Another Bachmann Junior Loco

[RedGemAlchemist]

I've been trying to remove the original paint from a Bachmann junior loco that I'm tweaking.  I've tried Xtracrylix Purisol and Modelstrip  so far, but it's had little impact.  Has anyone found something effective that doesn't damage the plastic?

I normally lightly sand with fine sandpaper until the paint comes off. 

[jcm@gwr]

I normally lightly sand with fine sandpaper until the paint comes off. 

 

Might be better/safer with Wet'n'Dry

[relaxinghobby]

 

At last I found the intended chassis, the Bachmann Billy chassis I re-wheeled ages ago. I thought it would be slim enough to fit a shunting loco like this Hudswell Clark but perhaps not one as small as a Manning Wardle. I can place the bits of the body over the motor and try them for size for the first time.

 

Well it does not quite fit as I thought it would, no chance of getting the small smoke box over the end of the motor mount but if the chassis is turned around and placing the motor in the cab it will all go in, just. A slight cheat is needed and I could place an inverted U over the motor between the cab and the saddle tank to represent the fire box and make it slightly over tall, Hornby Smoky Joe style to hide the motor gubbins. It is all looking possible, there are some compromises, the body is slightly over scale and the length in the boiler area is stretched by 2 mm or so to squeeze in the chassis but it is still a tiny loco. That’s the effect I wish to achieve.

 

 

A notch under the saddle tank is cut away to clear the worm drive.

[relaxinghobby]

Now then some progress at last, forwards as well which is always good, it was going backward for a while let me explain.....

After visiting the Loughborough exhibitions at the strange environment of the old grammar school there with it's private streets, separate buildings behind hedges and street lamps just like a giant film set or as on a Sunday morning when I got there like a deserted town in a post zombie apocalypse movie, all quiet and deserted as one exhibitor commented.

 

Any way a nice late summer day spent in a nice quiet environment and I got to speak to the cardboard loco man and ask advice.

 

I need to use better and smoother quality cardboard, so before I went and made all new saddle tank and smoke box parts I peeled back the buff coloured layers which had horrible craeses in them and glued some thin birthday-card card layers in their place and it built up to give a smooth rounded surfaces.

 

I used super glue so I would not have long to wait between each layer and it also soaks into the card and sets it hard.

 

So progress and now I can get on and glue the body parts together, a bit of fiddling is needed to hide the front of the motor where it intrudes into the saddle tank a bit.

 

Forward........

[Sandhole]

 

Now then some progress at last, forwards as well which is always good, it was going backward for a while let me explain.....

After visiting the Loughborough exhibitions at the strange environment of the old grammar school there with it's private streets, separate buildings behind hedges and street lamps just like a giant film set or as on a Sunday morning when I got there like a deserted town in a post zombie apocalypse movie, all quiet and deserted as one exhibitor commented.

 

Any way a nice late summer day spent in a nice quiet environment and I got to speak to the cardboard loco man and ask advice.

 

I need to use better and smoother quality cardboard, so before I went and made all new saddle tank and smoke box parts I peeled back the buff coloured layers which had horrible craeses in them and glued some thin birthday-card card layers in their place and it built up to give a smooth rounded surfaces.

 

I used super glue so I would not have long to wait between each layer and it also soaks into the card and sets it hard.

 

So progress and now I can get on and glue the body parts together, a bit of fiddling is needed to hide the front of the motor where it intrudes into the saddle tank a bit.

 

Forward........

 

That's just Out There Man!!!!

I'm definitely going to follow this!!!

                                         C.

[relaxinghobby]

 

Always an anxious time, the time with the hack saw.

Best tool for cutting through the Mazac metal chassis is the junior hacksaw, as long as the blade is new and sharp.

The motor un-clips from it's plastic saddle, the wires have come off so that was easy and the mechanism is wrapped up in cellotape to

protect it from metal saw dust. Wheels dropped out so that it can be held in a vice or pushed against a saw block.

 

Mistakes can be made, too much cut off parts can be damaged so work with care.

 

It is obvious now when held up against the drawing the wheelbase is slightly over long, and so is the body, it's so long  since I drew out

the parts in Inkscape I had forgotten where I'd made changes from the plans.

 

So the next step is to work that out as I glue the parts to the footplate.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...Best tool for cutting through the Mazac metal chassis is the junior hacksaw, as long as the blade is new and sharp...so work with care...

 

I will slightly beg to differ on the cutting tool. Junior hacksaws are horrible wobbly things intended for rough work in confined spaces such as when removing old plumbing and other fixtures, and no other tool will fit  - all dating from the days before small power tools were a commonplace.

 

A standard hacksaw is the tool for benchwork such as this. Rigid and thus stable, wider choice of blades, far easier to handle and control. As for work with care, despite having been brought up with the maxim of always rounding off cut edges in metal work immediately after cutting operations, I neglected to do this on my first chopping of a Kader casting and gave myself a goodly wound as a result. The grade of mazak they use takes an edge such as I never saw in my youthful choppings of Triang, Wrenn and H-D.

