Bachmann Spectrum F40PH (newest version) and maybe other Spectrum diesels
PROBLEM: Interior is molded in black, making it invisible through the windows
SOLUTION: Do not throw against nearest wall. Paint the interior lighter colors (I made the the rear wall light brown and the floor light gray)
Athearn Hustler (oldest version)
PROBLEM: The front rubber band rubs against a screw on the front of the motor when running forward, tearing the rubber band apart
SOLUTION: Cover the screw with a piece of slippery tape, or cover the screw with a glued on plastic cap or something
IHC 2-8-2 Mikado (for Pennsylvania and some other railroads)
PROBLEM: Oversized bell placed in the wrong spot
SOLUTION: Get a better detailed bell from a detail parts manufacturer or use a spare from a Bowser kit (which is what I did), glue it to the front-top of the smokebox cover and fill the hole from the old bell
Got any other ideas? Than feel free to post them here.[:)][:)][:)]
Darth, would it be at all possible to use a small file and file down the motor housing or that screw head in the place where the rubber is making contact? I mean, if you remove the screw, file down its seat, just a half a mil or so, file the end of the screw, and then replace the screw…?
O.K, here’s one for Proto 2000 E units: The lighting from the head light bleeds through the thin plastic of the nose. Paint the inside of the nose flat black.
That might work. You have to be careful because the screw goes into a fiber plate. Just make sure the screw will stay on. It’s what holds the brushes onto the motor. If the screw can’t go on, than you won’t be able to hold the brushes on, making it so the motor won’t work.
Life-Like Proto 1000 DL-109 (I haven’t tried this myself, but it might work)
PROBLEM: Headlight light bulb is too dim
SOLUTION: Replace with a bright amber LED or a bright light bulb (make sure it’s 1.5 volt)
Close, but no Cigar:
Replacing a bulb with one with higher milliamp’s - such as upping a 15 ma bulb to a 30 ma bulb. (Double check with factory service that the lighting portion can handle the increase). Brighter light means more heat to dissapate
.
Changing to an LED requires a much bigger increase in price, due to votage regulation circuitry needed to change variable 12 volt’s to a constant 3.
Best solution for realism - a Richmond Controls headlight circuit.