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Inspired by Brent June 1947


The Fatadder
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  • RMweb Gold

At lunch today I dug out a set of Mallard American bogies (from a Kays Siphon F that I intend to hack into a siphon c)) which were then fitted to the Dreadnought underframe. Nice to finally see it on its own wheels, I don’t know if any Dreadnought coaches received the later truss underframe as a retrofit (I am sure I read it was the case with some Toplights at least).

 

Just need to drill and fit the new headstock now, the rest of the underframe detailing will have to wait until I have castings.

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this Slaters toplight third has also gained the basis of a Comet chassis, but needs American bogies.  So I am back to needing to find the missing 247 developments packet….  It will also be in need of a headstock fabricating from scrap brass0F43DD0D-02D9-46A4-9A8C-B637DB1A6764.jpeg.0b40984bcf39bb15ac7b106ce432154f.jpeg

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This morning I had a delivery of a can of Hycote Ford Sierra Beige via eBay, so at lunch I couldn’t resist spraying up the Dreadnought.  The colour was recommended on the website of respected coach builders Rocar so was expecting good things and it didn’t disappoint.   The Hycote can sprayed well, while the colour looks a pretty good match.   Best thing is that coupled with my camo black brown from Halfords I now have all the paint needed to spray coaches without resorting to the airbrush, meaning I can get stuff finished through the winter months.  
Which is a good sign once my Wizard order arrives with the rest of my coach parts…44072C0E-716A-4F87-B0EA-2690381976E2.jpeg.c52dcb35a97211c569902c62e0660289.jpegE1F00DF1-8A2F-41CA-9A76-B83244A34D0D.jpeg.6bfbae962411b14c51892a04affbd9b0.jpeg

 

the coach will get the brown sprayed tomorrow, after which I will line and finish off the door hinges etc

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The Dreadnought is rapidly approaching completion, having been sprayed brown, lettered, varnished and glazed.  It just needs roof vents and underframe castings which need ordering.

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prior to fitting the droplights and fixing the underframe trussing

 

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With the rest of the rake, the two collets were both finished with passengers and a grey roof this evening (as well as fitting new couplings.)


my Wizard order also arrived today, a B set coach is beginning to transform into a K40  at the moment….  It also included transfers to finish the Dean Goods

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I have tested the loco on my new Sprog and it now just needs couplings and coal and it can return to the layout.  Wish I could do more about that trench in the lower boiler…

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  • RMweb Gold
9 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I'll follow that, please, as I have (at least) one to do eventually.

I need to get some more impact adhesive before I can manage much more progress, however this is the current state:

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The Hornby coach was cut up to remove the whole side before tidying up the remains.  The remaining plastic on the ends was then filed back by the thickness of the etch so that the new side would correctly sit under the guttering along the roof edge.

 

 

The next step will be soldering brass strip along the top of the side in order to get a decent bond between side and roof (and to add some strength to the side.)  I am using some 10mm by 1mm which is rather excessive, but it is what I have available.   On the Dreadnought I used 5mm by 0.4mm scrap fret.

The etched sides will be detailed with the recessed handles and droplights prior to gluing into place, then its just the usual end / chassis detailing (the latter of course requiring the incorrect battery box removing).   But this final stage will have to wait for parts much like the dreadnaught.

 

The Sunshine Stock third will follow exactly the same approach (although in this case I will need to reduce the length of the sides by1mm in order to get it matching the short Mainline body), while the Sunshine Composite will just use the shortened roof and underframe from the Mainline model.

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Going through the works at the same time as the K40 will be this D127 sunshine stock brake third, which will follow the same build approach using a Mainline BCK as a basis.  
 

the Mainline/Bachmann model is the wrong length, too short for a 61ft third and too long for the 60ft composite (that is next in line for building). EFD2F580-4FE1-48C8-A953-AB7FF697D687.jpeg.47c63def6cda2e808fbce8c72cac9ecd.jpeg

the length discrepancy, in this case I have shortened the side slightly to match the base mode.  I can live either the slightly short coach more than I want to spend all that time adding rivets to a comet roof.

 

 

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I have also been testing the M Set and Dreadnought 

6AAC0D8B-83DF-4749-8439-30C90AA8C670.jpeg.54c7ac727debe3868f8c9c49a3015267.jpeg

Tavistock stops at Brent en route to Plymouth with a local service from Exeter

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passing an up passenger as the train crosses the Avon 

 

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The sort of photo that’s often taken today (but was very rare that someone would ‘waste’ the film on in ore digital days), a shot with no loco showing the full train

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the Dreadnought brake third (after being dropped on the garage floor)

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17 minutes ago, Bluemonkey presents.... said:

Dare I say it Rich.... You are steaming on with your stock builds. :D

It will no doubt stop again soon as once these 3 are finished I will be out of kits again.  I really should be working on the layout while the weather is still pleasant. 

 

The modelling budget for October has already been spent in September, and I still need a whole load of under frame castings to finish everything off.   Giving serious thought to getting a 3D printer so that I can just make my own for things like vac cylinders, battery boxes etc as I’m always running out when I most need them.

