| EJ&E SD38 TALE OF A SOWS EAR |
02/24/2007
Warren Calloway collection
Used with Warren Calloway's permission
Used with Warren Calloway's permission
I know the title to this article appears a bit comical. You may be asking "How can the locomotive in the photo above be considered a sows ear?". To answer your
question, the sows ear is not the locomotive in the photo above. In fact, the SD38 is probably my all time favorite locomotive. The sows ear is the model I am using
as a base for this article and believe me, calling it a sows ear is being kind! The photo above is just a fine representation of the mighty SD38 I am going to build.
The sows ear in question is the Athearn SD38. Now I am not being paid by any means or given special treatment from Athearn with free models and such so I can
be critical of what they offer or for that matter what any manufacturer offers. I am not on any payroll or in any back pocket. This is my personal opinion as a
prototype modeler. Granted, Athearn is not in the business to please anal prototype modelers. They are in the business of selling toy trains and models such as
the warmed over RPP SD38 probably helps their bottom line very well. As you will see, I bought one too. Although I think $89.95 is WAY to much for this far from
high tech technology shell. I will say this though. Athearn did a good job of trying to spruce up this model. They did a lot of things right to it, but for me, it just does
not make the mark. Yes, I know I am being very critical here, but this locomotive is my favorite and important to my collection. It would have been great to have it in
their Genesis line. I will be building a few of these with my own special brand of kit bashing and scratch building later.
So what makes the Athearn (RPP) SD38 a "SOWS EAR" in my opinion and personal rant. Let me show you.
question, the sows ear is not the locomotive in the photo above. In fact, the SD38 is probably my all time favorite locomotive. The sows ear is the model I am using
as a base for this article and believe me, calling it a sows ear is being kind! The photo above is just a fine representation of the mighty SD38 I am going to build.
The sows ear in question is the Athearn SD38. Now I am not being paid by any means or given special treatment from Athearn with free models and such so I can
be critical of what they offer or for that matter what any manufacturer offers. I am not on any payroll or in any back pocket. This is my personal opinion as a
prototype modeler. Granted, Athearn is not in the business to please anal prototype modelers. They are in the business of selling toy trains and models such as
the warmed over RPP SD38 probably helps their bottom line very well. As you will see, I bought one too. Although I think $89.95 is WAY to much for this far from
high tech technology shell. I will say this though. Athearn did a good job of trying to spruce up this model. They did a lot of things right to it, but for me, it just does
not make the mark. Yes, I know I am being very critical here, but this locomotive is my favorite and important to my collection. It would have been great to have it in
their Genesis line. I will be building a few of these with my own special brand of kit bashing and scratch building later.
So what makes the Athearn (RPP) SD38 a "SOWS EAR" in my opinion and personal rant. Let me show you.
Look at the battery box latches. They are just plain gross! Also,
look what is trying to be passed off as a louver on the lead
access panel. That is just not right.
I know, I know. This can easily be replaced with a Cannon & Co.
cab sub base kit. OK, lets say we do that. In fact lets go one
better and do the whole front end. Nose, cab sub base and cab.
WOW, now we have a really nice state of the art front end.
Beautiful latches and accurate louvers. If all we were going to
look at was the front end, I would say we were set. BUT, lets take
a good close look at the next photo.....................................
look what is trying to be passed off as a louver on the lead
access panel. That is just not right.
I know, I know. This can easily be replaced with a Cannon & Co.
cab sub base kit. OK, lets say we do that. In fact lets go one
better and do the whole front end. Nose, cab sub base and cab.
WOW, now we have a really nice state of the art front end.
Beautiful latches and accurate louvers. If all we were going to
look at was the front end, I would say we were set. BUT, lets take
a good close look at the next photo.....................................
...................OUCH! We have to contend with those same butt
ugly latches on the hood and radiator doors. So lets continue
with the idea of a full Cannon & Co. front end. Now you have that
beautiful front end and these ugly hood doors. What do we do
about them? Cut them out and replace with Cannon doors? That
is a whole lot of work and you are best to just scrape the whole
hood and build your own from styrene and Cannon parts. Now
you have defeated the whole purpose of buying this model. Now
it boils down to you paying almost $100.00 for a frame and drive
system.
Lets take a good look at another part of this "SOWS EAR".
Please direct your attention to the next photo.
ugly latches on the hood and radiator doors. So lets continue
with the idea of a full Cannon & Co. front end. Now you have that
beautiful front end and these ugly hood doors. What do we do
about them? Cut them out and replace with Cannon doors? That
is a whole lot of work and you are best to just scrape the whole
hood and build your own from styrene and Cannon parts. Now
you have defeated the whole purpose of buying this model. Now
it boils down to you paying almost $100.00 for a frame and drive
system.
Lets take a good look at another part of this "SOWS EAR".
Please direct your attention to the next photo.
What the heck is this locomotive being used for? Crashing
through walls? If that pilot was prototype thickness, it would be
over 3" thick! That is a hefty pilot. So how do we fix this. Well, you
can cut it off and build a new one from sheet styrene. You can
sand it thinner. Both of which are going to be a heck of a lot of
work and not to mention rebuilding the steps. Which I am going to
do anyway :-).
