Scrap Tank - body shell

scrap tank

Entry posted by antyeates1983 May 12, 2020

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With the footplate ready I decided to press on with the basic body shell. First stage was to laminate two layers of 0.25mm nickel silver, again taken from the scrap surrounding an etched sheet. The pattern is stuck on with double-sided tape - I arranged the parts on the drawing to make use of one straight edge. The buffer beam is crossed out to remind me that I already made it!

Before cutting out the pieces I drilled the various holes using the Proxxon. Then it was a case of cutting out roughly with the piercing saw (quick) and filing to the right shape (laborious - this is where etching saves time!). I used a brass tube of the planned boiler diameter to guide my filing of the large boiler holes - any imperfections will be filled with solder. Below you see the parts after desoldering the two layers and removing the pattern. The front and rear of the cab are not identical as only the front needs to house the boiler, so this was further filed after separation. Only one tank front and smokebox front are required, so I ended up with spares of these!

From past experience, I know that getting the tank tops shaped to fit precisely up to the boiler as well as horizontal is a pain, so I soldered some n/s strips on the inside of the tank sides for them to sit on (made from 2mm Association plain rail). I also soldered similar strips on the cab front at each side, and also for the bunker rear to butt against.

Assembly started by fixing the cab front to the footplate. I made a simple wooden base that fits inside the buffer beams to give me a flat base to work on, as the footplate is still a bit flimsy. Masking tape is useful for holding things in place (it doesn't seem to come loose when heated, unlike double-sided tape). Here the cab front is stuck to a tufnol block and located up to a measured line scribed on the footplate.

Next, I attached one of the sides. In fact, the cab front came loose at this point and shifted, and I had to start over again, but I got there in the end. This is where designing an etch could make life easier by building in tabs and slots to locate all of the parts.

In the next photo, I've added the cab rear and the tank front piece.

And here is the other side attached.

The last piece to be attached in this session was the rear of the bunker. In fact I had to cut this out separately as I didn't bother to draw it on the computer. It's just rectangular with a bend in. The metal strips made it easy to align, then I filed the top to the right height in situ. The tank tops will wait until the boiler is in place, but that's a task for another day.