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42 minutes ago, Signaller69 said:

As a break from the DMU, I tackled lowering a Hornby class 25 today; regulars may recall I rebuilt the fuel tank area a while back, along with rebuilding the trailing bogie, but it still sat too high, despite closing the gap between bogies and chassis (by removing the odd off-centre trailing bogie moulded pivot, and the top of the bogie locating lugs) . I have seen comments that 25's "don't have solebars" as such, and that this is why the 25 body sits too high; the obvious solution is to lower the body on the chassis/ solebars. This means losing the clear Hornby glazing insert, but I had already done this when flush glazing was fitted.

 

Inside the body, 1mm or so was trimmed from the bottom of the 4 cab doors, with, on the chassis, a similar amount of "flat" bufferbeam removed above the buffers, to match the upper chassis front profile, in order that it sits higher inside the bottom edge of the cab. The 4 lugs which locate in the cab doors were also removed. And that's about it.

 

Once test fitted, the body was fixed back in place with a couple of small spots of epoxy resin on the chassis sides (enough to hold it in place but not make it impossible to get the body off in future if need be - bearing in mind the power and trailing bogies simply pull out for maintainence). Visually it looks a lot better now and matches my SLW class 24 in height (if not the fine detail or finish!)

 

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Some touching in of paint was also done whilst the loco was on the bench, all in all quite a pleasant diversion. I do have a soft spot for the Hornby 25 and could see me doing more of them in a similar fashion.

Interesting idea lowering the body slightly, I think ill try the same on a couple I have as it does look better.  Like you say Martyn there is something about the Hornby 25 that does look 'right' and a bit of work really benefits them. I always thought a converted Hornby 25 to 24 looked better than the Bachman one, but the SLW came along and blew our minds!

Cheers

James

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20 minutes ago, jessy1692 said:

Interesting idea lowering the body slightly, I think ill try the same on a couple I have as it does look better.  Like you say Martyn there is something about the Hornby 25 that does look 'right' and a bit of work really benefits them. I always thought a converted Hornby 25 to 24 looked better than the Bachman one, but the SLW came along and blew our minds!

Cheers

James

Hi James,

Sadly I don't have an unmodified Hornby 25 to compare it with, but if and when I get hold of one I will do a comparison photo. It really does improve the looks for not a great deal of work, it kind of removes the "top heavy" look - no doubt others might engineer a better solution for holding the body on to the chassis than mine though!

 

Martyn.

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2 minutes ago, Signaller69 said:

Hi James,

Sadly I don't have an unmodified Hornby 25 to compare it with, but if and when I get hold of one I will do a comparison photo. It really does improve the looks for not a great deal of work, it kind of removes the "top heavy" look - no doubt others might engineer a better solution for holding the body on to the chassis than mine though!

 

Martyn.

No probs Martyn, from the pics tonight you can clearly see the improvement from standard Hornby, it looks to sit just right and certainly doesn't look out of place next to the SLW 24. The close up of the cabs buffered illustrates perfectly that little tweaks go a long way. I bet from usual viewing angles/distances a lot of people wouldn't believe its a Hornby one!

A comparison will be interesting to see if/when you get another one on the go.

James

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1 minute ago, jessy1692 said:

No probs Martyn, from the pics tonight you can clearly see the improvement from standard Hornby, it looks to sit just right and certainly doesn't look out of place next to the SLW 24. The close up of the cabs buffered illustrates perfectly that little tweaks go a long way. I bet from usual viewing angles/distances a lot of people wouldn't believe its a Hornby one!

A comparison will be interesting to see if/when you get another one on the go.

James

 

Thanks James.

 

Given the frothing around Bachmann, Heljan and now SLW all doing a late body style 25, I suppose the irony at the moment is that if you want an early body 25 we are still stuck with either the 40ish year old Hornby or 25ish year old Bachmann models for the time being! 

 

All in all a good excuse to pick up a few more when Toyfairs permit!

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18 minutes ago, Signaller69 said:

 

Thanks James.

 

Given the frothing around Bachmann, Heljan and now SLW all doing a late body style 25, I suppose the irony at the moment is that if you want an early body 25 we are still stuck with either the 40ish year old Hornby or 25ish year old Bachmann models for the time being! 

 

All in all a good excuse to pick up a few more when Toyfairs permit!

