Johann Marsbar Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) I found this Polish one in 1985 that displyed signs of its former ownership..... Appears to have been DR 52 6804 and at one stage (1952-1963) was T3-6804. The correct info seems to be on a German website, as the Polish Forumkolejowe website (who use my shot of the loco on their description of it) don't appear to have picked up the fact the Russians had it for a while! Edited February 22, 2021 by Johann Marsbar Extra info added 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 22, 2021 Author Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) Yes, you'd think the CCCP and hammer/sickle logo might have given them a clue there wouldn't you ! Many of the Soviet used ones seemed to have been altered to have a very small smoke box door offset to the bottom, rather than the usual full sized door ( plus a big lamp on the front !)...the Polish one above looks to have a very flat simple "disc" so maybe the Poles modified them back once again to their own preference. The little Russian door looks a bit awkward compared to the norm when it comes to getting in there and clearing it out tbh ! The pic below is a Russian one gifted to Vietnam apparently. Edited February 22, 2021 by Porkscratching Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 1 hour ago, Porkscratching said: Yes, you'd think the CCCP and hammer/sickle logo might have given them a clue there wouldn't you ! Many of the Soviet used ones seemed to have been altered to have a very small smoke box door offset to the bottom, rather than the usual full sized door ( plus a big lamp on the front !)...the Polish one above looks to have a very flat simple "disc" so maybe the Poles modified them back once again to their own preference. The little Russian door looks a bit awkward compared to the norm when it comes to getting in there and clearing it out tbh ! The pic below is a Russian one gifted to Vietnam apparently. To be fair, the chap running the Polish site saw my photos on Flickr and asked if he could copy them and use them on their loco fleet pages, so I didn't actually send him any other ones which aren't on there, the cabside shot being one of those! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 22, 2021 Author Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) Done a bit of fillering on the un-prototypical step at bottom front edgebof firebox and carved off joins and unwanted detail from air tanks..the eduard etches have much nicer mounting straps for these. Edited February 23, 2021 by Porkscratching Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 23, 2021 Author Share Posted February 23, 2021 (edited) Gave the boiler a quick witness coat spray over the seams, unfortunately I can still see the join ( shows MUCH worse in life than the pic) so will have to do more sanding, hopefully I can achieve an invisible join with layers of paint rubbed down rather than back to filler...the boiler halves are becoming a real pain to get right, such a shame they couldn't have done the kit with a one piece "tube"... Edited February 23, 2021 by Porkscratching 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 24, 2021 Author Share Posted February 24, 2021 Well I think I've more or less got rid of the obvious join, I reckon I can, in the light, detect a slight shadow of it but it's easy to get totally obsessed with this kind of thing !! Once it's got some weathering (eventually) it'll be fine. On to the next bit...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 Just made up a few of the sub-assemblies at random this evening. ( none of this go by the instructions malarkey)... there's a fair bit of etch stuff to go on the cylinders next, plus some extra bling ( piping etc) that I'll add on myself. I "cut and shut" the air tanks so they're prototypical identical length, they'll have etch mounts and I'll create some home made plumbing. once again I'd say the parts fit of this kit OOB is pretty bad! ( I'm still glad I got it tho ! ) most things so far needed hefty sanding to within an inch of it's life after gluing together, and I'm still v.tempted to "roll my own" main boiler tube, I noticed in cruel daylight that I've done so much filing to get rid of the join that there's a definate wavy flat on top in places now ! To go this route might not be too tragic in fact, as the smokebox and firebox end sections are fine I'd just be replacing the mid section, I could then do proper boiler bands too instead of the moulded in efforts...any grab rails, pipework etc were going to be redone in brass anyway, ultimately the above would make a nicer job all round. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 More fun with the choice fit of the kit....how's this for a 'banana chassis' ( only pushed together for trial fit I hasten to add! ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 (edited) It appears that the axle "tubes" ( that are a v. tight push in fit into the "bearing blocks" ) were pulling the sides in all directions due to being different lengths at the shoulder and not sitting square etc. ...the side rails were ok-ish with these removed.... then came a great deal of file work to get them to a point they'd not adversely pull the sides out of line, I made them a real sloppy fit in their location holes to allow some wiggle room. The plate assembly at the front was also contributing to the misalignment, the locating strips were in the wrong place on one side, so these were filed off and the section fitted by eye. Finally I could stick it together, there's prob a tiny degree's twist in the whole thing but as a static model it'll do. I can see this thing will take some time to finish ! Edited February 28, 2021 by Porkscratching 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted