A little more progress from the weekend. I cut the engineers side water pipe short, and cut and rotated the corresponding check valve. On the prototype the pipe dips below the running board and the check valve is mounted vertically.
I removed the headlight and marker lights from the smokebox front, and filled the marker light mounting and wire holes with Bondo. The marker lights will be replaced and relocated to the smokebox sides. The feedwater heater was also covered in order to fill some voids and mold patterns in the casting.
Last thing filled with Bondo was the mounting holes for the water pipe on the firemans side. Lettering was also removed - some lacquer thinner on an old t-shirt took it off in seconds.
Now here's the rub - it seems Lionel originally painted the engine after all the separate piping details were applied, so there is a pretty prominent shadow on the boiler underneath where the water pipes used to be. Sanding the filler in the mounting holes flat also caused some scuffs. While I can, I'd rather not repaint the whole boiler, so I'd like suggestions on how to cover these areas and blend them in. I am already going to brush paint the smokebox.
~Chris
