big jim's workbench...onto figures and buildings

[Signal Box Cat]

High Jim,

Let me ask, where did you get those roof insulators from?

Thanks,

Signal Box Cat

[Signal Box Cat]

High Jim,

Let me ask, where did you get those roof insulators from?

Thanks,

Signal Box Cat

[Signal Box Cat]

High Jim,

Let me ask, where did you get those roof insulators from?

Thanks,

Signal Box Cat

[big jim]

Assuming you mean the ones on either mentor or the NMT I think I cut them off some broken Dapol OHLE masts I had in the scrap box, drilled them through with a tiny pin drill, been a long time since I made it even looked at either of the models in question! 

[big jim]

May as well update their thread I suppose rather than putting pics in my layout one

 

not done anything major really, sold most of the IM stuff in this thread now apart from the DBSO and UTU coach 

 

only thing I’ve done recently apart from some point carrying wagons was a quick conversion of a BDA wagon to a ‘Lobster’ wagon using 3D printed parts off eBay, actually a fellow GBRf driver

 

it was just a simple job of removing the bogies and underframe details which are in a single moulded panel, remove the cross member stantions and glueing they box to the wagon and painting it

 

It unfortunately arrived snapped in half but I’ve managed to use it anyway, I’ll add a load to it so it’s not noticeable 

 

 

thanks to some advice from jack on here I got some VW Mars red to spray the box and wagon which is as close to DB schenker red as possible from a rattle can I recon, the beauty of this conversion is I didn’t have to mess about repainting and masking off underframe details and only had to mask the buffer shanks and refit the buffer heads once finished, my kind of modelling, minimum effort! 

 

really pleased with the result, a mere 30 minute work really 

 

 

just need some decals for it and done, got another box here so will have to find me a cheap BDA to do another one 

 

here it is with my lightly weathered Bachmann 66175

[big jim]

Won another BDA off eBay so will us the 2nd broken 3D print box on that one now I can then slowly build up a rake of them if I spot any other BDA wagons going cheap anywhere

 

i thought I’d dropped a ball with it as after I won it I noticed it had handbrake wheels on the bogies rather than linkage as per the first wagon but having looked on Flickr it seems the real things have a mix of linkage and bogie mounted handbrakes, looking forward to doing a few of these over time, just need to get some track wired up to actually run trains now though! 
 

 

[cheesysmith]

IIRC the lever braked ones are clasp brakes from the earlier conversions and the brake wheel ones are disc braked from the later conversions to air brakes.

[big jim]

2nd lobster wagon made up, again using a broken box, not as good finish on this one as I rushed it but still happy with it

 

I recon a rake of 6 would look just about right so I’ll have to keep my eye out for another 4 cheap BDAs  

 

I had 6 of them on a possession train last week along with some falcons so I can mix and match them with my Dapol falcons 

[big jim]

And then there were 4!

 

thankfully these boxes arrived in one piece, managed to get 2 more loadhaul BDAs to use for the conversion this week so cracked on with it between track laying on the layout, will

Put them back together later in the week when I get back from lodging for work 

 

 

 

if more BDAS come up at a decent price then I’ll extend the rake further, still need to get the decals for them too

[big jim]

And back together, the 2nd one I made (at the back) appears to have warped slightly when you look at it closely, it’s also come out shinier than the other three despite using the same paint can!

 

 

[big jim]

Made a kit that’s been in my ‘to do’ cupboard for about 3 years, a Kibri Gottwald rail crane 

 

a nice little kit, Lots of moving parts, it’s most likely going to be a static model sat in the sidings as it’s not got much Bogie movement!

 

With the jib out it’s an impressive looking thing 

 

I’ll have to add a match wagon to it to carry the lifting beam, seeing how it looks with 1/2 a Dapol FCA placed behind it 

 

obviously it needs the decals adding as well as the yellow plastic weathering down 

 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2021 by big jim

[big jim]

Just a couple of little jobs tonight, stripped down another BDA ready to glue a box to and spray up into another lobster wagon

 

While I was doing that I also made up a couple more MOD boxes ready to paint as it’s the same paint i undercoat the lobster wagon with 

 

 

[big jim]

And then there were five!