 

...It is obvious now when held up against the drawing the wheelbase is slightly over long, and so is the body, it's so long  since I drew out

the parts in Inkscape I had forgotten where I'd made changes from the plans. So the next step is to work that out as I glue the parts to the footplate.

 

Ah, but you are practically the only person who knows of these errors, very few others will notice! It is all looking very promising. The tiny wheels that say 'contractor's loco' are going to take the eye of most observers. Finer coupling rods would be an enhancement when you have the time.

 

The cover over the motor immediately ahead of the cab that you are concerned about. I would cheat, put in as close fitting a cover as possible on which to mount the safety valves, then pile coal up from the top of the bunker bins to conceal the surface.

 

Loving it.

[relaxinghobby]

Well thanks 34C for the encouragement, As far as the junior hacksaw goes it's the only one I've but I look at whats avaliable in full size one's Having a wider choice of blades sounds good.

 

A couple of photographs, I'm still worrying with it to get the dimensions I feel will work.

 

The boiler is a side project, meant to be for a wagon load or dressing a loco shed scene. I had some space on the A4 sized plan of the Hudswell Clark so

drew up the shapes for a separate boiler.

 

 

 

If you scan the bar code on the saddle tank side it will tell you the class.

Edited September 19, 2018 by relaxinghobby

[jcm@gwr]

I agree, normal Junior hacksaw blades are not very good,

they don't have a proper 'set' in the teeth, instead they rely

on a 'wavy' blade.

But, if you buy Bahco blades, you will transform the quality

of cut you can achieve, eg straight!

[Charles125]

I've taken the (relatively!) easy option, lowering the Bachmann Junior's saddle tank by 3mm and the footplate by 2mm, still allowing room for the Bachmann DCC chip.

 

Achieved by unclipping the cab and saddle tank, using a razor saw directly under the saddle tank, then using the razor saw to cut each base piece directly above the toolboxes, and re gluing

the base pieces with wheel splashers back in in position under the saddle tank. The smokebox saddle was lowered to accept the smokebox door and the front aperture was opened upwards to allow the smokebox door to sit 3mm above the footplate using a round grinding bit in a mini drill, and for it to be be glued in place.

 

The chassis end pieces that rest under the footplate were both lowered by 2mm using a diamond cutting disk in the mini drill, with the corresponding chassis securing lugs reduced accordingly, The front saddle tank securing plastic lugs were trimmed underneath to fit the new chassis position. If necessary 1mm can be taken off the top of the chassis weight and the top edges chamfered slightly.

 

I haven't altered the front cab windows, but they could be drilled out to a suitably larger size.

 

It makes for a much better looking loco, with the saddle tank 5mm lower than Bachmann's monstrosity! . Shame Bachmann didn't think to do likewise in the first place!

 

Edited December 4, 2018 by Charles125

[Justang]

When I was building a tapered boiler for a model I cut out 3 plastic sheets, rolled them and stuck them together with polystyrene cement. As the boiler was not perfect, I covered it in miliput and sanded it round.

Edited December 28, 2018 by Justang

[jburgt]

What are the measurements of the original Bachmann 0-6-0 junior saddle tank. Diameter wheels, distance between axles. Lenght from buffer to buffer?

[DanInHisDen]

On 28/09/2011 at 19:17, relaxinghobby said:

Saddle tank is now in the paint shop, the two crew are from Dapol and Preiser plastic figure sets, the strips of plastic card across their ankles are to enable gluing inside the loco cab.

 

 

The livery reminds me of this quote:

"It wasn't a very long or very important railway but it was called The Merioneth and Llantisilly Rail Traction Company Limited and it was all there was".

[relaxinghobby]

On 10/01/2018 at 18:37, relaxinghobby said:

Away from my modelling tools at the moment but I do have access to the wonderful modelling resource of RMweb.

To satisfy my modelling craving I've been pondering what to do with this old project of putting a new body on this

little Bachmann chassis.

 

From post  number 37 back in 2014. The chassis I had rewheeled with Bachmann's own smaller ones from their

spares web-site.

 

I've been playing around with images on Open Office Draw to compare sizes, the questions for me is can I get the chassis

to fit within the confines of a Hudswell Clarke style body industrial saddle tank. The drawings come from the Ixion O-gauge thread

on their ready to run model.

 

Until there is a R-T-R for 00 here is my alternative attempt.

 

 

I've tried to make the photo and drawings all to be in the same scale for easy comparison.

 

Picture from post 37 where I left off.

 

 

I await your opinions with interest.

A some what belated reply to jburgt

Scale drawing of the Bachmann chassis block, here fitted with 12mm wheels the original comes with 18mm diameter wheels.

Since we are here a progress report on the Hudswell Clark card body.

 

None.  Compared to the earlier plastic model which was just a get-it-to-look-right model I was trying to make an accurate one. There are many discrepancies to get the body to fit the chassis block, as these added up to a less accurate model I sort of lost interest and the card was getting tatty it is no way as robust as plastic or metal. With normal handling corners are being bent, sides squashed and it's not going to be very heavy which will effect running. This has all discouraged me and it went back into it's little box.

 

Edited August 27, 2021 by relaxinghobby
editation