well Juice Jack , not sure to whom you talking to in England, but you could asked my friend Rob if he still has got shark shells available, he has made them years ago, and these ones here are rerun for me and some friends. feel free to contact him via email
onslaught@btinternet.com let him know that Carsten from Germany gave you the contact information
I only have two shark kits, now only painted the shells in black for NYC, but didn’t go further in this project, too many others to do on the bench.
Yes its pretty rare to see some build. Rob loves it also see some being build, These Models are from a second run Ron made for me, he still got 2 for himself
yes Piko, they are a little bit too short,but LGB Alcos are too long, custom build would be an option but when build theee of them with DCC and Sound you should have an eye on the budget
well, on the sharks, there are only the shells with some etched grill parts, i use Aristocraft Alco sideframes on Piko gearboxes.
The ML comes with propper sideframes, there will also Piko 0-6-0 gearboxes suitable, the difference in axle to axle distance of approximate 2 mm to the sideframes, is slightly visible compromise
I believe the PRR also had some Sharks and I think they rode on A-1-A trucks. Is there a commercially made running platform that the shells are made to fit? Thank You.
no these shells are made semi commercial, the first shell was build by a friend, and a company specializing in molding and casting make the shells, there still some shells available
yes the sharks are also great, by the time i get them offered , i did not know what to do with them, but i bought them too, I have seen what you have build in an other forum years ago, great.
I am planning to model some NYC Sharks, so they match up with my streamliners
Well , some of you already know the shells of my new project, i was able to get the original builder of these shells to make a new run of these kits for me, fortunately some shark kits are still available. I want to share my point of start with you ,so stay tuned
Amazing work Yoakam. Beautiful and your mechanical skills are great. I can only use CA glue, can't solder, tried it and melted the plastic. Bob.
Thanky you, the models before was made of polystyrene ( Centennial, UP 9000 , Big Blow etc ) using CA , this is my first in full metal, not very happy with each solder but, the next model will be better. I also following your amazing work on the T1 , Carsten
Thank you, Jerry. I have to say the first inspiration was when i have seen your FEF version, last year i talked at great open house near Frankfurt with some guys about a model , the final starting shot , was the announcement of USAT releasing the FEF, this year. It will be unknow if it will be available here in Germany, import will not be an option, so i build one on my own, ok it will not wining when compared. I am happy with my USAT Hudson and Big Boy , so no need to wait and place money away for it .
yes i know the MTH gearboxes , but i do not know that they sold them as spareparts,i would take them for my next upcomming model.
Here i go with a gearbox from Helmig Demko, it is not easier to find the propper parts here in Germany. Interesting what you say about aluminium rims , the first version of my engine has got aluminum rims on 3 D printed drivers, but they are not durable as i thought , so i changed over to something more solid .
If and when those tires ever gave you any issue, you could always add new tires after some quick machining. We have a guy who installs them with stainless tube cut and machined to specs. He can insulate the tire as well if needed.
He helped me convert a 3 rail O gauge MTH Allegheny over for 2 rail use. So I see how he did it.
The thing is, as with yours, I added power pick-ups to the lead and trailing truck as I found it easier to do there. That helps the engine go over my dead frogs on switches. It was hard to do on the main drivers, as one side had the tires insulated. So a spark would jump to the driver and cause a short whenever the brushes moved a hair.
Time will tell you what to do. I over reacted to something I saw. This will be a great looking engine when you're finished and you should be proud.
enginear joe , you are right with your remarks, and no i dont think you over reacted. It is good to read diffenent opinions , it will help me to build better models, this time i was going with drive and frame work completely on my own, the former models used USAT , LGB gearboxes, but for this one nothing commercial would fit
the motor is a low current draw pitman, which was original installed in my USAT Hudson. Due to the full brass frame of the engine, i did not thought about using the drivers for power pickup, in the centipede tender i use the 7 axles for power pickup, i was very surprised how good it works. Your model looks fine, do you have more pictures of it ?
You are doing a beautiful job. I only meant choosing brass for the rims, and it also appears for the siderods.
Because it's a softer metal, it's easier to work with. However, that maybe it's major weakness when used in high wear areas.
I really did not mean to detract from your work.
Ok i know now what you want to tell me. Yes , you are right , for heavy use outdoor it is not best choice, but i must say, that was not my intention, every of my models have to run well, should be right in scale, if possible, you know running big Steamers, Diesels etc on 45 mm narrow gauge track is always a compromise, but if it looks right it is ok for me. For me the main part is developing, building such engines, yes they are able run, but the most lucky part is over when they are finished, then i start a new project
What choice do you mean ? the combination of aluminum and brass? for the boiler for example a pipe in the needed diameter was not available. Yes you are right with rims, it might be better using steelrims, the first version got printed driver with rims, but the printing was not so durable as i thought so i changed over to brass, plating with chrome nickel could be helpful here, maybe for the next model. yes there will be lube when everything is ready, but during assembly and adjusting, it is better without. At this point brass is easier for me to handle, sawing , filling, and solder. it is my first metal work , so my skills will grow up
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Another Krauss Maffei ML 4000 ,the Hoodunit
in Kitbashing & Model Making
Posted
After building for of the ML 4000 KM prototypes the time was right to model the Hoodunit.