[servoguy]

TJ,
I suggested the heat lamps because they would keep the parts warm while you sprayed them. It would not surprise me if the viscosity of the paint differed from one color to another, but I don't have any experience with this.
Bruce Baker

 

[tjcruiser]

Ohh ... heat lamps DURING spraying ... I hadn't thought of that. (I do my spraying outside, but I could certainly run some power cords.)

I like it!

Thanks,

TJ

 

[tjcruiser]

What color is this cat ???

Oohhh ... a RED one!

Nice weather here in RI today ... about 55 and sunny ... good painting weather!

TJ

 

[tjcruiser]

Cats Have Nine Lives

Gents,

Everyone knows that cats have nine lives. Good thing, too, 'cause this Lionel 1681E loco sure needed one. Started life black ... and now reincarnated red.

Motor tune up, per thread details above. Mated to TJ's 1681 "Shell #2", stripped, primed, painted, per details above.

Metal trim all stripped, polished. Chromed domes and smokestack taken down to underlying copper, polished, and dope clearcoated. Copper colored paint on the headlamp. Krylon Rudy Brown primer and Krlyon Banner Red gloss topcoat on shell parts. TJ "signature" gold pinstripe around the steamchest.

I should note that 1934 1681's were black with a red frame, as per my earlier two 1681 restoration projects. However, in 1935, Lionel changed to an all-red color scheme on the 1681 locos. So here, I've gone with the 1935 look.

I've said it before, and will say it again ... For anyone restoring one of these 1681's, be extra special carefull when removing and reinstalling the "sandpipes" that come down from the front dome. The bottom bend is very brittle and fragile. Worked out/in OK for me here, but I was holding my breath there for a while.

So, my Cat Lady project is beginning to show some promise. This little guy isn't looking nearly as mangy as he was. Kind of refined and sophisticated, actually. Perhaps the neighbors will see what I've done, and smile for a moment ... before they pull their kids in the house, and tell them not to bother that crazy train guy who lives down the street.

And now, I present our feline friend. Enjoy ... and send tuna fish ...

TJ

 

[tjcruiser]

Gents,

I'm likely gonna move on to the Lionel # 1679 box car, next. (Shown in Post #1.) I'll remove and strip/prime/paint the frame and trucks, along with the roof (only) of the shell. I'll leave the original litho graphics on the side of the shell.

My question to you prewar guys has to do with the color of the roof on this 1679 box car. Mine appears to be a dark green. Also, my 1679 is an early one (1934-35), BEFORE Lionel started putting the Baby Ruth logos on the side. As I peek at other photo example of the 1679 car (ebay and the like), their roofs appear to be dark blue or sometime turquoise. I'm NOT seeing dark green, like mine.

Is it possible that my "green" is actually a faded / discolored blue? Do any of you guys have comparable examples to reference? I'd like to get an "authentic" color match, if possible.

Thanks!

TJ

 

[SkyArcher]

!!WoW!! I just saw your loco again. It's AWESOME! What an inspiration. :worshippy: I hope my stuff looks as good as yours when I'm done. I can't help you with the green. I think that Big Ed likes green. You might ask him what color green to paint your roof...

 

[tjcruiser]

OMG ... I hadn't thought about Ed's recommendation ... "Beam me up, Scotty" ... Alien Green here we come ... NOT!

Thanks for the nice comments re: the loco. I feel a bit guilty for changing the shell from '34 black to '35 red, but I already have two other '34 black 1681's, so I thought I'd spread the family out here a bit. Sacrilege? Maybe. I'd be curious as to what other restoration type guys think.

Cheers,

TJ

 

[Felginator]

TJ,

I think I have this same loco packed away. I have to check. I think mine said Ives on it though. It's definitely not as pretty as yours!

 

[tjcruiser]

Fel,

As you may know, Lionel bought out Ives (with American Flyer) in 1928, and outright in 1930. Lionel continued to produce some of Ives' product line under the Ives name.

Along those lines, the Ives 1661 loco (and its tender and freight cars) produced in 1931-32 are essentially the same 1681 loco (and tender and cars) that Lionel produced under the Lionel name in 1934-35. The Ives motor has a slightly different contact-shoe plate than its Lionel counterpart, and the tenders are tagged with "Ives R.R. Lines" or "Lionel Lines", respectively.

This Ives Society link has some nice pics of a 1661 ... scroll down about half way...
http://www.ivestrains.org/CD/O_Gauge/lionel31_32/locomotive/htmlfiles/ElectricSteam.htm

Do let me know if you indeed have a 1661.

Cheers,

TJ

 

[tjcruiser]

Gents,

A nice, warm fall day here in RI today. Good painting/priming weather. Made some progress on the freight cars for this Lionel 1055E set. Shown below are the frames and trucks of the box car, tanker car, and caboose newly primed and one side painted black, after being stripped to bare metal. I've also stripped and primed the roofs (only) of the box car and caboose. (The bodies of those cars are taped off, under primer, below.)

Might try to get some more paint on tomorrow, if the weather cooperates.

Regards,

TJ

 

[Big Ed]

Alien green would look just great if TJ did it.
I like the red. You ought to make the rest the color of Christmas too. Put Christmas decorations on them.
Make it a Christmas train.

