Kitbashing a locomotive

[Rene Schweitzer]

If you have completed a project, feel free to include a link to pics, if you have any.

[vsmith]

Hi Rene,

Did about 4 in HOn30 many moons ago. In large scale my count is up to 9.

Lets see....

1. Kitbashed a Bachmann 2-4-2 Columbia into a 2-4-0 plantation type loco by removing the rear truck, cutting off the rear frame extension, repositioning the cab forward about an inch. I also rebuilt the cab with new plumbing, this one can be seen on the Bachmann photo gallery

2. Kitbashed an Aristocraft 0-4-0 switcher into a 2-4-0 road engine by adding the truck from the columbia and fixing it to a new scratched pilot extention of about an inch. I detailed the cab interior and added more details to the body. I used a modified LGB powered tender as its tender. Still not happy with the cab shell, want to enlarge cab windows.

3. Kitbashed 2 MDC speeders into little Critters. One has a scratched cab, cab interior details with an old Athern hustler engine hood.

4. The second uses an MDH Big Hustler cab with new interior and a HLW Mack engine hood.

5. An HLW Mack chassis with an second hand LGB switcher shell , looks pretty good but needs more detailing and a cab interior.

6. An MDC Big Hustler Chassis with an Echo loco cab, new cab interior, and a scratched hood for a Big Critter.

7. A junk LGB battery op loco repowered with an Aristo powered truck and a new cab interior, added new "skirts" based on a old tram loco to hide the lack of connecting rods.

I'm not sure if these are kitbashed or could be called scratchbuilt but ...

8. A Bachmann flatcar + an AMC General plastic model kit + two Aristo powered trucks + alot of cutting and glueing = a Dunkirk type Shay.

9. An HLW mini-flatcar + a spare loco pilot + a spare HLW Mack cab and hood + a NWSL super magic carpet drive + Evergreen styrene and strip wood = A Goose!

Also added cab interiors to two LGB Porters and an MDC Big Hustler.

Pretty much everything I have eventually gets modified to some extent. I havent weahtered anything yet as I own a superbly crappy airbrush, and need a new one. Only been at the big scale stuff seriuosly for about a year and a half now and dig it way more than the little stuff.


Dont have any photos other than the 2-4-0. Dont have a digital camera, I have to borrow, will try to work on that.

[mkblk]

[:)] Gee, I only did one. But it was real cool [8D] (at least the guys at the MRR Club thought so). About 2 years ago I picked up a brand new MDC Roundhouse (HO) diesel switcher track cleaning car, uugggllly! [;)] But kinda cute, at a train show for 5 bucks.

Being I had just been "volunteered" to run the club layouts trolley line, I thought I'd jump in with both feet and actually have a "motor" for the layout. I decided to make it into a MOW overhead car with two trolley poles and a center pantograph. The pantograph was to "ground" the overhead wire to the rails to prevent work crews from being fried [:0] by the 600 volt trolley wire. The "motor" is powered via the trolley poles which are fully functional and I added headlights, front and rear and other details such as handrails. Also, installed glazing and an engineer. [:D]

The project was quite successful. Cost little and I learned a lot. Plus it was really fun. I don't think scale matters very much, it just the good feeling when the other fellas drool all over your work (it really isn't that great, but it is pretty cool).

I don't have a way to "post" a picture to the internet, but if someone can help me with that, I do have some nice shots on the hard-drive I'd like to share (even if it is HO!).

MK

[Marty Cozad]

Rene must be thinking again[;)] I tried bashing a Aristo U-25 into a U-33-C but found out how bad I am at body work. Plus the cost of buying parts and motor blocks VS just a couple of used locos started to add up. Right now the companies are making alot of the engines that I like. Only wi***here was more detailed extras to buy for these units.
I finally gave up and sold it to someone who wanted it for parts.[V]

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry to hear that Marty. I have wanted to kitbase steam engines since I was an old back issue of the Spring Lakes Railroad and saw their 2-6-6-2 mallet (although it might have been scratchbilt...). However, since then, I have not seen where to buy kits to do such things. I would love to try my hand at it, but really do not know where to start. Anyone know where to get kits from?

[bman36]

Hey all,
I am currently doing an Aristo 0-4-0 and tender over in new colours. Paintwork is done and I am adding brass details. Lettering for our RR and then dullcote to finish it off. Loco went from Napa colours to 2 tone green. Looks good to me so far. Only mistake was pulling it all apart and forgetting to make assembly notes....woops. Oh well...can't be that hard. Interesting poll Rene. Later eh...Brian.

[Anonymous]

For anyone considering kitbashing a Ruby steamer, (and I have been among those), here is a link to a discussion on the SitG site regarding upgrades to the Ruby itself.

http://www.steamup.com/wwwboard/messages/2379.html

Within this thread, you will also find a link to the Milton site where the upgrades can be purchased.

[mkblk]

vettbass -

Thanks for the tip on kitbashing the Ruby. I'll check it out, although at this stage of the game I don't really want to mess with it. But, I'm sure it'll prove interesting.

MK

P.S. I went to the Milton site... very cool. A little difficult to navigate, but much info on upgrading Accucrafts small live steam locos.

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bman36

Hey all,
I am currently doing an Aristo 0-4-0 and tender over in new colours. Paintwork is done and I am adding brass details. Lettering for our RR and then dullcote to finish it off. Loco went from Napa colours to 2 tone green. Looks good to me so far. Only mistake was pulling it all apart and forgetting to make assembly notes....woops. Oh well...can't be that hard. Interesting poll Rene. Later eh...Brian.

