Obsessed with Heavy Metal

[jonathan]

Here is my sophomoric attempt at kitbashing a 1970's Mantua Mikado:



Numbered it #61 for my birth year.

Replaced the tender with a Varney I detailed, featuring all-wheel pick up for smoother running (thanks, Woody).  Replaced the plastic pilot with a cast one.  Installed a can "wormfly" motor.



Had to file out the shell to get the motor to fit.  Added details made of brass, white metal, paperclips and staples (some Yardbird stuff, some homemade stuff).  Installed a constant lighting circuit (thanks to forum members for electrons 101).  The circuit gets warm when energized.  Is that normal?



On the upside, the engine runs great.  Don't know how much it pulls, yet.
On the downside, my finish ended up with an orange peel effect. What causes that?  I think it led to my decals not looking so professional, as well.  That being said, I didn't sweat the details on the cab very much.  I intend to replace it with a cast cab, when/if I find one that's a more appropriate size.  The present plastic cab is a bit small. 

I had some leftover brass stanchions (from an old Pocher engine), so I drilled out the tops and made flag stands out of them.  Just need to figure out how to make 1:87 flags (paper, plastic, or thin brass maybe?).



Hopefully, I finally cured the engine building bug.  I certainly went a bridge too far on this one (frankenengine).  I have noticed of late, some of you share my affliction.  Don't have the gumption to weather it, yet.  And yes, I went a little crazy with the crown of pop valves.  But this engine will stand out in a crowd, don't you think?

Just wanted to share my idea of fun.

Regards,

Jonathan

[ryeguyisme]

outstanding, everything looks perfect except i would've ground off the feed water heater but thats just personal preference

[Woody Elmore]

Jon - I find it hard to believe that the tender in the pictures is the same sad thing I sent you months ago.

Those old Mantua engines will run forever given a little TLC. I'd love to see how the can motor affects performance. Those old Mantua -Tyco  PM motors ran really fast.

Keep up the good work Jon!

[jonathan]

Thanks, Rye Guy.

I don't get along well with power tools, so I hand filed everything, even removing the material to fit the motor.  After a while, one gets too tired to take off the unprototypical stuff.  Also, I don't know a whole lot about steam engines (except I like 'em).  I wouldn't know a feed water heater from a hole in the ground.  I just add what I like, or what I see in pictures.

Regards,

Jonathan

[OldTimer]

Jonathan,
Great job!!!!  Thanks for sharing the pics.
Old Timer

[jonathan]

Thanks, Woody. 

You helped inspire me with the old tender.  That stuff has historical value to me, and well worth rescuing, whenever possible.

Regards,

Jonathan

p.s.  I'll be showing off the Bowser, if the blankety decals ever show up.

p.p.s.  Thank you, too, Old Timer

[Nigel]

Hi Jonathan;

Looks great!!

Have you seen John Swanson's series on Steam from Kits that appeared in RMC many years (decades) ago?  You should try to get those issues for more ideas on your fleet.   

The building bug is just starting to get hold of you 

Re-orange peel - could be several things; 1st - cleanliness of the model; should be cleaned with solvent (isopropyl alcohol is good) and pickeled in vingear (see Bowser's instruction sheets).  next paint too thick

[jonathan]

You mean this disease won't just go away?  Perhaps, if I rescue a John English and a Penn Line, then I'll get healthy again.  Thought the Varney, Bowser and Mantua would make me all better.

R, J

p.s.  AHA!  That must be it.  I pickled the last two engines.  Didn't pickle this one.  An important step I'll never leave out again.  Thanks, Nigel

[Woody Elmore]

YJon - ou mean you haven't already gotten a Varney Casey Jones yet?

I'm telling you that the only amtidote for the "Bowser Bug" is to keep playing with old relics.

Kidding aside, the Mantua/Tyco engines were always the easist to assemble and once broken in, ran well. Now you know what made the hooby fun for me. To take a kit engine and get it to run was always a challenge.

You have now have a one of a kind B&O mike! No one can nit pick it - there's no prototype!

[jonathan]

Woody,

You are so right.  I kept looking for a Mike to copy, but none were quite what Mantua had designed.  The closest were a few B&Os that actually had the headlight on the front.  So I just copied the parts I liked on all the prototypes.  Fortunately, I found a B&O Mike that had the compressor below the walkway, so I had less filing to do.  It might be just me, but the whole shell seems to sit a little high off the chassis.  The engine reminds me of the shape of a modern autocarrier.

Still, I will be keeping an eye out for a cab that's a little more proportional.

Regards,

Jonathan

[ryeguyisme]

I honestly think the number boards give it a really nice touch I might try that when I dive back into doing a mike, and another thing you can add if possible is spring details for the drivers so you can hide the motor more

[jonathan]

Yes, I was not going to add the number boards, since I never found a photo of a Mike with boards.  But the Yardbird detail kit came with them, so the worst that could happen is I just have to fill in the holes I drilled.  After I put them on, they looked so nice, I had to keep them. 

BTW I don't want to seem like a walking advertisement for Yardbird, but the Mike detail kit is very nice.  I also purchased the extra piping for the fireman side of the engine.  The piping kits are brass, but the rest of the kit is white metal.  That stuff seems softer than the Zamack the boiler is made of.  Fortunately those parts sit close to the shell, so it's hard to do any damage once they are epoxied in place.

Also, I highly recommend the can "wormfly' motor.  The difference in running is night and day compared to the original, open frame, motor.  I recall, as a kid, the Mantua could only pull a few cars before bogging down.  I'm up to nine cars, so far, with the new motor.  Still breaking in the loco, so just doing a little at a time.  The new motor is very smooth and strong.

The headlight comes on at around 20% power and the engine starts to move at about 32-34%.  By 60%, it's running at about the speed at which I like to operate.  I'm very satisfied so far.  Honestly, I think the painting is the hardest part.  I haven't been wowed by my paint jobs on any project, yet.  I know, "airbrush" you will say.  I may have to consider that before my next engine project.

regards,

Jonathan

[pdlethbridge]

I have 5 mantua engines, most were built back in the 70's and 1 was from the sixties. They all run like a top even with the old motors. They haven't been run much lately, but if you put one on the track, it stumbles for a second and off it goes.

[Woody Elmore]

Mantua and Tyco cranked those engines out by the thousand. My first steamer was the 0-6-0 tank engine. I put a valve gear kit on it but have no recollection of what happened to it ( the same thing happens when I look for car keys.)

As for the boiler sitting high, the boiler is free-lanced and could use a longer cab.. I heard someone say once that the boiler sat high to clear the original motor they used - a DC-71 with an enclosed gearbox.

I can't wait to see Jon's G-5 with PRR lettering!

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

Mantua and Tyco cranked those engines out by the thousand. My first steamer was the 0-6-0 tank engine.

With all the weight of that solid metal cast superstructure, those little engines could pull just about anything. Still can.