Just a little work.
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Great job! Thanks for sharing your outcome.
Galy posted:
Just a little work.
Is this the ebay kit?
Art
Art posted:Galy posted:
Is this the ebay kit?
Art
No. Believe it or not the brass bands are there, but they painted them grey for some reason. The domes & bell I removed, masked and painted them gold.
Pat
Nice job! I'd send the pics to Lionel as the way the loco was supposed to arrive.
Again, good job!
Looks nice! Now, for a bigger challenge, try fixing the yellow text and striping that's supposed to be gold....
Well that looks fantastic now. Great job.
Would you please share the paint color that you used? Air brush? Spray can?
Doesn't Lionel have a paint shop in NC or VA? I feel like they should offer the 'upgrade' paint service on all of these sets.
JD
Hopefully this weekend I will be picking up my set and I will do the above Modifications to match the original 5-star general set I have
Congratulations!! It looks much better!!
JD2035RR posted:Well that looks fantastic now. Great job.
Would you please share the paint color that you used? Air brush? Spray can?
Doesn't Lionel have a paint shop in NC or VA? I feel like they should offer the 'upgrade' paint service on all of these sets.
JD
Krylon gold metallic spray can on the domes & bell. On the brass bands, Just remove the grey paint.
Pat
I can't figure out putting brass bands on the locomotive and then making them "disappear" by painting them gray.
GregR posted:Looks nice! Now, for a bigger challenge, try fixing the yellow text and striping that's supposed to be gold....
You think thats hard? Try molding GENERAL on the boiler side plates which was also removed.
PGentieu posted:I can't figure out putting brass bands on the locomotive and then making them "disappear" by painting them gray.
Anybody else think this was an unintentional mistake and not meant to go out that way?
Train Nut posted:PGentieu posted:I can't figure out putting brass bands on the locomotive and then making them "disappear" by painting them gray.
Anybody else think this was an unintentional mistake and not meant to go out that way?
Yes, I am suspicious that is the case.
As I looked at the pics it occurred to me maybe it was intentional. Could the body be swapped with the original, assuming you had a nice chassis? I don't know if the model number is still stamped inside the body so you could tell. Don't know if the increased value of the original set would offset the cost of buying the new set though. OTOH, as we have seen lately, it's more likely that they went cheap again to save a few pennies.
The original '59 boiler is a darker grey with an E unit slot and the word GENERAL molded on each side.
GALY, how does it run and sound? Any videos? Looks pretty sharp now.
JD2035RR posted:GALY, how does it run and sound? Any videos? Looks pretty sharp now.
It runs great. The sound is loud and clear. I recommend using your phone with the bluetooth app instead of the included remote. There are far more features on the app such as changing the pitch of the whistle and bell and adjusting the volume on each sound which cannot be done with the included remote.
Pat
PS Its also a good smoker.
Heck, my original is a good smoker too!
Galy posted:JD2035RR posted:GALY, how does it run and sound? Any videos? Looks pretty sharp now.
It runs great. The sound is loud and clear. I recommend using your phone with the bluetooth app instead of the included remote. There are far more features on the app such as changing the pitch of the whistle and bell and adjusting the volume on each sound which cannot be done with the included remote.
Pat
PS Its also a good smoker.
Pat, I am glad to see it works great with the Bluetooth app! I look forward to trying it out on a future engine!!
Train Nut posted:PGentieu posted:I can't figure out putting brass bands on the locomotive and then making them "disappear" by painting them gray.
Anybody else think this was an unintentional mistake and not meant to go out that way?
I would assume that to be the case too, although it does show a lack of checking the order of operations in the production process. Obviously the bands were probably applied before the shell was painted, not after like they should have been.
SantaFe158 posted:Train Nut posted:PGentieu posted:I can't figure out putting brass bands on the locomotive and then making them "disappear" by painting them gray.
Anybody else think this was an unintentional mistake and not meant to go out that way?
I would assume that to be the case too, although it does show a lack of checking the order of operations in the production process. Obviously the bands were probably applied before the shell was painted, not after like they should have been.
The shell is not painted. It's molded in grey plastic.
Even more bizarre.. To separately paint the bands grey. Still have to think some kind of mistake.
Galy posted:No. Believe it or not the brass bands are there, but they painted them grey for some reason. The domes & bell I removed, masked and painted them gold.
Pat
Hi Pat,
I am picking up my set today, so I am considering making your changes. On the brass bands, how did you remove the paint. Also, was it hard to remove the domes and bell.
Thanks so much for posting this!
Subtle, but wow, what a difference! Gotta get some video of this beauty running!
How tough was it taking the shell apart to repaint?
Brewman1973 posted:Galy posted:No. Believe it or not the brass bands are there, but they painted them grey for some reason. The domes & bell I removed, masked and painted them gold.
Pat
Hi Pat,
I am picking up my set today, so I am considering making your changes. On the brass bands, how did you remove the paint. Also, was it hard to remove the domes and bell.
Thanks so much for posting this!
