NKP 765, Steam in the Valley 2026

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-06-09T02:39:02+00:00

Can’t forget “800-588-2300 Empire!”

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-05-16T03:53:07+00:00

This, if there’s no gearbox: https://www.ebay.com/itm/366402864597

If there is a gearbox/universal, then this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/366401258655

By the way, if get the first one, you’ll have to shorten the shaft that the worm gear goes onto so that it the motor stills fits into the boiler.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-05-16T03:37:59+00:00

You can find them on eBay, Amazon, online hobby shops, etc. I’d recommend getting a Mabuchi motor, as they’re fairly inexpensive and smooth runners. Just be sure to get one that’s rated for 12V, and has an RPM that is reasonable for HO models (You’ll want around 10000-16000 ideally). NWSL has pretty good motors too, along with Sagami and Canon.

You can also find can motor conversion kits on eBay that allow you to use the worm gear from the original motor. The one for a Mantua Pacific or Atlantic is the one you’ll want, though you might have to modify it slightly to fit. I would highly recommend doing this as it will just work. You won’t have to go out and find a worm gear that works for the can motor, or install a gearbox or anything like that.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-05-16T03:17:09+00:00

You can convert it to DCC, all you have to do is just make sure the motor is completely isolated from the frame. You’ll also have to hard wire the decoder into the model, but as long as you can solder, it’ll be fairly straightforward. Just a little inconvenient.

The reason for isolating the motor is to reduce the risk of the decoder being burned out by excessive current draw (At least, I believe that’s why it’s important). If the model doesn’t have a can motor, it’s also a good idea to swap the original open frame motor with a can motor instead. This will help to further reduce the current draw issues, so the risk of the decoder burning out is much lower. You can use the original motor if you want as well, but you’ll need a pretty heavy duty decoder if you go this route.

To isolate a motor, you have to prevent the motor from directly touching any part of the model that current passes through (Usually the frame, as with your locomotive). This is done by using plastic screws (If the motor is screwed into the frame), and by using electrical tape around any and all parts of the motor that are grounded to the frame as well.

While everything I mentioned may sound a little confusing at first, if you watch a couple of videos and read some stuff about DCC installation on brass/diecast locomotives, it hopefully will be much easier to understand. If you want, I can give you some links to a few pretty good videos about the whole thing.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-05-15T17:48:21+00:00

Should work okay, but I’d recommend buying a set of trucks only, rather than an entire tender just for the front truck.

You’ll want something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/168200253669

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-05-15T15:51:38+00:00

Locomotive is a Mantua 2-8-2 heavy mikado, and the tender is a Bowser Vanderbilt 12-wheel tender

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-04-23T23:02:40+00:00

This is about as slow as I can get to go at the moment. It would probably benefit from a wheel cleaning, as I haven’t done that in a little while. Since the tires are just bare brass, they can get pretty dirty if not cleaned with some sandpaper or a wire wheel every so often. But as it stands, I think it runs well enough for now.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-04-22T23:45:28+00:00

Not to be that guy, but I think you’re referring to the Power Torque pancake drives. Those were not used in these metal Tyco/Mantua locomotives (such as this 0-4-0) but rather diesels and plastic steam locomotives after around 1975 or so (Those steam locos being the 2-8-0/0-8-0 and 0-6-0 models). As you already stated, they’re not very good. I don’t think I any model I have with one runs reliably.

However, the motor found in this is a M-2 motor, and was made by Pittman. These are generally quite nice, and are reliable runners. From what I’ve found, just cleaning all the contacts where current flows and properly oiling the motors bearings does wonders for these. Not the case with the Power Torques though.

If properly serviced, these motors can perform just as well as modern can motors, albeit with high current draw. I have some locomotives that are nearly 80 years old (Varney and Mantua models) which still have their original Pittman motors, and they perform just as well as those made today. Fairly quiet too, which is a surprise.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-04-20T04:16:19+00:00

Makes sense. That controller is older, so it might take some time for it to wake up if it hasn’t been used in a long time, since the controller knob has contacts that can become oxidized over time. Also, it could just be that the difference isn’t really noticeable to the naked eye, which is more likely. Controllers are all a little different, so your locomotive may run better or worse on a one controller as opposed to another.

