Working with what you've got...

Are aftermarket components any better then what can be achieved by fettling off the shelf products? I'm not convinced. The air horns on my Bachmann 37 are a good example.

Plenty of firms (A1 and Markits spring to mind) offer turned brass air horns for the model. I think people think that it must be better, otherwise why would someone have produced it? Yes they may be more robust, and I've definitely seen them added to a model to good effect. However, I'm cheap!

The Bachmann moulding actually looks pretty good. A nice shape, fine detail at the non-horn end (that needs to be added to the brass aftermarket ones anyway!) and fairly robust to minimum handling. I wondered what could be achieved with a mini drill!

Answer? Something pretty good I think! The secret is to start with a very small pilot hole and slowly increase drill bit size. I started with a 0.3mm drill, then a 1mm drill, then used a reaming bit to open up the tip a little. All using my Mini-craft drill powered from my old H&M Clipper controller to adjust the speed. These will look fantastic with just a lick of paint.

In addition I've also attempted to fettle some of the other details that come in the bag. Bachmann are really lagging behind Heljan, ViTrains and Hornby when it comes to the quality of the air and vacuum brake hoses it provides with it's models! On the 37 you also have a multiple working cable that is very thick indeed. I've modified the plug end with a file and knife to reduce it's height and add a rounded back side, and then sliced off the original hose. I then used a 0.3mm to drill a pilot hole before nerve-wrackingly drilled the 1mm hole to accept a replacement hose. This is still overscale but I couldn't find anything flexible that was smaller diameter - in fact this wire is from the inside of a USB cable - found after stripping down old headphones, mobile headsets and all sorts in the search for a fine wire!

Anyhow - it looks ok, better than the original. You can see the difference in this picture, the original Bachmann hose is on the blue 37 in the back (the plug end has been modified), with the modified one on the green 37 at the front. Comments and questions are welcome!

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