bagpipes331 Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 Really enjoying your account of your locos and stock!! All looks great, makes me want to come back outside.......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted May 19, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 19, 2013 Thanks. Do it, you know you want to! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bagpipes331 Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 As much as I loved my steam locos, I think I have had my day with them now. If I return to the garden, it will be with my 0 gauge diesels!! PS: have you been to the show in Llanfiar, it was usually excellent when I used to go. Then pop down for a ride on the WLLR!! Brilliant day out!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted May 20, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 20, 2013 As much as I loved my steam locos, I think I have had my day with them now. If I return to the garden, it will be with my 0 gauge diesels!! PS: have you been to the show in Llanfiar, it was usually excellent when I used to go. Then pop down for a ride on the WLLR!! Brilliant day out!! I've never been to the Llanfair show, one day though, probably when I can drive & have a car! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted June 30, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted June 30, 2013 June saw another kit removed from the small pile awaiting completion, an impromptu running day gave me the final impetus needed to get it off my workbench. So the RHBR has gained a second brake coach, and hopefully the last for some time as I hate making the duckets! Due to a poor weather forecast I decided to overlook Minnie and took two of my electrics, River Ankh and the Shed in her place and typically the weather was fine all day! Offler is out of action once again, this time a connection from the speed controller to the battery has broken, all it'll need is a few pence and 5 minutes to fix. The latest vehicle to be outshopped, it was a bit rushed towards the end and will be tidied up before it's next out. The coaches & van have safety chains but Minnie doesn't, don't tell the safety inspectorate! Minnie hides under a tree with her fire still lit, a shameful display from her driver who didn't want to get wet! During the rain that forced Minnie to hide Minnie poses with Offler I quite like this photo, the only other justification for it here I suppose is to show the headboard made from scraps with greater clarity. With another running day this Saturday (6th July) I've made a start on a freelance 3 compartment coach and while I'd like to finish it in time for Saturday I doubt I will. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bagpipes331 Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 Looking good!! I'm starting to get broody again! Are those lovely coaches by Brandbright? I built a rake a few years ago, and finished in GWR chocolate and cream. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted July 1, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted July 1, 2013 Thanks, the crimson & cream coaches are from the IP Engineering freelance range but I have got 3 Brandbright panelled coaches which have been under construction for over a year now and will be finished in the purple lake & cream livery that the IMR used in the 1990s. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted August 24, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 24, 2013 Considering I am currently unemployed there is little excuse for my lack of activity building the kits I've accumulated over time. Around a month ago a loose bolt on Minnie's gas system lead to a melted coupling, which I've only recently got round to replacing. Apart from that the mighty Millie continues to run without incident. Offler is once again a working loco, hopefully it's the last time it needs some work doing to it. I'm currently building another IP Engineering freelance coach kit, this time a 3 comp and it's coming along nicely if I do say so myself. Minnie pauses to bask in the sun, well you need to make the most of sunny weather! A moving picture of Minnie storming one of the gradients, it's a spot where Minnie can and does stall depending on speed & load. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted November 3, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 3, 2013 Since the last post here I've finished the 3 comp but I've started on another 2 comp and an Atropos cattle wagon so it's a case of 1 step forward and 2 steps back! A work placement with Mitie on a contract for Network Rail has meant that modelling has taken a back seat for the past 3 weeks, the lack of progress on the ongoing builds and the state of Minnie's cabside handrails are testament to that. Speak of the Devil, Minnie has been fitted with a new gas filler valve as the old one tended to dribble wasting gas and could have lead to some expensive repairs if flame was introduced to the filler while it leaked. Here is the old girl with her new lamps, I went a bit over the top with the painting but then again they're Sunday best lamps! Red Menace by williamfj2, on Flickr I'm not sure if the scale modellers that are brave enough to read this thread will take kindly to this but I needed to light the way and it worked well in my defence An Elegent Solution? by williamfj2, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jawfin Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Great thread I was keeping track of it a while ago, but haven't read up on it lately! Your loco is great, I love the lamps and the headboard - what provider did you get them from? (Sorry, edit for typo) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted November 11, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 11, 2013 Thanks for the comment and for all the likes! Don't worry about keeping up with the thread, I barely manage! The lamps are Brandbright whitemetal castings and the headboard is from ELR engineering (usual disclaimers) I also made a little video showing Minnie and some of the other trains running on the line that might be of interest to some. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted December 1, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 1, 2013 A lack of activity here doesn't mean I haven't been up to much recently, once again I allowed this thread to skip my mind. Since the last update my fleet has had another 2 outings, I've finished 3 pieces of rolling stock, revived a battery loco stored since February and condemned another. The first outing was a bona fide running day that saw Minnie represent the RHBR, the second saw Offler make his swansong and No.17 aka 'the shed' return to service. I've come to the conclusion I've thoroughly knackered Offler, he ran well for a while until he abruptly stopped, after a while he burst back into life, then died again and so on. The best explanation is that the electronics are overheating and shutting down, meaning by 'improving' him by fitting remote control I've ruined him. I can always strip the electronics and reconfigure the loco to be a simple forward/off/reverse loco but at the moment I plan on buying another chassis (which would be Offler's third) and building a new body. "How could that be Offler then?" I hear you cry Easy, the nameplates, driver and some fittings would be transferred! No.17 has been stored on a shelf since February if my memory is working properly, all she needed was a new pair of AAAs, a dose of oil and some attention to her paint and she back at work. Speaking of revivals River Ankh hasn't moved under it's own power all year (I think) and I really need to put that right, sometime in December I must take the old girl out again. Photos and a video from 17/11 Minnie prepares to reverse onto a vacant siding for a rest. Minnie, cold and silent stands by as an Accucraft Caradoc impatiently waits to leave. Photos of the débutantes and the returning No.17 on 27/11 This is my 4th IP Engineering MOD open, I can practically build these in my sleep now. Construction of N.47 has been a rather protracted affair and I'm rather happy with the work I did on the interior, although it's difficult to see it. No.47 with it's elder sister, a year separates these two and is my opinion that N.47 is the better of the two. This Binnie skip was bought assembled with metal wheels, I have to admit I'm quite happy with the weathering on the skip part. After Offler failed No.17 had to step in, which is did so in style, it's got to be the white tyre walls! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted December 1, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 1, 2013 And the season of superb exhaust effects is once more with us Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted December 8, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 8, 2013 To replace the fallen Offler I've been designing a loco to be build on an Essel 010A chassis. This collection of sketches shows my early ideas, the one I followed up initially was the sketch based on a class 15 although on an Essel chassis the bonnets would be far too short if I designed a cab that the average 16mm man could fit in! With the class 15 not going ahead on I decided to develop sketch No.4 based on a North British shunter. The BR ones lasted on average 8 years while industrial and military examples fared better with at least 3 preserved so I should be able to get information about their cab arrangement. The top and rear still need drawings and I need to plan how to arrange the electrics. If I do a good job I might enter it in the 16mm association's model of the year competition in April, if nothing else it will make everything else look better! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted January 14, 2014 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14, 2014 Over Christmas I produced much neater and refined drawings for the loco, came up with a shopping list, & I've decided on a livery & name for the NBL inspired machine. She'll be in the apple green with white/black/white lining that the IMR applied to their first diesel No.17 'Viking' and to reflect my IMR inclinations she'll be named Lochlannoch as that was a Gaelic term for Viking. My interpreation of this livery will not have red frames, too Germanic for my liking, and the bonnet will not have 2 lined panels due to the vast difference in shapes between a real Schoma and a fictional representation of a narrow gauge North British loco Viking by williamfj2, on Flickr More importantly I've finally started buying parts for the loco, the chassis & electrical gear will be winding their way to me soon, and once I buy the plasticard I can start properly planning how to assemble the R/C gear. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted January 14, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14, 2014 Missed this earlier but I'd make the windows a bit deeper, they look more like they're off an armoured loco Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted January 14, 2014 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14, 2014 I agree, that was one of the earliest modifications to the design, if I can scan the paper I've drawn the new version out on then I'll post it, but rest assured the difference is quite big to the overall look of the loco. But an armoured loco, now there's an idea! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted January 25, 2014 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 25, 2014 I've finally (after suffering from apathy & later a chest infection) have made a proper start on building Lochlannoch. I've made the floor & cab rear sheet and devised a way to fix the floor to the chassis. Today I've decided how I'm going to fit the R/C gear inside to bonnet which has been one of the stumbling blocks along with how to mark & cut the curve on top of the cab ends, a spare end from an IPE kit has now been added to my workbench as a template. It's not an especially elegant or a strong arrangement but I can lift the loco by the floor, albeit with some flexing but when the body is on that will make it more rigid. As you can probably tell the cab rear is only propped up. This also shows how little space I've got to work with in the bonnet when you consider the set square is not much longer than the cab will be. Hopefully I can keep the momentum up and cut out more bits of cab tomorrow Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted January 28, 2014 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 28, 2014 Work (miraculously) is continuing on Lochlannoch, I've cut out thee cab front and got the right side ready for marking & cutting the windows. I've decided that to address the slab like nature of the cab rear I'll model the marker lights fitted to BR's North British MK1s, after being unable to find any dimensional information on them I had a flash of genius and got out my Hornby L1 and took a ruler to the lights on that. After scaling it up I realised that they would look too tall, whoops! So I've cut plastic to measurements that please the eye rather than the ruler. Another headbanging moment followed soon after when I found that the Cambrian springs that I've ordered will not fit on the chassis due to the bolts used on the motor hangars which simply means I'll model a coil spring arrangement on the chassis. My third headbang moment (it's been one of those days it seems!) occurred when repainting the buffers I have red, I'm thinking they'll look better in black. My L1 sat happily on Lochlannoch possibly giving a better impression of the size of the loco Still despite the setbacks Lochlannoch is making good progress in my opinion, the 3/4 of cab & vacuum pipe are just balanced on the chassis for now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted February 2, 2014 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 2, 2014 Now Lochlannoch is looking the way I hoped she would, I've got both bonnet sides cut out and made sure the chassis works. Another enforced break has come about as I've run out of sharp xacto blades and made a sorry mess of what should have been the other cabside. I've made the chrome plated steps using L section & plastic rod, every now and again I come up with a good idea, then I cancel it out by using blunt blades! They are perhaps a bit small for a 16mm scale foot, however if they were bigger they would dominate the bonnet I fear. I'm not sure about the cut out & milliput idea I've had to create the curve on top of the bonnet, I might see if I can use some plastic pipe cut to create a uniform curve instead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Bathurst Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Just found this topic and enjoyed reading and watching the progress taking shape. Hows you new loco taking shape? Scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted June 1, 2014 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted June 1, 2014 Just found this topic and enjoyed reading and watching the progress taking shape. Hows you new loco taking shape? Scott Thanks Scott, I'm sorry to say haven't made any progress for months, I just seemed to run out of steam and other projects muscled their way past the diesel. As far as I can remember it only needs the bonnet front, 2 new cab sides and the cab roof cutting out then the basic body parts will all be present. One of the projects that takes precedence (smooth transition or what?! ) is the upkeep of stock. Before the Harrogate Model Engineering Exhibition in mid May it had gotten to the point where only my coaches were serviceable so I spent some time patching paint and reattaching parts on my open wagons, then after a soaked running day last week my opens needed attention again, turns out the wood glue I used to use wasn't as waterproof as I'd hoped. So once again my wagons have been repaired, this time I've added L section braces to the inner sides to strengthen them, it isn't especially pretty but if it means I won't have to reattach sides again for a while then I'll be laughing. In the long time since I last posted here I've fitted Minnie with a new blowdown valve that is so much easier to use, mainly cosmetic crossheads and completely cosmetic step overlays. Minnie parked up waiting for the rain to stop, her driver looks very cheerful in the face of poor weather! I've also made 5 more of my destination headboards, I don't know of any prototype for these but I quite like them regardless I've also made a short video containing clips from November last year up to the running day on May 25th Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Bathurst Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Looking really good. I find 16mm a charming gauge compared to g scale which I have modelled in the past. Maybe because most of locos and rolling stock have to be hand or scratched built. Scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold LH&JC Posted June 1, 2014 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted June 1, 2014 I think it's also partly due to the fact that a lot of 16mm models are freelance allowing you much greater freedom when it comes to liveries, train formations etc. The growing number of models based on prototypes does concern me that freelance modelling might go into decline or be seen as a poor neighbour. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Only just caught on to this thread William. Really nice work and super pics. Like you, I have been amassing IP kits, but it seems that Ivor may not produce any more for 16mm, following the spat with a certain society. I do hope that problem is resolved, although I see he did not go to Peterborough this year? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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