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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

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.

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.

Last edited by Galy
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.

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!  

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

Last edited by Galy

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........

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

Last edited by Galy

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 

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_69

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.

19592 2

Here it is on my Christmas Layout in 2002.

DSC01125

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Last edited by NYC Fan

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.

Last edited by ZWPOWER13
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

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.

loco1872b_ident

 

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.  

 

loco1862b_ident

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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Brewman1973 posted:

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.

loco1872b_ident

 

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.  

 

loco1862b_ident

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. 

 

Dave, The bands are there, they just painted them grey and left the domes and bell molded bright yellow. They did a nice job on the Western Union General with the brass bands, gold  stripes and lettering,  I don't know why they ruined the Five Star set.

Pat

 

 

                                 wu

 

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NYC Fan posted:
rtraincollector posted:
C W Burfle posted:

There is a third Postwar general: the 1882. See Tandem Associates for details.

That's the halloween 

Uncataloged set made for Gifts Galore in 1960.

 

The CTT issue from July 2006 has a picture of the General on the cover and a four page article on the sets.  It has a nice picture of the Gifts Galore set.  Interesting that American Flyer also came out with there own old time engine, "the Frontiersman" in 1959. Same concept from two fierce rivals.  Still wondering if OGR had any articles on the Generals.  

Pat's fixes are terrific and I want to do that to my engine. 

Hi Pat,

Phase 1 is complete! I was able to remove the paint from the bands.  I used a screw driver as you suggested, and it worked great.  I probably used a bit too much pressure to begin with, and I had some light scratches, but I got the hang of it.  

I will try painting the domes and bell next.  

20171122_135429

Its such an improvement!

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Brewman1973 posted:

Hi Pat,

Phase 1 is complete! I was able to remove the paint from the bands.  I used a screw driver as you suggested, and it worked great.  I probably used a bit too much pressure to begin with, and I had some light scratches, but I got the hang of it.  

I will try painting the domes and bell next.  

20171122_135429

Its such an improvement!

Hi Dave:

Just the gold striping is an improvement!  Even I can do that!

I've been hesitating about this set because the Mickey Christmas set I have, it's fast or off as far as speed goes. Haven't changed the settings yet on the transformer.

Can anyone with this set please take a video? I can't find a preview of it anywhere. I'd really appreciate that.

Thom from PDX

Here are some pictures and a video.  

First,  I am using the Bluetooth app on the I Phone. It works nicely on a layout of my size (12x12).   The android version is not usable, however Dave Olsen has states on the forum that they are working on an updated version that should improve its functionality.  Also, the hand held remote that is provided with the set was very touchy and launches the engine forward and in reverse. 

Here is what the app looks like.

20171228_131125

In the tools section, you can adjust the speed limit.  I have it at "L" for low.  

20171228_131134

Here it is.  I have it pulling two Sheriff and outlaw cars, the horse car, the two W&A passenger cars and the  three green passenger cars from the Alco set that just came out. 

20171228_131153

The horses are a bit nervous about flying off the layout over the ledge.   

20171228_131208

This is a MTH z1000 transformer.  I set the throttle fairly low, that has helped smooth out the General's operation.  

20171228_131456

Here is a short video.  It can pull a ton. 

Lastly, the product page has the sound clips. The sound is clear and loud Really fun stuff!  

http://www.lionel.com/products...t-wbluetooth-6-82442

 

 

 

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TedW posted:

With a screen grab of Dave B’s settings on the bluetooth app, I think if he were to change the momentum setting to medium or high with a button press, he could smooth out the starts and stops a little. The max speed limit is controlled by the slider back and forth.  Certainly worth a try.

8B90C304-AFFF-4FD8-B672-D2A6D2C7D97C

 

Hi Ted,  thanks so much for the suggestion!  Actually, I did not know what the Momentum setting did.  

So, I played around with the settings and lowered the throttle on the transformer a bit more. 20171229_081917

On the Bluetooth, The "M" setting on Momentum worked the best, I also increased the speed setting, given that the transformer was at a lower level.   

20171229_083737

The short video below shows some starts and stops.  ITs a much smother operation! 

Thanks Ted, for the suggestion! 

