number of projects. The hobby is loosing another quality manufacturer! I placed a final order with Greg this weekend. It was tough to look at his catalog and think what projects might I want to do in the future and how many more sets do I need for the rest of my modeling life.

In Memoriam: Joe Giannovario

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Joe Giannovario and Larry Kline talking at the 2012 RPM Meet in Malvern, PA.
Joe Giannovario and Larry Kline talking at the 2012 RPM Meet in Malvern, PA.

I got a call today from a friend who told me that Joe Giannovario had lost his battle with Lung Cancer. As I went onto my computer to read more about this, an email from the P48 board from Gene Deimling arrived with the same sad news. My thoughts and prayers go out to Joe’s family.

Today has brought back memories of the first time I met Joe just before he released his magazine. We had a small group of local modelers that got together every couple of months to show each other our current projects. John Dunn brought Joe to one of those gatherings. Joe fit right in showing us all a recent scratch built N&W hopper car project.

Most people will remember Joe from the shows, he went to almost all of them promoting O scale 2-rail and his magazine. I’ll remember the smile he always had for you when he greeted at those shows.