Update:
OK, this thing is a delightful little project! Kid-zilla already sat down with CINCHOUSE and asked her to pick out the kit she wants make with him. She did not rise to the bait…
Back to this build. The chassis came together almost problem free.
After that, following the instructions, he used our vise to place these hubs into the wheels:
Using the vice was a neat trick!
Somewhere along the line, the skirt, steam dome, stack, and boiler got painted, which, of course, necessitated a test fit:
You’ll note our 1:24 PLAYMOBIL engineer fits perfectly! Bonus!
I had been peaceably working on a rocket, when I heard him mumbling about getting the wheels onto the axel. I looked over and saw a pair of pliers about to clamp down on the drive gear, so I decided it was time to act to prevent catastrophic failure (of note, his kit complete extra motor and gear, whether by design or accident, I care not!). Then we really got into trouble, which is why there are no pictures.
The company usually makes 32mm stuff, and the instructions, which I read, said to make sure the wheels had 28mm between them. Being literally minded, I dutifully the wheels 28mm apart. Ooooopsss…Maybe if I could have found my gear puller, the 90 minutes of creative use of vise, hammer, aluminum angle, pliers, etc. could have been prevented. I would also note the axel is a bit short, and it does not come flush to the end of the wheel hubs when the gauge is set. Something to know if you get one of these kits.
This worthy father-son quest successfully concluded, Kid-zilla installed the bottom plate. The instructions warn that you may need to enlarge some holes with an 8mm tap. Not having one of those, we gently widened these holes with a jewelers file. This has been the only difficulty we’ve had to date in terms of part fit. Maybe these folks could do quality control for B’mann?
Kid-zilla quartered the wheels, which proved easy.
Given all of this is hidden behind the skirting, the rod is visually unnecessary.
Now it was time from some 0-5-0 testing. Our previous foray into UK kits ran into the rocks on our turnouts, so I was very worried…
Success! To be frank, I was surprised how well the shallow flanges kept to the rails.
The motor went in next. Unfortunately, this required removing the bottomplate which had been such a bearcat to install. The motor sits snugly int a puka (hole), then a 16mm screw is used to tighten the puka about the motor. Then you get to put the bottomplate back on, a job which fell to me. Completed, it lloks like this:
I didn’t have a 2xAAA clip on hand, but we did rig some batteries to power the little beast with alligator clips.
It scooted along pretty nicely.
The rest of the weekend saw masking and taping…
…and Fudge pretty much looks like this now:
Kid-zilla did prove himself mortal, and he bubble the paint on the boiler’s top. That’s what sandpaper is for!
I’ll look for the battery clip this week. Kid-zilla will keep sanding and painting. There are a few detail parts yet to place, and Kid-zilla will have to wire the DPDT switch to the battery and motor. So far, this was a PERFECT project for a wet weekend that hits right where his skill level lies…familiar enough to ensure success, new enough to offer challenges. The true test, however, will be how Fudge behaves out on the rails under “his” own power.
Updates as progress merits!
On Behalf of Kid-zilla,
Eric
P.S. If you haven’t guessed, I am enjoying the heck out of this. Even if our rails prove to uneven for this little tram, the build has been a great father-son activity, and I could imagine Fudge getting his own @VicSmith style pizza-box layout.
