Lionel O Gauge James the Red Engine (Ultimate James Custom)

Here it is. The ultimate challenge. The impossible has been done. Fixing the Lionel James.

This was, without fail, the HARDEST model I have ever customized. The challenge was daunting. Lionel's O gauge model of James is unanimously mocked for how inaccurate it is. Shall we compare?

Let's see...

Lionel's James has hilariously undersized and under detailed buffers. Inaccurate yellow lining and dome as opposed to bronze/gold. A short and squat look. An incredibly long face. And the most egregious of all: the super wide boiler. James is depicted on Lionel's model almost like a saddle tank!

First off, I wanted a challenge. I wanted to make a version of James that improves upon the official Lionel model, but still "feels" like a Lionel model (flaws and all). So, I wanted to stick with the chassis he came with. 3 rail.

The only 3D printed part on this entire model is the lamp. That's it. Everything else is actually customized off the original Lionel James! The body shell is original! Just heavily modified! The running board is the same as the official release, but the boiler and steam chest were chopped off and completely made from scratch. The splashers were widened as well. Plasticard and smoothing putty became my friend during this project!

Sanding, sanding, sanding. I sanded and smoothed this model probably 10 or 12 times! Boiler was a cut down PVC pipe. Once painted, James was attached to his chassis and was ready to go!

I decided to use the 2019 Lionchief chassis of James. So this custom model is actually Bluetooth controlled and has the actual voice lines of James from the show!

This was a project I attempted in 2014/2015. It was horrendous. But, that did not stop me from wanting to try again. James is my favorite character and he always had to be done justice in O gauge. Clearly, Lionel will never make the necessary changes. So I was up to the challenge! This is not perfect. We live in an age where people are 3D printing exact replicas of the models from the actual Thomas & Friends show. But I am happy with it. And that is truly what matters.

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