 

Got a new microwave today which had some handy polystyrene packaging around it, just the right thickness to make a base for some loads for the lobsters

 

 

I then put some clingfilm around the wagon load and PVA’s the filler top before sprinkling ballast onto it which I then sprayed with dilute pva 

 

 

 

Once dry(ish) I pulled them back out and removed the clingfilm 

 

 

look ok from a distance

 

But close up there are gaps on the edges

 

so I put some low tack masking around the wagon top and run a thin bead of pva around the edge and filled the gaps with ballast 

 

I’ll leave that until tomorrow now to fully dry before removing them again and hoping the ballast on the edges stays put, remove the low tack masking tape and hopefully done apart from the decals and maybe a light weathering, still got one more to do once I get another BDA cheap 

Edited December 27, 2021 by big jim

[JohnC]

On 13/11/2021 at 23:07, big jim said:

And back together, the 2nd one I made (at the back) appears to have warped slightly when you look at it closely, it’s also come out shinier than the other three despite using the same paint can!

 

 

Thank you for info Jim. Tried one myself and quite pleased. Have another 5 spare BDAs so might do them also.

[big jim]

Very nice. 
 

bits for 2 more have arrived today along with the decals from Railtec, hopefully get them done at the weekend if I get a chance 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by big jim

[big jim]

Almost a year down the line and a few more lobsters started, felt like sitting in the house with the TV on in the background to do a bit of modelling this evening rather than being shut away in the garage

 

They really are an easy conversion, bogies and underframe off (4 screws) buffers out, glue the box on and paint, I’ll get these done and dusted tomorrow hopefully 

 

 

so far I’ve got the 5 completed ones loaded with clean ballast as can be seen in the pics further up and I nce complete I’ll have a rake of 10 of them which is more than enough! 

so I might finish three of them with a sand load and leave a couple empty or have a look at some prototype pics and see what other possible loads I could put in them, not sure if I’ve seen any with scrap rail in?

Edited December 13, 2022 by big jim

[virginhst539]

quick root round flicker has produced a set with both scrap rail and wooden sleepers. nice two for one picture. Also worth noting the gent who made these body's has recently published on his facebook that he is closing up shop which is a shame as there are some really good bits on there. Hopefully he will return in the future. 

 

[big jim]

Funnily enough after posting about them carrying rails I found a pic too, I will probably do one with scrap rails in now, the two that will be empty I’ve added light rust spray to the interior. Still wet in this pic so a bit shiny, I’ve got to run a brush along the top of the rust line as it’s a bit too straight despite be trying to apply the masking tape a bit wonky on purpose, also need to paint the yellow underframe rigging black 

 

Got the other 3 primed and too coated too, might get them back together tomorrow evening before work 

 

I also made a start on a 3D printed ‘mentor’ that I got from a member on here. I’ve primed it all up, forgot to get pics though, first job is to paint the detailed interior up, luckily I’ve got lots of pics of the inside from when I used to drive the IM trains, once that’s done I can assemble the body and get a coat if NR yellow on it, can’t see that happening this side of the new year though 

 

Edited December 14, 2022 by big jim

[big jim]

Final 3 lobsters back together and added to the rake, might have gone a bit over the top with 10 of them though as they don’t fit down one side of the layout! 

 

They all need the decals adding and weathering at some point as well as putting loads in these 3 

[CazRail]

15 minutes ago, big jim said:

Final 3 lobsters back together and added to the rake, might have gone a bit over the top with 10 of them though as they don’t fit down one side of the layout! 

 

They all need the decals adding and weathering at some point as well as putting loads in these 3 

They look great, Jim. Definitely adds some variety when they're in a rake of yellow JNAs.

 

Got two of my own to make, trying to decide if Ill buy second hand bolsters or sacrifice two of the rake I have already. 

