Frappington Jct

And now for something a little different... I have a little bit of love for the eclectic side of the railway world - in my modelling this has manifested itself in random freelance industrials but in the real world I'm becoming increasingly interested in narrow and miniature gauge railways, especially those which still exist on a large scale. One of my most recent interests is the Romney, Hyde and Dymchurch Railway in Kent, a brilliant oddity which I visited last summer. As such, when I saw this photo of No.1 'Green Goddess' on an LNER Rectank wagon at Colchester on her way back to Kent from the Ravenglass and Eskdale in 1925 I started thinking about potential modelling opportunities. I had a couple of issues to overcome - one of which was the wagon. Well, one ABS kit bought off Ebay, built and painted and voila, part one complete. This was my first metal wagon kit and I really enjoyed it - must try and find some more... Part two (the loco) is shaping up to be a little bit more difficult. The solution presented itself in the form of a limited edition static plastic Atlas Z gauge Flying Scotsman. For those who don't know, the original RH&DR Greenly locomotives were based on the LNER A1s, and were built at least partially to scale. As such, the 1/220 scale Flying Scotsman conveniently scales up to not too far off the RH&DR pacifics in most key dimensions (height, length etc.) Of course, there are many fundamental differences which need addressing - most determined by the period and indeed loco being modelled. I have chosen to model No.8 'Hurricane', for various reasons, mostly because the blue paint will provide a change from the monotony of BR black but also because the smoke deflectors will hopefully hide slight dimensional issues at the front end and because the tender has a fake corridor connector on the back which I thought looked a bit different. My mainline modelling interests focus on the 1950s (ish), a period by which all the pacifics were, as far as I'm aware, coupled to the high capacity tenders they run with today. This will need fabricating - using the wheels and axleboxes from the FS tender to create facsimiles of the tender bogies, as well as stealing the corridor connector. The high capacity tenders are also all longer than the original in the 1925 photo, which could mean the loco not fitting on the Rectank, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. As many of the fittings on FS are not to correct scale, I've had to source new ones. Luckily the weird scale nature of the prototype means that standard N gauge components (funnel, safety valves, tender filler etc.) will suffice. As such, I've ordered a load of components from N Brass - including a dome which I think is too small so I'll have to order another one. For now, I've mostly done a load of chopping to get to a stage where I can start thinking about adding parts. I've removed the dome, chimney, nameplates (after the below photo was taken), headboard and corridor connector, as well as shortening the cab roof and removing the tender body to get to the wheels and axles. I made a little bit of a mess in places (when don't I!) but it's in the process of being corrected with filler.) Next step will be to look at shortening the front footplate (either I'll cut it down a little or extend the smoke deflectors slightly to cover it) and start adding components, as well as designing a tender. I also must remember to email Narrow Planet to check what their minimum height for custom plates is - I reckon these will be around 0.5mm high.

'Griffin' the Pugbash has got to the stage where I'm happy for it to sit 'completed' in the display case. I've added a set of cab steps, coal in the bunker, custom Narrow Planet nameplates, filler in a couple of places on the footplate and a coat of varnish. It still needs half a crew, glazing and some small details, though they can wait for now. As with anything I build, it's a little rough and ready but it looks perfectly acceptable from a distance and I had fun putting it together.

