Southern Railway Modelling - Miscellaneous Project work

[Corbs]

Wouldn't that make you a masochist?  

[Jack P]

13 hours ago, Corbs said:

Wouldn't that make you a masochist?  

 

I sometimes wonder what happens between my brain and fingers! I could well be both.. 

 

Progress. Gave the fox transfers a go on the J, now waiting for a final coat of varnish and weathering. 

 

 

The B4 has had it's transfers applied and is waiting on the same thing. I ended up stripping and fully repainting this in the end. I wasn't happy with the off black/grey body colour, and glossing only exaggerated the issue.

 

 

Were all the little details worth it? 

 

 

Final details added to the I3

 

 

I gently scribed the lines for the bottom of the cab door. These aren't perfect, and i'm still missing the cab handrails. Maybe the next build?

 

 

Primed, and rivets added to the smokebox and smokebox door. If I was to re-do another I3 i'd rebuild some of the front end parts out of brass, specifically the smokebox saddle. The boiler is also slightly undersized, approx 2mm.  Next time i'd (try) and cut the boiler off in front of the tanks and fabricate one from there forward.

 

Now the elephant in the room. That smokebox door. It was designed for the correct size boiler, which means the small step around the side doesn't look right. In addition to this, it is flat faced, when it should be dished. The cumulative effect of this is that it completely throws the front end off. A friend of mine is designing a replacement door in CAD for me to have 3D printed. The current door is glued in place with a small blob, so should be easy to remove when the time comes. My construction of the kit is miles away from 'perfect', but it looks like an I3 and runs well. Which I think is what's the most important. 

 

Not to slow down, I thought i'd get the W out and have a look, I've been dreading getting this kit restarted. I'm pretty sure that it's not entirely square. The rear of the bunker is an interesting one with a reverse curve. All the instructions say is, "This bend is important, and extreme care is needed to get this right", yiiiiiiikes! I started by building up the rest of the cab interior and tack soldered everything in place to check it all fit ok.

 

I moved on to the bunker rear, you're supposed to laminate a thin etch onto a thicker one and then bend the curve into that. I though i'd try and bend the thicker one first. Absolute nightmare. no luck. So I had a go with the half etched overlay - success! I managed to get the bend right and tack soldered the bits in place, doing a little bit at a time. Again, it's not perfect, but this is my first brass kit.

 

 

I've been a real moron and decided this is the kit that i'm going to try Gibson wheels on. Eeeep, I've got the GW wheel press, so hopefully i'll be alright with quartering. To add to my trepidation, I've got outside valve gear to do too! 

 

C2x arrived from SEF, I decided to have a quick look through the kit and the parts in the box. 

 

 

Some of the castings look good. However not willing to make anything easy for myself. I've already identified some issues:

 

- Boiler is oval shape

- Firebox sides do not extend all the way down to the footplate, instead they stop halfway down the splasher and rest on extensions of the frames

- Cab sides have the wrong cut out profile and are approx 1mm too short

- Tender footplate is badly warped and the sides are curved up

- Tender chassis is a whitmetal lump

 

I've started a list, with (hopefully) solutions that will rectify these issues.

 

- Instead of rolling a new boiler, obtain some correct size  (21mm) thin brass tube and cut at the beginning of the firebox, folding the sides down.

- New cab sides and front out of brass

- Either: Straighten out tender footplate or cut a new one

- Replace tender chassis with Alan Gibson 6' + 6' frames

 

Am I making more work than I need to? the front of the smokebox is very clearly oval. I could try and file it round, but my next concern is that the firebox isn't deep enough - I could solder so whitemetal scraps to the bottom to extend it. I'm trying to weigh up which is more worth doing (with the skillset I have) The weight of the whitemetal over the drivers would really help with adhesion. Hmmm. Will think about it further.

 

If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Jack P

[Michael Edge]

I think it might be time to give up struggling with w/m kits!

