Caley Jim Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Having started on the 'What's on your 2mm Workbench' topic I thought It would be better to carry on in a new topic to keep everything together. The second bogie has been put together as has the floor and underframe. One issue with these kits is that there are often no tabs and slots to accurately locate parts and i had set the footboards on the first bogie too low, so they have been adjusted. The bogie mountings have a 'hump' across one direction and are mounted with these at right angles to one another so that one bogie keeps the coach level transversely, but can rock in the long axis, while the other can rock transversely. The pivots are studs of 14BA bolt and the bogies are retained by nuts soldered to pieces of scrap etch, the length of the studs being such that when the nuts are run up tight, the bogie is still free to pivot and rock. and from above: The brass rod gas tanks and the cast white metal headstocks keep the centre of gravity low and makes these coaches steady runners. the cast buffers, wire westinghouse brake pipes and etched hooks will be added nearer the end to reduce the risk of them being damaged. More wheels are on order. Body sides next! Jim 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted May 12, 2020 Author Share Posted May 12, 2020 The details have now been added to the sides and ends. The first of these on the sides were the lower door hinges - tiny items, but significant in that they break up the lower panel. Etching is not an exact science and the level of etching can vary, not only between sheets, but between different areas of the same sheet. The small slots for these are a case in point, not all having etched fully. I made a little tool from a piece of scrap etch, filed down to the width required and then tapered on all four surfaces, and held it between adjacent jaws of a pin vice to open out the slots. Next came the door ventilators, soldered in place by placing a spot of solder paint where they had to go, holding them in position with a cocktail stick and applying the iron to the flange above until the solder was seen to flow. Lastly were the droplights. To get these accurately positioned I lightly stuck a thin strip of sellotape to the lower inside surface of the side with its top edge just above window level. Each droplight was then slipped between the side and the tape and roughly positioned. Where a droplight is in the open position the lower left corner needs to be cut away to clear the hole for the door handle. Once they were all roughly in place the side was turned over and the droplights accurately adjusted and the tape pressed down firmly. The top edge of each droplight was then soldered (top corners in the case of open ones), the tape carefully removed and the bottom edges soldered. The ends have the steps, on one the mounting lugs for the alarm indicator and on the other a couple of lengths of fine wire representing the gas pipe (the bent bit has been straightened since the photo was taken). Both also have the bracket for fixing the body to the floor with a chunk of brass soldered to it and drilled and tapped 14BA for the fixing screw. Although there are holes for 4 of these I find two at diagonally opposite corners suffice. Now to assemble these into a body, after which the end handrails can be fitted followed by the roof. Jim 8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted May 12, 2020 Author Share Posted May 12, 2020 The sides and ends were assembled in pairs, being careful that they were joined at the same corner! One end was pinned to a piece of plywood making sure that it was vertical, the side was offered up to it and the two tack soldered at the top corner. After checking that side and end were at right angles to one another they were tack soldered at the bottom and then the seam sealed from inside all the way up. The two sets were then assembled together in the same way and the end handrails, alarm indicator, gas lamp control rod and corner lamp irons added. the latter will be left projecting at right angles until after painting to allow access to the beading behind them. Finally, for now, a shot of the body sitting loosely placed on the underframe. For the benefit of one of the CRA members I've included a scalpel to give an idea of the size to anyone not familiar with 2MM scale. Next up I'll have to make a roof as, of the two sets of side and roof etches for the first which I have, one is missing the roof. Jim 8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 Progress has been a little slower than I expected due to a number of things. the new roof took me a wee while to get right, here seen with the etched one above it. It was made from some 4thou brass. the etched one was fixed on top with some bits of double sided tape, the hole centres marked with a sharp needle and then the indent on the back filed off. The process was repeated until a small hole was made and these were then opened out, first with some fine reamers I have (Tim knows the kind I mean) and then broaches. A card template was made to align the rainstrips, from fine wire, but they still needed a fair bit of tweaking to get them even, and the gas pipe made from the same wire. It's not perfect by any means, but is as good as I can make it. The brass I had used is quite a bit stiffer and springier than the etch brass and it took a lot of work to get it to the required radius. I like to make roofs to a slightly tighter radius then required so that when soldered hard down on the centre of the ends the edges are tight down on the sides. I then had a senior moment and fixed the roof on the wrong way round, with the gas pipe running off at the wrong end! Some careful un-soldering and I was able to get it off un-distorted and refitted the correct way round. With all the soldering done, the various castings for the lamp tops, HAVOK ventilators, gas control box and buffers have been fitted, along with the etched hooks. Westinghouse pipes are still to be added then it will be ready for the paint shop. The wheels I had ordered arrived today, so here it is sitting on a length of track. 