Well, since i managed to bag the "whistlefree" 105 a while ago, i figured that i just as well could aim for a 120 to keep it company.
This model is semi-rare on its own, at least within the Fleischmann range, and even rarer when complete.
Have been scouting the market for the last couple of months, and one finally came up with both chimney, burner and funnel.
It wasn´t perfect, but it´s extremely hard to find a mint example, which when they come up usually climbs well above what i feel they´re worth to me.
So i was quite happy to settle with this, having a few paint touchups here and there, but otherwise completely sound.
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Now that was easy wasn´t it?
No it wasnt!!!
I specifically asked the seller, to pack chimney, burner and funnel seperately, and place them in such a manner in the box that they could not scratch, dent, or otherwise damage the engine itself.
Chimney, burner and funnel was then threwn into a plastic bag, with nothing but a single sheet of paper wrapping them, a knot was tied on the bag it all in there, and it was put right between engine and firebox, ontop of other pieces of wrapping already in the box, which effectively placed it all right beside the boiler.
When i received the package, the burner had worn a hole in the bag, by doing this to an otherwise flawless boiler, when bumping around in transit:
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Fortunately there seems to be a chance for a happy ending still, even if it does include a bit of work in my end.
I reached out to the seller, who at least after the initial correspondance, has expressed his grief, and offered to send me a replacement boiler.
Fingers crossed that happens, and i will finally be reset to "happy mode".
Hello Jan,
I am sorry that you had such trouble with the delivery of your Fleischmann 120. In particular, it is totally annoying that the boiler was so damaged. I know from my own experience how difficult it is to get a complete, almost undamaged machine. There are currently 8 Fleischmanns in my inventory, all awaiting restoration. Not one of them has an intact boiler. But I am confident that I will be able to restore some of these machines to working order and to a visually acceptable condition.
Thanks Jürgen
Will be looking forward to see your Fleischmann steamers, once you´ve worked your magic on them.
Still going very well!
All Fleischmann machines run well and evenly. After all, they have been built in the good old Doll tradition with slight modifications. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the 50s, the details and the colour design were considerably reduced for price reasons. The perfection and beauty of many Doll models was never achieved again. High-quality machines like Doll's were taken out of the programme altogether. Most customers in Germany did not have the money to buy these machines.
I like the engine Jan & it runs a treat ,its to bad when we try to warn sellers about proper shipping & they ignore our advice...then pay the price 🙄
To be honest, i´m actually quite happy with it, after running it yesterday.
It´s such a cute little bugger, sitting there stretching its tiny chimney toward the skies.
(chimneytop 7.2" above the table
)
But would be good to replace that boiler, effectively reducing its value to half, should i ever decide to part with it again.
So fingers firmly crossed, that the seller comes through with his promise.
Good luck with him coming through with a new boiler. I wonder how hard it would be to unsolder the end cap & have a go at tapping out those dents ?
Initially gave it some thought myself Bruce, and it´s doable without a doubt.
Most likely a fun project as well, but wouldn´t bother going through it, as long as a replacement boiler is "in the air"...and i have a projectlist which seems neverending already as is.
Just in case some in here haven´t encountered a Fleischmann 120 or 120/1 personally, i just took a couple of pictures, to illustrate how small these tiny things really are.
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