Isambarduk

Better to use a (split) collet, as suggested. Working in 7mm scale with steel tyres, I have never had a problem with any of this. David

And that wonky buffer! ;-) David

I have exactly the same arrangement but, sadly, the collet holder is no longer available. It is (well, it was) really useful as the holder screws directly onto the nose of the Unimat 3 spindle, so there is very little overhang (unlike some other arrangements involving a backplate).

In this way, you have the inner face of the jaws to running true with the outer face of the scroll, which is probably better than nothing, but the approved way is to grind (turning is usually not possible with a quality chuck) the inner face of the jaws true, at a given diameter, with a disc of that diameter clamped at the back (inner) of the jaws; in this way, you are truing up the jaws on the inner face of the scroll, which is the face that you'll be using. A self-centring three-jaw chuck is only ever self-centring to a degree, it's never going to be self-centring at all diameters. It is intended to get hold of stock that you are going to machine all over at one setting, so there is no original outer surface remaining on the finished job. If you need a job to run true then use a i) collet, or ii) an indepenedt four-jaw, or iii) a Griptru three-jaw chuck. David

Flight of fancy David

I always use wire from an old transformer or coil, which is insultated with enamel and need be no thicker than the wire in the armature in the motor - ie not very thick at all! As it is a single strand, it is easy to straighten (one end in the vice, grab the other end with pliers and pull gently until it 'gives') and so it makes very tidy runs of wire to the pick-ups as well. It has always puzzled me that locos are often wired up with such stiff, heavy, plastic-insulated wires. David

I thought that everbody treated kits this way, but perhaps it's just me ;-) Some kits are a great aid, some kits less so and some kits are absolutely no aid at all! David

That may be the challenge, Tom. I cannot find any mention of the size of the wheels in the D&S instructions but, on an outline drawing for the 4 mm kit that came with the 7 mm instructions, there is a note "10.5 Ø disc" which would be 2' 7½" diameter but I suspect that was ' merely a suggestion' based on what was availble in 4 mm off-the-shelf at the time. Anyway, they were Mansell wheels and I made mine 2' 8" (18.7 mm) in diameter - turned steel tyres, plastic card centres with styrene inserts to represent the coach bolt heads. It was a very long time ago (probably 1985) but there may well be a suitable 7 mm scale offering available today. Let us know how you get on. David

Tom, I believe that the instructions state that the wheels were 2' 8" or 2' 10" in diameter (it was a long time ago!). I'll look them out tomorrow and confirm for you. David

Very interesting, Oliver. Any chance of some reasonable sized images; they're really teeny weeny and difficult to see? Cheers, David

Ha! From our past experience, I believe that Simon and I adopt the same philosphy: Treat every kit, even the best ones, as an aid to scratch-building, recognise that some kits are more of an aid than other and concede that some are just no aid at all! I think Simon did start with an aid, in this case. David Approved. Go for it!

I think you'll find that the Tower Models 7mm L&Y Pug is RTR. David

The thing is to use low tack masking tape that is designed for jobs such as ours, rather than using conventional masking tape, as used in the automotive trade, for example. I always use Tamiya 6mm wide masking tape and I've left it on for 'many' days without any problems. Humbrol Maskol, on the other hand, can be a bit 'recalcitrant' after a few days; it has to be removed in little pieces, rather than one great springy chunk. David

I see, oh well, nothing lost except some workshop time For what it's worth, my routine for painting a loco (that is not just all black) is: Prime and undercoat all over in grey Spray buffer beam(s) - red oxide followed immediately with the red Spray inside of the cab upper and roof - cream and/or white When dry (after a day or two), mask off buffer beam(s) and cream/white areas inside the cab Spray all the black areas When dry, mask off the black and spray the livery - undercoat (could be grey, red [oxide], brown, green, etc.) to achieve a uniform, dence colour Apply just a thin mist of the railway colour as a gloss top coat Remove all the masking - any blemishes are most likely in the black, which can be easily touched-up Go around all the red/black and the livery/black borders with a lining pen, loaded with black, to achieve crisp demarcations between the colours. When all is throughly dry, I proceed to apply the lining, if appropriate. GWR Saint David by way of an example It's just my way, but I hope it gives you some ideas and thoughts. David

I'm interested: if this is going to be 'the first round of paint', why have you started masking off already? David