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New Years Resolution; finish those half made kits.


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Upgrading the chassis with Romford wheels, it worked well before will it still work afterwards.

 

A   1/8 th drill in hand chuck, to open out the top hat bearings after they have been pushed into the chassis side.

B   any old big drill to hand twiddle in the bearings and other holes to remove burrs at sharp edges.

C   old style one piece coupling rod with fixed pins at each end and screw hole in the middle.

D   single screw for fixing coupling rod in new wheels and old type ones.

E   various screw drivers, one with a modified end to turn the axle end locking nuts.

F   top hat bearings and a brass pinion gear, this chassis had a plastic one or should I replace it with an aftermarket worm and

     gear set for slower running? If I can find one that fits.

 

It's a bit like Bolton's sidings here, all old parts and engines re-hashed to make something useful ?

An ancient loco chopped up, wheels and axles salvage form another chassis with a burnt out motor, axles a bit old and rusty, but only a

little bit, things mostly from the rummage boxes found under the tables at shows and toy fairs etc.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally got back onto this website, it's taken me all this time, I'll never understand computer logic.

 

I manage to turn this sweet running course scale 00 chassis into a mess, It's back in pieces after a test run, there's a lot of ressistance from somewhere, the wheels hardly turn and the pinion turns slowly,  so I can't get the pinion wheel to stay fixed to the axle. Whats wrong? The old axle has kneerling aound its centre to hold the pinion, I've had to add top hat bushes to fatten the thinner Romford axles. This one is a little coroded so show I clean it untill its bright steel and add knerling? Help

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Thanks for the suggestion, I've managed to fix the pinion gear and its bushes by taking the axle out and rolling it with the edge of a large file to roughen the surface, not filing it. Some Lock Tight has fixed it.

Next problem is to anchor a wheel on one side which seems to continue to be wobbly, the lock nut does not secure it.

I think my set of Romfords are quite old there is no raised area where the crank pins go in, it needs something to hold the rods away from the wheels. Some tiny washers or something?

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This is a project that has been kicking around for a long while in my mind's eye, why not have a smaller version of the Dapol signal box kit?

The other day there was a chance of acquiring an already built example at a reasonable price and it still had its steps. A feature that often gets knocked off and lost on a second hand Toy Fair stall.

So the last few evenings some frantic sawing, cutting, filing and scraping has been going on.

I've cut the front and back down to 2 panels from 3 and the ends from 4 to 3 windows.

Oh yes, the kit came apart quite easily with little damage I just spent 10 minutes gently twisting and stressing the box like signal box kit and cracks slowly opened up between the original parts.

In my head, it all fits together perfectly we shall see when the glueing begins?

 

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The roof moulding is a one piece for the whole roof, tiles, gutters, ridge tiles all in one go, a beautifully done job, I don't yet know how I will cut it down yet.

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29 minutes ago, relaxinghobby said:

I think my set of Romfords are quite old there is no raised area where the crank pins go in, it needs something to hold the rods away from the wheels. Some tiny washers or something?

 

Yep, crankpin washers.

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Thanks for the help Niles but I'm avoiding Romford problems by doing signal boxes, a sort of avoidance thing.

 

The only test for the pudding is in the eating, so to see if the parts fit start glueing.

Two opposite corners are built up using an L shaped section cut from the floor and window cleaning deck which was a single rectangular piece covering the whole of the ground floor and has been cut back so it just shows between the upright corner posts.

Off course working in the flat with all the parts separated and laid down is much easier than doing anything once the kit is rebuilt.

This photo shows things coming together.

There was quite a lot of holding bits together to try their fit then trim and file then try another fit, trial and error.

If swear words where glue I would never have to buy glue again.

The two remaining panels are the weakest link as they will need glueing together from smaller parts, some strips of plasticard across the insides will probably be needed to strengthen them.

The lower door is missing so if I don’t have anything in my scrap chaos box I'll need to scratch build one.

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Now the signal box has a smaller footprint it will need a smaller roof, it can be done with geometry, by using a set of compasses to turn the plan and end elevation drawings into the actual sizes of each roof panel.

 

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Edited by relaxinghobby
remove blank image, rotate drawing 90
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The pudding proof of drawing out the roof panels using geometry and compasses.

Translated into the solid world with the medium of breakfast cereal packet cardboard.

 

P1010156a.JPG.7c9321a3dcbebdb2aeafc0e64cec08a4.JPGYou can see the complex shaped hole in the card where I cut the roof out.