[gz3xzf]

Jack

The J is looking really good, interesting machine, it does look like an enlarged H.

I like the piping on the I3 and I hope you resolve the problem with the smokebox door.

Good luck with the W, I'll be interested to see how it goes; I have a PDK L1 waiting in the wings which will be the first etched kit I've attempted.

 

 

[Tony Teague]

11 hours ago, Jack P said:

 

C2x arrived from SEF, I decided to have a quick look through the kit and the parts in the box. 

 

I've started a list, with (hopefully) solutions that will rectify these issues.

 

- Instead of rolling a new boiler, obtain some correct size  (21mm) thin brass tube and cut at the beginning of the firebox, folding the sides down.

- New cab sides and front out of brass

- Either: Straighten out tender footplate or cut a new one

- Replace tender chassis with Alan Gibson 6' + 6' frames

 

 

Sounds like this might be a case of "lipstick on a pig"

[pete_mcfarlane]

1 hour ago, Michael Edge said:

I think it might be time to give up struggling with w/m kits!

The problem is that a lot of Southern locos are only available as elderly whitemetal kits. 

[hayfield]

11 minutes ago, Tony Teague said:

 

Sounds like this might be a case of "lipstick on a pig"

 

The C2X is a NuCast reintroduction, one I have thought about but perhaps by the sound of it not up to the standards set by Southeastern Finecast revised kits

 

1 minute ago, pete_mcfarlane said:

The problem is that a lot of Southern locos are only available as elderly whitemetal kits. 

 

Pete

 

Firstly I prefer to work on whitemetal bodies rather than etched ones, certainly from a built point of view if not accuracy 

 

I have a selection of both old and new whitemetal kits and I must say that the revised Southeastern Finecast kits are head and shoulders above earlier kits

 

The material they are cast in is vastly superior to earlier kits and to all extent the castings crisp and clean. The etched chassis and (if supplied) body parts are also of the highest quality. I cannot comment on any of the reintroduced NuCast kits as I have not bought one, by the sound of it its not up to the same standard

 

Granted in certain aspects etched brass is superior to whitemetal, but for some of us not as easy to work with. In my opinion its where the most suitable material for each part is used makes the best kit, a composite of etched, turned and cast materials.

 

Dont forget there are plenty of badly designed etched brass kits about as well as whitemetal ones  

[Jack P]

 

On 06/08/2020 at 20:37, Michael Edge said:

I think it might be time to give up struggling with w/m kits!

 

On 06/08/2020 at 21:45, pete_mcfarlane said:

The problem is that a lot of Southern locos are only available as elderly whitemetal kits. 

 

I feel like whitemetal kits are still a good outlet for constructing locos while building up my skillset. I really haven't been doing this very long, and building locos for much less time. (The N15x took 2 years, and it's only in the last few months that i've kept going again).

 

Having said that, I agree Mike. The difference in finish, in spite of my own construction being so-so, between the W and the J, or i3 is cavernous. I would be all over more etched kits for southern locos, but as Pete said, many are only available as (and i'm being harsh here) lumpen whitemetal kits. 

 

On 06/08/2020 at 21:01, gz3xzf said:

Jack

The J is looking really good, interesting machine, it does look like an enlarged H.

I like the piping on the I3 and I hope you resolve the problem with the smokebox door.

Good luck with the W, I'll be interested to see how it goes; I have a PDK L1 waiting in the wings which will be the first etched kit I've attempted.

 

Thanks Bryan!  It's certainly is the bigger, uglier sister of the H! Thanks for the comments on the piping. It wasn't the fastest job in the world, but I really enjoyed doing it, and I think the loco looks so much better for it.

 

The PDK W isn't without its challenges, but overall it's a fantastic bit of kit, It's almost all slot and tab construction, which makes it even easier. The resin boiler is another boon, as rolled brass boilers are still a bit daunting. 

