Following up on my post of a month ago, the GP20, a 3D printed model from Shapeways, is done.

When I was originally thinking of this model I was hoping to go big and letter it for the Santa Fe, but looking at the model and my needs, I shifted it toward my 1980s era MQS (Madison-Quincy-Southern) shortline. It was a shortline concept I originally worked on in HO when I was in high school, and adding this engine to the roster gives me a very nice group for the MQS — two end cab switchers, a SD24, and a GP20. I had just enough paint (green in honor of the Verdigris River, alongside of which the MQS would run) and decals to complete it as part of the group of engines.

All of the engines got a bit of attention in the decal and paint department, and the SD24 got a bit of extra attention in this process too, as also seen in the photo — I added the missing rear headlight (from a Tyco GP20 shell) and also rear number boards. They are actually just created with decals (including a black background decal) but the effect is pretty solid, and those same type of number boards are on the rear of the GP20. The front number board area I carefully painted black prior to adding the number decals.

In the prior post I had the GP20 on Kemtron trucks, but I opted to change them out and use Schorr trucks, saving the Kemtrons for another project someday. The Schorr trucks are heavy and large, but the weight was good with this being a dummy locomotive, and the heavy/low detail matches the Shapeways 3D printing.

Which gets at the negative of these models, all of them have a grainy finish and low detail. Painting this model and the FA with Mr. Surfacer as a primer helped somewhat, but not as much as hoped. I got closest to fixing the issue with the Alco FA model that is still in progress, I’ll have more on that when it is done.

I don’t know if I’m the only person crazy enough to buy one of these in 1/76, but it did turn out nicely if you can accept the low detail.