Will's 1990ish Projects

[43179]

On 25/08/2020 at 22:11, dj_crisp said:

 

 

Hi Will,

Your little spacing washers are pretty much where the brake discs are on the real things .. can you get those washers with a larger O/D by any chance? Just a thought  

It's a shame Bachmann didn't choose to model the inboard  discs themselves -  They did so on the MPV and it looked rather nice. 

 

BTW The resin class 50 grilles mentioned earlier were made by me - many many years ago - I still have a mould left - although its been stored in a very hot loft for years it may have changed shape - I'd have to do a test cast to see if its still useable if anyone would like some more... 

 

Jon 

[dj_crisp]

8 hours ago, 43179 said:

Aaaah brilliant! I've been waiting to see how this looked with the new wheels fitted.  They give it just the right 'stance', that's quite distinctive on the real locos,

Given the rest of of the Hornby 67 is great,  the  weird steamroller wheels they chose to fit  always stood out like a sore thumb, and it always bugged me that the brake discs weren't really done properly when they're so visible on the real things. 

That 'Skip' will look lovely with the Bristol - Penzance TPO behind it  !

Jon 

 

 

Cheers Jon

Much appreciated and I've got a few parcels for this to haul too   also am thining of resurecting my PCV project too

 

Any interesting projects keeping you busy these days?

 

Will

[dj_crisp]

On 25/09/2021 at 13:02, 43179 said:

Hi Will,

Your little spacing washers are pretty much where the brake discs are on the real things .. can you get those washers with a larger O/D by any chance? Just a thought  

It's a shame Bachmann didn't choose to model the inboard  discs themselves -  They did so on the MPV and it looked rather nice. 

 

BTW The resin class 50 grilles mentioned earlier were made by me - many many years ago - I still have a mould left - although its been stored in a very hot loft for years it may have changed shape - I'd have to do a test cast to see if its still useable if anyone would like some more... 

 

Jon 

 

I'll have a look around to see if there are any larger washers around but these are just standard M2 cheapo metal ones from Ebay.

 

If your 50 grille mould can still produce grilles I'll certainly be interested... as you know I have a few 50 projects to do

 

Cheers

Will

[lyneux]

Hi Will,

 

PM me, I have made cast copies of the Lima grilles if it helps. I cast a load of them earlier this year. They are a drop-in replacement for the Hornby ones.

 

Sorry to hear about your mountain bike accident. That sounds rather unfortunate. Did the forks fail?

 

Guy 

Edited September 28, 2021 by lyneux

[dj_crisp]

In case it helps I've cured two of my hatton's sheds lighting problems.

 

My GBRf example had one end where the markers that were really faint/blank. This turned out to be a crazed/fractured light guide;

 

 

 

 

 

Thankfully as i bought it new from Hattons they were able to send me a replacement light guide which is now happily fitted into the loco.

 

 

Also fitted is an excellent illuminated models replacement board and lokpilot v5 so I now have all 10 functions wired up ( the red is a nicer red in reality.... my camera phone hasn't brought the red out well.

 

 

 

I also found the more traditional lights on my EWS example were very dim too and didn't balance with the top marker light. So i went for a very low tech solution and opened out the slots in the LED board covering with a small drill bit.

 

 

To my eye they seem a bit more balanced now and I'm quite pleased with my low tech solution!

 

Hope this helps

Will

 

[ess1uk]

Nice work 

[dj_crisp]

While I pluck up the courage to wire up the 67 (and I hear a great rumour Brian has doen laserglaze for it) I've been playing with a pair of Dapol 122 bubbles and a Bachmann chassis

 

My two victims are a regional railways example which I picked up cheap because the exhausts were broken and a blue grey example which has a bad case of crying eyes.

 

This was resolved by sanding down each bottom right corner of the front windows and I'll respray the front yellow. I've also thinned the front windows which i think has a bit more finesse and looks a bit closer to to real thing. Also show in the picture is the amount of interior I've removed to fit the Bachmann chassis.

 

 

 

With a very small trim around the top of the Bachmann initerior it kinda fits.... and with a spot of pva type light glue i don't think will come off.

 

One thing Dapol I like about Dapol's bubbles is the roof welds - however i think they're too prominent so i sanded them down and while there glued some MJT vents in.... (I think 121s and 122s have different styles ??)

 

 

So next up is the complicated task of bending the exhausts.... 122100 has straight ones which seem a little different to the norm but here's my attempt;

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've tried to include the welds by a blob of solder and need to improve the bend with a little filler. As I've used 0.8mm tube it bends easily so will get the mini drill and trim a 1mm or so off the top for a nice clean cut. Hopefully it'll look ok when painted.

 

Anyhow a mock up of the final view;

 

 

Lots more to do!

