S7 scratch building

[airnimal]

Graham, many thanks for the link. I haven't heard of Hobbies but that looks a very interesting trader.

I agree if the right size is available it would make life a lot easier but at the time I had to improvise and it keeps the old grey matter working.

[airnimal]

I have put a couple of hours in this  morning and completed the framing on the second side including the top panels.  Now I have to chamfer all the framing, so I have cut some scraps of nickel to sit in the frames to rest the blades so I don't damage  the panels with a slipped scalpel. 

 

We keep try to stay fit each day with a couple of miles walk and I even managed 15 miles on the bike yesterday. Not very far at all but it's better than nothing. 

[NeilHB]

Lovely work Mike. 

[airnimal]

Thanks Neil. Cracked on with the chamfer on the timbers and it didn't take more then 30 minutes for one side that included making the nickel  parts. It is hard to see on the White bits but where the Blue plastic is I think is easier to see. 

[airnimal]

Just a small detail that will not be seen very clearly are the lockers on the veranda.  It is a bit of light relief after trying to chamfer all the framing. I always find the first side goes well and the I struggle to get the second  side as good. 

[airnimal]

Sorry if this is boring  but I have made the other locker and the sand box.

[Dave John]

Quality modelmaking of any sort is never boring. 

[Malcolm 0-6-0]

Boring? never boring it is always a pleasure to see your work.

[airnimal]

Wow thanks to everyone for the thumbs up.

 

I have used some buffer castings from my brake van kit. I had a few sets left over that were nearly  the right shape so I put them in the lathe and turned them down. It is going to be interesting trying to drill the base of them for the 3 bolts holding them in place.

I am planning on using my own castings for the axle boxes again from the brake van kit but I will have to modify them by adding a small extension on to the spring hanger and remove the middle of the  bracing bar.

The face of the axle box will also be altered to represent more closely the NSR one.

 

Add another 3 hours with all the messing about and the second side frame chamfering .

That's 34.5 hours with about 12 of those wasted.

[Regularity]

2 hours ago, airnimal said:

It is going to be interesting trying to drill the base of them for the 3 bolts holding them in place.

Can't you simply stick some on, either as decals, castings or fabricated from a few bits of styrene?

[airnimal]

Looking at the photographs in the NSR wagon book, wagon No 459 appears to have very heavy ironwork and bolts. I have spent a couple more hours putting on the first of these on one end to see if it looks right. I have increased the size of the square nuts from 10 x 20 thou to 10 x 30 thou. Without knowing what size nuts they used I am having to guess from the few photographs we have of these vans which appear to all be different. 

 

I will attempt to drill the buffer bodies later on for the bolt heads. . If I make a hash of it, it will not matter a great  deal because I a few spare.

[Compound2632]

30 minutes ago, airnimal said:

Looking at the photographs in the NSR wagon book,

 

Looking at the photo at the top of that same page, LNWR locomotive No. 1120 Apollo is misidentified as a 2-4-0. It is, of course, a 2-2-2-0 3-cylinder compound of the Experiment class.

 

I do like the photo that includes NSR brake No. 459. It's part of a larger view that teems with detail. I like the pile of old Pullman-type bogies.

[airnimal]

I am not sure using 10 x 30 to make nuts is the right thing to use. 30 thou works out at a scale 1 5/16" were as 10 x 20 works out as 7/8" 

I seem to remember many years ago reading that it is better to make small details a bit undersize than a bit oversize. So I have removed the larger size nuts and replaced with the smaller size on the centre ironwork in the middle of the end. I think it does look better so I may remove the others before  I get to far with the build.

Edited January 20, 2021 by airnimal

[kitpw]

...I meant to hit the "agree" button but missed: but I agree, smaller is better!

Kit PW

[rocor]

1 hour ago, airnimal said:

I am not sure using 10 x 30 to make nuts is the right thing to use. 30 thou works out at a scale 1 5/16" were as 10 x 20 works out as 7/8" 

I seem to remember many years ago reading that it is better to make small details a bit undersize than a bit oversize. So I have removed the larger size nuts and replaced with the smaller size on the centre ironwork in the middle of the end. I think it does look better so I may remove the others before  I get to far with the build.

 

They do grow relatively larger when paint is applied than does the full size prototype.

[airnimal]

I have spent the best 4 hours taking off most of the nuts and replacing them with the small variety and putting on the ironwork on one side. I had to take off and replace the top panels because the ironwork wouldn't fit the space because I had made the panel material parts oversize.  Now I have found  another problem with this ironwork. On the corner ironwork at the bottom of the body,  mine sits at the bottom of the frame  instead of in the middle.  

