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60075 St Frusquin


doilum
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I have mentioned St Frusquin on several other threads and have decided that it is time it had it's own story. Whilst I am a huge fan of The A4, V2 and the Peppercorn locomotives, the A3 had passed me by. Perhaps it was my late father's prejudices regarding the nation's favourite pacific  but given an unexpected windfall to be spent on a big loco kit the A3 would be way down the list of possible subjects.  So, one day back in August, my sister in law staggers in carrying a large red box containing almost a full untouched Hattchet Flying Scotsman. Would I like it.  Of course I would. Almost immediately I had made some key decisions. Firstly it would NOT be the nation's favourite, and secondly, it would be in my usual favoured period of 1955-60.

First step was to check that all the magazines were present and then list which parts came with each issue and what tasks were described.

Next step was to check the parts. Some were still attached to the magazine. Others were in sealed bags, others loose. All were catalogued and bagged in small sequential groups. Missing were a bogie wheel and the boiler which were quickly sourced from an internet supplier. Having read several accounts of FS and Mallard builds I had a good idea  of the potential challenges ahead. Starting with the wheels. Unlike some of those supplied with the A4, mine all had matching quartering. The axles however were best described as an "easy fit". In fact there was sufficient slop to make quartering a plus/minus 10 degrees affair. Fortunately a genuine Slaters axle proved to be just oversize and a little careful fetteling made for a perfect fit. So returning from Telford I cracked on with getting a running chassis. Apart from a weird type of nickel silver that was a pain to solder, the motion parts went together quite well. I completed the tender chassis and was able to push test a coupled rolling chassis through the point work on our club layout.

The next decisions resulted from my chosen time period. Firstly it would have to become LHD. It turned out that the resin firebox backhead supplied with an early issue was correct for LHD. Builders of an original FS would have to wait for a replacement whitemetal casting. Holes were drilled on the left side of the boiler for the ejector pipework and cab parts adapted to go on the other side.

Now I started to research tenders and it was soon clear that most of the class retained the GN coal rail tender throughout their lives. A quick check on the cost of a Finney 7 kit was enough to send me scratch building. Apart from the chassis, I intended to use as few tender parts as possible leaving me  with a kit of bits for a corridor tender should the opportunity ever arise.

So here we are awaiting the arrival of the motor and gearbox. Apologies in advance for the limitations of my tablet camera. Next installment in the new year hopefully.

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Interesting.

 

Do you intend to embellish it at all?

 

Ragstone:  http://www.ragstonemodels.co.uk/lner.html

Laurie Griffin:  https://www.lgminiatures.co.uk/shop/

 

Both have "extra" parts and better versions of some you'll have.

 

I can also HIGHLY recommend: Severn Mill nmaeplates:  https://www.lgminiatures.co.uk/shop/

Come with a FULL set: Nameplates, smokebox number plates, tender plates (to choice), shedplate (to choice), worksplates, all exquisite.

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Thanks. I have used Severn Mill for most of my colliery locomotives and somewhere have a set for Wild Swan when I get round to re motorising the old girl. They are pretty good. I spoke to Ragstone at Telford and purchased a suitable banjo dome and a pair of crossheads. The ones in the kit were neat and detailed but I wasn't convinced about the longevity of whitemetal valve gear parts.

Once the motor arrives I will start a one shot final assembly.

Whilst not afraid to spend where needed, it is easy to get carried away with the lg catalogue and take the cost into the region of a Finney 7. At the end of the day it is what it is and to be fair I have been quietly impressed by most of the parts. I don't think Hachette ever intended it to be real working layout model and that is part of the challenge.

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Quick update. The motor arrived and after a quick running in was installed along with the pickups. After about an a hour of running on jump leads it was time to try it on a layout.  First test under its own steam looks promising although I think the pickups may need some fine tuning.  No criticism of Slaters, just the alignment of the predrilled holes.

I didn't notice the chocolate box on top of the building until I got back inside. 

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Back on the bench this morning the pickups seem to be quite reliable if a little heavy in their action. Next step is to decide if there is room for the whitemetal brake gear or if I need to get some cast in resin. With all the advances in 3D printing there must be a place in the market for non conductive brake gear.

The wooden cradle has allowed me to get a good hour of running in and the drawing behind it is my project manager. Drawn at 12mm / foot from an ancient Triang FS it supports my aging memory.  Components are identified in red, whilst the relevant magazine issues are blue. Ideas and self reminders are black. This has already saved hours of reading and puzzling on a project which often is boxed away for weeks on end. It took only a minute this morning to locate the brake gear and relevant magazines. Please excuse the rambling but I am watching paint dry.

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Edited by doilum
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1 hour ago, JeffP said:

Now THAT is an excellent idea!

Might nick that if I ever get started on Mallard (as 60029, Woodcock)

Good choice of loco. Not one of the most famous but there are several good photographs of her on Leeds bound trains.

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Most of the paint will need redoing in situ. There simply isn't enough space between the drivers for the brakes as supplied. The instructions call for the mounting hole to be opened to 1.8mm, but there isn't even room for the drill. Plan B involved opening to 1.2 (this was the size of some brass rod I had on the bench) and cutting off the mounting pegs and drilling them to match the rod. Even so a fair bit of slimming down has been required, hence the touch up required. One day I might have the confidence to attempt a Spam Can.

