Atso's occasional workbench

[millerhillboy]

Lovely finish on that V3, looks like a RTR model, no sign of that being a print at all IMO

 

Signal Box.....is that a Waverley route box by any chance, I think I recognise the layout

[Atso]

Lovely finish on that V3, looks like a RTR model, no sign of that being a print at all IMO

 

Signal Box.....is that a Waverley route box by any chance, I think I recognise the layout

 

Thanks Millerhillboy,

 

I'm pretty pleased with how the V3 came out but even more pleased that its new owner is happy with it!

 

The signal box is based on the Mckenzie & Holland Type 3 signal box which I understand was a reasonably common design. Therefore, it could be totally plausible that some were used along the Waverley route - although not being my area of expertise (If I have one of those!), I can't say for certain.

[Atso]

Christmas Day revealed that my very understanding and tolerant girlfriend had got me some etched wagon kits.

 

 

Within that little lot are some etched for another Toad E, a Mac L, Mac N, LNER cattle van (to be build as one of the ones pressed into fruit traffic when new), some Loco coal wagons and various chassis kits.

 

The day also saw some more Peco Collett wheels get presented to me by my parents so the other J3 had its wheels assembled, quartered and coupling rods added so that I could fettle and assemble no. 4154. Tenders to come later but I'm pleased with how these are turning out so far.

 

NB: The chocolate orange is still untouched!

[Atso]

I had some paint out today and so, among other things, the J3s received their basic paint scheme.

 

 

I used Vallejo Vermillion and Black acrylic paints for these, applied using an airbrush. I'll give them a couple of days to harden before applying a coat of Ronseal gloss varnish ready for picking out details in enamels and applying decals. Still no tenders in sight though...

Edited December 28, 2018 by Atso

[Atso]

Ok, about as far from the J3 in terms of the time of building as I can get.

 

 

The test build of my revised L1 print. I've still got some snagging work to do on this one and a couple of minor things to redesign internally to make life easier but it is slowly coming along. This one already has a new home to go to (a layout being built based on Whitby) and I hope to have this, and some of the variations, available for general sale later in 2019.

[MrSimon]

Loking good Steve!

Which chassis does it take?

Thanks

Simon

[Atso]

Thanks Simon.

 

The L1 is designed around the Ivatt 2mt chassis with a 3D printed bogie attached in a similar manner to the V1/V3 conversion. Other than the slide bars being wrong. The 2mt is actually a pretty good match in terms of wheelbase to the L1. I've still got some things to sort out before I release this one for general sale though.

[MrSimon]

Is that the Dapol 2mt tank or the Farish 2mt tender loco? Looks like it's going to be another great kit!

[Atso]

The Farish one as it is a better mechanism and I like see through spoked wheels whenever possible,

[5944]

Hi Steve. The L1 is looking good. How much does it vary from your previous one? I bought one a couple of years ago but still haven't got round to actually doing anything with it! It looked pretty good to my untrained eye, but I guess there's a good reason why you've redone it.

[Atso]

Hi 5944,

 

The original L1 was done some time ago, back when the detail plastics (FUD) was first made available by Shapeways. As a result it is not as detailed as my later CADs and pre-dated the release of the Farish 2mt; requiring a little hacking to fit. The updated version is much more detailed (riveted smoke box, footplate and roof among other bits) and has the correct narrowing of the footplate at the rear, something that was missed on the original.

 

Ultimately I intend to offer most of the varients of this class.

[Atso]

My last build of 2018 and not even an LNER prototype!

 

 

Happy New Year everyone, here's to 2019!

[Atso]

The first kit builds of 2019.

 

 

First up the second LMS van from the NGS twin kit and a Parkside Dundas LNER loco coal wagon. Both of these will be going on 2mm Assocation etched chassis but fitted with N gauge wheels. The reason for this is that I'm not keen on the older Peco 10' wheelbase chassis as it is a rather old moulding and looks a bit clunky compared to their 9' wheelbase chassis and that I've never succeeded in getting a Parkside chassis to run to my satisfaction.

 

 

Next up are a couple of the NGS Midland vans (kit 3, I think). These are temporarily mounted on the Peco 10' chassis while I have a look for something suitable in the 2mm etched range.

