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Agenoria RSH 0-6-0 in 4mm


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It is looking good. What motor+gearbox are you using?

 

I bought the kit as the "complete" version, Kenton. It came with the Romford wheels, a Mashima 12/20 can motor and Ultrascale 38:1 gear set.

 

 

I'd go for filling with solder and redrilling. After all, the real things ran on whitemetal bearings for thousands of miles. wink.gif

 

Bit of brass tube and some filler?

 

Cheers

Dave

 

 

I like Dave's idea the best, but the brass tube I have is either too small - same OD as the crosshead shaft, or even larger than the hole I'm trying to reduce, so Pinkmouse, you get the winning vote. I'm not too worried about wear - there are no forces other than friction in play, as the weight of the crosshead is insignificant. The main function will be to serve as the third point of contact to guide the crosshead (the upper and lower slidebars being the first two). I can drill the hole to be snug-but-free by test fitting the rod as I go.

 

No pictures tonight. I just spent the evening reaming the coupling and connecting rods, and test fitting the crossheads so I could trim the tail that was fouling the front of the cylinders.

 

I need to have a think about painting now, too; I'm not going to be able to get in behind the wheels once the valve gear is fixed on, and that needs to happen when I mount the motor and run it all in. And when it comes to that, I still have no idea what colour to paint her.

 

Clearly, that means it's time for a scotch and some reflection, on the rocks. tongue.gif

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Something of a shortlist:

 

5128801144_74e2a66949_b.jpg

 

 

I know where my preference is... but I'm going to give it a few days and see if that changes. What do other readers think?

 

(No green? No; my main area of interest is LNER locos - if I were shop this one in green, too, it would loose itself amongst the Darlington and Doncaster shades...)

 

Scott

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Before you start filling in the holes, just check and see if you have some casting called cylinder glands, May also be called piston rod glands if you have that's where they fit. You may have some round parts on the etch with the scrap cylinders on for use at the rear of the cylinders. .

HTH

OzzyO

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Before you start filling in the holes, just check and see if you have some casting called cylinder glands, May also be called piston rod glands if you have that's where they fit. You may have some round parts on the etch with the scrap cylinders on for use at the rear of the cylinders. .

HTH

OzzyO

 

Ding! Ding! Ding! Thanks to everyone for your thoughts on the piston-slop soloution, but I'm pleased to say there is a clear winner: Thanks very much, OzzyO!

 

In my rush to get pistons working, I did not finish the final assembly steps from the chassis page - mainly because I wanted to make sure I could actually get it working before thowing the "gubbins" on. The gubbins, in this case, include andgles on the ends of the chassis (41/48), the sanding gear (54-56), draincocks (8) and the hangers (122) and motion brackets (71), and part (42) stuffing glands:

 

5128837872_46e6de6901_b.jpg

 

(as an aside, OzzyO's suggestion about the spare pieces from the scap cylinder etch also would have worked - there are what looks to be now redundant cylinder front-and-backs I could have adapted to fit as well; see the upper left corner of the image below).

 

Back to the stuffing glands: In case it isn't quite clear how microscopic these things are, I've used a bit of Photoshop jiggy-pokery to place those components on a millimetre ruler:

 

These things are 3.5mm across, and as you can see, do not have enough half etch fold lines to bend into the seven faced shape the instructions show - but I get the idea of what they are supposed to do - the fit over the slidebars, and the radiussed hole on the left of each etching will do exactly what is needed - keep the crosshead in a tidy line as it moves back and forth.

 

The shape of this etch also explains the slot next to the hole where the piston enters the cylinder - the small tab on the right hand side of each (42) slots into that, to help locate it correctly:

 

4447064714_00ec1fc53d_o.jpg

 

Luckily, it's the weekend, so I can set myself up to do this jewellers work in a nice bright room in the middle of the day. I'll just have to keep off the coffee for the morning!

