Shez's workbench

[Shez]

Good to hear from you Jamie. Its blowing a gale and raining here in the Pennine foothills, and my cars in dock, so it looks like some more progress today.  Having started following the instruction sequence I think I will continue, but wont repeat the experiment. 

 

The kit and instructions really are excellent though.

 

Hope everything is good over there in France and that Green Ayre is progressing. 

[jamie92208]

Thanks for that Mark. We've had a bit of wind and rain over the last few days but do need the rain after a very dry summer. Not a huge lot of progress on LGA but I have got the rewired Fiddle yard panel working, though the indicator lights aren't finished yet and am now slowly working my way through the 2F, though the instructions might as well not be in the box for all the use they are.

 

 

Jamie

[Shez]

With the car in dock this week there has been opportunity for further progress. The instructions suggest constructing the body in a series of modules then bringing them all together, so first I turned my attention to the boiler. I put this together in my usual way using florists wire to hold it securely while I soldered the bottom seam, and held the central former in place with blue tack. I used 188 solder for this. I then added the boiler bands using the Carrs solder cream I bought at Warley. I know this stuff is costly, but I have found it great for detail jobs like this - a tiny amount does the trick and very little cleaning up. I think it will last a long time, as I only use it for a few jobs on each loco. ( It will have to given the bill for the car!)  The kit has little half etched guides at the bottom of the boiler to position the bands, with different positions given for a later or earlier boiler. 

 

 

With the boiler completed the next unit was the smokebox. Again there are choices here in terms of drilling out depending on the variant of the loco you are modelling. My loco was one with tallow cups on the side of the smokebox, not the front, and there was no Vacuum brake on this loco, so hole for the pipe into the smoke box is not needed. The wrapper was rolled, and formed around the front - all parts are labelled top, front, rear, etc, and there are some small half etched lines for ling up, so its hard to go wrong. Again I used 188 for strength. Before soldering on the back I put some pieces of lead into the smoke box former to give some forward weight to the loco. 

 

 

With these two units completed its a case of matching them up to the footplate and rear cab assembly - nothing is fixed yet.

 

 

So we are starting to see something that begins to look like a loco emerging. Next its the bit that those of an NBR persuasion dread, those curved tank tops, with their odd handrails!  

[nigelb]

I really need to  get my backside into  gear and  crack on with mine

[Shez]

Good to hear from you Nigel. I thought you were well in front of me with yours!  I got the side tanks completed but no photographs yet, and as we are making a half therm trip to the caravan it will be next week before I get anything posted.

[nigelb]

Good to hear from you Nigel. I thought you were well in front of me with yours!  I got the side tanks completed but no photographs yet, and as we are making a half therm trip to the caravan it will be next week before I get anything posted.

I have been trying to  get my  home made  rivet  punch  made and to do that  i have had to  get my  lathe working  lol  almost  done  , 

this weekend i am down in london  so i  fully  intend to do some   loco modelling  enjoy the  caravaning

[Shez]

Its been some time sie a post as my son has been using the computer for work - however modelling continues, and there has been progress on a number of fronts.

 

The Pickersgill is finally finished! Clay Blue courtesy of Halfords rattle can - its probably wrong, but as I have said before life is  too short!  Black areas are brush painted Humbrol, red brown from Phoenix. Bowpen below the footplate, fox transfers above, She has been for a spin on the club test track, and she got some nice comments at the Wakefield show. Once again thanks to all who responded to desperate pleas for help. 

 

 

 

I have also been pressing on with the six wheel NBR coaches from the other thread. A Third now awaits a trip to the paintshop, to join the first and brake third built already. These coaches will be used on the Eyemouth layout we are planning - see Sams thread on this.