Exactly! Roll on that day.. having said that I probably have about 5 or 6 Hornby ones knocking around so I can start going back over them. I suppose a couple can't hurt though if they appear at the right price.

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11 hours ago, Signaller69 said:

This means losing the clear Hornby glazing insert, but I had already done this when flush glazing was fitted.

Martyn,

 

I like what you've been doing to the Hornby Class 25s, and it's something I'd like to tackle myself at some point to my pair of Hornby 25s. Did you retain the headcode lighting and, if so, how did you manage that?

 

With the 4-lugs removed under the cab doors, what's keeping the body moulding onto the chassis, just gravity?

 

Ian

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22 minutes ago, ISW said:

Martyn,

 

I like what you've been doing to the Hornby Class 25s, and it's something I'd like to tackle myself at some point to my pair of Hornby 25s. Did you retain the headcode lighting and, if so, how did you manage that?

 

With the 4-lugs removed under the cab doors, what's keeping the body moulding onto the chassis, just gravity?

 

Ian

Thanks Ian,

There is no lighting in this loco, but the glazing unit could be retained if a couple of mm were removed around the lower edge I expect.

 

One could make new lugs inside the bodyshell I would imagine, but otherwise, as modified the bodyshell just sits in position, hence I used a couple of small epoxy resin spots to hold it in place.

 

Martyn.

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In between wiring sessions on the Stabling Point layout, and having run out of red feed wire, I decided to solder up some footsteps for the Class 100. This was done in the same way as the class 107, using 2mm x 1mm brass 'L' section as footsteps with 1mm x 0.3mm strip for the supports, soldered up as one long unit, before being cut to individual steps with a drill and slitting disc.20210310_182012.jpg.84af762b85264de443e22ffc91a76390.jpg

 

After cleaning up, the excess length of the supports is bent over and behind the top of the bogie and will be fixed (after painting) with a little super glue.

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Handrails, door handles etc have been added; photos will follow once the steps are in place, plus a little retouching of paint.

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Not much modelling done, though I have sprayed the footsteps and produced a set of Cab end multiple working connections for the Class 100, made up as a strip from scrap plastic bits and some wire, as cast versions don't seem to be available any more. The nearer cosmetic "connected" ones are for the inner ends, if curves permit their fitting and are probably a bit OTT so will see how they look; the looped wire ends are to prevent stabbing myself on the sharp ends during coupling or handling! A bit crude but once painted should look ok.20210311_210833.jpg.051adfc1700a3ff08bb3862ccbac5d49.jpg

 

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I'm hoping to finish wiring the Stabling sidings layout over the weekend as my wire has arrived, along with a CDU.

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I like how you've lowered the height of the Horndby class 25 Martyn. Did you replace the wheels at all? I'm hoping to detail my ageing class 25 soon and was wondering what I could use? The ultrascale packs are a bit expensive but the could be the best option.

 

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8 minutes ago, sb67 said:

I like how you've lowered the height of the Horndby class 25 Martyn. Did you replace the wheels at all? I'm hoping to detail my ageing class 25 soon and was wondering what I could use? The ultrascale packs are a bit expensive but the could be the best option.

 

Hi sb,

 

I used Hornby class 86 wheels or LNER tender drive wheels from Peter's Spares to re-wheel my class 24 and 25's. Although the tyres are a little chunky they are a great improvement.

 

Gibbo.

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10 minutes ago, Gibbo675 said:

Hi sb,

 

I used Hornby class 86 wheels or LNER tender drive wheels from Peter's Spares to re-wheel my class 24 and 25's. Although the tyres are a little chunky they are a great improvement.

 

Gibbo.

 

Thanks Gibbo, would they cope with code 75 track? 

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2 minutes ago, sb67 said:

 

Thanks Gibbo, would they cope with code 75 track? 

Hi sb,

 

I'm not sure abut code 75 as I don't have any, the wheels are the standard Hornby profile so will likely work.

 

Gibbo.

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50 minutes ago, Gibbo675 said:

Hi sb,

 

I'm not sure abut code 75 as I don't have any, the wheels are the standard Hornby profile so will likely work.

 

Gibbo.

Ok, ta Gibbo. 

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1 hour ago, sb67 said:

I like how you've lowered the height of the Horndby class 25 Martyn. Did you replace the wheels at all? I'm hoping to detail my ageing class 25 soon and was wondering what I could use? The ultrascale packs are a bit expensive but the could be the best option.