 

Cheers

 

Scott

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Back to the stuffing glands: In case it isn't quite clear how microscopic these things are, I've used a bit of Photoshop jiggy-pokery to place those components on a millimetre ruler:

 

These things are 3.5mm across, and as you can see, do not have enough half etch fold lines to bend into the seven faced shape the instructions show - but I get the idea of what they are supposed to do - the fit over the slidebars, and the radiussed hole on the left of each etching will do exactly what is needed - keep the crosshead in a tidy line as it moves back and forth.

 

If I recall (and I'm happy to be corrected) all the Agenoria kits were designed for 7mm scale and were reduced to 4mm. This nearly always causes problems with such things as half-etches and inevitably creates parts that are super-detailed - I think making up that seven faces shape is just such a step too far.

 

Still you know what they say - read, read and re-read the instructions (if you are lucky enough to be provided with them) and the instructions and exploded diagrams on these Agenoria kits are superb.

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If I recall (and I'm happy to be corrected) all the Agenoria kits were designed for 7mm scale and were reduced to 4mm. This nearly always causes problems with such things as half-etches and inevitably creates parts that are super-detailed - I think making up that seven faces shape is just such a step too far.

 

Still you know what they say - read, read and re-read the instructions (if you are lucky enough to be provided with them) and the instructions and exploded diagrams on these Agenoria kits are superb.

 

The 7mm -> 4mm conversion would explain a lot; there are some impossible small items that the instructions just ignore - for instance there is a hanger (122) for what I assume is a mechanical lubricator linkage, but it is not referenced, and the spiderweb like linkages could, in theory, be attached to the crossheads, but their lifespan would be measured in minutes. It would be nice to have them moving, but pragmatism has to kick in somewhere.

 

Today I tidied up some loose ends; I laminated the motion brackets, folded up some sanding boxes, and punched out the rivets and soldered the angle brackets that fit on the end of the frame. This last task was a great example of the learning process for a newcomer, and why I am enjoying the build, traps and all.

 

I tinned the end of the frames, then sat the angle ( a 1.5mmx1.5mm x 12mm folded etch) where it belonged. A drop of phosphoric on the end of a paint brush and apply the soldering iron; the first time, I placed the tip inside the angle - I could see the brass on the angle discolour as it got hot, but the solder on the frame took a few more seconds to liquify. The angle moved, and I had to quickly the use knife in my free hand to nudge it back in place. By the third angle, I worked out to apply the heat to the frame under the angle, and on the fourth, touched the iron against the edge of the frame. This localised the heat, and I could see the small are liquify and as I slid the iron down the frame depth, the pool of liquifying solder no more than 2mm wide - I wasn't sure it had stuck, but with the heat off and a few seconds cooling time, it proved to be secure. Small steps... wink.gif

 

So it was on to stuffing glands.

 

To do this, I used a piece of blasa behind the slidebars to be sure I postioned them correctly...

 

5128837248_e8b34dba32_b.jpg

 

Here, I've got the gland waiting to be positioned. Slip it up snug against the rear face of the cylinder and then touch some solder onto the slidebars where the glands are resting...

 

These close ups really are a killer. blink.gif Looking at them on my workbench now, the look fine, but seeing them like they are ready to be bolted on to a Gauge 1 model, they look like hell. To put it into perspective, if you look at the inset (upper right) on this photo, this is about how big these are in real life:

 

The other thing you might pick up is that the crosshead is not a neat fit on the rear assembly. I need to fettle the casting a little and also thin down the bottom slidebar so that it runs properly in the casting - it spreads the slidebars at present. I did that work on the lower cylinder, and thought the upper was okay, but now with the stuffing gland in place, I can see there's a bit of work to be done.

 

I must confess there are times that I find this sort of fiddly stuff a chore. I know I should probably plug on and get the chassis motorised and running smoothly, but I might take a detour and build the cab interior or even the superstructure next*. It's now been a week of laminating and fiddling, and I'd to keep the next week's evening (after work) sessions a little lighter. And while I think of it, thanks to everyone is is taking the time to look at what I'm doing - even more so to those chipping in with encouragement and advice.