 

 

All this has meant that work on the G7 has been slow. However, I have got the body put together now. I curved the tanks in the same way that I described in the earlier part of this thread when building the 0-6-0 tank. I have persevered with building the superstructure first as per instructions, but I don t think its some thing I will repeat - I have left some of the detailing, and got in with soldering everything up - the structure was far to flexible for my liking - so next time its buffer beams and valances first. I put the chassis on to check clearances ( yes I am still paranoid about this)  and from the photograph its clear that things are very tight - the front drivers only just clear the smokebox.  I also had to make some changes to the boiler - when I lined it up with the loco body it was clear that I had attached it to the smoke box a little out of line so it was un solder and start again. The boiler band was also too close to fit the tanks which are fitted onto the boiler side. If you are building the kit use the forward one of the two half etches at the bottom of the boiler. 

 

 

So hopefully with my son now back to independence there should be more time to update and its on with the G7.

Edited November 27, 2018 by Shez

[jamie92208]

That Pickersgill is looking lovely Mark, good luck with the other builds.

 

Jamie

[Shez]

Thanks Jamie.  The Third coach is I think a real improvement on the other two. Having the underframe drawing in the Sewell book has given the vehicle a much more complete look below the frames. I now have a clear plan - another brake third next  - then there is the possibility of trying to hack the spare etches into a composite and a four wheel brake.

[jamie92208]

That's good to hear Mark.   I look forward to seeing the results of your labours in due course.   

 

Jamie

[Shez]

Quite a bit of progress to report on the G7. First job was to attach the buffer beams and valances. This has strengthened the whole superstructure considerably. I did find it somewhat awkward doing it at this stage, and had to remove and re position the rear buffer before I was satisfied.

 

Two jobs came next. First of all the rails for the top of the tank. I made theses from 0.7mm nickle silver wire. They were formed in the same way I used for the Holmes 0-6-0 tank I described earlier. The rail was drawn on a piece of MDF and then the wire was bent round a piece of tube. Piers were then used for the final bends with drill shanks used as formers placed upright in holes in the MDF. The tank fillers were placed in their holes to make sure spacing was correct. Its important to get these right as they are such a feature of NBR tank locos. 

 

I then turned my attention to the coal rails. These would be open rather than plated. Here I made a departure from Peters instructions. He suggests you fold the etched rail and solder it into position. You then add half round wire to represent the beading. I was worried that I would find it difficult to get the iron in without unsoldering the rails. I therefore decided to put the beading on first, holding it in place with small wooden pegs. I used the Carrs Solder Cream for this job. Following a bit of filing and fettling to get them to fit I then attached them to the loco body with 145 solder. I also found it easier to do the middle rail first, rather than the lowest as suggested. 

 

 

Once complete both the rails and the tank handrails were added. I then realised I needed to do  a bit of research. The locos were re boilered by Reid, adding tank straps safety valve covers, and a new, position for the whistle. My Loco number 91 was however a little quirky. Along with one other it retained the dome mounted safety valves. However the tank straps were added, and the whistle removed. I was able to confirm that 91 had no safety valve cover but also lost the mounting plate for the whistle with the whistle being moved to a new position in front of the cab. I would like to thank both Peter Mullen, and Euen Cameron of the NBR study group, for their kind help in clarifying this. I therefore soldered a piece of scrap etch inside the boiler to cover the hole, filled the recess with solder and filed. If you decide to build a G7 check the boiler fittings  out on your chosen loco. 91 and 588 were the two that were treated in this way. However there was more boiler swapping under the LNER to complicate matters. Locos of LNER vol 7 and Yeadons Vol 36 have information about this. 

 

 

So she is now starting to take on the character of the finished loco. The next stage is to just check out clearances before I attach those front splashers, it really is very tight in there, and check the bogie isn't fouling anything. So its time to set up a test run.

[Shez]

The test run was successful, so its been on with completing the bodywork in and among the festivities. The brasswork and the main castings are now pretty much complete. (Except for the lamp iron I managed to knock off with some over enthusiastic scrubbing) 

 

 

Its been impossible to get at the computer with the house full, so here is a quick summary for anyone building the kit about any issues I met with. The front splashers were attached next and another test run revealed no clearance problems despite things being very tight. However it was different when I attached the small coupling rod splashers as these caught the top of the rods at the back. I had to file out a small crescent shape at the bottom of the main splashers to provide clearance. It was only then that I realised that Peter had in fact sent some replacement splasher etches, so this may have been part of the issue. Just watch out for it if you build the kit, chances are there will be no problem.