 

Happy Modelling all!

 

 

[dj_crisp]

I've got some yellow on the bubbles...

 

 

Both are painted with precision paints after being primed with halfords white rattle cans... the lighter shade is pre84 and the RR example is post 84. Quite a difference in colour!

 

 

I'm much happier with this share of yellow Vs the lemon yellow Dapol offering. For the period I'm modelling 55000 had just one windscreen wiper each end and I thought Id have a go at filling in the holes. On the other end i tried to keep the excellent data panels... not sure thats a total success so next time I'll just remove and respray the lot.

 

So today I've just painted the black surrounds and then it's on to the roof... just need to work out what colour it should be.

 

I have plans for a late 70s/early 80s period for the layout so while I'm not sure w55002 is strictly suitable for the south west having a w sounds a bit western

This is one of the teardrop specials which is probably why I got it cheaply as a body only. Have sanded this off, primed and then sanded and primed again. Not perfect but hopefully a bit better. 

 

Then I've glued the roof on which on this one as it was a sloppy fit. Head on one end is slightly off centre due to the connecting tabs which of course I only noticed after gluing! TBH it's not really noticeable so will live with that.

 

Anyhow what really has taken time and been a right pain is converting three Bachmann 121 chassis to EM. It should be a very easy conversion but having fitted my usual black beetle wheels the units have a right waggle on.  I know the real ones bounce around so I was tempted to keep but it was really bugging me. As they ran fine in OO I gave up on the black beetles and got the files out on the originals;

 

 

Having turned them down they look OK and more importantly seem to work on my test track. I think its due to the wheels being flat tyred that you don't notice the sloppy Bachmann mechanism which is why they work so well in OO. On close inspection it looks like the bogie allows alot of side play which I'm not overly impressed with. I also added some weight above the bogie which seems to help so might keep that in permanently.

 

Next up is working out what colour the roofs should be, then adding transfers to 55000 and varnishing. I wish shawplan did some laser glaze for these.... might have a go at doing the fronts as ive thinned them but can face hand cutting the sides!

 

Cheers for reading

Will

[dj_crisp]

To pass time while the stormy weather passes through I've been finishing off my Hattons Sheds. First up is a green one... which is inspired by a rather lovely photo of 66621 I found on flickr;

 

 

And an intpretation by me (which has also been influenced by another more heavily weathered example);

 

 

I admit my photography on my phone isn't great but hopefully the quick snaps show what i tried to achieve. I also normally take photos outside so tried an indoor warm shot.... which tbh is too warm as the front isn't that orange.... honest! I might do ok as an evening sun shot

 

 

 

Hattons helpfully supply roof etches that aren't stuck down so with no effort i removed the roof one and painted inside. I'm sure the roof opening should be deeper but by painting and weathering it I'm aiming suggest something is going on.

 

 

A general shot showing one cleanish end and one splattered.... could be cement... stone.... or china clay

 

 

 

To start with weathering is just plain old railmatch underframe dirt sprayed on with fuel spillage being a thinned gloss varnish with a smidge of black. I try to do a very thin splodge first and let it spread a bit like what happens in real life i suppose. Then with a thicker amount of the gloos mix add to the centre to represent recent spills.  The fun bit is done with painting lifecolor arylics which I'm slowly getting the hang of.... lots and lots of thin washes here and there. I seem to have a better effect if I wet everthing first them apply washes on top.... you get some intresting highlighting effects. Then finally some drybrushing.... below is the clean end;

 

(I'm going to change my indoor light setup for next time!)

 

 

Anyway I hope you've all got through the storm ok !

 

[dj_crisp]

Red Shed done!

 

 

I quite enjoyed adding the oil stains to this one..

 

 

 

Hopefully the very subtle highlighting brings out the detail

 

 

There also always seems to be interesting roof weathering on these machines!

 

 

 

[dj_crisp]

 

My bubble project is progressing nicely even though it's a bit slow!

 

 

I've added DRD transfers, spray painted the roof then weathered via brush painted and tried to get a clean look on the body.

 

Can't resist a Dapol Vs Precision Warning Panel comparison;

 

 

 

 

And while I was sloshing on roof dirt with a brush I couldn't resist doing the same to a Bachmann 121.

 

 

 

Looks a bit nicer than the original and I've gone for a clean in service look... although the front looks a bit clean.

 

 

I think a common problem with most DMUs is the front windows look a bit thick... so out came the files to thin the windows.... it's just filed at an angle but hopefully tricks the viewer that the front is thinner than it actually is. I now need to find or make better front glazing for this one.

 

Happy modelling all!

Will

 

 

[billywhizz]

Hi Will. 
the weathering on the red shed looks superb. The roof in particular around the exhaust silencer and soot marks look really effective. 