A flap to overlap and glue the edges and a second view from ground level, the roof looks realistic.

 

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I like it when a plan comes together as that guy in The A Team used to say, you know the one who was the Blue Max.

The camera is cruel, that corner post behind the door looks wonky, I've not noticed that before.

This model is beginning to look like those pictures on the internet of abandoned and derelict signal boxes

Next is to cut this roof up and used it as patterns to cut down the plastic pieces from the original Dapol roof and to make some triangular support pieces to go underneath.

 

Edited by relaxinghobby
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Trying to straighten out the corner where the ground floor door is.

Back in pieces again, gently tweaking the joints and they come apart, you can see clamps holding the bits of roof together while the glue goes off.

A rough representation of the lever frame made up from strip and instruments which are those odd lumps and bumps found on kit sprues that only the pattern makers know the use of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Putting it back together again.

This concoction is a way of trying to get everything square and in place whilst the glue sets.

The toolmakers vice holds it square, the elastic band pulls the sides in and all the bits of wood and coffee stirrers push the sides back out against the elastic band to get the right position, once the glue sets we'll see how it looks. Fingers crossed.

 

In front are sections of roof cut down to match the cardboard patterns, the edges need bevelling on some coarse sandpaper and then how will it glue together, satisfyingly pyramid-like or wonky?

 

 

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It's all avoidance behaviour from the difficult task of getting that sixth wheel sorted and the chassis running smoothly on the saddle tank. But some work was done on the tank body filling in with tiny bits of plasticard around the front of the splashers and two strips inside the cab doors to make narrow floors for the cab figures to balance on.

 

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A kind of avoidance madness struck last night and I made up some furniture for the inside of the signal box. Scrap and offcuts of plastic to make a stove, armchair and desk and from the depths of the scrap box Herman the German, from the Airfix 88mm gun kit I think, he has come to mind the box, I'll have to file off his helmet but he can keep his gun, to take a few pot shots at rabbits or pheasants on the line to supplement his meagre nineteenth century wages.

Does anyone know how to make or get an 00 kettle for the top of the stove?

 

 

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Edited by relaxinghobby
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Two parts for the signal box, a vee-shaped truss to strengthen underneath the top of the roof. I traced the shape from the drawing form the cardboard pattern, of course, it does not fit the angle is wrong and it had to be filed to get a good fit.P1010050s.JPG.ac1ff8ae4090399dab14c47522458d5c.JPG

 

 

A bit of real scratch building, a kettle for the signal box stove carved from the end of some sprue with a spout and handle stuck on. It is about 3mm across, why do this when it's so small and will be mostly out of sight inside the box, some sort of modelling madness?

 

This next picture is about the 3rd attempt at glueing the roof together without getting some wonky trapezoid shaped thing.

 

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The trouble is although I use the sections from the cardboard pattern to cut out the plastic parts is that each has two edges that meet their next door panels, four panels and eight edges in all, each has a tiny error from the cutting and then filing a bevel under the edges and with eight edges the errors add up and a wonky roof is the outcome. To overcome this I have pinned together a quick jig from balsa wood strips to make a rectangular well to hold the parts in place and there is a small stack of wood to hold the roof apex up.  Everything in place while the glue sets, where the bits touch.

The gaps tell the story of how bad my marking up of parts and cutting out is.

 

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Meanwhile, the lower box body needed glueing again, pieces of wood wedged in to hold the corner square while the glue hardens, I've since reinforced the corner from the inside. Its the corner at the bottom of the picture. A big elastic band from a bunch of spring onions I think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited by relaxinghobby
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So this post will be a photo essay, with some words.

 

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Gap fillers sticking out of the roof.

All that detail it does not show up much, at exhibitions layouts with interior detail in signal boxes and other buildings often are lit so the detail can be seen. Would it be worthwhile adding some locking frame machine detail behind the lower window?

 

Difficult to see here and the glazing is not yet in.

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Interior has been taken out so the colours can be seen, now the signalman has retired from the army his helmet has been sanded down into a cap shape.

A scratch built copper kettle on the stove.

In front is a shiny black slab which is to support the bottom of the steps which are a bit fragile. Cuboids of white plastic are to locate the sides of the box.

 

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Interior of the roof patched and the worst of the gaps have small plasticard bits glued in.

