Top page » Model train stories » I tried putting Bachmann's body on the Kato RS-3 mechanism.

I tried putting Bachmann's body on the Kato RS-3 mechanism.

Kato's Alco RS-3 diesel locomotive that I acquired used a long time ago.When removing the paint, the body was dissolved with solvent and fell apart.

Kato old RS-3

Since the engine was running fine, I decided to put an inexpensive Bachman RS-3 body on it, so I went to a Bachman parts store and popped it in.There is also a campaign, so you can get it for $12.6.

Bachman RS-3 body

I bought it with an open mind, but when it arrived and I compared it, I found various problems.First of all, the area under the driver's cab and the battery box did not fit with the metal chassis.Cut off the part that will be batted.

Cut out the interfering part

Next is the chassis.In fact, the motor at that time was thick, so there was a protrusion in the center of the chassis.Kato made ends meet by making the inside of the body thinner, but Bachman's body is naturally of uniform thickness.If you put it on as is, the center of the vehicle will bulge out.It's a pain, but I shaved the chassis.

Scraping the RS3 chassis

It took about an hour with a metal file.I managed to achieve this by being careful not to cut too much.Below is the difference between the chassis before and after processing.

Before and after chassis machining
Chassis after processing on the left, before processing on the right

If you work hard on these two points, you'll be able to get on board.I feel like the car height is a little high, but I guess it's within an acceptable range (lol).I repainted the underfloor gray and that's it.

Kato mecha + Bachman body

I was very happy to be able to utilize the power that was about to become waste.

You too (lol)

 

Scroll to top