Janitor John posted:Subtle, but wow, what a difference! Gotta get some video of this beauty running!
How tough was it taking the shell apart to repaint?
I did not remove the shell. I used a sharp mini screwdriver the same width as the bands and gently scraped the grey paint off. Make sure the screwdriver tip is sharp. As for the domes and bell. If you wiggle the top dome, it comes out easy. The small dome and bell are difficult and can easily be broken especially the bell. But it can be done. I used the same flat blade for the removal of the bell. If your good with a paint brush and gold paint, that would be a lot easier. The boiler is not painted, it's molded grey plastic.
Pat
Well done......
Peter
Weird that they painted the brass gray.
I took the shell off, wow, that thing did not want to come apart without a struggle, now I have taken the general models apart in the past with no problems in the past........ The bell on mine did not want to come off the shell without a fight, luck fully I had a replacement as I destroyed the one that came off the model, I also had NOS original bands from the 50's and put those on the model........ Now I need to order some additional fencing so I can use the Bachmann plasticville horses that Lionel originally used in the 50's however do I keep the yellow fence as the horse car currently has, or replace it with brown fencing like it should have........ I may keep the yellow and just order some inserts........
Anyone contact Lionel and inquire about the paint job on this? Painting those brass bands can't be right.
Excellent job!!! Would that have been to much to ask from Lionel???
I got my 5 Star General set in 1959 at age 6! Has to be an all time favorite.
How is the set packaged? Any chance it's a yellow suitcase box?
NYC Fan posted:Excellent job!!! Would that have been to much to ask from Lionel???
I got my 5 Star General set in 1959 at age 6! Has to be an all time favorite.
How is the set packaged? Any chance it's a yellow suitcase box?
The set comes in a regular box like the other starter sets do. Whats funny is the picture on the box is the correct General with brass bands and gold domes and whistle. As for the yellow fence on the horse car, that color scheme was made for Sears back then.
Pat
I have had fun running mine with the Bluetooth. It runs much, much better with the i phone than andriod. I also needed to reduce the power level on the transformer. Otherwise, it had only two speeds: off and super fast. This may not be a problem if you use the wall wart power pack.
The andriod had a delay in how the signal was recieved for the speed control.
When i get some time i will probably use pat's method to scrape off the paint on the brass bands.
The cars have nice metal trucks. For the 289 pre order price, there is a lot of value here.
Could it be that this may actually look nicer than the original 
Just trying to put myself back into my feet-in pajamas on Christmas morning 1959 and remember what that brand new 1872 looked like. There's the yellow suitcase box near the Dumont TV.
Here it is on my Christmas Layout in 2002.
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Skip, The '59 picture is great especially the Dumont. I was 10 in '59 holding my Lionel 2046 Hudson with the RCA TV to the left of the tree. My brother was 6.
Pat
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Pat,
Great photo! These old photos are a treasure for sure. Sometimes we need a little reminder of those Christmas mornings.
I was so excited when I unwrapped the General that I tore the end flaps off a couple of the boxes that the cars came in. My suitcase box, from 59, had the cars and loco individually boxed.
Great job on that new General!!! I will be picking mine up soon.
Galy posted:JD2035RR posted:Well that looks fantastic now. Great job.
Would you please share the paint color that you used? Air brush? Spray can?
Doesn't Lionel have a paint shop in NC or VA? I feel like they should offer the 'upgrade' paint service on all of these sets.
JD
Krylon gold metallic spray can on the domes & bell. On the brass bands, Just remove the grey paint.
Pat
What did you use to remove the gray paint on the bands? I got my set the other day but didnt open it yet.
ZWPOWER13 posted:Galy posted:JD2035RR posted:Well that looks fantastic now. Great job.
Would you please share the paint color that you used? Air brush? Spray can?
Doesn't Lionel have a paint shop in NC or VA? I feel like they should offer the 'upgrade' paint service on all of these sets.
JD
Krylon gold metallic spray can on the domes & bell. On the brass bands, Just remove the grey paint.
Pat
What did you use to remove the gray paint on the bands? I got my set the other day but didnt open it yet.
Mark
I used a mini flat blade screwdriver and gently scrapped off the paint. The mini screwdriver was the same width as the bands and had a very sharp edge.
Pat
OK thanks!
In doing some additional research, there were two versions of the general. The 1872 was the more substantial version with a three position e-unit and Magnetraction. In set form, it came with Super O track and the cars had lights, etc. It also has the gold bands. This is the picture from Tandem.
This next version is the 027 version No 1862, no Magnetraction and a two position e-unit. It has less detail and no gold bands.
So, this really does not answer the question why Lionel produced a new Five Star General with a No 1872, but gave us the 027 version with no gold bands. Maybe they did not have any Super O track to include? You Know, Topps randomly includes vintage baseball cards in new packs. They are usually stamped with a gold emblem. The acquire the old cards on the open market.
Lastly, I was able to find some old articles in CTT on the Lionel General. Its relatively easy to do in their DVD set. I wonder if there were any articles in OGR.
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