Hello all. I’m new but have an important question. I’ve been looking for a replacement shell for Rivarossi Big Boy HO. Does anyone know where I might find one?
Have you tried contacting Rivarossi? You could always look for one on Ebay that is a fixer upper.
I’ve looked all over the internet. There are a couple of places on the shell that have broken off. I can’t get a hold of Riverossi because they went under about 3 years ago. I know I’ve seen other shells for newer trains and was hoping someone would know where to purchase a shell for the Big Boy. I’ve tried to restore it and it looks pretty good but I really wanted a new shgell for it.
I didn’t know they went out of business. I wonder if you could somehow make an Athearn shell fit? They will have their Big Boy coming out very soon.
I really don’t know. I’m trying to find someone that might know. I have seen a model out there of the BB that is suppse to be HO scale but haven’t been able to verify it yet.
The Rivarossi Big Boy is being released again so the parts might be available in the near future. I can’t remember who is producing the new model, but it is based on the old design with improvements.
RIVHR2005 HO 4-8-8-4, Big Boy, Union Pacific #4003 Rivarossi Preorder [7/06
You can purchase old ones off of Ebay also, which would probably cost less than ordering new parts.
What happened to your shell???
Well. I acually bought thistrain off Ebay. I don’t do that often because I like to see the Engine and read about it up front. The BB I have I got off Ebay for about $100. I know something was a miss because the owner told me it wasn’t running well. When I got it, I headed straight inside to look at the wireing and connections, and the motor. I found a loose wire inside the shell and once fixed it ran very well. Unfortunatly, while I was pulling apart I found small cracks in the plastic and a missing (sorry but I don’t know the technical term for this) a light in the front for the Loco’s number and a missing headlight.
In addition to that the light in the coal car is out and I can’t figure out how to get the trains body seperated to repair it.
Anyway, I have restored the shell to the best of my ability. I was just hoping someone might know where to get one.
The Big Boy Tender never had a working rear light on the older models, if I remember correctly, but I would have to get one out and check it to be sure. The later models probably had the rear light on the Tender. It sounds like you have one of the old models of the Big Boy, with the large motor in the cab??
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Hornby acquired the assets of Rivarossi in 2005 and plans to re-introduce select models in 2006.
Listed on walthers.com
HR2005 Steam 4-8-8-4 “Big Boy” Powered – Union Pacific #4003 (black, graphite) HO 349.98 Not in stock TBA Advance reserve
I couldn’t find any shells there. Only a model kit.
Yes. The motor is in the Cab. I know this sounds dumb but I like the older stuff. I also inquired about the fact that it was so old. I asked if the train was worth more. I was told no. That the HO line isn’t really for collectors. I sneared when I got off the phone at the guy. Whatever.
I have tested the motor and gears, wheels and so on. They all run nice a smooth. I decided that since the body had small flaws that I would completly break down the engine and try to restore it. I pulled all the piano wire and hooks out and repainted it flat black. I then took all the hooks and polished them one by one. Last night I got the hooks and piano wire back on it. It looks great. I just wi***he shell wasn’t damaged.
You can also check the Hornby website under Riverossi.
Terry
Do you have a link?
www.hornby.com/hornbyinternational/ click on USA.
Terry
I sent a message to them to see if they had any ideas. I guess I was wondering if anybody knew about replacement shells for Steam Locomotives. Do they have those?
If you need an Inexpensive source for Replacement Big Boy Parts, Look for a Monogram/Con-Cor/Revell Static Big Boy Model. They Run about $20-$25 depending on where you get them. You find t hem in the same Range on E-bay. And Containes Just about every Non-Running Gear part you need to repair Rivorossi Big Boys. If your interested For $145.00 You can Order a Big Boy Mechanism and a "Monogram-Con-Cor BIg Boy Tender Electrification Kit. And you can Power the Monogram/Con-Cor/Revell Kit up your self.
James
Thats what I needed. I had seen a model online of the BB that Claimed to be HO size. I’ll look into that. Thanks again!
The Monogram/Con-Cor/Revell Static Big Boy Model is not very well detailed. The handrails on the boiler are molded on and look very bad. There is also not much chance of adapting any working running gear to this model. It was never designed to be powered.
My advice to dfr867 is to repair any damage with super glue and find replacement parts for any missing or badly damaged parts.
There are lots of detail parts available. Here are some photos of the detail parts available from Bowser…
I have to agree that its detail in some respects is lacking. But he is on a budget to
James
Golf Manor Hobbies in Cincinnati carries parts for AHM/Rivarossi (older) locomotives and can be reached at www.GOLFMANORHOBBIES.com (they aren’t very concientious on answering email) ph# (513) 351-3849 3pm-9pm Eastern stanard time(they are good for answering the phone). The parts can be a bit pricey (I got a replacement motor for an older 2-8-8-2 Y6b from them). The above recommendations might be a bit more economical for you.