Just one shot of a project I have been working on this weekend. What started as an article on how to create electrically live drawbars for the new Bachmann tenders turned into a full blown detailing session. Still a few grabs and small things to detail but it is close enough to show. Hopefully paint sometime this week. This was the first chance I have gotten to work with the Archer rivet decals, they are incredible. I stripped the tender of all verticle rivet lines to rearrange them to match the photo's better. I guess I am a true rivet counter now.
Lotsa' great stuff this weekend guys! I spent my sunday cutting out 1/8" hardboard for part of the upper level fascia. Can't wait to start adding cardboard strips! Mike
Russ Straw, Love that Mastodon. Would you share some of the "tricks" you used to build it?... two boilers? ... Lengthen the frame? ... Change rods or just location? ...leading truck? The B&M inherited a small fleet of them... always thought it would be nice to have one. Thanks.
Out of brass, I made a frame extension to move the pilot and steam cylinder forward about the length of one driver. I mounted it by drilling and tapping holes for small brass screws. The postition of the cylinders is really too far forward but I did not want to have to shorten the valve gear and piston rods. I reversed the position of the #2 and #3 drivers so the piston is now cranking the #2. I then could move the whole valve gear assembly forward using one of the existing mounting pins while adding a new one in front of it to hold the front end. I made a new pilot truck out of brass tubing and brass stock. I machined a new set of pilot wheels to match the existing set. I cut a section out of another boiler shell to extend the Bachmann shell. I very carefully cut the smoke box away from the boiler with a single edge razor. I used the Bachmann steam dome for the new sand dome and machined a new steam dome out of brass. Here is an early shot showing some of the work in progress.
Hey Russ, I bet if you added that picture to the N Scale Steamers TB group, someone would help it find its way to becoming the group avatar!
