A Simple Mikado Jr. Makeover . . . by 49Lionel

Like many three-railers, I work within a limited space and budget, so when Lionel came out with its Mikado Jr., I was immediately interested. Visually, it is clearly based on a USRA light Mikado:

The Lionel designers did a great job shrinking it down to operate on O-27 curves, keeping it well-detailed but also durable and easy to handle, much like the best locomotives from the postwar era. A few things about its appearance did bother me, in particular the front end looked a little plain. Most railroads that used the USRA light Mikes either put the headlight at the top of the smokebox and the bell farther back on the boiler (as did the PRR), or centered the headlight with the bell at the top, but here the centered headlight and boiler-mounted bell didn’t look right. Also, the pilot deck is a little spartan, and the coupler… well, it is not the most inspired part of the model. I decided that I could cheaply and easily made a few additions that would greatly enhance the model’s look.

First was the issue of the bell. Since I could clearly not relocate the headlight, I decided to go for a front-mounted bell arrangement. Lionel used a smokebox-mounted bell on the Union Pacific version from the initial release year, but all current versions use a boiler-mounted bell, so I purchased the UP boiler front. The downside to this approach is the wrong numbers are now on the engine’s front. Perhaps a better solution would be to use a bell from a detail parts source, and mount it by drilling a hole in the original smokebox front, but of course that would be a non-reversible alteration.

Once I got the new boiler front, I realized that a few more things about it could be improved: first, I painted the sides of the marker lights, the headlight, and the cast-in grab rail black. Clearly, the whole part was painted in graphite for economy, and the small amount of detail-painting really helped the appearance. Second, I figured that the headlight would look much nicer with a visor. The metal from a soup can would work perfectly for this purpose: it’s durable, the right thickness, and can easily be cut with a pair of shears. After making a trial visor out of thin cardboard, I traced its outline on the metal and trimmed. I found a screwdriver whose shaft was the same diameter as the headlight: it would serve perfectly as a mandrel. After I had the part trimmed and shaped to my satisfaction, I affixed it to the headlight housing (with lens temporarily removed) with Crazy Glue. After touching up the top with black paint, the part was ready to me mounted.

With the bell now up front, I had to remove the bell from the boiler top. Getting it out was the easy part: just a tap from below and it popped right out. Now, there was a hole left in the boiler top that would need to be filled it and painted. It was easy to fill it in with JB-Weld, but touching up the paint would be trickier. This model is painted in Brunswick green, so I would have to replicate that color. I mixed a very small amount of Testor’s green into black until I found the right hue, and applied the paint, but there was no way I could make it look even with the factory-applied paint. I found that if I waited until the paint was nearly dry, covered it with wax paper and then ran my fingernail over it, I could smooth it out to look halfway decent. In most lighting conditions it’s not even apparent:

Next, I wanted to add coupler lift-bar and grab iron detail that was missing from the pilot deck. For the coupler lift bar I ordered a part from Lionel’s Docksider, and for the grab iron I ordered stanchions from the Atlas 0-6-0 and connected them with a straightened paper clip! I took great care in drilling the holes for these stanchions (six in total), since they had to be perfectly positioned.

After the holes were drilled and cleaned I affixed the stanchions with Crazy Glue.

Although I decided to retain the shiny metal handrails along the boiler, I painted the pilot supports black (with Krylon semi-flat black). Finally, the pilot needed was a simulated air hose. Unable to locate a detail part, I shaped mine from an Easter egg dipper! The finished front end:

If I was more ambitious (and skilled), I would have cut off the simulated coupler and installed one with a more scale-like appearance. These are fairly easy to locate, so the project would take more skill and time than money.

One thing that has always bothered me about many 3-rail steamers is the position of the eccentric crank on the fireman’s side: it is often placed leaning back toward the cab (with rods down), with the other one leaning forward (the more usual position, and prototypical for this engine). I simply filed off the fingers that hold the crank into the driver, and held it in its new position as I re-tightened the screw.

