Perhaps, but I have too many locos and too many projects, so no!
I should have begun my sentence with “In theory…”
The Bachmann Indie is a derivative of the Columbia, which was/is a 2-4-2. Plenty are available, but all have bad gears! Jiro sold me two sets a few years ago.
Craig,
Thanks for the read. We had a different problem, as the island is very approachable from any angle. There were three 16" batteries inland that could range anywhere. Honolulu / Pearl Harbor had a series of forts that ranged from Waikiki to Pearl Harbor. During the War, the Army went nuts and emplaced stuff everywhere for what I suspect were workfare projects to keep locals employed and soldiers busy. The OR&L and service railroads were instrumental in building and supplying these guns and, in the case of the 41st, deploying them.
For the project at hand, fear not @JRad ! There is a plan for a locomotive, as we have one more m2075 shell laying around.
We’re going to get a USA Trains or PIKO chassis, tram it up, and just have fun. Eventually…Interestingly, OR&L did not have a 2-4-2, so your Hawaii Railway Co. #5 could be from another island or a plantation. OR&L stuff went global when her flag fell…
We are starting this project with the carriage, basing it on the picture in my previous post. We are gathering ideas and bits for the gun, but I want there to be some progress! To that end, the 1:24 gang and I brought forth Sabre Saw from its lair to convert a broken bed board into a lowered flat car.
My inability to make a straight cut is a long running joke here, and this was no different.
Realizing that countinuously sanding and filing and cutting to get even chunks would result in a Z-scale car, we used our triangle to assess the damage…
…set the gate appropriately…
…and got good enough.
Kid-zilla noted the prototype sloped down to the lower deck. I noted no part of me was even going to make the attempt at an angled cut. He agreed we can make stairs, which other prototype images show. Phew.
After a bit of glue and some clamping…
Kid-zilla and I parted company so I could engage in a dinner date…
…and get in some diving.
Kid-zilla and I eventually reconvened to put on some wood filler, sanded like the devil, and got a decent basis for this project.
The small timbers were used in lieu of bolsters to get a sense of the height. The whole rig is about the size of an LGB box car, so it should work.
The next step for me is to get to the hobby shop and get some precut strip wood we can use to make the various braces and sills. He’s old enough for that. As we start cutting and gluing that, we’ll ideate on the gun and supporting peripherals, like extendable stabilizing legs, the crane, the cradle, etc.
Updates as progress merits!
Eric
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4 Likes
Eric;
Did something similar for the hatchling dragon transport. The drop center concept works pretty well if the lower section is secured with care. I used wooden coffee stir sticks for decking. One has to sort them carefully; many are as crooked as the proverbial dog’s hind leg (not a bad thing for stirring coffee, but terrible for decking use)! At about $3.00 for 1,000 stir sticks, I could live with the rejects.
Best wishes, David Meashey
Thanks. We’ve used similar material in some of our other projects, like the
Crane Car for the Triple O , and, yes some of those things were models for the letter “Z!” We’ll have to review our photos to see if this car had a steel or wooden deck, and, if wooden, it will get a deck like your dragon transport!
Right now, I suspect the gun will be the long leg, unless you know of coffee houses that use miniature 8" naval guns as coffee stirrers!
Eric
What a great project Eric and Kid Zilla and it is made even better that it has a local History to back it up.
I have been kicking around the idea of gun like that and I have been casually watching for a big bang cannon to come round at a decent price and condition to mount it to a custom built car. It’s a someday project.
I’m looking forward to you posting more progress on this.
Dave,
You gun is tiny! You should be ashamed!!! 
Keep your eyes out for Lego accessories. I found a couple of cannon on wheels designed for a Lego fort.
But Joe;
It was on the PlayMobile bargain table, and I figured I could use it for something!
Cheers, David Meashey
P.S. Besides, it won the MIK the year I got it.
Update:
Kid-zilla took on my alternatively straight cuts with some epoxy putty and sand paper.
This will make the detailing much eashier. To that end, basswood strips are on hand, as are the beams for the bolsters. We’ll cut and install the latter this week or weekend before detailing out the car. No point in adding details if the car won’t roll on the pike!
I started sniffing around e-Bay to see if I could find and old diecast howitzer to serve as our gun. No joy… This will be built by the stare, think, and wing-it method. I’ll snoop around a big box store this week to find likely candidates to serve as the pedestal, at least. The goal is to be able to have our PLAYMOBIL man the gun…and the future plotting car!
