I've continued with the various outstanding jobs whilst waiting for the final design of parts to be returned from the etchers. The artwork was sent off on Wednesday, so the parts should be in my possession at some point next week.
In the same manner as Chris Pendleton with his 4mm Deltic, I've used the springs on the JLTRT sideframes as the studs for mounting the parts for the primary springs. Here the modified sideframes can be seen:
The mounts need a certain amount of cleaning u
It feels a bit like the old maths question at the minute - there are three steps forward, and two steps back again. The bogie artwork is currently undergoing another tweaking, but I'm hopeful that the mark 3 version will be the final version, as I've just about discovered everything that could be improved upon, I think..
It's mostly little things, like adding a couple of extra positioning holes on the parts that are soldered on to the mounting plate, but the frames have required a comple
The first of the traction motor units is substantially complete! There's been a bit of trial and error whilst determining what diameter shafts to use for the 1st stage gear. 2mm was too hard to get into the gears square, despite being designed for that diameter shaft.
I've used 1.9mm diamter tubing for the first, with the intermediate gears glued onto the shaft with industrial adhesive, which is supposed to withstand pressures of 3,500psi It's glued everything nice and solid - I've
The first of the traction motor assemblies is approaching completion, just the fitting of the motor gear to go now (I'm not counting the axle assembly as part of the motor unit - I've still got to thread all 12 parts of those!)
Side view of the motor assembly:
The first one has been close to disaster a couple of times, due to me not really having a clue how best to put them together I've now worked out the best sequence for doing it, which should make the next 5 go together a lot qui
The lack of updates has not meant lack of progress, in fact far from it! The revised etches have arrived - on two sheets this time, 0.7 nickel silver for the larger structural parts, 0.5mm brass for the rest. Some of the parts were too tricky to fold in the initial design.
There's still something immensely satisfying about send off a computer file, handing over some dosh and getting a shiny sheet of metal parts in return!
Work has also been continuing on other aspects of the proje
No, I've not been shouting that word in libraries in homage to Dick and Dom, but I've actually started work on the springy bogies of 415.
Quite a productive weekend has seen me prepare the 42 teeth gears for fitting onto the axles and make a start on the axles themselves.
The gears originally had a 2mm hole in the centre. I enlarged these by drilling 3.5mm, 4.3mm and then reaming to 4.74mm for an interference fit on the 3/16ths axles. Which brings me, neatly, to the axles themselv
Lack of progress on here doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything, far from it, I've spent hours and hours (what feels like an eternity!) soldering bits of brass together, and ended up with these:
It hasn't been going very well - these are the best of the ones I've made, I've scrapped at least two, and the ones that remain have been re-soldered many times to reach this point.
Each one is made from 1mm brass wire, a small chunk of 2mm hex brass and 0.8 wire, also brass.
Unfortu
Early indications are that there is a fundamental design flaw in the etched parts for this conversion
To be honest, I'm a bit annoyed with myself for not spotting and thinking about it earlier. The problem is that the cranked design of inner frame, designed to bring the axlebox into the right place, without having to mill down the bogie sideframes, doesn't allow the axlebox to travel high enough up the guide.
I've now got to decide whether I press on with what I've got, milling the s
The next, somewhat elastic, deadline for getting this 'ere 37 finished is now Guildex in Telford. I'm hoping that, even if it's not actually painted, it will be mechanically operational, which took a step closer today with the arrival of this, from the etchers:
I'm pleased with the way it's come out - pretty much everything has come out as planned, with the exception of the writing on the axlebox stirrups. I knew I was pushing my luck with it, as it was on the small side, but it isn't le
Following on from the post the other day, I've managed to get a better picture with the help of a little Klear, water just wasn't working properly. I've also spent another couple of hours on this effect this evening (in the same place) and I think it's pretty much there now. (apologies for the slightly blurry photo)
Other things are moving with the project as well, the artwork for the bogies was finalised over the weekend and the etching company think that they will have it done tow
No, not finished the large 37, or the small one for that matter, but I've achieved something that I hoped was possible, but wasn't sure about.
I was given a healthy dose of reassurance by Andy, here:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/topic/16226-andys-plop-shop/page__view__findpost__p__153226
Which showed that what I was trying to achieve is relatively simple, and all the experimentation I had done (to little avail) with Tipp-Ex and other substances wasn't really necessary.
An even greater lack of imagination with the title for tonights update, on the plus side it is a little more descriptive of what's actually occuring!
Since last time Hornby class 50 buffers have been substituted for the Bachmann ones, which are too spindly IMO. To do this, twist the heads slightly to the right and pull, the head should come out with the spring. Drill down the Bachmann buffer housing with a 2.3mm drill, which will loosen the bond of the adhesive holding them in place. A
Progress on the 455 has also reached a bit of a milestone, in as much as the MS is now substantially complete and I've fixed the first of my own design 'etchy bits' to a model B)
It's still looking quite bare under there, but I'm expecting the underframe box masters from my co-conspirator in the next couple of weeks so a bit of resin casting after that should see the undergubbins of the MS attached.
