DalaGStanator's Customs, Mods and Experiments

Since my "knuckle" coupler design yielded good results in a larger scale, I repeated the same technique for the head(s) at half the previous size and made enough couplers for the tender and three other units; one will eventually replace the dummy one on the cowcatcher. The flexible cardboard used for the large couplers was too thick, so I needed a smaller piece to cut the strips out of. While not fully consistent like they should be, most of them do stay together as good as the large ones. I will have to raise the tender one since it's too low for the coaches I'm building (or rather, "passenger cars").



As mentioned, the metal brackets were traced onto cardboard for the bogie frames, still joined with skewers through the middle holes. Each side frame uses two layers to make them nearly as strong as the originals. The only other difference is the middle holes are now flush with the bearings rather than being recessed. Apart from derailing easily due to the thin flanges, they roll smoothly but may need more weight to help them stay on better. Without the end pieces (below), the cars are the same length as the unpowered loco. The top bushings will be bridged over once the interiors are added. I found the bogies were mounted too close to the ends, so the end (side step) pieces had to be added separately.



While cutting out the windows for the bodies, I initially didn't understand why they came out so rough and were a bit tricky to remove. Some of the frame pieces had also broken off in the process. Turned out the knife didn't reach all the way through and I had to hold the walls up to get cleaner cuts. The "broken" window frames were either reglued or restored before adding my usual "plastic glass" on the insides (which helped strengthen them further). Good thing I still had enough of those left for such long bodies. After that, the walls were glued to the sides of each chassis to be folded up once the end walls are added. Not really proud of the side steps, which may or may not be replaced at a later point.