 

*There's a hidden agenda to doing this: the instructions have me powering the rear axle. I could use the centre axle, but would need to cut away some spacer material, and would like to understand the clearences into the boiler/tank above that area. I'm sure there is enough room - it's just that I'd like to get a good idea of what I am up for. If I have the body built, I can do exactly that.

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Personally I quite like the yellow 'un, it would certainly be different! unsure.gif

 

 

Well, I guess yellow wasn't unknown on steelworks locos - now wouldn't that look good with a silver smokebox (per Chislet) and wasp stripes fore and aft? biggrin.gif

 

Adam

 

 

Be brave go for the yellow one with wasp stripes. you wont loose it then!

Bob

 

 

I have to agree with yellow but I'd make it more of an ochre colour, should look superb and if you put wasp stripes on, they'd stand out a bit more.

 

Boogy

 

 

You could always pint it primula yellow - Shotton Colliery had an industrial that colour - which, although preserved is painted boring black.....

 

 

It certainly seems there is a consensus - and curiously, I had actually made the same choice myself when I posted the palette of options. Adam's suggestion about the wasp strips is inspired! Yes, the rear of the bunker is aching for that treatment to add some visual interest. As for the shade, I'm in agreement with boogaloo - an ochre, rather than a pure yellow seems to feel right.

 

And then I got to thinking: Where have I seen that before....

 

4453358295_b673cf9806_o.jpg

 

So I guess I'm making the steriod-pumped cousin of...

 

 

4453358303_84126fa640_o.jpg

 

 

...although the desire for a deeper shade is probably sub-consciously influenced by the 1971 book version, which is markedly darker:

 

4454182066_e4fb06bfb5_o.jpg

 

I'll check my paintbox, but am pretty sure most of my yellows are either warning panel or RAF trainer yellow, so I will blend my own from one of these by letting it down with a dark brown - another nice touch to customise the end result.

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Been a bit of a slow week, I'm afraid, but have a little more to show tonight.

 

I have decided I am going ahead with the body before I take the chassis any further, and started work on the cab this week.

 

This is the illustrated part of the instructions:

 

 

 

And here are the two cab etches close up. Lots of nice tabs along the bottom to get it in the right spot on the footplate!

 

5128835242_92e949ac4c_b.jpg

 

 

The lower one is the RSH that I'll be using.

 

There were a few fiddly jobs to do here before the cab is folded up; the first was to run beading around the inside of the side windows. The front windows have inserts that just drop in (you can see them on the scrap etch inside the side windows). And the roof has rainstrips that have to be soldered into a half etch on the outside edges.

 

What you can't see on the etch, can in the instructions, are the rows of five 0.3mm holes above and below each back window to hold wire to form window bars. I managed to wrestle these into place with not too much fuss. You can see the end result here (along with the pile of 1000 grit wet and dry I used to clean everything up after its bath in washing soda. My 2p on this: don't skimp on the sandpaper - keep changing for a fresh piece regularly!):

 

 

 

The two small rectangles at the bottom are "working" cab doors. Well, in 7mm maybe. I didn't have the dexterity (or eyesight for that matter) to keep a microbe of solder on the top 1mm of etch, so they'll be fixed on mine - one open, one shut. And I am yet to trip the cab beading - will wait till I fit the handrails when the cab is joined to the footplate.

 

I must say that while I'm happy to spend the time and effort dressing up a kit-built cab myself, am I being a heretic when I say I don't think the current trend for hyper-detailed cabs on RTR steam locos is a good one? Gauges and dials in 4mm you can read are spectacular, but considering these must be labour intensive to produce, and are all but invisible when a loco is working on a layout, I would prefer to pay £1... £2... even £5? less, or perhaps see the brake rigging or other detail parts added that are left off in bags for now. For me, it just seems to be an expense that maybe should not be such a priority for manufacturers. But I'm probably in the minority, so I'll put my head back down and get on with it...

