WoooHooo! Kumata Silverliner in brass! Finally

[u18b]

I then made a cut in the motor mount for the wire that runs up and over the motor.
This will bring that wire down low and keep it off the flywheel.



I then installed a TCS Z-2 decoder.  It was so small, it fit right under the motor.
I then added a TCS micro-plug to get the light wires (blue, white, yellow) up into the roof.


Oh.  And since the motor tabs were so long on this model, you can just see in the photo above that I curled them in so that they would hold the light wires close to the motor and away from the flywheel.

[u18b]

That face is beautiful.


But when compared to the prototype, there is just something glaringly missing.
Here is the same loco in Penn Central days.



You just cannot miss the DUAL headlights up in that big old slot.
So I'm going to make some.

[peteski]

A dual headlight (behind a clear "glass" panel) will be a welcome addition.

Other than that, the number board and some more details on the sides of the steps would make a big difference.  But to me the most glaring missing item is the one which will probably be the easiest to add: window glazing.

[Pennsy]

I like how the left hand window on the front has a black rubber casket. While the right one has a silver metal frame.
Wonder which one they came with originally or did they all come this way from the manufacturer?

Jim

[u18b]

Haha.  Peteski.  You beat me to it.
You're a mind reader!

The first step is to take the smallest K&S brass tube and flatten it on one side.
I start with a motor took and then finish with a file.



Then repeat.
This brings two holes closer together to fit inside the slot in the model.  The brass tubing as unmodified had the holes too far apart.



Now carefully solder the two tubes together- but don't get solder in the holes.



Now we're talking.



Hobby fiber optic is used.
30 mil.  And a lighter flame flares the ends and makes "lenses".



Test by holding up to my lamp.
yep, that's good.



Lots of work compressed here.
I took an old Kato E8 light board I had in my parts box (got there because of a DCC conversion).
I cut new traces and rearranged everything for my own DCC application.
So the blue wire will come in and go in both directions.
The white and the yellow wires will have their own PCboard resistors.
And I soldered the male side of the TCS plug right to the board at a slight angle.
Double sided tape holds the board.
I had to flatten the LEDs so they would clear the flywheels.
a long brass tube construction with fiberoptic inside is better than a short brass piece with a a lot of fiberoptics since the optics curl.  The longer brass tube (as on the right) keeps the optics straight.
And some Kapton tape covers everything.


Here is a close-up of the plug.
It shows that the blue wire comes in at the bottom.
The middle is the white wire.
Top is the yellow wire.



WOW!  Does it make a difference.
Photo coming in a bit.

[mmagliaro]

Cool headlight!

I would suggest getting those flywheels closer to the motor.  There's no reason to position them that far away that I can see, and that only adds to the potential for vibration and bearing wear (i.e. any little vibration or wobble is magnified the further away from the bearing you put the flywheel, so why not get it in as close as possible?)

As always Ron, fine work and a very interesting project to follow!

[u18b]

Now that is a good distance.



I know, some people hate the slight blu-ish color. 
But I'm weird.  I don't mind very much.
The brightness is great.

[u18b]

Peteski.  I re-read your post.

Yes, I thought about creating is really tiny glass pane for the headlight unit.

But I think this clearly falls in the 3-foot rule.
You don't really notice it is not there except in the extreme close-up of macro photography.

[u18b]

Max,
you are of course correct.

But these are not really heavy flywheels.

Actual running shows no problem.
It runs fabulously.

I'll eventually post a short movie.

[u18b]

Time to install windows.

I am a superglue addict (that didn't come out right   ). 
I use it for most applications.   

But this is not one of them.
Superglue does not like clear acetate.  It fogs it up.

Even if you apply the glue far away from the window opening,  just the cyanoacrylate FUMES will attack the glass.

So epoxy is the way to go.
Pretty cheap.
Has an A and a B part that must be mixed.  Make sure you open ONE tube, get some out, and then CLOSE that tube.  Otherwise you might put the wrong cap on a tube --- and bond it closed!
Note the color cap matches the tube. (sort of).



Get just a little out of one tube.  I use about a small pea size.



Add the same amount from the other tube and mix.



Get some on the mixer....



And apply carefully to the corner of the glass.
Hardens in about 4 minutes.

[peteski]

Nice job Ron!  On second thought you,re right - the glass headlight cover is just not feasible or needed.  On the 1:1 unit it is mounted flush with the body surface. On the model, the thickness of the body would make the glass recessed (probably as deep or deeper than the headlights are on the 1:1 unit).   I'm one of the people who don't care for the bluish headlights which look like HID headlights on modern automobiles. But the easy fix is to  use a transparent orange paint or marker to filter out some of the bluish cast.  I often use this method to make the LED light more incandescent-like.

As usual, I'm enjoying the excellent pictorial documentation of all the modifications. Very well done.

Oh, I'm also a super-glue addict, but like you I'm not afraid to use a wide range of adhesives which will best suit the specific application.

[spookshow]

This is just a really beautiful picture. It's too bad that Kumata didn't expend just a little bit more effort on the internals (vis'a'vis Ron's modifications). They really could've been something special otherwise (and actually lived up to their pricetag). O Kumata, so close, yet so far 

Cheers,
-Mark

[u18b]

Now for the herald.
Not an easy task.



Located in front of the engineer.  Centered between the steps up and down.
Centered in the nose panel side to side.

This next photo shows there is one on the back side too.



Further, they are clearly white.  The decal sheet has both gold and white.
60-21.



And a plain old decal won't work because it would settle into the bends in the wall.
Instead, we need something like a plaque with 3 dimensions to it.

[u18b]

Before I get to the Keystone, I forgot to finish the windows.

I discovered a problem.
My bag of window glass was mint.
It did all the sides.  Passenger windows and doors.



But there were no end windows.  So I cut and made my own.
Oh, and while we're at it, why not add an engineer.

[u18b]

 I tried placing a herald decal on styrene, but it did not stick when I tried to cut it.


So then I got to thinking....



The decal paper itself has some thickness.  Why not leave it on.
And then sand the paper thinner.



The paper can be sanded fairly thin.



It is just a little easier to cut when thin.
Use a fresh blade of course.



It is ready to apply.



I mixed some more epoxy and placed just a little dot in the correct place.
I then added the keystone.



It's a little rough under close macro photography, but good from a distance.