 

I then turned my attention to the cab roof. This went together easily and is well thought out, giving the option of making the roof removable which I have done. I normally use srap etch for this so having parts provided was a welcome change.

 

In my last post I mentioned about the safety valve. Looking at photographs of the No 91 with its Reid boiler, it was quite clear that there was more "plumbing" up in this area. Trouble was this was not shown on the Sewell drawing, and was not fully visible on the photographs from above. I think its to do with the Westinghouse gear. Eventually from looking at a drawing of a Glen and a photo of a G9 which showed the top of a similar boiler I raided the spares box and added some piping using wire, brass tube and handrail knobs. Can't claim it is 100% accurate, but that part of the boiler now looks suitably "busy".

 

I then added the rear toolbox and the lamp irons. In hindsight I might have shaved the back of the box down a bit as there was very little room to get the lamp irons in.

 

I then added the steps. Peter gives different options for different periods, and two possible ways of constructing them. Once made, I added a good deal of scrap etch behind them to make them ore secure. Another peculiarity of No 91 was that it never had a set of front steps added when it was reboilered, and remained with cab steps only up to scrapping. 

 

With the brass work done I added the chimney, dome and the piano front. I used low melt solder here having first tinned the brass with 145. I used to be a bit scared of doing this, ( managed to half melt a safety valve cover in an early attempt) but now I have got a temp controlled iron, its an easy job. 

 

So the last lap now. Started work on the backhead, and Westinghouse pump last night. This will be made removable to make painting easier. As she takes shape, those of you of a Southern / LSWR persuasion, will no doubt be noticing the strong Drummond and Stroudley influences on the design, and the family resemblance to the M7.

Edited December 30, 2018 by Shez

[Shez]

So that's the G7 pretty much complete for the moment. She had a spin on the Wakefield club test track last night and got through the reverse curves no problem. I had been worried about the bogie clearances, but this proved to not be a problem. There are still some bits to finish, and others have been fixed with blue tac as they will meed to be removed for painting. I am doing her in the NBR passenger livery, so its going to be quite a long job. 

 

 

This includes the buffers which I have left off for the moment. The lining on the buffer beams and the number in the central panel is difficult to do with them in place so the will have to wait. This also goes for the Westinghouse pipes. The Westinghouse pump is also fixed temporarily along with its associated pipework as again lining will go behind this. I annealed the wire to make the connection to the smokebox as this follows a circuitous route around other fittings, and photos show it was by no means straight. 

 

 

I completed the backhead and cab dials, but once again these are only attached for the pictures and will be removed for painting.

 

The boiler needed a fair amount of lead to get the loco to balance, but once in place it ran well. In the final set up I may see if I can add some bogie pick ups, though the bogie its self is very small in relation to the wheels and I don't want to risk shorts. 

The lead came from a box of tools and materials I acquired from the estate of one of our late club members Tony Bond. I only knew Tony for a short time, but he was a real gentlemen, and a fantastic modeler, who's standards I could only dream to aspire to,  He had a good deal of knowledge about the NBR, from his time working in Edinburgh and lent me books and photographs, and gave me lots of helpful tips on loco building. I also used some of a box of metal rods that had been his to do much of the forming of curves on this model. I would like to think there is a little bit of him in this loco, and would like to dedicate this build to his memory.

 

After a very enjoyable build of a kit I would very much recommend, number 91 will have to go on the back burner for now. The plan is prime and paint in the spring, lining and detailing in the summer, to emerge fully ready for traffic by the end of the year. 

[nigelb]

Well the embarrassment of  starting  before you  and not being any where near finished has spurred me on .