 

Now you don't see too many postings here on RMweb where people show you their goof-ups. But I'm shameless, so here's one for you. The rear of the RSH cab had six rivets to dimple. Having punched clean through brass when I used a compass on a previous occasion, I used the sharp point of a small round file this time. Bad move. Instead of punching rivets, I left cannon ball like depressions on the etch. ohmy.gif I placed it on a flat surface and tried to undo the damage, but left myself with a scale model of the third hole at St Andrews. I know it's on the bunker, but that is just ridiculous...

 

You can see it a little too clearly here:

 

 

 

I've cleaned it up as much as possible, and had a couple of choices: flood the area with solder and sand smooth; use some acryl blue and sand smooth; or leave as is. Given that it will fall behind the coal in the bunker, and this area of the loco probably took a beating in real life, I'm going with option (3). Maybe. wink.gif

 

The good news is, that I got the compass back out, and with a lot more finess, dimpled the rivets on the etch of the roof vent tracks. As Sod's law would have it, you can't see those very well, but they are there.

 

The next step is to fold everything up, solder together, and attach to the footplate...

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When pressing out rivets, I find the tool not quite so important, (though I do usually use the London Road drop riveter), but the surface you work on is vital. I use an offcut of 1/8" ali for small heads and a scrap piece of lead flashing for larger, more rounded ones.

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When pressing out rivets, I find the tool not quite so important, (though I do usually use the London Road drop riveter), but the surface you work on is vital. I use an offcut of 1/8" ali for small heads and a scrap piece of lead flashing for larger, more rounded ones.

 

An excellent point, Pinkmouse - thank you! I have some scrap alumnium at hand so will try that - along with some other backing surfaces - to see what results I get. I'm afraid Kenton's tool is lottery winnings material for me!

 

Good progress yesterday. I remarked to another poster off-line that I would spend the shorter after-work hours during the week on small jobs - cleaning up, making small sub assemblies, sharpening solder joints, and leave the 4-5 hour sessions I can usually afford on the weekend to the major work, and so it was this week.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't want to stop mid-work, so it's just progress photos this time (I have a lot of clean up to do yet - the pieces have just been placed in location to show where I am at):

 

 

 

Yesterday I started work on the footplate, and I soldered up the cab. I've soldered footplate side etches before, and had no trouble, but the Agenoria ones are frightfully thin, and the half-etch they sit in is not a groove along the underside of the footplate, but a half-etched edge, making alignment of such a flexible side a real challenge. I got there, but there's quite a bit of stray solder to clean up.

 

The front and rear buffer beams are laminates - tinning them and then using toothpicks through the holes for the buffers made sweating them together a doddle. The kit provides for full size, or scalloped corners on these. I thought the full size ones painted red at the rear will balance the wasp strips well, but don't think the are an attractive "look" from head on - so chose the scalloped shaped laminations for the front buffer beam.

 

 

 

The cab folded up nice and neatly. It's funny, having provided lots of nice tabs and slots to locate the cab, the back of the cab and back of the bunker are pure eyeball alignment joins - and I could see the alignment would be critical as they need to sit down properly on the footplate etch. I somehow got there with only mildly burnt fingers (and in the end, did flood the cockled cab rear with solder, and dressed it back to a much smoother finish).

 

I still have a lot of fettling to do on yesterday's work - but for the photo shoot, I wanted to put everything in place to see how it all looks. Nothing is bolted or tied down, so the cylinders, cab and cab roof are all just hanging there - and the motion needs trimming up to fit, but you can get there general idea. The firebox etch is the next step, so I've slipped it in place for these shots.

 

5128859146_73975ddaa1_b.jpg

 

I'm happy with my choice to start on the work above the footplate. It's kept me interested, but just as importantly has revealed a couple of clearance problems to solve between the frame and the footplate, too. But most importantly for me, it's starting to look a little like the photo on the box!

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  • 3 weeks later...

A belated Happy Easter from Down Under to everyone - the hiatus in building was brought on by your average Aussie school holiday road trip; 3,500km up and down the coast with 10,8 and 3 year olds in the back seat. It's no wonder I feel like I need a holiday...

