Building the PRR Baldwin BP20 Sharknose in HO scale
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
- A new manufacturer named Unexpected Products recently brought the Miracle Castings BP20 kit back into production! I couldn't resist getting one, and it turned out great! These are currently unavailable but should be back in production again in the future under another brand.
Here's what I used to complete it:
Athearn PA-1 trucks (original metal version)
Faulhaber 2342L012C R coreless motor
NWSL 16mm flywheel
NWSL universals
Microscale 87-810 decals
Floquil tuscan red
Scalecoat II black
Testors Dull Cote
Cal Scale #409 antenna kits (2) with 0.02" brass wire
Kadee #58 coupler
Some 3D printed parts
'I don't like this part so I'll just 3D print a new one I do like.' I love where this hobby has gone in the last decade. Very nice job. Keep up the good work.
It’s amazing how useful these printers are!
I would have remade the fans and surrounding area, as well.
And the fit of the 3D printed part was flawless!!!!
OMG, that model would rival any of todays RTR models, in both looks & performance.I am obsessed with the slow running capabilitys of locos, & this one fits right in there, as good as any top line model, considering it is running on DC.Thankyou .
Your idea to attached the forward cab ladder to the truck was brilliant!!
Best channel to see locomotive kit assembly
For your windows I’d use micro scales crystal clear. Looks like Elmer’s glue but dries clear
@@SouthernTennessean Thanks, I’ll look into that!
A super video. I love the Baldwin BP-20 passenger Sharknose, and hand built my first one out of two Tyco RF-16 shells and two six wheel Powertorque drives. It still runs, to this day, almost fifty years later, but has become a roundhouse queen due to the unreliable nature of the drive, and the purchase of a more modern BP-20 that runs and looks much better than my feeble modeling skills could ever produce. I am hoping that I can find a couple of B units so that I can have an ABBA set for my express passenger trains. Hello again from the Tracy Mountain Railway in Colorado. 💙 T.E.N.
I bought an A&B shell from someone in Canada off Ebay years and years ago, never knew who made them until I watched this. I never did get around to building mine but eventually bought some Brass ones. I really appreciate you taking the time to share this. New Subscriber. Cheers Rob
Excellent video. I love the out come of your efforts. Love the Sharknose locomotives so this is one of my favorites by far!
I dont know how you know how to substitute one motor for another and how to mount it and where to get these .... see this is the broader knowledge that I dont have ... Its great .
It’s amazing what you can find on eBay some days.🙂 To get it mounted, I ground out the area with a Dremel tool, then I glued in some heavy foam (can’t remember the exact name of it) and glued the motor to the foam.
I believe my grandpa picked up one of these pennsy BP20s at a show a number of years ago but someone kitbashed it from a pair of RF16 bodies. I only remember seeing it once but other than a little bit of a noticeable seam in the middle, it was very nicely finished and everything.
For the windshield, use a piece of aluminum foil pressed on the inside to make a template from which to cut out the windows. I use the plastic container from Q-Tips for my glazing. Glue in using white glue which dries clear on the inside.
What a beauty!!
Thanks for the video. It's always a pleasure.
Use modge podge for windows! Dries clear with no fogging or discolor! Great video!
What a beautiful outcome ...
this looks great! definitely rivals brass, and the mechanism blows brass diesel loco mechs away!
Don't knock brass models. They will last longer and still be running long after plastic ones dry up and warp out of shape.
@@MartinSBrown-tp9ji I am a huge fan of brass steam, I own around 30 brass locos ranging from pfm united to key samhongsa. Yet even I must admit the quality of modern plastic diesels is superior to most brass diesels both in terms of detail and mechanisms. plastic might be more fragile than brass but it should still last longer than my lifetime given theyre properly handled.
She's a beauty !
Well done on the 2000 subs, it's totally deserved,.
Nice job. I've seen some unfinished or project BP20s and was tempted to get it, but i'm not really a diesel fan. Otherwise one of the best looking diesels ever built.
It looks great, as does anything you make. Some micro Krystal klear should take care of those irregular window shapes. It comes out of the bottle a milky white, but dries clear.
Thanks, I’ll look into that!
Use a electric pyrogravure with a very fine tip to melt a channels behind the window, then slide 0.25 clear acrylic in
Nice build! I'm starting on a Bowser 2-10-2 kit I got for Christmas. Probably going to paint it into as delivered USRA paint.
I think I have a die-cast body of one of these in a box somewhere, I think I might try powering it with a HobbyTown Universal kit
That's a beaut of an engine, great job!
Cool-looking loco! As for the windows, maybe some Micro Kristal Klear? I've used it for lights on model planes, gives good results.
Awesome build... I love it 👍😎
That's a very nice looking locomotive, love your approach to improve the model with 3D printed parts instead of the not so well executed and also brittle resin parts.
Also the paint and lettering look good.
A way to make the glazing relatively easy is to put a piece of masking tape over the window aperture and rub with a slightly dirty finger over it (use a pencil if your finger is clean).
The shape of the aperture will draw over onto the tape, now stick this piece of tape on some clear acrylic and cut along the outline with a pair of fine scissors.
