Ransomes Rapier 4wd
I saw that Mark Clark of Locos n stuff had produced a chassis for this 3d printed body from Paul Smith (floyd_kraemer). The body was beautifully printed and well detailed but had artificial skirts to hide the intended Kato chassis as the loco was originally designed for 09. I had seen that Simon Jones had modified one of these locos by removing much of the skirt and I thought I would copy this excellent idea.
I struggled to get the chassis to sit level so I ended up adding two “wings”. This was reasonably successful but I did need to grind out a bit of material from inside the chassis.
The finished loco runs well on my test track and I’ve managed to get some weight under the bonnet although it is still a bit light. Time will tell how it behaves on my iffy trackwork when it’s warm enough to set the layout up in the garage.
I had an opportunity to aquire a second of these locos for a bargain price due to indifferent running. The pick-ups on the chassis were not always making contact and proved difficult to adjust. I will see how it performs and may add my own pick-ups from the side of the chassis. One wheel has a bit of a wobble which I think is contributing to problem.
The postal service had not been kind to the body and although the damage appeared superficial, I decided that buying a new body would be an easier option. This recieded similar treatment to the first loco with the removal of the additional side moulding on the frames.