Porkscratching Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 (edited) Just nipped out the 2 boiler halves to see how good a fit they are, hmm not very I'm afraid ! The classic annoying "seam on top" would need a lot of filling and fettling, I'm tempted to source a suitable bit of tube to make my own boiler tbh. The OD of the model boiler tube is circa 52mm...not sure if plastic pipe is available that size o.n.o. but in my fevered imagination I'm recalling that thin walled m/s exhaust pipe tube is 51 mm.....ooh don't tempt me !!! Oh and there's a standard copper pipe size of 54mm ( slit and close it up a bit!) Edited February 17, 2021 by Porkscratching Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian Morgan Posted February 17, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 17, 2021 (edited) Some photos I took of a 52 at the Landau Plandampf in 2005. Not grey, but maybe helpful with details of the running gear, etc: Edited June 23, 2023 by Ian Morgan re-loaded images 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 Cheers Ian, v.nice shots, and always useful detail reference, particularly as these seem to vary a lot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 A nice, challenging, colour scheme..... (The Sinsheim museum one..) . 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 Yikes... gives you a headache to look at it !!! I've seen quite a few of the models done with various camo finishes, for diorama builders it's an attractive prospect and matches the panzers etc... but tbh I've seen hardly any period prototype photos showing these paticular locos in camouflage, so I'd think they were fairly rare in real life. Still, be a while yet before i think about paint, there's the boiler business to address first before I do anything else... I'll probably glue the less than perfect halves together anyway, sand and filler, then see what I think.... i still err towards the idea of making the boiler tube from scratch Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium readingtype Posted February 17, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 17, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, Johann Marsbar said: A nice, challenging, colour scheme..... It's no good trying to hide, we can see you behind that crankshaft :-) There are colour photos of the 52s that the US Army took to the States to evaluate. They had already been repainted and "decorated" by that time with stuff that would not have been on them in service. If it is of interest, these ones were charcoal grey all over -- darker than all the models and darker than the one in the Sinsheim photo above. I am not sure I would worry: some variant of "photographic grey" will bring out detail, you can weather it to highlight that, and few will be able to quibble. Edited February 17, 2021 by readingtype spelling, clarification 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 2 hours ago, Johann Marsbar said: A nice, challenging, colour scheme..... (The Sinsheim museum one..) . With an OBB, I think, cabin tender of a later date to the livery. Take care with museum "restorations", Bernard 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 8 hours ago, Porkscratching said: They are a lovely imposing loco but with a tough utilitarian aspect too, thanks for the great pic, I'm collecting them off the internet for reference. ( many detail differences between individual locos) As you say I'm looking more at the earlier (ww2) period, and still scratching my head a bit as regards a base colour, some of the old footage implies a lighter grey than the "panzer grey" thats been suggested to me...obviously old film footage in B/W is not ideal to go on, and I'm not having much luck finding original "agfa" colour shots of a 52 ...some of the modern pics online show various greys but they are likely to have been painted with any old grey paint available to "tart up" a display loco or whatever! I'll look at your other pics if i can. Ps, thats some nice ironwork above the station in Leipzig ! Re the variation in colour. After a spot of digging I found this information. At first the finish was RAL 7011 and later this was changed to RAL 7021. In other words they became much darker. I am sorry, I do not have a date for the change. I imagine with so many different builders the change did not occur on one specific date. Bernard 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 That's great to have actual RAL codes for the colours ! Though as stated above, there's much scope for variation, wear, weathering etc etc... I'd certainly represent it as pretty filthy.... ( a'la Brit Rail "death steam" era ! ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 Having looked at both colours the lighter one squares well with the outdoor film footage, taking into account sunlight.The darker one would probably photograph as almost black.. I'd probably choose the lighter version on the model, gives a bit more scope somehow. You can even get those shades in a rattle can !..Thanks again for the heads up . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 11 hours ago, Porkscratching said: Having looked at both colours the lighter one squares well with the outdoor film footage, taking into account sunlight.The darker one would probably photograph as almost black.. I'd probably choose the lighter version on the model, gives a bit more scope somehow. You can even get those shades in a rattle can !..Thanks again for the heads up . Glad to be of assistance. I have German relatives and friends who are interested in railways so have access to information from them. They almost bought a real one back around 1993 when the going rate was between 5 and 10k DM. Just my POV and no hard evidence to support it, but I suggest that the early locomotives where painted in a light colour as they were intended for the Eastern Front where snow would be common, while later machines would be used further west where the countryside would tend to be a darker colour. Bernard 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 To own a real one would've been something indeed ! There's an eerie video on you tube, i assume an "urban exploration" type mob, who filmed (at night) a place where there are a fair number of derelict 52s apparently privately owned, but just left to rot. Always sad to see locos like that. I shall order a rattle can of matt acrylic Ral 7011 presently ...(and some car filler for the #%##+ boiler ! ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 5944 Posted February 18, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 18, 2021 1 hour ago, Porkscratching said: To own a real one would've been something indeed ! There's an eerie video on you tube, i assume an "urban exploration" type mob, who filmed (at night) a place where there are a fair number of derelict 52s apparently privately owned, but just left to rot. Always sad to see locos like that. I shall order a rattle can of matt acrylic Ral 7011 presently ...