Winter is arriving and so is my fleet of HBM&S GE 70 ton locomotives.

just about done the decals so I can spray with dull coat.

Then to get the hand rails back on and custom pass through walkway on number 8. It will be the same as #7's walkway.

Will there be a 5,6 or 9?

Time will tell.

Tim Schwartz

When I decided to paint up a few HBMS GE70 Ton Locomotives, I picked a paint based on photos. I knew there were shades of blue in the photos. In some cases you can see swapped parts with shades of blue on the same locomotives. However, I picked Conrail blue for my locomotives as it seemed to be the closest to my guess of faded paint. Now over the twenty years I have been up in Flin Flon, and visits to the locomotives, I never thought about pulling some peeling paint. Then all but one of the locomotives were scrapped so I missed the opportunity for most of the locomotives.

Four, the only HBMS GE 70 tonner I never saw so I never got my own photographs of it. 

I was hoping summer was just around the corner up here in Northern Manitoba, but no spring has only just arrived. So I have been slowly working on my GE 70 tonner project and other projects for myself and others.

First the uphill battle. Just when you think you put the stripes on nice and level, the picture you take tells you you didn't. My level mark is visible near the front just below the stripe. I must have shifted it while flattening the front. It is all set so it is what it is.

It has been quite some time since I last posted to my blog. I have not been up to much over the winter , certainly nothing I thought was worth sharing. Most of the models I have built are based on that which is near to where I live. So it is HBM&S or HBRY mostly. While some choose to build specific places and time, I just like to build what interests me. 

I was going to make a removable diorama for my Marion shovel, but in the end I realized I could not build what I wanted without damaging my open pit too much. I did modify my open pit and lay some track and scenic a small area so the Marion has a home. I still plan on making a diorama in a small display case, but that will be another project.

In the end here is where the shovel will sit on my layout.

Although I still have a few details I would like to add, the Marion 4160 is painted and assembled, ready for me to start building a diorama.

The work on my Marion 4160 shovel is continuing. I settled on an interior, for which I have no idea what should be inside. I put a drum and other "stuff" for looks. Stuck a operator at the controls and glued the roof on.

This shot gives a look at the inside. Here I was gluing the main roof section on.

After trying to find good dimensions of the Marion 4160, I decided that if I was going to 3D print parts I needed a working model to help get a handle on how it all goes together. Given the change in exchange rate and costs of 3D printing, I figure it is to my advantage to scratch build the Marion 4160 first. Then if/when I get it into 3D drawings and print the parts, I can have a couple of them.