Very impressive improvement modifications made to this Rivarossi "big boy" locomotive model, I always enjoy seeing what improvements other modelers make to their locomotives and your locomotive now looks and sounds spectacular.
Well done with the work you ve put into that loco.I have 4 Rivarossi locos, of various ages, but all have the motor in the boiler, which is a good start. These locos ran really well on DC, so that makes them a good contender for sound & details. The current pickups are their archilles heal. If all 4 are intact & working, is a big plus,otherwise wipers have to be installed. I have also experimented with tender pickups, as well..Worth noting, that Hornby have upgraded the pickups, in their latest releases, & have installed wipers on ALL the drivers, from about 2017 on.( the long red box). These locos are well worth their new price, as they were damn near half the price of their nearest rival. Watch out on ebay, as their prices vary, significantly.I have one that has an older Loksound v3.5 (i think) & putting a stay alive on that decoder is not a happening thing, but anything else is a must, before going down the wiper road.Thanks for the video.Nice job.
Thanks! I carefully drilled out the class light molding on the smokebox with a pin vise and micro-drill bits, fish some surface mount LEDs into the class lights, and then wire them in parallel before wiring them to the internal motherboard. The class lights then get lenses using microscale micro krystal klear glue applied into the drilled holes with a toothpick. It took some experimenting to figure it out but I like the effect.
Just my opinion, the Rivarossi loco, looks great, and personally, a locomotive the runs great, (but more importantly) you detailed, like a modeler should do? That's real modeling! Again! My opinion but, anyone can purchase a model train, that is prototypical, all it takes is money. It takes a true modeler, to add the correct details, to a locomotive and it look correct. Very nice job, enjoyed the video
Thank you! I don't mind purchasing models, plastic or brass, that are more heavily detailed out of the box but sometimes it's just a lot of fun to dive into a more basic model and turn it into something special. Thanks for watching!
I’d love one of these but my layout simply won’t allow it as my curves are too tight, alas Mayworth Hill will have to stick with its 9F for heavy freight work
These really do look better on larger radius curves, but I do know Rivarossi's model can handle 2nd radius/18inch curves but clearances always present an issue too. A 9F is on my list though! They're a great looking locomotive.
Fantastic work. I've been detailing one as well, albeit into something a little more unconventional! One thing that bothers me is the undersized drivers. Rivarossi made them a scale 64" instead of 68" to accomodate for the large flanges of the old models.
You're right about those undersized drivers! It's a little odd but I don't notice it as much when it's running. One of the things I didn't mention in the video was my attempts to add brake shoes between the drivers - it always looks so odd with the amount of space between the wheels, but the slop in the chassis to allow for the really tight minimum radius always made brakes a very difficult addition. Once I purchased my Athearn, I just lived with the things I wasn't able to change on the Rivarossi and accepted it for what it is.
@@yardsounds90 the hornby era models come with brake shoes so they are definitely trying to cover it up lol. The rods still look unmistakably off to me in motion. I hope to get an athearn someday!
@@Alerrecks I did not notice the brake shoes until you mentioned it, a point to Hornby for making that change at least! It definitely looks better all things considered. Athearn, BLI, Trix, I don't think you can go wrong with any of 'em if you want what could be considered a 'high def' model of a 4000. I would like a proper model of an excursion 4014 to commemorate when I saw it last year, that'll likely be a BLI model, but I'd do Trix if I could find or afford one.
@@yardsounds90 ironically enough, I hear the Trix also has undersized driving wheels. With BLI's decoder record it seems like athearn is the way to go. Good luck! I'll be searching too
For the speaker, this was actually just the Athearn speaker assembly (Looks like this: www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH85111). I took that out of my Athearn Big Boy which received a Scale Sound Systems speaker instead. This was part cost-saving measure, and partly because it fit in the space I was hoping to fit it in at the smokebox. But you could easily fit a massive speaker in the tender too, I was just trying to avoid too many wires between loco and tender. With adjusting the EQ on the Soundtraxx deocder, it actually sounds pretty good. I have not tried to install a smoke unit I'm afraid. I tend to take them out actually, but if I were to consider going that route I'd look into units that use water vapor over the oil we're used to. Seems to be a more popular option in the UK at least.
Nice video! Did you use the Rivarossi marker lights and drill them out to take the LED, or is it something else? Just a clarification on “firebox flicker”, it is only really applicable to oil-burning locomotives. A coal burner has an ash pan beneath the fire, which means the fire is not visible.
@@struck2soon I did not know that about the flicker, thank you for the heads up! Maybe I can modify it to be a firebox glow in the cab. For the marker lights, I (very carefully) drilled the plastic ones that come molded in the smoke box. It makes it easier not having to worry about brass castings shorting out the tiny surface mount LEDs when they get installed.
@@yardsounds90 Good point, I hadn’t thought about the short circuiting with brass. I admire your steady drilling hand! Here is a Rivarossi Big Boy I fitted an ESU sound decoder to and weathered: ruclips.net/video/yteZgcj3AX8/видео.htmlsi=5OL7_v9_Lak8mTH2
Very fine installation! Nice add of the Decoder Buddy Mini. Just what it was designed for! Thanks again for sharing!
That looks really good . Fine job
Very impressive improvement modifications made to this Rivarossi "big boy" locomotive model, I always enjoy seeing what improvements other modelers make to their locomotives and your locomotive now looks and sounds spectacular.
The big boy, no matter the scale, is still a beast..
Ain't that the truth!
Phenomenal job! I love old rivarossi models, and you certainly made this Redbox unique!
Thank you! It's something I really enjoy doing, so I don't always mind a more basic model that I can make changes to and add details.