Edited March 9, 2022 by billywhizz
Typo

[dj_crisp]

11 hours ago, billywhizz said:

Hi Will. 
the weathering on the red shed looks superb. The roof in particular around the exhaust silencer and soot marks look really effective. 

 

Very kind comments. Thanks!

 

I try to get the roofs looking as best as I can as it's mostly on display on the layout.  I just sprayed a bit of railmatch enamels rust on the silencer, then blasted the overall roof with railmatch roof dirt. Before it dried I got out a cotton bud to clean the side of the roof a bit... and then used an old brush to create streak marks. And lastly did the silencer so there is a bit of overspray on the clean bits. Then when alls dry touched up with washes of acrylics with a brush.  All good fun.

[dj_crisp]

I'm not sure if my photos will come back on this thread - I've held up posting anything to see what'll happen. Perhaps I should start a blog somewhere and try and have a few finished projects up there.... we shall see.

 

Anyhow finished my last sheds namely 66727 & 66404 (well until we have some laserglaze).....

 

 

I can't think of my reasons why 66727 will make it down to the soutwest other than perhaps empty stock moves but I quite like the livery and it's different to the others with a shorter undergubbins;

 

 

 

 

 

And finally a clean 66404

 

 

 

 

 

And in case my photos don't come back a couple of the other two;

 

 

 

 

 

Thats it!

 

Sheds.... DONE!

 

 

 

Happy Modelling all

Will

 

[James Makin]

Gorgeous stuff Will! I love the Freightliner one as well! 

[Scott]

Are the 66's above the Hattons model or Bachmann? Just wondering as I see they have kadee couplings.

[dj_crisp]

1 hour ago, Scott said:

Are the 66's above the Hattons model or Bachmann? Just wondering as I see they have kadee couplings.

 

They're all Hattons versions. The kadees are my own mod to allow a full deflector and front bufferbeam detail to be used at both ends.

 

I did similar with my now sold Bachmann versions.

 

Cheers

Will

[Scott]

41 minutes ago, dj_crisp said:

 

They're all Hattons versions. The kadees are my own mod to allow a full deflector and front bufferbeam detail to be used at both ends.

 

I did similar with my now sold Bachmann versions.

 

Cheers

Will

Ah right, yeah I'm looking at how I can add them to my own Bachmann 66's with the deflector and detail in place.

[dj_crisp]

9 minutes ago, Scott said:

Ah right, yeah I'm looking at how I can add them to my own Bachmann 66's with the deflector and detail in place.

 

Cool

 

If it helps this is my attempt on the hattons model. Drilled a hole through the chassis black and used a 10ba nut and bolt to attached the kadee. The made kadee sized holes in the full deflector. 

 

I'm sure I did something similar with my Bachmann one

 

 

[dj_crisp]

Earlier in the thread I started hacking a pair of Dapol 122s to fit onto a Bachmann 121 chassis which perhaps sounds a bit mad seeing as the Dapol offering isn't that bad. However it looks a pig to convert to EM (or P4), the chassis is less refined and nearly every one I had needed repairing. As I've also gone for Bachmann's 117s and 121s it's quite nice keeping a standard chassis for the lot.... (and I may be having a go at doing some 116 DMBS and possibly a 118 all based off the Bachmann 117.... just need to sort out what the differences needed are to be modelled!)

 

Anyhow first off the workbench is W55002

 

Personally I think Dapol has captured the fronts really well which has the centre window being slightly bigger than the other two;

 

 

As i probably mentioned earlier on (haven't bothered to check) the roof needed a bit of rework involving reducing the ribs(welds) and adding new ventilators which I think improves the appearance. I also thinned the front windows and did homemade laserglaze which I think improves the face of the model no end! Also replaced were the windscreen wipers. I'm quite pleased with the destination blinds - they're a printed destination sandwiched between two bits of clear plastic and then illuminated behind by modifying the circuit board as demontrated in the next two shots

 

 

 

Being an idiot I broke one of the exhausts but thankfully these are available as spares. The tops have been opened out to suggest its a tube.

 

Weathering is suitable but hasn't come out that well in my dodgy camerphone shots. I think I'll dig out my bridge camera and try and capture some better ones.

 

122100 is at the glazing stage and I'm being lazy in hoping some proper laserglaze will come along.... but I'll probably end up having a go soon.

 

Will

 

[dj_crisp]

Hmmm what to do with a nice and shiny Bachmann DMU and a Dapol 122 bodyshell... 🤔

 

Hack it about a bit!

