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Building kits for Tyneside in the BR era.


rowanj
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1 hour ago, rowanj said:

During the first lockdown I got a few kits to keep me going, including this industrial from High Level Models. I've just got round to starting it.  As expected, the quality and fit of the etches is excellent, and there are a LOT of small detail parts to test my soldering and vocabulary. The kit includes a gearbox, but needs wheels and motor as usual with etched kits. Chris recommends a Markits set, but I already have 14mm Scalelink wheels, so I'll use these unless they cause a problem later on.

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No real issues so far - the basic chassis/spacers fitted well. The chassis can be built rigid or compensated, and spacers are provided for all the usual gauges - mine is bog-standard OO. This is the current state, with the representation of the inside cylinders fitted,

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I have this kit in my 'loft insulation'.
I shall watch this build with interest.
Regards,
Chris.

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  • rowanj changed the title to Building BR ex-LNER from kits.

I can't see why you would have a problem  with this kit, Chris,- certainly, so far so good.

 

The core chassis is going ok. The instructions are very comprehensive, and much of the kit is designed to be assembled in stages which then  "clip" together and can be separated later. The brake gear is one such part, and, though I'll see how it goes, my instinct is to fit them permanently. The cylinders slot in, and are fixed by screws, rather than soldered. 

The coupling rods are designed to be bushed. As I am using standard Romford crankpins, I was a a bit concerned that the rods would be too sloppy, but luckily all seems ok, at least for now. 

I like to start the body at this stage, There are a couple of f0ld-ups on the footplate, include a small one on the RH side where the reversing rod attaches. Don't do what I did and break it off, so it falls on the floor and gets lost. I'll need to fabricate a replacement piece when it comes to fitting the rod. the cab is, at this point, just held to the footplate by the several tabs, but it illustrate the excellence of the fit of the etches.

 

 

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A bit more progress. This isnt a kit to hurry, though (so far) is good fun to build.

 

The basic cab, with most of the interior fittings, is now complete. Most of what is left fits on the whitemetal backhead, Other than cab doors, some/or most of these smaller items will be fixed with superglue outside the cab, then the backhead glued in place. I can hear the screams of horror already.

 

This is my first saddle tank kit, so I don't know if the boiler assembly is typical. The 3 basic parts are illustrated. The frame needs careful bending, bit pips on the etch ensure the final result is square. The skin needs rolling - I used a plastic marker pen on a phone book - and there are 2 strips at each bottom edge which fold through 90^. Chris suggests annealing this part, but I found it rolled OK by hand. The photo shows how it sits on the footplate once the saddle etch is fitted below the smokebox. There is a fair bit of detail to fit below the boiler, and I think at least some, if not all, will be best done before soldering the assembly to the cab and footplate.

 

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Edited by rowanj
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The boiler sits in the chassis, to allow a decent sized motor to sit inside it. The firebox front acts as the rear fixing point, and an etch at the front slots into the cylinder block. The boiler front slots into this piece and is designed to be removable.  Again, with reasonable care, I managed to roll the boiler mainly with minger pressure. The saddle is soldered up now, but not yet fitted to the footplate. I see it has come loose, but you can tell that the kit design produces a neat solution to the saddle/boiler relationship.

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1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Are you painting this one "primula" Yellow as per "Stagshaw" at Shotton Colliery?

 

Baz

When I last saw Stagshaw at Tanfield, she was painted a pleasant dark navy blue.
Chris.

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Not yellow, Baz.  I think it looks ghastly in that colour. Blue is an option Chris, as many of the Backworth stock were in this livery. Ideally the loco will be one which worked in the Northumberland, or Durham at a pinch, coalfield. Problem is, I havent found a suitable photo of a prototype. I still have a fair bit to do before getting to the paintshop stage., having just singed my fingers soldering the small steps to the saddle.

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4 hours ago, Barry O said:

I haven't bought this kit yet as her indoors wants it be in primula livery...

 

Bas

If you want one Baz, I have one in my loft insulation if you want to purchase it.
All the Best,
Chris.

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As a break from kit-building, I bought the Oxford Rail J27. I thinks it is excellent, a great runner and superb value for money, with just enough "errors" to keep the purists happy. My only "gripe" was the pristine look, not at all what I remember from spotting days. I was distinctly nervous about potential ruination of the loco, but decided to have a go.

 

So I tackled the RTR J27, having practiced on a couple of wagons, then a J27 kit. There are certainly photos of really badly worn J27's but more usually, they are in work-stained appearance. Though I doubt they were ever cleaned, they seemed to more smoke-grimed/coal -dusted. so that is what I aimed for. I really like the Oxford Rail model, but Having seen so many of these locos in the flesh, the ex-works look was just too much, especially with the cream, gleaming cab-interior. Therefore, biting of bullets was necessary.