The darker paint for Pugbash 1 arrived and it definitely looks a lot better for it. Tamiya paint has a gloss finish to it but I'll give it a coat of varnish once everything's finished which'll improve the look. Next job is to fill in some of the gaps on the footplate and add the steps - it could also do with having a reversing lever added to it at some point. Lockdown has also given me time to revive and complete a couple of old projects. The first one is a Dean Sidings GCR L1 2-6-4T resin kit which was originally started way back in 2015and sits on a modified Hornby 0-6-0 chassis (so I think I can justify it in a Modifying RTR thread). Back in 2015 I finished building the body including painting and most of the transfers (for some reason the right hand cabside number was half missing), as well as adding the chassis modifications. I remember abandoning it because I couldn't get the body to sit properly on the chassis - there was obviously something in the way but I couldn't find it. So of course this was the first thing I looked at this time and (annoyingly) I solved the problem within 2 minutes. It turns out that there was a tiny little fragment of resin trapped in a corner of the body which I somehow missed 5 years ago. Sitting in storage for 5 years had evidently loosened it somewhat because after a couple of hard blows intended to remove general dust it came out and the body sat perfectly! Now I'd sorted that I finished adding the transfers, added the steps to the rear bogie, touched up the paint work and added some lamp irons to the front of the loco made out of bits of staple as well as a set of coupling hooks. Now I just need to work out how to secure the body and chassis together (any ideas welcome!) and think about couplings. The other returnee to the bench is a proper throw back for this thread - Sentinel Railcar 'Defiance'! This was the second build project I completed after the Stirling Single and the last time it featured here was complete bar a power bogie frame, interior and glazing. The glazing isn't happening any time soon if ever due to complexity/not wanting to ruin what I've already done. The other two are now done though - the power bogie frame I can't actually remember what it came off as I actually did it a while back. The interior is actually a second take. About a year ago I built an interior, added all the seats etc. and then found I hadn't properly accounted for the slightly less than straight bodysides. The 'engine' end was too wide and the seats didn't fit into the body. The new one is thus narrower and all seats sit about 1mm in from the edge to ensure they fit. This has resulted in the seats being a little narrow, though this isn't noticeable once inside the body is installed. It appears that even the passengers on 'Defiance' (an apt name in the current times) are practicing social distancing, though the guard (who had a minor repaint after the 1st photo) doesn't seem to have quite got the memo!

Thanks! As I said, it's not based on anything in particular but I reckon it bears a passing resemblance to the Hunslet 16in 0-6-0st's of Nassington Ironstone Mine - albeit with a different smokebox, taller cab and more modern footplate. The blue is not the final colour - I really would rather something darker and have ordered paint to that effect which I will this time remember to test before applying it... I'd have needed a couple of coats regardless though so it's not too big a deal

Pug bash no.1 has now acquired primer, which certainly gives it much more of a coherent look. It has also gained a whistle (actually an inverted handrail knob which looks the part in the absence of anything better) and I've built a pair of cab steps, though these are yet to be fitted.

The current 'situation' has engendered a previously unknown level of modelling productivity (if only the uni work could benefit as much...) and there are new models on the bench! First though, a quick update on the crane - in preparing the chassis for re-wiring and final assembly I found that the motor sits too tall and prevents proper fitment of the body. Either the motor or chassis will need replacing in the future, but for now the body sits alone in the display cabinet (and still sits taller than the MR 1F next to it!) In terms of other projects, the main one at the moment is a motely pugbash based on a model I remember seeing on the Pugbashing thread. It comprises a lowered/shortened/re-fronted 'Nellie' cab and bunker, Caley Pug saddle tank and smoke box (the tank now sits slightly higher compared to the smokebox) and a Bachmann 03 diesel chassis and running plate. It's had a set of RT Models Barclay springs added and will get a whistle, cab steps etc. at some point too. It really is a hodge podge of a loco which doesn't represent any particular prototype even vaguely - the aim was to create something with a robust, powerful look to offset all the slightly more dainty Victorian-esque industrials currently in my collection. Once some new primer arrives I'll finish filling in some of the gaps between the bodyshell and the footplate and start thinking about paint schemes - currently favouring blue in contrast to the sea of red and green on my 'industrial' shelf. I've also today added some finishing touches to this little loco - newly christened 'Kronos' in keeping with my Greek mythology theme. I bought it as a completed metal bodyshell off ebay, and have simply touched up the paintwork and added the plates (it'll get a crew along with a load of others at some point). It's currently sitting on an Airfix/Dapol pug chassis for athletics more than anything - in the long term I'll look at putting a motorised chassis under it but it's size means that'll be a pain so won't happen for a while. Final project on the bench is another one that's taken significant inspiration from a project on the pugbashing thread - a traction engine! It'll take parts from a Keil-Kraft traction engine kit and meld them to a Caley pug running plate for weight and a standard (but brand new - Hornby sell them direct for only £8!) Hornby 0-4-0 chassis to create something akin to an Aveling Porter machine. I'm rather excited about this one - currently waiting on a new hacksaw to arrive to chop a couple of bits off the footplate before cracking on.

