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3D-Printed Avonside B4 0-6-0ST


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This is definitely a first for me. I've never built a 3D-printed kit before and so here goes...

 

The kit is from Corbs, at his railwaymania.net store but this particular version isn't on general sale yet. It's designed to fit on the Hornby Peckett 0-6-0ST chassis. The wheel diamters on these Avonsides differed between individual engines, so the Peckett's 3ft. 7in. dia, wheels are going to be more of a compromise on some prototypes than others. I understand that some were as small as 3ft. 4in., others were 3ft. 6in. and some were even 4ft. 0 1/2in. There may even be others. I don't know what the prototype Avonside wheelbase was but the Peckett was 10ft.

 

There really isn't a lot to it and it's really only a mattter of glueing parts together but the key to making it a good model is going to be the finish as 3D-printing, unless done on the most expensive and up-to-date printers, seems, inevitably, to have print lines. The version that I am building is with flat tank sides and rivets, which will make this task more difficult.

 

Unlike some printed kits that I have seen, the design is more clever and instead of an ill-fitting, and far too thick, cab roof, the roof is already part of the cab and the cab is a separate part that fits on the running plate in much the same way as Hornby do it on their Peckett model. Other features that similar kits don't have are separate buffers. This should not only make it easier to prepare the surface of the buffer beam but will make replacement of the buffer easier in the event of damage. It will also make easier the fitting of alternative buffers.

 

Here are the printed parts.

Avonside-002.jpg.bf7742c8019dc7189a333638cf75b82c.jpg

 

The detail parts on the sprue.

Avonside-009.jpg.5f095b7544b54a1876ebfbca76a83542.jpg

 

 

The underside of the running plate still has the remains of the support sprues, which will need to be flattened in order to get it to sit properly on the Hornby chassis.

Avonside-015.jpg.11fd7acd456f5be628ee4218dc324d23.jpg

 

A similar situation on the bottom of the tank but I don't expect this to be a problem as it won't be visible once assembled and a tentative scratch of the material has shown it to be quite soft.

Avonside-010.jpg.90ac61943062847fdf7b51be616c1258.jpg

 

A cruel close-up of the tank side.

Avonside-004.jpg.6e9b39f520b6d656d0dfcf69928295ad.jpg

 

I'll crack on and see how it goes...

 

 

 

 

Edited by Ruston
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27 minutes ago, Ruston said:

 I understand that some were as small as 3ft. 4in., others were 3ft. 6in. and some were even 4ft. 0 1/2in. T


The two I am familiar with are 3' 1'' (actual) in preservation and down as 3' 3'' as delivered by the maker from works list. 

 

As I discussed with Corbs, later publications  appear to have "error carried forward" for some locos on both cylinder and wheel dimensions from the early IRS pocket book series!

 

Paul A. 

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6 minutes ago, doilum said:

Just a left field thought: if you remove the outside cylinders from the Peckett are you left with the X2 model?

Good luck with this project, it appears to be quite promising.

 

No. The X2 is a rather bigger loco (16" rather than the 14" of the RTR model). Boiler's pitched higher, and is bigger, etc.

 

Adam

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13 minutes ago, 1whitemoor said:


The two I am familiar with are 3' 1'' (actual) in preservation and down as 3' 3'' as delivered by the maker from works list. 

 

As I discussed with Corbs, later publications  appear to have "error carried forward" for some locos on both cylinder and wheel dimensions from the early IRS pocket book series!

 

Paul A. 

 

Joan, currently preserved on the Ribble Steam Railway has 3'9'' wheels, assuming the Ribble website is correct

 

https://ribblesteam.org.uk/exhibits/steam/avonside-1883-1922/

 

If you compare it against other Avonside B4's it's buffers sit a bit lower on the buffer beam to account for this, I used a similar tactic on the kit but if someone wants to swap the B2 wheels for smaller ones the buffers can be easily re-positioned higher, one of the benefits of them being separately fitted

 

Speaking of buffers, Ruston I don't know if you're planning on fitting the supplied 3D printed buffers, metal ones or something else but there are voids/recesses in the running board to provide clearance for sprung buffers and access to assemble them.

 

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5 hours ago, doilum said:

Just a left field thought: if you remove the outside cylinders from the Peckett are you left with the X2 model?

Good luck with this project, it appears to be quite promising.

No but the bodywork of the B2 is the same as a C-class, which was inside-cylindered and on 3ft. 2 1/2in. wheels. I have a spare Peckett body that I plan to build a chassis for to convert it to a C. I may eventually build a chassis for this Avonside with the correct wheel spacing and reunite the Peckett chassis and body.

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I gave everything a coat of primer and then a rub with 1000 grade wet and dry paper but this didn't appear to have much of an effect on the print ridges, so I sprayed it again and tried 400 grade., followed by 1000 grade again. All this rubbing is tedious and it's difficult to do without destroying the rivet detail and even now I haven't managed to get rid of it all. It does look much better though and I don't know if it's just that I'm so aware and critical of it but I think it's now alright at "normal viewing distances".

