It is HO(Enlarged Picture)
I recently bought a steam engine that is a plastic shell on ebay. I wanted to customize it myself ,but I need a price check. Here is the stuff I hope I can get in it. -Comes with wheels, decals etc.
1.Engine(Can't be a dummy plastic shell, it has to run.)
2.Steam Engine(If possible, I would like to make it so it can puff out steam.)
3.Light(If possible,add a small light at the front of the engine,<-must try and have)
4.Moving Wheels(The wheels come with it, and I wish to connect them to the engine so that they acctually work, and it looks like a proper steam engine.)
5.Whistle(If possible)
I just need some help and advice to get this thing customized. I really don't want to pay 200$ at my LHS to get just the engine,wheels, and light in. Any cheap(working and doesn't fall apart) options available?
Enlarged Picture of HO
It would probably be much cheaper in the long run to buy a newer model that already has the features you're looking for -- a Bachmann Spectrum with Tsunami sound decoder if you can live without the smoke, or a Broadway Limited Paragon2 if you must have smoke.
You can get a Bachmann Spectrum 4-6-0 from Micro-Mark with Tsunami sound for $178.85, or a 2-8-0 with Tsunami sound for $164.75. It would probably cost more than that to make your empty shell run.
Be have to agree, it would be cheaper to buy a running engine with sound.
I hate Rust
Cacole is right. You'd be better off buying a Spectrum 4-6-0.
What you have is a model of a slightly Americanized version of a German class 38 4-6-0 (originally KPEV class P8). While a number of the prototypes were provided to various European railway administrations as war reparations after WWI, none of them ever made it to North America.
Andre
Please just tell me what parts I need. I know about the other sites, but I am on a tight budget. It would be better for me if I just bought the parts 1 by 1 and slowly but surely made this thing work.
Look around ebay for parts..you can find them cheap..I know this guy feelings..I'm on a tight buget too.. I dont have 300 to thow at one time eighter.. Thats why I'm doing my bowser T-1 in stages..remotoring it then adding sound then a smoke unit......Cuda did you checkout my thread lately?? I'd posted a video of my T-1 running....check it out...
What you want will not fit a "light Budget".
You will need a can motor, a transmission device, a quatering tool and a way to get wheels off and on again. Assuming the wheels and axels are metel, you will need a electrical pick up device of some sort. You will also need a sound decoder, a speaker and a smoke machine. You will also need the proper lost wax details to get the shell up to standards.
I did a similar project on an old die cast engine without the smoke. It cost me about $250. I did it for sentamental reasons, but the Spectrum or BLI should would have run better.It also challenged every modeling skill I had to even get it to work.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Looking at the picture, I see the deep-flanged wheels which are typical of older Rivarossi engines. I have a couple of these engines, and they will not even run on Code 100 track. Yours might be slightly better, but the deep flanges are going to be very limiting.
I'd agree that buying a new, working engine is probably your best, and cheapest, path.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
ya he might have alittle bit more money into it...but the proublem is to come up with all that money just to buy a train that has all that stuff done already..with today economy eveything is verytight...with doing a project..just buying one thing at a time isnt going to break your wallet at one time...its going to cost alittle bit more,but some of us dont have fat wallets like you other guys have...now the BLI..after talking to three train shops about them..I'm not very impressed with BLI..plus good luck on getting replacement parts for them after 3-5 years...I was told the korea made ones are better then the new chineese BLI..so what that tells you....Been seeing at time 4 BLI T-1's on ebay at one shot..Guys telling me they getting rid of them because warnities ran out on there trains....But I can see what these guys are saying too....Just look around ebay,,you might find one that has all that stuff done to it,who's knows you migh find one cheap/find a great deal on one??
C.P.C.S. Please just tell me what parts I need. I know about the other sites, but I am on a tight budget. It would be better for me if I just bought the parts 1 by 1 and slowly but surely made this thing work.
Have you checked the tender? As I said before, this is a German prototype engine made by a European manufacturer and an awful lot of those had/have tender drives (i.e. the tender is/was powered). I don't remember who made this particular engine other than the fact that it's not by Fleischmann, Maerklin or Trix (now part of Maerklin).
I personally don't think the project you envision is worth the time, let alone any financial outlay especially since you're starting with a non-North American prototype locomotive. However, that's your choice. That being said, I firmly believe you'd be better off starting with a Varney/Bowser "Casey Jones" or an MDC Harriman 4-6-0 and working from there if you can't afford the outlay for a new Spectrum.
