Atso Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 10 hours ago, 65179 said: Looking good Steve. Is the GN van an 8 wheeler? Thanks Simon. The GN brake is the four wheel version. I did have a look to see if I could simply stick eight wheels under it but have found that the eight wheeler was longer. It's one that I would like, so I may design up some etches in the future (brake vans have proven difficult to print on my printer!). 10 hours ago, 65179 said: Also do you know when then the last of the Minks C lost their shutters for twin vents? I've a nasty feeling this happened before BR days so the one I built recently will have to hide mid-train! 4 shoe underframes are so much quicker to build than clasp brake ones aren't they! I have no idea I'm afraid, and I'm not that knowledgeable on GWR wagons. This one is my attempt to have a little better representation of GWR goods wagons in my collection; this will increase the total to two wagons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 17 hours ago, PaulCheffus said: I used 0.254mm (33swg) diameter nickel silver wire, soldered to the ladders and platform. From memory there are holes in the side of the platform to allow for this. Thanks Paul. Did you find any issues with distorting the nickel silver wire? I usually use 10 thou guitar wire for things like this as it is more durable when handled (although more difficult to bend to shape). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 Spearmint's tender progressed a little further yesterday and the outer lining is now complete. I also added the nameplates to the loco, which makes the change of identity official. I'm trying to match Dapol's finish on the loco as closely as possible. I feel that it isn't too bad at the moment and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a coat of satin varnish, and a light weathering, will blend the loco and tender together. 4 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richbrummitt Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 12 hours ago, 65179 said: Looking good Steve. Is the GN van an 8 wheeler? Also do you know when then the last of the Minks C lost their shutters for twin vents? I've a nasty feeling this happened before BR days so the one I built recently will have to hide mid-train! 4 shoe underframes are so much quicker to build than clasp brake ones aren't they! Simon What happened to some was that the shutters were covered over by vents. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahame Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 Super lining and finishing for N/2mm. G 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PaulCheffus Posted July 11, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 11, 2019 7 hours ago, Atso said: Thanks Paul. Did you find any issues with distorting the nickel silver wire? I usually use 10 thou guitar wire for things like this as it is more durable when handled (although more difficult to bend to shape). Hi Steve Not had any issues with it to be honest. I use it for most of my handrails so when they are painted they don't grow too much. Cheers Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 6 hours ago, grahame said: Super lining and finishing for N/2mm. Thank you Grahame. I still need to do the center panel lining, so plenty of opportunity to screw it all up yet! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 1 hour ago, PaulCheffus said: Not had any issues with it to be honest. I use it for most of my handrails so when they are painted they don't grow too much. Thanks for that Paul, I'll make a decision on whether I'm going with nickle silver or guitar wire hand grabs tomorrow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 (edited) The next stage for the tender is to make up the decals for the triple white/black/white lining. If you look at Ian Rathbone's method, he puts the outer lines directly onto the model using a bow pen and, once dry, brush paints in the center black line. I've never had much success with this method, as trying to keep the distance between the two lines is a skill that I don't possess. Therefore, I've borrowed Tim Watson's solution for boiler bands. This method involves spraying a clear decal sheet in the colour of the outer lines and then using the bow pen to rule in the center line. Once everything is dry, you line a ruler up against the edge of the center line and cut out using a fresh curved scalpel blade. The taper of the blade results in the edge being slight off of the edge of the ruler, which results in a thin outer line being left. There is a bit of a knack to getting this right but it is far easier than Ian's method in N gauge. First of all, the clear decal sheet. Microscale decals are really thin and give a nice finish when placed on the model; Some of the printer compatible decal sheets are quite thick by comparison. I think that I purchased these sheets (two in the packet) from Hobby Holidays at Ally Pally. The sheets are A5ish in size and last quite a long time for N gauge/2mm work. A section of the sheet has been cut out and sprayed with the outer line colour (Humbrol enamel gloss white with some black added). You can really see the grey tinge in this photo, but once placed on the model it'll look white. This is another of Ian's techniques and it really does give a better impression of scale than using white. Once the decal paper has dried, I'll rule in the center black lines, providing plenty to allow for wastage/mistakes. The corners will be carefully brush painted in directly onto the tender once the decal has set in place. This is the method I used for the triple boiler/tender lining C1 Atlantic and County shown earlier in this thread. Edited July 11, 2019 by Atso 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted July 12, 2019 Author Share Posted July 12, 2019 I finally bit the bullet and made up and added the hand grabs to the ladders/catwalk out of some ten thou guitar wire. I've got a tiny bit of solder clean up to do, but other than that the first of the two Prestwins is ready for the paint shop. 5 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 I've done some further lining work on Spearmint's tender today. The original plan was to represent the center panel lining using some hand made decals. However, I couldn't get into that today and after several failed attempts, I decided to try ruling the outer lines directly onto the tender. This is something that I've never managed to make a good job of before, as getting two consistent, paralleled lines that are only 0.5mm apart has proven too difficult. However, I think that somebody must have been smiling down on me. The lines are a little bit messy but this is all on the inside where the black line will be added later. The corners were added in using a fine brush. Overall I'm quite pleased that I seem to have cracked this technique. 