Now it may only take the slightest bit of adjustment with some fine sandpaper to get the window to fit in the aperture.
Use clear varnish to fit the glazing, draw a black permanent marker around the edge of the aperture to imitate the seal of the window before fitting the glazing.
This way you will end up with very nice flush glazing.
I was actually working on one of these earlier this year, the Miracle Casting’s version though(have an A-B-A lash up, all MC, took forever to track all them down) Ran into the same hiccup with windows you did and build got shelved temporarily so I could work on some rolling stock needed for show season at club. Might be same manufacturer under different company name. Guy who did the Miracle Castings run was Pat Lawless. I was actually able to track him down after he sold some BP20’s on eBay about a year ago and he was able to supply me some parts one of my BP20 kits were missing👍
I’m going to check out the motor you used though, because the Athearn one is way to noisy.
Very nice build as usual👍 Paint job and decals came out great. What paint did you use?
It actually is still Pat making them, so knowing that, I guess he did just start making them under a new name!
The motor comes up on eBay now and then. I paid around $40 for mine, and you do have to remove a gear from one end (I used a cutting wheel to carefully cut the gear off a piece at a time) as well as a heatsink. Once that’s done, it fits great into large models like this one!
Thanks! I used Floquil tuscan red for the main color.
I didn't know Baldwin made a shark nose for passenger service! It seems the freight model is better known; I think its model # is RF-16. Maybe it is because of the well-known Tyco model?
The RF-16 was owned by multiple railroads and was a common sight for a while, so more models have been made. The passenger version was specific to the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the 20 or so that were built had an unfortunately short life.
@@DarthSantaFe - Thank you for the info on a very obscure diesel!
The early plastic versions of the Baldwin Shark were made by Roco and Model Power. Tyco did make the too but they did not look to good. Besides the RF-16 Baldwin also built an earlier version deemed the RF-15. There are numerous spotting details between the two but the big difference was a 1500HP prime mover vice a 1600HP engine. ……just in case you wanted to know.
@@10947792 -Thank you for the information on the engines!
@@10947792 No, it was not the RF-15, it was the DR-4-4-1500. BLW made no distinction between Babyfaces and Sharks
Wow that thing is absolutely fantastic! Paint finish does look really good as well. Who made the beautiful Dl-109 you showed for size comparison?
Proto 1000 iirc
Thanks! The DL-109 is Proto 1000 from the original Life-Like run. Walthers made a few improvements on more recent versions.
It's beautiful! Thanks for the reply!
Ready to prowl the Jersey Shore
You mean, Jersey Shore, PA of course. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore,_Pennsylvania.
@@colbeausabre8842/s Yeah.
UJ/ Due to their mechanical issues they were pretty much captive service running Commuter shuttles between South Amboy NJ and Bay Head NJ.
Beautiful loco, especially with those gorgeous heavyweights. What brand are they?
The weights were actually made from lead shot. I made molds using aluminum foil folded over itself a few times, poured the shot in, then melted it with a torch. It’s not safe or particularly smart, but it worked!
@@DarthSantaFe fascinating! I was actually referring to your passenger car fleet, but that's good to know about the weights top. That's quite a method
@@bipbipletucha Ah, thanks for clarifying that! The passenger cars were made by Branchline.
hey darth, I've been having some trouble getting my directional lighting to work properly. I'm just using DC with leds and resistors. The leds work fine and operate as they should, but when going forwards, the rear light flickers, and vice versa. I noticed you used a diode in the BP20. is this what I need to prevent the flickering?
I think what’s happening here is some back-EMF from the motor, so a diode probably won’t be able to stop that since the LED is already a diode. You might be able to solder in a simple RFI suppression circuit like Bachmann uses on many of their motors. dccwiki.com/RFI_Suppression_Circuit
I can’t say if that will fix it or not, but it might help.
I've noticed that you have a lot of after market parts so other then nwsl where else do you get parts
I get a lot of good can motors from old computer disc drives, and I usually get coreless motors from eBay. I’ve also found Athearn parts are useful in a lot of places, and Horizon Hobby usually has those available. Sometimes I also find good quality gears in old electronics.
@Darth Santa Fe also what about gears that's probably the biggest problem I have is finding the right gears and nwsl pictures on there website aren't showing up so any other places to get them
@@thelittletug9321 This is honestly kind of a difficult question. NWSL is the only one in the US making a range of custom size gears for model trains. I know there are some UK companies such as Romford making quality gears and gearboxes, and I've also gotten cheap nylon gears direct from China for some projects and experiments. Many other gears have simply come from disassembling broken models, CD drives and other things.
NWSL does have some reading material on their website showing how to measure and calculate gear sizes, so some of that could be helpful to figure out what you need.
@Darth Santa Fe thank you very much this was all very helpful
Do you know any other good brands for locomotive kits? I’m hoping to make some of my own PM/C&O E7s with some imaginative thinking. I’ve found pretty good decals from Champ, but just wanted to ask if you knew of any resin kits that might be out there
Some resin kit manufacturers I know of are Pacific North West (they made the CNJ Babyface in an earlier video) and Kaslo. I don’t know of any E7 resin kits, but I do see Cary and Hobbytown metal bodies around now and then. Both are good, but the Cary body is the finer and more accurate of the two.