Thanks all, I'll have a look

Hi all, I'm in the middle of an isolation-motivated Caley Pug bash and am looking for a set of cast/etched cosmetic loco springs, looking like those on the Airfix Pug below. I've tried a load of places online but all I can find are wagon springs with axle boxes attached. Is anyone able to point me in an appropriate direction? I have no knowledge of the technical side of this so don't really know what I'm looking for. The wheels are a scale 3.5 ft diameter and the wheel centres are spaced a scale 4.4ft apart (it's on a Bachmann 03 chassis) if that helps. I've included a picture of the work in progress if that helps. Thanks in advance

It's been a while, as ever with me (I blame final year of undergrad and starting the MSC...), but there has been actual, ground shattering progress with the Dubs - to the extent that I just need to reassemble the shattered 'not-Percy' chassis (more on that later...) and work out how to attach it to the body and then it's done! I totally forgot to take in progress photos but here's a list of what's been done (mostly over the last couple of weeks): Smoke box door and handles added (the former from my spares box - possibly off a GCR L1 - and the latter from Markits). I couldn't get the door perfectly flush but now it's painted you can't really notice - it also still has remnants of ridges etc. that I tried to remove and evidently couldn't fully, though again this is only noticeable if you really peer at it. Turned brass whistles fitted on boiler and cab - not sure whether the one on the boiler is actually meant to be a whistle but it looks the part if nothing else. Boxes on the top of the water tanks removed and holes filled in - I had considered keeping them and claiming they were tool boxes or something but in the end decided they didn't quite look right. Cogs sourced and fitted to the crane - these came from a steampunk jewellery store and were among the very few that were really usable! Small coal bunker added to fireman's side - it bothered me that there was no real coal capacity on the loco and that side was looking a bit plain... Incredibly rough approximation of the crane running gear (I suppose that's what it's called?) on the drivers side - built up with plasticard and filed to shape, this is much taller than the prototype but that's more to do with the slightly overscale nature of the print rather than anything else. The wheel came from a Wizard Models loco detailing sprue, and the pole (or whatever you'd call it) a bit of jewellery wire I think. Dapol pug back-head and handbrake column trimmed back and fitted Handbrake box thing (again, no clue what to call it!) built and fitted to the back of the cab. The prototypes all had simply a hole in the back of the cab with the handbrake column sitting outside above the buffers. I decided against this for two reasons: 1) after my attempts at making windows for the sentinel I still don't trust myself to cut perfect rectangles in the middle of something, even after almost 5 years of trying!, and 2) the print didn't have enough of a footplate behind the cab for this to work anyway. Cab steps built and fitted Cab enclosed partially with new side-sheets - I felt that it looked too exposed, plus steps spanning the whole former width would have looked silly. New coupling hooks fitted Painted in a similar scheme to the loco preserved at Foxfield - though I elected to paint the entire crane black after a first attempt at painting the counterweight green looked faintly ridiculous Custom works and name plates from Narrow Planet fitted. This loco follows my now-traditional theme of naming locos after characters from Greek mythology - Atlas having being condemned to carry the weight of heaven on his shoulders for eternity. The photos make the finish look a little naff, but it generally isn't noticeable in real life. The body still needs one or two little things - most noticeably a hook for the crane which I will attempt to find next time I go to a big show. Aside from that though, the body is now pretty much done. It's not perfect and if I were building a fine scale model there's a lot more detail I could have added, especially on the crane which would probably have been completely replaced. However, I'm happy with it so this is the state it will stay in. The chassis has provided me with a world of headaches. The body and chassis of the not-Percy are fully integrated so trying to extract it took a heck of a lot of hacking and a fair bit of swearing but eventually I managed to get the chassis out, even if all the pickups and most of the wires will need reattaching... What annoys me more though is that I was hoping to keep the body fairly intact for use with future freelance endeavours, but as it stands there is very little that will be salvageable The chassis will have it's wiring redone next time I'm at my Grandad's as I don't have a soldering iron here and then the cylinders will go back onto the body, the chassis attached and the loco finsihed! Until then though it will go to one side and I can start thinking about the next project - probably the heavily modified side tank I picked up at Ally Pally last year

Hi, sorry for taking so long to get back to you - I haven't really been on here much in recent months and still can't fully get my head around the new layout so missed the question! The kit came with seperate castings for the funnel, dome etc covering all variations of the loco's life. Hope this helps

Perfect, thanks!

