Its Old! but beautiful

Very nice!

Looks good

Here is another - slightly modified

Or a more or less unmodified Mike with a scratch tender?  I never did care for that Scale Craft tender:

The Scale-Craft Mikado (I have 2) are like all other SC items (but for the passenger cars) 1/4" scale.  The passenger cars are a bit odd - 18" length but a bit too high and wide. The mikado with window shades and corrected walks can be made into a quite respectable model.  Now with the new decal rivets, even the tender can be made to look good.

J2M

I had a couple of problems with  my mike, she seemed to sit to low at the cab, and the trailing truck journal wasn't under the beginning of the cab, I also wonted to use a large KTM open frame motor and it fouled with the trailing truck, so I started measuring from scale drawings, thinking she was 1/4 scale. The wheel bass was to long for 1/4 scale, as was the boiler and cab, so I thought maybe its 17/64 scale, so! what do you knew, the wheel bass is spot on. The boiler and cab in combination are about 9 inches to long for 17/64 scale, well that fixed my trailing truck problem. I moved it back to be aesthetically in the right place, but dimensionally wrong, no more fouling. The front, or smoke box sites at the right hight for 17/64, but the cab was to low, a spacer under the frame fixed that. The boiler diameter unfortunately in some places is to skinny, even for 1/4 scale. the smoke box is correct however, that's why she doesn't have that taper of the prototype. The tender, well I thought of Bob's comments, and did some more measuring and she is somewhere between 1/4 and 17/64 but more on the 1/4 side, and its the long hall tender from behind the 2-10-2 but the mick is pictured using this tender to. The wheel bass is to short for either 1/4 or 17/64 but this will be to facilitate sharper curves, as are the blind drivers.

Model railroading is as much an art form as it is a scale reproduction of any model, so my philosophy is if you can't get it dimensionally right, do what ever to make it look right.

Well she is rugged and tuff, and I love her, and she will still be running after I die.

O! that KTM motor has rare earth magnets, and the spring tension has been reduced. Ill do ball bearings next, she's unstopable.      Stephen     (cTr...Choose the Right)

I wasn't going to mention it, but I did a photo study of the Mike, the 2-10-2, and the 4-8-2.  The photos in the Worley book indicate that tapers were all over the map.  I found enough 2-10-2 photos to make me comfortable without taper, and the Mountain photo on page 295 shows very little taper.  I have a mechanism that converts the 2-10-2 to the Mountain with three screws.

I always thought the things were 1/4" scale.  I would be happy to believe they were 17/64.  The prototype is not one of the largest ATSF Mikes.

Well Bob if those tapers are all over the place, that makes me happier. I always thought it was 1/4 scale to. But?? The wheel bass is spot on for 17/64 with 63" drivers and 66" spacing. The drivers are machined a little under but thats not unusual for most models. I used drawings from Model Railroader Encyclopaedia, unless I have the wrong SF Mick?. Its certainly bigger than my Sunset USRA Mick.  I love the 2-10-2 you did from the ScaleCraft looks great to me. Id love to do one with the turtle back tender.     Stephen    (cTr...Choose the Right)

 I don't want to get you mad but I would have said it looks a bit on the plain side.

If you get a loco to run good and smooth, it doesn't matter to me as much about the looks then. I can't own great looking engines that won't run.

 Fortunately, I know almost nothing about steamers. That keeps me from counting rivets!! So if she's a good runner, I automatically like her! Seems like the steamers are more picky on track work than my diesels. I got a MTH pacific that is so smooth running, it changed my mind about steamers.

 I don't want to get you mad but I would have said it looks a bit on the plain side.

That's not something that would make us mad.  These are called "doorstops" because they are heavy, clunky, and old.  Their charm is in the history mostly.  We know they do not compare even with Railking for detail.

Its true Joe she is plain, rugged even, and she does run smooth, and from three feet she still passes the test, with a presence all her own. She's tuff to, and being cast bronze if you drop her she'll brake your toe!! But state of the art she is not! Bobs comments are right on. Its unfortunate, but door stops aren't a popular subject on our forum.      Stephen    (cTr....Choose the Right)

Fascinating exchange and some nice work! Handsome engine.