I ordered a Bowser 4-8-2 with the super detail kit and cab detail kit from Standard Hobby. The super detail kit is back ordered for 6-8 weeks. However, here’s my progress so far.
Frame and side rods:
Motor, cylinders, crossheads, main rods, and valve gear:
On my workbench running the motor in with a 9 volt battery:
After two batteries, I hooked up a 7.5 volt wall wart.
Here it is with shell, tender and decoder. It is now running on the track under DCC:
That’s about all I can do for now until the detail kit comes in. The assembly was straight forward. Only a couple of minor snags. I’m trying to figure out how to attach the smoke box cover so that it will be removeable so that I can service the head light if neccessary. You can’t see it from the pictures, but there were a few voids in the shell. I used a metal epoxy to fill them and worked very well.
I’ll mount a coupler on the tender tonight and see how it pulls a train.
Nice job! Mine is still in the box after many years. I am trying finish the layout this Winter if so I will finally start building the rest of my
Bowser kits.
So far I completed the T1, E6 and half of the G5. Keep me posted of your progress.
I had assembled one of these and had another unopened in its box–the Mountain was going to be my heavy passenger steamer–when curve restrictions caused me to move from HO-Scale to N-Scale in the early-'80s. These kits are a lot of fun to build. With the intent of creating a unique locomotive fleet I had done some extensive modifications to Bowser’s standard designs; my steamers were all going to have Elesco feedwater heaters atop the smokebox and in addition I was going to configure all my steamers with Bowser’s Semi-Vanderbilt tenders one unit at a time but the only unit I had ever completed to this individual standard was this Mountain. One of my modifications involved using a Harold Mellor cab in lieu of the one that came standard with my kit.
This Mountain was not my largest steamer; when stationed in Germany in the early-70s I tried to order a Challenger–as I mentioned in a previous post a friend of mine had a brass centipede tender from a Big Boy that had taken a dive to the floor and went under the cutters torch–but they were out of production at that time and when they did become available some years later I was no longer interested and so a USRA Santa Fe–also a Bowser kit–which was assembled immediatly after this Mountain became my largest steamer.
Were I to ever go back to HO-Scale–a highly unlikely prospect in lieu of my advancing age–I would probably assemble a steam fleet using a number of these Bowser locomotive kits.
Though I’ve never built a Bowser kit, I’ve seen some in action, and I would think that when that lady is assembled and running, you’ll probably be able to use her to raise and lower the garage door! The ones I’ve seen are smooth running and incredibly powerful, so enjoy!
I should have added a comment in this direction to my previous response; if you are looking for a locomotive that will pull the walls down these pot-metal boiler kits coupled with a humungous motor will do the job!
The boiler needed the most work. It had quite a bit of flash and some voids. I would guess that it’s an older mold. After filing, I filled the voids with metal expoxy. Then 200, 320, 400, 600, and 1000 grit sand paper. I polished it with wadding.
Hey there, sorry to bump a somewhat old thread, but I figured someone else might find this interesting…so here goes…
I’m also building one of these kits…actually, it’s my first steam kit.
I’ve got the valve gears together, despite all the hype, that wasn’t really all that bad. In any event, when I go to put them on the hangers, I find that the holes in the hanger and in the valve gear itself are much larger than the brass bolts provided. Am I missing something here. I can accept that there may be a nut that was omitted from the instructions (heck, the step were the cylinders are bolted to the frame is missing the whole cylinder assembly…) My biggest issue is that there doesn’t seem to a nut that would be appropriat…
Has anyone else encountered this? What was your solution?
Please excuse me for posting this photo again but, I just can’t help myself because these threads bring back some great memories of back when I was 19 and Bowser had just three locos to sell and their 4-8-2 kit had a cast brass boiler and after I bashed it, I painted it with stove polish. ( And that is not an April fools story) Peter Smith, Memphis PS: Although I doubt it, maybe the photo of the hanger and brass bolt that came with my kit will give you a clue.
Nice engine. One question, does all Bowser engines show that awfull looking worm gear from the side? Or is there something that isn’t on yet that hides it?
No, the worms are always visible. At least they’re not white, like Mantua’s. An enclosed gearbox is nicer, but they usually block the view between the frame and boiler anyway, so it doesn’t seem much more unsightly to me.
Nice work so far, AlreadyInUse. Very good job cleaning her up. I’m sure she’ll be a looker, and pull anything you throw at her. Nice layout as well. [tup]
I found at least a partial solution to the worm gear problem with the Bowser locos:
I built a box in the opening in the bottom of the boiler that was just as deep as the line where the bottom of the complete boiler would be. Painted it black, and now, as you can see, the worm is much less visible.
Apparently Bowser are stopping manufacture of these kits. On the PRR Modeling list, someone commented that they’d been told by a rep at Amherst “if you want any Bowser steam engine kits, to get them quick”. Unfortunately their kits haven’t really kept up with the times - the visible worm gear being an example of something that was perfectly acceptable 40 years ago, but times have changed. The usual solution to this in kits that I’ve seen is to drive the rear axle, so the gear tower can be hidden in the firebox.
Bowser did make a Big Boy, but it’s been discontinued (again). It was made by soldering two Challenger boilers together, so making it look good was a challenge. It’s the only kit that Bowser has discontinued, and all others are still being made (in batches). Bowser discontinuing their steam engines is only a false rumor.
The A-5 0-4-0, Dockside, and B-6 0-6-0 all use enclosed gearboxes, and run every bit as smooth and quiet as a Spectrum or Proto 2000.[:D]
Where they had both a standard and deluxe (i.e. superdetailed) kit, they’re dropping the standard kit.
Bowser 100700 is discontinued. It’s the standard kit for the I-1sa. Bowser 527 is the deluxe kit. It’s in production. 100500 is the K-4 standard kit. Discontinued. 525 is the deluxe kit. It’s in production.
On my scrathcbuilt steam engines I make the smokebox front removable similar to most brass imports. I make a round blank out of .060 brass that is a snug fit inside the smokebox and solder it to the back of the smokebox front.
I make the blank by first drilling a small hole (say a # 65 or so) in a piece of .060 brass and using a compass in the prevous drilled hole, draw a circle slightly larger than the inside of the smokebox. Now you can rough cut the circle with a Dremel cut off wheel. Next you want to drill out that center hole just big enough for a long 2-56 screw to pass through, securing the screw with a nut and washer from the other side of the disk. Now chuck this brass disc into your Dremel, and at a medium speed, run the disk against a flat mill file. It should start to form a perfect circle. Once you get close to your line you will want to start checking its fit into the smokebox until you get a snug fit. A decent file will remove meterial quickly so check your fit often. Than just take the screw out and solder, or in your case glue the disk to the back of the smokebox front. Friction will hold the smokebox front on securely.
