A really simple On3 "Bumble Bee" project

swissboy May 2, 2017

  1. swissboy

    swissboy TrainBoard Member

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    Well, this is only in part my own project, as I had bought this nice little Bachmann Spectrum engine after it had already been converted from On30 (the customary Bachmann scale) to On3. The "real" Bumble Bee - aside from K-28 473 - had been 268, a 2-8-0 C-16. The Bachmann model is a 2-6-0 and thus does not have a true Rio Grande prototype. However, it makes a nice substitute at a really affordable price. I'm sure that's what the people at Bachmann felt as well. :)
    It was only after I had bought it that I realized the conversion from On30 to On3 did not encompass widening the distance of the cylinders. Nevertheless, the rods manage to move without major problems. And optically, the shortcut does not show unless one specifically looks for it. My model came with the factory printed number 136. And I think Bachmann has done an excellent job creating this little gem. There is, however, still some room for improvement as I will outline here.

    Essentially, there were three major points that bugged me. Most of all, the tender comes without the large end number that I consider characteristic for the D&RGW engines. Second, the headlight is missing its two numbers on the sides. And finally, the tender's coal load is a bit too toy-like for my feeling. All of this is rather easy to correct as long as one has the appropriate decals. I was fortunate to be able to discuss the project with the late Dan Peterson of San Juan Decals, and he helped provide the numbers from two different sheets. The end number of the tender comes from a black sheet, and the headlight needs white numbers that are not included in the customary black set. So one needs numbers from two different sheets. Maybe there are other solutions, but in my case this was the optimal way to do it as SJD has the right sizes and fonts as well. For the tender I was briefly considering a smaller size that I would have taken from another brand that I happen to have here. The tender is somewhat smaller than the C-16 version, and thus, it's a bit tricky to get the right size of number. I decided to go with the smaller numbers of the SJD set which means they go a bit over the rivets. However, the general impression is - to me at least - as it should be.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. swissboy

    swissboy TrainBoard Member

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    The front of the tender comes without an opening for the coal. So I added some real coal in front of those yellow boards to conceal the missing opening. I also added some real coal on top of the plastic version that the original model comes with.

    The final improvement needed was on the headlight. Bachmann has otherwise done a fine job with the number plate on the smoke box and all the other details up front. The sides of the headlight first needed a black background paint, glossy to make the decals stick better. Then came the small white numbers, and finally a bit of a protective coating.

    The last picture shows the finished engine on my display shelf, in good company with a number of genuine On3 and other models. I feel it is by no means out of place there. :)

    Of course, the same improvements can be done just as well on an unconverted On30 model.
     

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    BoxcabE50 likes this.

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