Create a four-wheel diesel shunter from a Matchbox toy

Chris Arnold describes an easy conversion

Introduction

In 1979 Matchbox Toys briefly diversified from cars to trains and produced some rolling stock including a steam loco. The "push-along" vehicles were toy-like but they also made a freelance diesel shunter that had more conversion potential. These shunters (cat. no. MB24) turn up second-hand at swapmeets and one is illustrated in "Model Railway Enthusiast" January 1994, p.121. It resembles the old Triang-Hornby "Dock Authority" shunter except the Matchbox toy is around 1:87 scale, although it may be very slightly wider.

Any modeller used to converting plastic kits may find this die-cast metal toy quite crude, especially with the solid footplate steps, but it offers an easy loco conversion for British 1:87 scale.

This is not THE definitive step-by-step instruction but I hope this article will show readers the possibilities of this "undiscovered" locomotive using my experiences.

Items required

The basic ingredients are:

• One Matchbox MB24 Diesel Shunter (the body shell on its own would be OK)
• One Tenshodo SPUD (Self Propelled Underfloor Drive)
• Four loco buffers
• Some styrene sheet
• Wire for handrails
• Clear sheet for windows

Conversion

The first part is the most tedious: drilling out the rivets at the base and discarding everything except the loco body and cab control panel. The more patient may wish to saw off the solid steps and replace with something finer but I kept mine and used subtle weathering and painting later on to enhance the limited relief. I also retained the moulded horn on the bonnet.

By now you will be aware that there is quite a lot of metal cutting involved which is why I found it easier to just leave the moulded on details. Drilling locating holes for the handrails I also found difficult due to not being able to find a tiny drill bit that was strong enough to make any progress into the metal. Eventually I found that a spike was adequate to make the holes, but some handrails still fall off my completed model from time to time!

I painted my loco DMU green, with black below footplate level. I picked out the chevrons at the front and rear in yellow and black, the headlamps in silver and the radiator in black with added "speed whiskers" from a Dapol railbus kit. Some surface detail could be lost under a layer of enamel paint so you may wish to keep the loco body its original colour (sometimes bright yellow). After painting I added glazing to the cab and plasticine inside the bonnet for extra weight. I also glued in the cab control panel.

The chassis

I used a 26mm wheelbase SPUD held in situ by a baseplate made from plasticard with an aperture cut out for the top of the SPUD to fit into. Indeed on my model the top of the SPUD fits so snugly into the baseplate that there is no need for any adhesive to hold it in place. This allows for easy removal for maintenance, etc. The baseplate itself fits underneath the loco body, the insides of the front buffer beam and the front steps locating it in place. This should bring the loco up to the correct height for HO. Also needing consideration at this stage are the couplings. For British HO locos I use Fleischmann-style tension lock couplings with the hook removed. The front coupling is glued from the underside of the baseplate: care is needed to align the coupling with the ready-made aperture in the front buffer beam. Readers may however use other types of coupler.

Plasticard baseplate with cutout for 26mm wheelbase SPUD. All dimensions in millimetres.

At this point I had ideas about making simple outside frames from plasticard but instead (for speed) I used an old coach bogie from a cannibalised HO Lima Mk2. Once the central pivot is removed this fits well around the 26mm wb SPUD (the SPUD having its elongated axles trimmed down first). The gap between the top of the Lima bogie and the underneath of the loco body sides I filled with two lengths of 3mm square section plastic. With the coach bogie and fillers glued into place I stuck a small piece of card on each side of the frame to resemble fuel tanks and to hide the look of a coach bogie. Note that the bogie frame from the Mk2 is coil sprung whereas most shunters have leaf springs. Perhaps an old Playcraft bogie would be more appropriate? The attached coupling of the Lima bogie could be used as the rear coupling for the loco if the metal loop is removed.

For the rear buffer beam I used plasticard cut to size, painted red and with a small hole for the coupling. I fitted Lima DMU buffers having plugged the two holes in the front beam first. Finishing touches consist of brake pipes, lamp irons, exhaust stack (from a piece of drinking straw) and perhaps the front buffer beam could be deepened.

Conclusion

OK not the most elegant member of a HO locomotive fleet but certainly a talking point at exhibitions...and a smooth running 4-wheel industrial diesel shunter - something that is not available r-t-r to even the 00 modeller at the moment!