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Robin Gristwood

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  • Location
    Birmingham, UK
  • Interests
    Modelling the British Railways in the 60's in 7mm.

    Previously modelling Seattle Industrial District on HO.

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  1. Merry Christmas everyone and a happy and healthy New Year to one and all.!! 🎅 More updates to follow soon... 🙂
  2. Does anyone know if these will have a pre-fitted speaker in all models as I believe was the case with the Lionheart GWR Prairie? I forgot to ask at Warley.
  3. Class 22 please...not made RTR by anyone else in 7mm. No kit available since demise of MM1. No 4mm version currently produced by Accurascale. D63xx would be ideal for all those WR BR branch line layouts ..seems to tick all the boxes...No brainer surely..?? ...Yes I know... dont call me Surely..!!! 😁
  4. I’ve now cleaned up the cab ends and drilled holes for 3mm bi-colour LEDS for the lights. I wanted to model one of the DMU’s with the two character headcode boxes on the cab front rather than the four digit on the roof. Three questions though if anyone can help: 1. Were the letters and numbers used in these 2 character boxes the same size as the ones used in the roof mounted and loco headcodes? (The only decals I can find are from Fox https://www.fox-transfers.co.uk/loco-dmu-train-reporting-alpha-numerics-back-light-illumination-7mm-high ) 2. How were the two character boxes lit? Should there be a light behind each character? 3. Was the small roof mounted destination box also lit? I have found a few photos of 2 character box DMUs but cant seem to be able to judge if the decals from Fox are the right size? Transition Years | By this time this photo was taken, the DM… | Flickr As always any help gratefully received 🙂 Robin
  5. The two roofs for the DMU have been scored and the thin lining tape applied. Although not anywhere close to the painting stage I think they will look a lot better than just plain roofs. The door hinges and bump stops have been added to the sides now too, and the unwanted details has been removed from the non-cab ends I finished these after an enjoyable weekend in York for my birthday. My wife organised a Sunday lunch for us on the North York Moors Pullman service, luckily steam-hauled again by a beautiful 9F 92134. I’m still waiting for the missing parts from Intentio for the station building, its maybe time to give Phil a call I think? 🤔
  6. Paul that is a great suggestion, thanks. I hadn't thought of using labels or tape. It made me think of what I could use, and I remembered that I had some very thin 1/32 wide self adhesive black lining tape that I used for making strapping on HO US freight car loads. I will give that a go I think and as you say once painted, with a bit of luck, it should stay in place
  7. Finally the D&S GUV has been finished and etch primed. Now I just need to fit glazing and window bars and the curved handrails for the end with the steps onto the roof. Then I can fix the roof on permanently. Initially I was planning on painting it in LNER brown, but I think I might paint it in a faded BR crimson instead now? The next projects to start now are an Easybuild Derby 2 car set (what became Class 108) and the station building that I commissioned from Phil at Intentio to laser cut for me. I’ve started the DMU by preparing the sides and roof. All the holes have been drilled for the hinges, doorstops and handrails. The doors were scored more deeply and the edges trimmed with a razor blade to remove the burr. The sides were then rubbed down with wet and dry. As the sides are curved I couldn’t use a ruler to guide the scoring of the door lines, so I used a square of thin brass sheet that could be curved around the side to guide the knife blade. I am still deciding whether to try to replicate the seams on the roof panels on the roof. Rather than weld lines, these appear to be riveted panels that are either 2’ 6” or 2’ wide, with seams covering the joins. Easybuild suggest using 20 thou plastic rod glued into pre-scored lines on the roof, but this doesn’t seem to replicate the appearance of the prototype roof. So I’m not sure whether to leave the roof plain or try using some very thin tape to simulate those seams? I have marked out one roof and made a curved brass jig to mark out and score the lines if I decide to go ahead with this? Anybody have any other suggestions for how to model this? I got a couple of the Intentio LNWR panels to test beforehand and I was so pleased with the look I asked Phil to make a set of panels for a full station. The station is modelled on the LNWR wooden panel buildings, as I wanted something other than all the other brick buildings that already feature on the layout. I’m still waIting for some of the parts from Phil at Intentio before I can make a start on this though, but hopefully it will add to the planned LNWR heritage of the layout.
  8. Hi Jeff, Are you trying to email him? What email address are you using When I bought an Agenoria kit from him in December I had to try a few different emails that show up on his website and lists. The one that he replied from was demu1037@yahoo.co.uk . Hope that helps?
  9. The side and ends for the GER GUV are now complete. Its not until you go back to building a brass kit that you remember how much time is prepping the etchings. It was at one of the Missenden workshops that Kevin Wilson explained the importance of removing the etch cusp from the edges of all parts. He explained that not only does it give a better edge contact for soldering, any edge showing looks better when painted. I also learnt how important a good set of files are. Living in Birmingham I was able to just hop up to the Jewellery Quarter to get some decent files. Although it took some time, they are complete now, and I soldered them together this morning. The roof is vac-formed plastic so this will have to be trimmed to size. Then it’s on to the underframe to build. As it’s a six wheeled van there is a moving centre axle mounting, which is a new one on me, but I hope the underframe is as well designed as the body was to put together.