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20171229_083934

I decided to pull the trigger on this set after seeing this thread.  I could not be happier with it!  It is my favorite running loco to this date!  I was worried about how well the General Loco would operate after having the Mickeys Christmas set.  But they made a huge improvement!  The 5 Star runs smooth, quiet, plenty of traction, and with the Lionchief App, you have a whole other level of control that makes this set that much more fun.  My 4 year old son and I are loving it.  Specially with its bell and air whistle tone control.  Best feature ever!!!

 Enjoy the pictures of the General running around our current Christmas Layout dubbed "Carpetland"

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pdxtrains posted:

John, that's great to see! I have the Mickey set as well, and have stayed away from this because of the jerkiness of that loco! Thanks for the update!

Pdxtrains, glad to see another fellow Oregonian around these parts!  Reporting to you live from Bend

Got any good model railroad shops on your end of the Cascades you can recommend?  The 1 shop here in town is very, bleh....

Now I'm really curious to try the updated Mickey's Christmas train with Bluetooth to see if the recent updates, such as what they did to the Five Star, also helped the Mickey 4-4-0.  Luckily, you can find the updated Loco and tender for sale on eBay.  I enjoyed the Mickey 4-4-0 for Christmas very much, aside from its jerkyness and loud humming at low speeds.  So I decided to gut it and try to make it look closer to the #1 engine at Disneyland:  The C.K. Holliday IMG_20180106_183840IMG_20180106_203405IMG_20180103_203624

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Last edited by Janitor John
pdxtrains posted:

John:

Whistle Stop and Hobby Smith are two great train stores here in PDX.

I have the newer Bluetooth version of Mickey and it's still either FAST or DEAD STOP.

I love your Disneyland buildings! Did you build them, or purchase? If you bought, may I ask where?

 

Bummer about the newer Mickey Train.  Might be time to crack open the 5* General and look for differences in motors/gears.  I can't imagine its electronics.  But anything is possible I guess. 

I follow the Whistle Stop on FB.  They have great customer service over the phone.  Just wish they had an online store to make things easier to shop for here in our state.

"Carpetlands" buildings consist of different Christmas Village buildings and Disneyland toy sets.  The Main St. station is the old HO sized Disney World plastic model you can still find on eBay.  The Castle is a playset still available through Disney online.  Main St. is made up of various exclusive buildings sold at the parks or now eBay.  Some of them being Department 56 items.  And the mountain you see pictures was my first attempt at the Matterhorn which is scratch built.  Here's a link to Carpetlands youtube videos.  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/channe...w?view_as=subscriber

Adriatic posted:
Nobody has any info for the gunfighter car? Pulling that many cars I also have to ask, is the Generals shell cast metal. Even with the power and weight of a heavy Pulmore, my Generals dont have the traction to pull that many cars.

Hi,

The Sheriff and Outlaw cars that I have are from 2008.  Trainz has them once and a while.   This was their description for the one I won:

This is a Lionel 36856 Western and Atlantic Sheriff and Outlaw Operating Car from 2008. Features include die-cast metal trucks and operating couplers, two figures alternately bob up and down through the roof openings as the car rolls down the track nicely simulating a gunfight. It also has a metal frame. It measures 9 inches long and the minimum curve radius is O-27.

Manufacturer: Lionel
Model Number: 6-36856
Years Manufactured: 2008 - 2008
Road Name: W&ARR
Original MSRP: $74.99

I won it for $35, after ten bids! shipping was about $11 and there is that buyers premium.  I won a few other items that week, so my actual unit shipping cost was lower.   

I also have the Outlaw car from the 2017 catalog, its red and still in the box. 

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Thank you Brewman.

  The post war gunfighter car is one of my 2 favorites. I always liked the W&A yellow though, and one of my two Generals kinda needs a gunfight to be "right" in my eyes.

  The later Gunfighter cars I had seen got remade with a simple teeter-totter mech vs a cam and gearing. The floating action wasn't nearly as nice as the cam action. Watching the video, I was surprised to see what looked like cam action gearing where the desperado ducks with a firm "clack" that I always perceived as our sheriff's gun firing   Can you say if the mech is the same as PW. I'd love to have some extra parts too. Just in case of course, because mine has never had an issue in 50+ years of regular use.