A fruitful day  has seen  the bunker end  done  i had one slight  problem when i tried the bunker  floor in . it fit so   tightly so struggled to get it out ,  Just one example of how well designed this kit is

 

the cab rear is just  wedged in place till i finish  detailing the cab

[Shez]

I was wondering how you were getting on! Looking good - no excuse not to get it finished now! 

 

 

I have been somewhat frustrated at trying to add some bogie pickups. The actual bogie its self is really small in relation to the wheels and there is little room without getting a short on the frames. However, given that all she will have to do is shuffle around with three six wheel coaches the pick up on the drivers will probably be fine. 

 

I agree that this is a really well engineered kit - it goes together really well, and is excellent value for money. 

 

Have you decided which individual loco you are building yet? You need to decide that before starting the boiler given the variations.

[nigelb]

 

Have you decided which individual loco you are building yet? You need to decide that before starting the boiler given the variations.

 

no I have not decided on the loco yet i think i need to start looking at pics

[Shez]

With the G7 awaiting the paintshop, I am starting two projects for the Eyemouth layout with two locos known to have worked the branch. Firstly for the pre-grouping period I am building another NBR Class D.  I am not going to chronicle this build as it will be very similar to the first loco I built on this thread, except it will be in NBR passenger livery, and be Westinghouse braked, for the mixed trains on the branch. However, I have made some changes to the chassis from the first build.  I wanted to drive off the rear axle and also to incorporate the springing method I have learned from Jazz. The centre drivers move in an elongated hole, with piano wire as the spring. Being of a nervous disposition, when it comes to attacking expensive kits, I soldered two rubbing strips form scratch etch to keep the bearing centered.  I am pleased with the result, and have the most free running chassis I have made so far.  I found with the previous model that the brake gear tended to get in the way of running adjustments, so I am making the whole thing removable using 14BA nuts. The spacers also needed some modification. The rear spacer has been cut out to facilitate the gearbox. The middle spacer has been slightly lowered to the level of the notches cut in the side to take pick ups. I have left off the front and rear angle irons as I found in the previous build they fouled the sprung buffers from 62C models that I use for all my NBR locos. I also intend to make a representation of the inside  valve gear.  

 

Edited February 8, 2019 by Shez
Adding further information

[Shez]

Shortly after the grouping the the workings of the Eyemouth branch were transferred to Tweedmouth shed. The locos used on the branch were ex NER O-6-0 engines.  The LNER Class J21.  I have had a Gladiator kit for one of these in the bottom of the cupboard for some time, so I decided that with some time this week due to my car being off the road I should get stuck in and start. The loco will be number 152. There is a photo on page 84 of  NBR Album by AA Mclean of it working a mixed train of NBR coaches and fish wagons. Locos working the branch needed to be Westinghouse fitted for this reason. 

 

As I said I have had the kit for some time. It was one of a batch I bought when it appeared that Gladiator Kits were going to go out of existence. Some of you know that another of my  anoraks ( my wife says I have a whole wardrobe full)  is playing the Melodeon in both a Ceilidh band and for a Morris team, and I sold my spare squeezebox to finance the purchase!  The kit is clearly one of quite long lineage having come via Fourtrack Models and appears to have begun life in 4mm scale.  I think we may be on for a challenge.

 

I decided as usual to begin with the tender. My original plan was to spring the centre axle as I did with the Pickersgill, as I want to add tender pick up.  However once I examined the etches a number of issues showed themselves.  The instructions which are detailed and acknowledge the kits shortcomings, suggest there are two options. A fold up etch, or a separate etch in nickle silver to make a chassis with spacers. I opted for the later, as the fold up seemed very narrow. The etch I used was on a separate etch stamped London Road Models. However three things were noted. The design would be difficult to elongate for springing, the design only appered to have two spaces, and the etch its self appeared slightly bent!  Could I make something from this? a bit of thinking called for. 

 

 

Firstly I strengthened the etch by soldering some pieces of brass angle along the side. I also made use of some extra spacers which I happened to have left over from the Pickersgill build. I then found a set of what I think are former Meteor Models hornblocks and guides in my spares box. ( I think I got these for an earlier build, but chickened out of using them and stayed with a rigid chassis. ) These were pressed into service on the centre axle.  Result - probably the most over engineered tender chassis ever constructed. However, its rigid, square and runs well. 