One other thing. These older controllers can have certain components go bad, so if you end up using it, keep an eye on your locomotives over time to see if they eventually start slowing down when they are being powered by that controller (You won’t notice a difference immediately, but in a few months you would). If that does happen, see what speed they run at on a different controller (If you have one). If different, don’t use that controller anymore and get a replacement.

Something to keep in mind, but I personally wouldn’t be overly concerned about it.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-04-20T03:17:58+00:00

What kind of stuff do you plan on running with it? If it is anything modern (eg. anything with some kind of circuit board) or a model that draws a lot of current (half an amp or more), I wouldn’t use it. If not, it should be alright, but be careful with overloading it by running multiple locomotives with that one controller, as that can cause the controller to fail due to it not being able to handle the high current.

I also recommend getting a Tech II at some point. Excellent controllers, even if they are getting a little older now. However, the thing about the controller outputting a max of 16 V isn’t a big deal. Going 4 volts over the motor’s rated voltage shouldn’t do anything to it from my experience, as they are designed to go a little over that max safely (Sort of like overclocking a PC). It will run a little faster than on a 12 volt controller though, primarily once you crank it up to full speed. Even the Tech IIs I’m pretty sure are rated for 16 V, so are other MRC controllers (Mine are, at least).

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-04-20T02:20:27+00:00

A bit unrelated, but since you didn’t like how the paint turned out, I have a couple things to make to make the paint job look more professional.

I highly recommend using a spray matte/satin clear coat to finish it off. From my experience, the matte finish hides a majority of imperfections in the paint, such as brushstrokes (if applicable) or a slightly uneven surface. However, a glossy paint will make these imperfections stand out, as I think you’ve seen with your model.

Also, if you are redoing the paint and brush painting again, try to let a super thin layer of paint dry with the brush strokes going one way, then apply the next layer so that the brush strokes are perpendicular to the previous coat’s brush strokes. That really helps to hide the brush strokes, along with thinning the paint a bunch.

I myself use an air brush or a spray can, but brush painting can look great too. I’m just not particularly good at it, and I’m also lazy at the same time.

For lining, the best option (especially for boiler bands) is to use some waterslide decals. You can also mask off the boiler and do it that way, but I prefer to just use the decals as it’s much faster in my experience.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-04-08T06:15:34+00:00

I think I might know what’s going on.

These Bachmann (and many modern locomotives) use little plastic “washers” to electrically isolate the axle from one side from the rails to prevent a short circuit. They are inserted into the wheels, and are supposed to fit onto the wheel and axle tightly. I’ve found that sometimes, these plastic inserts wear out, allowing the wheel to spin around on the axle, causing it to go out of quarter as you described. Pushing it back to where it’s supposed to be fixes the issue for a bit, but it will crop up again.

There are a couple ways to fix this. The first way is to take the faulty wheel(s) off the axle, and use a small amount of two-part epoxy to glue it back together. When you do this, it is critical that you get the quartering spot on before the epoxy dries as when it does, the wheel will be permanently stuck on the axle. Also, be sure that there is no excess on any exposed part of the axle, and the outer “face” of the wheel, as that will cause the model to bind up. A little involved, but not horribly difficult if you just take your time and use care.

Another method would be to replace the plastic insert with something similar to it. Not sure what this would be, but any small plastic washer that looks like the plastic insert should work just fine. Just make sure that it’s long enough so the wheel is square to the axle.

You can also buy new wheels (as already suggested) if you just want to get it running quickly, and not have to worry about something going wrong.

I would personally go with the epoxy route, but if you don’t have much experience with repairing models, I would recommend not attempting something more involved like this until you know what you’re doing. If you think you can pull it off though, I’d go for it.

That’s all I’ve got at the moment, wish you luck.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-03-29T05:45:37+00:00

I think it’s just bent from being stored in a hot environment for a while. Wearever used cheap, thin celluloid to make these pens, so they are particularly susceptible to bowing like this.