12 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold queensquare Posted May 16, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 16, 2020 Enjoying this build Jim. I still have a small stash of these kits. They are all but identical (good enough for me!) to some LSWR stock and I intend to make up a couple for my 'Monkey Special'. These ran through the season from the Poole/Bournmouth area via the S&D to Clifton for Bristol Zoo. The clientele would have comprised in large part hoards of kids so the train would have been made up of a motley collection of older stock from the back of carriage sidings. Jerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium CF MRC Posted May 16, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 16, 2020 13 minutes ago, queensquare said: Enjoying this build Jim. I still have a small stash of these kits. They are all but identical (good enough for me!) to some LSWR stock and I intend to make up a couple for my 'Monkey Special'. These ran through the season from the Poole/Bournmouth area via the S&D to Clifton for Bristol Zoo. The clientele would have comprised in large part hoards of kids so the train would have been made up of a motley collection of older stock from the back of carriage sidings. Jerry Bit like the school bus that used to take me for my eddication. Tim 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Argos Posted May 16, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 16, 2020 12 hours ago, Caley Jim said: the various castings for the lamp tops, HAVOK ventilators Hi Jim, the carriage looks great, what is your source of Havok ventilators? Etched Pixels has them on his website but they have been out of stock for ages. Thanks Angus 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Dave John Posted May 16, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 16, 2020 Those are looking good Jim. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted May 16, 2020 Author Share Posted May 16, 2020 2 hours ago, Argos said: Etched Pixels has them on his website but they have been out of stock for ages. They are from a full set of castings for these coaches for which I made masters when they were made in the late '80's. IIRC Colin Allbright also got some for his Ultima range and it may be these that Etched Pixels now have listed. I still have a few castings. If you want some PM me. Jim 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted May 16, 2020 Author Share Posted May 16, 2020 4 hours ago, queensquare said: ..... They are all but identical (good enough for me!) to some LSWR stock ....... Not too surprising as they were originally a Drummond design. The originals had 3-layer panelling with individual lower panels on the doors and in between. Lambie reduced that to 2-layers, but still with beading at the doors. These represent the McIntosh era version. Jim 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold queensquare Posted May 16, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 16, 2020 4 minutes ago, Caley Jim said: Not too surprising as they were originally a Drummond design. The originals had 3-layer panelling with individual lower panels on the doors and in between. Lambie reduced that to 2-layers, but still with beading at the doors. These represent the McIntosh era version. Jim I must dig them out. From memory the brake coach was a different layout to anything the LSWR had but the others were very similar, I think the number of vertical panels on the ends was different which I can live with. Jerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian Morgan Posted May 17, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 17, 2020 (edited) On 16/05/2020 at 09:40, CF MRC said: Bit like the school bus that used to take me for my eddication. One of our school buses disappeared for a couple of weeks, and then turned up on the London-Brighton Vintage Commercial Vehicle Run. It then returned to being a school bus. One of these was nick-named 'Loppy' because it had a distinct lean to one side. Tackling the big hill up to my school, the driver would double de-clutch down into first and it would crawl up at less than walking speed. Happy days? Not my photo: Edited May 17, 2020 by Ian Morgan 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted May 20, 2020 Author Share Posted May 20, 2020 Progress slowed slightly over the week-end due in part to the arrival of the sheet of etches from PPD for the Dunallander canopies (of which more on that thread later). There were a few items on that for other people, so they were dealt with first. The coach has been dis-assembled and the body, floor/underframe and bogies (with the wheels removed!) sprayed with rattle can black. The droplights and boletcheons received a coat of reddish brown (they were mahogany) and the lower panels and the beading have had their first thin coat of Precision Paints Caledonian coach purple brown. I prefer to apply several thin coats rather than try to cover in one in order to preserve detail. Unfortunately my painting skills are not what they once were, so I suspect there will be more repeated touching up being done than there used to be, before I'm done. The droplights and boletcheons could, I think, do with being a little more on the red side, so they will get another coat first before I put a first thin coat of white into the upper and waist panels. Jim 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D869 Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 5 hours ago, Caley Jim said: Progress slowed slightly over the week-end Did