 

On 06/08/2020 at 21:36, Tony Teague said:

 

Sounds like this might be a case of "lipstick on a pig"

 

I'll take some pig with my lipstick, thanks!

 

You're right - in fairness though Dave did warn me that it's an older kit, and that he hadn't done much revision. The chassis is very basic compared to the updated SEF kits. Either way it's a class of loco I wanted to have, I'd heard a few not-so-good things about the DJH one, now i'm not so sure. I'm sort of looking forward to it in a way, it's going to give me a chance to work on skills that I haven't really had much chance to build on previously. I wonder if i'll be so optimistic when I actually get started..?

 

Would you be willing to share some photos of your own C2x('s)?

[Jack P]

On 06/08/2020 at 22:01, hayfield said:

 

The C2X is a NuCast reintroduction, one I have thought about but perhaps by the sound of it not up to the standards set by Southeastern Finecast revised kits

 

Pete

 

Firstly I prefer to work on whitemetal bodies rather than etched ones, certainly from a built point of view if not accuracy 

 

I have a selection of both old and new whitemetal kits and I must say that the revised Southeastern Finecast kits are head and shoulders above earlier kits

 

The material they are cast in is vastly superior to earlier kits and to all extent the castings crisp and clean. The etched chassis and (if supplied) body parts are also of the highest quality. I cannot comment on any of the reintroduced NuCast kits as I have not bought one, by the sound of it its not up to the same standard

 

Granted in certain aspects etched brass is superior to whitemetal, but for some of us not as easy to work with. In my opinion its where the most suitable material for each part is used makes the best kit, a composite of etched, turned and cast materials.

 

In fairness, Dave did let me know that it wasn't quite up to the same standard as the revised kits - which as you say, are generally quite good!

 

I would agree that in the case of the C2x, the heavy whitemetal boiler would provide more than enough weight on the drivers. Honestly if the boiler was round, and met the footplate (some judicious filing and some whitemetal extensions would sort both of those issues) I'd probably still use it. I'm trying to weigh up which of those two is more work, but will product the better result. 

 

The assemblies are cast extremely well, despite their inaccuracies. Maybe I should take some photos, just so people can visually see the issues.

 

Quote

Dont forget there are plenty of badly designed etched brass kits about as well as whitemetal ones  

 

ACE kits spring to mind, apparently putting one together is more difficult than getting one in the first place!

[pete_mcfarlane]

I built the DJH C2X years ago, there were photos on an old incarnation of RMweb but I (and Google) can't find them at the moment. It never ran particularly well, and ended up sustaining some damage so it is currently in its box in several bits waiting a dismantle and rebuild. 

 

The castings were pretty good. Like a lot of DJH kits the loco body sat too high on the chassis (which can be fixed by filing down the spacing piece of the footplate). I replaced the spacers in the loco chassis with Comet ones, as the supplied ones made it about 10mm over the frames, presumably to get it round 15" curves on some 1980s layout. 

 

On the minus side the tender chassis was some cast U sections for the axles, and I replaced the cab roof (which suggests the supplied one was wrong). The biggest problem is that lower the chassis makes it obvious that the splashers are to scale width and don't have backs to them, so they don't cover OO gauge wheels. I've not figured out how to fix that yet. 

 

I suspect there's not much to chose between the DJH one and the NuCast. My DJH one from 20 years ago had better quality castings, as the boiler was round. 

 

ACE  apparently do an etched one, presumably a shot down 7mm etch. I've heard mixed things about their kits and haven't tried one myself: https://www.aceproducts.org/index.php?route=product/category&path=36

 

 

[Jack P]

WARNING: Image heavy post. The images also aren't great. Using the DSLR again, but extremely rusty.

