Here is a video from the owner Mig Jimenez of AK interactive demonstrating how to use the enamel washes.

When I’m done with removing any unwanted wash and clean off the Q-tip fuzz, I glue the Cannon fans in place with CA. I do twist the Cannon blades prior to cementing them on. Next, I use some AK Dust effects and apply it sparingly along the whole body, cab and inside the fans. This is a dirty grey wash that is heavy in pigment, so you need to take it easy and not overdo it. I use the damp flat brush with spirit on it and start drawing the wash downwards after 30 minutes of dry time. I eventually blend the wash from the roof line down. Depending on how much dust or fade you want, this should be done in steps after letting the wash before it dry completely. It does a nice job of adding some fade to the paint just like dust does. I do leave streaks here and there for that rain streak look. But all in all, I blend the wash on the body with some spots a little heavier than other. Prototype colored pictures do come in handy as weathering aids when doing this.

Back to the fans, I wash over the fan caps with some dirty black just too high light some details. Next, I tape off the top angled edges of the cab roof, and use the airbrush with a mix of dirty brown Floquil wash; I lightly dust the top of the entire roof. I also dusted the grilles of the fans and misted lightly along the battery boxes. I then spray some dirty black Floquil wash lightly around the exhaust stack. I leave the body dry for an hour and remove the tape from the cab. When the fan grilles dry, I cut them from their tree and use thin CA to glue them down.

Now I’m going to take some AK Streaking grime and lightly dab it at the edge of the cab roof line where it was taped off. I’m going to draw the wash down the cab roof to show rain streaks of dirt coming off the roof line and tint that area. Apply as much or as little as needed. Do allow at least an hour of dry time for blending. When I’m done, the body needs to dry thoroughly for 2 nights.

For the deck, I went a little further on the washes and other weathering choices. When doing the inside of the step wells, the weathering should match what you see on the trucks and under the frame. With the steps and parts of the walkway, I created some wear from walking. The tops of diamond plate don’t hold paint very well on the steps and the surface areas of the walkways are a magnet for dirt and wear. I also painted a light dry brush of aluminum in certain areas that would see wear from walking. When the silver dried, I washed over that with dirty grime to tone the silver down flow in between the tread, it makes it more natural.

I then blend the weathering of the deck to match dust blown up by the trucks and add some light rain streaks of grime. I also spray the ends of the pilots with blackish dirt with a light brown. I also do the plow and drop steps separately. For the stanchions, I use the AK streaking grime to tone them down and highlight the stanchion details. When this finished, let the deck dry also.

When the body has dried, I remove the cab so I can finish the interior and some other details. I will add glass when its time. I added wind deflectors to the cab. I used DW #354.

As far as the cab interior goes, I didn't use the stock Kato. I made my own interior using a combination of Cannons #1554 interior and PSC #39050 control stand. For the interior base, I just used the sub base of the Kato battery boxes. I did use Cannons floor to help locate seats and control stands. I set the Cannon floor on the Kato sub base and drilled #66 holes for the seat and drilled a hole to mark where the control stand will go. Then I flipped the Cannon base around to drill for the second control stand and seat.
I assembled the control stand from Cannon and I made a backing plate for the PSC control stand using .005 styrene. I then painted both control stands black. I assembled the cab seats from the Cannon kit and I removed the arm rests. I don’t care much for that detail. I painted the seats black also. From the Cannon kit, I used the front nose panel and the rear electrical panel. I trimmed down the front panel to sit inside the cab and glued it on with CA.


Next I glued the electrical panel to the body with CA. I painted both panels suede gray. I also painted the floor of the Kato sub base dark gray. Next, I opened up the holes in the floor to accept the control stands. I used the PSC for the secondary stand. When I was happy with the fit, I used CA to glue these down. I then cemented the seats in place. I used a Kato cab I had lying around to make sure the cab would fit and there was no interference from the seats.

Also, just to point out, looking at the top of the electrical cabinet, I notched out the center just enough to let the head lights slip through.

With the interior done and out of the way, and being satisfied with the weathering results, it’s time to seal coat the body, cab and deck again. I sprayed the same satin finish I used to seal the body before weathering, which is a lacquer. As I mentioned earlier, you just can’t spray lacquer over enamel, it can lift the enamel off the shell. What you need to do is make sure you spray at just enough distance to allow the lacquer to slightly evaporate in the air. In other words, you can’t apply the overcoat really wet. You need to apply several light coats allowing at least 4 minutes in between coats. This gives the lacquer enough time to flash off before the next coat. After sealing the weathering, I let all parts dry until I can’t smell the thinner anymore.

