Hey everyone, while working on some shorting issues I had with my NS SD70 I did some cosmetic work on it. for some time I wanted to see if I could install some ground lights on an MTH diesel, at first I. Thought I could wire 2 additional LEDs in series from the interior light feed, but that was not possible since the output was not enough for even 3 LEDs (1 for interior and 2 foe the grounds) any way I decided to used the interior lighting output for the ground lights. I used surface mount LEDs and esu's thin cable (highly recommend it). i also replaced the two engineers with two figures that look more scale to me, the mth ones sit too high and are literally cloned for every loco. I also did some interior decorattion and kitbashed the cab camera. Finally, playing around with some plastic sheet and a tinted acetate I came up with these tinted windows, I like them because they fit more flush to the frame and they hide the mth interior, which is not the most attractive to say the least. Anyway hope you find some of this useful in some way.
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The new windows look nice as does the rusty wheels. I guess you don't want to dirty up the super structure a little.?
Phill
Very nice work.
That looks great, I really like the LEDs. I purchased a few to try, just haven't had a chance to work on them. Been laying track and haven't had a chance to mess around with anything else.
Thank you for sharing your pictures.
That looks great.
thanks guys. Phill, I have two much on my plate to tackle weathering right now. Definitely in the future when I get an airbrush and some practice.
Indeed, very nice upgrades to provide a more realistic effect!
I'm hoping in the future that MTH does this standard on their diesels.
You and me both!
Very nice!
I'm a fan of ground lights. I think it's about time that Atlas and MTH start incorporating them into their engines.
Glad to see you guys are into it. For a long time the intensity of the ditch and headlights on the ps3 engines has bother me, too dim. So Last week I did two more things to this unit, I upgraded the lighting and covered the hand rail extensions on the front and rear with a copper stripe. It does the trick if you ask me. For the lights I reused the LEDs as they are fairly warm, the trick is to remove the lens, gently drill with a 1/8 and insert the led. If you don't drill the led won't come all the way in. I've seen someone do it on youtube with out the drilling and the LEDs stick out and it's not very satisfying. When the lights are off you do see the some yellow as part of the back of the LEDs, but I can live with that.
Out of the box led position, the led is facing upwards! You can also see the copper stripe covering the extensions. Not the most elegant solution, but it works without too much modifications or drilling.
You'll also have to drill the headlight housing
If you own a ps3 sd70, you'll see the difference.
Rule 17
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A pic of the same model from a couple of years ago. Believe it or not in this pic, the ditch lights were on.
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Really looks amazing!
thanks guys, I just posted this video on my channel and made sure to get running action (and a quick night run), it starts at 8:20. In case you wanna see the loco with these mods.
Thanks bud! That's my favorite engine btw. Glad you liked it.