Can an Old Athearn Blue Box Model Be Realistic? - Model Showcase HO ATSF SD40-2 5111
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Published 2024-08-04
Back in the day, the Athearn "blue box" SD40-2 was state of the art, with scale width hoods, no molded on grab irons, and good basic detail. It was a milestone in the development of HO scale model trains.
Today there are more detailed models available. There's still something to be said for an "old school" diesel build.
Dan did a lot of work to turn the basic blue box SD40-2 locomotive into an accurate replica of Santa Fe 5111 as it appeared in the 1990s. It has the lowered headlight and ditch lights, and the horn was moved to the rear.
Operationally, the model features an ESU LokSound DCC and sound decoder, custom LED lighting, nickel silver wheels, and a can motor.
Detail wise, the model's entire front end was replaced with Cannon parts, and the molded on fans were removed and replaced with Cannon fans with photo etched blades and grilles. Dan made new handrails from brass wire and Precision Scale stanchions.
Dan did a lot of custom work, too, to replicate the unique antenna setup on the roof of this locomotive. Not all 1990s vintage Santa Fe SD40-2s were the same, so the details are unique to this particular unit.
If you're a fan of the Santa Fe, EMD diesels, or just model trains in general, be sure to check out this episode of Model Showcase!
#train #trainvideo #modeltrains #modelrailroader #santafe #scalemodels
All Comments (21)
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I followed the build of 5126 to help me build a few NS SD40-2s. When I heard you "left trains" lol I saved all the videos , thankfully you continued on here . Always enjoy your work and like myself there's not really a lot of us left that love cutting into a loco to make it right. As always, much appreciated you share your work with us.
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My hat is off to you, Dan. That's an incredible amount of work and very well done! More power to you guys who turn those old models into artwork. I can't go there.
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Beautiful detailed and running model. Id like to mention the horn sound you have programmed on 5111 is of a Leslie RS5T or S5T. The physical horn detail you have on the model is an S3L.
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Dan, Absolutely! That model stands the test of time. I also remember seeing the TSG build of the 5126. It is nice to still see people "MODEL" in Model Railroading
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The locomotive still looks great after all these years, Dan! I like the fact the etched metal steps and walkway tread is simply glued over the stock walkway on the Athearn shell! It might not make it look 100% prototypically accurate, but it doesn't sacrifice the structural integrity of the shell, which is always a bonus!
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Beautiful! Your craftmanship is deeply appreciated. Thanks Dan!
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Hello Dan once again 🎩🎩off for a Great Example of hard Work and seeing it through for the Details 👍🏻👍🏻🚂
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That's more detail than a scaletrains engine. Very, very nice!
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Definitely Dan, after watching your 25 part series back in the day with the upgrades you can!! Since then I've upgraded 6 SD40-2S and 7 GP40-2S, I still have enough walkways to build a few GP38-2S, I'm running out of cab signal boxes though for Conrail and Shapeway went belly up!!! I wonder if that pipe by the front windows on that SF unit could be the AC drain??
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It's a really great model, I do agree that the more busy roofs look great on models, the AC unit in front of the antenna stands looks neat too. All in all I do like it when lower end models are given a second chance like that and are detailed up to be on par with modern offerings from manufacturers.
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I'm currently custom building a Phase III SDP40F out of a bluebox and I gotta say they're some of the most slept on models out there. Just a little work can have an old bluebox looking like a Genesis model or better
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I personally like the song snoot sd40-2’s. I’m doing something similar with a life like GP38-2, which I converted to a GP38 and I messed the handrails up a bit but it’s good enough for me. Great video Dan, have a great day 👍
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I remember your build of it and watched your videos of it religiously. It inspired me to do some detail work of my own and made me realize no commercial offering of the locomotive you want? No problem build it. I don’t know your reasoning for leaving the other channel( hence I won’t mention the name) but you made that channel worth watching and the content too. I’m pleased to see you with your own channel and the content is as good if not better than your original roots.
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Nice work. I agree that leaving the molded on steps really helps durability, along with your metal handrails. Those two items are some of the most common failure points on the high detail plastic models we have nowadays especially when transporting them to other layouts
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Great work on the Athearn SD40-2
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I recommend Dan’s super detailing series. It’s incredible.
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Just fantastic presentation ...professional as hell
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For me is a very convincing work, looks very alike an Athearn Genesis. Very well done.
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I love the old Blue Box line from Athearn. You can make your own model.
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Nice work Dan!
