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Southern Railway Modelling - Miscellaneous Project work


Jack P
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Looks excellent to me, and the added copper pipe detailing lifts the model.   The bogie may look too low as the chassis cut outs could be deliberately too deep, to provide wheel clearance on curves.  Check againt the drawing.  One way to minimise this is to fabricate the correct cut outs and locate them inboard of the actual cut outs.  Alternatively, with the cylinders lined up in position, it may look OK.

Considering the cylinders, some manufacturers do not give enough thought to the cylinder mounting.  I have W/M cylinders that are spigotted into a hole in the frames and then locked with a self-tapping screw (DJH)-rather hit and miss, expecially with the tight clearances and the fact that the cylinder centre line is at an angle; you have the same considerations.

My solution is to make the cylinders and slidebar supports part of a sub-assembly consisting of a fabricated set of frame spacers located and screwed in the frames and the cylinder assemblies soldered to it.  The lot can then be removed if necessary.

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Looks excellent to me, and the added copper pipe detailing lifts the model.   The bogie may look too low as the chassis cut outs could be deliberately too deep, to provide wheel clearance on curves.  Check againt the drawing.  One way to minimise this is to fabricate the correct cut outs and locate them inboard of the actual cut outs.  Alternatively, with the cylinders lined up in position, it may look OK.

Considering the cylinders, some manufacturers do not give enough thought to the cylinder mounting.  I have W/M cylinders that are spigotted into a hole in the frames and then locked with a self-tapping screw (DJH)-rather hit and miss, expecially with the tight clearances and the fact that the cylinder centre line is at an angle; you have the same considerations.

My solution is to make the cylinders and slidebar supports part of a sub-assembly consisting of a fabricated set of frame spacers located and screwed in the frames and the cylinder assemblies soldered to it.  The lot can then be removed if necessary.

 

Thank you! I think that when the cylinders are fitted it will look alright. I did think maybe I could use some thin brass and fit it on the outside of the frame, just to cover the gap. I think the frame cut-outs are ok, I do actually think the bogie is a little bit low. I need to place another Markits order to add some 12mm 10spoke bogie wheels, I think it will be a combination of lifting the bogie a little and the right rim profile on the bogie, as well as the cylinders being added that should bring it all together. 

 

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The instructions actually suggest that you build the motion and the cylinders as one sub assembly. They still screw through, although there will be a nut on the inside of the smokebox to locate them, if there is any play, I can bulk up the assembly in the middle, where it sits in the frames so there is no play, hopefully this makes sense I think due to the fragile nature of the slide bar arrangement - only the bottom slide bar extends all the way into the cylinder casting, I'll need to support this with some kind of spacer. I did run into a bit of grief when I tried to bend the motion back down so it was a little bit closer in line with the wheels, and it broke away from the main fret. I have a plan to tackle that, however worst case I can get a replacement from Langley models. 

 

I also added the WM springs (that actually came with the kit), just need to tidy them up a little

 

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I also spent most of last night soldering together the rest of the brake shoes for the brake rigging assembly.

 

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These 6 brake shoes and hangers are 18 different peices! I'll be following DLT's way of assembling the brake assembly, although I need to wait for some thicker wire to arrive before I crack on, but i'll use what I have, and some other brake shoes to practice. 

 

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I also decided to remove the 'Nameplate board' on the middle splasher. They are located about halfway inboard the splasher, and are completely useless. i'm not sure how i'm going to securely fasten the nameplates now, but I think it will look much better than what was provided. It also looks like i've taken too much material off the bottom of the boiler/firebox assembly so i'll add in some more whitemetal and see how I get on with re-shaping it to sit a little nicer on the splasher.

 

I do apologise that it all must seem very repetitive, with only small progress, but each small step is progress for me!

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Looking very good- and cleaned up well!  The chassis looks like the makers took DJH for inspiration-although my springs are part of the chassis etches.  The spacers are a mixture of screwed tube, as yours, and etched-which were useless, and replaced anyway, for P4.  The screwed spacers are good for setting up the chassis, but I do not rely on them, and after set up and soldering the new spacers, they will be removed.

 

The cylinder and spacer assembly should be treated with caution-the accuracy required for cylinders, slide bars, valve gear and wheels running smoothly means that a cast assembly will be at best, hit and miss.  I am preparing a folded brass spacer to locate in frame slots with half round cut outs for the cylinders-similar to the Kemilway 76xxx chassis.

