Golden Valley Janus, modifications and repaint

[Arthur]

Rather than hijack the main thread I thought I'd start my own in the Standard Gauge Industrial Forum. And have just realised that Dave (Ruston) has this very evening started a similar thread.....we've only just finished matching threads on the Judith Edge Brush 200hp.

 

As I mentioned in the main thread, I've two of the Janus models in NCB livery, both good runners. One is currently staying as it is, the other was stripped down the first day I opened the box. I'll be finishing this one in a British Steel Corporation wasp strip livery. I've a couple of the forthcoming models on order too and will be finishing those in my fictional steelworks livery.

 

Here is the loco body reduced to it's component parts. Most parts are just tight push fits, if there's any glue it's minimal. Readily removed were the bonnet unit, the cab, buffer heads and stocks, jacking points, hook couplings and handrails (not those on the bonnet). The battery boxes are held on by lugs, one came away readily, the other had a bit more glue on the lugs and one broke off as I levered it away.

 

 

The glazing comprises four separate mouldings, two front and two side. They were minimally glued in along the bottom. By pressing them in from the outside I heard the bond 'crack' and they were easily removed undamaged. The neat little windscreen wipers were pushed out from the inside using a metal probe. They 'pop' free so keep them contained with a finger. I didn't on one and it flew out onto the floor. After a major man hunt it was arrested this afternoon and returned to the bits box.

 

The printing was removed using a fibre glass brush leaving the Yorkshire and BTH plates intact.

 

 

I plan to fit whitemetal buffers to the heavy duty pattern used at Workington Steelworks and produced by RT Models. I've previously fitted RT Models Stewarts & Lloyds pattern buffers to Janus models built from Judith Edge kits.

 

Item 4SLP051 on this page;

 

http://www.rtmodels.co.uk/rt_models_023.htm

 

Workington Steelworks was part of the United Steel Companies, as was the Yorkshire Engine Company.

 

Here they are cleaned up and primed with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer in white.

 

 

Preparation for fitting them involved grinding off the existing buffer bases using a burr in a modellers drill, took about 5 minutes in total. The D shaped mounting holes were opened out to accept the spigot on the back of the cast buffers. Next, the hole for the tension lock coupler was filled with a rectangle of 80 thou styrene and super glue. This may require a little filler later.

 

Looking like a face...

 

 

The footplate was masked to allow the blue valance sides to be firstly primed in white. On the prototype the fuel tanks are incorporated into the footplate which is why they have the deep valance. The nicely printed fuel gauges at the ends of the valences were masked by applying a blob of grease on a cocktail stick.

 

 

The bonnets. I mentioned at the time of release of the first prototype photos of the model that I thought that the raised 'rim' behind the Yorkshire nameplates just looked wrong. Though I cannot find a photograph looking down onto the bonnet ends, every photo from the side suggests that the top of the nameplate is pretty much level with the top of the bonnet and that they are linked by a flat plate. Probably a flap giving access to the radiator top. Here is a relevant close up from a drawing published in Tony Vernon's highly recommended book on the Yorkshire Engine Company.

 

 

I think it possible that Oxford have taken a detail from different Yorkshire designs and put it on their Janus, some do seem to have this raised rim feature. From the same source, a Yorkshire 0-6-0DH.

 

 

Using a new scalpel blade I cut down vertically behind the nameplate and then shaved off the two side rims. I then cut a strip of 20 thou styrene to match the width if the nameplates. Before cutting it to length I used the scalpel blade and emery sticks to thin out one end such that when fitted it would sit flush with the bonnet top.

 

 

The pieces are held with solvent, being careful not to damage the nicely printed Yorkshire nameplate. Though I would hope to be able to fit etched plates at some stage I plan to keep the printed ones for the time being, they are very well executed. They were given a protective coat of Johnsons Klear before proceeding further.

 

More next time.

 

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[Ruston]

I see you have filled in the recess for the radiator filler caps, Arthur. Are you keeping it like that? I'm pretty sure that recess should be there.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/40928931@N05/14121469956

[Arthur]

Excellent, that's the first photo I've seen looking down on the bonnet. I'll just cut out a centre panel exposing the radiator filler. It shows, at least to my eyes, that the raised rim on the model is too tall.

 

Edit; On this

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/40928931@N05/14141747982/in/photostream/

 

The recess is less clear, it all looks yellow?

 

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Edited July 19, 2017 by Arthur

[gpplumy]

picture plainly shows no cover over the filler , filled these myself once 

 

[Arthur]

That's very clear, thanks for that. Again, it shows that the model isn't quite right. I've made the appropriate changes so that there is no cover, just a thin edge around the recess. See the second photo down.

 

The Judith Edge kits do have the right height profile here but the tops are plated over. I wonder if when new there was an access cover?