Brian,

go to the Aristocraft webpage , you can download a 3 page expolded axonometric drawing PDF file that pretty clearly shows how the little beasty is put together. I found it very helpfull and it includes a complete parts list. I used this to order new parts to replace the broken siderods on my 0-4-0 before I did the kitbash. Hope it helps.

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Teran5

I'm sorry to hear that Marty. I have wanted to kitbase steam engines since I was an old back issue of the Spring Lakes Railroad and saw their 2-6-6-2 mallet (although it might have been scratchbilt...). However, since then, I have not seen where to buy kits to do such things. I would love to try my hand at it, but really do not know where to start. Anyone know where to get kits from?

Teran5 The best way to start is to get a sawblade and start hacking. I cant tell you anyother way than to just do it.

As for kits, NO ONE is large scale makes anything remotely close to a KIT. So your on your own there. The best I can suggest is to find drivetrains close to your prototype, study how and where you cna dissassemlbe them and then read from other scales O and HO are best on kitbashing tips and methods.

Marty this is for you also...

Dont be put of if you first try is less than spectacular, everything takes time and all skill is cumulative, the more you do it the better you get at it and the more daring you'll get when attempting a project. You should see my first HOn30 loco, I still have it, and it looks pretty bad and runs worse, but thats not the point, its my first so I'll always keep it.

When I started large scale kitbashing I started small, modifying cheap New Bright type cars just to get a feel for what I could do. Now I'm not as afraid of cutting up a new loco as I was a year ago.

Just get some inexpensive items that you think you can have some fun with and try, I suggest since you have a pretty good sized layout, how bout some MOW cars, a ballast speader is a good kitbash project especailly for an outdoor RR, you could actually use it...

Good Luck, Vic

[Rene Schweitzer]

Teran5,

Your comment about the 2-6-6-2 was interesting. I visited that RR and most of their locomotives were either scratchbuilt or heavily kitbashed. There used to be a local guy who made a business of doing custom locomotive projects. He did amazing work, but sadly, has seemingly vanished.

[Anonymous]

vsmith:

Are you saying garden sparkies can't be had in kit form? (Shows how little I know about them.)

Virtually all garden steamers come in either kit form or RTR. Buyer's option. The RTRs are obviously more $$$, but not THAT much more proportionally.

[Anonymous]

Hmm. I would be terrified to cut up a loco on mine, partly because i do not have an extensive roster and they are so expensive, and have a great respect for those who can cut it up and make it look good. I thought that i had seen advertisments for kits in old backissues of GR. And regaurding the drivetrains, where does one purchase them? I have only seen one person who was selling them at the nation convention last summer.

[Anonymous]

WOW!

I'm getting a real education here. It never dawned on me that Electric Model Locomotives were NOT available in kit form. DUH-UH!

I guess I'd have to say, whats stopping a serious kit basher from taking one apart to at least the rolling chassis level, and then starting from scratch/bash from there?

At least with a kit, you can always bash as you build, if that is your intent.

[vsmith]

Vettbass,

I'll clarify my statement. In my experience there is no real baseline of kits avaliable anymore in largescale outside of live steam.

If there are any kit makers out there doing locomotives, or rolling stock and you know of them, then please , list them for the rest of us..

In large scale I've only seen one manufacturer that produced an extensive line of kits, that was North East Narrow Gauge. But they are ony one and one that isn't that inexpensive. Bachmann stopped making kits a while ago. HLW kits are only the little mini series and thats it as far as I know.

My point to Teran5 was that if he wants a 2-6-6-2 mallet of a particular type he's probably NOT going to find any kit form of it in large scale. Which is what I took his posting to mean. He was looking for a kit of it, like in HO or O. Maybe I misread?

Unlike O or HO where you can find just about anything in kit, brass, or RTR form, large scale is SORELY lacking in those resources.

So Teran is going to have to look at either modifying a frightningly expensive LGB mallet. OR he's going to have to learn to wield a razor saw and kitbash from the existing items availible to create his prototype engine. Maybe he can use NENG loco drive trains, or a couple of Bachmann Indy chassis', an Annie boiler, i dont know.

Either way he's most likely going to have to cannibalis two or more existing locos just to get enough parts to put the new together. Plus there are other issues like how to link the two chassis together and how to realisticly support the front end of the boiler. all problems a real locomotive builder would have to ask.

I'm not trying to discourage Teran, but knowledge is power and he will have to research his protoytpe, get drawings, photos, etc, The more you know what you should be lookin at, the less surprises he'll have building it.


Everyone else out there, How many large scale kit makers doing locos or rolling stock do you know of, please let us know so we can add them to our rescource lists.

[Anonymous]

Well, my previous post was reffering to my memory that I though I had read that they had kitbased their mallet. Although I would love to scratchbuild a mallet, it is not in my budget for an LGB mallet or a couple smaller engines and slice and dice. As for the "NENG loco drive trains", what are those? I would love to find drive trains for steam engines. Thanks for that post anyways. maybe it will be a future project, although I probably would simly modify the new Aristo 2-8-8-2 mallet.

[vsmith]

Teran5

Well, go to www.largescalelinks.com (they have a link under locos) or any web search machine and type in Northeast Narrow Gauge. They are an east coast maker based on Maine narrow gaugers but are scaled for 3' gauge track. Very good stuff from what I hear. They are the producers of all those free plansets that come with your issue of Garden RRer each month.