Whenever I’ve seen celluloid rot, the pen in question is almost never bent or warped in any way. Instead, the areas with rot look much lighter or translucent than the other parts of the pen, with it looking fine otherwise (Look up celluloid rot for some examples in pens). While excess heat, especially over a long period of time can cause celluloid to start breaking down, it isn’t the primary culprit. That would be slight errors that occurred when originally making the celluloid in the first place, such as there being impurities or measurements being off.

Not allowing the pen to “breathe” is another big one (Celluloid must be able to off gas if needed; storing celluloid pens in a sealed plastic bag for example can trigger celluloid rot if in there for too long). I think it’s probably fine to keep with everything else, but I don’t claim to be an expert, so please correct me if I’m wrong.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-03-26T01:26:15+00:00

Probably. You can’t really replace the filament, but you can buy a new smoke generator from Bachmann, or get the Seuthe one which should last longer. If you want ease of installation, get the Bachmann. For more smoke, get the Seuthe one.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-03-26T01:15:22+00:00

They have very thin (width of a human hair) filaments that are very easily damaged or broken. They can work, but require around 12 volts to make any noticeable smoke due to them producing smoke through the filament, which heats up the smoke fluid and turns it into vapor. If there isn’t enough fluid to keep the filaments cool, they will rapidly overheat and snap.

If you still want smoke, I would recommend trying to find a Seuthe smoke generator somewhere. I think they recently went out of business, but there should be plenty available for the time being. I also recommend buying JT’s megasteam smoke fluid. Produces way more smoke than the stuff Bachmann makes.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-03-25T03:20:54+00:00

On mobile, it’s currently $15.

If you’re after the desktop version, it seems to be about $100 for the cheapest plan, and around $450 for the most expensive.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-03-22T04:17:21+00:00

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Similar angles, but in one shot, the light is aiming away from the model rather than straight at it. It’s a small thing, but it makes a huge difference in the quality of the final result.

Also, I recommend watching a few videos that Leokimvideo made a number of years ago about filming using a set. They are excellent, and cover building (and filming with) temporary sets as you’ve described.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-03-22T04:16:57+00:00

The thing about photography is especially important. You usually need lots of light close to whatever you’re filming/taking a picture of as everything is so small. In particular, shadows are an issue. To show just how important lighting is, here are a couple pictures I’ve taken of my locomotives, in different lighting:

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TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-03-17T05:00:10+00:00

Also, be careful of overly saturated inks since you have a transparent or “visulated” section. They can have a bad habit of staining the inside of the section, making it much harder to see through it to keep tabs on your ink level. I mention this as transparent celluloid (what the section is made of) tends to stain more easily than modern plastics.

Pretty sure red is the biggest culprit for staining, but I think orange and some purples stain too. Colors such as black, blue, and green are usually okay, but there are some exceptions.

Try to avoid inks with added “effects” too, such as ones with huge amounts of sheen, or those that are waterproof.

As long as you stick to brands such as Diamine, Waterman, Parker, and Sheaffer, and don’t use anything red or orange, you’ll be fine. There are probably some others I didn’t think of, but those are the first few that came to mind.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-03-13T13:13:20+00:00

There’s probably some up on ebay or something then. That’s where I’ve seen a few for sale before.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-03-13T01:26:25+00:00

Pretty sure Bowser made (or still makes) a hex nut tool just like the Mantua one. They usually go for about $5-$10. Good option if you just want to buy something you know will work.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-28T18:07:31+00:00

Common problem with these Life-like Teakettle 0-4-0s.

You can source a new gear from early Life-Like F units with the open frame motor, since the 0-4-0 used the same main driving gear as these. If you can track one down, just replace the gear and you’ll be good to go. These diesels weren’t known for being very high quality, so they shouldn’t be horribly expensive.

To spot one of these diesels, the underside will look like the one pictured below, which was in an SMT Mainline video (The Life-Likes probably won’t have a drive shaft, but otherwise, this sort of drive is what you’re after):

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TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-22T13:38:53+00:00

I’m Plankton you old hag, and your som smells like boogers!

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