Now there is one thing I would like to share with you, something I picked up from what some military modelers are doing. That is thinning acrylic paints and reducing the heat from lacquers, with a lacquer thinner made by Tamiya.
Tamiya Lacquer thinner is mainly a mix of alcohol solvents with MIBK. Not MEK. MIBK is Methyl Isobutyl Ketone. Because of the MIBK still has some lacquer qualities in the mix, the solvent is still considered a lacquer, but it isn't a hot thinner like regular lacquer. I read articles of military modelers using the Tamiya in their acrylic paints like Tamiya’s brand of acrylics. But I read nothing of it being used in Model Master Acrylic. So, I mixed up some Model Master Acrylic and thinned it with Tamiya. Let it be known, I hate the way acrylics spray, period! To my surprise, it worked really well! The mix never clogged the tip. And I never prepped the shell either, just sprayed the mix on. The paint went on very smooth and after several months, it has not lifted or flaked. And, I could have gloss coated the shell the next day because there was no major odor and the paint was defiantly dry. Too bad it was a scrap shell; I was really amazed with the results. I’m going to continue my experiment with painting a hopper and using some other brand of acrylic. I’ll share those results once I’m done.

So the Tamiya thinner can be used in lacquer paints, some acrylics and does mix in with regular Floquil. I haven’t tried it yet with Scalecoat or any enamels. So if you decide to get a bottle of this thinner, experiment first to make sure it’s compatible with your brand of paint.

Assembly and Final details


I must admit, as I was finishing this project, I made a change in stride to upgrade the cab interior. I was just going to plop in the Kato interior, but I just couldn't do it. A little voice in my head kept beating me up to make that upgrade, or I wasn't going to be a happy camper. So that’s how that came about so late in the build.

As far as the cab itself goes, there were only a few final details that needed to wait until the end. So to wrap this part of the project up, I replaced the Kato windows with AMB #309 which are flush mounting. I only used the 4 small windows from the kit in combination with the clear laser cut windows from the Cannon kit for the front windows. I used Future floor wax as the glue for the extended cab windows. The AMB windows are a press fit but I still used future to make sure they’re secured. Future is one of those Military Modeler tricks for gluing canopies down. Future also works for adding all lenses and scratch repair on your cab windows. As for the side windows, I left them open to help show off the interior. If I would have kept the Kato interior, I would have closed windows. Next I added arm rests on both sides using strip styrene .010 x .060 x .395, I rounded the corners on the outside edges and painted them flat black. A little dab of CA was used to glue it down. I also painted flat black around the inside of the windows since they will be left open.

For the headlights front and rear, I used DA #1709 clear headlight lenses. For the rear hood, I had to open up the Kato headlights with a #46 drill bit. A few gentle twists are all that is needed. I glued all four in place with future.

The last detail I added was the clear MV #300 lenses for the class lights and glued those in place with Future also.
I assembled the frame and drive train and set up the DCC and made sure the engine was going to run. I added lights and verified everything was good.
I assembled the deck and body. With the frame ready, I set up the front and rear headlights in the shell and mounted the body and deck to the frame. Next I took the cab and attached the lights for the front headlight and set the cab in place on the shell. Now, I placed the engine on my test track and checked headlight functions one more time.

Next I use CA and glue the stanchions to the body. I Hand bent my railings from .012 brass rod and used a scale drawing as a bending template. I did these in sections for ease of application. For the railing sections that attach to the cab, once bent and checked for proper angles, I drilled #80 holes through the cab and used CA to lock them down. I join all sections of railing in the middle of the stanchions with thin CA.

Once all railings are on and set up, I hand paint them with Floquil Reefer Yellow. I let the railings dry overnight. I use a light dust wash for the railings and stanchions but spotty to match the weathering on the deck and body. I then lightly paint the tops of the railings down to the steps with a brush and some Future. These would be a little shiny from hands sliding across them. I do the same with the Future around the door entry’s and a few other locations where work is being done on the locomotive. I also do any minor paint touch up at this time.

Next, I use DA # 2316 windshield wipers for the center windows and f or the door windows I used the A-line #29200 long wiper. I then painted them with Model Masters steel. When dry enough, I paint dullcote over top of them to flatten the paint. When they dry completely I will add them to the cab with a little CA.