S7 scratch building

[airnimal]

A couple of shots of my latest build. A L.N.W.R loco coal wagon with cast iron or wooden plates ( not sure which ) that have been kindly given to me by Mike Williams of gauge 3 fame. These plates were made many years ago by the late J.P.Richards whose models grace the N.R.M. at York. I feel very privileged to have them.

Mike used to work in 7mm before he went on to model in gauge 3. I would love to build a couple of his wagon kits but were would I put them. Years ago you could put a couple on top of the television but not with today's slim line models.

[airnimal]

A little bit of progress on these 2 wagons after spending all morning painting the fence in the back garden. Brownie points while my wife is away.

I have put the buffer bodies on and started putting on some body detail. This is going to be a long job and I don't think this pair of wagons is going to be finished any time soon. I am not sure if I have enough coach bolts in stock and I now I don't have any etch v-hangers in my parts box.

[Western Star]

Might these two recent models be going loco to the S7 AGM this Saturday?

[airnimal]

Graham, no I will not be attending the A.G.M on Saturday. We have got a small problem with family matters and they come before any hobbies.

Mike

[airnimal]

I have run out of rivets for the coal wagons so while I wait for them to arrive I pulled out one of my Dia 32 vans from the pile of unfinished half built models. I made up the w-irons and cleaned the wheels and mounted them on a false floor. This may stay this way for a long time because I have dozen different projects on the go at once. In fact I think this van may have been in this condition for about 10 years now.

[airnimal]

The rivets arrived very quickly from Historex yesterday so on with the build of these loco coal wagons. I didn't think I had any v-hangers for these wagons but I went through my bits box and turned up some spare Midland Railway ones which fitted the bill perfectly.

After fitting the v-hangers I also fitted the brakes from a fold up etch obtain from Hawood Railway.

I bought some of these years ago and was very impressed with them. The were easy to use and could be modified to make different brakes. I phoned the owner of Hawood Railway and asked him for some more etches to be taken to Doncaster last weekend.

When I talked to the owner and said how impressed I was with them he said he had hardly sold any of them at all. Which I think is a shame because they are very good indeed.

The photos show both the brake gear as bought and modified.

[airnimal]

I looked at the photos of my wagon brake gear and thought I should put a couple of bolts on the hangers. I had some brass 0.7 hex nuts from Scale Hardware that I have used on locos before but rarely on wagons as they are a bit expensive. I also replaced one of the safety loops because I had made one out of a different strip of metal which was slightly wider than the other.

The photographs are before and after.

[airnimal]

One of my pet hates are brake blocks so far away from wheels. This is particular bad in fine scale. That was one of the reasons I turned to S7 along the heavy appearance of the wheels in fine scale.

Using these etch brake gear gives me the ability to stretch the wheelbase to fit them closer to the wheels.

An unmodified etch placed on the second wagon shows how far from the wheels is necessary in fine scale to compensate for the over scale flanges.

[airnimal]

I have started to put the rest of the ironwork on. I drill the corner plates and fitted the coach bolts in from the rear. I glued them in and let them dry before cutting them off flush ready for the square nuts to go on the outside. This is a long winded process especially with 2 wagons to do so this will take me some time.

[airnimal]

Feeling at a low ebb because of family problems I wanted to do something other than wagons. So I had a look to see how much I had to do on my chopper tank to get it finished. There is still a long way to go so I decided to do a bit by putting the rivets on the bottom of the smokebox where it meets the footplate. When I first rolled the smokebox I could not get the rivets I the right place when the metal was in the flat, so I decided to add them later. I don't have any rivets that small so it will be a case of drilling holes and inserting .45mm wire to represent them. It is going to be fun trying not to flood everywhere with solder.

[airnimal]

I have done the first side and it has not come out to bad. Soldering wire from underneath with just a quick dab of the iron was enough to sucure the wire in place. It does however show the bad join on the curve of the bottom of the smokebox.

Edited June 30, 2018 by airnimal

[airnimal]

The second side is done but not as good as the other. I have drilled the holes a little bit off and the wire is not as neat.

[Andy Hayter]

I am sure you will see it every time the loco runs by, but I doubt anyone else will.

 

Superb modelling as always.

[airnimal]

Andy, thanks for your comments. It is very much appreciated. I have just put one side of the handrail on with a lever on the smokebox to operate something to do with the condensing gear fitted to the early engines.

I have managed to knock the loco over on my workbench and dislodge one of the inner side tanks. One step forwards and one back.

This will be it for awhile because I am going out on my bike tomorrow in the sunshine. And I am on family babysitting for a couple of days on Monday.

[airnimal]

Change of plans. Woke up feeling off colour so decided 70 miles on the bike might not be a good idea.