The trailer vehicles are coming on, but I've yet to decide exactly what bogies
A somewhat obtuse title, I suppose, but what the heck, I'm suffering from lack of imagination due to the heat
Work continues on the heavyweight conversion, with the bogie mods done and the headlights replaced. These are Replica items, drilled through with a 2mm drill and stuck to the shell with Plastic Weld once the original moulded lights were shaved off carefully.
It makes a massive difference to the appearance of the loco IMO, especially as the 'face' is one of the first thin
With the oil terminal on the forthcoming layout, I decided it would be a good idea to have a Railfreight Petroleum 37 or two on the roster for bringing the oil trains in. A search of fotopic found this photo of 37890 at Guildford in 1991:
http://crumb.fotopic.net/p49489748.html
Given that it's not a million miles from where the layout is set and the year is spot on, 37890 was decided upon. Research indicated that the Bachmann model of 37672, one of the first releases of the all-new refurb
I've put the bogie work on the 37 to one side for a minute as I wanted to do some actual modelling instead of sitting at a computer drawing things. After a gentle prod by another member, I've remembered that there has been a little progress on my tamper since the last update on RMweb 3, here:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=653897#p653897
It's made a visit to the paintshop:
I've replaced the etched handrails in the kit with some formed from 0.33mm wire - they look m
Links for the next parts of the saga:
14 - Done it! (well sort of)
14A - Done it 2! (well sort of)
15 - Stepping up a notch
16 - Oh bu**er!
17 - Paying the (sand)piper
18 - BOGIES!
19 - Lining up ducks
20 - (Traction) motoring on
21 - Getting closer but a long way to go
22 - Monkey in the well
23 - You stud!
24 - Tanked Up (and Boxing)
The focus for the next stage of this project is going to move from the blog section, to the normal forum bit as the additional interaction i
Well, more like slap on filler and sand off. It's coming on, with a little help from my new friends:
The sanding sticks have proved to be a worthwhile investment for this project (I got mine from Netmerchants) not exactly cheap, but not ludicrously expensive either, in the grand scheme of things. More of this later though.
Riveting - Part 1
Through filling the second set of footsteps in the tumblehome of the loco, losing some of the moulded rivet detail around the area was inevitable.
I wasn't going to, but here, by popular request , are some pictures of the internally complete No 2 end cab. Everything is pretty much the same as the other end, but with different rear bulkhead detail. The lights highlight the detail nicely, even in daylight! I decided to stick with the 1K2 ohm resistors in the end.
The next pic highlights the need to clean the windows!
Showing the position of the cab lights, and the sunshades in position.
I'm hoping to have the
I've finally finished the other cab (with the exception of touching in the LED wires in rail grey) - here's a quick shot showing the sunshades in position and the position of the cab lights.
Other bits visible on the cab roof are the brake position indicator, and the switches/circuit breakers above the cab door.
Next stage is to finish off the filling and filing of the main body sections, before assembly and further filling, but more of that anon...
Edit - To include photo of th
Whilst not exactly a thrilling example, I thought I'd post a little about how I've made the cab sunshades, as it has useful applications beyond this simple example. In fact, I used the same technique when I made the operator cab for the 07-275 tamper that I've yet to finish.
I found a suitable picture of the sunshades on line, that would do for what I wanted with the minimum of manipulation. It is possible to correct perspective and rotate images within photoshop, or GIMP is a useful, free
Success!! Well, second time around.
Since embarking on the cab detailing exercise it didn't take me long to realise that there was little point in going to this level of detail, if no-one was ever going to see it. Sure, I know it's there and that's pretty satisfying, but every now and again everyone likes to show off a little bit
So, to that end, I decided that the cab would need to be lit, for the purposes of showing off and atmospheric night shots, which I do have a penchant for. M
Number one end, that is!
A couple of views of the No 1 end cab, with virtually all of the detailing parts added.
Matt - as you see, I've added the wire to the phone handset - couldn't make the wire itself curly though, I couldn't find the unfeasibly small wire, so had to use some slightly thicker stuff. I've twisted as best I can so that it looks the part though
The radio unit has turned out a tad oversize, and that coupled with the fact that the AWS indicator is also overs
Since discovering TFMP's camera has a macro mode, I've managed to take some decent photos of the completed engine room bulkheads.
No 1 end
No 2 End
Again, working from photos I've added grime washes with gouache and used powders sparingly. Looking at the photos I've found of 37 cabs, the engine room bulkheads don't seem to get as grubby as the nose.
Just the cab interior to weather now, then I can crack on with installing the other cab fittings and get the other nose bulkhead c
