Atlas RS3 conversion to a D&H RS3
To see the finished model click here
Decals for this model are fairly straight forward as far as decals go, so I will not get into a lengthy synopsis on how to decal models. Maybe someday I will write a how to on my methods of decaling. I have had this set of decals for this bicentennial unit for some time now and since they are no longer in their original package I am not 100% sure who made them. I started the decals by getting the hood end stripes placed since these are, in my mind, the critical ones to get placed. Once they were set, I was able to get the rest of them done in about 1 evenings worth of work.
In between letting decals dry I painted the walkways black and drilled out any holes that I would need to install details. Another project involves getting the horn ready to install on the roof. The horn that comes with the kit does not have any type of mounting bracket. To mount this I used to just glue it on. This proved to be a big mistake as I was always loosing them. To remedy this problem I resorted to drilling a #79 or 80 hole into the bottom of the horn and super gluing a small "pin" into the hole which then will be glued into a matching hole that I put in the roof of the cab. This has proven to work out just fine as I have not lost any horns since. The detail package for this engine was kept fairly simple. I added the usual lift rings and wire grabs where applicable. I also drilled out holes for MU hoses in the pilots and added these. All that is left now is to add the window glass and install the handrails. To install the window glass I use the stock atlas glazing that comes with the engine. I have to cut the front and rear glass off of the assembly as the center windows on the front and rear no longer will work with the stock parts. The side windows on the front and rear can be trimmed from the stock part and installed with a small dab of glue to hold them in. The only window that is "custom" on this engine is the center window in the front. I simply make this part from an old window glass from the parts box and, again, simply glue this in place. The last item to address is the trucks. On the prototype, the trucks and fuel tank were painted silver. To achieve this, I removed the parts and sprayed them with a shot of Testors metallic silver paint. Once everything is dry I re install them. All that is left is to install the rear weight into the shell and refit it to the chassis. I added Kadee #5 couplers to my engine as this is what I use on my layout.
