# Aristocraft Santa Fe Dash-9 detailing question.



## Dieselguy (Apr 29, 2010)

Hi Folks,


I was able to unbox and view the sheer beauty of the Aristo Santa Fe (#600) Dash-9 today. It is a really nice model and I was pleasantly surprised at how well the screen-vents, etc are done. I do have a question about adding some detail that I'd like to see on the model. In the link below, there is an image of the Loco that I sourced off the web and I have circled the areas of question. 


Santa Fe Dash-9 44CW 

1. Could someone educate me as to what the Wheel is that I have circled in blue? I see that wheel on the actual photos of this engine, but it is not part of what Aristo replicated. If there is an aftermarket part for that wheel, I'd appreciate knowing that too.


2. The other area that I circled in blue are 4 placards that run across the upper rear area of the engine (both sides). I have no idea what they said and have had no luck seeing a close-up photo of them. I've created my own decals in the past for other modeling projects and would be interested in trying to recreate those placards, but I'd have to know what was on them. If anyone has any of that information about those placards or any others that are not included on the model, please let me know.


Thanks,

Rick 




http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/texinga/Dash-9drawing.jpg


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Hi Rick, 
I believe the circle is the loco's hand brake, it's on the fireman's side. 

The other I duno. 

John


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## Dieselguy (Apr 29, 2010)

Thanks John...I had wondered if it was a hand-brake. There is a small circular indention/depression right there on the model as if Aristocraft may have created a spot to glue on the hand-brake. The model is so well detailed in many other respects, I was a bit surprised that they left off the brake and some of the other placards that could have been added. In this scale the placards are pretty readable and would have been cool to see. 



The mold on this model and added detail are so well done the model could make a handsome display even if you decided never to run it. Given some detail information, I could easily be tempted to super-detail this Dash-9 to add what Aristo had to choose not to do. The hand-rails all fitted perfectly without any hole-enlarging needed. The (3) antennas on top of the cab were too thick to fit into the pre-cut slots in the cab. A little filing of the material form the sides of the antenna mounting blades was all that was needed. I had to glue the window sunshades because they were too loose to stay in place and was pleased to see a full backup set of the sunshades and wind deflectors included with the model. 


The radiator grills and various screens on the sides are some of the best model replication that I've seen. I think the silver body color of this particular Dash-9 really works well as a backdrop to those screens. I was afraid that the silver screens would be lost amid all that silver body color surrounding them. But, there is a perfectly done color difference between the screens and the silver body color such that the screens stand out and look real. 

I'm very pleased with this model to say the least.

Rick


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Diesel Guy - Ozark Miniatures used to have a range of after-market add-on detail parts for the Aristo Dash 9 [and many other larger diesels], including plows, MU connectors, speedos brake wheels and so on. They were originally made by the craftsman John McGuyer, who, I bleeve, passed all his patterns on to OM a few years ago.

One of most respected but rarer posters, Mr Eric Ogundipe [a real-life engineer], did an article on super-detailing a Dash 9, as well as scratch-building his own six-axle diesel. This latter article was published in GR a couple of years ago, I recall. 

tac
www.ovgrs.orf
Supporter of the Cape Meares Lighthouse Restoration Fund


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## Dieselguy (Apr 29, 2010)

Thanks for that reference Tac. 

When you mentioned the article in GR, was that "Garden Railways Magazine"? I went to their website, used their "search back issues" tool all the way back to Feb 1999 using Eric's last name. The only article it returned was one that he did on the "Chopper II" product. I also tried doing a search using "Dash-9", but only turned up a product review by John Welther back in Aug 2004. I would certainly like to locate that article though. 

Rick


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## Dieselguy (Apr 29, 2010)

Just a quick note that Aristocraft speaks to the missing Brake Wheel in the "Instruction Manual". They said that "Our model is patterned after a locomotive having electronic brakes and has no external brake wheel". When I was searching through all the photos in RailPictures.net (for detailing ideas and real train photos), I never found an ATSF Dash-9 44CW that was without that Brake Wheel. I looked all the way from the number 600 (which is the model I have) through the lower 700 series numbers and never saw an example of what Aristocraft says they used as their "pattern". The aftermarket detail parts for that Brake Wheel at places like Ozark Miniatures do not appear to be correct for that 8-spoke brake wheel, so I may give it a go of trying to make my own. Just to be clear, this is not a rivet-counting complaint about Aristocraft's fine model, just some observations based upon what I found in my quest to add a bit more detail to the model.


