MLW RS18 Madness - Part 11

Three  RS-18 out of four are now ready to visit the paint shop.

Detailing is now complete including handrails, grabirons and other such things. Since the bells on 3600 series locomotives aren't similar to other series of RS-18, I had to scratchbuilt mine using brass bells salvaged from FA units.

For one locomotive, I didn't have a brass bell thus I decided to make mine out of a sprue. Didn't take a long time and won't be noticeable when dry.

Another custom detail is class lights. They are seldom modelled by people when they convert RS-11 to RS-18, but I feel they are required. I made mine by setting row of small resin dots on a silicone mold. When the dots were dry and flatten, I applied them to the locomotive hoods using CA glue. Since controlling the size of each dot isn't easy, I made much more dots than required and selected the best ones from the lot.

Some people will find out that I didn't care installing rerailers on the engine sills. That's right and not a mistake. After studying all pictures available on CNRphotos.com, I came to the conclusion that around 1968-1972 and often later, none were in place. I don't know the exact reason, but I decided to follow the prototype. Also, at that time, no all-weather cab extensions were installed. That will bring some variety to the fleet.

Meanwhile, I ordered a new RS-11 cab from Atlas. There was some issues with the resin cab and since Atlas shipping fees are insanely low, it was a good deal. Until I get the parts to finish this unit, I intend to paint the 3 other ones.