Hi all, I have practically no electrical knowledge so I apologise if this is a silly question! I'm in the process of putting a Bachmann Jnr 0-4-0 chassis under a (rather small) 3d printed body shell and am struggling to get it to fit due to the PCB wired to the motor. I have included a picture below and my question is as follows - will the loco work/performance be significantly affected if I simply remove it and wire pickups directly to the motor? In terms of the wires, the red and black wires come from the pickups and the orange and brown ones go to the motor. Thanks! 20190831_161539.jpg

It probably would, but I'm apprehensive about building a 'proper' chassis kit - I've never built a metal kit so have no real soldering experience to speak of, unless it can be glued together?

Hi everyone, I recently bought a white metal industrial loco body off ebay with the intention of finding a chassis to put under it. I've worked out that the Dapol/Hornby L&YR pug has the correct wheelbase, but obviously the motor in the cab makes it difficult to use for an already built model. As such, I'm wondering how easy it is to re-motor the pug with a smaller motor which might fit inside the engine's boiler, or would it be easier to buy the plastic Dapol kit and try and put a motor in that at a later date/build a custom chassis if or when I feel capable of doing so? Thanks!

Hi Neil, sorry it's taken me a while to reply, I've not been reading RMWeb for ages. Unfortunately I'm not the producer of the model, I simply bought it so I don't know why it's unavailable.

So, a broken wrist means the hoped for rapid build over Christmas probably won't happen. However, I am starting to think of how to add details and would appreicate some help from the more regular modders/builders in sourcing bits and bobs because I have no idea where to look! I have even produced some lovely photoshopped images as I don't know what things are called! So, the main things I'm not sure about are details of the crane operating gear. In the 1st photo, I need the gear circled in yellow (which I reckon will be about 2mm circumference in 4mm scale), the red circled counter weight and the blue circled hand wheel. I already have some very thin styrene (?) cylinders for the driveshaft, though I suspect brass would be better? I would also like to recreate this bit on top of the crane if possible - don't have clue what it is or how to do it so ideas would be welcomed! Also, where does one go about getting scale chains? Model ship suppliers? Many thanks

I'm pretty sure the crane should spin, but the design of the crane means it's not possible to make the chain raise/lower. As an aside, where did you get the chain/hook on your model from? Did it come with the kit or did you get it elsewhere? Great, thanks! That makes sense, I'll have a go at getting the chassis out when I get home at Xmas Certainly. It comes in two parts - body and miscellaneous details (cog and hook - not necessary if you want to source them elsewhere) Body - https://www.shapeways.com/product/2WURSECZA/oo-0-4-0t-railway-crane-body?optionId=64413752&li=marketplace Details - https://www.shapeways.com/product/VSFGU5WJQ/crane-engine-details?optionId=64413773