I apologize for raining on your parade, but I think you'd be throwing money (not to mention time) down a rat hole on this one.
Did I mention that this was a gift? It has to work.
C.P.C.S.Did I mention that this was a gift? It has to work.
No, but this is what you mentioned:
C.P.C.S.I recently bought a steam engine that is a plastic shell on ebay.
Even so, can you get it to work? Probably. The appropriate parts shouldn't be too difficult to dig up. Would I bother with this? No, same as others that have posted before me. I wouldn't try to take a plastic shell and make it a working loco, but if I did I would try one of the Revell/Con Cor Hudson or Big Boy models.
The thing I don't understand when people bash BLI, or Proto, or those other "unimpressive" RTR engine manufacturers is they say when it breaks down (and the warranty is out) then it's trash. So, for that reason they justify building kit locomotives and not buying the RTR engines on the market. But if you can build one of those kits, tinker with brass, etc. then why throw your hands up in the air if a BLI or Proto breaks down? It's the same concept, and fixing it uses the same skillset.
C.P.C.S. Did I mention that this was a gift? It has to work.
Be that as it may, simply willy-nilly recommending parts is not going to help you until you determine some fundamentals starting with:
1. Is/was it a tender drive or is there any evidence there was gearing inside the chassis of the engine itself (i.e. is there a gear on one of the drive axles and a slot in the frame for same?). If not the latter, the engine is a tender drive.
You can't really determine how to proceed mechanically until that fundamental question is answered. I know that Fleischmann's version of the class 38 is a tender drive. However, what you have is not a Fleischmann, so I'd be guessing. It's probably a good guess that it's a tender drive, but I don't know for sure since I don't have the locomotive in front of me.
BTW, one thing I don't think is clear. Did you actually try to run the thing?
OK, then, back to basics.
What happens when you put this engine on the track and try to run it? Have you tested it on a track where other trains are known to run OK? We'd all feel pretty silly if, after spending an evening trying to fix the engine, it turned out to be a bad power supply.
Have you opened up either the tender or the engine itself? It should be done carefully, because there are lots of small parts that can and will fall out. Once you've got it open, post some more pictures of it. The tender is probably held together by small screws on the underside. The engine may have a screw in the front, either on the bottom under the smokestack, or on the top inside the smokestack.
If I was doing this, I would re-visit eBay, go to HO section and type in 4-6-0.
WAIT, I just did that! Current bid $15.50 for a loco very similar to yours, and probably has ALL the parts you need. (Item number:130349172788) 4 hrs. left. It doesn't get any cheaper than that.
that was one of my other sudjestions to him..see if you can find one on ebay that has everything or just a running loco and go from there..
I'm with others that there are more economical options than building this yourself but you seem to indicate that you already bought the shell and it is a gift for someone else. I haven't completed this myself but I'm attempting with a brass model that isn't in production anymore.
1. Engine: Yes, you can purchase a can motor that will allow your train to run but you need a gearbox, worms, etc., that put the motor to use. You may be best off cannibalizing the base parts of a similar model and replacing older open-frame motors with a newer can motor. You can probably pick up a motor for anywhere between $10 and $25 that should cut the mustard.
2. Smoke: Units are available and it "looks" like you may have room, depending on how large of a boilder weight you put in there or the dimensions on the inside of the boilder. $10-$20.
3. Light: Take your pick but you'll need to pick between LED or incandescent. You'll also have to find some type of electronics board to cannibalize for this. Too variable to estimate.
4. Wheels: No idea. Your wheels look like they'll need to be replaced with more updated versions. Check Greenway products. This also will mix in with the gearboxes, etc. You'll be on your own most likely in terms of finding a product that matches the wheels of the locomotive.
5. Whistle: Sound decoders can be found but you'll need to figure out the electronics. I will be perfectly honest that I have yet to do this. Nonetheless, a sound decoder is not a cheap option for quality. In all likelihood, you'll probably burn through one or two before you figure out the current draw and get the electronics straight.
Your best bet if you are serious is to ask on the DCC board. There are a couple of yahoo groups that were recommended to me that seem helpful. The best suggestion I saw was to order a hard copy of the NWSL catalog.
You are not going to have a quick project or a cheap project. It's going to cost you $150-$200 unless you buy everything on eBay for a deal. I say that because you are going to have some mistakes and they will be costly. Good luck.
Dcc sound your looking the price range form 30-145....smoke units around 20-25.. the one I'm going to use on my T-1 duplex is a MTH that is 50.00....