 

I have been looking again at the complete coaches and there are quite a few running without interiors.   Mostly because I really dislike the Comet partition wall and keep meaning to draw up my own and run through the cutter.  So I guess that will be the project over the next few months 

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More K40 work this evening, the sides have been prepared with plasticard behind the holes for the recessed door handles.  Drilling out the handrails and door handles and adding droplights.

 

the sides were then glued into place onto the B Set core. 
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the underframe needed a fair bit of work, the solebar had the footsteps cut off and was filed flat to remove the remains, before adding a new channel from Evergreen strip. The incorrect battery box was removed (as were the hideous attempt at vac cylinders.  While the strange curved headstock was chopped off to be replaced with a new (flat) plastic version

1639B434-8397-4CF5-9444-D97E8A4CEC27.jpeg.55f09768a5a5eeb7672d15f260cdb82f.jpeg

 

Still to do:

-handrails (I am thinking about getting 20thou evergreen plastic rod as cutting so many short lengths of brass wire will be a pig)

-roof detail

-modify the bogies with the tiebar

-end details 

 

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9 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I think that's the single most important change on these coaches.

Completely agree, my second pair of B Sets are sat on the work bench to do shelf awaiting the same modifications.  
 

One of the plans for this winter is to get “Kingsbridge” wired up (along with getting the dodgy switch on the platform

exit slip rewired.  So that I can start running the branch, at which point I will want the b set ready for service 

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Yesterday I made a start on the next coach build, finally adding a bit more variation to my brake thirds adding a Sunshine Stock D127.  As with my previous Sunshine Stock first build (and for that matter the build for the composite that will follow sometime soon).

 

This differs from my other builds in that I am using the Mainline ends as well as the roof, and have accepted that the D137 is going to be 2mm short (the Mainline / Bachmann coaches being a scale 6 inches short for the two coaches offered and 6 inches too long for the other diagrams).  This was a simple case of cutting 2mm off the luggage end using tin snips, however I don’t think the approach would work so well with the other 61ft coaches (thirds or restaurant) as I don’t think it would look right reducing the space between the outer windows and the end of the coach.  

 

The first job after stripping down the coach was to modify the roof, some roof vents needed removing (requiring the removal of the raised base) along with one toilet filler panel.  The gap in the rivet detail here will need replacing with Archer’s transfers.  

 

Next up was the preparation for the new sides, the original sides were cut away (scalpel along the top edge before using the razor saw to cut along the ends), once cut the ends were then filed back to provide clearance for the thickness of the brass sides.   
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The new sides were prepared with a length of 10by1 mm brass strip to add rigidity (and a good bond with the roof), hinges will once again be added post painting and lining to assist with masking.  This etch includes half etched droplights, so that’s one less job to do.  One issue with this brass is that it obstructs the interior.  Will be making sure to use a narrower width next time.

F10A84E9-9275-49AE-8D86-77C6C29B3A73.jpeg.0838668332346724fe1215c040365c23.jpeg

 

The sides were then glued in place, filling the gaps with the end and replacing the roof vents in their new locations.  So the body is now ready for painting.

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Moving on to the interior, this is one of the more straight forward jobs in that most of the original brake composite interior could be reused for the passenger compartments.  It then just needed a plasticard extension for the wall along the luggage / guards compartments.   I did find after test fitting that the non smoking compartment is bigger than the others and needs adjusting. 

 

Finally the underframe, one battery box needed relocating from one end to the other.  Thankfully this was a like for like swap, so it could be carefully cut off and swapped with the plane trussing from the new location.  Likewise the dynamo also needed swapping.  There is an issue with the bogies, which have both snapped the fixing pin so will fall off at the slightest provocation.F99E0F75-5BCB-4118-8BBD-DFECD43B0B38.jpeg.2f1745dc57c086b36ca7917833c09efb.jpeg

 

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the completed coach with modified underframe and roof vents added (pre fitting the interior)

 

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a little more on the K40 as well, which is also fitted with roof bits and the grab handles have been fitted to the sides.  It is also now ready for paint, so just need to build the sunshine composite first.

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While I am sat here waiting for things to load...  the past couple of evenings I have got on with the final build for the moment, an E158 Composite again using Comet and Mainline parts.

 

This time given the shorter length of the composite I have used the Comet ends as well as the sides (again soldering a length of brass along the top for added stiffness and to reinforce the joint between side and roof.  

 

The Mainline roof has been cut down to length (foolishly I did this from memory and forgot to allow for the thickness of the saw, meaning I had to add back a little more length in plasticard!)  Thankfully the roof itself needed a lot less work than the First and Brake Third, in that it was just roof vents which needed moving.  Annoyingly one of them seems to have pinged off into the carpet so the model is currently one vent short of a full complement...

 

I followed the usual Comet construction, soldering one end to each side and then joining together before gluing the roof in place.  

7C8F828D-2585-4AAC-B2E8-8C464666A8B7.jpeg.f4f2f2cee1f3693805c83d06024d9bf2.jpeg
 

Moving onto the underframe, form experience with the First I knew that the headstocks need to be cut along the edge of the "step" up at the end of the underframe moulding.  The Comet brass headstock could then be glued in position  along with a set of their buffers (the plastic headstocks were not wasted, they ended up fitted to the K40).