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

 

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Roof strengthen with two layers of P card glued underneath, about 20 thou which goes onto of the tops of the walls without making the box seem any taller and a smaller rectangle of 60 thou or

1.5 mm thick to make a plugin that fits inside the walls to hold the roof on. This is cut in one piece that's a rectangle with a rectangular hole within cut first to ease construction. On studying internet colour pictures of working boxes at historical railways, the insides and underneaths of roofs seem to all be a white painted mass of rafters going up into the apex, this one is just white P-card.

The wood block is to help get the railings and posts vertical as I build them up, I've cut back the platform again to nearer the door.

Still yet to devise the glazing and frame bars, went to the Nottingham MRS last weekend and bothered the layout builders about how to do it.

This signal box exercise is really about doing a long-planned project and is not really needed on my little shunting yard layout, it's too big even in this cut down form.

 

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So I've had a go at super detailing this Triang ground frame box. A nice little model but no surface detail so I've juiced it up by glueing on Evergreen V-groove siding sheet, 100” or 2.5mm spacing and .5 mm thick, sheet 2100.  And covered a large chip at the front.

 

This also solves a problem on my shunting layout the only space left to plonk a signal box on is at the front, blocking access to the trucks, a normal tall box will get in the way of using my uncoupling tool which is a flat coffee stirrer stick to lift the coupling hooks up, only a low building won't get in the way.

 

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Also in my cardboard box of redundant building and scenery bits is this old van body, over on the pre-grouping thread it's all the rage to fit this type of old Triang van body with a scale underframe and pronounce it scale. But this one has saged, it's a white plastic material, one of the prehistoric acrylic mouldings from before polystyrene perhaps, so it is good for a soggy bottomed grounded van. That roof was purposely made droopy, to indicate abandoned decrepitude, there's a couple of lengthwise beams inside to keep it in wonky shape the flat top edges of them are carved down before the roof was stuck on using several layers of very thin P card, as the glue set they distorted further, which was fine for this model. Would have been a disaster on a running model.

 

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Edited by relaxinghobby
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Some more progress and some more distractions.

 

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Building up the handrail stick by stick, here to keep it all straight its clamped to some strips of wood and left for the glue to set.

Then after 6 hours or so later the next bit can be stuck on.

Whilst waiting for the glue joints to harden I've been fiddling around with this:

 

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it's meant to be an ex-LSWR break van that was constructed with a passenger compartment within it, I could not find a drawing or photo, it's done from a sort of dim memory, I think the body is a Wrenn one I got from an exhibition bring and buy stall. Spaces in the sides have been filled in with panels showing some sort of plank detail. The yellow is surplus from the signal box kit. The door is from an Airfix BR brake van kit.

 

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Another one from this haul is this Hornby 4 plank wagon, I've decided I need to convert it to a 3 plank round ended one.

 

Edited by relaxinghobby
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Something of a record 17 to 25-3-19 for a model to be made even just a modification of a small Hornby wagon; 9 days since I bought it.

The round ends are marked out by carefully cutting curved sections or circular segments of a circle made by drawing a chord that is as long as the width of the wagon end, I had to look the words up on sticky labels and attaching the inside the ends.

 

Sounds complicated but I just used a convenient yoghurt pot to draw around, Stuck on carefully, the location points are the tops of the sides where they meet the ends then the plastic can be nibbled away with side cutters and filed smooth with glass paper and emery boards. See the yellow stickers in the photo. Some attempt at interior detail you can see strips sticking up.

 

It's now done, beyond this photo with some extra rivet detail, metal wheels and small couplings.

 

The window frame on the right. Oh dear only looking at this photo here have I seen how wonky it is. The yellow is a bit of scrap to make a U shape, some crazy idea to put some sort of detail behind the ground floor window of the signal box to represent a signal box locking frame.

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

 

This is becoming a bit of a dog's dinner but I must just keep on going, it will look a lot better after it's painted.

I can't show you pictures of the signal box at the moment, it is being painted and is resting in the dust free box between coats. If I take it out long enough to make a picture it will collect a little bit of dust that will spoil the next coat.

I still have not P1010177i.JPG.50b49532b3be88df16bcf096cedb203f.JPGP1010181i.JPG.40b5a1fe3e44bc39767f62d274bb4ff3.JPG

 

 

 

attempted the windows yet I fear they will be very difficult to scratch build, so maybe this brake van conversion is an avoidance thing.  The chassis is an old metal Triang or Hornby one, it has foot boards so is ideal for a brake van. The thick plastic wheels run on a pin through the axle boxes, these can be driven out pinpoint bearings set in for up to date metal wheels.