 

 

 

 

I've just noticed that the footplate is bowed, I think that's because I haven't put the middle screw back in through the chassis. Will pull it apart tomorrow and investigate. The modifications i've made are pretty subtle, but I think they're worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

J is 'done' for now. She needs coal and fire irons (and another crew member), but transfers are all on, and she's been weathered into 'worked but clean' condition. It's not perfect, but i'm really over the moon with this one. It's been a lot of fun, trying lots of different things too. I also really rate the Chivers Kits, Almost a 'shake the box and they go together' type scenario.

 

 

 

 

I've also managed to get the I3 painted. It was almost painful covering all the copper pipework up, you can hardly see it now! The last photo really shows off the bend in the boiler too.

 

Confession time;

 

This loco and I cannot seem to get along. I ordered a smaller motor to replace the beast of a thing that was in here. I tested before disassembly, tested the chassis with the motor/gearbox out, tested the motor/gearbox out of the loco before put it back together. All worked perfectly. 

 

Put it all together and it ran like a bag of shite. Awesome. I tried many different things to try and get it to go. I even swapped the driven axle from the front to the back. Nothing worked. So I conceded that I must've made a grievous error or two somewhere along the way, causing the issues I was having now. I swapped the old motor back in and it runs like a swiss watch. Whatever the issue is, the big motor must just have the grunt to make it seem like its not there.

 

Decided to cut my losses and just build the cab up around the motor.

 

 

It doesn't look terrible, at least, I don't think so. It could be much, much worse. In any case, a dab of black paint over the sticker, and some crew will help disguise things even further. In hindsight, If i'd used a high level box and had the drivestretcher going forward, I would've allowed myself enough room to fit the whole backhead.

 

 

 

I'm really really pleased with how the rest of the cab came out. Admittedly, the camera does me no favours, but to my eye the internal weathering is nice and subtle, getting into all the nooks and crannies just as I wanted it to. 

 

I'm really happy that these projects are coming to a close. Despite numerous trials and tribulations, I feel like every step has been a chance to learn something. I also built these both entirely myself, with lots of 'first times' in there.

 

Roll on the next bodge!

Edited August 7, 2020 by Jack P

[Jack P]

33 minutes ago, pete_mcfarlane said:

I built the DJH C2X years ago, there were photos on an old incarnation of RMweb but I (and Google) can't find them at the moment. It never ran particularly well, and ended up sustaining some damage so it is currently in its box in several bits waiting a dismantle and rebuild. 

 

The castings were pretty good. Like a lot of DJH kits the loco body sat too high on the chassis (which can be fixed by filing down the spacing piece of the footplate). I replaced the spacers in the loco chassis with Comet ones, as the supplied ones made it about 10mm over the frames, presumably to get it round 15" curves on some 1980s layout. 

 

On the minus side the tender chassis was some cast U sections for the axles, and I replaced the cab roof (which suggests the supplied one was wrong). The biggest problem is that lower the chassis makes it obvious that the splashers are to scale width and don't have backs to them, so they don't cover OO gauge wheels. I've not figured out how to fix that yet. 

 

I suspect there's not much to chose between the DJH one and the NuCast. My DJH one from 20 years ago had better quality castings, as the boiler was round. 

 

ACE  apparently do an etched one, presumably a shot down 7mm etch. I've heard mixed things about their kits and haven't tried one myself: https://www.aceproducts.org/index.php?route=product/category&path=36

 

I'd love to see some photos if you can find any!

 

It seems to be re-occuring theme with the DJH SR locos, all of them seem to sit too high. I have much of your L class build in my notes for when I embark on my own.

 

I wonder if it's worth seeing if I could get a selection of bits from the ACE kit. Might just be worth getting the whole kit and mashing them together..

[Tony Teague]

1 hour ago, Jack P said:

 

Would you be willing to share some photos of your own C2x('s)?

 

 

Hi Jack

 

There is always a danger in sharing pictures of my models, in that imperfections that I haven't even noticed will now be pointed out to me!