Rick


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Dieselguy on 02 Jun 2010 07:17 AM 
Just a quick note that Aristocraft speaks to the missing Brake Wheel in the "Instruction Manual". They said that "Our model is patterned after a locomotive having electronic brakes and has no external brake wheel". When I was searching through all the photos in RailPictures.net (for detailing ideas and real train photos), I never found an ATSF Dash-9 44CW that was without that Brake Wheel. I looked all the way from the number 600 (which is the model I have) through the lower 700 series numbers and never saw an example of what Aristocraft says they used as their "pattern". The aftermarket detail parts for that Brake Wheel at places like Ozark Miniatures do not appear to be correct for that 8-spoke brake wheel, so I may give it a go of trying to make my own. Just to be clear, this is not a rivet-counting complaint about Aristocraft's fine model, just some observations based upon what I found in my quest to add a bit more detail to the model.


Rick 





Rick,
its quite possible there are NO Santa Fe Dash-9's without that brake wheel..
when Aristo said "Our model is patterned after a locomotive having electronic brakes and has no external brake wheel" they didnt mean ATSF specifically..
they simply meant a dash-9 without the brake wheel in general..
then they paint up all the different roadnames, but dont necessarily make sure each paintscheme has roadname-specific details..
this is nothing new..its as old as model railroading itself! 
Most manufacturers make a "common" version of the loco in question, but dont necessarily worry about prototype-specific details..

So its probable you will never find a photo of an ATSF unit without that wheel!
they might not exist..

Scot


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## Dieselguy (Apr 29, 2010)

Scot, 

Thanks for the advice and it makes sense to me having collected and built variety of models over the years. I'm so happy with all the other prototypical detail that Aristocraft did do on the model, that this thing is really no concern. It will be a good opportunity for me to dust off my modeling skills to create that wheel. I have always liked the custom detailing and creative aspects of modeling (whether it's a ship, aircraft or train). To add something that was not there is the fun for me, so that is why I didn't want anyone to think that I was complaining about Aristocraft. 

Rick


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

You might try using a SD4 brake wheel. If you can find a diesel spotters guide you may find some -9 without the brake wheel. Later RJD


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## Dieselguy (Apr 29, 2010)

RJD, 

You'll have to forgive my ignorance of trains. What is the SD4? Were you suggesting an an aftermarket brake wheel or a kitbash of an existing model? 

Thanks, 

Rick


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

SD45 

Greg


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## Dieselguy (Apr 29, 2010)

OK...thank-you Greg. Your site has some closeups of that very brake wheel on the SD-45. I see that the SD-45 has a 6-spoke wheel instead of the 8-spoke I've seen on the Dash-9 photos....but whose countin'.









Rick


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## Dieselguy (Apr 29, 2010)

I think I may have found a suitable template/mold exhibit for the 8-spoke brake wheel on the Dash-9. I was viewing pics of the USA Trains 4 Bay Hoppers over at Greg Elmassian's site and whala, there on the end of the Hopper was a brake wheel that looks very similar to the one I'd like to add to my ATSF Dash-9.

Hopper Brake Wheel 

I know that I will have at least one of these terrific USA Trains 4-Bay Hoppers in my collection. So, I'm thinking that I could possibly use the Brake Wheel from the Hopper as a pattern, or temporarily remove it and use it in a mold to make another one for my own use.

Just thought I'd share this possible find in case anyone else is considering the same thing.

Rick


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

Try this site, This kid does great work.

www.haworthengineering.com


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## Dieselguy (Apr 29, 2010)

Thanks for that link Nick. That fellow is a talented modeler. I saw that he added the brake wheel to his Dash-9 among many other interesting details. 

Good stuff... 

Rick


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