 

 

I also added the wires for the brake gear. I had intended to use bolts again, but I wanted the wire through for extra rigidity.

 

So two more locos up and running. I would be really interested to hear from anyone who has built the J21, and any comments or tips. The coupling rods look a bit flimsy - has anyone used them successfully.?  Having said that quite a bit of the kit is in nickle silver, and the castings look lovely.  

[jazz]

Hi Shez.  Nice job so far on what is IMHO a very nice kit to build.  I had no particular problems with it at all.  I find ex four track kits very good.

 

You mentioned the coupling rods being flimsy, I did not think they were.

 

Photo of one I built earlier.

 

[Shez]

That looks great Jazz. Hope mine turns out something approaching it. My worry about the rods were that they only seemed to be a single fold over, but if they worked fine for you I will give them a go. Most of the kits I have built previously have had three parts for the rods. (but then I have only built five!) Don't really have the long term experience to judge.

 

Did you find you had to carry out modifications to the footplate when you built the kit?  The instructions seem to suggest its actually based on a J25 kit with changes to make it into a J21. There is a diagram showing how to enlarge the holes for the wheels.

[jazz]

Vaguely, I guess it not being a big deal with a slitting disk I had forgotten about that bit.  Other than that I remember it being a pleasant build.

 

I have built quite a few kits with only two laminations and the locos have done Stirling service.

[hayfield]

Please may I ask a question, I have quickly skimmed through your thread as I have just obtained a Master chassis jig,  and did a quick search as I am looking for photos of the jig in use. I am new to 7mm scale (32mm gauge) loco building and have a couple of queries. Firstly is it worth using sprung hornblocks ? Secondly I see you are using plunger pickups which seem to work well in 7 mm scale

 

I have been plodding along with a Beattie well tank, rigid chassis works OK but noisy motor/gear box. I have a Slaters Flatiron (MR2000 classs) to rebuild (bought second hand part built) which I thought would benefit from sprung hornblocks and plunger pickups, plus I have an ACE kit for an Adams Radial tank to build, etchings only, perhaps to be built with rigid drivers and plunger pickups. Mixture of locos but layout will be west country, but the Flatiron is a favourite loco.

 

Thanks for my intrusion

[Shez]

 

Can I first begin with an apology for not answering Hayfields questions sooner.  Family illness issues have kept me away from any modelling, and just about anything else  for the last couple of months, and I have not checked the thread for weeks. 

 

So far I have not used sprung hornblocks on any of my builds, but I am giving them a go on the J21.  Where I have used for springing so far is the method advocated by Jazz which involves piano wire and elongated holes. I have found this works really well and improves pick up. (You only need downward movement one axle on a  four coupled loco).  However I decided that with the design of the etches on this kit hornblocks would be better. While I used a Meteor one on the tender I am going to using new pattern Slaters ones for the loco.  I think personally that its a case of looking at the design of the kit and seeing what would best fit the design.  I would think with the flatiron being six coupled springing the centre axle would be fine, but if its the Slaters kit it might be designed for their hornblocks.

 

I take a similar view about pickups - I heard lots of horror stories about plungers but I have found them fine. There is some great advice about using them on Jim McGeowan's Connoisseur Models website. If you have not get it let me know and I will send you a link through the personal messages. Essentially it involves preparing the plastic housing to make sure the plunger runs freely.  Having said that I used Berrilum Copper wipers on the Pickersgill , and have also picked and mixed in the case of the Class D tank. It has plungers on the front two axles but wipers on the rear as I found the plungers got in the way of the brake gear. Again its finding out what suits in each case. 

 

I see you have got a master chassis - I would not be without mine. Fantastic piece of kit. Don't now if I would ever have got into kit building without it.