Where did I go wrong ? Taking a straight edge to the drawing I have found that the drawing of the ironwork doesn't line up with each other which I have followed to the letter. I also missed in the photograph of No 459 that it has packing blocks behind the buffers. Looking at the photograph of No 60 the chamfer part does have a small flat part under the chamfer which  would  account  for the discrepancy  around the corner with the ironwork. So where do I go from here.  The obvious answer is to remove the chamfer piece over the buffers and place a small piece in and replace the chamfer part and made the buffer packing pieces. 

I have mentioned before observation and I have only myself to blame for this extra work if I wish to make an accurate model.

[Regularity]

I like the smaller nuts: worth redoing them.

[Western Star]

For those of us with a copy of NSR Wagons (Chadwick, Wild Swan) the model looks just like the real thing, so to answer your question...

 

40 minutes ago, airnimal said:

So where do I go from here.  The obvious answer is .....if I wish to make an accurate model.

do just as you suggest.  You know that you can, we know that you can - we are with you all of the way to another masterpiece.

 

regards, Graham

[airnimal]

Graham, I couldn't live with a fault that would have caught my eye everytime I looked at the model.

 So the only thing to do was try and correct the fault. I was doing well removing the chamfer part above the buffer beam when I caught one of the diagonal frame members with my scalpel. 

 Nothing I could do now but remove the complete end. The inevitable wisdom has kick in and binned the lot. I am sure I could have ignored the fault or even sold or given it away but it's not the way I work.  Start again with the knowledge I have learned but this time I will not be counting the hours spent.

[airnimal]

After a lot of thinking about  what  to do and several attempts at rescuing the brake van I have decided to start afresh with a new build taking account of the various mistakes from the last one. 

 

A new frame has been cut out and glued together and then marked out for the foot board hangers.

Because the struts have a curve at the top where it enters the body I had to come up with a way for them to be removable without causing damage to the frame. 

So I have drilled 4 holes in each side of the solebars and glued a small offcut of brass tube in the frames.  The hangers will be made from .8mm brass wire which is very tight fit in the brass tube but a quick rub with a file puts a slight taper on them allowing to be a perfect fit.

[airnimal]

I have cut the sides out but this time I have cut out where the half doors are going to be rather than do an overlay on the body side. This will make the door thinner by 60 thou which I hope will give a better  appearance. The 2 sides are made slightly oversize by about 10 thou so I can file them back to size once they are glued on to the frame. The brass footboard hangers have been made and bent to shape but left overlong until I get to the underframe stage. 

 

I am taking my time this time and hopefully not making any mistakes.  My wife says I rush things and that is the reason I scrap so much of my work. Fair comment i suppose. 

[Regularity]

14 hours ago, airnimal said:

I am taking my time this time and hopefully not making any mistakes.  My wife says I rush things and that is the reason I scrap so much of my work.

Festina lente...

[Caley Jim]

1 hour ago, Regularity said:

Festina lente...

This is a lesson I was taught by my father at the age of about 7 when trying to paint cereal packets to look like Tudor houses, as described in the Meccanno Magazine of the day (mid '50s).  It has stuck with me ever since, though I confess not always been adhered to, with the inevitable consequences!

 

Jim

[airnimal]

Patience is something I have when things go wrong otherwise I wouldn't be able to start again after spending 40 hours only to scrap the first or second  attempt. Taking in all the details in when looking at something like a drawing or photograph is where I fall down. Having so many things going around my head at the same time is a problem to. Getting into trouble with the house authority can also be distracting like when I got a Black line from a permanent marker down the Cream curtains. I have only myself to blame.  

 

The sides have been laid out and hopefully I have it right this time. This is unusual because I do not normally put the framing on until I build the body.

[airnimal]

I have assembled the body with the parts I have so far because I still have the verandah end to make.

I have taken into  account my interpretation of the drawing on the first  build and looking more thoroughly at both the drawings and the photographs for my second  build. On the first  model I have 5 .25 planks and on the second build I have 6.

 

Unfortunately for me I have managed to get a slight bow in the framing on one side by  a few thou. 

Will anyone notice or care,  but I am mad with myself after trying  hard to not make mistakes. 

My wife thinks I am daft for caring over something  so small and has been giving me lots of suggestions on future builds. I know she trying to be helpful and I am grateful for her interest but ........