F7A Santa Fe Diesel Engine (O-scale)

[dto]

Absolutely beautiful.

I can't wait to see you finish the rest of the Super Chief!
(Just kidding!) ;-)

Seriously, this is simply awe-inspiring. Excellent work!

David T. Okamura

[romanmodels]

Good work Erik.

[shalmaneser3]

Beautifully built. Certainly a looker!

[Erik Zwaan]

Thanks gents, well appreciated!

Yes, Ab, the weather was in fact too hot last week for modeling, but things like the heat do not really bother me. Probably I'm too concentrated, and modeling is a way to relax the mind after a long working day. I usually try to spare 30 minutes per evening, and that suits me just fine.

Well, the build is almost done. The hoses are in place now at the front skirt and rear side and also the hand railings and steps. The seemingly irregular way the connecting hoses to other units were fitted leaves quite some freedom for the builder. I copied an extra set and fitted them randomly on the front and rear sides.

There is an impressive number of steps to install, as well as hand railings. These parts are very delicate to cut out and once installed I applied white glue to each individual part with a small brush, to reinforce them after the glue has dried.

The steps on the nose still have to be installed. At the rear end they're all in place but I forgot to take a picture. And finally, there's the track. As they say: WIP. Work In Progress. Hope to complete the entire model within the coming two weeks.

Cheers,
Erik

[abhovi]

Fantastic build, but I think I would have replaced the paper hoses by black wire.
Great train, my compliments.
Ab

[Kevin WS]

Unbelievably good Erik.

I second Ab's suggestion. Worth it after all your other work.

[beckychestney]

Excellent!

[Erik Zwaan]

Thank you Ab, Kevin and Becky!

Yes, I agree, "real" hoses would have been better but as this is a test-build my intention has always been to use the original paper parts, and only use other materials for extras if they are the best alternative. Up so far everything is paper, except for the windows and cardboard reinforcement for the formers inside the body.

It's done in the mean time, the mighty machine is finished. Added the last details to the bodywork, being the delicate and small steps/hand grips at the nose, the small antenna on the cab's roof (0.5mm dia plastic rod....) and a few other things, actually not part of the original model.

The thing is, once you start studying actual pictures, it's difficult to stop adding a few extras, like the small rim above the side windows to guide rain away (I presume), and small holders above the doors to put flag poles (another assumption). Also added a small door handle on the nose.

After final minor paint/marker touchups I varnished the model with a satin finish (half matt/half gloss), except yet for the wheel trucks, as I decided to a add two final details: the air lines to the brake actuators and a cable conduit to one of the wheels, apparently part of the speed measurement system. I'm not sure if this is the real function but it's likely. Hope to be ready in a weeks time and then also varnish the trucks.

Looking at too many pictures by the way can be confusing as I noticed the many differences between the individual F7As.

No train without a track so the very last item to make is a stretch of tracks, which are also provided with the model, but more about this later.

Cheers,
Erik

[jaffro]

An outstanding model of a truly iconic train/loco. A credit to yourself and the designer, it's looking fantastic, congratulations to you both, I have enjoyed watching you build it and look forward to seeing the end result sitting on it's tracks.

[eatcrow2]

First class all the way! Wonderful work.