Chris Heighton Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Hi RMweb folks! I recently decided to take the plunge and have a bash at a Just Like The Real Thing kit; I was browsing their website and saw that they had their 4-wheel CCT on special offer. I have always liked NPCCS, so parted company with some money to have one. Inspired by fellow RMwebber and good friend Boris, I thought it a good idea to post about it here. It should be an interesting build, and features several techniques and materials I have not worked with before, mainly the resin parts ( I should point out that I am a mid-grade builder, with several kits under my belt, mainly Slaters, Parkside Dundas and Connoisseur wagon kits). Anyway, with the wheels and paint on order, it was time to get stuck in... On unwrapping the kit, I was presented with several bubble-wrapped parcels, each which was contained the resin parts wrapped in tissue paper. These are shown after a thorough degrease and a minimum of cleaning off of flash and molding pips: Next to be opened was the two bags of cast parts: one of white metal, and one brass. All very tidy with a minimum of flash. This was nice: A photographic checklist detailing all the kit parts. I ran thorough it to make sure everything was present and correct; unfortunately there was one casting missing, but I fired off a quick email to JLTRT at the weekend and expect a reply shortly. The instructions are also nicely presented, with clear photographs of all the steps. Preparation of the roof began with drilling out of the pre-molded holes in the roof to accept the vents. The way the kit is designed makes these tasks very simple. Adding roof vents. JLTRT lists a variety of glues, and good old Roket is one of them. The castings as received are just next to the lid, the unneeded casting tails are discarded just below. The roof is now complete apart from adding the fixing nuts; I'll cover that when I get to it. Time to build so far (Including cleaning parts) 1 hour. -Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard carr Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Chris I really enjoy building their kits and they always end up making such good models, so I'm sure you will end up with something good here. Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Heighton Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 Thanks, Richard. I was amazed at how much detail the body castings have - I was expecting to fit bags of grills and hinges! You can see why these kits are a little more expensive: half the work i already done! Anyway... Part the Second! With the roof details setting, it was time to start the chassis. Firstly, the W irons and axleboxes were fished out of the bag. first the hornblock guides were given a quick dressing up with a flat file, then the axleboxes smoothed off with a square-section file. I decided to leave them slightly loose so that they can move once completed and offer a small amount of compensation (something vital on a vehicle with such a long wheelbase). The solebar and floor are a one piece casting, so I didn't have to worry about making sure the sides are square; in addition, there are pre-molded pockets to accept most of the parts, which the W irons drop into (Some flash was evident, but a couple of strokes with a flat file cleaned them up nicely) After a test fit, a little Roket was placed on the top of the casting, and the W iron placed in the corresponding pocket. A set square was used to ensure they sat vertically. Now I can begin adding under-floor detail. Here the battery boxes are going on - again located in sockets that are part of the main casting. The springs and J hangers are a single casting, and simply glues to the bottom of the solebar. Final alignment was checked against the axleboxes before gluing in place. Next steps are to add some of the brake gear (one of the vacuum cylinder castings and the fret of brass brackets can be seen in the previous shot), as well as assembling some of the smaller items such as dynamos and V hangers. *Edit: forgot to add: Time taken so far: 2 hours. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Hi Chris, you have caught the JLTRT bug lol, take your time with the kit it will be worth it in the end, I have built two of these and a couple of Guv`s, Loco wise Im on my seconded 40, any way I must get on if you get stuck there will be a lot of people on here to help. Have a look at Brian Daniels thread which he as built these kits and a few others as well with added detail, all the best Garry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Bloody hell, he does tidy his bedroom/workbench occasionally. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted April 19, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 19, 2011 Watch out for Extreme Etchings LaserGlaze for this vehicle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Heighton Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 Thanks for the replies folks, they are encouraging. Time for part 3! Not much done today, what with real life intervening and all. Managed to work on some of the underfloor detail today, and start the body sides. First step was to fold up the brackets for the vacuum cylinders: The dynamo was prepared by drilling out the support holes and threading it onto its' bracket with some fine wire. A pair of self-closing tweezers are invaluable here. The finished parts. Note how one side of the vacuum cylinder's brackets has to be trimmed shorter than the other so that it fits flush with the bottom of the solebar. Drilling out holes to accept lamp irons and supports... One end finished, now just to...Ping! Oh no, another tiny part lost forever. Best start and make a list... Sides drilled and ready to take details. Here the handrails and door handles have been fitted, but I can't seem to find the long handles for the right-hand doors. One more thing to email about. Despite a few setbacks, still coming together nicely. Total time to date, 4 hours. -Chris. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TimC Posted April 19, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 19, 2011 Hi Chris Nice work! I've acquired three of these kits and will watch your progress with interest. On the old RMweb, Brian Daniels wrote up his build of this kit. I'm not sure if you have read it but I see from your pictures that the end castings are still missing the central vertical locking bar for the end doors. At the recent Melksham show, I left one of my CCT sides with the guys from Shawplan so that they could sort out some flush glazing - as Enterprisingwestern mentions above (I also left them with one of my Westdale BR GUV bodies too for the same reason). Hopefully, the results will be a big improvement on the rebated glazing arrangement in the kit. I'm working away from home at the moment so my CCTs will not get to the modelling bench until the Autumn . Good luck with the build! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard carr Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Chris There are no long handles in the kit, you need to make these from 0.5mm brass wire crush a piece about 3mm long in a vice then fold it over to 90 degrees, then file the end to shape. As far as I am aware the handles were never painted (nor the T handles) so I find it easier to add these after the van has been painted, I chemically blacken them though. Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Heighton Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 Richard - thanks a lot; this was not explained in the instructions. I'll have a go tonight and see what results I get. -Chris. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Chris, you learn something new every day, today I learned that you are a smeghead! But on the plus side you do make quite a nice attempt at a CCT, I don't have any spare handles/parts from the GUV otherwise you could have had them. Personally I tend to paint my doors handles with some games workshop brass flavour paint as it seems a good match for the real thing, as I reckon unfinished brass is far too shiny and brasslike. (Note to moderators, Chris is a smeghead, he knows he is a smeghead, and I have told him so on multiple occasions, unfortunately what he calls me is far worse and is not repeatable here, but Chris is one of my long term drinking buddies and we have known each other since before Chris took all the hair from the top of his head and glued it to his chin proclaiming it to be a beer filter) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Heighton Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 Not much activity to report, I'm afraid. Work has been eating a lot of my time these last couple of days, but I have Friday off to crack on with things. Just pottered on with a few bits and bobs, adding underframe detail here and there, and I managed a trial fitting of some of the body pieces to get a good idea of the finished model. Adding more underfloor detail here, it's beginning to look good! Just finished an Email conversation with JLTRT: they were very helpful in regards to the missing pieces, and are sending out the parts to me right now. Cheers Folks! Time to date: 6 hours -Chris. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Heighton Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 Right! back to business! After a bomb up to York MRS (100+ miles each way from Northumberland - totally worth it!) I think I have my groove back. I also received replacements for the missing and lost parts from JLTRT (Thanks Laurie and Rachel!). The underframe is coming together nicely now, with most of the details added - Just the brake rigging and shoes to add now: One problem I have found is that the steps are very fragile once built, and are liable to get damaged - I have already completely destroyed one set in a ham-fisted attempt to build it. To prevent this happening again, i have made some strengtheners from spare brass rod. these will be soldered to the back of the completed steps to reinforce them. It will also help in rebuilding the damaged one. Time to finish off the body sides. Time to date: 8 hours. -Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Heighton Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 Not much activity to report recently folks. Adding detail to the underframe at the moment, and I have finally taken the plunge and glued the sides to the floor (I was dreading this part, as I thought it would be a bit of a problem - no such worries!). Current progress (detail of) follows after this colon: I feel this kits' instructions could be improved by showing more of the underframe construction, as a lot is left to the imagination of the builder; fortunately I have spent some time crawling around under preserved MK1s, so have a rough idea where a lot of it goes. Time to build so far: 10 hours. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