 

Before spraying the body I masked the end nameplates. The Yorkshire plate with a rectangle of masking tape. For the circular BTH badge I stuck some tape onto a piece of 20thou styrene and punched out two 3mm discs using a leather punch. It's near impossible to punch out just plain masking tape. I peeled off the masking tape from the styrene disc and applied it over the printed badge.

 

 

The shell was then primed with white Tamiya Fine Surface Primer

 

 

followed by thin coats of Humbrol No. 69 yellow acrylic from a spray can. I never bother using an airbrush for yellow, I just use this Humbrol spray, it gives a surprisingly thin cover. The engine covers, the cab and buffers were sprayed at the same time.

 

 

Here is one bonnet end with the masking tape removed and the plates revealed. The top one needs a bit of tidying around the edges.

 

 

I wanted to paint the wheels too. I could have Brush painted them but decided to spray them. I removed the wheel retaining plate and removed the wheels and coupling rods as a single unit. I didn't unsolder the leads to the pick ups on the retaining plate, I just wiggled the wheelsets around until they were clear. The crankpin nuts were then unscrewed, the coupling rods removed and the crankpin bush pushed back until it was flush with the outer face of the boss.

 

I crudely masked each wheelset with a wrapping of tape with a blob of grease over the crankpin bush.

 

 

They were then primed white by lightly spraying in several directions across the faces, followed by similar applications of yellow.

 

 

After drying for a while the tape was removed and the treads cleaned up using a cotton bud and IPA (Iso propyl alcohol). Cleaning them before the paint has fully hardened is much easier. I'll add a dark tyre rim with the wheels revolving once it's been re-assembled.

 

 

Whilst the wheels were off I use the airbrush to give the masked frames a quick base coat of weathering.

 

 

The cab inner, the control desk top and the 'wall' painted parts of the cab glazing were given a brush coat of duck egg blue and the whole lot is being left overnight to harden off.

 

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[PhilJ W]

 

The glazing comprises four separate mouldings, two front and two side. They were minimally glued in along the bottom. By pressing them in from the outside I heard the bond 'crack' and they were easily removed undamaged. The neat little windscreen wipers were pushed out from the inside using a metal probe. They 'pop' free so keep them contained with a finger. I didn't on one and it flew out onto the floor. After a major man hunt it was arrested this afternoon and returned to the bits box.

A tip when removing small details such as windscreen wipers. Place a piece of Selotape loosely over the items before pushing them out. The Selotape can then be attached to a piece of card for the safe storage of the items. I have used this method on small diecast model road vehicles, for removing headlight lenses and the like.

[Ruston]

Brave of you to take the wheels out, Arthur. I haven't done that - yet. I'm always afraid of damaging something on RTR models.

 

Are you doing this repaint as any particular prototype, or company/location? I am basing my own repaint on the Stocksbridge locos from the early 1970s but I can't find any photos that show what colour the wheels were painted. They are all covered in so much grime!

[Arthur]

 

 

Removing the wheels will be brave if I can rebuild it, stupid if I can't!

 

Actually, it wasn't too difficult and has made painting the wheels that much quicker.

 

The final livery will be a fictionalised take on one of the BSC liveries so I've just chosen to have yellow wheels, I am the works engineer after all. I've not yet decided whether to limit the wasp striping to the ends and valences or to take it over the bonnets like the Aldwarke locos. I've already got a Judith Edge Hunslet 75 ton DH in a variation of that livery so they'd kinda match.

 

By the way Dave, thanks for all the Janus photos you've posting, a brilliant resource.

 

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[PenrithBeacon]

Removing the wheels will be brave if I can rebuild it, stupid if I can't!

 

Actually, it wasn't too difficult and has made painting the wheels that much quicker.

 

...

 

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My NCB one came in the post yesterday, so I'm particularly interested in this thread.

 

When you removed the wheels did you get he impression that it would be possible to re-gauge the model to EM/P4?

MTIA

Regards

[Arthur]

 

David, yes, it's easy enough to strip down and I would have thought it possible.

 

In fact, it's already been done, here's a link to the relevant posting in the main Janus thread;

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/105523-oxford-diecastgolden-valley-ye-janus-0-6-0de/?p=2788434

 

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[Arthur]

Chassis now reassembled and back working. I added black edges to the tyres using a fine paintbrush held against the wheel edges whilst under power. The gaudy 'circus' livery will be condsiderably toned down under layers of weathering.

 

 

The cab roof is devoid of rain strips which were certainly present on some prototypes. I added them with a shallow crescent of .33mm brass wire superglued on the cab roof shoulder.

 

 

With small details requiring spraying I stick them onto a bit of card using double sided tape. This prevents them flying off when an airbrush or aerosol is brought to bear. The jacking brackets were such an item and, as they have a little mounting spigot on the rear face, I made a little hole with a scalpel tip to accommodate it.

