Ray Breyer
Modeling the NKP's Peoria Division, circa 1943
QUOTE: Originally posted by orsonroy HI Chris, Superdetailing plastic steamers, using brass and plastic parts, is actually pretty easy. It takes a LOT less time than working on the old all-metal steam kits, which is one reason I like new plastic steamers so much! I've worked through a few, from simple addition of a few brass parts, to VERY involved reworks that required basically ALL parts scraped off the boiler and re-added! First of all, you'll need a few tools. Xacto set is a given, along with plenty of sharp #11 blades. A micro file set is helpful, especially when cleaning up brass parts. A pin vise or push drill is needed, along with a selection of micro drill bits. You'll need a good wire cutter, and at least one small pair of pliers. Other than these few tools, you only need liquid plastic cement and superglue, and a jar of Polly Scale Steam Power Black paint. Oh...almost forgot. You'll also need a tube of Squadron green putty, to fill the holes! Starting with the tender, you have three choices. You can either scratchbuild an oil bunker top out of plastic, buy an oil bunker from Precision Scale, or replace the entire tender with an oil tender from Roundhouse. Scratchbuilding is the cheapest. Just buy some .020" or .030" thick plastic and start cutting. Build the box first, test fit it to the coal space, and glue the sucker in when it looks right. Don't worry about getting the scale exactly right; square corners and the right "look" are generally more important in modeling. Add a oil fill hatch and the wire handholds after the bunker is in place. Buying the P-S oil bunker would be the simplest idea, but I have no idea if the bunker will actually fit into the BLI tender. It's also expensive and hard to get. Using a Roundhouse oil tender (actually a Santa Fe prototype) means you don't have to scratchbuild anything, but you'll have to move the BLI sound unit to the new tender. You MIGHT be able to swap just the tender shells, but I doubt it. Using the Roundhouse tender means you'll have to get an aggressive drill and cut away part of the metal flooring to let the sound out. I's use the BLI tender trucks. As for the engine, adding new parts is the easy part of the project. First, remove everything that you don't want, and fill the holes with the Squadron putty. You'll have to add putty and sand 2-3 times before you can't see the holes any more, but the time and care is worth it. Next, add all the major brass parts, like the BL feedwater heater. Then cut, shape, and superglue wire to the model, to represent the new piping (the BL system should include a piping diagram). I prefer to drill holes into everything that gets wire, and solder brass to brass, but don't worry about that until your skills improve. Superglue joints are just fine if you take your time and let the glue dry (DON'T use "thick" superglues! They're just normal glue with a filler (talc) that weakent he bond. The strongest superglue is the thin stuff). The new running board is deceptively simple: cut away the part of the old one, and add new boards with strip plastic (either bought or cut from the sheets used for the bunker). Use liquid cement to join the edge of the running board to the boiler, and the drops to the existing boards, and the new part should be plenty strong. Unfortunately, the only way you'll really learn these skills is by doing them. It's not all that hard, but it can be intimidating at first. If you don't want to "ruin" your BLI engine, practice each step (building a box, shaving off parts, adding new parts & wire, and building running boards) on a cheap Athearn tank car kit! And feel free to ask any specific questions along the way!