The Southern GP30 project was one of several engine detail projects that I had lined up, and when it came time to start, I felt like doing it first.  At first I contemplated scratchbuilding the high hood, but decided that I wouldn't be able to replicate the edges of the numberboards, the classification lights, etc., so I decided to use another GP30 shell and cut off the rear end.

 

Although I had done some minor detailing on two other engines, this is the first complete project that I have finished, so it is a little rough around the edges.  While it might sound like a broken record if you happen to read through all of this article, the fact that the hoods on these engines are not scale-width gave me the realization that this model wouldn't be perfect.  With that in mind, I was able to complete this project without worrying about everything being exactly right.

Before I assembled anything, I trimmed off any cast on details that I would be replacing with separate parts, and drilled the appropriate holes.  Then I cut the hood down to start fitting it on the shell.  As you can see to the left,  the method I used to get the correct height was to match the top of the hood to the top of the cab.  This would align the details like headlight, number boards, and class lights in the correct position.  I just took my time filing and sanding the new hood down until everything was aligned properly.  I have limited experience on such projects, but I have found in the past that getting the hood lined up straight is much more important to the overall look of the model, than getting a seam correct.

When I first searched for info on this engine on the Internet, I came up with very little.  While I was in the middle of this project, I happened to look again and found many more pictures, which highlighted some errors I made because I didn't have all of the angles at first.  First, the horns used was a small five chime, not EMD's standard 3-chime.  Also, the grab iron on top of the short hood sits back some one to two feet instead of at the edge like on the long hood.  Oh well, like the front end of the "bulge", I'll save those corrections for a scale width hood version.

Next came the handrails, which I feel is one of the biggest improvements on a plastic N scale engine.  After I did this project, I finally found a safety chain detail part at JnJ, but for this project, I simply reused the plastic chain that came with the model.  I also reused the dropstep and m.u. box to it's right, because they were just as good as any separate details that I had on hand.  So, I just took my time and trimmed around those two items.  On the right, you can see the drop step and m.u. box still attached in the yellow highlighted circle, and the safety chain before it was trimmed up in the red highlighted circle.  I could use a manicure, but I'll worry about that for when I detail a GP30 with scale-width hoods.

Once I got the hood aligned well and glued on, I cut a slit on it to accomodate the cab (just like Atlas did with the low hood where the cab fits over it), and then assembled everything to make sure it was acceptable before I continued.  You can see in the thumbnail to the left how much the thicker handrails really stand out.

  After looking at the few prototype pictures I had on hand, I decided that I would only cut off the top of the short hood, and retain the rest of it to keep the shell's strength, the handbrake detail, and to make it easier to get things lined up properly.  I also cut the windscreen and headlights out of the cab.  On the prototype, the front of the "bulge" on top of the cab actually stops approximately 2 ft. further back on the high nose engines, than it does on a low nose GP30.  I decided at this point that I would not model it exactly, because I didn't feel that I'd get it right, and it looks better to me this way anyway.  When Atlas comes out with a scale-width hood GP30, I will consider doing the project over again with a properly placed bulge.

Once I was satisfied everything was aligned well, I continued by filling seams and holes in the hood and cab with Squadron Putty.  I would sand it down, and paint it with light gray, which highlighted any further filling and/or sanding required.

The thumbnail to the left shows the modified body parts after they were initially cut.  I started out by purchasing an undecorated Atlas GP30 body and a KCS GP30 on ebay, and a spare cab directly from Atlas.  The paint stripper that I use did not cut through the white paint on the KCS shell (this occasionally happens with some factory yellow and white paint jobs), so I cut the back end off of it, and sanded off the unecessary details for the front hood (which would end up taking off most of the white paint anyway).

I then installed Gold Medal Models handrail stanchions and .006" brass wire for handrails.  I first drilled holes, and installed the stanchions as per instructions.  I then bent the handrails to fit, which takes a bit of time and fiddling to get right.  But once they are bent, the thin wire doesn't just sit in the right spot, and I didn't think that I'd be able to neatly solder the joints.  So instead, I simply ACCed the handrails to the stanchions, and it's worked fine for now.  The thumbnail to the left shows the handrails partially done.

While I was in the middle of this project, I took the spare frame from the KCS body, and temporarily mounted a pair of Z scale couplers to see how well they worked.  They coupled and uncoupled with the N scale couplers perfectly!  Even the delayed uncoupling worked!  So I tried a permanent mounting, and test ran it around the layout.  The N scale couplers work as well with Z scale couplers as with each other.  They also make a big visual difference, as you can see in the comparison picture to the left (Z coupler on the left, N on the right).  It's a good thing that the Z couplers work, because they look so much better on the engines, that I might have been tempted to use them anyway.

The thumbnail to the left shows the engine ready for painting.  I assembled the engine to give it one more test run before painting, mostly to make sure that the Z couplers did indeed work.  You can see how the handrails actually make the wider-than-scale-width hoods look less obvious, and the walkways less narrow.

All pilot details will be attached after the striped decals have been placed on the pilot.

After washing the parts to be painted, I brush painted a couple of coats of Floquil's "engine black".  Afterwards, I started applying decals.  This being my first time working with decals, they didn't come out too well, but they're okay.  As I did more and more decals, I got better.  After the body was painted and decaled, I painted and added the lower grab iron on each end of the engine.

The step handrails and the edges of the steps were then carefully painted white, and what little touchup work was necessary was done.

I am not installing DCC controllers at this time, but I did upgrade the LEDs on the engine from one of the "White LED kits" that Mike Hinkle put together following his article in the Nov/Dec 2003 issue of N-Scale Magazine.  I left the front LED long so that it would sit closer to the number board/headlight glazing.  I can replace this with a shorter LED when I want to use this chassis with a low-nose GP30/GP35 shell.  After this photo, I did have to notch the front of the chassis to clear the front number board/headlight glazing (similar to the notch in the rear of the chassis that Atlas puts in for the same reason).

Lastly, the shell was assembled, and installed on the chassis.  You can clearly see my misaligned letters in the "SOUTHERN" decal on the engineer's side, but I wasn't going to be able to put together a perfect model.  I didn't make any modifications to the trucks or fuel tank at this time.  In the future, I will probably install a speed recorder, but that's about it for this model.

On some GP30s, there is a stanchion "missing" on the fireman's side, directly behind the cab, but on other GP30s, the stanchion is included.  Originally, all of the GP30 pictures that I had showed the stanchion included, so I included one on this engine.  But of course, after I had installed it, I found a fireman's side picture of a Southern GP30, and it did not have that stanchion.  Oh well, what's one more detail?  This being my first major detail/modification project, I'm okay with a few imperfections that only the most anal of Southern fans could point out.

I bent grab irons out of .006" brass wire (the GP30s had the "straight" style grab irons, as opposed to the "hang down" type on most other engines), installed a Sunrise Enterprises NS bell detail, a firecracker antenna, and Gold Medal windshield wipers on the cab doors.  I initially thought the GP30 ran long hood first, so I reversed the horns as I had seen on other long-hood-first-running locomotives.  I later found out that the Southern GP30s actually ran short hood first, so I returned the horn to the correct orientation later on.

The entire model was then sprayed with a light coat of Testor's "dullcote", and then the pilot details were added.   The holes for the pilot grab irons and m.u. hoses were drilled before the decal was applied, and when the decal was soaked with Micro-Sol, the holes opened up like magic.