Model Railroading > Take a weathering trip south of the border (FXE ES44AC)

Just sharing a few photos of my latest project, an HO scale InterMountain ES44AC dressed up in Ferromex's standout red, green, and white.

The prototype 4600 series Ferromex GEVos have been out now for almost 9 years, and the red paint has been showing signs of deterioration and some amount of fading, probably from sunlight and more eco-friendly paint alternatives. I mixed up a watery blend of red and white acrylic paints to create a thin pinkish wash that was then painted over all the red areas of the model, just to knock back the overall vibrance and tone a few ticks. Then the entire model received various levels of additional acrylic weathering washes, from lighter dusty browns, to flat black smudges around the exhaust, and intake grills. Two passes of Dullcote spray then to seal the deal.

The IM model is incorrect in at least one noticeable area, the roof access ladder on the fireman's side should not be there. Sometime in mid 2006, fairly early in GE's Evolution series production, they stopped producing units with the side ladders. Opting instead to have crew members climb up the inverter cabinet to access the roof. The grabs on the model pop off really easy though with a pair of tweezers, and just a few tiny dabs of custom mixed FXE green acrylic were needed to fill-in and eliminate the remaining mounting holes. A pair of the grabs were then relocated to just behind the cab window on the conductor's side, where they should be.

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The large and long-shanked #5 style Kadees were replaced with semi-scale short shank #153s, trip pins sniped off. A few additional paint touchups then applied, white caps on the dummy MU recipes, silvered ends for the MU and trainmen hoses. I'd still like to go back and add a pair of Details West spare knuckles on the back, the stock detail seems too small and flat. Lastly, the side windows on the cab were tinted black from the inside with a sharpie marker (makes a big difference!).

For a hundred bucks on Ebay (non-sound unit), I think I made out alright!

photos also here...
http://www.pbase.com/mrmrl/misc_pix

Mr. MRL

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That FXE unit is looking great bro

Posted from Android

Well done .....looks great....

Nice! I am working more on weathering my rolling stock. I would like one day to get this good at it.

SantaFeRuss

Very nice job on weathering and removing the side grabs and relocating them on your FXE unit.

Stanley Jackowski
Valrico, FL

Looking good Robbie. Love you work.

Ron Evans
Golden Valley, AZ