it? Can't say that I noticed. Takes me flippin ages to finish a coach. Maybe you just took it a bit easy to give the rest of us a chance Nice work Jim. Regards, Andy 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted May 20, 2020 Author Share Posted May 20, 2020 31 minutes ago, D869 said: ...... Takes me flippin ages to finish a coach. ..... Agreed there, Andy. The painting stage is the longest on these. A coat of purple brown, then a thin coat of white in the panels, then another p/b, then another white..... Not to mention the touching up where the one gets on the other. Then there's the lettering, crests (two each side on this, plus a monogram on the centre door)....... All this leaving a day between stages. Yes, the finishing takes the time! Jim 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted May 21, 2020 Author Share Posted May 21, 2020 (edited) First coat of white on the upper panels. This was a very thin mix applied into the centre of each panel and 'teased' around the edges. Capillary action draws it to the edges of the panel, leaving the centre very thin, but that will get a second coat. Before that, however, the purple brown will get a second coat, that on the upper beading being done with a bow pen. Jim Edited May 21, 2020 by Caley Jim Typo 10 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 Today's stage has been giving the lower panels and the beading a second thin coat of Purple brown, that on the beading using a bow pen set so that the blades are almost closed. Despite that some paint has got on the white (or maybe that's due to me shaky hand!). That should be sorted out with the second coat of white on the upper panels. The lower ones and the ends will probably need a third coat, but I only intend touching up the upper beading where white gets on to it. I post these stages, one by one, to show that, with these panelled coaches with two colours, it's not just a case of paint the main colour, then the upper panels and that's job done! Jim 10 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D869 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 I'm a big fan of 'unpainting' for tidying up tricky boundaries between colours. If the first colour painted is properly hardened (several days ideally) then any stray bits of the second colour can be dealt with after they have dried for an hour or two using the end of a cocktail stick dampened with thinners. Sometimes I have used a thinners dampened brush to gently shepherd an edge back to where I want it. Timing is key - too soon and the thinners will spread the paint and make a mess. Ideally it should just soften the paint enough to move or remove it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share Posted May 23, 2020 I'm always a bit wary of that. As you say, the timing has to be just right and the previous coat has to be well dried. Today's work has been another coat of white, again very thin. I've managed for the most part to keep it off the beading, so that will only need the odd touch here and there when I'm putting the final coat on the lower panels. Back to the canopies while that dries! Jim 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 A final coat of purple brown on the lower panels and ends and the upper beading touched up with the bow pen. Still one or two little bits of p/b on the panels, but they will be getting another coat of white tomorrow. Hopefully I'll manage to do that without putting too much white on the beading! Jim 7 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 The third coat of white has now been applied to the upper panels, without getting any on the beading!! One or two of them might need another coat, but I'll decide that in the daylight tomorrow. I've also started 'dotting in' the crests. These will be no more than 'impressionistic', but with two of them on each side, getting them reasonably consistent will be the challenge! Jim 10 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted May 30, 2020 Author Share Posted May 30, 2020 I decided that the upper panels did need another coat, so that has been done and the lettering applied along with completing the crests and the monogram. If I look from a distance, screw up my eyes and use my imagination I can convince myself that the middle four waist panels read 'FIRST/C.R/77/FIRST', but then I would say that, wouldn't I!! As to the crests, well I did say consistency was going to be the issue. Next up, paint the ironwork, underframe and bogies a very dark grey. Jim 10 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian Smeeton Posted May 30, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 30, 2020 Craftsmanship/Clever button is not enough, we need a Ghast Flabbered button for this, Jim. Looks absolutely beautiful, even though I blew it up on screen to Masive. The wife agrees!!, and that is not easily won praise. I am in awe. Regards Ian 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 Thanks, Ian. The ironwork on the body and the underframe and bogies have now all had a coat of dark grey (matt black with a spot of grey in it). The roof has had a coat of a mix with a little more grey in it and the footboards the same mix with some matt leather added. This is the other side from the last photo and the body is just sitting on the underframe. The observant will note that it has acquired the roof handrails at either end which I had forgotten to solder on earlier! Next up is to glue all the door and grab handles into the little locating holes. 6 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 65179 Posted June 2, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 2, 2020 Looking lovely Jim. What do you use to glue in the grab handles etc? Can you introduce the glue from behind? Thanks Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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