I won't even begin to mention anything about the decorated
models other than I think Athearn is using road striping paint to
decorate them.
through walls? If that pilot was prototype thickness, it would be
over 3" thick! That is a hefty pilot. So how do we fix this. Well, you
can cut it off and build a new one from sheet styrene. You can
sand it thinner. Both of which are going to be a heck of a lot of
work and not to mention rebuilding the steps. Which I am going to
do anyway :-).
I won't even begin to mention anything about the decorated
models other than I think Athearn is using road striping paint to
decorate them.
One other thing about this model that is off. This is something
that is very easy to fix with a Cannon & Co. part and only
someone knowledgeable with the differences in a particular
locomotive would know. Take a look at this photo. It is of course
the inertial filter hatch. This is what comes with the model and is
what is put on all the Athearn decorated SD38's.
I ask you, what is wrong with it? It looks pretty nice. Almost
rendered as well as the Cannon part. Why would I want to
replace this?
OK, I will tell you. It is an SD40 inertial filter hatch. For an SD38,
the vent needs to be on the other side. As I said, Athearn did
some right things with this model. One of them is to cast a lot of
the details as separate parts. The inertial filter hatch being one
of those individual details and one that can now easily be
replaced with the correct Cannon & Co. part.
that is very easy to fix with a Cannon & Co. part and only
someone knowledgeable with the differences in a particular
locomotive would know. Take a look at this photo. It is of course
the inertial filter hatch. This is what comes with the model and is
what is put on all the Athearn decorated SD38's.
I ask you, what is wrong with it? It looks pretty nice. Almost
rendered as well as the Cannon part. Why would I want to
replace this?
OK, I will tell you. It is an SD40 inertial filter hatch. For an SD38,
the vent needs to be on the other side. As I said, Athearn did
some right things with this model. One of them is to cast a lot of
the details as separate parts. The inertial filter hatch being one
of those individual details and one that can now easily be
replaced with the correct Cannon & Co. part.
So now you might be angry at me for being so critical of Athearns SD38 offering. I am sure some of you reading this may be saying that I should shut up and just
be happy that they even offered it. Some of you might be saying that if I do not like it, vote with my wallet and don't buy it. So why did I buy it? I bought it because
of this reason. I spend a lot of time building one model. Sometimes it can take me almost a year to complete one model. I build my models for RPM meets. That is
the part of model railroading that I enjoy. But I also want to have some "CLUB RUNNER" models. As much as I detest how awful this model is, from a few feet back,
all those discrepancies are no longer visible. Yeah, I would add the details I like, but that is just because I like to "BUILD" models. Some of those details you will not
be able to see and some you will.
The purpose of this project was not do a full Cannon job on it, but to make it into a respectable runner. My attempt was to tone down the "SOWS EAR" with some
minor detailing, a good paint job and weathering. I was not planning on replacing the nose, sub base or possibly the cab. I did not plan on replacing the long hood
end. I did not want to break the continuity of the ugliness. From about 2 1/2 feet to 3 feet away the model would look the part. From RPM viewing distances, bring
your barf bag. But as fate would intervene again, I found reasons to fall down that slope again. But I must add that the added steps I have now unduced on this
project are not all that difficult to attain and not all that time consuming. Or of course I could just go with my original plan and build it as it is. Only the next couple of
pages will answer that question :-).
Time to stop my rant and start getting real about building this model. I still want to build it as a club runner, but I think now it will be respectable enough to bring it to
RPM meets as well. I think I will leave the title of this article the same. It represents the distaste I have for the warmed over RPP SD38. I am sure because of it, we
will never see a true state of the art SD38.
be happy that they even offered it. Some of you might be saying that if I do not like it, vote with my wallet and don't buy it. So why did I buy it? I bought it because
of this reason. I spend a lot of time building one model. Sometimes it can take me almost a year to complete one model. I build my models for RPM meets. That is
the part of model railroading that I enjoy. But I also want to have some "CLUB RUNNER" models. As much as I detest how awful this model is, from a few feet back,
all those discrepancies are no longer visible. Yeah, I would add the details I like, but that is just because I like to "BUILD" models. Some of those details you will not
be able to see and some you will.
The purpose of this project was not do a full Cannon job on it, but to make it into a respectable runner. My attempt was to tone down the "SOWS EAR" with some
minor detailing, a good paint job and weathering. I was not planning on replacing the nose, sub base or possibly the cab. I did not plan on replacing the long hood
end. I did not want to break the continuity of the ugliness. From about 2 1/2 feet to 3 feet away the model would look the part. From RPM viewing distances, bring
your barf bag. But as fate would intervene again, I found reasons to fall down that slope again. But I must add that the added steps I have now unduced on this
project are not all that difficult to attain and not all that time consuming. Or of course I could just go with my original plan and build it as it is. Only the next couple of
pages will answer that question :-).
