sdmjsmith

I use this tool to help bend etched brass parts: I bought the tool online in Australia, but it says smallshop.com on the box and made in the US. I tried to source some bending bars but haven't found any locally. With pre-rolled boilers, I'm not sure the economics stack up. Would annealing help? Happy modelling! Matthew

Tony et al, I’ve just finished my third loco build! An LRM J6 representing 64219, the last example withdrawn from Colwick, in 1962. The only image I found of this loco was at New England in 58 fresh from the paintshop, so my weathering is based on various early 60s images of other J6s. I managed this one with only one extra set of coupling rods (John Redrup from LRM couldn’t have been more helpful with this), although the ‘sticking’ problem turned out to be a slightly out-of-whack frame alignment. Once I’d figured out the problem a bit of judicious hand twisting and checking against an engineer’s square seemed to sort it! With a Mashima 1420 motor and a High Level gearbox she starts to slip with 32 mineral wagons on my tight ‘test’ curves (~550mm radius). My assumption is that this is close to prototype, and it is certainly as good as anything my heavily weighted eight-coupled RTR engines can manage! With a curve tighter than 550mm the loco derails (hence, I have set myself a 600mm minimum as ‘acceptable’!) . Interestingly it is happier going forwards than backwards. I assume that this is something to do with the assymetrical wheelbase. Not that I intend to do so with this model, but what modifications would be needed to get around tighter curves? File back the axle bearings? Build a new model railway? One (other) thing I really struggle with is getting the smokebox wrappers to lie flush against the boiler tube. Despite my best efforts to bend the wrapper gently, I keep getting a kink in the wrapper at the point where there is a hole for the chimney. Does anyone have any tips to help prevent this? Next steps on my engine building journey are a new Comet chassis for a DJM J94 and an SEF J39 (if I can get hold of one!), then I’m going to take the plunge and try something with bogies, pony trucks and, gulp, outside valve gear! Happy modeling, Matthew

Here's a building I've been working on these past few months. It is my rendition of the water tower at Colwick in later years. Based on black and white photos of the real thing, I'm really not sure of the colours, although the brick was definately brick! From aerial photos I'm pretty sure it had acquired some sort of flat roof by the post war era and I've taken a bit of a punt as to what was actually up there! Topically, if it looks familiar that is because it is/was very similar to the tower at the Retford GN engine shed. Great Northern Railway Engine Sheds Vol.2 by Griffiths and Hooper is an excellent research source. Constructed to 4mm scale from polystyrene, sheathed with brick plasticard and, mostly, etched brass windows. Next on the to-do list is to finish the Old Shed and build the Erecting (!) Shed. Oh and I have a J6 somewhere that I really must start! Happy modelling. Matthew

In the spirit of showing others what we’ve been up to in “lockdown”, here is my latest completed project, a J69 from LRM. I opened the box for this kit about twelve months ago so it pre-dates coronavirus! It is my second loco kit and it has been quite a learning experience. Getting the chassis right has involved two sets of wheels and four sets of coupling rods! A very unprolific Aussie! Once I’d figured out that Romford wheels with non-threaded crank pins avoided the quartering and – most of – the reaming process, it finally went together nicely and runs smoothly! It models one of the last J69s at Colwick in 1960 with the weathering based on an image of 68626 taken at Grantham in 1958. I’m guessing the mess on the side of the tank on the prototype comes from a leak where the condensing apparatus was removed and blanked off. I’m hoping my next effort, a J6 from LRM, doesn’t take so long! Happy modeling Matthew

With the recent discussions regarding Robinson O4s, I thought I’d share my rendition of O4/7 63770 in the mid 60s, as it leaves the – modeling - paint shop this morning on its way to coaling, crewing and lamping(!). It is a Bill Bedford boiler and cab on a Bachmann O4 with a new reversing rod and Alan Gibson bogey wheels. I chose 63770 as it was one of the last examples at Colwick and I found an online colour image of it heading through Nottingham Victoria in July 64. I really need to do some more weathering on the model as I can still make out the emblem on the tender! Keep safe and keep modeling! Matthew

Clem, I figured it out! I used a pre-loved Bachmann B1 boiler and cab for the O4/8. Thanks so much for posting the picture. These O4s are like mongrel dogs - dirty and unkempt but really tough and hardworking. I luv 'em! Matthew

To try and get some focus into my modeling, I hope to build/bash an example of each loco class allocated to Colwick between 1st Jan 1960 and "the end". The list gives me loads of inside cylinder six-coupled loco kits to help improve my beginner’s loco building skills. I was surprised to see a whole stack of Robinson O4s on the list. As I plan to build three or four 0-6-0s before attempting anything with outside valve gear (i.e three or four years at the current rate!) I thought I'd try the RTR and bash route to tick a couple of those O4 boxes and add a bit of variety on my plank! Armed with the appropriate volume of Yeadon’s Register, I happily ripped the GW gubbins off two Bachman RODs and produced these: The loco crews have gone AWOL in the mail somewhere between the UK and Australia along with a snifter (?) valve! I’ll change the chimneys and domes once I’ve figured out what they should be and where to source them! As I’d managed to transpose the last two numbers of the locos when programming the decoders (I appear to have fallen on the digital side of the Great Divide!), I set about numbering the locos with two cards displaying the target numbers. I then had several attempts at applying the transfers straight, level and properly positioned (still not sure about the spacing). Only when finally leaning back to admire the finished work did I notice that I had, despite the cards, managed to apply a nine instead of a three for the second digit on both sides of each loco. What a plonker! It seems that the ability to laugh at yourself is a prerequisite for longevity in our great hobby! Matthew

Dear Tony, You are right(!), another Mr I’m afraid. And a Smith. I didn’t mean to be so anonymous. Having figured out how to post an image on RMWeb, I though I’d test your patience with another, before leaving you all to it and moving on to my next major project (J69). I’ve camouflaged my one and only RTR wagon, a Bachman brake van, as best I can and hidden it amongst my, very much bashed, Dapol kits. Guesses? I know from this thread the importance of lamps, so I apologise for these and want you to know that LMS – no not that one – lamps are on the way, but Lanarkshire is a long way from Brisbane! Regards Matthew

Tony and all other contributors to this excellent thread, Some two years ago, suddenly finding myself with a lot of free time, I stuck my toe back into the murkey waters of Railway Modelling after a hiatus of over 40 years. Boy has it changed! I want to model the scenes I remember as a teenager and to that end I knew I needed to develop my scratchbuilding and kit bashing skills. I started on buildings and moved onto rolling stock. Very early on I purchased a Bachmann brake van so that I could see the standard I would attempt to achieve. To test things I also bought a DJM J94 and a Hornby J50. I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I could build a locomotive. And then I found this thread! Inspired, in May, I took the plunge. Today, after loads of cursing, tears, joy, dollars, burnt fingers etc, etc. I ran my first loco around a small test circuit pulling and propelling a rake of 10 wagons (410grams no less)! Miraculously, she seems to do so just as well as the bought ones! It has many shortcomings - no brakes (too concerned about shorts), no wash stripes (need to figure out how to do these without making an unholy mess), and no connecting rods (don't put a cutting broach in a power tool!). But I built it! And so to the point of my - first ever - comment on this thread. Interestingly, in the building process, I have completely lost the sense of reverence I had for my RTR locos. I knew I would need to renumber them, but when I started looking at photos I realised I either needed a new J94 with an extended bunker, or I would need to apply my newly acquired skills. Since the latter is far more rewarding and satisfying, I've done just that.