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1 hour ago, doilum said:

Good choice of loco. Not one of the most famous but there are several good photographs of her on Leeds bound trains.

My second favourite. As a youngster I was led through the tender from cab to corridor connection by the guide at Doncaster Carr loco, aged around 8, on a trip organised by the school my dad was deputy head at. (Ostensibly to see if the lads wanted to work for BR, but actaully a spotting trip).

We also did the works, where I saw 60017 outside the paintshops, my favourite. (I have the Piercy kit for that one, and the ACE version of the ACME kit for 60014....all awaiting my modelling mojo and me having time now I'm a 24/7 carer).

Also there were 60500 and 60525, Thompson and Peppercorn.

Heady times for a little'un

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1 hour ago, doilum said:

Most of the paint will need redoing in situ. There simply isn't enough space between the drivers for the brakes as supplied. The instructions call for the mounting hole to be opened to 1.8mm, but there isn't even room for the drill. Plan B involved opening to 1.2 (this was the size of some brass rod I had on the bench) and cutting off the mounting pegs and drilling them to match the rod. Even so a fair bit of slimming down has been required, hence the touch up required. One day I might have the confidence to attempt a Spam Can.

Do you not have any broaches? I invested in a set from eileens some years ago, much easier and more accurate than a drill.

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1 hour ago, JeffP said:

Do you not have any broaches? I invested in a set from eileens some years ago, much easier and more accurate than a drill.

I keep promising myself but never get round to it. One of the plus points of the Hachette instructions are the reference to specific drill sizes. I invested in a set of new drills in 0.1mm increments and have preserved them for this build. Also another small pin vice so that I do not keep disturbing my default 1mm tool.

The real issue was the total lack of space to fit the parts provided. This stems from the manufacturers intention that it would be a glass case model, or at best be capable of showing it's motion on a yard or two of straight track. My aim is to build a model capable of pulling a full train through station pointwork  if required. 

Edited by doilum
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One step forward and two steps back? Weeks ago I completed the various sub assemblies of the motion following the instructions and carefully stored them away, left and right sides in separate trays. This week motor in, coupling rods on and two hours of sweet running on the cradle. Slide bar and connecting rods on, two more hours of sweet running. Today it is the turn of the valve spindle and combination gear. I know (this my fifth loco with walschaerts valve gear) I should have known that the combination lever has to be cranked to clear the slide bars, but I got carrier away following instructions for once and now sit at the end of a snake looking for a new ladder. There is no way that the laminated link is going to bend. I tried a staggered scarf cut soldering the inside outside, but it will not clear. Looks like buying some more 16ba bolts and dismantling my previous efforts. Then scratch build new combination links from "proper" nickel silver with a 90 degree step at the very top. At least I have the other side for reference, and my decision to mount the cylinders on captive bolts is beginning to look like prophetic genius.

Unless of course anyone knows about some preformed links.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Having learned how to post photos on the new tablet here is the final one for 2019. Not a great shot, but the motion is complete and has had a good hour of bench running. I will probably pack it away now and concentrate on 82004.

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Having achieved smooth running I have made a start on the superstructure. The first step was to fit the cast footplate making room for the large JH motor. I couldn't get the rest of the frame to sit properly and ended up chopping quite a large chunk out with the Dremel. I had already trimmed the front of the frames as the problems in this respect are well documented. A little more work with the Dremel allowed a good first time fit for the boiler. The last day or so have received around the conversion to a late A3 specification. The Ragstone banjo dome sits much further back than the original and resulted in some infilling and restoration of the boiler band. St F. was one of the A3s which retained a single chimney so the original casting was improved by drilling out and mounting on  a brass tube to represent the blastpipe. I had forgotten to buy the superheater covers and decided to make them myself. If I later decide that they are letting the model down the can be prised off in favour of the Ragstone items.

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Having read all the received wisdom I set about building the cab. This was helped by Hachette's early blunder of supplying an A3 blackhead in plastic. I scratch built the raised floor areas in plastikard as they now had to be reversed and, in fact, completed this work several weeks ago whilst deciding on which motor to use.

The cab sides were drilled for the washout holes and reprofiled using scrap from the etch. This went remarkably well first time and compensated for the time taken to create rivets from small dress making pins and drill out each and every handrail knob at 0.7mm.

The seats are neat little castings but then I realised they were replaced around the time that the cab sides were raised. The replacements are scratch built in brass and are third attempts. The cab floor meanwhile was inverted and straight planks scribed to replace the psychadelic wood grain on the etch. I like to paint the cab interior at this stage and find a way to mask it off later.

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  • 1 month later...

An update. She is now in primer awaiting the purchase of some BR green. The boiler / cab unbolt from the footplate with a Triang type chimney screw which should make painting and lining easier. Overall I have been quite impressed with how well the different materials mate together and the only item I intend to change is the smokebox door dart which, in white metal, is a bit clumsy.

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  • 6 months later...

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