 

Since I'm over at my better half's at the moment, I only had a basic toolkit with me so these plastic wagons seemed ideal as some quick builds. Not too bad for a couple of hours effort today.

[5944]

Hi 5944,

 

The original L1 was done some time ago, back when the detail plastics (FUD) was first made available by Shapeways. As a result it is not as detailed as my later CADs and pre-dated the release of the Farish 2mt; requiring a little hacking to fit. The updated version is much more detailed (riveted smoke box, footplate and roof among other bits) and has the correct narrowing of the footplate at the rear, something that was missed on the original.

 

Ultimately I intend to offer most of the varients of this class.

Excellent, thanks Steve. I tried using a Kato 2-6-4T chassis initially, but that doesn't seem to fit particularly well, so I've now got a Farish 2MT to use. Spent ages scouring Ebay for a decent one for a reasonable price, but I finally managed to get hold of one.

 

I've also got a Farish N class as well to use for the chassis. Not a clue why though! Seemed a good idea at the time. Maybe one of your K3s, or possibly convert the loco into a Metropolitan Railway K class 2-6-4T.

 

Cheers, Nigel.

[Atso]

Hi Nigel,

 

The original L1 body will need a little bit removing from the running plate in front of the tanks for the 2mt chassis to fit properly, a little bit of a pain but it can be done (please remember, the 2mt wasn't available when the original body was designed).

 

The N class chassis works well for the K3, I've built two of these with a third in the works based around this chassis. However, this is a modified version of the body presently available on Shapeways and, once I've found time to design a proper set of tender frames, I'll be offering the revised version to fit the N class chassis.

 

I love the look of the Met K class and, while it isn't strictly appropriate for Hadley Wood, I plan to make one at some point. IIRC, there is a conversion print available but the name of who did it escapes me at the moment.

[Atso]

I managed to get the soldering iron out today and put together one of the 2mm Association etched chassis kits I got for Christmas.

 

 

Its an LNER fitted 9' wheelbase chassis, fitted with N gauge wheels (on adapter axles) and paired with one of the LNER six plank wagon bodies (also from the 2mm Association) that I built back in August while on holiday in Yorkshire. One down, four to go!

[Atso]

Things have been happening on my workbench but I've not been too good at updating this thread recently.

 

First up are a couple of BH Enterprise ex-GCR fish vans which I've mounted on 2mm Association wagons chassis (fitted with N gauge wheelsets).

 

 

Next is a Masterclass models etched ex-GER Mac K wagon

 

 

A Masterclass Models ex-GCR Mac N (both sold through the 2mm Association). This one is awaiting some more 5.1mm wheels.

 

 

A bit more progress on my ex-GCR bogie fish van that Jerry Clifford kindly gave me as part of our bartering. This one is very much a long term build with bits being added as and when I acquire or scratch build them.

 

 

 

Finally, the County is almost finished - just some final adjustments to the loco pickups to do. With luck this one will be seen on Vale of Oxbury at Epsom this Saturday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Atso]

The County got finished today and I took some more photographs of it before it goes to its new home tomorrow.

 

 

I also made a light start on investigating the modifications needed to another Black Five chassis for my next loco.

 

 

I'm very grateful to my friend Hans of N-Stars for building a new tender drive to fit within a GN tender out of the original Black Five drive as well as turning down the flange on a pair of Jubilee wheels so that they would fit the 7' coupled wheelbase of the chassis. 

 

[Atso]

I've been working on a couple of locomotives again recently. First up is an N2 for which I have adapted the CAD to fit a modified 4F chassis.

 

 

I'm really happy with this as it is the first time I've managed to print a tank locomotive (or a tender body!) to an acceptable standard on my printer. I've used the trailing truck I designed for the V1; unfortunately (but not surprisingly) it puts the rear trailing wheels too far back so I'll need to design another one. Next up, I've recently decided to revised a project that I abandoned a little while back to make use of a spare Grange chassis I had lying around.

 

[Atso]

I've not been to well again recently but I have slowly been working through some projects that should have been "easy wins".