You really did a nice job on that Big Boy, thanks for sharing your techniques.
Well done with the work you ve put into that loco.I have 4 Rivarossi locos, of various ages, but all have the motor in the boiler, which is a good start. These locos ran really well on DC, so that makes them a good contender for sound & details. The current pickups are their archilles heal. If all 4 are intact & working, is a big plus,otherwise wipers have to be installed. I have also experimented with tender pickups, as well..Worth noting, that Hornby have upgraded the pickups, in their latest releases, & have installed wipers on ALL the drivers, from about 2017 on.( the long red box). These locos are well worth their new price, as they were damn near half the price of their nearest rival. Watch out on ebay, as their prices vary, significantly.I have one that has an older Loksound v3.5 (i think) & putting a stay alive on that decoder is not a happening thing, but anything else is a must, before going down the wiper road.Thanks for the video.Nice job.
Good Work With The Video And Happy Holidays.
Amazing job man, you deserve more recognition!
You are too kind, thank you for watching!
Very nice job
Thank you!
Nice job
Thank you much!
need to paint the whistle & blow off valves brass as i did
very nice, how did you light up the running lights on the smoke box door ?
Thanks! I carefully drilled out the class light molding on the smokebox with a pin vise and micro-drill bits, fish some surface mount LEDs into the class lights, and then wire them in parallel before wiring them to the internal motherboard. The class lights then get lenses using microscale micro krystal klear glue applied into the drilled holes with a toothpick. It took some experimenting to figure it out but I like the effect.
Just my opinion, the Rivarossi loco, looks great, and personally, a locomotive the runs great, (but more importantly) you detailed, like a modeler should do? That's real modeling!
Again! My opinion but, anyone can purchase a model train, that is prototypical, all it takes is money. It takes a true modeler, to add the correct details, to a locomotive and it look correct.
Very nice job, enjoyed the video
Thank you! I don't mind purchasing models, plastic or brass, that are more heavily detailed out of the box but sometimes it's just a lot of fun to dive into a more basic model and turn it into something special. Thanks for watching!
thats really cool but what gauge is it
I’d love one of these but my layout simply won’t allow it as my curves are too tight, alas Mayworth Hill will have to stick with its 9F for heavy freight work
These really do look better on larger radius curves, but I do know Rivarossi's model can handle 2nd radius/18inch curves but clearances always present an issue too. A 9F is on my list though! They're a great looking locomotive.
Fantastic work. I've been detailing one as well, albeit into something a little more unconventional! One thing that bothers me is the undersized drivers. Rivarossi made them a scale 64" instead of 68" to accomodate for the large flanges of the old models.
You're right about those undersized drivers! It's a little odd but I don't notice it as much when it's running. One of the things I didn't mention in the video was my attempts to add brake shoes between the drivers - it always looks so odd with the amount of space between the wheels, but the slop in the chassis to allow for the really tight minimum radius always made brakes a very difficult addition. Once I purchased my Athearn, I just lived with the things I wasn't able to change on the Rivarossi and accepted it for what it is.
@@yardsounds90 the hornby era models come with brake shoes so they are definitely trying to cover it up lol. The rods still look unmistakably off to me in motion. I hope to get an athearn someday!
@@Alerrecks I did not notice the brake shoes until you mentioned it, a point to Hornby for making that change at least! It definitely looks better all things considered.
Athearn, BLI, Trix, I don't think you can go wrong with any of 'em if you want what could be considered a 'high def' model of a 4000. I would like a proper model of an excursion 4014 to commemorate when I saw it last year, that'll likely be a BLI model, but I'd do Trix if I could find or afford one.
@@yardsounds90 ironically enough, I hear the Trix also has undersized driving wheels. With BLI's decoder record it seems like athearn is the way to go. Good luck! I'll be searching too
Can you tell me the brand of speaker you used? Have you ever attempted to install a smoke unit?
For the speaker, this was actually just the Athearn speaker assembly (Looks like this: www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH85111). I took that out of my Athearn Big Boy which received a Scale Sound Systems speaker instead. This was part cost-saving measure, and partly because it fit in the space I was hoping to fit it in at the smokebox. But you could easily fit a massive speaker in the tender too, I was just trying to avoid too many wires between loco and tender. With adjusting the EQ on the Soundtraxx deocder, it actually sounds pretty good.
I have not tried to install a smoke unit I'm afraid. I tend to take them out actually, but if I were to consider going that route I'd look into units that use water vapor over the oil we're used to. Seems to be a more popular option in the UK at least.
@@yardsounds90 thanks
Would you be interested in detailing one of my Big boy's?
where did you get your " crew "??
Those are Woodland Scenics figures I believe, A1866 HO Engineers
J have model Big Boy Union Pacific for Rivarossii nr 4000.
Nice video! Did you use the Rivarossi marker lights and drill them out to take the LED, or is it something else? Just a clarification on “firebox flicker”, it is only really applicable to oil-burning locomotives. A coal burner has an ash pan beneath the fire, which means the fire is not visible.
@@struck2soon I did not know that about the flicker, thank you for the heads up! Maybe I can modify it to be a firebox glow in the cab.
For the marker lights, I (very carefully) drilled the plastic ones that come molded in the smoke box. It makes it easier not having to worry about brass castings shorting out the tiny surface mount LEDs when they get installed.
@@yardsounds90 Good point, I hadn’t thought about the short circuiting with brass. I admire your steady drilling hand!
Here is a Rivarossi Big Boy I fitted an ESU sound decoder to and weathered:
ruclips.net/video/yteZgcj3AX8/видео.htmlsi=5OL7_v9_Lak8mTH2