Just noticed this one page of the thread transcends 4 years worth of modelling - shows how fast I work doesn't it! Anyway, time for a new project! 'Not Harvey' from a 'Not Percy', or an approximation of a Dubs Crane Tank I got some cash back off my rent not too long ago, and decided to take a plunge into the world of 3D printed models*! My chosen subject was a crane tank approximating the Dubs product currently resident on the Foxfield Railway - an engine I saw whilst at the steam gala earlier this year. I'm genuinely really pleased with the body as delivered - I was a bit sceptical beforehand as I'd heard stories about poor quality prints, but it's pretty smooth and the only bits that didn't print properly were the overly large coupling hooks, which I would have replaced anyway. Also, considering the body is technically meant to be representing a TTTE character (Harvey the crane engine) it doesn't look too far off the real life prototype - any major differences are of such a size that they should be easy to hide or could be passed off as 'design evolution'. The one big thing it's missing is the running gear for the crane (Harvey doesn't have it on TV show so I assume that's why the model doesn't, although it would be very hard to print to an acceptable quality), so I'm going to have to attempt to build it. I have some ideas for some parts of this, though other contributions would be very welcome! The crane itself is a separate print and requires attachment to the body - I'll probably leave that until after everything is painted etc, as I'm not sure I'll be able to get it off again which would make painting it properly difficult. The body was described as fitting the Bachmann Percy chassis (which I've substituted out for the Bachmann Junior 0-4-0 which is just Percy without a face) although I am yet to properly work out how to dismantle it, and when I do it's going to need rebuilding/cannibalising as it is stupidly over-engineered and the chassis doesn't come free in one piece, rather everything is integrated into one unit. I didn't know this until this evening... If it all goes a bit wrong I'm pretty sure I have a Hornby pug chassis spare somewhere, though that is a lot less delicate and may not fit in the body. That's all for now, I can't do anymore until I get home from uni for Christmas but I'm hopeful it will be quite a quick one once it gets going. Lets see if I can manage that this time! *I'm justifying leaving this on this thread rather than making one in the 3D print sub-forum because it still uses an rtr chassis, and to be honest I think the chassis is going to need just as much if not more work than the body!

That's why I chose it as a project! I was more referring to the fact that the model as it comes is very-much not of British outline (and technically to the wrong scale) what with all the various features and that tiny cab, so it still needs a fair bit of work from someone with rather basic modelling skills at best!

I've just completed something similar, though I wasn't brave enough to remove the cylindars (I thought it might look a bit front heavy as the first wheel set looked a little too set-back in my eyes, but I evidently should have just gone for it looking at your loco!) Like you I replaced the cab (a Dapol pug if I remember correctly), and added a dome and safety valve cover using stuff from the spares box. It tidies up rather well considering it's a Spanish HO shunter!

Sounds good fun - I'm up for displaying my ineptitude at this game in the public sphere!

So, whilst work on the Sharpish Stewart did continue at Christmas (and over Easter as well for that matter), I both forgot to take any photos and update this thread, so once again there's been a rather long gap between posts! Excitingly however, the loco is now finished - not that there was a lot for me to do to get it to ths point! Essentially, all that was left to do was to paint and name the loco and add a crew. I umm-ed and ahhh-ed for a while as to what livery I wanted to adorn the loco, and eventually decided to go for a Furness Railway style crimson. In the end, it turned out the paint I'd bought was just a little bit pinker than the finish I was originally looking for, but I quite like it and as it's very much a freelance industrial it's not like it needed to be a specific colour anyway. Add to that a couple of coats of varnish, a Narrow Planet nameplate and a random set of crew from the spares box, and the newly christened "Chimera" is complete - for now at least. It's pretty basic as a model and doesn't stand up to close inspection or comparison with the current crop of rtr industrials (the all seeing gaze of the camera doesn't help either!) There's no glazing, no handrails, no buffer beam detail, no works plate etc.; for now at least. With the exception of the works plate and the basic buffer beam detail, both of which are really only waiting for me to have an excuse to make a bigger order with respective suppliers, the outstanding jobs are ones which I'm not 100% confident that I will be able to complete without ruining a loco that I've become rather fond of. Furthermore, from a distance their absence isn't really that noticeable, to me anyway. They will probably be added in the future, but are very much long term goals! 'Chimera' has now taken up residence in the display cabinet alongside my beautifully weathered Peckett W4 'Pegasus' (all credit to Grimy Times!) and my original bodge - BR Stirling Single 'Phoenix'. Can you spot the emerging naming theme? As mentioned above, from a normal viewing distance I don't think 'Chimera' looks too out of place alongside it's red box companion and certainly doesn't detract from the overall effect of the display. So, what next? Truth be told, I have no idea and little money to fund anything. At some point I will get round to finishing the railcar (it STILL needs glazing, an interior and a new bogie frame for the power bogie), but maybe some progress will be seen over the summer...