djparkins Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Not much activity to report recently folks. Adding detail to the underframe at the moment, and I have finally taken the plunge and glued the sides to the floor (I was dreading this part, as I thought it would be a bit of a problem - no such worries!). Current progress (detail of) follows after this colon: I feel this kits' instructions could be improved by showing more of the underframe construction, as a lot is left to the imagination of the builder; fortunately I have spent some time crawling around under preserved MK1s, so have a rough idea where a lot of it goes. Time to build so far: 10 hours. I can't understand why the vac. cylinders and V hangers + the batt. boxes and lighting reg. gear are all sat on raised platforms level with the bottom of the solebars - in reality these all sit within the chassis framework on mounting brackets. Is there more brake linkage to add? Regards, David Parkins Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Heighton Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 ...Is there more brake linkage to add? That's pretty much it as far as linkages go for this kit. There are a few more detail parts to add, mostly vac bags, dummies and steam heat pipes on the ends, but as far as break rigging goes, it's just the basics. -Chris. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
djparkins Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 That's pretty much it as far as linkages go for this kit. There are a few more detail parts to add, mostly vac bags, dummies and steam heat pipes on the ends, but as far as break rigging goes, it's just the basics. -Chris. The reason I asked is not to be at all critical of your build - but to wonder how things arrive at the right height settings if the u/f is solid at those points. Something must be fore-shortened. The inner V hangers for the two vac. cylinders are actually on the inside of the central underframe longitudinals and are connected & with a centrally-placed linkage. Otherwise the vacuum cylinders are not acting upon anything. But this could be fairly easily rectified. If it helps - pm me for some photos. Regards, David Parkins Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Heighton Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 Thanks for the offer, Dave, but I don't think I'll bother this time. I wasn't planning on super detailing this kit (it's the first coach I have built), so it was just going to be built as per the instructions. Maybe next time I'll get a more detailed kit; I wonder who could supply one of those?! -Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigwelsh Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I must admit that although the JLTRT locos are impressive most of the 4-wheel stock is a bit disappointing in being rather basic. I guess Pete is rather loco-centric. Hollow backs to battery boxes and solid safety looks are the two that stand out especially when I don't do that in 4mm. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Hi Chris, I have just started my 3 CCT`s just a quick question about the door handrails, on my kits I dont seem to have any pre-drilled /preformed holes, looking at yours I can see a pencil line drawn across the side of the CCT,is this a guide line for the postion of the hand rails. Nothing in the instructions to show you this also it doesnt tell you how long the hand rails are. May be I have some instrutions missing from the kit, can you help me on this cheers Garry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Heighton Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 Hi Garry, There doesn't seem to be instructions for the positioning of the handrails (I found the instructions somewhat lacking in the JLTRT kit) By looking at the photographs supplied with he kit, as well as many pictures on the internet, I managed to come to a decision on the positioning: For the bottom of the rails, if you rest a steel rule on top of the door stops, and draw a feint line (thinner than the one i did - i forgot to sharpen my chinagraph pencil!) that should give you the height. for the top, I lined up the rule with the top of the door windows. The lower handrail holes are 5mm and 12mm from the base of the casting, again judged from various photographs. These are only my own approximations, and may not be spot on, so check yourself against source material, and measure twice, cut once (as my old woodwork teacher said!). Hope that helps, -Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Heighton Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 Just to let you all know I am still here, but concentrating on the RMweb 2011 challenge at the moment. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. -Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Hi Chris any updates on your JLTRT CCT, where have you gone???????? Garry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Heighton Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 Hi Gazza, The project is effectively on hold at the moment while I plug away at the RMweb 2011 challenge, but it is not at a complete standstill. The model has been primed and painted, and once time permits, I'll try to source some transfers for it - I'm aiming for pre-1968 maroon with waist and cant rail stripes, but without all the loading information on the right-hand side (Like this photo here). I'll post some photos tomorrow, when I have a bit of natural light to work with. -Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian daniels Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Hi Chris It will be nice to see one in maroon. Looking at the linked picture I am sure it has the loading info panal on the right, just a bit mucky. I would be surprised if it wasn't there. Brian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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