 

Now back to the main game:

 

I managed to get a few hours last night to clean up the work from last time. Some fresh supplies of wet and dry and I have everything looking a lot neater. I wasn't happy with the way the cab floor was sitting when I test fitted the cab to the footplate, so did the right thing, and unsoldered it, and reset it nice and evenly. At the same time, I added the reverse lever, as once the cab is fitted, the is no way to solder under the cab floor. And so on to the backhead:

 

4513965491_75b73a155b_o.jpg

 

Well that's what the instructions say. The parts themselves look something like this:

 

4513965673_873009f453_o.jpg

 

 

I'm pretty sure I'm missing the manifold, as those two castings on the left are supposed to be gauge glasses. Never mind, as Iain Rice's books have some good suggestions how to knock up these sort of details from bits and bobs - which is what I'll do.

 

Not sure about the three items on the right - I had a look at the diagrams and can't see a reference, but they may also come up in the text. Back into the castings bag with them for now and we'll find out later.

 

I also plan to open out the firebox door on the backhead, and make my own open doors. I used the two spare functions on a TCS decoder when I did my very first install to power a couple of LED's on a Hornby J52 to flicker at random inside the firebox. It's funny how something as subtle as that can help the illusion of a model train as being steam powered rather than electric.

 

Then again, you know what they say about small things amusing small minds!

 

Cheers

 

Scott

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A prototype shot here - though admittedly, a YEC version.

 

Adam

 

That is a cracking photo, Adam - thanks for steering me to it. I love the texture of the paint on the smokebox - it looks like it's about ten coats thick, just slapped on top of the old one each time. But at the same time, she looks in great shape, too. That's only the second photo I've seen of one of these locos at work. Funnily enough, I do have a clip from an Ivo Peters film of one working an ironstone train, but otherwise these locos seem to have been rather camera shy.

 

 

Last night was a fruitful session, with the backhead coming together:

 

4522633383_42175b5974_o.jpg

 

I placed the firebox door etch on the backhead flat, and marked up the door runner locations and edges of the door. Then I drilled a hole where the doors sit, and opened it out with a small file. Another round of rivet punching - more succesful this time (or possibly a touch understated?) and then the firebox side was formed around the backhead with no fuss.

 

I sliced the firebox door etch down the middle, and soldered the right half on the left, and the left on the right, leaving me with an open firehole. The door runners looked a little invisible, so I sweated a couple of very thin scrap fret slivers over the top to make them more prominent. The operating lever was too flimsy to re-model, so I just attached it to one side - it sits proud of the doors, and I gave it a small handle too, so it will look the part in the confines of the cab.

 

I made up the missing manifold by taking a thin piece of brass sheet and folding it into a rectangular prism. I then filled the innards with solder. Once this cooled, I drilled out holes on the front, sides and bottom, and used some short pieces of 0.45mm wire to fashion something that looked like the manifold from the instructions, heating the solder and setting them in place before it tuned solid again. I tried to use the small wheel etches supplied, but they defied all effort to solder them, the gaps filling with solder as I tinned them even before I tried to attach them to the now installed wires.

 

I went to my parts supply and cut some spare wheels from the Iain Rice/Mainly Trains detailing etch (see below), and superglued them over the top once the soldering was done and the piece cleaned up. I'll touch these with some wet and dry after I paint he whole lot black, and hopefully the brass detail will come shining through.

 

4522633655_83499903cf_o.jpg

 

The regulator and its travel stop slipped over a small length of wire soldered into the backhead, and some microscopic 0.3mm wire clippings were touch-soldered onto the ends to represent handles.

 

The last items were the gauge glass castings. There were no guides where these should be placed, so I estimated a reasonable location and drilled out 1mm holes for them to sit in. The castings cleaned up quite nicely, with tiny pipe protrusions coming off each end. I held them in place, turned the backhead over and puddled flux on the rear, then carefully aimed a blob of solder at each of the two connecting points for each gauge. The flux sizzled, the soldered melted and flowed, and the whitemetal stayed solid, so I'd call that a win.

 

The cab has been a good diversion, and I've enjoyed the challenges. Next time, it's back to the footplate: I'll be attaching the cab, fitting the firebox and other details, which will be the last step before I tackle the boiler!

