In response to a question from Forum member (Fridge56Vet) in another thread, I’m happy to post pictures of my recently completed Polar Railroad Snow Plow. It started as an MTH Jordan Spreader and with the advice of Forum Member Keith (Michigan & Ohio Valley Lines) I have made it a part of my North Pole lineup
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Before tackling the Snow Plow, I made 3 Polar Express modifications following Keith’s set-by-step instruction. The first was adding a lighted Conductor to one of the passenger cars. That was pretty easy.
The second was to add the Hobo/Ghost with flickering campfire to the roof of one of the passenger cars. That one was more difficult but Keith's instructions really eased any problems.
The third was to convert an RPO car. That is the most difficult and I’m still working on it.
After painting the RPO, I had plenty of Polar Express Blue paint leftover to use on the Snow Plow. The PE Blue is a custom mix of Floquil paints, but Keith had done the groundwork and his formula was a perfect match:
Polar Express Blue Formula (See below for Polar Railroad Blue)
• 4 parts Reefer Gray
• 1 part CSX Blue(GLOSS)
• slowly add Reefer White-not quite 1 part
The Maroon color is: Krylon Fusion 2425 Satin Burgundy
For the striping on the plow blades I chose Floquil CN Yellow #12
I finished the Snow Plow with a clear coat (50/50 mix of Floquil Crystal Cote and Flat.)
I made the water transfer decals in Photoshop and printed them on a inkjet printer. After a long dry I sprayed them with a decal sealer and let that dry as well. After transferred to the Snow Plow and dried, they got a coat of Dull Cote. The Decals were easy as long as I allowed for very long dry times at each step. The slightest short cut would lead to separated colors and running ink.
There were two big mistakes I made in this project: The first was believing the Krylon label that said “No Sanding or Priming”. My first attempts to paint the Tank and the Spreader Blades ended with slumping, sagging paint that would not adhere to the surface. Next time around I will wash and Prime everything.
My second big mistake was not realizing that Polar Express Blue is NOT the same color as Polar Railroad Blue. PRR Blue is noticeably lighter. Of course, I didn’t notice that until I hooked up the Snow Plow to the Polar Railroad GP7 for the first time. Fortunately I hadn’t applied the decals, and it was a pretty simple recoat with the correct paint. I found that Model Masters 4847 US NAVYBLUE GRAY M 485 was a very good, if not perfect match.
Emile
. I love the wide yellow stripes on the plow.
