Eric's 2025 Mik - Ke Ka'aahi o Luna Nana / Inspection Locomotive

Eric_Mueller · January 10, 2025, 7:32am

It is hard to believe, but I am building solo this year! The project, an inspection locomotive (Ka’aahi o Luna Nana)…

…has been an on-again / off-again idea since Pete Thornton ( @PeterT ) suggested it (Triple O - 2024 Plans & Objectives) and helpfully provided a box of goodies he got with an auction lot. The 1:24 gang inspects it in the picture below.

Much of it comes from what looks like a heavily modified LGB 2017D. The boiler, stack, and steam down are all tinplate, I think.

The presumed 2017D deck…

will not fit over my selected chassis, the discarded remnants of my effort to repower an LGB m2075 (battery) with a British motor block ( Rehab of the Missile Sponges Part the Second - Christmas Thom.

The LGB tender in the background of the topmost photo will serve as power, based upon the success of a “pusher” last month to keep Christmas Thomas rolling despite ground up gears ( Triple O vs. LGB m2075 Battery Locos, 2025 edition). Oldest Daughter had previously asked that we keep this one stock, as she likes the color, so it is not really part of the project.

The plan is to loosely base this on our beloved trams, Elias and Silas.

I had considered using brass, as I have sheets and rods on hand, but I had singularly magnificent failures in soldering brass together when we build the plans for Kid-zilla’s submarine ( Submarine Transport for the Triple O . Instead, I plan to take a page from Craig’s ( @ctown2) playbook and try styrene. This means some of my $35 books will be going to white plastic stuff to use as braces and poles and such. Most details I’ll fake as I go along.

The key to this will be to get the old paint off the boiler and to prep the cab for painting, as I think it is the finishing and not the building that will make this vehicle shine. I’ve no idea what the original builder intended, but I hope to keep some of his or her handiwork visible in the end product. Letting the original crafter’s work shine through in a new incarnation is important to me. It gives the end product a legacy and a story.

I’ve warned the kids that I have begun raid the bit boxes and gemuckabuckets! Toujours l’audace!

Eric

Eric_Mueller · January 12, 2025, 7:31am

Day 1: Discovering What I Actually Have

I had assumed that I had a heavily modified LGB 2017D with some homemade bits glued on. The 1:24 gang and I set out to prove that theory…unfortunately, I was dead wrong!

The cab roof…

…was actually some sort of cardstock!

Upon further inspection, we found the pink plastic was actually some sort of cladding!

The whole cab is some sort of metal! There was a sticker on the cab walls, so I am guessing it was some sort of toy or, based on the lack of a roof, candy holder or something. No clue.

To boot, the creator has painted over some sort of sticker. I actually think this was from a Barbie Dream house based on the plastic, colors, and personal experience assembling one of those things.

Investigating further, the firebox was more of that pink plastic covered in that cardstock and the remnants of what may have been a toy locomotive.

The smokebox door is actually some sort of rotary switch!

I think that is VERY clever, and I may preserve this for the fact of its cleverness!

I’ve no idea what this was supposed to be…

…but it was glued atop the boiler. It is some sort of tab from a plastic juice bottle, I think, which was also very clever, whatever it was supposed to represent.

There was actually a very nicely made lamp, which I will preserve. Naturally, I didn’t take a photo of it. Some other bit of plastic formed the steam dome. It has a nice rose on it, so I’ll keep it.

The boiler sat on this thing.

Bendable tabs held it in place. I will salvage some of this, too, as otherwise I’d have to cut or fashion my own way of mounting the boiler. I’ve already begun to clean it up. Lots of sanding and filling ahead!

Most of the afternoon, though, was spent soaking the metal bits in MEK, scrubbing them, washing them, and repeating. The paint, glue, and modelling epoxy was thick and uneven throughout.

By nightfall, the crew and a contracted crane were ready to get a vector check.

I kind of wish my MIK was “Plausible, Cutsie 0-4-0!”

Looking at what I had, I had to wonder at the creativity of whomever cobbled this stuff together. I have to admit, though, to being flabbergasted by the thick paint, glue globs, bad fillings, etc. Pete (@PeterT ) had sent another item with this lot of junk, a deadringer for an LGB snowplow made from orange crate, so the builder had skills! Maybe this was never intended to be more than a trainlike item on a back shelf somewhere? Who knows? My thanks and my hats off to the individual that got that far with such a polyglot of bits. On to the future!

I am going to work this from the inside out, starting with the cab and boiler then fashioning the inspection deck. I haven’t the foggiest on how to work with this metal, so I am going to be detail sparse. There are holes I need to plug, and I hope I can do that with cotter pins and handrails. I also think I can use a nut and bolt to attach the boiler to the cab using that firebox, which I am going to try and rework. I will remount the steam dome, then get it in paint. I cannot imagine bare metal in our environment is a good thing!

I can start figuring out how to make the inspector’s deck once I get the boiler-cab assembly mounted to my donor chassis. I bought the styrene to make the deck. The plan is to make it, lower it place, then make it fast with screws.

We shall see!

Eric

David_Marconi_FOGCH · January 12, 2025, 9:23am

A MIK challenge using an original MIK for its core. Ingenious and well stumbled upon Eric.

Devon_Sinsley · January 12, 2025, 1:47pm

What a truly interesting start to the build. The disassembly might be as fun as the build

Eric_Mueller · January 13, 2025, 7:00am

Day 2: Figuring Out How to Work with the Metal

Dave (@David_Marconi_FOGCH ), I had the same thought. I actually felt as though I was repurposing a lost MIK project! And, yes, Devon ( @Devon_Sinsley ) this bit of discovery was fascinating in its own right.

