Ian Rathbone

Friday at 22:37

It’s a 2-4-0T not an 0-4-2.

April 7

You need to be more specific about what it is you want to paint - loco(steam, diesel, electric)/coach/wagon , plastic/brass/nickel silver/resin, company/livery, weathered or not. Your question cannot be answered without this knowledge.

Ian R

April 4

I was given a set of transfers for a LNWR Motor Car van with ‘London North Weston’ as the company name.

A non-railway error in the next village is Athelstan Road, except the signs say Althestan Road. Apparently, once registered with the post office and given a postcode it can’t be corrected.

Ian R

April 1

13 hours ago, gr.king said:

In view of the date today, I wasn't quite sure that a title quite as specific as a "mutton van", from Wales, would be a description of a genuine vehicle, or whether it might be akin to the "canary van" kit spoof from Wizard/51L circa 2019. No locker for wellies though...

Well, it’s nearly finished, just needs its Cambrian identity added (waiting for the transfers) then I can varnish it and screw it together. I commissioned roof and door transfers from Precision Labels.

Ian R

March 31

I’m building a Cambrian Railways Mutton Van in 7mm, based on a Worsley works body sitting on a modified LNW 6 wheel chassis. There are ten doors each side and the middle hinges were in the wrong position so I had to cut 20 new slots. The holes for the LH door handles were in the wrong place and there were no holes for the RH handles. The floor had fold-up edges to fix to the sides but they fouled the lower hinge positions so had to be cut off. Otherwise it was ok.

I don’t know how I got dragged in to this - it’s the first bit of rolling stock I’ve built for at least 20 years.

Ian R

March 26

On 25/03/2024 at 13:54, sej said:

Hi Ian, it's a 4mm Spinner, I'll spray it. What do you use for Midland locos?

Cheers

Simon

I use a cellulose paint matched to Precision Paints LMS Crimson Lake, which is probably the best colour on the market and it’s available in gloss. You say ‘I’ll spray it’ , do you mean a rattle can or air brush? Rover Damask Red is probably discontinued now and it’s also a little pink. LMS, MR & BR Crimson Lake/ Maroon are all the same colour.

Ian R

March 23

How do you intend to apply the paint?

Ian R

March 15

I inadvertently posted a topic twice. How do I delete the duplicate?

ian R

March 15

The ‘Right Track 3’ Painting & Lining video is now officially available.

The link to it is:

https://www.youtube.com/@chriswalsh9962/playlists

Chris Walsh is the original producer of the series. The parts available cover spray painting and lining with a ruling pen (bow pen).

Ian R

February 27

ROD 2-8-0s were shipped to France like this -

Black all over, including buffer beams. 7mm model built by Mike Edge.

Ian R

February 16

4 hours ago, Chuffer Davies said:

Hi,

my understanding is that the castle had some dimensional inaccuracies but the King was a better model. The King’s chassis was rather crude but with a replacement chassis from the likes of Comet (or in my own case Malcolm Mitchell) the model is transformed.

Fulgerex Original:

And with Mitchell Chassis - painted by Ian Rathbone.

Regards,

Frank

Here’s a better photo of Frank’s King -

February 16

At a recent Bonham’s auction this streamlined Duchess, built from a DJH 7mm kit, and painted by me with the full three colour lining sold for a mere £384, including buyer’s premium. These are not easy to paint and I charged more than that for the painting! The kit, wheels and motor would come to about £900 (2021).

Had it been placed with Ellis Clark or Steamlines I’m sure it would have achieved a better price. I think that where you sell has a bearing on the price realised.

Ian R

February 10

I have the story of the BR renumbering of steam and early diesel & electrics on my website. The GW did renumber some South Wales locos around the time of nationalisation.

Meanwhile, the Black 5 I showed earlier in this thread is now nearly complete and did some running in on Buck’s Hill. (BH has a website).

Ian R

February 8

Patriot 45513 prepares to move off shed, 22nd June 1955.

Ian R

February 5

Any commercial lime scale remover should do it.

Ian R

February 4

35 years ago I bought a Badger 150 dual action, which has a detachable bottom feed cup or jar for the paint. I am still using it after painting well over 1600 locos and coaches in 4 & 7 mm scales. In that time it has had two new heads and needles but the internal seals have never been replaced. It is easy to clean and strips down to all its component parts without fuss.

You get what you pay for. I would suggest you get a mid-range dual action air brush from a named manufacturer, avoid unbranded Chinese airbrushes or any bundled up with a compressor.

Ian R

January 31

48 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said:

Power Class A

There should have been a white A painted on the cab in a white disc but very few engines got it. Mostly 16XX and 2021 Pannier Tanks.