Time to stop my rant and start getting real about building this model. I still want to build it as a club runner, but I think now it will be respectable enough to bring it to
RPM meets as well. I think I will leave the title of this article the same. It represents the distaste I have for the warmed over RPP SD38. I am sure because of it, we
will never see a true state of the art SD38.
After I first published this page, I got to thinking. Yes, that slippery slope started creeping up on me. So I got to thinking. How could I really turn these gross details
into something really nice. My first SD38 that I built came to mind. Actually the original idea was given to me by my friend Brian Everett. When I built my first SD38
kit bash, a Penn Central SD38 back around 2000, Brian suggested using the Atlas GP38 hood. I did this using the Kato SD40 as a base. The kit bask worked
great. So I thought why not try that with this model. The experimenting was looking good until I placed the dynamic brake hatch on the Atlas shell. Take a look at
the next photo.
into something really nice. My first SD38 that I built came to mind. Actually the original idea was given to me by my friend Brian Everett. When I built my first SD38
kit bash, a Penn Central SD38 back around 2000, Brian suggested using the Atlas GP38 hood. I did this using the Kato SD40 as a base. The kit bask worked
great. So I thought why not try that with this model. The experimenting was looking good until I placed the dynamic brake hatch on the Atlas shell. Take a look at
the next photo.
Look at that gap at the back end of the dynamic brake hatch.
That is approximately a 1/16" gap. How could this be? Where the
error. The error in the dynamic brake hatch of course starts with
the oh so ever accurate RPP hood. Yes, that state of the art RPP
hood. If the RPP shell had the correct engine room door size and
spacing, then the dynamic brake hatch would have been built the
correct length.
OK, so I'm are not dead in the water yet. How can I fix this. It
appears one of the problems is the PAF box is to short front to
back. I could build a new PAF box. What I am trying to do is avoid
rebuilding the blister part of the DB hatch. The PAF box is short
by about 0.030". I compared it to a Kato SD38-2 PAF box which I
compared to a prototype photo that my friend Lee Stewart sent
me. The Kato PAF box looks dead on for length. The true size of
the gap is 0.062". The difference between the correct length
Kato PAF box and the Athearn PAF box is 0.048". So I take
0.048" away from 0.062" and come up with a gap of 0.014". This
actually looks livable and promising because of one thing. Look
at the photo to the left. See how the batten strip abuts the rear of
the taper. Well on the prototype this does not happen. There is
roughly and this is an estimate, but there is roughly between 1"
and 2" of space between the taper and the batten strip. So this
might actually work where I can use the Atlas long hood and
really build a respectable model. I think I just fell down that
slippery slope. I only need to build a simple PAF box.
That is approximately a 1/16" gap. How could this be? Where the
error. The error in the dynamic brake hatch of course starts with
the oh so ever accurate RPP hood. Yes, that state of the art RPP
hood. If the RPP shell had the correct engine room door size and
spacing, then the dynamic brake hatch would have been built the
correct length.
OK, so I'm are not dead in the water yet. How can I fix this. It
appears one of the problems is the PAF box is to short front to
back. I could build a new PAF box. What I am trying to do is avoid
rebuilding the blister part of the DB hatch. The PAF box is short
by about 0.030". I compared it to a Kato SD38-2 PAF box which I
compared to a prototype photo that my friend Lee Stewart sent
me. The Kato PAF box looks dead on for length. The true size of
the gap is 0.062". The difference between the correct length
Kato PAF box and the Athearn PAF box is 0.048". So I take
0.048" away from 0.062" and come up with a gap of 0.014". This
actually looks livable and promising because of one thing. Look
at the photo to the left. See how the batten strip abuts the rear of
the taper. Well on the prototype this does not happen. There is
roughly and this is an estimate, but there is roughly between 1"
and 2" of space between the taper and the batten strip. So this
might actually work where I can use the Atlas long hood and
really build a respectable model. I think I just fell down that
slippery slope. I only need to build a simple PAF box.
It would be nice if I did not have to build a new PAF box and the Athearn/RPP DB hatch would just drop in, but that would be asking way to much to have accurate
parts. Besides, then it would not be kit bashing, would it?
Though the slippery slope caught me, the fix is not so difficult and would probably take one weekends worth of modeling or less. The Atlas hood will look much
better and I have some ideas on how to fix the pilots that would not take to long either. Now all this would not be necessary if Athearn would have just taken the
time to offer us a state of the art model. The SD38 is a beautiful locomotive. Oh well, I'll see what I can do to bring this otherwise sad looking model to life.
parts. Besides, then it would not be kit bashing, would it?
Though the slippery slope caught me, the fix is not so difficult and would probably take one weekends worth of modeling or less. The Atlas hood will look much
better and I have some ideas on how to fix the pilots that would not take to long either. Now all this would not be necessary if Athearn would have just taken the
time to offer us a state of the art model. The SD38 is a beautiful locomotive. Oh well, I'll see what I can do to bring this otherwise sad looking model to life.
ATLAS GP38 HOOD
