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Captain Kernow

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Everything posted by Captain Kernow

  1. Fruit cake is always best when free...

    1. Show previous comments  3 more
    2. Phil Copleston

      Phil Copleston

      Too late... seems the Pirates already ate the lot!

    3. Indomitable026

      Indomitable026

      I'm a fruit cake, but don't come free

    4. Captain Kernow

      Captain Kernow

      The best cake in life is free, and you can give it to the birds and bees...

  2. I've seen most of Chubber's photos before, but on individual threads over a period of time, to have them all together like that is just fantastic, and I'd also love to see more, angles and corners of them that perhaps haven't been seen yet... also, given that this is card and brickpaper (ScaleScenes, Doug, isn't it?), the weathering on the papers is just superb and inspirational, and any kind of further information on what paints/inks etc. you've used would be incredibly useful just now...!
  3. I think I need to do some modelling, to get away from the stresses of decorating...

  4. Seven ounces of tripe

    1. Show previous comments  3 more
    2. Captain Kernow

      Captain Kernow

      I've no doubt that Jamie knows his onions...

    3. Mallard60022
    4. RJL

      RJL

      Is that the next title in the Fifty shades of grey series ???

  5. The plumbing in the gents has just made an alarming noise like a trapped animal!

    1. Show previous comments  8 more
    2. Mallard60022

      Mallard60022

      I've just realised ......"the plumbing in the 'gents'". Were there a crowd of them then?

    3. Captain Kernow

      Captain Kernow

      Yes, my dear Mr Duck - lots of gentlemen in lots of male lavatories...

    4. Mallard60022

      Mallard60022

      Yo ho ho etc.....

  6. I'm finding the decorating a great way to relax from the stresses of modelling...

    1. Show previous comments  1 more
    2. Phil Copleston

      Phil Copleston

      Or combine the two by watching "Paint Your Wagon"... it's also a cowboy job! ;-)

    3. 46444

      46444

      Make sure you get the weathered finish right on the skirting boards ;)

    4. Jon020

      Jon020

      Well done Tim; a good way to boost the brownie point score ;-)

  7. And... a tub of lard

    1. Show previous comments  2 more
    2. Indomitable026

      Indomitable026

      Now you are spoiling yourself - literally!

    3. Tim V

      Tim V

      Not good on squeaky gears, better use ordinary grease...

    4. Sidecar Racer

      Sidecar Racer

      Well I wont be trying your sandwich's tomorrow .

  8. A large, stodgy pie

    1. Show previous comments  2 more
    2. Indomitable026

      Indomitable026

      Every night's a treat!

    3. Jim49

      Jim49

      Was that thunder or just fallout from your stodgy pie?

    4. Phil Copleston

      Phil Copleston

      How very dare you... my flabby pasty! :P

  9. A pound of tripe

    1. Show previous comments  1 more
    2. Indomitable026

      Indomitable026

      there's more than a pounds worth of tripe on my thread at the minute!

    3. Stubby47

      Stubby47

      Stop wittering on about having the flu, then !

    4. Mallard60022

      Mallard60022

      ....as you state is usually the contents of an MPs skull....

  10. Half a pound of sausages

    1. Show previous comments  3 more
    2. beast66606

      beast66606

      Half a pound of treacle - oops wrong rhyme

    3. gwrrob

      gwrrob

      Having a barbie CK .

    4. Phil Copleston

      Phil Copleston

      Hmmm... watch out for crocodiles

  11. Oh but Monsieur, you flatter me! Sorry, been busy with 'family type duties'... I've only ever used the Churchward/Modelex window frames. If Chris has got the dimensions of the prototype, this might end up being a bespoke etching job for one of the smaller manufacturers, such as RT Models or Narrow Planet, to a commission?
  12. Quorn bolognaise

    1. Show previous comments  4 more
    2. Captain Kernow

      Captain Kernow

      Certainly half a pound of them then...!

    3. Adams442T

      Adams442T

      That's so wrong in so many ways I just don't know where to start!