 

The DJH slidebars are in one piece-the end folds over, located the actual slidebars and is soldered to the cylinder.  There is also a combined frame spacer/slidebar support to make the assembly rigid.

 

To locate the nameplates, you could consider driling three small holes in the splasher top for brass wire to protrude and fix the nameplates to these.

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Looking great Jack, looks like you've cracked it with the boiler castings.  Is the smokebox front now "round"?

If you are going to use transfers for boiler lining, you may want to consider filing off the cast-in boiler bands.  They are often overscale, and the thickness of the transfer can represent the bands.

Cheers, Dave

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Looking very good- and cleaned up well!  The chassis looks like the makers took DJH for inspiration-although my springs are part of the chassis etches.  The spacers are a mixture of screwed tube, as yours, and etched-which were useless, and replaced anyway, for P4.  The screwed spacers are good for setting up the chassis, but I do not rely on them, and after set up and soldering the new spacers, they will be removed.

 

The cylinder and spacer assembly should be treated with caution-the accuracy required for cylinders, slide bars, valve gear and wheels running smoothly means that a cast assembly will be at best, hit and miss.  I am preparing a folded brass spacer to locate in frame slots with half round cut outs for the cylinders-similar to the Kemilway 76xxx chassis.

 

The DJH slidebars are in one piece-the end folds over, located the actual slidebars and is soldered to the cylinder.  There is also a combined frame spacer/slidebar support to make the assembly rigid.

 

To locate the nameplates, you could consider driling three small holes in the splasher top for brass wire to protrude and fix the nameplates to these.

 

Thank you! I would have preferred etched springs to be honest, I think these whitemetal ones protrude into the inner frame area too much and are going to get in the way when it comes to fitting pickups. I'm still unsure on what to do for frame spacers, these ones are handy having the hole in the centre for locating things. 

 

As for the cylinder assembly - I have a plan, I'm not sure that i'll be able to do a good job of explaining it though! I plan to use washers on the front axle to limit sideplay to an absolute minimum, and then on the second axle to probably halve the sideplay that's there now too. I think the rear axle will have the most play but i'll need to have a play with tolerances when the correct wheels arrive and i've got the valve gear mounting points sorted out. No doubt i'll have plenty of questions as I go.

 

I was thinking that too. I had thought about soldering the spigots to the nameplate, but the 'Beattie' nameplate is quite small and I don't want to ruin the finish. They are on their way to me from 247 Developments, (no connection, the usual disclaimer), so i'll have a play around when they arrive.

 

Thanks for your input so far mate, it's very much appreciated!

 

Looking great Jack, looks like you've cracked it with the boiler castings.  Is the smokebox front now "round"?

If you are going to use transfers for boiler lining, you may want to consider filing off the cast-in boiler bands.  They are often overscale, and the thickness of the transfer can represent the bands.

Cheers, Dave

 

Thanks Dave! I think I had a bit of a panic moment. It's all coming easier now! (I hope I don't crack it, it's what I was worried about!!)

 

Not round yet, still waiting on this vice to arrive, I've also got a mate to lazer cut me some small disc's to sit on the front of the smokebox 24mm, 24.5mm and 25mm to see which one it ends up being once it's round. I'll use this disc to fit the smokebox door to once i've sanded the back off it. hopefully this will improve the front end and hopefully complete the 'face' to a better standard. I had considered removing the boiler bands. It seems like the firebox will present a bit of a challenge, but I think you're right. I'll need to make a template of where they're supposed to be before I file them off.

 

I've heard of people using masking tape to represent them. I was going to use LMS coach lining to do the boiler bands, and then Fox for the cab sides, splashers and tender.I'll let you know how I get on! Same to you Dave, thanks for your help so far!

 

 

I turned my attention to finishing off an on-going project last night, I received the 'THIRD' transfers from Fox last week, they are very good quality. Infact they make the HMRS transfers look quite shoddy, not sure if they are printed badly, or I just got a bad batch, I think i'll come back to these and replace them at a later date, but for now I'm glad that they are 'Finished'

 

 

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Sorry about the photos, the lighting is a little bit off!

Edited by Jack P
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To be blunt, I can't see why anyone modelling in "OO" would build a loco kit if there's a RTR version available to modern standards. This obviously wasn't the case even 20 years ago, but it is now. RTR wins on cost (as you say), quality of finish (by a mile in many cases) and also quality of running (if it doesn't work you send it back and get another). I take the point that a well built white metal kit may be able to out-haul RTR on very heavy trains, but frankly that's an irrelevance for 99.9% of us. Our desire to create can be filled by otherwise unavailable coaches or wagons, also scenery, signals, weathering, whatever, and there still won't probably be enough hours in the day to get to an end of all that we'd like to do.