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Another example of zinc or mazak metal rot, on this sample, crystallisation and weakening of the metal seem to be the case. This is an old Triang chassis, on trying to lever off the big old Triang couplings the end just came away in my hand.

The general condition of the chassis is a bit dirty maybe it was in a damp environment but there is little sign of wear on the wheels so I don't think it had a hard life before I came along.

 

How to fix the body and chassis together when there is not much there just a big hole in the middle, I'm trying a floor with the body with 4 holes for the little teeth sticking up, except that getting the holes to line up with the teeth one at each corner is not easy. My holes are a bit of a loose fit.

 

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P1010017a.JPG.595e5124c012e810b2f621c9bb755129.JPGMore progress but for a quicky project this one is taking ages.

 

After the headstocks and buffers broke off at one end, due to some kind of metal crystallisation or Mazak rot I super-glued them back on and then reinforced them with 1mm palstiacard, the blue stuff in the pictures.  -4- Two layers between the sides then added, belt and braces.

 

A floor of 1 mm P-card cut out to fit inside the body to stop it being crushed when someone picks it up and squeezes it's sides too much, probably me. Plank effects scored in at the veranda end.  -5-  Some seats added across the centre partition and in the passenger end, to make the body more rigid, using 0.5 mm plasticard.  -1-  Some extra plastic glued up the centre to provide a location for a fixing screw. -3- This screw holds the body, floor and chassis together.

 

Couplings glued to the Triang coupling posts, the holes in the nylon couplings had to be enlarged but the height turned out to be compatible with modern RTR rolling stock.

 

New metal wheels Dapol I think, fitted, pinpoint bearings slipped into the old axles holes, an adaptation made by using plastic tube, to reduce the size of the holes, this can then be drill out to 2mm to accept the bearings. Biro ink tube can be used also do the job. -2- Here the tube has somehow fallen out.

Brake gear -4- added from leftover kit parts or cut from defunct and damaged Hornby chassis.

 

 

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Just bits of wire glued in between the plastic brake shoes to represent brake gear don't worry this is course modelling once it's all painted black and only glimpse-able from track level and behind the footboards, it will look Hi-Fi modelling.

Still got to re-do that plastic tube holding in the pinpoint bearing, lower right-hand corner, I think too much solvent melted it.

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Been away from the old Triang saddle tank conversion for a while and without me, it's been busy all on its own.

I got it out of its little box and found that it was becoming banana-shaped. Along the length of the footplate if you held a metal ruler against it the front buffer beam was at least 2 and a half to 3 millimetres bent up and higher than the cab buffers and with a nice a steady curve along the footplate length, banana shape.

 

Where the paper is jammed in I managed to get a scalpel blade in and separate the plastic pieces. Also by levering the tank away from those long splashers, I broke the joint between the black and the blue plastic. The footplate relaxed back to being straight, phew but the smoke-box lifts up away from it. It should sit on top.

 

So how to re-fix it? I used Revell Contacta Professional glue because it comes in a little bottle with a long applying needle spout, now is it the right glue or should I try something else?

 

Also, I've added a replacement safety valve and found a couple of suitable looking buffers to go at the front, all ex Hornby Triang I think. Never throw anything away?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Carried on from post 25, painting the round ended wagon, which is roughly based on a Great Western 3 plank open goods wagon. This is the 3rd attempt at the red colour. First try was a dull orange Revell 85 matt, too orange, 2nd try was the Revell orange 85 matt plus some dark brick red from Humbrol 70 matt. Still very orange.

 

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This photo shows Humbrol signal red 60 matt and the brick red which dulls down the signal red a little but only use a tiny amount as this is a very strong colour and can easily overpower the brighter signal red.

An historical note this red is a very old tin but keeps going, I wipe the lids and rim clean before pushing the lid back in which ensures a good airtight seal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Here's the small signal cabin from earlier on this page, I'm still fighting shy of trying to make the window frames. Meanwhile, I've painted it with  Humbrol  Railway cream 103 and whilst I had the wagon red I tried to paint the corners and gutters. So how do you get the edges of the paint straight ? all advice welcome.

 

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Back at the saddle tank, I think these larger wheels suit the model better, I've got a set of 8 but they are the old style with wider treads and bigger flanges, that's OK but I will have to drill out the crankpin holes somehow, any advice on how to do this.

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The smaller one is 18mm diameter and the larger about 19.5 mill.

 

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