 

i used Tamiya weathering packs, with a moist brush . At the moment, there is no additional fixing, until I'm sure I'm happy, and this allows me to remove most of the weathering powder if needed. I'm pretty hopeless at painting, so was quite nervous, but have to say I'm not too displeased with how it turned out. You get no coal with the model- only a smattering in the bottom of the tender-, so I took the opportunity to use real coal, "nicked" from the SLS 30 Yr Anniversary Open Weekend when 65854 visited from the NYMR. 

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A bit more work on the RSH 14 inch 0-6-0 has taken place. The saddle is now almost complete, most of the cab details are in place and the injector and pipework fixed on the RH side. I'll do the other one, then concentrate on finishing the chassis, as what is left to do on the body is pretty standard stuff. Famous last words?

 

This is a lovely kit, though not to be hurried. I'm a pretty ordinary solderer, and the kit is at the limit of my capacity. But the overall design, and the quality of the etches, makes the job as easy as possible. I'm trying to fit as many of the small details as possible, and all that takes time.

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The body is virtually complete. I'll try to get a better shot of the cab interior when I have picked out the details .It is a shame to hide it with the cab roof, so I have made it removeable-the usual method, stolen from Mike Meggison, of a couple bits of scrap etch soldered above the cab doors, with 2 strips of wire soldered to the underside of the cab roof .

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The gearbox is supplied with the kit, and is designed specifically for it. It is designed to fit alongside the boiler to enable a decent sized motor to fit into what is a pretty small loco. As can be seen it fits very nicely. I was concerned how the body would fit over the gearbox, but all was well and the whole thing is invisible once the body is in place. I need to think about how to get the wires of the motor to the pickups - a hole drilled through the boiler bottom, perhaps.

I'll assemble the gearbox, and check it runs, do the same when it goes back into the chassis, then what remains should be straightforward. The brake gear has lots of  small detailed etches, and I suspect I'll compromise on some of it. I also believe clearance on the crossheads can be tight, so that might be tricky. 

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There's not much point in only posting what goes well. I've built several High Level boxes without problem, but I just couldnt get the 4 stage 80/1 box to mesh. Luckily, I had a Roadrunner+ (which is my "go-to" High Level gearbox), and as, usual, this one went together without hassle, and fits into the chassis/boiler. It is marginally longer at the front than the custom one in the kit, but a small amount of filing has allowed the body to sit on the chassis, leaving the motor completely hidden.

 

The gearbox/motor runs well, so I'll check the running in the chassis, then finish the motion and brakes.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had a few 14mm Scalelink wheels in the spares box, which I'd hoped would do for the RSH kit. Some of them, with their plastic centres, had been on and off the axles one time too many, so were shifting on the axles. I'll try to track down a Markits set, but, in the meantime, here is the body on a Peckett B2 chassis. It is a straightforward fit, and I 'll be happy if my chassis runs as well.

 

Funny hobby, this railway modelling. I have a Wills A3 on a Comet chassis, and last time it was out , it ran really well. Months later, having never been touched, it shorted. Took ages to find the fault- a tiny piece of wire. How do these things happen? A sort of version of the tooth fairy?

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Edited by rowanj
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I need to tidy up the roof, but otherwise the RSH is ready for the road. I used some light weathering to tone things down. it runs so well, I'm in 2 minds about investing in the wheels to complete the chassis, but that would make me "chicken", wouldnt it?

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This is looking very convincing with your paintwork and weathering.

 

Rather begs the question of what happens to the chassis, and your work in building it, if you don't buy some wheels.

 

Alternatively, I thought the Scalelink ones had a Romford type square axle end, so wonder if a bit of careful glueing after checking the quartering wouldn't work?

 

John.

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Re the High Level chassis, John..

Scale link wheels do a have Romford type fittings, and I have used them successfully in  the past. In this case, even using the supplied oo spacers, and filing back the bearings, they were  tight against the chassis sides.Romfords ran freely. In addition, there is a very tight clearance between the crosshead and coupling rod.

Of course, none of this is insurmountable,.I'm inclined to cut the cylinder block in two to give an extra 1mm or so. If I could get Markits wheels, I would think again, but having found the Peckett chassis to be a hassle free drop in, I'm wondering if there is another use for the HL chassis. I have 16mm wheels, and it might make a source to one of the resin kits on the market. Or I could just wait until 14mm wheels turn up on eBay and use it as it was intended.

In the meantime, a Falcon Brass N15 beckons.

John

 

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