[big jim]

I’ve only ended up with 10 because I managed to get second hand bolsters cheaply from eBay or model shows etc

 

I can now pretty much recreate this train I worked a few years back off the Cambrian (photo by nigel Chapell on Flickr, click for more info etc)

 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by big jim

[big jim]

This evening I took apart my Dapol 121 units that I got pre lockdown from the Dapol returns at a show for £25 each to see if I could get them working properly, I’m on DCC but neither of these are chipped so I tested them as loco 0 

 

the first one, the Arriva wales ‘Cardiff bay’ unit started off running slow but seemed to free up nicely after a good running in session on the rolling road and around the layout, however once running in the opposite direction it seemed to struggle around one of the curves and derailed, turned it round and it negotiated the same curve fine, just have to make sure I run it in a particular direction, wondering if the driveshaft is catching

 

The second one, the loadhaul route learner was very noisy when put on the track and struggled to move, took it apart and ran the chassis without the seating moulding fitted and it ran better so I suspect the moulding was pushing down on the motor and flywheels maybe, ran it round for ages and once freed up at ran near perfectly, put it back together and onto the track and nothing, motor buzzing but no movement, body back off and on the rollers and the motor was spinning but the wheels and driveshafts weren’t, popped the motor out and noticed the plastic spline thing that slots over the driveshaft to engage with the motor was loose on the shaft so basically that was spinning with the motor but not turning the driveshaft on both sides, I’ve used some gorilla epoxy to bond it onto to the shaft to see if that will fix it, just waiting on it curing before I put it back together, can’t understand why it suddenly stopped working and came loose after a good half hour of working fine but im hoping the glue fix works! 
 

Watch this space! 
 

EDIT: having looked at the 121 thread it appears to be a common issue and a fix seems to be removing the drive to one of the bogies, if I don’t have any luck with the glue fix I’ll give that a go, new driveshafts are only £4 from DCC supplies if I need to replace them too

Edited December 28, 2022 by big jim

[letterspider]

Hi Jim

I found the most reliable fix was to roughen the end of the driveshaft with sandpaper before applying a dab of superglue and use only one driveshaft.

It is quicker to desolder the wires for the bogie you are working on, drop out the bogie to allow the shaft to be removed.

 

 

 

[big jim]

Chipped up some locos this evening, really need to get a programming track wired up properly so I can change the address’ as they are all currently address 3!

 

started with the simple loco, Heljan 26, body pops off, lokpilot chip in, body back on, simples 

 

Another simple one, Bachmann Thumper, got this from the Bachmann return stand at warley back in 2019 for £99, really pleased with it, works perfectly, the only problem is a missing rubbing plate on one end, Bachmann 21 pin in this one 

then it got complicated! This was a flipping nightmare to do, so many bits falling off when I handled it, this was a non runner I got from realtrack at warley this year, turned out it was working fine, put a Hornby micro 8 pin in it due to space, only issue is headlights one end aren’t working, tail lights are fine 

 

I wanted to chip up a few small locos with the 6 pin chips I had but they wouldn’t fit as they are the type with wires from the connecter to the decoder rather than a simple push in decoder, I wanted to do my Hattons P class and Heljan 05 or 07, I ended up chipping my U.S.A. tank and Beatty well tank 

 

 

Need to get myslef some next 18 decoders for my accurascale deltic and PI Kerr Stewart amongst other things as well as some 6 pin micros for the ones I could do this evening, still got 2 21 pin and and 8 pin spare too, probably use the 21 pins in Bachmann 66s, just need to choose which ones to chip up 

 

had a nice surprise when I came to chip a realtrack 156 I got second hand, turns out it was already DCC chipped so that saved me a couple of 21 pin chips

 

I’ve really got to go through every loco in my cabinets and see what’s chipped, then get the address’ of those that are and see which have sound as I think there are about 15-20 loco with it! 

 

does anyone have a spreadsheet/office template I could load up on the computer to make up a database of my stock? 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by big jim

[big jim]

More chipping tonight, got quite a few locos done, struggled with the 8 pin Zen decoder, couldn’t get it to fit anything, tried it in a Heljan 26 and 14 but couldn’t get the bodies on so I’ll have to see what it might fit, The Bachmann 9F maybe?

 

EFE J94 

 

Heljan 05

 

Hattons P Class 

 

Rapido J70

 

Bachmann 47

 

Hattons 66

 

Heljan 07

 

got to get them all in the rollers and change the addresses, also really need to get checking all my other locos to see what’s chipped, another job I keep putting off as it’s going to take a while
 

Also changed the numbers on my previously renumbered 37401 to 37418 as I drove it the other week and didn’t fancy paying £250 for the kernow Ltd Ed, so got a set of railtec water slide decals instead, need to add a couple of new OHLE flashes and change the buffer beam back to black again