For some good tips on model photography see the Model Railroder page on photography... while the info there applies to model railroads, it is applicable to anything that requires close in photography. (Do as I say, not as I do!!)
I really like this unit a lot, it captures the flavor I was going for. It is 32 studs long. Handles curves like it was on rails (hehe). I have some improvements in mind but they will have to wait till I perfect my 40 stud long cowl unit. I take very seriously the gauntlet recently dropped in RTL about unit lengths... GRIN.
Note the engine parts visible at the back below the radiators. I want to put actual doors on my next one. As you can tell I love the 1x4 chicken wire fence part you get in the Walmart freestyle bucket!!!
The town windows are a bit big for my taste but they aren't too bad. If I had red train windows, I would use them here (the previous black and yellow used black train windows from the ends of the dining modules in 4559)
This picture shows the way the trucks swing out on curves. Note the bell on the high hood end. The radiator ears are 2x3 freestyle "feet".
No wagon plates were used during the manufacture of this unit. :-) There is no central window. I want to model the protruding GM numberboards above the cab in my next model
This shows the inboard pivot points done with 2x2 freestyle turntables. Inboard pivot points give good curve performance. Since the wagon/bogie plate has a protruding pivot, there are recesses in the floor/frame to clear the pivots. The picture does not show it clearly, but the frame has 2xN plates on the outside, and the turntables have 2x2 plates on the top of them. This makes it relatively easy to reattach the trucks.
The one weak point of the design is that the trucks do not stay attached during derailments or when the unit is bodily picked up by Nik.
I just love the way this unit looks from every angle. Shortly after
I took these, I replaced the more forward 1x2 center stud plates with 2x2
round plates from the Giant Robot which look even better.
here is an earlier version of the nose. It is very fuzzy, sorry.