Rich's de-stress project

[Bucoops]

Oh - the other side of this sheet is the High Level gearbox planner

 

 

I can fully understand why Chris is the go-to person for gearboxes.

[hayfield]

High level have run out of 1020s - I tried to get one for the J15 kit.Or rather he thinks he has enough for fulfiling existing orders. It may after a count-up prove otherwise. But that's where I got the 1420 from.

 

I grabbed a couple of them off ebay when they had the 20% off coupon recently. Although they then got sent to the wrong address so took a while to actually make it!

 

There's a couple of churches nearby I could get some lead from there (joke ) - what I meant was how many grams total?

  I would line each tank, think how heavy a whitemetal kit is, then look at how much metal is put into modern RTR locos

[Bucoops]

Hmm, might be easier than I was expecting...

 

 

Cab front is on, and cab floor. How the handbrake would ever work in the position the kit says I do not know, but I have left it in that place to give it a little knock protection.

 

The motor rear shaft will have to be shortened, but the backhead should cover anything that does stick through.

 

You can see I need to do a bit of work to seal the bunker side too. My bend wasn't QUITE there.

Edited January 19, 2018 by Bucoops

[Bucoops]

One thing that has been bugging me with the N7 over the A1 - cutting parts off the etch. I've been using a scalpel blade but it blunts blades very quick;y and is hard work. What are people's suggestions for removing parts without the risk of distortion that using snips carries?

 

Thanks

[Jol Wilkinson]

A small chisel (mine is made from the end of a hacksaw blade, ground to a 3mm wide end,) and used on a frim surface such as a piece of Formica faced chipboard is excellent. It is possible to cut through etched tags very close to the part you want to remove with no distortion.

[Flymo748]

Hmm, might be easier than I was expecting...

 

IMG_20180119_153154_01.jpg

 

Cab front is on, and cab floor. How the handbrake would ever work in the position the kit says I do not know, but I have left it in that place to give it a little knock protection.

 

 

Rich, I hate to say it, but the handbrake wouldn't work there, because you've fixed it in the wrong position.  It looks like the kit is wrong in this regard.

 

It's shown more clearly in GERS drawings.  I'll snip the relevant sections and post them.  But later...  I'm off to the pub!

 

Cheers

Flymo

[Bucoops]

The GERS drawings (I have them already, thank you) are of the GER built and earliest LNER built versions. The part 3 that I am modelling has quite a few differences. And so far I've yet to find either a drawing or decent photo of the back of the cab of a part 3

 

I agree the handbrake wouldn't work in real life there but I don't know if it should be on a stanchion like the earlier ones or not. Strangely 69621 has a much narrower "shelf" at the back which is what made me accept that the handle being on the shelf itself may be correct - makes me wonder if the other variants had a larger shelf for a higher coal capacity. What I haven't done is ploughed through the Yeadons book yet to see if that has anything.

 

69621:

 

I'm not going for super accuracy - I've not got that level of skill (or patience!) - similar to the Jamieson kit this one is quite old and no doubt more modern ones are better. But I guess if a decent view comes up before I'm ready to put the roof on I could look at changing it somehow. Tough one as I can understand the desire to get it right - but also there's the desire to actually finish something 

[Flymo748]

One thing that has been bugging me with the N7 over the A1 - cutting parts off the etch. I've been using a scalpel blade but it blunts blades very quick;y and is hard work. What are people's suggestions for removing parts without the risk of distortion that using snips carries?

 

 

I usually use a scalpel as well, but a heavy duty one.  A Swann Morton Unitool.  One of these: https://www.saa.co.uk/swann-morton-unitool-1337-plastic-handle-3-blades-card-123377.html

 

With the curved blade in it, I find that I have the precision for fine components, and the knife itself has the "heft" to feel as though it is not going to bend or snap under pressure.  Yes, the blades to go blunt over time, but I find that it needs only a couple of blades (at a few pence each if you buy them in bulk) to do an etched kit.

 

I do use a small chisel like Jol, but usually only when doing something like cutting up large sheets of etches:

 

 

The other key element is to cut onto a sufficiently hard surface.  Even something like hardwood or hardboard can have enough give in it to bend a thin etched part.  I use a six inch square of Tufnol to cut onto, but others use ceramic tiles.

 

HTH

Flymo

[Bucoops]

Thanks - that may be it - I've been using my heat resistant cutting board which appears to be a posh bit of hardboard. I'm sure I can rustle up a tile from somewhere.

 

Meanwhile I had an online chat with a former N7 fireman and he confirmed the handbrake is on a stanchion, and nosing through the Yeadon's book this morning it looks like it too - very hard to tell though. The Yeadon's book is very good but is lacking in footplate photos.

