I keep getting ideas for new kitbash projects. Of course I try to use cheaper engines so if it does not work out I am not out too much money. Here is the latest one I started some time ago and just added drivers to. IHC 4-6-2 made into a 4-4-2 The boiler shell shows the shorten frame.
Nice! I think we're alike in that respect. My brain is constantly active with all sorts of kitbashing/improvement/invention ideas. In all sorts of fields, including model railroading. Pretty useful at work too (ask my boss...). I just finished "improving" a magnifying visor I use for hobby and work. The two LED lights were not very effective, so I used a light thingie that clips to the "duckbill" of a baseball cap. I had two of those lying around, not used much, so I stuck that to the top of the visor with velcro. Problem is, that solution gobbles up AAA batteries like candy. Four at a time. I found out that at max intensity those COB LEDs used three amps! No wonder the 4 batteries were hot. So I replaced one of the resistors - 0.51 ohms - with a 1 ohm resistor, and used a 4000 mAh USB power bank (another one of those things that just lie around) that I stuck to the side of the visor (in the former location of one of the original LEDs) with... velcro. I bought a cheap USB cable and cut it to solder the two power wires to the + and - battery terminals. I made a hole in the housing to run the cable out, closed it up, plugged it in, and turned it on. The darn contraption works! Now I have a better tool to work on my trains, and for work. So that's a day inside my restless mind. Scary, eh?