 

First up is A1 2562 Isinglass.

 

This locomotive started out as a Dapol A3, Grand Parade, that was purchased as a returned item from the Dapol Open Day a couple of years ago for £35. The locomotive suffered from jammed valve gear and snapped loco/tender wires. Once these issues were put right, I removed the boiler handrails so that I could remove the super heater covers on the smoke box. The boiler pipe was transplanted to the other side and the resulting holes in the boiler carefully filled and patch painted - I've since transplanted the reversing gear as well. The original numbers and letters were removed and the areas where I'd accidentally broken through the paint were patch painted. I've also lined out the centers of the bogie wheels and painted in the black centers on the driving wheels. While it doesn't show up in the photographs, the cartazzi truck and tender frames have also been lined.

 

Next up is 2573, Harvester, in 1928-34 condition.

 

 

This model started from the same source as Isinglass and has been converted into a right hand drive example of an A3. The Westinghouse pump is a spare from a Dapol Terrier with a scratch build bracket and pipework. The loco and tender had not been connected when this photo was taken, hence the uneven level of the running plates.

 

A1 2568, Sceptre, in 1928-33 condition.

 

 

This locomotive was assembled from various spares and is still a work in progress. The chassis and running plate came from a BR liveried A3 which necessitated the repainting and lining of the splashers and lining out of the buffer beam. While in a similar condition to Harvester, this locomotive has been worked into an A1, using the same methods as for Isinglass.

 

A3 2796, Spearmint.

 

 

Another work in progress, and again assembled from various spares. The chassis/running plate comes from a spare chassis unit for the preserved Flying Scotsman model. I've removed the plaques printed onto the center splashers, but have yet to remove the warning flashes from the front of the running plate. The corridor tender is another spare item which I've back worked into a representation of the pre 1936 condition by carefully filing back the streamlined faring. As the tender body had been resprayed black and damaged as some point, I needed to do some remedial work before using my airbrush to paint it green today. Precision gloss LNER Doncaster Green is a pretty good match for the Dapol shade, and by mixing with a little matt varnish, it can be used to patch paint, as I've had to do on the cab sides. I've still got to purchase a spare corridor connector and boiler backhead, as well as some replacement screws, (and line out the tender!) so it'll be a little while before this one gets completed.

 

Other A1/A3s include Great Northern (needs nameplates), and Salmon Trout (another one assembled from spare parts) and will bring my fleet of "saved" Dapol A1/A3s to a total of twelve locomotives once they're all complete.

[Atso]

Spearmint's tender body got a coat of matt black over the Doncaster Green today using my airbrush. I masked the green using a mixture of Tamiya masking tape and Humbrol Maskol. I'll give the whole lot a coat of Ronseal gloss varnish (it does exactly what it says on the tin!) before turning my attention to lining it out. The lining will be a little more difficult than normal as I'll be trying to match the finish of the Dapol factory applied livery of the locomotive body as closely as possible.

[A Murphy]

Isinglass was a regular performer on Marylebone - Manchester trains prior to WW2, as I am sure you are aware - was she even shedded at Gorton for a while? Lovely work as ever Steve, hope you are fully recovered soon.

 

best wishes,

 

Alastair M

 

PS Just finishing one of your D120 vans, very nice too.

[Atso]

It's been far too hot in the shed the last couple of days to continue painting and lining the spare Dapol corridor tender. Therefore, I've grabbed my work tray and a few bits and de-camped down into the dining room and made a start on my second 2mm Association Toad E etched kit.

 

 

The basic chassis has been built but there are a lot of details to add to this before I turn my attention to the body. Despite the kit being drawing to 2mm scale, it is actually slightly longer than the venerable Peco version and the first one runs well using Farish wheels and 2mm Association conversion axles.

Edited July 1, 2019 by Atso

[Atso]

A bit of work this morning has seen the axle boxes, sole bar gusset plates and footboards assembled and added onto the basic chassis. 



Next will be the brake assemblies and then I can turn my attention to the body.

[Atso]

The basic body has now been completed and attached to the frames.

 

 

I think now is a good time for a jolly good clean up and scrub before I progress with adding the remaining details.