Updates as Progress Merits!
Eric
The interim goal is to have a unique piece of rolling stock to run as we
Do you have a Home Depot nearby?
I bet you could make a convincing gun with bits and pieces of PVC pipe fittings from the plumbing department.
Here you go. $8 and the size of a Playmobil man.
https://brickblockarmy.com/products/ww2-m1938-m-30-howitzer-122mm
Or maybe something more elaborate?
https://field-artillery-store.myshopify.com/products/model-bricks-howitzer-set
I saw that set for $27 instead of $40, and Aliexpress has the same without the box for $6.40
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Pete,
A belated “Thanks!” These guys are actually LEGO sized, which is closer to 1:48 / O Scale (As an aside, I have heard that LEGO deliberately made sure neither their trains nor their wider system matched with any commercial model scales.). The m777 is a 155mm gun, or just over 6". That would make it a 3" piece in our PLAYMOBIL-sized world. The barrel diameter is not that important, though. I’d be concerned that our artillerists would look awkwardly large next to it. Still, this is pointing us in the right direction. If this company has, say, a 12" gun, we may be in business!
Eric
P.S. This “Sluban” company makes a wide array of WWII themed stuff. There is a hobby centered on elaborate LEGO-compatible models of WWII stuff, and those companies will drain the bank. This Sluban stuff could easily fill the background or serve as gaming pieces. Cool!
Speaking of this project, we made some today! I am home with 'flu, alternating between boredom and lethargy, using projects to combat the former and e-loafing to combat the latter. Frankly, bouts of lethargy are winning…
At any rate, I found some wood strip begging to become bolsters and cut it down to suit. Then, I used our triangle to align the trucks on both sides, lining up the car’s ends with the edge of the journal boxes the scribing vertical lines to mark where our bolsters have to go.
Kid-zilla came home at some point and determined I was too brain dead to continue. He was right. Note how I carefully marked the bolsters’ positions on the top of the flat car!
I showed him how to use our big, orange triangle to transfer the marks, gave him a ruler, pencil, and paper, and let him math and mark away.
The bolsters are drying in place as I type,
I was originally mad at myself for cutting the bolsters the width of the trucks rather than the width of the car. We referenced the photos, however, and this mistake works in our favor (“favour” for Pete (@PeterT) and Bill (@Hines). Sorry, @Korm m, no umlaut.). We reverenced the prototype photos, and the telescoping legs that stabilized the car when the gun was firing actually tuck in under the deck. I knew that subconsciously, of course…
With the bolsters in place we can begin detailing this thing, using our photos as guides. I think we should do the rivets. Kid-zilla thinks I’m nuts. We’ll see!
Updates as progress merits!
Eric
P.S. The scraps from the wood that provided the deck were split and sacrificed to Lord Hibachi last week. The Triple O wastes nothing!
3 Likes
Quit breathing on the kid and go to your room!
Anybody tried these guys’ 3D rivet decals: Tank car double-row rivets (1.25 inch) for tank cars built before 1920 – Archer Transfers?
Asking for a friend…
Eric
Update:
KId-zilla is handling all the toolwork, as I am at the 80% mark. After successfully mounting the bolsters, I showed him how you can find the centers by drawing from one corner to the other, tehn he tapped holes for some woodscrews…
Next came the critical will-it-work-on-our-railroad test. We had to find a transition car, as we had not yet converted this to hook and loop. AM-Critter was today’s ready locomotive, we being too lazy to bring AM-Critter in from the lanai last night!
Kid-zilla took the throttle, and the test was off (video). He put the car through its paces, backing it and pulling it over all our turnouts. Later, we added a car behind it to validate the test. All is well, and we can move on to detailing!
Kid-zilla said, “I like the drop-bottom flat car. We need to clone more!” This followed last night’s talk of container cars. It all started with an affinity for diesels…
Updates as progress merits!
Eric
P.S. I am restraining myself from forging ahead alone. This is a cool project that I am eager to see done, but CONCHOUSE’s long-ago admonition is still ringing in my ears: “It cannot be just your hobby.” Time flies. It will be just my hobby all too soon.
1 Like
Yes I’ve used the archer weld decals not the rivers but similar idea. They work great like a regular decal. I found the best is to prime, apply decal like normal, let it dry and then lightly prime over again to seal.
The Micro Mark knockoffs stuck. They don’t stick to anything.