Avonside-016.jpg.32fdf61176f524b12b03fa6bf0423544.jpg

 

The boiler backhead seems small and of a strange shape, with it tapering in toward the bottom but as the loco has an overall cab and such detail will be barely visible, that doesn't bother me and I won't be changing it.

Avonside-023.jpg.a31e66c4bd5062ea5383af48f091f502.jpg

 

 

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Great rivet detail on the tank.

Much easier than assembling from individual plates of shim brass. If all else fails, it would look great amongst the weeds by the loco shed.

Edited by doilum
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32 minutes ago, Ruston said:

I gave everything a coat of primer and then a rub with 1000 grade wet and dry paper but this didn't appear to have much of an effect on the print ridges, so I sprayed it again and tried 400 grade., followed by 1000 grade again. All this rubbing is tedious and it's difficult to do without destroying the rivet detail and even now I haven't managed to get rid of it all. It does look much better though and I don't know if it's just that I'm so aware and critical of it but I think it's now alright at "normal viewing distances".

Avonside-016.jpg.32fdf61176f524b12b03fa6bf0423544.jpg

 

The boiler backhead seems small and of a strange shape, with it tapering in toward the bottom but as the loco has an overall cab and such detail will be barely visible, that doesn't bother me and I won't be changing it.

Avonside-023.jpg.a31e66c4bd5062ea5383af48f091f502.jpg

 

 


firstly I’m really impressed with your finish on this so far, you have far more patience for sanding than I do

 

the boiler back head shape is taken from portbury, there’s an image of it during restoration on the Bristol harbour railway website showing the narrower bottom section with a curve between the barrel and this flat sided lower section, I believe their peckett henbury is similar. We didn’t have any measurements of it so you could be right that it is a little too small

 

from the green sandboxes I presume you’re painting it all green, is it going to be based off a specific prototype or something freelance?

 

 

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3 hours ago, Adam FW said:


firstly I’m really impressed with your finish on this so far, you have far more patience for sanding than I do

 

the boiler back head shape is taken from portbury, there’s an image of it during restoration on the Bristol harbour railway website showing the narrower bottom section with a curve between the barrel and this flat sided lower section, I believe their peckett henbury is similar. We didn’t have any measurements of it so you could be right that it is a little too small

 

from the green sandboxes I presume you’re painting it all green, is it going to be based off a specific prototype or something freelance?

 

 

Do you mean this photo?

https://bristolharbourrailway.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/portbury-restoration.jpg?w=523&h=&zoom=2

The shape is right but on the prototype it's like that so the firebox can fit within the frames. On the model you have to remember that anything made to OO is too narrow anyway and the way the backhead has been made to fit inside the back of the tank/boiler, rather than butting up against it has meant it has been made even narrower.

 

It isn't a specific prototype so I'm painting it green to match the Peckett chassis.

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Avonside-033.jpg.68b46d1bfd5259b81d032350954656aa.jpg

There are no injectors or reach rod provided in the kit, so these will have to be made. Toward the rear of the boiler, the gearbox of the Peckett chassis is visible due to the Avonside boiler being longer. Fitting a reach rod and adding some oil cans to the running plate may help to disguise this.

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As far as the kit is concerned, the Avonside is finished. It needs a few details adding that are not part of the kit. These are lamp irons (I never bother with the full set on an industrial unless it's a particular prototype that had them), at least one on the front of the tank and one on the rear of the bunker. As mentioned before, the reach rod and injectors. The couplings shown are my own and are not part of the kit. It also needs weathering, crew figures and some coal in the bunker.

 

This is my first go at a 3D-printed kit and I have to say it's been enjoyable. It's a strange material to work with when you're used to brass and styrene but because there's really not a lot to do but glue a few parts together, do some sanding and paint the thing, progress is rapid. I was very sceptical about the finish after seeing so many completed 3D-printed models that are still covered in print lines but I'm surprised how well this has come out. There are still some lines there as it's virtually impossible to eliminate them when you have to work around rivet detail but it's nothing like as bad as I expected.

 

Corbs and Adam say up front in their instructions (that are online so you can read them before purchase) that there are compromises in the kit in order for it to fit a RTR chassis and they describe them. This is to be commended as it allows the buyer to make an informed choice and shows they have done their research.

 

One thing that can definitely be improved upon would be to have locating holes in the running plate and pegs on the bottom of the sand boxes. Another is not to end page two of the instuctions with a "thanks" paragraph, followed by the rest of the page being empty. I thought this was the end of the instructions and so, as it happened, I didnt read any of the actual instructions until after I'd built the thing - D'oh!