 

 

[Shez]

It's been a long time since I have posted.  A lot has happened away from modelling. My 99 year old mother had a serious fall from which she has now thankfully recovered, and on a happy note we welcomed our first grandchild. I have however kept two projects ticking over. The Class D for Eyemouth which is almost finished, and the G7, or should I say class P has now finally emerged from the paintshop.

 

 

The model is I hope a fair approximation of the NBR Passenger livery done in my usual idiosyncratic way. First a spray with a Halfords Primer, then an overall Halfords Matt black, those areas to be painted over were rubbed down with wet and dry. The Olive parts were then brush painted with Phoenix NBR  loco brown. I used a bowpen below the footplate, but the lining on the body is a mix of transfer and paint. First LMS black and yellow transfers were applied, and then the edges were painted with the bronze green highlight colour. Finally single red lining was applied over the outer yellow line. Its a little over scale but as it is the darker line I think I have got away with it.  The double boiler bands were made by cutting lining down the middle. I have assumed that given the date that this loco was reboilered it would have still been in the early Reid era livery without the control numbers. Once the paint and transfers have settled I envisage some light weathering.

 

 

I hope to be at our show at Wakefield this weekend with number 91 in attendance. However, before I do I must do the piece of lining I have missed. Nothing like digital photography for bringing you down to earth!

 

 

Edited November 14, 2019 by Shez
spelling mistakes - missed content

[Shez]

At long last the J21 is back on the move again almost a year after I built the tender chassis. With other pressing projects for Eyemouth out of the way its back to the Gladiator kit.  I wanted to finish the NBR D class as there was a pressing need to get a loco for Eyemouth finished. Its now waiting for painting. 

 

So on with the tender body.

 

The first task was to get the bolts secure to the footplate using my usual way of putting a little oil on the nut to stop it soldering up tight. Must be out of practice as I had to saw the first nut off and repeat after I soldered it on!  Then on to the rear. However there was obviously a problem in that the hole in the tender floor  did not marry up to the hole in the chassis. Rather than messing about I decided on direct action. Fill the hole with scrap etch and solder and re drill a new one. After these initial tribulations the build progressed well.  I followed the instruction sequence as suggested for the next part, building from the rear of the tender, than adding the central bulkhead and the tender sides.  My only departure from the sequence at this stage was to fit the handrail knobs at the rear so I could solder them from inside. 

 

I must say Mr Worsdells tenders are easier to put together than Mr Holmes and Mr Reids. The only curving that needed to be done was on the inside  supports, and I used my usual way of bending them over a round bar held in the vice.

 

 

It was now on to add the inside frames and the tender top. These were located in place by two small slots in the tender bulkhead and some slots in the tender floor. The bending had also been assisted by half etch lines on the back of the etch so it was easy to get it in the fight place.  The whole of this part of the build went together very smoothly and given the fact that this is quite an old kit, I was impressed at the elegant design to get everything located in the right place. Well done to the original designer. The instructions point out that the tender top is a little too long at the top so it has to be filed back to fit the curves - a simple enough job. 

 

 

Attention now was turned to below the footplate, and my next session involved making some sub assemblies before returning to the main sequence.  Firstly I laminated the drawbar, the drag beams  and the rear buffer beam which has some nice half etched detail.  I decided to add the tender steps at this stage as I didn't fancy soldering them on later. I used some of the Carrs Solder cream for this which I keep for fiddly jobs.  I intend to return to the sequence in the instructions for the next part of the build. 

 

 

If you have a go at this  kit be aware that it appears to be adapted from a kit for a J25. There are lots of duplicated parts on the etches, and they are scattered randomly among 4 sheets, some brass, some nickle silver, with the parts etched very close and without rhyme nor reason as to what is where. This is not intended as a criticism, just a hint to take care,  keep referring to the numbered parts lists, (which are very detailed) and keep drawings and photographs handy. It took me some time to work out exactly which steps where which for top and bottom.  I have also clearly labelled small parts for the loco that were between some of the tender etches.

 

Its good to be back on the model again and I hope to update further progress before long.