 

Only place I found offering a handbrake is Markits. Who I'm *still* waiting for bits from so not holding my breath I'm at the point where I'm tempted to just sell the A1 wheels and buy Gibsons...

 

There's not the correct part in the kit - wonder why?

[Jol Wilkinson]

The late John Hayes, a exemplary model builder, generously made me a duplicate set of tools to those he used.

 

The most "valuable" is a small chisel made from the end of a hacksaw blade as in the attached drawing. I use this on a piece of Formica faced chipboard (melamine faced isn't strong/rigid enough) with a two ounce hammer. With the flat face against the item being removed from the etch, parts can be removed leaving virtually no tag left.

 

I have various other etch tools, including the Xuron etch cutters, but nothing beats the small chisel.

 

 

tag chisel.pdf

[michl080]

One thing that has been bugging me with the N7 over the A1 - cutting parts off the etch. I've been using a scalpel blade but it blunts blades very quick;y and is hard work. What are people's suggestions for removing parts without the risk of distortion that using snips carries?

 

I am using this https://xuron.com/index.php/main/consumer_products/4/80  tool and I love it. It is easy to adjust the edge of the part with the long blades so that you can cut with basically no burr left and without bending the part. No problem even with 0,2mm nickel silver frets. Very expensive, but worth every penny (or cent). Beware: It works like scissors, so it is only suitable for right-handers.

 

Michael

[Flymo748]

Meanwhile I had an online chat with a former N7 fireman and he confirmed the handbrake is on a stanchion, and nosing through the Yeadon's book this morning it looks like it too - very hard to tell though. The Yeadon's book is very good but is lacking in footplate photos.

 

Only place I found offering a handbrake is Markits. Who I'm *still* waiting for bits from so not holding my breath I'm at the point where I'm tempted to just sell the A1 wheels and buy Gibsons...

 

There's not the correct part in the kit - wonder why?

 

It took me a couple of days to go up into the loft and raid the section of the Kit Mountain which is red boxes...  So I brought down the kits for the Gibson Y14 and T26.  I knew that in there was what I wanted...

 

 

Apologies if this is sideways - I've had two attempts to twist it around in an editor :-(

 

This is the tender brake standard from the kits.  You'll see that it gives a pretty good impression, including of the cut-outs in the base.  As a kit component, it isn't labelled with a part number.  however, if you download the Alan Gibson catalogue, you'll find it listed in the LNER locomotive parts section as "4M628 GER Tender Brake Standard".

 

As to why the right one isn't in the kit?  I suspect the kit manufacturer didn't have the correct existing component in their range, didn't want to buy one in or make a master for one to cast, and thought that it's an insignificant internal component which no one will bother about.  Or just didn't do their research...

 

Cheers

Flymo

 

[Bucoops]

Hmm - useful - that does seem to look the same as the on on 69621 (the only cab photos I can find are of that one). Makes a bit of sense that they would use a design that they already have for tender locos.

 

Come payday (can't come quick enough!) I'll be trying Markits one more time - I'd prefer a brass one - but failing that Gibsons it is

 

Thanks

[Flymo748]

Hmm - useful - that does seem to look the same as the on on 69621 (the only cab photos I can find are of that one). Makes a bit of sense that they would use a design that they already have for tender locos.

 

Come payday (can't come quick enough!) I'll be trying Markits one more time - I'd prefer a brass one - but failing that Gibsons it is

 

Thanks

 

Not wanting to put you off buying the Markits one if that is what you really want, however:

 

- if the Markits one has a turned brass stem, then you won't have the indentations for the cutaways that show the screw inside;

 

- it will be safely in an enclosed cab, so you shouldn't need the extra robustness that a brass part would give.

 

I'm completely with you that there are certain exposed fittings which are much better in lost wax brass, but I wouldn't say that this was one of them.

 

Cheers

Flymo

[Bucoops]

It's hard to tell from the picture but I think it has the indentations - GE13  (GE22 looks too tall?) - http://www.markits.com/NEW%20Products%20OO%2020161222.pdf

 

edit: better picture:

 

http://www.markits.com/images/HandbrakeStandards.jpg

Edited January 26, 2018 by Bucoops

[Flymo748]

It's hard to tell from the picture but I think it has the indentations - GE13  (GE22 looks too tall?) - http://www.markits.com/NEW%20Products%20OO%2020161222.pdf

 

edit: better picture:

 

http://www.markits.com/images/HandbrakeStandards.jpg

 

Thanks - that's something I;ve learned.  I wasn't aware that there were pictures online, and I think you're right.

 

That would be a useful addition to the armoury., particularly where the brake standard would be vulnerable.  I'm in no urgent rush for one, but I'll have a look next time I see the Roxey stand at a show :-)

 

Cheers

Flymo

[Bucoops]

Roxey? Do they have a link with Markits? Maybe I can buy through them?