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The underframe needed modification to get both battery boxes at one end (as per  the brake third) along with moving the solebar steps to match the new corridor side doors.

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Finally it has been fitted with a pair of wire/loop couplings through the headstock.  The coach is now ready for paint (along with the D127 brake third and the K40.  All of which should get primed in the morning (if its dry) and painted over the weekend.  Although looking at the forecast I am thinking there is not much chance of that...

867C5475-5E68-4805-8989-92CB2937C567.jpeg.dbd8a9f92a1fc1267af3079c37aad38a.jpegBBCF3480-F177-46FF-93C8-ADA5D7886B2E.jpeg.5d1271eecfc0e884a3eca43120749418.jpeg

 

Edited by The Fatadder
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A little more work late last night and I have now finished the interior conversions on both the composite and the brake third.  The compo is a little crude, chopping the third compartments up and adding a new wall (as well as the two spare compo compartments that were cut off the BCK interior when converting to a brake third.   The latter was also finished off adding the new corridor wall to the luggage section from plasticard.

Both coaches then had the interiors fully painted, although unfortunately I’ve ran out of the cheap eBay figures I use for coach interiors so will have to wait for a delivery to finish it off fully.   Hopefully they will arrive before I finish painting and lining the bodies…

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While rain has stopped play on the coaches as I can’t get outside to prime them, I’ve turned attention to what to build next.   A full kit for a Slip is definitely on the agenda, and if I have a spare Mainline third I  fancy doing a C155.  What I definitely have a surplus of is Collett bow end brakes (with 2 of each hand).

 Other than the BCK and H33

diner, are there any other possibilities for conversion of the bow end coaches?  I recall mention of another brake third with a different number of compartments (but can’t remember the diagram).   I think I have a Hawksworth composit or brake composite still as well which may as well get chopped into a full third), again it’s second hand value is fairly minimal vs the price of a full third which would be useful adding a Plymouth section to my Riviera set (I already have the required Hawksworth BTK.)

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A lot more progress on the painting, with the two sunshine stock coaches now ready for lining and transfers.EBBAB6F4-23F9-4CC8-80BE-070D453A21EF.jpeg.7d5ca6b2db2b162137ccee7f074dfb00.jpeg

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the K40 Full brake is a little more behind, it started raining just as I was finishing spraying it (despite being sunny still) which damaged the paint.  After a lot of time with wet and dry followed by another coat of cream it is now ready for the brown to be sprayed when I get a chance later in the week…

 

Once the paint is fully dry they will be masked and have the black lines painted on, before adding the gold with a pen.

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After a lot of work sanding down the poor finish on the cream, before adding a quick skim of new paint followed by the chocolate, the K40 is starting to come together.  It still needs the roof, ends and droplights painting (likely finished this evening) before entering the pile awaiting lining.

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edit:

roof, ends and droplights are now painted.   So tomorrow evening hopefully I will get it lined…F4CAAF1C-A5E9-40E8-9FC8-BF867E875136.jpeg.85a3668decf2b948f72d1353ac18a8cb.jpeg

the paint is still wet (hence the extra shine on the roof)

Edited by The Fatadder
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After finishing the lining last night, I wanted to give the coach a coat of varnish to seal it all in before starting on the transfers.  So before work today I sprayed the varnish (using my usual satin acrylic lacquer). 
 

unfortunately the varnish has reacted badly on the chocolate paint.  Not sure what the next step is (other than potentially having to strip and respray)  the K40 is by far the worst, but there are patches on the other two as well.   I am wondering if polishing with T Cut as a cutting compound might do the job, or possibly polishing with very fine wet & dry maybe BC817D16-77D2-4A36-8CC2-01D0F6FBD7E2.jpeg.92f9ad65a57ed161d5368546edc4767f.jpeg

 

if looks a lot worse in the flesh…

DC6260E3-54B8-4208-B89B-51ECCECBE024.jpeg

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17 minutes ago, The Fatadder said:

After finishing the lining last night, I wanted to give the coach a coat of varnish to seal it all in before starting on the transfers.  So before work today I sprayed the varnish (using my usual satin acrylic lacquer). 
 

unfortunately the varnish has reacted badly on the chocolate paint.  Not sure what the next step is (other than potentially having to strip and respray)  the K40 is by far the worst, but there are patches on the other two as well.   I am wondering if polishing with T Cut as a cutting compound might do the job, or possibly polishing with very fine wet & dry maybe BC817D16-77D2-4A36-8CC2-01D0F6FBD7E2.jpeg.92f9ad65a57ed161d5368546edc4767f.jpeg

 

if looks a lot worse in the flesh…

I've had this problem before, usually with acrylic rattle cans. T-Cut is worth a try - otherwise sanding back is probably your only alternative. Either way, make sure the varnish (and paint of course) are rock-hard first.

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  • RMweb Gold
2 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I've had this problem before, usually with acrylic rattle cans. T-Cut is worth a try - otherwise sanding back is probably your only alternative. Either way, make sure the varnish (and paint of course) are rock-hard first.

Did you have any luck fixing it?

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