# Ian's Royal Blue



## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

I just got finished with sandblasting Ians's Royal Blue Shell. I mixed up a small dab of J.B.Weld for a couple of cracks, and hand polished both handrails. Hopefully I can get this back in the mail by Thursday at the latest. The shell showed a poor casting from the factory but should be ok after paint.I can't get a good shot of the handrails so don't expect a picture.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Looks nice.

How bad were the cracks? For future reference, you might consider drilling a small hole (say 1/16" diam.) at the end extent of the crack and then filling that with caulk / Weld. The hole will relieve any stress concentrations, and stop the crack from propogating further.

Looking forward to Ian's repaint work.

TJ


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

Looks great!! Is this the one that had the bashed front pilot that needed straightening??


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Nuttin But Flyer said:


> Looks great!! Is this the one that had the bashed front pilot that needed straightening??


I believe it was. The cowcatcher now has such a minute bend, it's very passable, and I only dabbed a few gobs of JB into the smallest void.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Ian's shell is about to be shipped back home this morning. I polished the handrails, stripped the carcass down to bare metal, and included some super flex wire for his re-wire job. I hope he likes it.


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

I think he needs a tender for it yet, doesn't he? Or am I confusing this one with another thread....I'm losing track of all this.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Nuttin But Flyer said:


> I think he needs a tender for it yet, doesn't he? Or am I confusing this one with another thread....I'm losing track of all this.


Me too..


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

I think we need a flowchart.  Lots of excellent activity with the S guys, but I hear ol' Bud and Lou in my ear ... "Who's on First???" :retard:


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

tjcruiser said:


> I think we need a flowchart.  Lots of excellent activity with the S guys, but I hear ol' Bud and Lou in my ear ... "Who's on First???" :retard:


Yes, It's nice to see this activity on a "toy" that's going on 60+ years!


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## Kwikster (Feb 22, 2012)

flyernut said:


> Yes, It's nice to see this activity on a "toy" that's going on 60+ years!


Bite your tongue, it's not a "toy train" it's a model railroad 

Carl


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Kwikster said:


> Bite your tongue, it's not a "toy train" it's a model railroad
> 
> Carl


Yep, when my wife asks me "are you playing with your trains"?, I say no, I'm operating my layout.


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## imatt88 (Jan 31, 2010)

Loren,

It looks awesome and I can hardly wait to get it back.:thumbsup:

Yup, this is the one that needs the tender. 

I keep looking, but there isn't much out there.

I'm actually suprised how popular American Flyer tenders are on eBay..

Hopefully soon....

Thanks Loren, I really appreciate it.

Cheers, Ian


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## imatt88 (Jan 31, 2010)

Loren,

got the shell in the mail today!!! Wow, what a difference!:thumbsup:

Thanks!!!!!!

Now I just have to finish it....

Cheers, Ian


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

imatt88 said:


> Loren,
> 
> got the shell in the mail today!!! Wow, what a difference!:thumbsup:
> 
> ...


Glad you liked it buddy....


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

tjcruiser said:


> Looks nice.
> 
> How bad were the cracks? For future reference, you might consider drilling a small hole (say 1/16" diam.) at the end extent of the crack and then filling that with caulk / Weld. The hole will relieve any stress concentrations, and stop the crack from propogating further.
> 
> ...


Please excuse my bad manners, but that's great advice...


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## imatt88 (Jan 31, 2010)

I'll have to remember that....


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Happy to help a bit!

The hole trick is often done on large-scale structures like road bridges and the like. Cracks are more common than one would think, and if they are small and within the engineer's margin-zone of acceptability, they can simply be "arrested" with a hole, and then monitored through future inspections.


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

Ian -- Don't be depressed. A tender will eventually show up. Sometimes it takes longer than expected. But there are plenty of Royal Blues out there as well as compatible tenders from other engines. You'll get yours eventually. I am still keeping watch for you and I'm sure others here are too. With a ton of Train Shows throughout the year and eBay sales, somebody somewhere is going to have one for sale soon enough.


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## imatt88 (Jan 31, 2010)

Thanks, I really appreciate that!


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