What follows is not necessarily in order, as I tackled things as time and inspiration allowed.

I decided to spend the day trying to address the metal bits, as I didn’t know what, if any, adhesives would work or whether or not I could solder this stuff. I do feel some impetus to get the metal under paint as soon as possible, too, to prevent corrosion. To that end, the easy job was to send the stack and cab to the Palm of Spray Painting for newly purchased automotive primer ($7.99).

I am always amazed how a better paint covering can immediately improve a toy or model!

I also decided to keep the smokebox door made from a rotary switch. That is just too cool to toss! I gambled that five minute epoxy ($7.99), would do the trick. First, the 1:24 gang had to grind out old glue gobs.

Then came the moment of truth, and I applied the epoxy. It worked! Later, the gang helped apply modeling putty to help round out the newly installed door.

I’ll sand this to shape in time.

I had to attend to the roof, too. We grabbed some thin styrene and traced the frame…

…leaving just a bit extra to account for error. I used the 5-minute epoxy to affix the styrene to the frame, and the gang used rubber bands to hold it fast while the glue set.

Success! Where has this glue been all my life? Back to this project, I’ll trim the excess plastic later and fill gaps with modeling putty.

I don’t want to trust to adhesives to hold the steam dome in place, so the 1:24 crew and I removed the pressure relief valve (It looks like the tip from a drawing compass!), drove a bolt through, and made it fast with a nut. ($0.80 for the hardware).

Flush with success, I tried to solder the cotter pins to the boiler for a handrail and to plug those holes.

No joy. I could get the solder to stick the boiler or the pin, but not to both. I have since affixed a bit of scrap aluminum to the inside of the boiler with my new best friend, 5-minute epoxy. If it holds, I will cut aluminum into strips, epoxy one side, wrap it around the boiler in a way to cover those holes, and call it “banding.” If that works, I’ll make a collar for the steam dome with epoxy putty, clean the lot, prime it, paint it, and figure out how to mount it to the chassis!

I’ll close with my thoughts on that. The first order of business will be to remove the battery mounts on the chassis so that, whatever I do, I have a flat work surface! Tentatively, I plan to mount the cab and boiler to deck, then make the whole assembly fast to the chassis. The deck will overhang enough to provide standing room for the luna nana / inspector and his colleagues. We shall see!

Eric

Eric_Mueller · January 14, 2025, 6:52am

Day 3: Sanding, Filing, Filling, and Fiddling

I used the evening hours to finish shaping my smokebox door.

Not bad for a rotary switch and putty!

The 1:24 gang and I also used epoxy putty to make a collar for the steam dome. I also filled in the groove in the bolt head and made a hole for it to seat our relief valve. I chose to use extra putty to plug those holes, and I am not sure how well epoxy will hold aluminum banding to the boiler.

My doubts came when I inspected my roof, and I noted the corners were not totally secure. The 1:24 gang and I trimmed the styrene, reglued, and re-banded the roof.

I remembered the original creator had a roof vent I presumed was for that LGB 2017. Nope. Random plastic. You’ll note it again serves as a roof vent!

Finally, I broke off the remaining firebox walls and left only the top firebox and rudimentary backhead. Modeling putty went to fill the gaps.

There’s lots of filing and sanding to do to make this look OK. When it is clean, I will make a new firebox from styrene. I want a fresh, clean surface for painting and some rudimentary details. I plan to use scrap styrene to give at least the impression of a firebox door, Johnson bar, break, etc. I’ll take my guide off a STAINZ.

The plan is to have at least the boiler in the blue-grey and black of the Triple O by Sunday and the cab and interior at least built. We shall see!

Eric

PeterT · January 14, 2025, 7:18pm

I do recall the pink plastic around the cab of this thing, but I am totally mesmerized by your work!

Devon_Sinsley · January 14, 2025, 8:17pm

Epoxy putty . . . now there is a product I never considered using in my models but is a great idea. I have always leaned to Bondo body filler as my go to putty (even with wood where I don’t need to stain it). Put I have used epoxy plumbers putty for various home and boat repairs. Would be much friendly to work with than bondo for small quantities.

Eric_Mueller · January 15, 2025, 7:41am

Day 4: More Sanding and Filing, but No Fiddling

@PeterT , thank you for your kind compliment. That’s high praise given your skills, especially where the apply to giving life to derelict locos! We’ll see how I do transitioning from surface prep to modeling! Also, @Devon_Sinsley , I am glad I could contribute to your kit bag for a change. We discovered the epoxy putty through rocketry, where we use it to create fillets on larger rockets and those that use tumble recovery.

Meanwhile, this project moved along at the pace of drying putty. I was thrilled to see that the epoxy filled the holes in the boiler, but, after sanding, they did require a bit of modeling putty to fill dimples where it had settled. I also cleaned up the firebox, removing the last of the cardstock and mystery plastic, and I made fast the last bits of the styrene roof to the roof frame, though I switch to CA to ensure it flowed into loose spots. The roof vent didn’t adhere, so I reaffixed it with CA. I also cut vent hole. Novel, I know! The lots looks like this:

More sanding and filing tomorrow. Time permitting, I will also clean and prime the roof and boiler. Then I can turn to on preparing the chassis to receive all this stuff!

Eric