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Chris Higgs

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Blog Comments posted by Chris Higgs

    D869

    Posted

    Don't get over excited about my 44XX. Given I am doing it for myself and probably will sell a handful to other people, I won't be going through multiple repetitions to get the design 100% smooth. If it can be built, that will be good enough for me. I will only re-etch parts if they really are unuseable.

     

    I suggest you solder the brakes up separately onto the wire and then glue them to the chassis so the paintwork is untouched. Personally I don't like locos without brakes.

    richbrummitt

    Posted

    If anyone is contemplating purchasing these vans, I suggest you do so soon. The chief shopkeeper is working on a cull of very slow moving items in the shops, and these are in that category. I have not had to re-order the bodies since they were first produced, which is a long time ago. This has always surprised me, as I spent a load of time getting them made, and as I have said, I reckon they knock spots off anything you can buy, either as RTR or kits. Perhaps its because they have the planking grooves to scale (they were cut with a 1 thou cutter), that they look odd compared to everything else around in 2mm. Take a look at Richard's photos to see what I mean. Farish planking is truly awful and is the main reason their vans still look like toys. I made some etched parts for these to make banana vans but had to discard them as the planking looked so crude on the etch by comparison.

     

    So, use them or lose them.

     

    Chris

    richbrummitt

    Posted

    As the man who created the roof etches, I always based them on real photos. And there is a photo of just such a van with external roof strips, although it's one with end vents, and so not as in your build. The van in question was W89667, and it is found in "Pre-Nationalisation Freight wagons on British Railways" page 30. Although to be fair, the strips are nowhere near as prominent as those on the etch. That's the problem with etch, you only get the one thickness. You might try rubbing them down a touch.

     

    These resin vans are just about the only thing on the market that does to scale the gaps between the planks and the bolt heads.  Everything else in 2mm/N is horribly overdone.

     

    Chris

    richbrummitt

    Posted

    Yes, I find it too obtrusive. I think it is the positioning though as I have seen them used at the layout rear were I did not find them a problem.

     

    Surely if you operate from the front you only stand in the middle when absolutely necessary, for example when uncoupling. I would have thought to have the lever frame at one end or the other would be better and make it easier to view the layout.

    • Like 1
    -missy-

    Posted

    I had a chat with Ian Rathbone years ago at a show. His advice on bow pens was to always keep the blades polished. And although he is a pro who lines (superbly) every day, he spends a bit of time every day also practising on cheap plastic bodies to keep his eye in and to check the pen is set up right.

     

    The other priceless tip I learnt from him is that it is often impossible to get lines thin enough using a bow pen. In that case you draw the lines onto the body as thin as you can, and then draw lines in the original base colour next to them to cut into them and make them thinner. If your technique is good enough you can draw anything as thin as you like this way. Often when a model lining looks wrong, it is just that the lines are too thick.

    • Like 1
    Argos

    Posted

    Alan Smith and I have been talking over new 2mm chassis using brass blocks and etched extras. The 4MT 2-6-4T is on the list somewhere. But I expect we will wait and see the new Farish retooled offering before proceeding.

     

    You missed the Masterclass Thompson suburbans. They have been and gone. DItto with the D1964 which was one of my first coach kits.

     

    Chris

    D869

    Posted

     

    Yes I can, but that's the start of a slippery slope if they go on to ask about locos, Farish Mark 1s, Dapol Colletts (which seem rather big even for 'N')... the list goes on.

     

    Ah, so what you really wanted was the new NGS model after all...

     

     

    As far as I know, the Dapol Collett bodies are bang on scale for N, although the underframe might be another matter. I re-underframed mine.

    Chris

    barrowroad

    Posted

    Very late to be adding a comment, but as I have researched and produced 2mm etchings of all three bufferstop types, I can clear up their origin at least in part.

     

    Type 1 is the LMS wartime design, which went on to widespread use on BR. There was a drawing of this in an HMRS article.

     

    Type 2 is what is often known as the straight rail design. There are examples known of it on the LNWR, but it was also used by the GNR, LNER (York division), SR and as observed is still produced today, there is a nice new one outside St Pancras on HS1. In addition to the PHD etch, BIll Bedford does one of the GNR variant. There is a drawing of an example from Oxford Rewley Road in Precision 1973.

     

    Type 3 is also a LNWR design, and dates originally from 1879. I have an original drawing and article by David Hanson, although I forgot from where.

    D869

    Posted

    FWIW, I cut the axleboxes out of the etch surround on Chris's coach bogie etches and stack them up on the sideframe with solder-paste in between. A quick zap with the RSU and they're done. I found it quite tricky trying to cut them out after soldering them in place.

    als

     

    Geoff Jones did it that way and then complained to me it was almost impossible to get them all lined up correctly. Do you have some trick that us mere mortals don't know about?

     

    Chris

    D869

    Posted

     

    Hi David,

     

    I don't have any objections to making them available but I'd rather it was done via the Association if they are willing. I'll hopefully have a chat to some of the relevant folks at the AGM tomorrow. On the other hand, Mr Higgs might decide to do them, which would probably avoid any issues arising from my lack of etching experience. Whatever happens, I'd definitely wait until I've actually tried assembling them before going any further.

     

    Regards, Andy

     

    Now it has been pointed out that I have been selling the wrong bogies with my full brake kits, I probably will be doing some. It is probably only 10 minutes work to modify the artwork. I have dug out my Slinn book on Siphons and see the error of my ways. Mind you, it didn't help that the book printed a photo of a long spring version (but with short footsteps) in its section on Siphon bogies.

     

    That also reminds me that I have some half-done artwork for Siphon underframes somewhere.

     

    Andy, if you are coming to the AGM I will bring your Maunsell kits with me. The roofs are still at my brother's house so will have to follow by post the week after.

     

    Chris

     

     

     

    Chris

    • Like 1
    D869

    Posted

    Indeed they are slightly different. However you have I think misunderstood how the separate axlebox overlays work (at least that's the way it looks, my aging eyes are struggling). The idea is that each layer should be spaced at the correct 9' spacing to match the bogie, so they can be attached both at the same time. Whereas you have created the two sets of three as a mirror image of each other, which means only the centre ones are spaced at 9'.

     

    They probably would have emerged if anyone had pointed out to me that the Pressed Steel bogies on the full brakes differed from those on the passenger coaches - it had escaped my attention!

     

    Chris

    • Like 1
    richbrummitt

    Posted

    So I guess usually less than 1 second. I'm always getting sizzle and smoke!I've got my brother to pick up some 179 solder cream for me from Antics (it was highest on the google search results), because he works at the Coventry branch. I should see him in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime I might make myself an odd shaped bit and play with some multi-core on right angle joins, rather than laminated, to try and observe what is happening better.

     

    One thing you should not expect an RSU to do is to create those solder fillets used to reinforce the inside of joints. I have found them to be generally quite useless in that regard.

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