So I have put the other hand rail on. Every little bit helps.

[airnimal]

I have put the buffers on with a 2 part epoxy. I think it is now getting close to the finishing line. If I can get it done before it Guildex I will take it and see if Warren Haywood will paint it for me.

I don't like building locos and I am going look at my needs and wants for my proposed layout.

I have a nickel kit from Laurie Griffin for the same loco along with a set of Alan Harris wheels as well half built dock tank. Will they ever get built ? Also in the cupboard are a set of wheels for a Manning Wardle contractors loco but will I need these as there is R.T.R. one on the horizon.

Also in this deep cupboard are 3 Sid Stubbs gearboxes and 2 A.B.C.gearboxes and a host of castings for all sorts of things.

It does seem such a shame that these parts have been there for for so many years awaiting me to getting around to building my dream locos.

Even this chopper tank has been on going since about 2002 and at one point was sold to a friend of mine who was going to have someone finish it off. It then sat in his house for a few years untouched untill I bought it back and got it in the state it's now in.

I even had a pantograph milling machine to speed up loco building but my heart was not in it and I never realised its full potential so I gave it away as I needed the space.

How many locos do I need ? I don't even now the answer. How many locos do I want ?

It's a funny hobby. Why do we hoard stuff. Tastes change.

I have a friend who has so many models of high end O gauge models he doesn't have space to display them and they sit in boxes for years unseen and unused. They are his and he can do whatever he wants with them but it does seem a shame that they never get seen.

Rant over.

[juliant99]

Airnimal, Aside from your locomotive conundrums, that is a very fine looking chopper tank. Is it from a kit? I have a Shedmaster kit sitting in the cupboard for the same loco, chosen over the other available options due to the quality of the castings. One is told to purchase items when they are available, and then things do sit around for a while, so it can't be helped sometimes.

Julian

[airnimal]

Julian, no this is scratch built. I started it about 20 years ago and then had a big accident on my bike coming home from work. After that I lost interest in model making and sold 90% of what I had and used the money to go cycling in New Zealand. A couple of years after I started again and managed to buy back this chassis along with a Shedmaster kit from the friend who I sold it to. I then built the body from scratch and had intended to build another from the Shedmaster kit but with a full cab. The castings are from both Hobbyhorse and Shedmaster but I don't think I will get around to building a second one.

Good luck with yours and post some pictures when you do.

[airnimal]

A little work done in the cab today. It will need a lot of cleaning up.

[Ruston]

This is superb! How have you made all of the bodywork - by hand, by profile milling?

[airnimal]

Ruston, the chassis was all profiled milled along with the smokebox front. Everthing else was done by hand the old fashion way. It does help having a guillotine which makes it easy to cut sheet metal to near enough size for parts like the side tanks and footplates. The part that has been most successful is the bufferbeam which has been made in one piece.

I marked out the rivets pattern and the holes for the buffers in the flat before I score the fold lines with with a Olfa cutter. It was then quite easy to fold in to a box section and solder a couple of bits of nickel on the ends.

When I bought my milling machine I thought I would be using it all the time and I had the idear when I retired I would make lots of locos to sell and subsidise my modest pension. All that happened was I didn't have time to make other things and I needed the space in the workshop to hopefully build my layout.

I gave it away to a good home in exchange for any parts milling when I need them.

[Crewe North]

Mike,

Just a thought but are you fitting the condensing pipes twixt tanks and smoke box? I feel I feel not the standing cover on the tank tops are not required.As said I thought I'd mention it before it got near a painter

 

John

[airnimal]

John, that's one of the plus points of the R.M Webb, people with more knowledge of the prototype than myself. I will have to go over all the photographs I have to see where I am up to and check any more mistakes before it goes to paint.

There is nothing worse than showing someone your latest model only to be told that you have missed something out or put something on that should not there.

I remember my good friend Peter showing someone at a exhibition a large gauge one diesel etch when somebody passing by looked over our shoulder and said "that window is in the wrong place".

How we scoffed until we got home and sure enough the gentleman was correct.

We did not know this gentleman but that lesson is remembered every time we go to a exhibition.

[Crewe North]

If you do decide to put the condenser pipes on they exit the tank fronts where the innermost 4 rivets are.....position will be obvious from photos. This being the case then the covers on the tank tops will have to be moved inline with the pipes.

 

John

Edited July 9, 2018 by Crewe North

[airnimal]

It is so good to see your work. I am very impressed and I am sure I will learn something new from your wagons. I have built a couple of wagon from the G.N.R many years ago in fine scale.

I am intrigued the way you have set out the express van, I have never seen it done this way. My worry would be getting the 2 sides identical. I try to mark out one on top of the other, so 2 side and 2 ends. I find that that the sides and ends will be identical even if they are wrong.