Vic Smith and I recently did a junkbox swap. One of the things he sent was an illco "Muppets" loco chassis. It looks a knock off of the LGB #207, but the fact that Vic sent it on for basically free probably tells a lot of you all you really need to know about it's quality..... He claims it's because he felt "if anybody could make it work", I could 
Upon it's arrival, the conversation went something like this:
AV owner- "If the Borracho Springs (home of silver plated Cheerful, Cheap, and Cheesy LLC) couldn't polish that steaming pile of Sh__, then anybody with any sense could see it's completely hopeless!"
Head flunky and broom jockey at the Skonkworks - "Ah gots me abowt foh dollah, an' fifteen cents, boss!"
.............................. (WHY do we keep that guy around, again?).........................................
Anyway, it was decided to turn it into.... something -- for the kiddies to operate on open days, y'know.
First order of biznezz was to fix a gear that had slipped on it's shaft (It was split, but I found one from another cheap broken toy)..... then swap out the front wheelset with a spare one Vic sent (that had a crankpin boss) Followed by a couple air tanks made from 1/2" pvc pipe and a pilot from wood and styrene....
Boiler is 75c worth of 2" pvc drain pipe, stack is B'mann Bug Mauler, smokebox door is Lionel Polar Express - both outta my junkbox..... me heap big spender!
Mocked up on the chassis, BTW that drain pipe stuff smells exactly like, well..., when you cut it with an abrasive disc... how fitting is that?
It was decided early on that this project really deserved two skunks. So Stanley Stinkum tried to get his twin brother Sidney to pose... the photographer gave up and snapped this picture while they were still arguing...
Anyway, keeping with my no budget approach, I dug a Bachmann Mining Mogul ( Indie) cab roof I've been 'seasoning' for... 6 years or so? out of the "really junk" junkbox... it was too narrow. But I only have ONE New Old Stock Delton c-16 cab roof left- and it ain't gittin used for THIS, so the Indie one HAD to work...
Steam dome is a sand dome from a long junked Bachmann 0-4-0 Porter, sand dome is Kalamazoo. Cab sides are Delton c-16 'steel' cab panels (THOSE I still have a few of), connecting rods Lionel Polar Express, side rods Delton bits and brass. I made them extra sloppy since the wheels probably aren't perfectly quartered...Front crankpins I made from the old illco rods, and I'm still trying to scrounge a rear set.
The tender will probably be built up from a Hartland mini flat... we shall see. The major parts donor I really need to find for this is one of those crappy old forward/reverse only r/c cars. When you DON'T want one, they're all over the place at flea markets and yard sales for a dollar or two... when you do, they're scarce as hen's teeth.....
I also decided late today that this thing would NOT be lettered for the AV -- rather I'd see if I can use some leftover dry transfers to make up ones for the (not so) legendary WBT&S (Wobble, Bobble, Turnover & Stop!)...
With luck it soon might even get upgraded from total turd to extra cheesy..... Depends if it can actually pull it's shadow when I'm done!
Upon it's arrival, the conversation went something like this:
AV owner- "If the Borracho Springs (home of silver plated Cheerful, Cheap, and Cheesy LLC) couldn't polish that steaming pile of Sh__, then anybody with any sense could see it's completely hopeless!"
Head flunky and broom jockey at the Skonkworks - "Ah gots me abowt foh dollah, an' fifteen cents, boss!"
.............................. (WHY do we keep that guy around, again?).........................................
Anyway, it was decided to turn it into.... something -- for the kiddies to operate on open days, y'know.
First order of biznezz was to fix a gear that had slipped on it's shaft (It was split, but I found one from another cheap broken toy)..... then swap out the front wheelset with a spare one Vic sent (that had a crankpin boss) Followed by a couple air tanks made from 1/2" pvc pipe and a pilot from wood and styrene....
Boiler is 75c worth of 2" pvc drain pipe, stack is B'mann Bug Mauler, smokebox door is Lionel Polar Express - both outta my junkbox..... me heap big spender!
Mocked up on the chassis, BTW that drain pipe stuff smells exactly like, well..., when you cut it with an abrasive disc... how fitting is that?
It was decided early on that this project really deserved two skunks. So Stanley Stinkum tried to get his twin brother Sidney to pose... the photographer gave up and snapped this picture while they were still arguing...
Anyway, keeping with my no budget approach, I dug a Bachmann Mining Mogul ( Indie) cab roof I've been 'seasoning' for... 6 years or so? out of the "really junk" junkbox... it was too narrow. But I only have ONE New Old Stock Delton c-16 cab roof left- and it ain't gittin used for THIS, so the Indie one HAD to work...
Steam dome is a sand dome from a long junked Bachmann 0-4-0 Porter, sand dome is Kalamazoo. Cab sides are Delton c-16 'steel' cab panels (THOSE I still have a few of), connecting rods Lionel Polar Express, side rods Delton bits and brass. I made them extra sloppy since the wheels probably aren't perfectly quartered...Front crankpins I made from the old illco rods, and I'm still trying to scrounge a rear set.
The tender will probably be built up from a Hartland mini flat... we shall see. The major parts donor I really need to find for this is one of those crappy old forward/reverse only r/c cars. When you DON'T want one, they're all over the place at flea markets and yard sales for a dollar or two... when you do, they're scarce as hen's teeth.....
I also decided late today that this thing would NOT be lettered for the AV -- rather I'd see if I can use some leftover dry transfers to make up ones for the (not so) legendary WBT&S (Wobble, Bobble, Turnover & Stop!)...
With luck it soon might even get upgraded from total turd to extra cheesy..... Depends if it can actually pull it's shadow when I'm done!
