Re: Custom repainting engines?

There are a lot of custom painters out there.  I would reach out to Wowak on the forum here.  If he doesn't want to take it on, I've heard of others using:  

http://trainsemporium.com/custom%20painting.htm

 

Good luck. 

 Can be. A competent painter will charge a base fee, another for each additional color.  Complex masking ups the cost. Are decals even available for what you want? Is the model you are commissioning to be repainted need to be stripped? No custom painter worth their salt will paint over an existing paint job.

  Yes, when I was young and reckless and buying unpainted brass locomotives I once paid the cost of the model in a paint job for it.

  See examples of their work and get an estimate.

The best I have seen, Harry Hieke, gets $200.00 per A unit. Other jobs may be more. There is a custom painter out west that charges way more. Harry's work is flawless. There is a guy who advertises in the TCA magazine, and another in the back of CTT magazine.

Rob

A Milwaukee Road diesel would be very easy to paint.  The decals are available from

Micro Scale for $11.95 and the orange and black is available in most auto parts stores in rattle cans.  There's plenty of good help here to get you started on the right track.  If you mess it up no problem starting over again.  Go for it.

Thanks Everyone. I may end up doing this project with a pretty serious & hardcore model guy who can easily do the work well. I will keep you posted.

 

Regards,

 

Ron W.

I model the Milwaukee on O & HO.  If you want to see some of my models I have painted I can take a few pics.  I need to complete my GP30 & SD40-2 projects soon.  However a customers Royal American Show's train is first, seven Heavy weight passanger cars are almost done so far

Hello Mike,

 

Thanks for the reply. This is just a project I was considering on doing. I didn't buy the donor engine yet.

 

Sure, if isn't too much trouble, please e-mail direct a few MR pics of your work at:

 

epfan12000@yahoo.com

 

Regards,

 

Ron W.

There is a custom painter out west that charges way more. Harry's work is flawless.

BPO

Not that I don't love the plug, but paint work isn't really my forte, the physical modifications are.  My paint work is passable, and always getting better, but I'm by no means the best around here!

harrys work is flawless?

http://oscalemag.com/wordpress/the-sows-ear/

Thanks for posting that link David. Something has definitely changed in the Hieke camp because I'm reading more and more about problems with his work. Too bad as he once put out some really nice work.

 

Butch

I would say do it yourself. Get a cheap broken car or shell and practice away on it. Learn from your mistakes and ask questions. There will always be a critic or a rivet counter that will put you down (mostly because they can't do it themselves and are jealous). But all that matters in the end is that YOU did it and are proud. It's easy to complain, it takes time to build a skill.

MRFan:

 

What Weaver diesel are you considering repainting for Milwaukee Road, and with what electronics? Weaver has painted almost every diesel they ever made in Milwaukee; patience might get you what you want with factory paint. If your desire happens to be an SD40-2, I have one for sale. If not, I know they have done U-Boats, VO-1000s, GP-38's, and Alco RS diesels in Milwaukee Road. The only Weaver diesels I know of that weren't available in Milwaukee Road were the Alco FA (which the Milwaukee never had), the Baldwin Shark (ditto), and the E8/E9. 

Thank you Southwest Hiawatha for your reply.

 

I am looking for a Weaver MR VO-1000 diesel. I really love them but they rarely seem to pop up for sale. Any leads would be great.

 

Regards,

 

Ron W.

I don't have a Milwaukee Road VO-1000 for sale, but I can offer some advice. If you buy a Weaver VO-1000, be sure it has been run and is running. I have had several of them, and some of them have a problem with tightness in the drive train. Something is binding in the drive train, and it isn't just hardened grease or new parts needing break-in. Something in there is too tight, I'm not sure what because I haven't had time to finish fixing the problem. It seems to involve the worm gear binding at the lower end. On the other hand, most of them are fine - there must have been a bad batch at some point. 

 

Weaver made two versions of the VO-1000 - one with EOB, one without. There were also two different Milwaukee Road paint jobs, both of them correct. The first, on a non-EOB unit, was the early orange and gray paint scheme with a red stripe. This one had four short stacks. A later version with EOB has one tall stack and the more common orange and black paint. Both of these are legitimate - I've seen prototype photos of both configurations. I see both on eBay occasionally. For some reason the VO-1000 is not very popular and eBay prices tend to be low when one is offered. 