I appear to have one C2 and three C2X's, and of the latter, two are DJH and one is NuCast; unfortunately I don't have pictures of all of them and worse still, the NuCast one and one of the DJH ones appear to have the same number - so I'm not even sure of what I will be showing you.

The pictures here are old / stock images, so what I will do over the weekend is get out there and find each of the locos and take better pictures, but in the meantime:

 

 

No.2525 is definately from a DJH kit

 

Whilst No.2540 could be either DJH or Nu-Cast! I will investigate further.

 

Tony

 

[pete_mcfarlane]

Here's some poor photos of mine. I forgot that I replaced the chimney with a turned brass one - I have a vague memory of this being a C class chimney from DMR models, which is accurate for this loco. 

A couple of good reference sources are issues 9 and 10 of the 'Southern Way' which has loads of drawings and details of the C2/C2X classes, and this book from West Sussex County Council about railways in W. Sussex. 

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Going-off-Rails-Country-Railway/dp/0862604001/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=0862604001&qid=1596825267&s=books&sr=1-1

 

There's an article about the one that ended up in a river near Midhurst, with shots from various odd angles, including the underside of the tender (so I had no excuse not fitting brake gear to mine - I'll sort this when I rebuild it). 

[chris25]

Hello Jack,

 

You made a lovely job on the J class and the I3..

I agree completely with Pete about the information in the Southern Way 9 & 10 for the C2X, drawings showing the modification through the lifetime and Ashford's overhauls to some class members.

 

The below model is DJH with added details and lowered ride height (after looking at these shots again it maybe even slightly too low! So I'll have a check with the drawings later).

Including a new cab roof from brass, as the real things from photographs looked quite flimsy and a heavy weathering..

 

Kind Regards

 

Chris White

[Jack P]

Thank you all for posting photos of your fantastic models. It's certainly convinced me to press on with finding a solution to my own woes. 

 

I'm in talks with ACE at the moment, trying to decide if it's worth paying 2/3rds of the kit price for the bits I need, or just buying the whole thing. In hindsight, it might've been better to go with the DJH kit.

 

I'll make sure to pick up Volumes 9 and 10 of The Southern Way, Very much appreciate the tip!

 

14 hours ago, chris25 said:

The below model is DJH with added details and lowered ride height (after looking at these shots again it maybe even slightly too low! So I'll have a check with the drawings later).

Including a new cab roof from brass, as the real things from photographs looked quite flimsy and a heavy weathering..

 

Chris, I think i've harassed you about it before over PM, but you really must start a thread so that we can admire these fantastic models! (i'm surely not the only one who thinks this either)

[Jack P]

I've started work on the DJH L that was very fairly obtained from @45568.

 

I've chosen 1768, this loco received a C class tender, and I just so happen to have a spare Bachmann one. This will require a few modifications, but much simpler than building my own, and much, much simpler than building/modifying the DJH one. @pete_mcfarlane Covers the issues with the tender here: 

 

The castings for the body measure up well against the drawings in Russell. All of them are generally crisp and clean, and fit together well with minimum fettling. So far i've removed about 1mm off the rear of the firebox and the pads on the bottom of the footplate, in order to shift the smokebox back and drop the ride height. Everything has just been placed together so far.

 

 

Spurred on by Pete's comments, and the obvious lack of firebox/ashpan arrangement below the frames I came up with this:

 

 

 

 

I'm waiting on my poppies jig before I solder everything up and attach the front/lower section. As you can see, the arrangement is hollow, this allows the drive stretcher for the highlevel box to sit inside it, the motor mount then sticks up above this and the motor pokes into the boiler. I need to give Chris a call on Monday and get one of his thinner motors, as I can't get a 14mm wide Mashima between the firebox sides.

 

I've also decided to use Gibson wheels on this build too. The romford ones just don't look right. I think if this build goes well, I'll use them on any future builds.. I'll get on the phone to Colin on Monday too. 

[chris25]

Thanks Jack I might just do that..

