Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines

Hi Benny
I know if I were to receive this (& I have bought many just like this) I would be tempted to give it a full nuclear resto, I would disassemble everything & bead blast the firebox & chimney support (solder in 6/32 square nuts to the underside of the boiler strap holes) & give them a nice coat of VHT burnt copper paint, the rust has to be neutralized. if the boiler straps are to bad, I replace them, if the boiler will clean up with "Maas" polish, then you are ahead that much. if your happy with the genny the way it is , that's fine, although I would probably replace the 3" axle & put in a 4" axle, drill out the stanchions & put ball bearings in it & make 2 sets of tiered pulleys for either side. just my 2 cents Benny....good luck with your little project & looking forward to the results.

Bruce, I like all the ideas you propose- this is an older version of a current production engine, so it isn't like I'm slapping paint on a rare or older variant. The boiler has some scratching from the use of pliers to remove fittings(every bleeding time from the looks of it!) and a few small spots that might be the start of plating loss-Ballistol did not remove them immediately-but they don't look that bad so fingers crossed. I plan to attack the parts that have lost the plate (screws, regulator, spring holder, chimney base) with new plating, and polish what I can of the boiler. A respray of VHT, replacement heater and it should be good.
The ideas for the genset are also tops, I will add those to the project list...I'm not sure I can turn out the referenced pulleys on my lathe(operator not equipment) so I might be asking for advice when I get around to it.
Thanks for the pointers and advice!