 

Coming back to your N15x, the join across the gap in the boiler will be stronger if you can get some strips of brass across and tack those to the white metal, you need to tin the brass with higher melt solder first and then the white metal solder sticks to the brass solder - you probably know that anyway - sorry! I can't quite get my head around how this fits in with the oval shape, but if you really need to do a bodge remember you'll only see the smokebox front, so as long as this is round if the smokebox and boiler gradually evolve into an oval towards the firebox it won't be discernible to the eye.

 

John.

I agree that RTR wins on cost, looks and finish.  As I model in P4 the added cost of a new chassis and wheels makes conversion expensive; I would like to simply use RTR bodies and build the chassis for them-but nowadays body spares seem as rare as hen's teeth.

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I agree that RTR wins on cost, looks and finish.  As I model in P4 the added cost of a new chassis and wheels makes conversion expensive; I would like to simply use RTR bodies and build the chassis for them-but nowadays body spares seem as rare as hen's teeth.

 

I did consider going P4 for a while, I think the main reason why I wouldn't consider it, is simply the mammoth cost involved (primarily) with steam outline conversions. the fact that everything needs re-wheeling which almost instantly doubles the cost of most tender locos, and in some cases you need to build a whole new chassis too. In my mind, it seems like when you're paying full price for the RTR loco and getting rid of most of it, it's just better to start off with a kit, in my opinion. I should probably stop flogging a dead horse though!

 

My final point is simply that I think P4 is much better looking than 00, you certainly notice the difference, and (usually) coupled with the fact that the rest of the modelling is top notch makes for a far more realistic scene.

 

I'm trying to work through a few things that are still on hold while I wait for bits to progress with the N15x.so, here's some not so realistic toy-trains for you, I ordered some replacement B4 buffers, thinking they would be the bigger size. Sadly they weren't. Instead of returning them, I had a look in the spares box for bits I could use, I settled on some of the Hornby headcode discs. They appear to be the right diameter, but seeing this front on shot i'm not sure.

 

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I also soldered up the smokebox dart and handrail, I'm now in the process of reducing down the thickness of the casting so that I can mount it on the faceplate and file the boiler to shape around it. Lots of talking, but not much doing, or any pictures, while i'm waiting for things to arrive! I did use the vice (which arrived last night) to shape the boiler round last night, thankfully no cracking. I also made a start on taking the boiler bands off, the ones on the firebox will be the most difficult, as well as the one closest to the smokebox, but I can certainly see what Dave means about the thickness of them, they are very prominent on the model and very subtle on the prototype.

 

I was thinking about the next step for the body, which will be the fixing of the smoke deflectors, to assist in painting, these will be attached and the boiler assembly will be removable, this will help with lining too. Note to self - Call high level and get my hands on a motor/gearbox already!

 

Edit: you can see in this photo the disadvantage of the wheel spacing of 00. Wouldn't a P4 B4 look much better?

Edited by Jack P
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Paring off boiler bands is tedious, but worth it, as the cast bands are far too thick.  They can be scraped, and I find that finishing off with fine glasspaper then a fibre pen is better than clogging up needle files.

P4 May look much better, but if I was considering again, I would go to EM, and save money and time, for almost exactly the same result.

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Hello Jack, You are doing a really great job on the kit, l must agree with with the removal of the over scaled boiler bands, the loco will look so much better without them, as Dave has said the thickness of the transfer will look more realistic, following with interest...

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Paring off boiler bands is tedious, but worth it, as the cast bands are far too thick.  They can be scraped, and I find that finishing off with fine glasspaper then a fibre pen is better than clogging up needle files.

P4 May look much better, but if I was considering again, I would go to EM, and save money and time, for almost exactly the same result.

 

If I was starting now from scratch, I would definitely go EM rather than OO, I don't think I could cope with the fine standards of P4, and as you say the result is not a lot different. 

 

Purely a personal view, I think OO can look acceptable if you have code 75 or similar track, nicely painted and ballasted, but at an exhibition a OO layout always looks to me a bit "Mickey Mouse", if it has an EM or P4 one adjacent.

 

When I returned to modelling around 20 years ago, EM would have required me to build all my own track, and there was less of a range of replacement wheel sets than there is now. That didn't matter so much, as in those days real modellers needed to build kits or scratchbuild to a far greater extent than today, and so folk simply ordered longer axles!