 

If it were my choice to build another again, the DJH version isn't bad at all, the Whitemetal castings are excellent infact.

A new internal tender chassis and running plate, either scratchbuilt from brass or kit helps too.

 

As I haven't built a Nucast version of the the C2X yet I can't comment on it but builds from it I have seen looks very good.

 

A very neat Ashpan on the L class. It looks like you are taking to your new GW rivet tool like a duck to water.

I'll send you some photos via PM of the L class I built for my father, as not to block up your thread...

 

Keep up the excellent work!!

 

Kind Regards

 

Chris White

 

Edited August 8, 2020 by chris25
Grammar

[30368]

Hi Chris,

 

Noted your comments re NuCast Partners C2X. I bought one of the first kits and it building into a fairly good representation of the prototype. The DJH versions look rather good too.

 

 

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

 

PS Jack, the L 4-4-0 is looking very good, like the firebox/grate.

 

Edited August 8, 2020 by 30368

[pete_mcfarlane]

4 hours ago, Jack P said:

I

 

I'm waiting on my poppies jig before I solder everything up and attach the front/lower section. As you can see, the arrangement is hollow, this allows the drive stretcher for the highlevel box to sit inside it, the motor mount then sticks up above this and the motor pokes into the boiler. I need to give Chris a call on Monday and get one of his thinner motors, as I can't get a 14mm wide Mashima between the firebox sides.

 

I've also decided to use Gibson wheels on this build too. The romford ones just don't look right. I think if this build goes well, I'll use them on any future builds.. I'll get on the phone to Colin on Monday too. 

Your ashpan is better than mine, as it's a proper brass job. Did you use the GW riveter on it?

[Wilton 34041]

On 07/08/2020 at 13:04, pete_mcfarlane said:

 

ACE  apparently do an etched one, presumably a shot down 7mm etch. I've heard mixed things about their kits and haven't tried one myself: https://www.aceproducts.org/index.php?route=product/category&path=36

 

 

Hi, yes I built an ACE LBSCR  J (Abergavenny) in 4mm some years ago and the etches were obviously reduced from 7mm. Most were ok but some parts particularly round the smokebox saddle / false front frames didn't reduce well and I had to remake them. If I remember rightly the metal of some smaller parts was also a bit too thick. Besides that I enjoyed building it and the challenge of completing a model of a good looking loco.

Really enjoying following all of your work Jack. You cover quite a range, locos, coaches & the new builds and I think your brave buying new models and changing them into what you want. I don't have that courage / confidence after spending a lot of money on a new loco, though I should have as I've been modelling all my life. I guess it's a case of just go for it, don't think of it going wrong.

All the best,

Phil.

[Jack P]

11 hours ago, Wilton 34041 said:

Hi, yes I built an ACE LBSCR  J (Abergavenny) in 4mm some years ago and the etches were obviously reduced from 7mm. Most were ok but some parts particularly round the smokebox saddle / false front frames didn't reduce well and I had to remake them. If I remember rightly the metal of some smaller parts was also a bit too thick. Besides that I enjoyed building it and the challenge of completing a model of a good looking loco.

 

Hi Phil, thanks for dropping in. I think the issues you encountered are the same issues that plague the entire range of 4mm kits. Having said that, I think i'll place an order for a C2x and give it a go.. I do enjoy a challenge!

 

11 hours ago, Wilton 34041 said:

Really enjoying following all of your work Jack. You cover quite a range, locos, coaches & the new builds and I think your brave buying new models and changing them into what you want. I don't have that courage / confidence after spending a lot of money on a new loco, though I should have as I've been modelling all my life. I guess it's a case of just go for it, don't think of it going wrong.

 

Thank you for your kind words. I think i'm lucky, buying new models often means they just end up with a coat of black (which is generally pretty straightforward). I'm no Warren Heywood, but after some trial and error I've managed to refine down my technique and produces a result that i'm happy with.