To improve the somewhat flat appearance of the Brunswick Green paint, I rubbed it with WD-40 (avoiding the smokebox and firebox). Last, I added a non-operational back-up light on the tender deck, also from the Atlas 0-6-0. Its side numbers were printed on photo paper and glued into place. I’m sure some readers would be able to add illumination. Likewise, it might be nice to add rear marker lights.

Finally, a before-and-after comparison:

I hope that this project will encourage readers to take on similar projects of their own.

Detailing Brick and Mortar Work on Plastic Structures

Since my first attempt detailing a Walthers Cornerstone Build Up several months ago, I decided to give it another try using some of the lessons learned not only from that first attempt, but those also gleaned from the generous and timely advice I have received both here and from other sources on the internet. Below you will see a picture of the supplies I used for this project. All should be available at any neighborhood hardware store and art supply.


The first step is to spray paint the entire structure a flat white. I have always used Flat White Gesso in a can, but I'm sure another version of flat white would probably work just as well. I learned from my first build that working directly on plastic causes a number of issues: the most important of which is that paint just doesn't stick very well to the bare plastic ... tends not to adhere and comes off easily. The undercoat of flat white provides a base that color sticks to much better. Please note that it is not advisable or practical to get a thick coat on ... just enough to provide some tack for the brick colors to stick to. Also, too much paint will cause the mortar lines in the bricks to be less pronounced, causing issues further down the line when adding mortar.


That white, although dull, is still a bit too strong. Using a mix of brown (or black if you wish) india ink and alcohol give the white-walls two thorough washes. No need to be neat and tidy, just get it on there. Not much of a difference, but it is noticeable as you can clearly tell from the picture.

Using the darkest of the three colors, randomly chose bricks for the darker bricks. I think no more than five per horizontal line of bricks works well for me, though its totally up to you how many you wish. Here is a picture of the darker bricks in my build.


Now, going with the middle shade for the bricks (and the most numerous) fill in the blanks. This should go pretty smoothly and easily as you can just put the marker down and 'draw' the lines on. Keep in mind that you should leave a number of bricks per horizontal line free and un-markered for the lighter shade of bricks. Like the last step with the darker shade, leave four or five bricks per line untouched as seen in the picture below.


Next, using the lightest shade of brick color you have chosen, hit up those remaining bricks. Also, to further enhance the variety of bricks coloring, chose a few bricks to hit again with the marker. One more pass on individual bricks will darken the color slightly, just enough so that it stands out a bit. The overall effect of this will become evident once you finish the marker routine.

I have had some trouble with these markers staying put during the later stages of this build (ink wash and mortar work). It is advisable to spray the entire model with dull coat to seal the marker coloring in. A very important step, and one that will save much heart-ache in the end. Please note that there may be some bubbling and / or discoloration after spraying with the dull coat. For that reason, don't overdo it with the application of the spray. Take your time and apply one coast and allow it to dry before moving to the next. In the end, it adds some texture to the bricks, but be aware that there may be some changes to the marker work.

Once sealed, its time for the second brown india-ink wash. Again, its up to you but I recommend going at it with a little more vigor than the first wash a number of steps ago. I have found the best approach is to brush two coats directly onto the dull-coat sealed and 'markered' bricks, making sure you wait for the first layer to dry before proceeding to the next wash. Once the two coats are dry, use the Pollock approach. For those of you unfamiliar with this artists work, he would drip and splatter paint on his canvas to achieve his version of artistic beauty. Using the same approach, dip a brush into the india ink and alcohol mix soaking it thoroughly and then 'splatter' the mix directly onto the bricks. Hold the brush about five inches from the bricks and flick. Again waiting for each layer to dry before adding more splatter, I used about four layers of splatter to get the look just right.

Again, another coating of dull coat to seal the india ink in and avoiding issues with the final step of mortar work.

Last, but not least, the mortar. While there are many approaches, I have had relative success using the 'lightweight' spackling. Its not as thick as the normal stuff and cleans up off the brick face much more easily. I just stick a finger in and get some on the tip and then work it in. A little will really go a long way, just make sure that you rub it both length and width wise. Work in small sections at a time so you don't get ahead of yourself or allow time for the spackling to cure too much. On this build I worked on ten rows at a time. Using an old cotton t-shirt dipped in warm water, I then ran the shirt over the mortared area removing the excess. Keep using un-used sections throughout the mortaring process to ensure that the old mortar doesn't get spread around the newer section you are working on (tends to lighten these areas more than the others). It took two layers of the mortar to make it really stand out. Again as with the india ink, let each layer dry for a spell before going after it again. Here is the finished product.

