Custom TOMY/Plarail EMD GP-7/9

ROKMAN1445

So I made a document to sum up this project. I can try to do this but I know everyone else will get something out of this.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9u9E-LVWEVpo3hF5vyZ7pFw593SlzSHoTiyt8kjAf4/edit?usp=sharing

Off The Rails

I think converting Salty to an early Geep is a great idea. While I'm sure folks in different areas of the world will have different parts in mind, one possibility to consider is Cannon and Company, a small US manufacturer of HO scale (1/87) EMD body shell components. It looks they have most of the stuff you'd need to detail just about any post WW2 EMD cab unit.

DalaGStanator

Sorry, but Salty is too short for this, and has coupling rods. Also, the shorter part is actually his back, not the front. If you were to use him, the motor would have to run backwards and the coupling would have to be moved to what would normally be Salty's front. A much better option would be to use a (modified) Dunbar from the Chuggington line since the character is (loosely) based on a GP-38 and therefore is closer.

Good luck if you can find any Plarail Chuggers, though. Remember Ucwepn's VR B Class? That was made from two Wilsons, with one's cab at the end of the other.

Super

Or maybe get one of these DD-14's which runs, cab forward and maybe closer to what you are looking for..

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Off The Rails

DalaGStanator wrote
Sorry, but Salty is too short for this, and has coupling rods. Also, the shorter part is actually his back, not the front. If you were to use him, the motor would have to run backwards and the coupling would have to be moved to what would normally be Salty's front. A much better option would be to use a (modified) Dunbar from the Chuggington line since the character is (loosely) based on a GP-38 and therefore is closer....

Well, it clearly isn't going to be a dimensionally accurate scale model, so worrying too much about relative size is beside the point. Remember that these are toys and small switchers are depicted as being the same size as large road engines. Dunbar might make a fine later era Geep with a low short hood but appears to need more modeling work to get there. Salty's basic configuration appears to work for an early "high nose" Geep set up to run long hood forward (as was the practice on a number of US railroads).

Keep in mind too that UCWepn himself used a Salty to model a Victorian Railways T class, which is based on the EMD G8 and broadly similar to the GP series in real life. I think that worked out pretty well, don't you? So why dismiss another, similar conversion out of hand?

ROKMAN1445

Super wrote
Or maybe get one of these DD-14's which runs, cab forward and maybe closer to what you are looking for..

Now that I think about it, the DD14 look like a Baldwin VO660...

ROKMAN1445

I just remembered something: I have this 3D printing pen that a decaesed member of my family gave me. I haven't used it since she went off, maybe it's about time to use it!

ROKMAN1445

Off The Rails wrote
We worked out a trade and now the Tomy Salty is mine! I'm thinking maybe of converting mine into something similar to an EMD NW5 or Alco RS1.

The RS1 seems more realistic for Salty, as you would have the more kid-friendly look to it. The NW5 is a great idea too! What about the notch cut out before the cab on the long hood?

Off The Rails

ROKMAN1445 wrote
The RS1 seems more realistic for Salty, as you would have the more kid-friendly look to it. The NW5 is a great idea too! What about the notch cut out before the cab on the long hood?

Cutting the notch on the long hood would be cool but I'll probably skip it. Honestly, I just don't have facilities to do serious "hack n bash" modeling work anymore and my two little railfan assistants don't like to leave stuff alone. You should've seen the chaos a few days ago when I disassembled Salty and Dennis! :rolleyes: My primary goal with these two engines is to remove he faces and add details so they fit in with the rest of my locomotive roster. I'll leave the sapient machines for other railroads to deal with! 😃

ROKMAN1445

Off The Rails wrote
Cutting the notch on the long hood would be cool but I'll probably skip it. Honestly, I just don't have facilities to do serious "hack n bash" modeling work anymore and my two little railfan assistants don't like to leave stuff alone. You should've seen the chaos a few days ago when I disassembled Salty and Dennis! :rolleyes: My primary goal with these two engines is to remove he faces and add details so they fit in with the rest of my locomotive roster. I'll leave the sapient machines for other railroads to deal with! 😃

Well I can relate, my siblings rarely leave me alone when I'm at home.