sorry pedro....so used to referring to the athearn one as a DD35, I got myself jumping the gun!
yes, you ARE right, in that the athearn model was actually done from the proposed DD40 drawing.....which never was...but as it happened ended up being very close in detail to the DD35......and since athearn were quite happy flogging Geeps with over-wide hoods.....I tend to overlook small details like fan size.
I actually 'went off' US modelling, as such, years ago.....although I have all my rolling stock, in drawers, etc....and my DD40 is a bit battered.....Bachmann couldn't provide me with new railings...at the time.
the reason for going off US stuff?
surprisingly, the advent of the 'super-detailed' locos and stock, starting back in the late 90's.
Suddenly, my ham-fisted efforts at adding detail and modifying, on the cheap......as per Chris Leigh, etc......using stuff like Bambi staples, etc for handgrabs.....seemed so pointless.
plus, with the advent of the 'super-detail' off-the-shelf stock, the scenery/buildings side of a layout sudeenly seemed super-crude?
Whereas in the 70's/80's, the levels of detail overall on the layout were very much on a par, now I feel there is a gross mismatch.....and buildings were'nt really my forte.
like today.....somehow, running those marvellous Bachmann locos and mark 1 coaches on Peco track shows up how 'incorrect' the trackwork is.....not particularly regarding gauge......but certainly regarding sleepers and fittings detail.....especially those incredibly unrealistic points?