 

I feel I'm at risk of becoming a Jack of all trades, master of none. However, I think some of the best model railways I've seen are a cohesive effort, where everything is built and finished to the same standard. When I started this thread back in February of 2017 I never thought I would be at the stage i'm at now, I genuinely owe a massive thank you to the readers and contributors of this thread. Without their helpful guidance and encouragement I probably wouldn't be doing what i'm doing.

[Jack P]

On 09/08/2020 at 03:59, chris25 said:

Thanks Jack I might just do that..

 

If it were my choice to build another again, the DJH version isn't bad at all, the Whitemetal castings are excellent infact.

A new internal tender chassis and running plate, either scratchbuilt from brass or kit helps too.

 

As I haven't built a Nucast version of the the C2X yet I can't comment on it but builds from it I have seen looks very good.

 

A very neat Ashpan on the L class. It looks like you are taking to your new GW rivet tool like a duck to water.

I'll send you some photos via PM of the L class I built for my father, as not to block up your thread...

 

Keep up the excellent work!!

 

Chris, Thank you for your kind words!

 

 I think after seeing your L, I certainly wouldn't consider it to be "blocking up my thread!". Please feel free to post the pictures you've sent me.

 

I'm really enjoying the GW press, I seem to be running into some issues that I can't quite pinpoint, occasionally a line of rivets will wander off centre, and the line will start to look like a curve. I've tried using the grub screw to keep one of the slide bars in place, but it doesn't seem to have any bearing on if it will end up straight or not! I'll keep playing. for my next trick, I shall try and produce a circle of rivets! 

 

 

On 09/08/2020 at 04:52, 30368 said:

Hi Chris,

 

Noted your comments re NuCast Partners C2X. I bought one of the first kits and it building into a fairly good representation of the prototype. The DJH versions look rather good too.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

 

PS Jack, the L 4-4-0 is looking very good, like the firebox/grate.

 

 

Richard, 

 

I might give Dave at SEF a call, and just have a chat about the oval boiler. If you've not encountered this issue, perhaps mine is an anomaly. Your finished C2x looks extremely well built and weathered. Did you replace the rods?

 

Thank you for your kind word on the L frames, I think they already look better than supplied, and give the loco some of it's "Chunky" appearance.

 

On 09/08/2020 at 06:22, pete_mcfarlane said:

Your ashpan is better than mine, as it's a proper brass job. Did you use the GW riveter on it?

 

Thanks Pete! Much inspiration drawn from yours. Yep, i've been finding as many reasons as I can to use the GW riveter!

[Daddyman]

8 hours ago, Jack P said:

I'm really enjoying the GW press, I seem to be running into some issues that I can't quite pinpoint, occasionally a line of rivets will wander off centre, and the line will start to look like a curve. I've tried using the grub screw to keep one of the slide bars in place, but it doesn't seem to have any bearing on if it will end up straight or not! I'll keep playing. for my next trick, I shall try and produce a circle of rivets! 

Ah, there's the rub! It's a design (or at least assembly) flaw with the kit, as discussed on one of Mike Edge's threads a couple of months back. There is a hack to fix it, but I haven't tried it yet as I haven't needed any lines of rivets. 

[30368]

Hi Jack,

 

I had no problem with the boiler of the C2X - I'm just looking at it now - it is round! Dave is a lovely chap so I'm sure he will help out.

Regarding the rods. They are the standard rods but I do spend a fair bit of time adding set screws/washers etc and re-profiling to get as close as possible to the prototype. In my experience, the appearance of most valve gear in kits can be improved without reducing reliability.

 

I should add that whilst I am on an ex LNER pacific building phase at present I plan to return to the SR with a DJH Urie S15. I built one about 6-7 years ago (still working) but I have learnt so much about loco building since then and therefore hope to make a better job of it.

 

Keep up the good work,

 

Richard B

Edited August 10, 2020 by 30368