 

Cheers

 

Scott

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Another productive weekend and no major dramas.

 

First job, solder the cab to the footplate. The slot and tabs on the kit make this a breeze - a sliver of excess solder at the bottom of the bunker stuck out like a sore thumb when I tried a dry run. A few wipes of the file, and the cab locked down into place. I pinned it with a spot of solder on each of the four tabs, then went back and fluxed the join areas, carefully heating until the solder flowed along the join.

 

Next, fitting the firebox to the cab assembly. Agenoria provide the firebox pre-rolled, but also include a former that the intructions advise is to be used to shape the firebox ~ but not to solder to it. I found that after trial fitting the tabs into the cab front, the shape took care of itself (I dropped the former in against the cab and everything was nice and snug.

 

I had a bit of a eureka moment with the firebox. I had only put a small spot of solder down at the 12 o'clock position, and was going to spot the 9 and 3 o'clocks (where the tabs were) then run them together. But being conscious that I've been too heavy with the solder since the beginning, and that this join (and those on the boiler/tank) was going to be very visible, I thought I'd just flux what was there and run it out first. As it turned out, the fit between the firebox and cab front was so good, there was plenty, and the shiny silver bead ran neatly around the side of the firebox. I fluxed the other side, and was able to do the same with what remained.

 

 

4529891279_503558713e_o.jpg

 

From there, it was just a matter of soldering the base of the firebox to the foorplate, and the assembly was fixed firmly. Again, the kit is well designed in that the flaps that fold over at the firebox front each have a step in them at the bottom - this fits hard against the gap in the footplate. It was a simple step to run a bead of solder from there back to the cab front, fixing the firebox to the footplate. The three-way join at the cab looks a little mucky in the photos, but I did slosh plenty of flux on and run as much solder away from it as I could, and then sharpened it with a small flat-flated screwdriver, craft knife, and finally some wet and dry paper. It looks fine in the flesh.

 

The next step was to fold up and fit the sandboxes and lubricators. This is one of those occasions where it seems like Agenoria have said "This is an etched kit, so we'll etch as much as possible" because cast whitemetal would have been an easier for the builder. Having said that, I surprised myself and managed to make a neat job of them and even got three of the four to sit flat on the footplate. This was one time where the slot and tab was more trouble than it was worth, with the tabs being a "reverse tab" off the flat ridge that should sit flush on the footplate. After failing to get the first to sit down, I just cut them off and used the slots as guides as to where to solder them on. The lubricators have wheels to fit, but I can see these are best left until after painting.

 

Finally, on the right hand side of the footplate, the reversing lever is attached to a pivot 3mm long. There's no tab for this piece of micro surgery, but the instructions give millimetre offsets from the cab from and footplate. I went to solder the pivot on Saturday night, but when I had tinned it and was lifting it to the footplate, it slipped out of the tweezers. Of course it didn't just drop on the soldering board, but bounced once and down into the carpet... Hmmm. Time to stop for the night.

 

This morning by the strength of strong sunlight, I spent 10 minutes scouring the land under by work area on my hands and knees, and the beastie turned up. I wasted no time securing it to the footplate, but stopped short of adding the reversing rod - once again, it would just be a pain when it comes time to paint. So it will get glued on in the closing stages.

 

The holes you can see in the firebox are for washout plugs. I've got three of those to make, plus attached the lids of the sandboxes, all of which I'll get to one evening this week.

 

4529891273_3acf4e306d_o.jpg

 

Cheers

 

Scott

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Excellent work, is there one of these in preservation?

 

 

Thank you. Things are looking a lot cleaner now I have acquired a burnishing brush!

 

The details supplied with the kit by Agenoria suggest both RSH and YE versions have been preserved, however I have only been able to identify the YE example, "Chislet", on static display at Quainton Rd, Buckinghamshire.

 

Searching the web, I have only found a handful of prototype photos (all of the YE version) and only three of these are of active locos - the rest are of preserved Chislet at Quainton.

 

Cheers

 

Scott

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