Are these 5-Star engine's cast metal shells?

   I just can't get over all the cars it is managing. Mine have the power, but not the traction. I cut off the cow catcher at the pilot beam on one and added a coupler to the front truck to double head two in order to get more than just 5-6 cars moving without slipping.

   If you need more passenger cars for the era, MTH has made some W&A cars too fyi. Different look, colors, etc., but still the right look for the era.

It must be the traction tires. I have run every General up till the James Gang version and always thought magnetraction would have done them all a world of good. I never understood why it was never redone with it. I cant think of any engine it was more effective on, so the tires must help tons. Any idea on exact weight? The MPC Pulmor R.I.&P. General weighs in at 1.5 lbs on the nose.
Adriatic posted:
It must be the traction tires. I have run every General up till the James Gang version and always thought magnetraction would have done them all a world of good. I never understood why it was never redone with it. I cant think of any engine it was more effective on, so the tires must help tons. Any idea on exact weight? The MPC Pulmor R.I.&P. General weighs in at 1.5 lbs on the nose.

No idea on the weight.  But if I can track down a scale, i'll see what it weighs in at.

Hi everybody,

I would like to let you know that I just completed repainting the bell and domes on my 2017 Lionel reproduction of the 5-Star General engine. It took me four months to perfect using DecoArt Glorious Gold gloss enamel acrylic paint and some fine-gritted sandpaper for smoothing the surface. Here are the 4 phases from my refining process.

  1. The bell, domes and boiler bands as they appeared fresh out of the box.
  2. I used a mini screwdriver to scrape off the grey paint on the boiler bands.
  3. I applied the gold paint (as seen below) onto the bell and domes. However, I wasn’t really satisfied of how the surface turned out, so I used fine-gritted sandpaper to smooth out and repaint the surface.
  4. After 4 months of compromising, I finally finished refining the engine to how I wanted it. The bell and domes look a lot smoother and     closer to its original molded shape.

 paint_cropped

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So here it is. My finished re-painted model of the 5-Star General engine.

complete_cropped

Hope you enjoy it!

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Last edited by onetrackmind
onetrackmind posted:

Hi everybody,

I would like to let you know that I just completed repainting the bell and domes on my 2017 Lionel reproduction of the 5-Star General engine. It took me four months to perfect using DecoArt Glorious Gold gloss enamel acrylic paint and some fine-gritted sandpaper for smoothing the surface. Here are the 4 phases from my refining process.

  1. The bell, domes and boiler bands as they appeared fresh out of the box.
  2. I used a mini screwdriver to scrape off the grey paint on the boiler bands.
  3. I applied the gold paint (as seen below) onto the bell and domes. However, I wasn’t really satisfied of how the surface turned out, so I used fine-gritted sandpaper to smooth out and repaint the surface.
  4. After 4 months of compromising, I finally finished refining the engine to how I wanted it. The bell and domes look a lot smoother and     closer to its original molded shape.

 paint_cropped

Slide2

So here it is. My finished re-painted model of the 5-Star General engine.

complete_cropped

Hope you enjoy it!

Hi Onetrackmind,

Nice job, looks great. Enjoy

Galy

Janitor John posted:

Look good OneTrackMind!  How did you apply the paint to the domes/bell?  Looks very very clean!

Thank you for your kind comment. I applied slightly diluted paint with a thin brush on the domes and bell. In order to prevent mistakes, I used thin strips of masking tape on the mid-sections of the domes, boiler and handrails. 

Galy posted:
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

Hi Pat,

I did not remove the bell and small dome during the repainting process because I didn't want to risk breaking them. However, I was able to take the top dome off easily.

Janitor John posted:

Thanks to Galy, I set out to add a little of the shiny stuff to the Ole General, and went a little further with it.  Enjoy IMG_20180204_153614IMG_20180204_153634IMG_20180204_153651IMG_20180204_153820IMG_20180204_153847IMG_20180204_153857

Hi John,

I really like your custom work on your General locomotive. I have a few questions about removing the shell for the 5 Star General locomotive.

1. How hard was it to remove the shell?

2. What size screwdriver would you recommend when opening it?

 

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