Katzhagen - Archive - August 2019
We need your bucks !
RhB Ge 4/4 II 616 Filisur "Fund raising loco"
I liked the loco's theme very much when the model was announced early in 2019. A purchase of the model was bundled with a donation for the Rhaetia steamer and maybe this was a further argument to purchase one. However, I couldn't resist and ordered one. But as soon as the model had been delivered, disenchantment set in...
Basically, the vehicle made a first good impression and there even were a few
improvements compared to the old EPL runs. F.i. the pantographs' and the wipers'
colouring. Furthermore, it comes with train radio antennas ex factory. It's a
matter of taste whether the glass bricks (flush mount windows) are an
improvement, though. They even improved the electronics (mfx decoder) compared
to previous versions: Startup and idle sounds are now being played in analogue
mode, too. And the sounds triggered by track magnets are being played reliably
now.
However, the digital print's finish is quite poor and some details' (add-on parts') colouring is simply wrong. They obvioiusly used a meanwhile outdated technology with a low resolution (max. 300dpi) and line by line printing for the digital print which results in a picture making a shoddy impression compared to modern standards.
However, the digital print's finish is quite poor and some details' (add-on parts') colouring is simply wrong. They obvioiusly used a meanwhile outdated technology with a low resolution (max. 300dpi) and line by line printing for the digital print which results in a picture making a shoddy impression compared to modern standards.
The logos' details are blurry and their lettering is hardly readable - or not
readable at all. The poor painting is even more an issue on the window and
door frames where the ink pisser didn't manage to paint the frames and hence the
red body is visible where it shouldn't. Given the unit's price, these flaws
can be accepted only gnashing one's teeth in anger. It was the SWMBO's comment
"What a really nice looking one !" only which stopped me from
returning the beast.
Hence the model was disassembled and the modifications necessary for a more prototypical look were applied. The usual procedure with masking and painting as well as modifying the chassis at its fronts for mounting hooks and screw couplings followed...
Hence the model was disassembled and the modifications necessary for a more prototypical look were applied. The usual procedure with masking and painting as well as modifying the chassis at its fronts for mounting hooks and screw couplings followed...
After having painted the details and add-on parts correctly, mirror foil was glued to the mirrors. Next the high voltage warning signs were made and attached to the pantos. Then the chassis was modified so that hooks and screw couplings could be mounted.
Painting the front face window frames black was an excercise easy to accomplish. But colouring the door and window frames on the side faces turned out to be a challenge. While a very light grey had to be mixed for the light areas, the dark areas required an extreme dark grey with a little bit of brown and a few drops of (!) green.
In addition to the aforementioned, sensor cables were added to the axle bearings and the steps embedded into the chassis as well as the door fittings were painted silver.
Furthermore the loco driver was replaced, warning signs were mounted on the pantos and the upper head lights were tapered.
First ops under "real" conditions - mockup of consist of train #1940 on 3-FEB-2019
And there still is an actually long known fault !
The wipers on the left side (from the driver's perspective) are hanging in the wrong postion. Remedy, as shown in the picture on the lower right, was possible quite quickly.
The following picture shows the before and after comparison, on the right the (probably) final state of the front faces.
The modifications in detail
July 2019 | Archive "Current Affairs" | September 2019