As here on 2112.

https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/GWRSteam-1/18641897-GWR-Wolverhampton-Geo/George-Armstrong-2021-SaddlePannier-Tank-class/i-f2BdM78/A

Jason

You mean a white circle, not a disc. Sometimes the circle was omitted.

Ian R

January 28

32151, Eastleigh Works pilot (ex LBSCR E1) the only member of the class known to have received BR lining, in 1949.

January 27

9 hours ago, Jeff Smith said:

I'm not sure where this element came from but P4 is tricky but do-able with outside valve gear!

OO wheels are too wide, the outside of P4 wheels are not much wider......

See The Johnster, 18th Jan.

January 26

It is a complete myth that British 00 gauge arose from the inability to fit motors into British outline H0 locos. This may have been true in the 1920s but, by the time the British scale was put into production by Hornby in the late 30s, motors could quite easily be made small enough to fit. No, the reason for choosing a larger scale for the bodies was to enable the fitting of outside valve gear. Hornby Dublo’s first two locos had no o/s valve gear but they were planning to introduce the ‘Duchess of Atholl’. H0 wheels measure 20.6 mm over the outside of the tyres. A typical width between cylinder centres of a British loco is 6’-8” which scales at 23.35 mm, which gives a width of 1.37 mm on each side to fit the valve gear. Three thicknesses of metal plus tolerance? It couldn’t be done, and still cannot. Continental locos with a wider loading gauge and lower platforms meant that model producers could ease the width over the cylinders to provide that space.

How often do you see a British outline H0 model with o/s valve gear? The only thing that is scale in H0 is the distance between the rails; everything else, for steam outline, is a compromise. This was certainly true of the Rivarossi Royal Scot.

British H0 is feasible for diesel or electric outline but not steam.

Ian R

January 25

Then there was this one - following a spurious article in one of the magazines. I did North British to go with it.

This is one of Mike Edge’s P2s -

I read with amazement how many locos some of you have. I have built about 50 but, apart from a handful of 4mm locos that rarely see light of day, I have only ten, in 7mm, but then I built eight of them and heavily modified the two others. Here’s another one I’m building now, well I started it over a year ago and took time off over Xmas to get the construction finished.

It’s an Ivatt Black 5, luckily not one that Ellis Clarke are doing, built from an old Javelin kit. Much head scratching and poring over Pipe & Rod drawings. The body here is in etch primer and the rods chemically blackened. The chassis is not quite complete in the photo as a pair of sand pipes needed rerouting. It is now in the paint shop after completion and testing.

Ian R

January 11

I remember, at spotting session at Crewe in the late fifties, seeing a calf in a sack being loaded into the brake van of a passenger train.

Ian R

January 6

On 04/01/2024 at 09:09, billbedford said:

That Crab would look better if the builder hadn't mixed up his wheel sets.

Whoops! Probably me.

Ian R

January 4

7 hours ago, Michael Edge said:

The LSW C14 has slide valves, outside admission is normal for these. The LMS Garratts definitely had backward leaning return cranks but the valve rod is pinned above the valve spindle rather than below.

Another engine that I forgot was Big Bertha which had outside admission hence ‘backward cranks’ and radius rods below the valve rods. It was also unique* in having four cylinders but only two valves.

*Unique until proved otherwise.

7 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Lovely stuff Ian,

Many thanks for showing us.

Just so I get this right, for inside admission the return crank leans forward at bottom dead centre, and backwards for outside admission?

Which means I'm right about the LMS Garratts having backward-leaning return cranks, but wrong about the Fowler 2-6-2Ts.

Regards

True - as far as I know.

Ian R

January 4

Replying to various points made since my last post, but possibly not in the same order.

In 7mm scale Slater’s make axles to suit 120deg crank angles. This V2, built by Richard Spoors, has AGH wheels set at 120 deg, and working inside motion. Unfortunately AGH wheels are no longer available.

I forgot about the C14 having outside admission gear, I painted one in 4mm that Mike Edge built no long ago! You can see the radius rod is below the valve rod.

As far as I know the Midland Compound is unique in that the outside (hp) cylinders are 90 deg apart while the inside (lp) is at 135 deg. This beautiful model was built by the late Graham Varley.

I cheated with my own Schools which also has 90/135 setting, but then, as Tony says…

Some railway companies preferred right hand lead while the remainder preferred left hand.

The Lord Nelsons had the outside cranks set at 90 deg to each other but the inside were at 45/135, giving 8 beats per rev. This made a very even pull on the fire but, as mentioned, not much difference to performance.

Ian R

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Posts posted by Ian Rathbone