Bernie333

They advertise in the Guild magazine -

I talked to Mr MOK. They have pretty much the same thing as Seven Models, though the main bearing is cast. I'm going to use the Ragstone cast bearing and parts from the Seven Models fabrication to end up with something that does the job. I've built most of the body. I started and mostly completed the chassis, leaving the valve gear for last, then went on to the body. The problem I had with the firebox was that I couldn't fit the running board around it. I had to cut it, put it all together then rejoin it. I put in the motor that was recommended at the time by Seven Models. I'm told by Dave Ennis's son that all the Seven Models kits are available. B

Thanks - I'll ask at MOK. The Ragstone BR Standard motion brackets, which I bought, don't match my 9F ones from Seven Models, which is why I asked. The slide bar hangers are fine.

I'm building a Seven Models Crosti 9F, designed by the late Dave Ennis ( a good chap). It's an excellent kit and a fun challenge to build, apart from one area. The slide bar hangers and the motion brackets are lots of brass pieces that need soldering. they are small and fiddly, and I'm just not up to making them accurately enough. I've got castings for the slide bar hangers from Ragstone, but I can't find a source for the 9F motion brackets. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Bernie

Thanks gentlemen. I've ordered up some 10BA screws and a tap. Someone elsewhere (can't find it now) swapped the slidebar and motion brackets for Ragstone castings. I think I will do that too. B

I'm on my second O gauge loco, and the same problem has arrived as on the first one. This is a Severn Models Crosti 9F. I just can't see how the slide bars can possibly clear the front wheels and the con rod. On the last model - a DJH 2P - I did a lot of fettling and got the thing to work, but this time I'm completely stumped. Please can someone who has built this save me from throwing a complete wobbly? Bernie

Being a bit further along, here's some things I discovered....... (for newcomers, this is the Seven Models Crosti 9F) I couldn't get the firebox, once assembled with the boiler, into the running plate - tried all kinds of things. In the end I cut the running plate near the cab end, then put it back when the boiler etc was fitted. Bit of solder - can't see the join. I shouldn't have put the brass boiler bands on - they're far too big, but they're going to stay now. In the instruction diagrams there are two views of the drivers side of the body near completion. I thought they were sequential, and the instructions aren't clear. It was only after I had bought The Book of the 9F that I reailsed that all that pipework and conduit down that side of the boiler wasn't there on unconverted Crostis, it's something to do with the vacuum brake and only went on after the loco was converted to be like the rest of the class. Of course I'd already spent hours putting it on, and very good it looks too. Hmmmm. On the tender chassis, I gave up and made my own version of the hanger for the brake actuator. Both the piece (38 see above) and the white metal casting are apparently far too small. I think they might turn our to be invisible anyway. The first part of the tender body is the cab end with tiny "hinges" and bits of rod. Where it says solder, it would be much more sensible to glue with Hafix, but having started and made a mess with solder and iron, I used my brand new - invented on the spot - soldering technique. Flux, blob on solder roughly in the right place, put part in place and then go quickly over with my chef's blowtorch. Solder melts part into place very neatly. B

Thank you Peter - from the diagram it could be anything. I still can't work out, though, why part 38 is two-thirds the size it should be. There's no mention in the instructions, and that chap Jazz just seems to have breezed through it. I'll just have to make up one that's the right size. B

I've stopped detailing the body for a while ("The pipes, the pipes!" - or was it the "The bells, the bells!") Anyway, I've started on the tender chassis. For some strange reason, I have a part (38) - see picture yellow bit - which is modelled in a different scale to the rest. Having taken it out of the etch, it seems to be far too small for its purpose. Not wide enough, not high enough, and not like the diagram. Does anyone have a picture of a Seven Models (Acorn) BR1B chassis as completed that could help? Also, can anyone tell me what's going on here? This is a detail from the other picture, bottom left. It may be that all this has been said before on the forum, but the search facility is very unhelpful Thanks bernier

Thanks for that. The question is, can I face taking them all off? B

No, I hadn't. The search facility on this site leaves much to be desired, as I've typed in "Crosti" lots of times and haven't found anything very useful. Having read the thread now, mostly what I take away is that he's incredibly more experienced than me. I'm always amazed at how experienced people can be so neat with soldering etc. Mine is a patchwork mess, though it really won't matter once it's painted and very distressed. One small fault stands out, mainly because I spent hours trying to make it go away. The big fat pipes either side of the smoke box all blend into one shape on the original, and on the model are made up from curved pieces of brass and a white metal casting. Making them blend together on the model took me an awful lot of shaping and filling. Also the boiler bands are massively over-scale. I look at mine and keep wondering if I'm up to taking them off and trying again. I met Dave Ennis at Reading before I bought the model - his enthusiasm and abilities are impressive. B

I'm using whatever appears to be the right thing. I'm currently part way through the pipework, and it's quite difficult to work out which bit is which. For instance I seem to have two copies of the valve stuff on the top of the firebox, one in brass and one in white metal. I've spent ages turning various valve bits around trying to work out what they are for. Also there's a selection of white metal pipework which doesn't seem to match what's needed, so I'm making it up in brass. The instructions are very good up to this point, then it gets a bit hazy on the pipework. The good thing with 41312 was that I could go down to the Watercress Line and photograph the thing. Photos of unmodified Crostis are few, and not terribly close up. I took a load of photos of Evening Star, but that's not quite the same. I intend the final look to be as neglected and filthy as they were in reality, so probably whatever I do will be lost in the mess. B

Thank you. It's jolly fiddly to make! The picture is part of the instructions for the Seven Models Crosti 9F. It's only the second loco I've built - the first was a DJH Ivatt. Both have been an absolute pleasure to make - I've made mistakes (and the kit designers have made mistakes) but it's all been part of the challenge. I'm not planning to build a railway, but this and a Radio 4 accompaniment provide great satisfaction. B

Does anyone know what this bit does on the real loco? See attached - the yellow bit thanks B

Semley is very pretty, but where is all the dirt?