 

MTH also has made VO-1000 locomotives, but unfortunately has not done one in Milwaukee paint. 

 

I would still recommend waiting for a factory painted Milwaukee Road unit rather than spending the money for a repaint, but of course that's your decision. I do have a running Weaver VO-1000 for sale. It's already a repaint (Seaboard) and has some minor cosmetic flaws. I think it has EOB; I forget what kind of stack it has. If you're interested, I'll look up what I was asking for it and e-mail you some photos. 

Question:  What are the names of some quality paint strippers ??

Some Weavers used gears and sprockets that were not aged before machining.  They shrink and split.  This is very common on older plastic models, including the FA and RS.

 

Those same models used the slightly cheaper non- rare earth magnet Pittman motors. They are best regarded as dummies, although at one point Weaver would replace the gears and sprockets.

 

My recommendation for an exceptional painter?

 

Tommy Gilbert

346 E. Water Street

Gettysburg, PA 17325

(717) 337-1992

 

He turned a Lionel Western Pacific Alco S-2 into Weirton Steel S-2 #208 - including paint and modification of the stack to resemble the prototype.

 

 

George

Hello Southwest Hiawatha,

 

So, do you think it would be better to get another manufacturer's VO-1000 (such as MTH) because I want to run her on my layout. I believe Weaver though is the one manufacturer to do a nicely detailed VO-1000 in MR markings, right?

 

Also, any idea if Weaver's MR steamer 4-8-4 S3 is a good runner?

 

Those two engines are favorites of mine.

 

Attached is my Weaver "Little Joe" in action on my buddy's layout.

 

Regards,

 

Ron W.

The Weaver S3 Northern is an excellent runner, with this caveat: ALL brass engines are hand built, limited production items that can be futzy, have strange problems, and be difficult and delicate to handle. Within that universe, IMHO the Weaver S3 is one of the best. I've had mine (#267) for about ten years, run it a lot with heavy loads, and it looks and runs great. However, I have had occasional problems with it. Once the motor mount screws loosened up and it wouldn't run right because the motor was jumping out of place. Fixing it was no big deal once I figured out what was wrong. Recently I had a crosspin fall out of a universal joint and it stopped working until I could make and install a new pin. Again, not that big a deal to fix and no cost since I did it myself, but it was time consuming. I've had occasional issues with the smoke unit (pretty typical of ALL Lionel and Train America smoke units built around that time). Now, I consider the problems I've had with the Weaver S3 to be minor, although they've been time consuming to fix because working on a brass engine is a delicate and time consuming operation. Weaver has superlative customer service and Gary, their service guy, can fix anything (mostly I just talk to him on the phone and he tells me what to do). If you can get a good deal on one, buy it - but understand that it's not your grandfather's Lionel train.

 

As far as a VO-1000 goes, I'll stick with my previous advice - be patient, wait until you can find a Weaver with a factory Milwaukee paint job. I really like the first version with the early orange and grey paint job and four stacks. Weaver does a really nice job decorating their engines. Unfortunately I don't have a photo to post. I'm sure the MTH ones run great - everything I have with PS/2 or PS/3 runs great - but you're in for a bunch of money for a paint job. 

I believe my brother- in- law had Tommy Gilbert paint an HO electric in lightning stripes, and he was impressed.  My brother- in- law makes and paints plastic airplane models, and some are in the Smithsonian, so he has very high standards.

Here is a picture of my MTH RS1 which I repainted SooLine. The end stripping is Mirco-scale strips which were cut on a 45 angle. I weathered the loco with Floquil dust and rust. It's the assigned yard switcher.

Thank you for your feedback Southwest Hiawatha. I understand what you are saying - makes sense!

 

Most appreciated,

 

Ron W.

Here is a Red Caboose GP9 I've been working on. It's more of a kitbash then a repaint, but it shows what can be done with a little time. 

 

 

 

 

@Soo Nut.....great looking engine!!!