 

Back on topic the N15x is looking very good, with the main components all seating properly you're well on the way to a great model.

 

John.

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Paring off boiler bands is tedious, but worth it, as the cast bands are far too thick.  They can be scraped, and I find that finishing off with fine glasspaper then a fibre pen is better than clogging up needle files.

P4 May look much better, but if I was considering again, I would go to EM, and save money and time, for almost exactly the same result.

 

The joy of whitemetal is that a nice sharp scalpel blade is as useful as a file! I'm waiting on the FG pencil refills to arrive, and then I should be good to go. I do sometimes wonder what the hobby would look like if the correct scaling had been adopted from the beginning by all of the major manufacturers.

 

Hello Jack, You are doing a really great job on the kit, l must agree with with the removal of the over scaled boiler bands, the loco will look so much better without them, as Dave has said the thickness of the transfer will look more realistic, following with interest...

 

Hey George, Thanks for your kind words mate! Maybe I can convince you to put Bulleid lettering on the O2 and D3? I think it's a pretty clear consensus to remove the boiler bands, hope to update with progress on this soon.

 

If I was starting now from scratch, I would definitely go EM rather than OO, I don't think I could cope with the fine standards of P4, and as you say the result is not a lot different. 

 

Purely a personal view, I think OO can look acceptable if you have code 75 or similar track, nicely painted and ballasted, but at an exhibition a OO layout always looks to me a bit "Mickey Mouse", if it has an EM or P4 one adjacent.

 

When I returned to modelling around 20 years ago, EM would have required me to build all my own track, and there was less of a range of replacement wheel sets than there is now. That didn't matter so much, as in those days real modellers needed to build kits or scratchbuild to a far greater extent than today, and so folk simply ordered longer axles!

 

Back on topic the N15x is looking very good, with the main components all seating properly you're well on the way to a great model.

 

John.

 

 

Don't get me wrong, The comparison would probably be more akin to, set-track curves, and railroad models. Finescale OO with hand-built track can be just as convincing, I think from some angles though, you can really see difference with the wider track and wheelbase. from my brief research into EM, some RTR locos can have the original wheels re-used and just spaces out further on the axle, which reduces the cost right down. 

 

Thank you for your kind words regarding the N15x John, the idea of getting all of the parts seated correctly before I assemble them is proving to be the biggest help, and really makes the rest of the process very easy - 99% prep. That being said, DLT has been pivotal in helping me get to this stage, either through his direct help or his excellent workbench thread. There are so many people on here that offer input that is absolutely invaluable!

 

I've just had a very fulfilling evening on the phone. I must also say, the two gentlemen I spoke to were fantastic.

 

First I called Chris at High Level Kits, very informative and happy to help me with my inquiry and subsequent order. I've ended up with a 1428 and a Roadrunner+ for the N15x, which means very soon it should progress on to the powered stage, exciting!

 

Then I called Dave at SEF, I needed a Maunsell pattern cab for my K class and he was happy to oblige me. There is something to be said about great customer service! I may have also ordered another kit from Dave. that means there's already 3 locos in the pile once the N15x is done.

 

Oh dear, I think the bug is starting to bite, hard.

 

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I've spent a little bit of time tonight on the 'Face', you can see here that around the edges, the casting leaves a little to be desired. I have filed plenty of material off the back of the smokebox door, but it still needs to be filed back more, so there is only the domed section remaining, the lazer cut discs should help me sort the rest of this. One of the major things that I need/want to get right on this is the 'face', while most of it is obscured by the deflectors, it still needs to be as accurate as possible. I still need to add the lamp irons - i'm not sure if alraldite or solder is best for these fiddly details, any suggestions?

 

I'll leave you with a gratuitous shot of the B4 and recently repainted Van C

 

29634509658_68889759cc_b.jpg

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Progress is slowing again, while I wait for things to arrive.

 

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The Nameplates arrived though, and they are very fine indeed.

 

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I am using my time to make sure that everything is a good fit though. It may not look like it fits any better, but I've soldered in some chunks of whitemetal to the bottom of the boiler/firebox and them filed them to shape over the middle splasher. I think to get a really good fit, I'll need to solder the boiler assembly to the footplate, and make the deflectors removable. I also need to take material off the back of the firebox as the whole assembly needs to move backwards a bit more. I've removed the boiler bands and soldered the dome on, I'll be using a spare Hornby chimney, which will be fitted after I add the rivets to the smokebox. I also slightly amended the smokebox dart, as the stanchions were too long, the bottom of them come level with the bottom of the lower smokebox strap - i'll get a picture to explain, it's a small change, but makes a difference!