(and some car filler for the #%##+ boiler ! ) Brandenburg? A lot of locos there but absolutely no chance of anything happening to them sadly. PKP 7173 (ex 52 7173) was based at the Nene Valley Railway for a while, and was up for sale. Complete loco, recent runner, decent condition, and a spare boiler... £15,000! Sadly it got sold to a railway in Belgium, though it's now cosmetically restored. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 15 grand ! That's pretty much a giveaway... what a shame it didn't stay over here, still if it's at least being looked after is something I guess, tho a great pity not to have it running. I assume the derelict ones are the same place, these didn't look like there was much chance they'd be used for anything ever, tragic. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 (edited) Lots of stuff arrived today .....the book as recommended ( looks like an excellent informative read ) The eduard etches for loco... tamiya glue to replace the "classic" tube of schoolboy poly cement i had in stock!.. A captured Russki "teplushka" wagon... Filler ( car type) to bodge the iffy boiler... I'm awaiting another wagon a German G10 "boxcar" ...and the can of RAL7011 I've had a go at the boiler, ie. the basic carving off of the moulded-in small pipe work on both sides..this was a right mission but worthwhile imho, the bit right up against the rivets particularly awkward, so as not to destroy the rivets!... I've got some 0.7 mm brass rod that would replace the pipe work, if appropriate, and look so much better in this big scale. Edited February 18, 2021 by Porkscratching Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 (edited) Just to show the bad fit of the two boiler halves, possibly partly my fault, but that's the way they went together even with care and fiddling....( actually looks a bit worse in real life than the pic.) This is after a bit of sanding, you can see theres a bit of a "step" in the join and a dip behind the chimney 'ole..hopefully some careful application of isopon car filler will sort that out... I confess I haven't made a plastic "construction kit" since I was a teenager some decades ago..! Edited February 18, 2021 by Porkscratching Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium readingtype Posted February 18, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 18, 2021 Good to see. Speaking of G10 covered vans, I've started on the G10 I bought, and already become aware of my lack of skill in this area. Step 1 is the bracing behind the buffer beams. This absolutely has to be square so the bufferbeams are vertical and the underframe is not warped. I thought I had a clever plan to ensure everything would be true, but I can see they're ever so slightly off. Someone pointed out here or elsewhere that unlike soldered joints you can't really reflow plastic 'welds', but with some care and a drop or two of butanone I hope to make a gentle correction... Enjoy your build :-) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 Hope your wagon progresses with no further issues ! ( It'd be v. interesting to see some pics of it going together.) I guess to lay out the wagon "chassis" a good flat surface is called for, and maybe a simple jig to hold everything square for gluing? I was doing some welding work on the real railway many moons ago, and I made up some simple improvised jigs for repetition work when fabricating stuff, this made life much easier ( and quicker) as everything was held in the correct position for welding. I'll certainly be aware of getting it square and true when i get round to building the wagons, a good heads up there, cheers! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 Now i have some, It's certainly nicer using the Tamiya liquid glue compared to the old school tube stuff.! Fillering the boiler join is a bit of a nightmare tho. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian Morgan Posted February 19, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 19, 2021 (edited) Maybe not 52s, but I did a quick look through my photos to find some views that showed the tops of boilers. I was hoping to show that real steam locos often had a visible seam along the boiler top. Edited June 23, 2023 by Ian Morgan re-loaded images 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian Morgan Posted February 19, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 19, 2021 (edited) And to make up for the previous post, some more of my photos of some 52s, this time at Nuremburg Eisenbahn Festival 2002. Edited June 23, 2023 by Ian Morgan re-loaded images 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 Excellent pics again!.. Of course real locos have all sorts of dents and wrinkles in their plating and cladding etc, most models don't capture that and are too smooth and regular even if they are weathered in finish ! I do want to get rid of anything that looks like an obvious 2 halves of a plastic kit stuck together tho.. I've had more luck with the firebox halves, I managed to ge t a nice join, no filler will be needed there hopefully ! Currently hacking off more naff "pipe detail" on the above and the backhead....all good fun! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 (edited) Having fettled the dodgy joins they don't look too bad, tho needs a 'witness' coat of primer to really know if it's sorted. I'm awaiting some fine grades of wet n dry paper, as been using mainly the mrs' posh emery board, I was of course totally "busted" for this unauthorised use...the consequence being a frighteningly withering look ! The other wagon G10 arrived too, though prob won't be on to rolling stock for some while yet ( unless I fancy a change or hit a delay with the loco) I'd also have to consider the potential length of the resulting train and where I'm actually going to put it ! Edited February 20, 2021 by Porkscratching Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 A couple of rather unusual variants. Henschel three tube water heater and a powder coal tender. Bernard 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 21, 2021 Author Share Posted February 21, 2021 (edited) Interesting !..much appreciated these pics you guys are finding. There seems to be lots of modifications done by the Russians to the ones they grabbed after WW2, and the locos used by various other nations too. Many of the Soviet ones were re-gauged for their 5ft system apparently The above variants in Bernards pics look like they're in Germany though. I've found a few 52 videos on you tube which are good to peruse, some very useful resources I've found for building the model are the various "walkaround" photo sessions that various people have posted, these are great for detail..(I'm currently modifying the bottom lower front of the firebox slightly after studying these ) https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?fkSECTION[]=Walkarounds&q=BR+52 On the above page are links to quite a few of these collections in case anyone fancies a look. Edited February 21, 2021 by Porkscratching Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now