[hayfield]

Roxey? Do they have a link with Markits? Maybe I can buy through them?

 

 

Dave keeps some parts in stock, worth a call

[Bucoops]

Something that  has been at the back of my mind for a while that I need to start thinking about a bit more is couplings. I've been reading about an amazing new (to me) creation called a NEM pocket. As much as I'd like to have scale couplings etc. realistically I'm going to need something along the lines of tensionlock - but I also like the idea of fixed rakes for stock, so flexible is the name of the game.

 

The only solderable pocket I can find is the one from MJT - http://www.dartcastings.co.uk/resources/MJT%202580%20NEM%20Coupling%20Tongue%20Instructions.pdf

 

Now I'm not saying there is anything wrong with these, but are there any others for me to consider? I do have an MJT one to try but not actually looked at it yet.

 

Thanks

[rowanj]

Hi Rich. I think you'll find that any plastic NEM pocket will epoxy to plastic, brass or whitemetal as long as they are both free of grease or dirt. I suppose the thing about them is that you don't need to plug I the tension lock couplings if you don't want to , and can have fixed rakes using something like Tony Wright's "hook and crossbar" which I have pinched for fixed rakes of coaches. Only the 2 outer ends have tension lock couplings.

 

These days, for kit-built locos, I only use a bar fitted between the buffers, adjusted for height to hold a tension lock hook, then tweaked upwards a touch to compensate for the lack of a second hook. It's pretty "invisible" and you can get away with fitting a scale coupling for cosmetic looks if you wish. 

[Bucoops]

I seem to have an (unjustified) requirement for a metal kit to be metal - especially on the structural side. I guess I just trust solder more than glue? For coaches, plastic seats etc. are fine and I've yet to find metal that can be used for glazing

 

Just did some searching for Tony Wright's method and it makes perfect sense for his layout. Realistically I'm not going to have one like that - I have initial permission from boss lady to build something in the garage - not quite the same area. To quote Mr Wright "If you're using trainset curves, then use trainset couplings!" Obviously planning on avoiding the tightest radius but long sweeping bends ain't happening lol

 

And of course I have to consider it's going to be played with, not just modelling, it IS going to be a trainset - Daddy daughter time. If she wants Flying Scotsman pulling 20 trucks or Thomas (trying to) pull 8 Gresley teaks it's fine with me

 

It sounds like a bar may be useful for locos - I assume double-heading poses a challenge? 

[Bucoops]

SEFinecast chassis etch for an A3 arrived today (fast - only actually got around to ordering it Friday) so need to have a crack at some brakes I guess. Wish me luck - attempting to order from Markits hopefully tomorrow...

 

Not had a chance to do much building the last couple of weeks as work has been manic - but I have a query.

 

The Stelfox kit has brass castings (presumbaly lost wax) - the front sandbox/splashers don't quite follow the same curve as the folded up sides - is it possible to manipulate these? Perhaps get them nice and hot?

 

Thanks

[Flymo748]

SEFinecast chassis etch for an A3 arrived today (fast - only actually got around to ordering it Friday) so need to have a crack at some brakes I guess. Wish me luck - attempting to order from Markits hopefully tomorrow...

 

Not had a chance to do much building the last couple of weeks as work has been manic - but I have a query.

 

The Stelfox kit has brass castings (presumbaly lost wax) - the front sandbox/splashers don't quite follow the same curve as the folded up sides - is it possible to manipulate these? Perhaps get them nice and hot?

 

Thanks

 

Rich,

 

In short, no.  The only thing that you will achieve if you get the components nice and hot are burned fingers.

 

You don't say exactly which element is correct when compared to the scale plans/diagram.  Is it the castings or the etched side.  If it is the former, then I'm afraid it is time for the files/solder to adjust the profile until it is correct.  Or you may even find it easier to replace the casting with a fabricated part from a bit of brass or nickel sheet.  I think that you're basically talking about a box shape, so it should not be too tricky with a bit of care.

 

If it is the etched side which is incorrect, then again it is a matter for files and careful comparison.  Or you may find it easier to remove the etching and again replace it with one of your own making from brass sheet.

 

As is usal with kit-building, there are many ways to skin the proverbial cat.

Cheers

Flymo

[Bucoops]

A bit if each but from what I can tell (I've not done accurate measurement - just compared to the drawing and photos, mostly the casting.

 

Rather surprisingly, I did manage to reshape it a bit (fortunately as it's wide and thin it did behave a bit). But this is still over 3 hours fettling,swearing and irritation!

 

 

 

 

I deliberately chose the worst side first. And it still needs more cleaning up and likely some filler to smooth it out later.

[Bucoops]

"Only" about 1 1/2 hours for this side. I've not cleaned it up ready for soldering yet and it moved as I clamped it anyway. But fortunately it's an easy one to actually clamp firmly!