 

I've decided to use LNER type wheels from Markits as they are closer to the prototype being 20 spoke, they are based on a 6'8" wheel, but are 26mm the same as the SR 6'9" offering (with 22 spokes), which should hopefully make a difference visually. I have been thinking about Gibson coupling rods, I think they look much nicer than the ones supplied by the kit, and they are bushed, which would hopefully offer better running characteristics. The question I have for people that have used them before is, will they work with Markits crankpins?

Edited by Jack P
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I'm a little bit hesitant to post this, just because it looks rubbish. I'm hoping that paint will hide a multitude of sins,

 

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Once the glass fibre pencil refills arrive I'll attempt to clean this up a little more, but this is all of the soldering done for the boiler back-head. If I was going to do this again, to try and make it a little tidier I would probably tin the copper and not the back-head itself. The rest of the details will be added with plastikard and some etched handwheels when they arrive. With some paint and a crew, hopefully this crude representation should pass muster.

 

I have a feeling progress is going to slow right down now, I need the motor and gearbox to arrive before I push on with the chassis, then i'll need to get my hands on the right wheels and then when Alan Gibson opens again on the 13th of august, I'll need some of the OO frame spacers they stock. That way I can remove most of the screw in frame spacers, although I will probably solder one or two in place so that I can use the cross drilled holes to secure the body to the chassis, is there any good way of getting these square, I was thinking that I could use some lengths of rod on either side and use this to hold the spacer in place, then cut/file the rod back when it's secure. Then I need to figure out the best way of mounting the bogie.

 

I'm also faced with a bit of a dilemma, after browsing the AG catalogue, I see Nickel Silver mainframes for the N15x, this leaves me in a position where I'm tossing up replacing the brass slab sides with these instead. I'm not sure if it's more hassle than it's worth, but it's not that expensive, and i'm not at a point where it will be much hassle to make this change either, i'm not particularly fussed about the compensation part - does anyone have any thoughts?

Edited by Jack P
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Morning Jack.

 

 

If it were me, I would replace the frames with the Alan Gibson frames. If you are thinking of doing it then just do it rather than run the risk of regretting it later.

 

Not sure if you have similar but Comet do a frame assembly jig which is a good bit of kit. Very simple and it means the frames are held square whilst you solder the spacers.

 

 

Rob

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Hi Jack,

 

Can you take some more snaps of your B4 and Van C please.

 

I’m going to put my B4 into the same livery and have also resprayed a Van C in malachite. The weathering on the B4 is nice and subtle...

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

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On 24/07/2018 at 17:14, NHY 581 said:

Morning Jack.

 

 

If it were me, I would replace the frames with the Alan Gibson frames. If you are thinking of doing it then just do it rather than run the risk of regretting it later.

 

Not sure if you have similar but Comet do a frame assembly jig which is a good bit of kit. Very simple and it means the frames are held square whilst you solder the spacers.

 

 

Rob

 

Hey Rob,

 

I'll definitely be ordering the LBSC K class frames from AG, and probably the ones for the other locos I have to build - so you make a good point, I would rather do it now than later. That probably means the N15x will take a backseat while I work on something else, as AG doesn't open again till the 13th of august.

 

Might have to look into the Comet Jig - Having dealt with wizard models, i'm confident that it will be very useful, and arrive promptly.  

 

As you can see here, the N15x frames are hardly 'bad'

 

42234102394_e5721b7379_b.jpg

 

Especially when you compare them with the ones that come with the K class kit! I think that, seeing as i'm given the option with those frames, I might look at compensation, i'm not sure if it's a requirement to build them, or just an option (I'll ask when I order) Worst case I could possibly use them as overlays? 

 

 

On 24/07/2018 at 18:00, 46444 said:

Hi Jack,

 

Can you take some more snaps of your B4 and Van C please.

 

I’m going to put my B4 into the same livery and have also resprayed a Van C in malachite. The weathering on the B4 is nice and subtle...

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

 

 

Hey Mark! 

 

I am happy to oblige, I only have these at the moment of the Van C, I'll snap a few more pictures tonight, is there anything you'd like to see in particular? 

