Key MT-1!

[ATSF_Ron]

Just unpacked this eBay find.  What a spectacular loco!  I had an MT-4 years ago that was a sweet runner (Yes, I regret selling.), but this one?  Wow! Just WOW!  It's the same series as my old MT-4 (series 29) only even smoother and quieter.  I'd say it's as quiet as my BLI Mikados (with sound off, of course) and maybe even quieter.  And this is straight outta the box, no wheel cleaning or lube yet.  Here are a few pics...

And no, the headlight is NOT crooked, even though for some reason it looks that way in the photo.  Go figure...  I have a quick question for brass experts.  When I took it out of the box, the entire face of the smokebox popped off.  I slid it right back on, but I don't want to risk it falling off while running.  Will a small amount of CA hold it on?  I've never tried using it on brass before.  I do NOT want to risk messing up the beautiful paint job, so I don't think soldering is an option.  If not CA, what would you recommend?

[Cajonpassfan]

Nice find! Canopy glue, or Walthers Goo.
Otto

[Mike Madonna]

Ron,
Nice find! I con cur with Otto regarding the smoke box cover. I have a samples from the first run (1984) and the second (1999) run. They ALL run outstanding. Smooth, quiet and they are "spot on" regarding prototype fidelity.

[davefoxx]

Nice find! Canopy glue, or Walthers Goo.
Otto

I second the motion for canopy glue.

DFF

[carlso]

Ron,

as an SP'r, I am jealous of your find. Nice catch. i would agree with only 3 or 4 small dots of canopy glue or Aleene's Tacky glue.

As I look at the forward shot, in my opinion you need to twist that smoke box cover  counter clockwise by 1/2 to 1 rivet thickness. It definitely is not centered.

SP lives in my world!

[Sdynamo]

Great looking loco!  I just acquired an MT-1 as well and just finished DCC'ing it.  Make sure you drill out the headlight casting before you glue the smokebox in place if you want a headlight 

[ATSF_Ron]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’m pretty sure I have a tube of Walthers goo lying around.

Carl, I agree. One or two rivets counter clockwise and it’ll be perfect.

[Cajonpassfan]

Easy on the Goo. I love the stuff but a little goes a long way.
Great looking engine. I had a chance to buy one some years ago in Sacramento green and let it go
Otto

[nickelplate759]

Don't use Goo unless you are sure you will never want to open the smokebox again.  Also, Goo is pretty much a "you must get it right the first try" kind of glue.   You won't be able to rotate the smokebox if it's not perfectly straight on the first try.

    I'd use something like canopy glue - or even plain old white Elmer's.

[peteski]

My Walther's Goo experience is quite different.  Unlike CA with accelerator, to me Goo allows ample time for adjustments, and even after it fully dries, it is still rubbery and flexible. It is also removable from metal surfaces.  I guess YMMV.

[nickelplate759]

My Walther's Goo experience is quite different.  Unlike CA with accelerator, to me Goo allows ample time for adjustments, and even after it fully dries, it is still rubbery and flexible. It is also removable from metal surfaces.  I guess YMMV.

Yes, it's still rubbery and flexible after it dries, but I've found it has a memory, even before it's fully set. 

I find that if I use Goo to glue to pieces, put them together slightly misaligned, then adjust the alignment, when the glue sets it will return close to the original misaligned position.  You can fix that with (a lot of) heat, but not on a finished locomotive.

[ATSF_Ron]

Peteski, my experience with Walthers goo is similar to yours.

Otto, I also had one in Sacramento green years and years ago. This was back in the day before eBay. The seller didn’t bother to tell me that it was missing some of the connecting rods. Even though it ran extremely well I tried to return it, but was informed it was an “as is” sale. Not discussed beforehand. 😡 Buyer beware, I guess.

[JMaurer1]

Love anything SP but MT's need sky casings. If I had that magic lamp, I would use one of the wishes for (probably Athearn since they already have it in HO, but seem to never release anything in N scale even though they already have the molds) an N scale MT-4...wait, if I have three wishes, I would wish for an 1:1 scale MT-4 (and enough land and track to run it on). Not sure what I would use the other two for yet...