4 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted July 15, 2019 Author Share Posted July 15, 2019 I've painted the center black line today. Below is a rather cruel close up and comparison to Dapol's factory finish. I've still got some tidying up and patch painting to do, so I might get things a little neater yet. 7 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeTrice Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 That is very impressive. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted July 15, 2019 Author Share Posted July 15, 2019 5 minutes ago, MikeTrice said: That is very impressive. Thank you Mike. There are still a couple of annoying bits I'm not happy with. Hopefully some careful over-painting and tidying tomorrow will fix that. Only one more side to do! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerhillboy Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 stunning work and stunning eyesight!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 Having returned from Pickering (where I built the second scissor crossing for Hadley Wood's fiddle yard), I decided that I really should think about tackling designing and building a locomotive chassis; but what to build? It has to be relatively simple for a first attempt and of something that would be of use to me. Therefore, I've decided on this. One of Ivatt's 0-6-2s which became the N1 class in LNER days. I've only completed the basic body so far as I'd like to understand where there is room for the motor, etc. The chassis will be etched but I'm undecided if I'm going to make it split frame or not. Farish 4F wheels are a possibility for split frame and Peco Collett wheels for wiper pickups. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen 28 Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 Split frame every time, the added friction caused by wiper pickups, and the faff of setting them up in N/2mm just aren't worth it. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted August 29, 2019 Author Share Posted August 29, 2019 Thanks Stephen. I've been kindly offered some spare Farish 4F wheels, which makes a split frame the way forward now. I've been doing a bit more work on the N1 body today. Other than the front condensing gear pipes, this is about as far as I can go without selecting the loco that it will represent. This will be a saturated engine as the super-heated ones had some differences at the front end. I've also been offered two sets of spare (new style) 4F wheels by a 2mm modelling friend of mine. This decides whether I'm going to design and build a split frame chassis or not. These are a bit under scale but will fit nicely under the splashers without having to raise them. 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 I found a photograph of 4557 near Hadley Wood in 1935 and so decided that this will be the identity of N1. She's fitted with an older boiler with Ramsbottom safety valves and still retains the original GNR lamp iron arrangement. However, she had been fitted with plated bunker rails, a smokebox door stop and sheet metal shields to the cab by this point. Next up will be working out the chassis arrangement! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted September 1, 2019 Author Share Posted September 1, 2019 I've been playing around with the chassis design and have come up with this. I decided to apply the 'KISS' principle here and go for a straight worm and gear along with a Nigel Lawton 8mm motor. However the gears will be MOD 0.2 and give a reduction of 1:45, which would give a top speed of around 70mph. I did some experiments with this combination last year on an old Farish block that I'd hacked around to reduce the wheelbase. The frames will be 0.25mm etched nickel silver and assembled as per 2mm split frame practices with a separate 'pony truck' at the rear. However, I'll have to design a few more bits to fill out an A4 sheet before I can send it off to the etchers; maybe this is a good time to make a new chassis for my C12... :hmmm: 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richbrummitt Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 Why A4? I've always used PPD (usual disclaimer) and organised artwork to fit within their roll width, which from memory is 280mm. Their orders are subject to a minimum charge but some of my artworks are long and thin for the above reason and none are A4 sized. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted September 1, 2019 Author Share Posted September 1, 2019 Interesting Rich. Last time I ordered a smaller size (ok it's not exactly A4), they repeated the design to fill the minimum area. Not a problem as I've got a few things to etch, I just need to find the inclination to design them! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richbrummitt Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 Maybe their minimum has increased? My most recent order had some small stuff in but about £120 in total so I wouldn't have noticed if it had. I find designing these things seems to take much longer than building them! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted September 3, 2019 Author Share Posted September 3, 2019 You may remember that I started building this N gauge C1 Atlantic some time back. This locomotive has been a serious headache as getting the weight distribution right has been a nightmare; it could barely pull itself! Therefore I decided to take a slightly more scientific approach and knocked up a balancing board out of a small piece of tufnol and a piece of 2mm brass rod. The board isn't as perfectly balanced as the photo suggests, it does fall to one side after a couple of seconds, I was just quick with the camera. However, I deemed it sufficient to assess what was going on. Having unsoldered the wires to the tender, I placed the loco onto the board. I found that it was extremely tail heavy so I dismantled it and added as much weight up front as I could. This didn't improve things and so I carefully removed some of the glued in ballast at the locomotive. I managed to get the center of gravity of the body to fall almost perfectly between the splashers, but I'd forgotten to take the weight of the chassis into consideration! I little more weight removed from the rear of the locomotive and I got the CoG to fall just ahead of the center of the coupled wheelbase. As the front driving wheel is fitted with a traction tyre, this is an advantage. Anyway, proof that it will run now! 6 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahame Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 Very impressive modelling - a nice looking loco. My only comment would be the overly glossy finish. Will you be matting it down? G 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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