 

 

 

I've just embarked on my 118 project which I'm hoping is going to be on the lighter end of projects.... We shall see. Anyhow I've been thinking about how to do the curved headcode box and a Dapol 121 is on standby incase this all goes wrong.....! As I happen to have a Dapol 122 body for another project not yet launched I thought I'd use sections of the roof to get the right curve and see if I can make a passable attempt... before and after;

 

 

 

It's a faily complex shape and my attempt is certainly not perfect but hopefully will look ok under primer. As the 117 shell is a refurbished example it means I have limited choices of 118s to go at.... but the one I've found didn't have many vents left after refurb so out came the snippers. I really tried to pop the out the vents but Bachmann have used so excellent glue and i could shift them. A shame really.

 

 

No doubt priming will show up faults so this'll will probably have some more filler. On that topic I've been using Humbrol filler and noticed it seems to have a tendency to melt Bachmanns plastic! 

 

I'm also trying to have a go at doing a 121 DTS from a DMS body. So far I've removed the gangway and engine filler cap thing...

 

 

All primed in white and ready for paint.... but the ends needed more filler!

 

 

If anyone has colour matched Bachmanns BR Blue I'll be very interested in knowing what you used! So far I've ruled out Precision P152 (post 85 blue dull) and the closest i have is railmatches version which isn't spot on. So may try some more colours before diving in..... I guess you can't have enough BR blue paint!

 

Also in the photo is a Lima 101 which has had some excellent shawplan frames added - I'm going to use these on all of my 101s (including Bachmann versions)

 

As my knowledge of DMUs is fairly light but is growing please shout if there is anything obviously wrong!

 

Cheers

Will

 

 

 

[NickL2008]

Lovely work here Will, Bachmanns 117 is a good starting point but IMO let down but those flimsy speedo cables. Tempted to do a 115 myself, theyre spares department which seems ot be addign spares regularly is really opening up possibilitys without the need to buy a complete model or hope a spare vehicle turns up on Ebay!

 

NL

[D400]

12 hours ago, dj_crisp said:

f anyone has colour matched Bachmanns BR Blue I'll be very interested in knowing what you used! So far I've ruled out Precision P152 (post 85 blue dull) and the closest i have is railmatches version which isn't spot on. So may try some more colours before diving in..... I guess you can't have enough BR blue paint!

 

I've found Lifecolour's BR Blue to be a pretty good match for the Bachmann shade. Hope that helps! 

 

Bruce 

[dj_crisp]

13 hours ago, NickL2008 said:

Lovely work here Will, Bachmanns 117 is a good starting point but IMO let down but those flimsy speedo cables. Tempted to do a 115 myself, theyre spares department which seems ot be addign spares regularly is really opening up possibilitys without the need to buy a complete model or hope a spare vehicle turns up on Ebay!

 

NL

 

Thanks! These bodies all came from their spares department which is why i felt a bit more confident in hacking them - they've been really helpful and sorted me out with quite a few bits (especially 101 stuff)! I've contacted them directly for my bits and pieces as they haven't catalogued everything yet so quite a few bits aren't yet listed. I'm also experimenting using a new Bachmann 158 motor/bogie in a 150 so as to be able to have an interior rather than a massive block.... again sourced from them. I admit to snapping a few speedo cables too.... now the first thing i do is to unhook them until the model is finished! (It seems a popular problem as I was only allowed to order one set per order as Bachmann need them!)

 

As one of my project 117s is a 2 car so I have a spare centre car going which is going some way to the DTS. All this inspiration has come from finding a copy of Brian Goldings BR DMUs book - it's great for bodies but has less info on underframes so I'm sure I'll miss subtle differences. After doing the 122 I really like Dapol's effort and like their cab roof profile - which is handy as it can be seperated from the body. I have plans for a NSE 116 DMBS so have been trying to find differences between the 116 and 117....seems the only annoying difference is the 116 didn't get the air vent grille thing on refurb. Otherwise it looks straightforward chop a bit of roof off, remove a few front handrails and alter the guards handrails.

 

Interestingly yesterday i just discovered kier hardy has done a 125 using Bachmann parts and a Dapol 122.... so the roof idea should work and the body can be used for the extra windows. It looks great and I do like the idea of a few cut and shut projects! I'm sure a 115 projected would be fun!

 

 

 

 

[dj_crisp]

11 hours ago, D400 said:

 

I've found Lifecolour's BR Blue to be a pretty good match for the Bachmann shade. Hope that helps! 

 

Bruce 

 

Hi Bruce 

 

Thats good to know! Thanks! I've just ordered some rainbow railways blue and also some precision early BR blue as i realised I have later BR Blue (i didn't know there was a difference! I just thought they started off blue and then faded LOLs). Will see which is best! If they fail or i can't mix up a combo to match I shall try Lifecolors attempt,

 

cheers

Will