My Bowser Challenger that I started building almost 4 months ago is almost done!![:D] All it needs is 1 more marker light (which I lost and need to find), a couple more pieces around the smoke box and some decals.[:)] Here are some before and after shots of it:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
I think it’s turning out pretty well.[:D][:D][:D]
Looking good!!! [:D]
I can appreciate your patience and attention to detail!
WOW! I’m impressed. Too bad you have to go an weather it now…[:D]…NOT!
Just a side note, and I know tha camera angle revealed the worm gear, but can you build a shroud around it to hide it? Just a box or something out of styrene? A thought.
Lookin’ good!
May it have a long and happy life. Great job. My one and only Bowser Challenger took a six foot tumble to the floor on its maiden run… Ouch…
Dave
I bet that thing could pull a house down! That thing is lookin sharp.
A+X10 [bow][bow] You should be very proud.
Tom
Thanks everyone for their kind comments.[:D]
I’ve thought of doing that. I’ll probably do it once I get around to adjusting the motor’s gear mesh. I think I have the motor worm adjusted too high.
I don’t think I’ll weather it. I never was a big fan of weathering. (sorry Aggro[:)])
Yikes.[xx(] That’s not good. If you want a new one, Bowser’s having a sale on their website, and the Challengers are only $105 right now instead of the usual $189. (I got my Challenger at 20% off at my LHS [:D])
I still don’t know how my Genesis SD75M survived it’s 4 ft. drop to an unpadded carpet over concrete. That carpet’s as hard as a rock, and my SD75 doesn’t have a scratch on it!![:D]
It could pull a house down…that is, an HO house.[:D] I bet it could outpull someone’s P2K SD60!![:-,][^][:D]
I am proud. I am very proud. I am Very, VERY PROUD!![:D][:D]
Very well done! Have you tried running the unit yet?
Yes, and it runs very well. It’s smooth, powerful and doesn’t draw the current you’d expect from a monster like this![:D] It’s really noisy right now, and I’m going to try and quiet it down soon. I have a couple ideas of what it might be.
Nice work. Why quiet it? Those were loud critters. Any noise is better than quiet with that. When people need ear protection, provide them some.
That is one good lookin’ locomotive.
Does the Bowser kit come with smoke deflectors? Or no?
Sorry, but they don’t. You’d have to make your own out of plastic or brass. Or if you’re like me, copper.[:)]
Once you have the gears set to your satisfaction, you might try using Pearl Drops, or even that cream for cleaning the spots on ceramic stove tops as a 'running-in" compound for an hour or so. Apparently, many of the old-timers do that to run in metal-geared locos. Of course, you must thoroughly clean it afterward, and lube it, but it might be a small price to pay to get quiet running.
Nice job. [bow]
I might have read wrong but you surely have to weather that monster a little bit to remove that shine.[:-^]
It ought to be quite the bruiser.
Soon you’ll be able to begin the weathering.
Anyone interested in one in 1:32 scale? Over our feet in length, impressive doesn’t begin to describe it , the wife forbids me from buying one, wah, wah…
Dave
Well, I tried making it quieter, and it turns out that it’s not the gears making the noise because they are silent, but it’s the drive shaft making the noise because it’s mounted at a 20 degree angle, and it can’t be fixed without buying an older Bowser Challenger mechanism, because the old mechanisms don’t have the motor mounted at an angle which makes them much quieter. I also tried covering the worms but then the boiler wouldn’t fit on, so I think I’m done attempting to improve the drive.
I still don’t think I’ll be weathering it. If you look at pictures of the Challengers and Big Boys you’ll notice that they were kept fairly clean and shiny.
Darth:
About that 20` angle on the motor shaft. If this is like some of the steamers I had over the years it will run a lot quieter with a NWSL universal in that drive between the motor and the gears.
How many hours do you think you put into it?
I think each and every oneof us has at least toyed with the idea of building a Bowser, and liking heavy steamers (cast boilers), and liking large articulateds I must admit the thought has crossed my mind of building one. I’d probably want to build one with two motors, but I don’t know what would be needed to make that work…
Mark in Utah