Sp c-9 and c-31 I just have a question about your kit bashes. With the c-31 when you drill the new hole for the bell, how did you fill the old part in. Same with the sand domes on the c-9. Also, how did you fill the hole from the old light when you moved the Pyle light down? And with your sand lines, where did you get them?
I have used various techniques for filling holes in boiler shells. For small holes I just use Squadron White Putty or the Tamia equivalent and sand it smooth after it is dry. Polish it up with fine steal wool. For larger openings like where a dome was removed I glue in a plug of styrene from another shell and fill in an gaps with the putty. Some times I will even piece in another section of boiler shell to extend things.
^^^ What he said. Putty to fill the holes. Sometimes I use styrene tubing to fill the hole left from a sand or steam dome (and tubing can also be ABS sprinkler pipe if the shoe fits) and then fill any gaps with putty. Be sure to use too much putty (so there won't be any missed spots) and wait for it to COMPLETELY dry before (very lightly and slowly) sanding. Brass wire becomes sand lines and other piping. That stuff is all pretty easy, it's running gear and rivets that can be harder to do.
...oh, and I've missed Tom for awhile now. Always had GREAT ideas for modelling smaller SP steam. Last I heard he was working on the SD&AE in Balboa Park (San Diego) before he went missing. Hope he finds his way back some day...
It's been longer than six months, more like a year... but with only a week left until the summer, I'm making plans to get back into the hobby. I've wised up and mellowed out quite a bit in that time; you may find me less likely to spam the caps lock key or violate Trainboard's policy regarding retailers. To answer some questions, the relocation of the sand dome (which is really just a Bachmann 2-8-0 steam dome, which can be ordered from their online parts store) will cover the mounting hole for the bell, so I left it unfilled. As for the hole left by the old sand dome, a thin styrene sheet, curved to fit the hole, served to fill the gap. It's also important to note that the metal contacts on the chassis beneath the original sand dome must be trimmed down so that the boiler will sit properly with the dome removal. For the bell's location on the C-31 smokebox, I just cut the bell's mounting peg until it was flush the lower arch of the bell mount, then simply glued the flat surface to the smokebox. With N scale, a dab of Gorilla Glue on flush-mounting parts is really all that you need in certain cases. The sand domes were either thin styrene tubing or old .016 gauge guitar strings, I'd go with the latter as it's more durable and holds its shape better. With two new Dobros and a new Lap Steel, I tend to have a lot of old strings for use as detail parts. In other news, I have another SP tenwheeler design to submit: the Narrow Gauge #9 in 1:120 scale. In classic tradition, I am once again weighing the odds of making my life more difficult than it needs to be with TTn3 narrow gauge. I'm sure that you all remember my many failed kitbashes and scratchbuilds... I remember them as well, but I've taken a couple of Industrial Manufacturing courses and my modeling skills are theoretically much improved, so anything could happen at this point. This particular engine concept is based upon the new Bachmann 4-6-0, a Spectrum 2-8-0 boiler, and innumerable scratchbuilt parts. It's just a digital mockup at this point, but for anyone crazy enough to try it, it will yield a unique narrow gauge locomotive for at lest a fifth of the cost of an HOn3 brass equivalent. Micro Trains N scale archbar trucks scale perfectly to TTn3 for scratchbuilt rolling stock, and the 10'=1 inch scaling is very convenient. Not sure if this will be built first or at all at this point, as I may try a DSP&P 2-8-0 again.
