Backdating the cab on my Delton C16 was one of my first real modeling projects and, surprisingly, it was one that turned out great without too much difficulty – and that’s coming from someone who was a bit of a failure at successfully modifying HO and On30 models in the past.
As the images below show, I started out by obtaining a Lionel G 0-6-0 cab roof off eBay and then proceeded to cutting, filing, and sanding the bottom until flat; but when I was finished, it just didn’t seem thick enough, so I added some sheet styrene I cut down to size and then sanded and puttied to create a seamless match.
My initial thought was that I would trim the Delton cab’s roof into a straight angled shape, lining things up so the new roof would be the same height in the center as the original arched roof using a guide. Alas, it didn’t turn out too well, so instead I created two small frames I glued to the interior of the cab to hold the roof in the right place and cut and sanded to ensure the new roof would clear the original cab cleanly.
Next, I simply used some styrene to wrap the edge of the roof to give it a clean line. While far from perfect, with the judicious use of the file on some remaining exposed cast on trim from the original cab, the end product turned out pretty good; and all in all, it’s a project I’m likely to try again in the future on another project locomotive.
B&MG Railroad 