A note on paint stripping, I use 91% IPA (alcohol) available at any pharmacy. Be careful with it, though because plastic parts left in the alcohol too long will tend to soften. While I was stripping the loco I managed to break off one boiler stay (the rod that goes from the smokebox to the front of the pilot deck), the pilot and the bell. All of these will have to be replaced, I was going to replace the bell anyway because the one that comes on the loco looks awful big and clunky, but it also warped the loco body a bit.
At any rate, when we last saw the tender we had the trucks removed. All that is left to do is remove the red brush retainer:
and then the brushes. I work a jewelers screwdriver underneath them to pry them up, this keeps them from bending so that they will lay flat along the tender bottom when they are reinstalled.
After the brushes are removed, run a #11 Xacto blade around the perimeter of the weight on the front and pry it out.
The motor fills the entire tender, which is why the tender is slightly oversize for the model - it had to be in order to fit the motor.
Pull the motor out of the tender body part-way. It will slide all the way out but first...
you want to mark the top of it. If the motor goes in upside down the loco will run backwards, easy to fix for sure but just as easy to prevent in the first place. A dab of paint on the top as you pull the motor out and you will know right away how to put it back in.
The tender shell is now ready for stripping. Put all of the other pieces in your parts box, minding that the motor magnets will attract all the steel screws and side rods that we took off of the loco in the last installment. A plastic bag to hold the screws is not a bad idea anyway, and it will keep them from sticking to the motor.
I found it interesting to note that the loco body was molded in white, but the dome and stack were black plastic. I also found it interesting that the tender body was molded in clear plastic.
Now is a good time to paint the tender, but I would hold off on painting the loco until the narrowing is complete. You are going to be grinding into the wheel wells, and fresh paint will just get ruined in the process. The tender can go back together except for the trucks after the paint is dry.
That's enough for today. Next time we will narrow the wheels, pony truck and loco frame and then we will narrow the loco wheel wells to fit the new narrowed drivers. After that the loco can get painted and go back together.
See you next time!
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