Sorry about the quality and lighting of the photos. I tried to keep it as uniform as possible throughout the build. I hope you enjoyed this build and I hope you take an opportunity to check out other builds by the many talented and imaginary modelers on the blog. Also, if you haven't already done so, please take time to vote on next month's Token Build.

Kit-Bashing a Building by Gizzmo

Ever see a structure you just must have on your layout but can’t find it anywhere? Or, do you need to fill a spot that has an odd shape not available for purchase? In my case it was a simple want. After seeing a building done by Dennis Brennan that was featured in the Classic Toy Trains magazine, I knew the only way I could have it ,was to copy his work. Fortunately Dennis was very open with how he built it and shared the info with me. Thanks Dennis.

I've found the ability to make these custom buildings adds a great deal of interest and frees me up in the design of my layout.
I hope this general overview of the building prosses will help others decide to give it a try.

Let’s get started…
The first thing you may have to do is find/decide on what kits you will use as a source for material. Currently, I’ve only “bashed” two types of building kits. Mold injected and cast resin. Dennis used two mold injected kits made by Lionel. These kits are easy to cut with a small hobby saw and can be fused/glued together using styrene solvent. I have used the cast resin kits from Korber and found CA very good for bonding it together.

Since I was copying from Dennis, there wasn’t a need to make a design. Though it may be a good idea to do the same for your first try so as to become comfortable with the process, it isn’t a must. The principles are rather simple to apply to your own design but I found I learned a good deal by copying.


I started by searching the internet for the kits I needed. They are both Lionel kits. He used the “Electrical sub Station” and the “Municipal Building”. Both these kits are discontinued, but you can still find them online.




As you can see the building I did was a three sided unit. Its location on my layout prohibits viewing the back of the building so there was no need to finish it. I started by separating all the different wall sections into components and matching them up to form the 3 major walls. Once I was sure they new sections were the proper size and that they matched each other, I used the bonding solvent to attach all the components.


There are a few tricks I learned doing this worth noting. Try not to let the parts in the kit dictate what your building will look like. Notice the strips of white styrene plastic used to attach the first floor to the two above it. That strip, bonded to the back, is used to spread the floors apart and the gap is filled with a piece of molding found in the doll house section of my local art store. This little trick is used again between the 3rd and 4th floors on the front section. It is also used between the 2nd and 3rd but a wider spread was needed because the available 3rd floor wall sections were too short. The wider strip is creatively filled in with a piece of wood that will become a sign. By doing it this way a consistent floor to floor height can be maintained using the available kits pieces to full advantage. You can also notice the end wall has different sized windows than the front on the third floor. This helps to convince the viewer the floor spacing is maintained and the sign is just in front of the lower half of the front windows. As neat as it was to make this building, I found it was these subtle details I learned from Dennis that continue to help me in bashing projects.




After painting the brick and windows with acrylic paint I attached the end panels to the front. I used some Gator-board (foam board) I had laying around for a floor and a roof. I just hot glued it in place. The first floor was made from the plastic supplied with the kits. With the windows painted and glazed I installed them and added window sills of painted wood. The back is covered with one large piece of foam board.



I added some molding to the back just to make sure the illusion is complete. The back piece uses tape as a hinge and magnets to hold it in place. I’ll add some LED lights later. The next thing to do was to add the roof and doors. I filled the mitered molding gaps with wood filler and painted them a concrete color.





I’ll also add a roof top water tank from Korber models later. I was so impressed with this building I built a larger version of it and combined them both with a loading dock.



It’s a shame Lionel doesn’t make these any more. They are beautiful kits and very complete. They are also the only kit I found that has this style of window and door.
After doing these buildings I find myself dissecting any kit I look at looking for parts in my next structure. I can’t help it !

Thanks again Dennis for showing the way and opening up new avenues for me in this hobby. Gizzmo