@@DarthSantaFe I’m ordering an A-B-A set of shells that are coming through, would the hobbytown chassis be a recommended base to use, or for instance make a chassis similar to how you did in the big sharknose video?
@@hjmiller2689 The Hobbytown chassis is a great base for the E units, and you could even do a multi-drive setup with one huge motor powering the whole A-B-A set like I did with a PA set a couple years back! Other options are the Athearn SD40T-2 chassis and the old Rivarossi E8 chassis.
@@DarthSantaFe Thanks again, I’ll look into acquiring an order from Hobbytown Boston or any E-A/B chassis I can come across. Kudos Darth SF
can you link me to the motor you used ??
Looks like you can get it here right now: www.ebay.com/itm/233368489507
I had to cut the gear off of mine since I couldn't fit it in my puller, and the plastic heatsink is on there pretty tight. Once those are off though, you'll be able to use it just like I did!
I’ve been seeing products by “First Person Scale” models, as they make prints for super obscure trains, though I myself couldn’t purchase one. Have you ever looked into their products before?
I actually have! One of their products will be featured in an upcoming video. It's been mostly done for a while and just needs some details and paint to finish.
@@DarthSantaFe Oh nice!! What product did you get?
@@finn_4761 I got the Black Maria A-B-A set, and I’m making some special additions of my own to finish it.
@@DarthSantaFe Nice! Their RP-210 looks super nice, I wished they offered it in N-Scale however.
I’ve tried finding the manufacturer, can anyone help me with a direct link ?
Hmm, looks like he hasn't renewed the domain for 2022. You might be able to contact the company's owner about it: pat_lawless@hotmail.com
You still gonna do a series on the arber model's 0-4-0 you flashed us with a couple years ago?
Yup! I recently got together everything I need, and will be starting on it along with another Bowser build series.
@@DarthSantaFe awsome! I always love watching your videos because you do things right and if you make a mistake yull revise it and fix it... we don't build things to last a decade. We build things to last 100 years.
Arbor Models? May God have mercy on you!
@@colbeausabre8842 I personally scratch build so we both feel pain when in search of perfection
Very nice paint and detail job. Looks great.
Re motor: 6x more torque? Who cares? The limiting factor in HO locomotives is always wheel slip, not bogging down the motor. High torque has nothing to do with slow speed capabilities. It's the brushless motor configuration that helps there.
Flywheel way too small. In a carbody unit like yours, you should use one or two huge ones.
Re Athearn PA trucks--really? Yours are the crude metal cast 1970s version. Athearn updated these with nicer plastic ones, and the Protos are even nicer.
Driveshafts--you need slip joints on both ends to accommodate truck movement. Athearn uses them. Best to shim the worm inside its housing to prevent it from translating. That smooths out the drivetrain a lot.
Thanks!
The motor's 6x higher torque is at stall, and this is in comparison to other large HO motors such as Kato's HM-5. In addition to this though, it can move a heavier engine and large load more efficiently without bogging down. I've found all this through testing with all different types and sizes of motors in different size models, and it really does make a significant difference. The brushless design is also a big factor in the low speed control, but it still has to be able to overcome the mechanical resistance of the chassis, and I've found that weaker coreless motors will slow down and eventually stop in a heavy model instead of maintaining a constant low speed.
I thought of using a large flywheel. Thanks to the coreless motor's lack of cogging and natural flywheel motion though, the small flywheel is all it needs to easily coast through any possible dead spots (like my 4-way switch).
The metal Athearn trucks are simply what I had on hand, and after tuning them up, they run very well.
I did make sure to the NWSL universals are positioned to account for possible forward/back movement, and the worms are shimmed with washers to reduce mechanical slop.
Yea First
CHEAT & use window glaze
Тепловоз классный, ну чо вечно в говнистый цвет красим???
This is painted to look as they did in real life. PRR also used DGLE (a near-black shade of green) on a few of these.
Looks like Unexpected Products is no longer in business. Their website no longer works
Yes, Railway Recollections has the molds now. I'm not sure of the progress getting them to work again, but here's their page: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064500020119
How safe is the link to Unexpected Products? I always get a warning about privacy attacks even if I Google it.
I think the owner is shutting that business down, so I'll take down the link. He let me know not too long ago that the BP20 bodies will be produced by another resin company run by a friend of his, so they'll hopefully be back in the near future.
@@DarthSantaFe Gotcha, thanks for the update! Looking to eventually getting one of these kits to round out my Pennsy fleet.
Unexpected Products has apparently gone belly up. You can't connect to his site. It was a one operation. But, this just in!I "Just got a reply, and it sounds like the owner of Miracle Castings/Unexpected Products will no longer be producing them. However, he has handed the tooling over to a friend who own another resin casting business (I believe Railway Recollections, not 100% sure), and it sounds like he'll be bringing them back in the near future! So there's likely going to be a bit of a wait, but the BP20 will be back!"
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Yup, that’s what he told me! Although I won’t be needing another one, it’ll be good to see these back again!