david.hill64 Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Trevose Head is in Paul Moore's paint shop, so it is time to start the next build. This is a Gladiator (ex Northstar) King Arthur with a 6 wheel tender. It will be Sir Bors De Ganis, and with a name like that, I think I want one too............ This is the first Northstar kit that I have built so it will be an interesting learning exercise. As usual I have started with the tender. The kit can be made with a rigid chassis, but parts are provided to form a hornblock for the centre axle, so I decided to let it float. There are 0.9mm holes to allow alignment and I used these. So here we are. I used some wire to keep the centre bearings in place. Construction was straightforward. I blackened the wheels in a dilute solution of Birchwood Casey overnight and am storing them in a sealed plastic bag as I have been having huge difficulties with rust. Similarly the axles are oiled and in a small bag. I think I need to get the frames etch primed before they tarnish. Next: the tender body. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 I very nearly bought one of these when they were still under Northstar. Will watch with great interest to see what the kids new school shoes made me miss out on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted June 14, 2018 Author Share Posted June 14, 2018 I very nearly bought one of these when they were still under Northstar. Will watch with great interest to see what the kids new school shoes made me miss out on. I think you'll wish you had bought them some old newspapers and some string to wrap round their feet.....................It's never too late even if postage to Brazil is problematic! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 I think you'll wish you had bought them some old newspapers and some string to wrap round their feet.....................It's never too late even if postage to Brazil is problematic! For the Arthur it is to late. I've moved onto the early S and H15's. Just need a good model of them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted July 8, 2018 Author Share Posted July 8, 2018 No postings for a while. I made the mistake of trying to catch my 80W iron as it fell from the workbench. Not recommended: the burns have now mostly healed and I have been able to get back to work. Construction of the rest of the tender has been straightforward. Everything fitted where it should. The only query I have is that the etched tank top has a hole in it next to the toolboxes but nothing obvious to fit in. The drawings also show the hole. Can anybody enlighten me as to what this might be please? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TT-Pete Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 No postings for a while. I made the mistake of trying to catch my 80W iron as it fell from the workbench. Not recommended: the burns have now mostly healed and I have been able to get back to work. Ouch! Also a lesson that I learned early on; always let a dropped iron fall... (or, never hold it by the end that does not have a flex attached!) That's a nice looking tender, sorry can't be of assistance with mysterious holes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 Looks good David. The hole looks like it should have a water guage in it. Will have a look and see if I can find out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 I found this might be of help. Water guage Dy the look of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Blandford1969 Posted July 8, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 8, 2018 Looks really good, does the tender kit have the small strengthening parts visible on these 4000 gallon tenders on the frames, or did this engine not have them? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 I have been looking at further photos and the water gauge is on both 3000 and 4000 gallon Ashford tenders. It also swaps sides depending on whether the loco is left or right hand drive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted July 9, 2018 Author Share Posted July 9, 2018 Looks really good, does the tender kit have the small strengthening parts visible on these 4000 gallon tenders on the frames, or did this engine not have them? The kit includes tank supports but the instructions say that they are not needed for this version. I guess that Adrian, the designer, used common drawings for the 3500 gallon and 4000 gallon tenders where he could. If I can find any photo that shows them fitted, I will add them. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 There will be another short hiatus in the build: no I haven't been juggling soldering irons again - I have a trip back home for a couple of weeks. I'll be taking the tender chassis to spray and looking for a water gauge. I have made a start on the loco body, assembling the footplate, valences etc. No photo just yet, but I am pleased with how this went together. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted July 31, 2018 Author Share Posted July 31, 2018 No posts for a while: I had a trip home for a funeral and a graduation. At least I was able to pack several kits! The tender chassis is sprayed (Clostermann black etch primer - I highly recommend this) and a water gauge sourced for the tender. I have added more detail to the running plate and built up the chassis to the point where I now have a nice free-rolling chassis. I did the usual method of construction: coupling rods first to check on the axle bearing spacing (spot on first time) and am using 10BA screws as crankpins. I forgot to purloin a few of the new Gladiator tapped crankpin bushes so I had to make my own. Photos to follow. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 May I ask where you got the water gauge as I will be building a New class at sometime so may well need one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted August 1, 2018 Author Share Posted August 1, 2018 May I ask where you got the water gauge as I will be building a New class at sometime so may well need one. Plenty in the Gladiator castings boxes: drop me a line when you need one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted August 1, 2018 Author Share Posted August 1, 2018 (edited) Some photos to illustrate progress, Edited August 1, 2018 by david.hill64 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted August 4, 2018 Author Share Posted August 4, 2018 Today has been a very productive day at the bench. No issues at all, except I think it would be easier to fit the cab beading after the cab has been formed. So here's where we are now: I'll probably revert to the chassis next and sort out the motor location/fixing. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 I always think these have a great presence about them having a large diameter boiler. Especially the LSWR ones with the lower slung boiler. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 Yes this is a big beastie! I have now added the washouts, boiler bands and added a torque reaction arm to the chassis. The kit includes parts for both the North British and Eastleigh versions. I am building teh NB version so used some of the Eastleigh parts to make the reaction arm. I have to decide now whether to get on with the chassis or finish off the body. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sej Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 Great stuff David; do you know where the name comes from and why it was chosen? Cheers Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 Sir Bors de Ganis Sir Bors was the only knight to survive the Quest for the Holy Grail and return to court. His fathers name was Bors, and he later succeeded his father as King of Gannes. Bors was a chaste knight, but the daughter of King Brandegoris fell in love with him, and with the aid of a magic ring forced Bors into loving her. As a result of this union, Bors became the father of Elyan the White, later Emperor of Constantinople. Bors undertook the Quest for the Holy Grail along with Galahad and Percivale. Bors was the only one of the three to return to Britain, and after the Quest, he returned to Arthur's Court. Bors was the cousin of Sir Lancelot, and he steadfastly supported him against Arthur during the conflict between the two. After the death of Lancelot, Bors returned to the Holy Land where he died fighting in the Crusades. It has been suggested that, in origin, Bors may have been a character who figures in Welsh legend as Gwri. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 Great stuff David; do you know where the name comes from and why it was chosen? Cheers Simon Thanks to The Snapper we now have a great explanation of the origin of the name. Of course this class of loco got its name - King Arthurs - by having locos all named from Arthurian legend. There is a wiki article here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_King_Arthur_class_locomotives There are some corkers in there. As to why this particular model is Sir Bors: I am unsure as it is a commission build. The choice was limited by tender type. A six wheel tender was required: SIr Bors ran with one for a while. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 Unable to decide whether to carry on with the body or the chassis, last night I did work on both. The boiler has been fixed to the cab/footplate assembly and the brake blocks added to the frames. I'll probably crack on with the frames as I want to get them to the state where they can be primed. I am hoping to get this finished in time for the Gauge 0 Guild show at Telford. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted August 12, 2018 Author Share Posted August 12, 2018 Most of this weekend has been spent at the workbench and the beastie is now taking shape. I have just worked on the chassis. I had hoped to complete it, but not quite. The kit comes with a CD with build photos so I haven't taken as many as I might usually for a build thread. Brake blocks and beams added: The pull rods were quite tricky to fit. It might have been easier to fit them to the brake beams first. The cylinder assembly took quite some time. Not difficult, just time consuming. Front part of the valve gear assembled. The motion will lift out as it is secured by 10BA screws. You need to take care about the order of assembly here. If you don't locate the crossheads and valve rods before you solder the slidebars to the motion bracket, you will never get the in. I have this final assembly yet to do. The nickel silver cylinder furniture take a lot of heat to solder and stay hot for a long time. I accidentally soldered solid a couple of the valve gear joints (stupid boy) and have discovered that I don't have any spare rivets with me, so I have been using 16BA screws and nuts instead. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted August 16, 2018 Author Share Posted August 16, 2018 The final parts to add to the frames were the sandpipes. I then made up the bogie. Here seen minus the side control springs etc Motion parts are removeable. Expansion links removed for this shot. I returned to the body, marking up the positions of the handrail holds and clacks. Holes drilled: Last job of the evening was to fit the pipe covers and steps. Next jobs are to check the chassis with all parts assembled. Then disassemble and paint the frames. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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