Ruston Posted October 11, 2017 Author Share Posted October 11, 2017 I forgot to post the photo of the pickup arrangement. The pickups are 0.7mm nickel silver on a piece of copperclad that is countersunk and screwed into the bottom frame spacer. The wires run through the other two holes in the spacer to be soldered on to the copperclad. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 (edited) Very impressive Dave, though I wonder whether 0.7mm nickel silver might prove a bit stiff for the purpose? Once adjusted, however, they'll certainly stay that way! Adam Edited October 13, 2017 by Adam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5050 Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Very impressive Dave, though I wonder whether 0.7mm nickel silver might prove a bit stiff for the purpose? Once adjusted, however, they'll certainly stay that way! Adam My thoughts too. I use 0.3mm NS - but if it works for you..................... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted October 13, 2017 Author Share Posted October 13, 2017 (edited) Very impressive Dave, though I wonder whether 0.7mm nickel silver might prove a bit stiff for the purpose? Once adjusted, however, they'll certainly stay that way! Adam It's what I used on the Judith Edge DE2 kitbuild and it works well, so if it ain't broke... I have done a little more work on the cab. The coal bunkers, made from 5 thou. brass have been added and also from the same brass sheet is the cover across the hole for the handbrake in the rear cab sheet. I have made the firebox wrapper from two thicknesses of 5 Thou. brass and to the firebox have been added a pair of steam valves for the injectors, which were turned from hexagonal brass rod and drilled to take some .5 brass wire that has an etched brass wheel soldered on. The handbrake column is made using some thick-walled brass tube and has been turned to put a slight taper on it. The handle is a 7mm scale handrail knob with a piece of bent .5mm brass wire through it. The reversing lever came from a bag of etched bits and pieces that I was given a while ago. Edited October 13, 2017 by Ruston 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted October 15, 2017 Author Share Posted October 15, 2017 I was going to the Tanfield Railway, today, but an unforseen expense in the form of the exhaust falling off my van, earlier in the week, put paid to that. So instead I cracked on with the MW. Smokebox and tank wrappers have been made in the same way as the firebox wrapper as I still haven't got the milled wrappers and just wanted to get on with it. I have also fitted the handrails on the tank and the cab entrance. There has been a change of plan as to how the bodywork fits together - instead of the tank being fixed to the cab and the lower part of the boiler to the smokebox, the smokebox, tank and cab are all fixed together as one unit, with the boiler being seperate. The boiler isn't fitted in the photo but it now locates on a pin at the back of the smokebox and once the bodywork unit is screwed to the running plate and frames, a piece of foam pushes up against the motor and keeps the boiler in place. A piece of lead was wrapped around the brass bar core of the smokebox before the wrapper was soldered on and the space above the motor in the tank has been filled with lead, as have the sides. There is also lead inside the firebox, so the whole thing weighs 110g so far. The difficult part is going to be making the slidebars and crossheads, not to mention fitting them and making them work - there's not a lot of clearance. This 4mm stuff is like microsurgery! I think I'll build something in Gauge One next time, just to give my eyes a rest. 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted October 17, 2017 Author Share Posted October 17, 2017 The slidebars are on and one crosshead has been made up and fitted - now to repeat for the other side. A band has also been soldered to the boiler, which has itself been finally cut to fit exactly the gap between the frames and the tank. Before doing this it slid up into the tank but now that the bottom is on the tank, fully enclosing it, the boiler has had to be finished to fit properly. 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Corbs Posted October 19, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 19, 2017 Looks cracking Dave. I do like the little pugbashes but they can only go so far as you say. This is on a different level. How have you found the running on 4 pick-ups so far? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted October 19, 2017 Author Share Posted October 19, 2017 Looks cracking Dave. I do like the little pugbashes but they can only go so far as you say. This is on a different level. How have you found the running on 4 pick-ups so far? Thanks. I have run it on White Peak and it seems to be fine. It goes over all of the points and the crossing with no problem and all on a rigid chassis. I made provision in the design for a rocking front axle but building the frames up with the jigs has meant that the chassis is properly square and with the frame parts being so thick and solidly made, screwing the body down does not distort the chassis at all so, fortunately, compensation is uneccessary after all. I have built in the region of 30 locomotive kits in 7mm and 4mm and when it comes to something like a dome and safety valve I never really give much thought to it as it's usually a single part, a casting in brass, whitemetal or resin and it takes no more than a minute or so to fit but with this scrachbuilding malarkey you really get to appreciate how much work goes into making such parts... That took me about 4 hours to make and is made up from eight seperate parts. Firsty I cut a piece of quarter inch brass bar and put it in the lathe. The piece was drilled to 1/8th and then a drill bit of almost the same diameter of the piece was drilled into it to create a dimple. The part was cut off and a 1/8th rod soldered into the previously drilled 1/8th hole. The rod was placed in the lathe and the piece was turned to a slight taper and the rim rounded off. The piece was heated with a blowtorch to unsolder it from the rod and was then rubbed on a piece of wet and dry paper that was wrapped around a piece of bar of a similar diameter to the loco firebox. This is where drilling the dimple comes in as there is less surface to have to sand away in order to get the dome to follow the curvature of the firebox. Two holes were drilled in the dome and a piece of nickel silver rod was bent into a tight U-shape and pushed in from beneath. This was soldered in place. Two pieces of brass tube were cut to length and pushed on to the NS rod and soldered in place. A 12BA screw was cut up and to length and both were soldered on as the safety valve springs. A pair of 14BA cheeshead screws were cut and the heads soldered into the tops of the tubes and, finally, a length of 0.5 mm brass wire was soldered atop the screw heads and filed to shape. No doubt more experienced scratchbuilders will have easier ways of doing things but I am working it out as I go along. Trial fit of the roof panel. The other crosshead and slidebars have now been made and fitted, as has the ashpan. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted October 21, 2017 Author Share Posted October 21, 2017 (edited) The bodywork is almost finished now. The sandboxes have been made and fitted and pipe runs for the injectors have been added, as have the water valves that attach to the tank sides. These were made using a filed down 14BA screw as the flange to the tank, a length of 1mm brass wire and a 12BA screw that was filed to an oval shape for the flange/gland where the operating rod enters the valve. The operating rods themselves are yet to be added and will have to be glued on as they are very fine and I don't want to risk upsetting the soldered joints on the valves. The whitemetal cast tank filler lid has been drilled to take a length of 0.3mm NS wire to form the handle and the smokebox and chimney castings have been added. Remaining work on the body includes adding the boiler backhead and fixing the roof in place. A tiny crank needs to be made for the drain cock operating rod, which runs along the RH side of the tank. The handrail that goes around the chimney and fixes to the tank front needs to be made and added but I am leaving this until the smokebox/tank fixing brackets are added - these have been ordered as custom etches. After that little lot I need to put a row of rivets at the join between the bunkers and cab top and for this I have ordered some Archers rivet transfers. Other rivet detail includes one at each end of the valance and some on the smokebox. The bodywork will need to be primed first and, presumably, a glossy undercoat for the transfers to better adhere to will have to go over the primer. Then work will revert to the frames, where I need to make up various parts for the brakes and drain cocks. Edited October 21, 2017 by Ruston 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike morley Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 Suggestion. Take a picture of this alongside something familiar of mainline origin (Jinty, pannier tank etc) to make it clear to the casual onlooker and the uninitiated just how tiny this loco is and just how much of a masterpiece this is. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted October 21, 2017 Author Share Posted October 21, 2017 Suggestion. Take a picture of this alongside something familiar of mainline origin (Jinty, pannier tank etc) to make it clear to the casual onlooker and the uninitiated just how tiny this loco is and just how much of a masterpiece this is. I own only one mainline loco and it's a bit larger than a Jinty but I'm sure folks will get the idea 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 Simply stunning! (The Manning Wardle rather than the Peak...) Cheers, Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ruston Posted October 25, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted October 25, 2017 Boyne Engine Works, Jack Lane, Leeds, 1916. Steam test in the works yard. Still needs the water valve operating rods, window glazing, tank bracket, cylinder end covers and drawgear. 21 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 46444 Posted October 25, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 25, 2017 Boyne Engine Works, Jack Lane, Leeds, 1916. Steam test in the works yard. Boyne.jpg Still needs the water valve operating rods, window glazing, tank bracket, cylinder end covers and drawgear. Simply stunning work Dave.... Having gone down the Hornby Pug conversion this is just beautiful engineering and modelling. The size of the loco in 4mm scale is tiny and with the MW saddle tank there is a lovely top heaviness about the design. Out of interest will you get some NP custom works plates made up? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 Out of interest will you get some NP custom works plates made up? I ordered them about a week ago. I'm considering naming it and ordering some plates but then again maybe not... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 (edited) That's as far as I can go until I get the etched cylinder end covers and the works plates. I may just give it a light weathering. It needs running in to improve the running and it would be nice to test how much it can haul now that it is at it's full weight of 150g. Edited October 25, 2017 by Ruston 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5050 Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 (edited) I ordered them about a week ago. I'm considering naming it and ordering some plates but then again maybe not... How about naming it 'Little Beauty'? Edited October 26, 2017 by 5050 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 the plate order may take some time, as they need to build up enough orders to fill an etch sheet, they dont etch them themselves, they just do the artwork and send it off to a 3rd party to etch, im waiting for some plates as well, ive used NP before and had to wait a few weeks for it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Corbs Posted October 26, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 26, 2017 It looks brilliant Dave! Amazing how it still has 'heft' for such a tiny loco. the plate order may take some time, as they need to build up enough orders to fill an etch sheet, they dont etch them themselves, they just do the artwork and send it off to a 3rd party to etch, im waiting for some plates as well, ive used NP before and had to wait a few weeks for it That said, I can't fault their customer service at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 (edited) I have to say that I'm very happy about how well this has turned out, especially as it's only the second ever scratchbuilt loco that I have done, the first being a relatively simple plastikard build of a Ruston 44/48HP diesel. I have learned a few things in building this, which I would do differently if I were starting it now but it's all experience for the next one. Firstly, rather than individual slide bars and individual cylinders, I'd make the whole lot as one unit that can be screwed into the frames as a sub-assembly. Another thing is that I chose this late style of H for its solid frames, thinking that they would hide extra weight added, but as it happens, only two small squares of lead have been fitted between the frames and these are between the gearbox and rearmost frame spacer, where the firebox sides would hide it anyway on a more open frame design. The rest of the weight is in the tank, smokebox and upper part of the firebox, so getting enough weight in a small loco like this with open frames shouldn't be a problem. One thing I am quite proud of is building such a small loco with a proper half-round bottom of the boiler. If you're reading this, Mr. Hatton, and you want a designer for your next RTR industrial, my rates are quite reasonable Edited October 26, 2017 by Ruston 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 the plates will be coming some time soon as ive got the artwork email from them for my plates, you should also have the same email as well Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_Under Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 Amazing Dave! You make it look so easy! Thanks for sharing your techniques tricks and tips! James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ruston Posted November 29, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 29, 2017 It is now properly finished, with the etched saddletank/smokebox bracket and the cylinder end castings in place, plus the works plates. 21 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 Stunning modelling! This and the small Black Hawthorn look great. Cheers, Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 I've just about finished another one. Full details here - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/130127-manning-wardle-class-h-4mm-scratchbuild/ 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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