  10. I decided to have a go at an etched brass kit that I’ve had for ages now. In fact it was one of the first ones I bought at a Guildex. Although this D&S GER General Utility Van would almost certainly not have lasted past the ‘50’s I liked the look of it. So when completed it will need to be painted in a very worn looking LNER brown I think, rather than BR Crimson maybe? The sides and ends have been cleaned up and folded and holes drilled for the end steps and handrails. The doors and framing will need to be laminated before fixing to the sides. I will use my RSU for this as I’ve found it has been a boon for this type of work before.
  11. Hi, I don't know if it makes any difference to the number of 0's (zeros) you have, but the second one was a letter O rather than the number if I remember correctly? Apologies if that ended up sounding like a Two Ronnies sketch..!!! 🙂
  12. I have fitted my Tower 0-4-0 ST Pug with a sound decoder and stay alive capacitor. I have also added a smoke deflector typical of those used in Liverpool docks, particularly I believe to try to protect the Liverpool Overhead Railway structures that the locomotives ran underneath from the corrosive effects of the smoke. By the time my layout is set the LOR had been dismantled but the smoke deflectors still remained on many locomotives. Some coal was also added to the cab bunkers. This video clip shows the Pug bringing in empty coal wagons, ready to be exchanged with loaded wagons. Apologies for the shaky video as I filmed this on my phone.
  13. Testing this link
  14. Nick, Thanks for you kind words. I agree that the end result was worth the frustration to get there. Yes the lamps themselves are made from white metal castings from MSE, carefully drilled half way through from the front where the lens would be, then from the bottom to meet that hole. The pre-wired SMD LED is fed in from the bottom and I held it in place with some blue tack on the bottom. Then I carefully dripped in Deluxe Glue 'n Glaze, waiting for it to settle and start to go off before adding another drop. After repeating about 4 times it creates a sort of lens at the front of the lamp and partially secures the LED. I had already filed a small slit at the side of the lamp to feed through the wires, and filled that with 5 minute epoxy to hold everything in place. As I said one wire was connected to the wire that was threaded up through the post, then inside the bracket into the bottom of the doll and out again by the lamp base. The lamp was glued onto the base, I chicken out soldering that, but it does not need to be a soldered joint, as the common wire was soldered to the doll. The SMD LED's i used came from a batch I bought in my USA HO days for making flashing ditch lights on locos. I found that the supplier is still going strong on eBay, but it will be in German. I think the resistor was a 1k ohms 1/4 A and both LEDS were linked together. Hope that helps?
  15. I also noticed that some sort of trap point should really be installed on the run round loop. I hadn’t thought this was necessary when it was goods only operation, but now I couldn’t really get away without some form of protection for the main line. Although I had built a new crossover, that part of the track wasn’t ballasted, and to build an operating trap point would involve removing ballast as well as building the point and linking it to the other point motor. I decided to ‘fake it’. So I have installed what you could perhaps call a cosmetic trap point on the existing trackwork, and even though it doesn’t operate I hope it does give the semblance that there is a trap point there. A new bracket starter signal for the main platform and bay would be needed to replace the previous shunt signals. This would be my first attempt to build a signal, as all the previous ones had been made for me by Jon Fitness. I bought the MSE parts from Wizard for a LMS cantilever stem bracket signal, but when I started to build it, it seemed far too heavy and bulky for where I wanted to place it. Then I saw on Jon Fitness’s thread on here that he was selling his own etches for 2 doll balanced LMS bracket gantry that would be mounted on a round signal post. He had made up one on his thread which looked just what I wanted. So it was duly ordered and speedily delivered. Although it didn’t come with instructions Jon kindly sent an explanatory email detailing the less obvious elements of the build. Unfortunately, once again I didn’t take any pictures during construction, perhaps just as well as there were one of two hiccups and occasionally the air was blue. Although the bracket itself went together with ease there it was the rest i had trouble with, mostly my own fault too. For instance mounting the dolls the wrong way round first time after carefully threading through all the LED wiring, so it all had to be unsoldered and wires threaded through again; solder on one piece on the doll and another one comes unsoldered; trying to drill the lamps to fit LED from the inside etc. I’m glad I wont have to make any more signals for now. Anyway here it is in its present state with LED’s fitted and wired, and cranks working. The deck was scribed and punched from thin veneer before giving it a very thin was of Precision Weathered Wood. It still needs the ladder supports putting on, and the curved safety cage at the back of the platform as well as the other ladder for the higher arm. I still need to finish the arms themselves by putting in the coloured film into the spectacle plate and fitting the back blinders. I also need to bite the bullet and fit the two servos to operate it as well.. not looking forward to that bit ..!!
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