    4. Phil Copleston

      Phil Copleston

      Ahhh... in other words, a 'faux meat mycoprotein' in a rag

  13. I agree with Mike re dismantling the loco body, Al, but I can't see much wrong with it from the photo. I'd ask myself whether the time and money spent re-furbishing this loco will result in a commensurate increase in the looks and running qualities of the loco, and consequently, a commensurate increase in the pleasure you derive from it. Otherwise, I'd be tempted to do what I've done from time to time and say 'it is what it is. It's not too bad as it is and I'd like to progress with other projects now....' Of course, I think we can all guarantee that if you spend time dismantling or doing anything to either of these lovely locos, then Bachmann or someone will bring out a RTR one....!
  14. When I saw someone else bring their model of the Heljan Class 128 into DRAG one evening (still in OO), knew that I was going to have to concoct a plausible excuse to run one in the Bristol area, so that 'Callow Lane' might see one of these beauties in due course. I did manage to pull together some reasonably convincing lies historical accounts as to why one might have been running to and through Callow Lane, but I'm blowed if I can remember what they are at the moment.... Anyway, I duly obtained one of these beasties (which weigh in at a cool 634 grams!), got it home, took it out of the box and admired it. I even posed it on Callow Lane in OO mode and took a couple of snaps. I then put it away and got busy with other stuff, mostly work and the planning for the Scalefour Society AGM at Holcombe on 22nd June last. Anyway, back to the plot... I managed to get some time this weekend to have a look at the prospects for conversion. I had already established that I had four axles of Branchlines 'Black Beetle' 12mm turned nickel silver wheels, which would fit the Class 128. One question was whether there would be sufficient room between the bogie frames for P4 wheel sets... As it turned out, there wasn't quite enough room for P4 wheels to rotate freely. This being Heljan, the bogie side frames do come off fairly easily, and bearing this in mind, the solution (with hindsight), would have been to simply washer out the frames by no more than 0.5mm each side, possibly even less. Of course, I adopted a more Heath Robinson-ish and time-consuming solution, because I only thought about the washering idea after I had finished the conversion... Taking each bogie in turn, the keeper plate comes off fairly easily by prising at least 3 or the 4 retaining clips (there are two on each side of each bogie): So, this is what it looks like without the keeper plate in place (warning - lots of lubricating grease!!): All axles are driven, in common with other Heljan locos. Each axle comes out easily. Due to the fact that no one has yet (to my knowledge) produced 'drop-in' conversion packs for this unit, the Heljan drive worms would need to be recovered from the OO axles and re-used with the Branchlines wheels. First of all, the wheels are removed from the OO axles (I used my NorthWest Short Lines wheel press) - a wheel press/puller of some kind will make this job easier. The drive worm is then removed from the OO axle, also with the wheel press (they are a very tight fit, as you would expect): Next , get the Branchlines 12mm P4 wheels ready: I do have some stub axles in P4 (Ultrascale ones ) somewhere, but I just couldn't find them. Clearly the pin-points would have to be removed if using these axles, which was just as well, given the treatment that was meted out on them by the wheel puller... Once the remains of the pin point axles had been cut off in a vice and the ends cleaned up and slightly chamfered, you are left with this: The short section of brass tube in the above photo (it is 8.25mm in length) is to help fit the Heljan final drive worm onto the replacement Branchlines axle, more of that anon. First of all the final drive worm is introduced to the Branchlines P4 axle (the photo shows a GW Models wheel press being used): Using the hardened steel plate from the NorthWest Short Lines press, the purpose of the brass tube now becomes clear, as it acts as a jig to ensure that the tightly-fitting nylon Heljan worm goes exactly in the middle of the P4 axle: Completed P4 wheel set, ready to be fitted back onto the bogie: However, before you can put the P4 wheels back in, there is the matter of the inner faces of the bogie side-frames to consider. The Heljan brake blocks also need to have some plastic taken off the inner rear faces, to avoid a potential contact with the P4 flanges. Given that the additional clearance needed is certainly no more than 0.75mm to 1.0mm, the easiest solution would be to washer-out the side frames, and thus provide the additional clearance. Of course, I didn't think of that at the time, so I filed lots of plastic off the inner bogie side frames... Eventually, you get a more or less completed P4 bogie: The completed conversion poses on Callow Lane, where I'm happy to say that it runs (in P4 mode) as smoothly as it did in OO mode... My main concern with this unit was whether it would fit in the tight confines of the goods shed, bearing in mind that the rail doorways are rather narrow. Well, the Class 128 does fit (both ways round tested!), but it is very, very tight...! After that, having established that it ran OK on all parts of the layout, I took a few more photos: So, this isn't a fancy, sprung or compensated solution, but the sheer weight of these models will ensure that this keeps on the track, hopefully all of the time! I've yet to weather it, of course, and the next job is to fit screw couplings and make a bespoke box for it, but I'm happy with the outcome. It is so heavy that it makes a satisfying noise as it runs over the rail joints!
  15. Agree re backscene, for a photo-stitched together-clever thingy, it would need to be as good as Chris Nevard's work and that of a few others, such as BCB etc. Otherwise (and I'm in this latter camp, personally, because I'm not convinced I've got the skills to pull it off myself for 'Callow Lane') I'd be tempted to play it safe and go for something a bit more basic, (suggestions of distant landscape in discreet watercolours, that kind of thing), that would draw the viewers eye to the layout itself? Just a thought.
  16. Class 128 finally converted to P4. Blog post to follow in a day or so...

    1. darren01

      darren01

      Sounds like the ride on the Barnstaple line will be better then under p4 wheels?.

       

    2. Captain Kernow

      Captain Kernow

      Not sure about it getting to Barnstaple, Darren, but I've hatched a plausible set of excuses for one finding itself in the Bristol area...!

  17. Ah yes, quite right. Let's hope Gary from 247 is able to cover that aspect as well (I have a 72XX sitting in a box...)
  18. I'd have thought some rear cab doors would be fairly straightforward with some 10 thou plasticard, if one didn't want to use brass? Nice result there, Al, really looks the part!
  19. Just going back to the red brick underbridge comments from earlier in the thread (been away for a couple of days on a Captain's Visit to GWR and MR country...), and one possible justification for a brick bridge in this part of South Devon could be this - when the line was originally built, it was as a broad gauge single line. As such, the underbridges (along with most other structures) would have been built in the local stone. When it was doubled (standard gauge), the 'extension' to the existing underbridges could have been done in brick....? Just a thought...
  20. Engine Wood - yard office: (Photo taken by Chris Nevard for Hornby Magazine) Callow Lane - er... yard office...! (might get moved somewhere else on layout):
  21. Rob - the Ratio brick built hut is fairly generic, but a lovely little model. I've certainly seen evidence of very similar structures on both the Somerset & Dorset and the Midland Railway , so I wouldn't hesitate about putting one at Brent! Come to think of it, there are two at Brent already...
  22. Then get a driver with short legs, but just get one!!!
  23. They're mostly the hamlet of Aish across the valley from me. The railway runs along the bottom of the photos (which I will admit I cropped, to remove the bungalows immediatley opposite our house!). Aish is also where the facing and trailing emergency crossovers are (following the removal of the GF-operated trailing crossover at Brent in 1988).
  24. Well, it is a kind of Wild West theme, isn't it?! This is one of the most informative and educational threads around, as well as being one of the most entertaining, chaps! Do please keep it all coming! I'm finding the techniques described for water and also the use of the dyes especially interesting!
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