Kitbashing an EMD G16 model in HO scale

This is my first article for the modeling column. I just want to share with you and other railroad enthusiasts my recent work on a local EMD G16 in HO scale.
Some years ago, I planned to work out an one-off G16 in HO because no commercial models were available on the market at that time. I collected some useful drawings and information via different channels. Someone suggested to me use two G12 body shells to convert to a G16. I was told where to source the trucks with the correct wheel-base, etc. I really appreciated the assistance and materials provided by those helpers. However, I did not start anything in the end because the project was too difficult for me and, more importantly, I was not skilful at scratch-building.

Until now, I discovered that some small suppliers e.g. Balkan Models of UK and Jovanovic Slavko (JS) of Yugoslavia do supply G16 in HO. Although their G16s are in European versions, I decided to give it a try. I kitbashed it a little to represent a local G16 in the previous Kowloon-Canton-Railway's livery (KCR).
I selected the one from JS finally because none was available from Balkan at the time when I wanted it. The stock model from JS was actually a replica of the class 661 ex-Yugo Railways. Those class 661s had some details that the local G16s did not or vice versa. Therefore, modifications to the stock model were supposed necessary for serious modelers. However, I did not go for any major modifications for convenience. In fact, the original appearance of the model looked very much like the local G16, I personally think.
In the first place, when I received the model via mail, I disassembled it. It could be divided into a few sections i.e. the hood (with cab), the walkway, truck side-frames, fuel tanks, pilots and handrails. So it was pretty convenient for painting. I separated the parts and washed them in warm soap water. I first painted the top of the hood and all the handrails aluminum. Then the lower hood and walkway were painted British green with appropriate masking. Finally all the truck side-frames and the fuel tanks were painted in black. I used spray cans because I did not have the air-brush set. I set them aside for about 24 hours to let the paint dry before I reassembled them together.

Then I proceeded to the pilots. All the G16s in Hong Kong had barricade stripes on their pilots. That was also the most challenging job for me. I tried to paint them myself but failed after several attempts. I gave up and sought help from a custom decal supplier in the USA. I mail ordered the stripe decals for the pilots and the logo decals for both sides of the long hood. Those decals were custom made according to my specifications and samples given. I was very happy with the result. It took me less than one hour to complete the job with the ready-made decals. As for lettering, another fellow member did it for me voluntarily. After that I also applied the builder's plate decals on both sides of the cab.
However, I still had to scratch build some tiny detail parts from styrene sheets and bars for the pilots by myself including coupler pockets, lift rings, uncoupling bars, brackets as well as the lower parts of the pilot. Then I also added some commercial detail parts to complete the model such as horn, window wipers, headlight lens, air-hoses, door handles and MU cable receptacles. I used scale working couplers from Sergent Engineering for two reasons i.e. its realistic look and operation. For details, see parts list as below.

I sprayed a clear overcoat to protect all the lettering and decals. At last, I applied a little weathering to the radiators, couplers and wheels to achieve a more realistic appearance. Now the G16 that I have been dreaming about for many years is finally on my service roster.

阿 Lam