 

29756844798_a0dfc2b35c_b.jpg

 

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I have a few shots of the B4 from a few pages back, but i'm happy to repost them here, this is prior to me painting the flat surfaces and below the running plate with Humbrol Matt black and Tan leather. - Thank you for your kind words RE the weathering! I'm also still waiting on an order to add the rear 3 link coupling. 

 

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I would also mention, If you haven't already got your hands on a B4, it's impossible to get the larger pattern buffers spare, so buy a BR liveried one for repainting into wartime black (no smokebox number-plate so no issues with trying to scrape it off). I've learnt this the hard way! Another word of warning is that the valve gear is very fiddly, so if you strip it down for repainting just be careful! - Sorry if you already know this

 

Looking forward to seeing your attempts, if you would like, please share them here when you're done!

Edited by Jack P
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Hi Jack,

 

Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures of the B4 and Van C.

 

Thankfully I have a BR version but thanks for the top tips... ;) That valve gear is particularly fine..

 

Mine is going to be finished as Plymouth Friary's 94 in SR 'Sunshine' livery as well.

 

Once done I'll post some photos.

 

Thanks once again.

 

Mark

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The Gibson frames have square cutouts rather than bearing holes, so that you can fit hornblocks for compensation or springing.

If you have a halfway-decent set of frame in the kit, (as you do with the N15x) I wouldn't bother replacing them.  Although your K Class is a different matter!

 

Cheers, Dave.

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Gibson will make their frames with either cut outs for horn blocks or holes for bearings, you just tell him which you prefer when you place the order as they are made to order. I got a pair of frames for a K class a few years ago, although they are plain, like your N15X frames, they are very good when compared to the drawings.

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Hi Jack,

 

Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures of the B4 and Van C.

 

Thankfully I have a BR version but thanks for the top tips... ;) That valve gear is particularly fine..

 

Mine is going to be finished as Plymouth Friary's 94 in SR 'Sunshine' livery as well.

 

Once done I'll post some photos.

 

Thanks once again.

 

Mark

 

No worries Mark, i'm looking forward to seeing it!

 

Dave, Brian

 

Thank you both for your input! There actually happens to be some N15x frames on Ebay at the moment, so If I manage to win them i'll use them, although they might be a test-bed for building a compensated chassis.

 

It's good to know that AG will cut them to suit, I don't really think the K will need compensation, i'm wary of the intricate nature of hornblocks in general and if I muck it up, I don't want to have abysmal running characteristics. I guess I still have some time to make my mind up though! Either way, they will be much better than the ones that come with the kit.

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Progress has been made this weekend!

 

42993913544_b202d6ba5c_b.jpg

 

42993913674_7231974cf2_b.jpg

 

Many things are sill placed/held in place with blu-tack. But the Boiler has been soldered to the footplate, and the smokebox has all been soldered up. Once i'm 100% sure I won't need to solder anything else, i'll start applying the rivet transfers, and glue on the chimney. I can already see from the photos there's one or two things I need to go over.

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Thank you so much guys! I've actually really impressed myself with how it's turning out - I expected a mess of castings and bits not on straight. Taking my time and assessing all my options before moving forward has been critical. DLT has also been key in providing very helpful advice - as well as all of the readers of this thread! Thank you for your likes and comments, your support has been immensely helpful!

 

Surely I can't be the only one that confuses the 'Thank you' and the 'Craftsmanship/Clever' icons though!

 

Been an interesting few days since I posted last, I had one of my cars stolen sometime between Sunday morning and Monday night, which isn't ideal. Police are on it, it's just a huge inconvenience. 

 

I did come home to mail from Fox transfers though, It's the lining for the tender, and hopefully the rest should line the cab/footplate. It also came with an etched smokebox plate for a WC/BOB with 1946 stamped on the bottom.

 

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I also started work on fabricating the various pipework runs under the cab, and footplate, there is still lots to do, but i'm happy to make a start! It's not the worlds best photo, but it shows off where the pipe will end up. I need to get my hands on some fuse wire to replicate the lubricating pipes that run along the front of the boiler.

 

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I decided to take my mind off things, and take a quick break from the N15x and weather up the WC the ring was destined to go on, I worked from a colour photo of another class member, there is still a few little bits that stick out that I need to do, but it's very nearly there, the bottom of the firebox/ash pan really sticks out to me here though, maybe i'll need to look at making a plastikard front for it. 

 

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After weathering it, you can barely see the darn ring!

 

Then I had a play in Snapseed to see if I could make it look a little bit more like the photo I was working off, how much better would it look against a proper background!

 

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