S7 scratch building

[airnimal]

I've fitted the floor and solebars and put a couple of extra layers of plasticard in both the sides and ends. I have added another 60 thou piece plus a layer of colour plastic in 20 thou inbetween to make it like plywood. I always make multi layers with odd number to save the sides from warping and use Limonene to glue it all together. I have to be more careful using Limonene because it takes a lot longer to dry and I am forever getting fingerprints on the outside surface of and model I make.

[airnimal]

Does anybody know if it possible to upload a short video ?

[Andy Hayter]

If you can constrain it to the 32mB limit, I see no reason why you could not load a video.

 

Alternatively load to U Tube and post a link.

[airnimal]

Thanks Andy. I will have to wait untill my own technical support arrives home from China next week. That is my son-in law who has gone there for 3 weeks on business. He understands all the things my old brain cannot grasp.

Untill then I will put up a couple of photos of my visit to a gentlemans layout that I had the pleasure of visiting last week.

[Compound2632]

Whoever your host was, I do like his 517 class in original condition with saddle tank and Wolverhampton livery, and cattle wagon in red.

Edited October 26, 2018 by Compound2632

[airnimal]

Compound, I like the early red livery like yourself far better than the latter grey. The layout that I had the privilege of visiting had some wonderful locos and rolling stock on it, it made me quite envious.

A bit more progress on the L&Y van with the end stanchions put on with the help of another spaceing jig. They have been left over long untill the glue dries out before they will be trimmed to size and thickness. I found a old roof in my box of spares that has just the right curve that will do.

Not sure why I stared this van as I have neither w-irons or castings for this van so it will go in the must finish one day box along with about 10 others.

[airnimal]

I said yesterday that I didn't have any castings for this van but I had look in my box of wagon buffers and low and behold a set of L&Y buffers complete with buffer heads. I have checked all my etch w-irons from various companies but none match the L&Y profile.

[Western Star]

Mike,

 

Please post a drawing of what yiou require in the way of L&YR axleguards.

 

regards, Graham

[swampy]

Mike,

 

Please post a drawing of what yiou require in the way of L&YR axleguards.

 

regards, Graham

 There is a drawing of the later narrow plank Dia 3 on the LYRS website here http://www.lyrs.org.uk/PDFs-of-Scanned-Drawings

[MarcD]

If you look on our Shapeways shop there are LYR/LNWR oil axle boxes and round bottom boxes which we use on our LYR kits.

 

Marc

[airnimal]

Thanks for all the input regarding L&Y axleboxes and w-irons. I do have a contact that may have some cast one's but I have not spoke to him for awhile.

Mark how do I access your Shapeways shop ?

[MarcD]

If you go to shapeways and put in pre grouping railways it should bring up the shop. If that doesn't work there are some links from our normall website www.pregroupingrailways dot com

 

Marc

[airnimal]

Thanks Marc, I will have a look.

I have lost my mojo just of late. Not sure if it's the onset of winter or lack of progress on my part but I find I make more mistakes and bad judgments than in the summer.

I went to Slaters the other day to pick up some S7 wheels and when I was there I bought some mouldings for a couple of G.W.R wagons thinking it would speed progress. Coming home I realised I don't have a clue how to kit build. I have been building things my own way for so long I have got out of the habit with kit building. I would have to change the axleboxes and buffers and would I be able to get seem less joints between parts. I could have saved my self some money and done my own thing. They say there's no fool like an old fool.

 

Anyway I have done a bit on the L&Y van but progress is slow. I think I am getting withdrawal symptoms with not doing any cycling.

I know it has only been six months since I came back from Aus but I would love to go somewhere warm again.

I know I won't get any sympathy because most people struggle to get one holiday a year and I have done very well for myself in the past ten years. I wonder how long I can continue to cycle before my old body says enough is enough.

The bike in the photo is my "Airnimal " hence the name.

Edited November 1, 2018 by airnimal

[Western Star]

Mike,

 

What you have is an ex-Coopercraft kit which is supplied now by Slaters.  This link shall help you to understand the mental minefield which is knwon as GWR wagon breaks:-

 

http://www.gwr.org.uk/nowagonbrakes.html

 

The body moudlings are pretty good, the solebars less so if you are thinking about springing the wheels.  What does David supply in the way of buffers and coupling hooks?

 

I suggest that you try to find a copy of one of Jim Russell's photobooks of GWR wagons, maybe from a library.  Or, I can supply scans of the appropriate photos.

 

regards, Graham

Edited November 2, 2018 by Western Star

[wagonman]

Mike,

 

What you have is an ex-Coopercraft kit which nis supplied now by Slaters.  This link shall help you to understand the mental minefield which is knwon as GWR wagon breaks:-

 

http://www.gwr.org.uk/nowagonbrakes.html

 

The body moudlings are pretty good, the solebars less so if you are thinking about springing the wheels.  What does David supply in the way of buffers and coupling hooks?