 

Avonside-043.jpg.085104a57d4d99d39e974a4885147b66.jpg

 

Avonside-045.jpg.5298a44cf59943017059f5c9b176a8c3.jpg

 

Avonside-041.jpg.f6bcfc62a3cc2fc1f352c5e261b10db8.jpg

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I’m glad you liked the kit and I’m very impressed by both how quickly and how well you have built it

 

I’m really looking forward to see how you weather it, I’ve still got that to do on my St Thomas model that I’ve been building over the past week

 

regarding your thoughts on improvements, the version 1 portbury model did have locating features for the sandboxes but they made getting a good flush fit quite difficult and the print wasn’t very reliable so we removed them favouring easier prep work over assembly. Removing the features also meant that alternative sandboxes can easily be fitted if desired

 

I agree with you regarding the instructions, fortunately that’s easily changed

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This is the part of the instructions that relate to the compromises that Ruston refers to earlier. As I would want to model this in P4 I wouldn't want the Hornby chassis. I'll have to have a think, but I have so much in the stash that would be easier, I don't know. :huh:

 

We have tried very hard to make this kit as close to the prototypes as possible. In order for it to 
fit the Hornby Peckett B2 chassis, a few compromises have been made. These are: 
-Larger wheels 
-Wheelbase is offset rather than equal 
-Buffers have been lowered slightly to counter the extra height from the wheels 
-Overall height has been reduced slightly to avoid having a big gap between the Avonside tanks 
and the Peckett boiler

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Where I said in the OP that some had 3ft. 6in. wheels I was referring to some of those with the flat-sided tanks. There were several of these in the Nothants ironstone industry that are shown in Eric Tonks' books as having 3ft. 6in. dia. wheels but I have been informed by @1whitemoor that they were in fact only 3ft. 4in. and the infomation in the book is wrong.

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2 hours ago, Ruston said:

Where I said in the OP that some had 3ft. 6in. wheels I was referring to some of those with the flat-sided tanks. There were several of these in the Nothants ironstone industry that are shown in Eric Tonks' books as having 3ft. 6in. dia. wheels but I have been informed by @1whitemoor that they were in fact only 3ft. 4in. and the infomation in the book is wrong.

Measure the wheels you have available. AlanGibson used to make his wheels a scale inch under the stated size, because on the real thing, they worn and were turned down, and because it gives a bit of extra clearance over the flanges.

I would have thought that if they are 3'5", they would be OK, and what's a scale inch when your track is 00?

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3 hours ago, Corbs said:

Do you have a chassis in mind, David, or would you be scratch building one?

I think it would have to be scratchbuilt for P4, but it's very much a dream, if a doable one. 

Did you ever think of a 3D Print of the chassis? That could done too.

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I wonder if you could get hold of the CSP chassis for the B4 on its own and use P4 axles, spacing the brakes and cylinders etc. out accordingly?

 

They have the option of supplying a motorising kit for £50 which in theory would only need the axles replacing. I'm not sure how much they would charge for the chassis etch, though.

 

http://cspmodels.com/abante/index.php?rt=product/product&path=65&product_id=127

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2 hours ago, PenrithBeacon said:

I think it would have to be scratchbuilt for P4, but it's very much a dream, if a doable one. 

Did you ever think of a 3D Print of the chassis? That could done too.

Obviously it depends on your layout's gradients and the size of trains you want to move but the Avonside, with Peckett chassis weighs 112g, of which at least 90g is the chassis.  If you have a printed plastic chassis the whole thing isn't going to weigh much at all. Of course you will be able to get some lead in the body but nothing like as much as you would with an etched kit as the walls of the print are a lot thicker.

 

I would also think that a printed plastic chassis would have to be solid and would leave no space for weight between the frame plates.

 

If and when I get around to it, my chassis will be milled brass and there will be space in between the frame plates for additional weight, plus whatever can be got in the body once it isn't fully occupied by the Hornby motor/gearbox.

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I think the chassis could be designed which incorporates side frames and spacers and features a mounting for an N20 motor similar to this. The motor, which is very small, will allow for a lot of room between the frames for lead. I would doubt if the gap between the side frames could be sensibly done by having a solid 3D Printed block. There is plenty of volume available in the body for weight also; such a loco should be heavy enough.

 

But it's all a fantasy really, it's not going to happen.

 

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So is this the same loco as the CSP, ex-Agenoria kit?

 

I'm pretty sure the kit maker recommends 3'3" wheels as I'm sure I had to get a custom Branchlines Multibox with a smaller final drive gear. 

A good kit, although a little old-fashioned, but the lack of a riveted tank, which looks so good on Dave's, is a shame. Every time I see 'Robert' at Stratford I think this. I believe Cranford has a welded tank but this might be a preservation-era replacement?

 

WP_20141026_16_03_30_Pro.jpg.a6e12b8c84acc9c184fa4c48675c7671.jpgWP_20150827_16_43_00_Pro.jpg.c1c178bf7594d1d679e07ea400ddbc56.jpg

Edited by Barclay
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