This is not my area of expertise at all; but i have been trying to get a green LGB powered tender now for a few years without success. What if i painted a black one green; how would i go about it? Would it look ok?
I would need to get one with a decoder in it or be able to put one in, sound is not required!
I am also thinking a buying a Chloe engine; would i be able to put a decoder in it? would i be able to paint a powered tender with sound the same colour as Chloe?
The shell of the LGB powered tender comes right off with a few screws located underneath if I’m not mistaken (It’s been a while since I had one apart). Lift it off, and grab a can of your favorite appropriately colored spray paint and have at it. If you want to match a particular shade of green, you may have to turn to an airbrush instead.
As for DCC in the Chloe, I’m sure it could be made to fit without too much difficulty. The decoders can fit inside an N-scale diesel. Granted the higher-power decoders for large-scale may be a touch larger, but I’m sure it could fit inconspicuously in the cab, if it can’t be hidden within the boiler.
As for a tender and matching colors, you may or may not find spray paint that matches, but you could easily find something that you can run through the airbrush. I think the LGB powered tender would dwarf the Chloe, but that’s just my sense of aesthetics.
Thank you Kevin, if you find one let me know please, I do have a picture of one in the book we were talking about in another segment, but it really doesn’t show its size up all that well.
Curmy and Tom, i don’t quite understand what you are getting at, could you please explain it a bit more.
And to think, I just painted a green one black a few weeks ago…Mighta saved me a lot of headaches to have been able to trade shells (that HUGE “LGB” decal didn’t cover all that well)
I’ll tell you what Mik it does look better in black for sure. I have often thought of buying one of those sets is it ok? Is the loco just a Stainz or is it something better?
But i have a green Sachsen that just doesn’t have neough pulling power for my layout, great sound though, so if i add a powered tender i will get some improvement intraction i think!
The 2017 (top photo) was LGB’s first “American” locomotive–essentially a Stainz with a cowcatcher and american style headlight. It didn’t look too bad, and certainly pleased the Americans until the now-ubiquitous mogul came out in the early 80s. With the powered tender, it’ll pull the doors off the train room. Dad’s got one that’s still sees regular service on his line, and will easily walk 14 cars up a 4% grade.
Here it is, after I reworked it to look even more “american.”
Well done Kev it looks terrific, but i have very klittle ability in this direction, my wife Doreen would do it better than me i’m sure. My fingers are short and pudgy and i have very good eye sight for a 70 year old but it is still 70 year old eyesight.
It’s getting up the courage to make that first cut that’s the hard part.
As for pudgy fingers and old eyes…that’s why they make plastic putty and sandpaper! I used quite a bit of both getting the Bachmann domes to fit the LGB boiler right. And the new, larger fuel bunker is just basswood with a bit more putty to cover the joints as well.
Ian: The question was if he was using the correct scale paint! (As if there was a scale to paint!) As to my comment, Have you ever seen a size 20 lady trying to wiggle into a size 10 girdle? Things have a tendency to squeeze out the top.
You will probably need four coats of thin “SPRAY” paint, brush on coats will end up being to thick and mask some of the detail
grey then white to block the black and stop it messing with the green the two coats of the green then a coat of varnish before applying decals of choice finish off with flat satin or flat varnish to taste.
Take the cab or other part the green you wish to match to a shop that can do computer colour matching and when finished with care no one will know you painted the tender.
But all coats must be as thin as you can get and still have coverage
Tom, i know there is no scale to paint nor is there spotted paint; but what i thought William was getting at was that differebnt scale tenders might be different colours, and i should try to get my colours correct for the correct scale
