5Bel Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Hi All, I have had a Heljan 47 for ages but the body was becoming increasingly difficult to get off the chassis, so I thought about putting the chassis in an old Lima model I had. This was going well until I ruined the Lima body with over zealous paint stripping. The project got put on the to do one day pile until I managed to pick up a ViTrains body for £7.50. I stripped the paint using Meths as suggested on this site and got to work slimming the chassis down. I had to take off 1mm from each side, but armed with a sharp dreadnought file I set about the task. It took nearly an hour to get the chassis to fit it's new host! A chamfer along the top edge was required to get a snug fit and the rubber motor housings were cut down also. So far so good. I will use Heljan handrails and detailing parts and it will be painted two tone green FYE with a tops number. Comments welcome as always. Cheers for now, Ian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRman Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Now that is a very interesting combination. It also looks very promising. Good luck with it and keep posting pics as you go, please. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Indeed it does. Right up my street this, especially with 5 Duffs in the "to do" pile so I'll be coming along for the ride too. Nice work so far! Cheers. Sean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Bel Posted April 19, 2013 Author Share Posted April 19, 2013 Hi, Thanks for the comments, this will be a bit of a slow burning project while I get on with other jobs. The ride height seems a little low by about 1mm and I am undecided whether to make the bogies a bit narrower. The meths paint stripping method was a good tip. I have also done my Lima 31 and Lima 40 body. It doesn't harm the plastic in any way. I am going to try a couple of old Airfix brakes next. Once again thanks for the comments. Cheers for now, Ian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 Watch the can interiors, they are sometimes a touch wide and add to the tubby look. Think what really make them look too wid is the fact that the Lima ones were too narrow and Hornbys elderly version was the only true width one until Bachmann and Vi Trains versions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.