 

I suggest that you try to find a copy of one of Jim Russell's photobooks of GWR wagons, maybe from a library.  Or, I can supply scans of the appropriate photos.

 

regards, Graham

 

 

 

Another snag is that the 3 plank should be 15ft 6in O/H but the Coopercraft model is 16ft. Brakes, simple double lever on one side only – all the DC1 gubbins can be sliced off.

 

I confess I gave up and scratchbuilt mine – as seen in the last S7 Newsletter as 'work in progress'. What isn't, chez moi.

[Regularity]

I built one of those for a friend, but also to try out 7mm scale back in the early 00s.

I chose it over the Peco (ex-Webster) kit as it seemed a lot cheaper, but once I added in wheels and replacement buffers and couplings, it wasn’t really.

It is compensated using Airnimal’s etched units, fitted between the wheels rather than outside them.

It is fitted with Slater’s S7 wheels, but with the moulded washer on the back removed, to run on 31.2mm gauge track. (Much detailed PO wagon from Slater’s in a fictitious merchant’s livery with it. G1 open lurking in the background.)

[airnimal]

Thanks to everybody for there information about G.W.R wagons, I am out of my comfort zone here. They will be put away untill I have looked into it further.

A little more work on the L&Y van has seen the handrails go on. The handrails are 18thou steel piano wire. I believe Ambis do a etch set of w-irons for this van so I may go to the Wakefield show because Hobby Holidays are there who stock the Ambis range.

[sir douglas]

hope you have a nice day if you do come, i'll be on the second hand magazine stand most of the weekend

[airnimal]

My friend and I come over because he likes fish and chips in that part of the world as well as a good show.

I have put the first of the hinges on with a few square bolts to see how it looks. Still a long way to go.

[ian@stenochs]

Thanks Marc, I will have a look.

I have lost my mojo just of late. Not sure if it's the onset of winter or lack of progress on my part but I find I make more mistakes and bad judgments than in the summer.

I went to Slaters the other day to pick up some S7 wheels and when I was there I bought some mouldings for a couple of G.W.R wagons thinking it would speed progress. Coming home I realised I don't have a clue how to kit build. I have been building things my own way for so long I have got out of the habit with kit building. I would have to change the axleboxes and buffers and would I be able to get seem less joints between parts. I could have saved my self some money and done my own thing. They say there's no fool like an old fool.

Anyway I have done a bit on the L&Y van but progress is slow. I think I am getting withdrawal symptoms with not doing any cycling.

I know it has only been six months since I came back from Aus but I would love to go somewhere warm again.

I know I won't get any sympathy because most people struggle to get one holiday a year and I have done very well for myself in the past ten years. I wonder how long I can continue to cycle before my old body says enough is enough.

The bike in the photo is my "Airnimal " hence the name.

I too have a similar issues with kits, mostly locos in my case but also wagons. I have a few which have stalled again and are back on the shelf while I get back to building from scratch. So much easier!

 

The problem areas are when the kit designer deviates from how I would build the model or they introduce ‘modifications’ usually dimensional, which make an accurate model impossible from their kit. What makes them frustrating is that you seldom find out the faults until you get started on the build and you have parted with your folding money. I see that your GWR kit has dimensional issues, not unusual!

 

I find that keeping the mojo going is facilitated by having periods away from the workshop doing something completely different! Basically get on you bike! though I prefer a good walk preferably ending up in a decent pub.

 

Ian.

[airnimal]

Thanks Ian, I know I am not alone in not getting on with kits.

The L&Y van body is coming on with a few bolts and ironwork. I chamfered the bottom of the body side with a scalpel.

[Compound2632]

Looking forward to seeing how you do the roof door cover. Are you going for the unpainted wood "livery"?

[airnimal]

Compound 2632, it would be nice to do the exterior in bare wood but I don't think my rendition is of wagon interiors is good enough. As for the canvas roof door I will look at tissue with a coating of diluted P.V.A soaked in.

Continuing with the bolt details cut from 10 X 25 thou I was wondering if the bolts were to big.

That works out with bolts that scale out at just over 1"1/6" square. If I go down to using 20 thou it works out at bolts that would be 7/8" square.

I have had a quick look through L & Y wagons but could not find details of bolt size. It may be there but without a long look in depth I couldn't come across it.

[Doncaster]

Hi Airmimal. Glad to see you've got your mojo back. I've had a similar blast of enthusiasm and returned to 7mm, good progress on my GNR break van. Just need to add safety loops, an interior and a roof. Happy days.

[airnimal]

Doncaster, your brake van is a fine piece of work. A couple of questions on your technique on how do you fix the lamp irons and the middle brass footboard.

I have a set of buffers the same as you model but where were the axleboxes from. Not that I am likely to model a G.N.R. brake van but a open wagon might appear one day.

I have put the nuts on one end with the coupling pocket. That's one side and one end done, just got to do it all again on the other side.