 

 

There has been some discussion about the handrails and whether, being slippery and flexible, they'd take and retain paint.

 

Well I think that they might be painted as they come.

 

I've made up wire handrails for the Judith Edge Janus locos and will do so for these should it prove necessary. However, I thought I'd persevere with those supplied to start with, giving them a coat of white. From the end handrails I removed a couple of sections to match the arrangement I wanted.

 

Being made of that soft, slippery, plastic I presumed they'd be impervious to solvents so in a stroke of genius I thought I'd give them a damned good cleaning and degreasing by quickly dipping them in dichloromethane (Plastic Weld which I buy as it's chemical name in 1 litre bottles) prior to spraying them.

 

Did I say genius? I dipped one in and within moments it looked like it was breaking up, bits coming off. AAaarrrghh....

 

I quickly lifted it out, the solvent flashes off rapidly, and left it to dry. I then went to clean it up and hopefully resurrect it, with a fibre glass brush. What seemed to happen is that a thin layer of paint (presumably) flaked off all surfaces leaving the basic handrail intact.

 

They've all been sprayed with white Tamiya Fine Surface Primer and left to harden. Here's half a set, the changes made to the end hand rails will be evident if compared to the originals. I've flexed the sections, far more than they would ever flex fitted to the model without problems. We'll see how we get on as the paint hardens further.

 

 

 

Progress tomorrow will depend on the weather, wet and I'll be applying striping and decals, dry and I'm playing in a tennis tournament followed by a BBQ. Life's tough, eh!

 

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[Arthur]

Well that was a long tennis match....

 

Anyway, I apply wasp striping using strips of black decal paper over a gloss base coat. Here is the bonnet moulding with the striping completed,

 

 

And the cab with homemade BSC logo and script on the side. I draw this up on desktop publishing software and laser print it on Crafty Computer Paper decal sheet. I have used inkjet printing for decals in the past however it isn't as crisp as laser printing and the decal needs coating with an acrylic varnish before use as it is not waterproof. I got a good deal on a laser printer, they expect to make money on the costly print cartridges. As I only use it for decals I'm not expecting to buy many. Home printing only really works with dark colours so black comes out well. I design the decal with a large background so that I can cut it out the size of the lower cab. That way I 'lose' the decal edges on the cab corners.

 

 

The key to achieving a painted on finish with all of these decals is the use of a decal setting agent. I use Solvaset. It's aggressive, softens the decals so they snuggle down over the raised detail and dry out like a painted finish.

 

Before reassembly I added a driver figure clad in a fluorescent orange jacket. The driver figure needed cutting off at waist level and required a bit of trimming and arm bending to fit. The figure was originally supplied with a Matchbox Diamond T tank transporter kit.

 

The headlights fitted to the handrails are shallow lengths of styrene tube filled with Squadron body putty and a concave 'reflector' was put on one face by twisting the end of a coffee stirrer into it. Once dry the body was painted white and the reflector silver. The lens is created using a generous blob of PVA glue. This sets clear and gives a convex face to the headlight which is finished off with a coat of Johnsons Klear.

 

 

I wanted to add a casting car buffer to each end of the locomotive. These were heavy steel castings and fabrications used to buffer and couple up to ingot casting cars. Quite a common feature on steelworks locomotives. As I want to add these to quite a few models I decided to cast them in resin. This involved making a pair for masters in styrene,

 

 

and a mould taken from them in silicon rubber. With the mould I can now cast a pair in resin whenever I need them.

 

The Big Boss.

 

A notable feature of the Janus design is the large roller bearing crankpin boss. After a couple of false starts I came up with a modification. There's quite a bit of side play with the coupling rods on the crankpin. I punched out six 3.5mm discs from 20 thou styrene and then drilled out the centres so that they were a good fit over the crankpin bush. Before fitting, each face was rubbed over an emery stick to smooth it off. One sits on each bush, outside the coupling rod, and is retained by the hex headed retaining screw. There is sufficient sideplay to accommodate them comfortably and the running is not impaired.

 

The casting car buffer and larger boss can be seen in this works photo.

 

 

No Janus ever left the Yorkshire Engine Company works in British Steel Corporation livery. The last one left the works in 1965 and the BSC wasn't formed until 1967. Still, the photographer was handy when No. 14 was rolled out after a repaint.

 

 

Finally, a rather too clean steelworks Janus at work hauling ingot cars out of the open hearth casting bay.

 

 

I'll post a couple more when I've given it a little weathering.

 

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Edited August 4, 2017 by Arthur

[SRman]

That really does look amazing, and very professional too.  I love it.

[bescotbeast]

Simply amazing Arthur, a really interesting thread topped off by some very informative pictures.

[Ruston]

Hi Arthur. Might you be making those casting car buffers available for sale? I have a Janus and a DE2 that could use a set each.

[Arthur]

 

Dave,

pm sent

 

Arthur

 

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