 

 

No I currently use the original wheels, though altered those on the motor bogie to have a traction tyre either side by removing a non geared pick-up wheel and substituting a spare geared non tyre wheel. This means one less pick up on the motor bogie, but I made a new trailing bogie centre with extra pickups to compensate, which also helps stop the usual Hornby 25 wobble.

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Another idea I heard is to fill the back of a Hornby geared wheel level with the gear and then slice the gear off as a ring and fit it too a more scale sized finer wheel, not tried that myself though.

 

1 hour ago, Gibbo675 said:

Hi sb,

 

I'm not sure abut code 75 as I don't have any, the wheels are the standard Hornby profile so will likely work.

 

Gibbo.

I find mine runs on code 75 track satisfactorily, though any stray ballast will find the flanges, where finer wheels clear it.

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Vac pipes have also been made up from wire and insulation for the DMU now, and fitted along with the MW cables and couplings. Think I have some air horns somewhere to add yet. A little paint is required to touch up wire etc.

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A little bed time reading turned up yesterday too.

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On 14/03/2021 at 13:13, Signaller69 said:

 

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Martyn,

 

You are starting to put many a ready-to-run vehicles to shame with your modelling and attention to detail. It really does look top-quality. All very inspirational.

 

Ian

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11 hours ago, BusDriverMan said:

Was that style of headcode display common?

Hi, I take it you mean the paper ones on the 24 on the book cover? Not sure they were common but I suspect mainly used for "extra" trains outside of the regular timetable so that a Signalman could identify them when they passed. They must have been frequently enough used to warrant a supply being distributed to depots or major Stations though I guess.

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36 minutes ago, ISW said:

Martyn,

 

You are starting to put many a ready-to-run vehicles to shame with your modelling and attention to detail. It really does look top-quality. All very inspirational.

 

Ian

Thankyou Ian, that is most kind. Although I do try to avoid too many photos of areas that are not quite as they should be!

I do find myself trying to improve on what I have done before with each project I must admit. Painting (and masking more particularly) I find rather a chore though, and this is one area I would like to improve on.

 

Martyn.

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2 minutes ago, Signaller69 said:

Painting (and masking more particularly) I find rather a chore though, and this is one area I would like to improve on.

Martyn,

 

Painting rolling stock is one area I'd like to get into. I've got the paints and an airbrush, but I'm a little short in the experience department ...

 

Ian

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26 minutes ago, ISW said:

Martyn,

 

Painting rolling stock is one area I'd like to get into. I've got the paints and an airbrush, but I'm a little short in the experience department ...

 

Ian

 Ian,

Regarding the airbrush I am in the same position, my good lady bought me one for Christmas a couple of years ago; apart from testing the compressor I have yet to use it (think I am more worried about bunging it up with poorly mixed paint, or due to poor cleaning after use, than anything else). Am hoping to use it when the weather warms up, just don't tie me down to a particular year!:dontknow:

 

Martyn.

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49 minutes ago, Signaller69 said:

Regarding the airbrush I am in the same position, my good lady bought me one for Christmas a couple of years ago; apart from testing the compressor I have yet to use it (think I am more worried about bunging it up with poorly mixed paint, or due to poor cleaning after use, than anything else).

Martyn,

 

That just makes your painting even more impressive. A very good smooth paint finish, without an airbrush. Very skilful.

 

Ian

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7 minutes ago, ISW said:

Martyn,

 

That just makes your painting even more impressive. A very good smooth paint finish, without an airbrush. Very skilful.

 

Ian

Thanks Ian, I use acrylic car aerosols for most colours to be honest (except for Rail Blue which is a Railmatch enamel aerosol, but if I make a note of the RAL reference again I might get that made up by my local paint supplier too,) though I accept these are not necessarily "environmentally friendly". 

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15 minutes ago, Signaller69 said:

Thanks Ian, I use acrylic car aerosols for most colours to be honest (except for Rail Blue which is a Railmatch enamel aerosol, but if I make a note of the RAL reference again I might get that made up by my local paint supplier too,) though I accept these are not necessarily "environmentally friendly". 

Hi Martyn,

 

Rail Blue RAL 5020 and Rail Grey RAL 7038, should that help.

 

Gibbo.

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