Check it out TJ,



http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Lionel-Engine-Cars-Red-264-E-600-603-Lot-8-/290499467488?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item43a31e18e0



A nice winter project for you?:thumbsup:

The only thing that confuses me is the track he offering with it.


Sometimes I can't copy and post a e bay link here?
IF YOU CAN'T SEE IT TJ SEARCH FOR THIS ITEM #290499467488

 

[Smokestack Lightning]

Gents,

Everyone knows that cats have nine lives. Good thing, too, 'cause this Lionel 1681E loco sure needed one. Started life black ... and now reincarnated red.

Motor tune up, per thread details above. Mated to TJ's 1681 "Shell #2", stripped, primed, painted, per details above.

Metal trim all stripped, polished. Chromed domes and smokestack taken down to underlying copper, polished, and dope clearcoated. Copper colored paint on the headlamp. Krylon Rudy Brown primer and Krlyon Banner Red gloss topcoat on shell parts. TJ "signature" gold pinstripe around the steamchest.

I should note that 1934 1681's were black with a red frame, as per my earlier two 1681 restoration projects. However, in 1935, Lionel changed to an all-red color scheme on the 1681 locos. So here, I've gone with the 1935 look.

I've said it before, and will say it again ... For anyone restoring one of these 1681's, be extra special carefull when removing and reinstalling the "sandpipes" that come down from the front dome. The bottom bend is very brittle and fragile. Worked out/in OK for me here, but I was holding my breath there for a while.

So, my Cat Lady project is beginning to show some promise. This little guy isn't looking nearly as mangy as he was. Kind of refined and sophisticated, actually. Perhaps the neighbors will see what I've done, and smile for a moment ... before they pull their kids in the house, and tell them not to bother that crazy train guy who lives down the street.

And now, I present our feline friend. Enjoy ... and send tuna fish ...

TJ

Man! Beautiful job. Really minty:thumbsup: Those old tin trains are cool. More of a toy that you can play with than today's museum pieces.

 

[tjcruiser]

Smokestack -- Thanks for the nice comments. These little Lionel Jr's are definitely toy-like in their size and simple detailing. But I really like their old-school look.

Ed -- The ebay link is a nice set. Needs some t.l.c., though ... could be quite nice all buffed up. The two-rail track is wrong, as you say. However, Lionel did sell some wind-up locos in that 1930's era (of that same Vanderbilt loco style) that "ran" on two-rail track.

Cheers!

TJ

 

[Big Ed]

If you go with a Christmas train you can detail the engine wheel spokes like a peppermint stick.:thumbsup:

 

[tjcruiser]

Hi guys,

Some more progress on painting the freight cars over the past weekend. Newly painted roofs for the box car and the caboose. I opted to go blue on the box car ... all of the early-generation 1679's (prior to Baby Ruth loco) that I found on the 'net had blue roofs, rather than green. I used a dark reddish-brown paint on the 1682 caboose roof, echoing this vintage version. (As a side note, earlier 1682's had a red roof.)

Other than a light cleaning, I haven't touched the original litho graphics on the sides of the cars. One side of the caboose has a deteriorated section of litho, but I didn't want to strip the whole car (or that side) to try to reproduce it, as I did with my 1054 set. So, "preservation" rather than "restoration" is the path for these side lithos.

Shiny new black paint on the car frames and trucks. (That "empty" frame is for the tanker.)

Cleaning up of the wheels, and polishing of the copper journal boxes to come.

Regards,

TJ

 

[SkyArcher]

Boy, I get deja' vu looking at your train parts. IS there a restoration process for litho?

Looks great tho!!

 

[tjcruiser]

IS there a restoration process for litho?

Sky,

Good question. I'm amazed at how durable and detailed the old lithographed painted graphics are. That said, they do oxidize/chip with abuse and neglect.

I don't know if "anyone out there" is reproducing true litho work. I wish I knew. I did learn (via a post from Stillakid Jim) that the original litho printing was done with the sheet metal FLAT, then it was bent into shape after the litho had cured/dried. How they did that without damaging the surface is beyond me ... one of life's mysteries!

I tried the "poor man's approach" to "reproduce" a litho-look on the restoration of my 1054 freight set cars. Basically, paint, Sharpie black lines, photo-printed insignias, etc. Results look nice from a distance, but won't convince anyone under the 'scope, so to speak. You've seen my 1054 set thread below, I think ...

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=3847

Cheers,

TJ

 

[SkyArcher]

Hmm, I have three prewar litho cars and while I'm likely to preserve rather than restore the litho, it has occurred to me that I have NO idea what I would do if I wanted to try to restore the litho.:dunno:

 

[Stillakid]

TJ, Sky, I don't recall where I read this, but it was an article that dealt with design/restoration of old tin buildings. The writer used Corel Painter v.11.0 to work with a photo of the original image. He would oversize the photo and use the tools to enhance colors, restore damaged areas, and even add to the original artwork. A transparency would then be created and laid over the base color. ??
Sounds like a lot of work, and the program is pricey($300+!)

Regards,
JIm

 

[SkyArcher]

They replaced the litho with decals? I can see how that would work. You could use any graphic program and print on decal paper but reproducing white and gold would be difficult.