Kusojiji
RANK AMATEURS OF THE MODEL RAILROAD FORM MEMBER
RAPIDO E1 HEADLAMP INSTALL
Love the way this thing looks and runs. Very reliable and smooth as compared to the Hunslet. This thing has received poor reviews as far as maintenance and installing DCC as there are too many detail parts that need to be dealt with. Bit the bullet and decided to give it a try with a headlight.
First thing was to get the body off. Instructions state to leave the cab in place. Reviewers say to remove the cab with the body. Tried both and the cab definitely needed to come off as the pipes going into the cab are very stiff and the two Westinghouse things on the right side ain't comin' off. Two of the front screws are under the brake rigging, so getting a tiny screw driver in there was touchy. Was able to get it out, but the screw remained in the hole as it was pretty much captured. The two boiler drain pipes are in the way and had to be moved to the outside of the splashers. Luckily I didn't end up breaking them off.
Getting the smokebox off required pulling the pipes off, which ended up with me breaking off two pieces when my hand slipped. Not easy like the Hunslet was.
Once the smokebox was removed, drilled a .3mm hole next to the lamp iron.
Then it was time to scope out the blanking plate, which ended up being different from the Hunslet, which was surprising. Same company. Could have saved money on tooling and production... Anyway, got the lamp installed and wired. Used a regular 1/4 watt 2K resistor this time since I had to solder on the inside part of the diodes.
Had a slight puckering moment when I put the blanking plate into the loco and realized that the resistor was a bit too fat. Moved the resistor enough for the next18 connector to sit far enough in to work.
Then the daunting task of getting everything back together. I watched a reviewer break parts off during this process, so wasn't looking fwd to it. The drain pipes are the biggest issue as they curve inwards and under the boiler. Got it all in without breaking off any other part and got the wayward parts back in.
On the move.
I wasn't sure what color the lamp needed to be. I just knew the shape of it. I found pics of the lamp being black, red, and white on the prototype, so I chose white since I had already painted it white.
Love the way this thing looks and runs. Very reliable and smooth as compared to the Hunslet. This thing has received poor reviews as far as maintenance and installing DCC as there are too many detail parts that need to be dealt with. Bit the bullet and decided to give it a try with a headlight.
First thing was to get the body off. Instructions state to leave the cab in place. Reviewers say to remove the cab with the body. Tried both and the cab definitely needed to come off as the pipes going into the cab are very stiff and the two Westinghouse things on the right side ain't comin' off. Two of the front screws are under the brake rigging, so getting a tiny screw driver in there was touchy. Was able to get it out, but the screw remained in the hole as it was pretty much captured. The two boiler drain pipes are in the way and had to be moved to the outside of the splashers. Luckily I didn't end up breaking them off.
Getting the smokebox off required pulling the pipes off, which ended up with me breaking off two pieces when my hand slipped. Not easy like the Hunslet was.
Once the smokebox was removed, drilled a .3mm hole next to the lamp iron.
Then it was time to scope out the blanking plate, which ended up being different from the Hunslet, which was surprising. Same company. Could have saved money on tooling and production... Anyway, got the lamp installed and wired. Used a regular 1/4 watt 2K resistor this time since I had to solder on the inside part of the diodes.
Had a slight puckering moment when I put the blanking plate into the loco and realized that the resistor was a bit too fat. Moved the resistor enough for the next18 connector to sit far enough in to work.
Then the daunting task of getting everything back together. I watched a reviewer break parts off during this process, so wasn't looking fwd to it. The drain pipes are the biggest issue as they curve inwards and under the boiler. Got it all in without breaking off any other part and got the wayward parts back in.
On the move.
I wasn't sure what color the lamp needed to be. I just knew the shape of it. I found pics of the lamp being black, red, and white on the prototype, so I chose white since I had already painted it white.
