Pages

Saturday 20 February 2016

Whistles in the hills...

Hi all,
Thought I'd share some of the results from a recent make over I did on one of my Haskell On30 Puffing Billy NA locos.  This loco is one of a pair that have been sitting on the shelf for a while, so I had some time a few weeks back to make a few changes to the model and add a new paint job.
 
A few small modifications had to made, mainly the front buffer...its about 6" short on the loco straight out of the box.  Ian Lindsay Models has cast a replacement buffer to the correct length, but installation can be a bit tricky.  The original buffer needs to be carefully cut off, an extra bit of mounting styrene added to the underside of the footplate, and then the new buffer mounted in place.  A new slot needs to also be milled out for the coupler to be fitted into again.  A note for anyone else doing this same modification, the styrene supplied with the new buffer casting will foul on the lead truck when cornering, so the styrene really needs to be either milled back, exchanged for some angle styrene, or even changed for a bit of brass angle.  Other dress up items included a set of jacks (brass castings), a new tool box and new smaller lights (also all Ian Lindsay Models items). 


 

 

New micro LED's were fitted into the headlight castings, and soldered to the existing lighting boards as supplied with the Haskell NA (boards moved to inside the smoke box and rear bunker, instead of inside the back of the lights as supplied).  The whole loco was given a spray with flat black, and then slowly built up to layers of grime and dirt using a variety of the AK Interactive enamel washes.  Lots of thin washes results in better layered effects that give a subtle finish of a loco that is well used, rather than over abused.  A Loksound decoder with the NA sound project from DCCSound was installed a while back, and provides reliable running with the Keep Alive capacitor that is mounted in the firebox. 
 
One down, but not sure when I'll get around to doing a similar make over with the other NA still on the shelf.  This newest weathered one (now 12A) has had a limited run on my layout on the 6' of track I have installed, where it is great to hear and see some movement across the layout.  One day, these whistles will blow across the tree lined valleys of Upper Gully.
 
Cheers,
Dan

4 comments:

  1. Hi Dan,
    Beautiful work. Looks like she's well and truly ready for service.
    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Bob. Still a couple of minor last bits to add (like whistle cord and a few tools), but otherwise good to go. Now I just need to get around to finishing a few bits of rolling stock to make up a train.

    Cheers,
    Dan

    ReplyDelete
  3. G'day Dan, I have just discovered your website, in particular the gum tree cd, Brilliant !! Got to have a copy your gums are the best I have seen, slight issue with paypal at present will try later this arvo let you know... Thanks mate.
    Matt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Matt,
      Not sure if you ended up trying to order one of the CD's, but I've just discovered there was a typo in the email address linked to that Buy Now button. That error has now been corrected.

      If you made a payment, it should show in your PayPal account as not yet accepted...you should be able to cancel that other payment and then proceed again with a correct order. Big apology for my mistake if you've been waiting for a delivery!

      Cheers,
      Dan

      Delete