March 6, 2021 Author Share Posted March 6, 2021 Done some more assembly of the "chassis" ! The various support plates needed multiple ejector holes filling and lots of sanding, primer, sanding over and over again! the buffer bar needed re shaping to look like a channel with radiused corners, as per the real loco, all the rivet and bracketry detail was lost in this, it was mostly wrong anyway so no tragedy. when fitting the plates to the frame, again much hand fitting and filing, then setting them square in the frame, a tiny engineer's square came in handy here...I hate to think what a twisted effort this kit would make if you just glued it together OOB ! I also drilled thru the axle tubes so as to use metal rod as "proper" axles, rather than stick the wheels directly onto the little stubs, as the kit would have you do. doing the solid thru axles should give more chance of the wheels, and hence the loco, sitting square and level.. ( I hope ! ) 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium readingtype Posted March 9, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 9, 2021 Slightly bigger, slightly more expensive and probably considerably heavier alternative. Yours might be finished first though :-) 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium readingtype Posted March 9, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 9, 2021 Actually the same source has a proper match for your model planned for 2022 (at end of page). 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted March 10, 2021 Author Share Posted March 10, 2021 20 hours ago, readingtype said: Slightly bigger, slightly more expensive and probably considerably heavier alternative. Yours might be finished first though :-) Yikes..3 and a half grand..! Sounds like a lovely thing though, and it's... BRASS ! Unfortunately It's way, way beyond my wallet. Perhaps I'll start getting a lottery ticket again... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) More fun and games.. thought I'd try the "dissolved sprue in poly cement" filler trick as I've not had great results with Humbrol filler or P38 on this kit. there's ejector holes on virtually everything so gave the sprue filler lark a go on the underside of the drivers cab, worked quite well but I will need to be more generous and well over-fill next time as it shrunk back a little in drying. I like the method tho, as it's using the same plastic as the kit and won't fall out ! I ended up also, on the front "chassis plates" having to carve off all the rivet detail in order to get the panels sanded flat after filling in the redundant "mud guard" slots. these will be replaced by PE parts that don't need the slots. I've got some rivets and bolts on order from Historex, I have a card of Meng bolts, but I reckon the proper rivets will be nicer to install and look better. I'll probably mass produce some sprue filler and hit a load of the ejector holes in a couple of sessions, it's a rotten job, but someone's got to do it ! Edited March 12, 2021 by Porkscratching 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 Hello Pork I must commend you on your persistence with this kit, I think I would have skipped a few stages by now but you’re going to make it look superb. Well done so far, I look forward to the rest. Cheers, John 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 I knew from reading other's experience that it'd be a pain in some respects !... Still I won't be beaten by a bit of pesky polystyrene !!! I'd be a little wary of Trumpeter kits in future to be brutally honest, and I'd probably only go for another of theirs if it's a subject that I really want, and they're the only ones making it... errm a bit like the matching 1/35 German BR86 loco they make.. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted March 13, 2021 Author Share Posted March 13, 2021 Historex I'm very impressed with btw..my rivets and bolts arrived this morning, virtually by return of post ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 More "Malarkey" with this...when preparing to fit the rivets I noticed the very "front legs" end of the frame had bowed severely inwards esp. on one side !..( It looked like it'd had a hefty front end shunt from the left 3/4 on in car terms ! ) the short version being, that rather than bend break and bully the bits back to rights, I decided to remake the front side members from scratch thereby ensuring they're all square and at the same time correcting to a degree the rather 'wrong' shape that the kit offers here. I will beef this structure up a bit, the real loco has cross members inside, unlike the kit A useful by product of this will be I can do my riveting on the components first rather than wrangle with an increasingly fragile whole "chassis" with all its bits. I'm currently making various card templates to trial fit before chopping up evergreen styrene card...this thing will end up more of a "scratch assist" than a kit ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted March 18, 2021 Author Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) You're probably going to say "he's gone mad and is making his loco out of bog roll now.." well, only to a degree..I'm using the card tube, suitably reduced in dia. as a firm skeleton which will be clad in thin sheet metal, in a similar way to a real boiler and it's cladding, and have all the other gubbins attached to that etc etc....any seams will be underneath and not visible, indeed it gives the ability to reproduce "depth" on fittings that go thru the cladding into the "boiler". I'm debating whether to make a smokebox from scratch too, as I can see the ghost of a kit joint seam on top, even after all that filling and sanding. ( if there were a shaking head emo thing, it'd be placed here ) my LZ detail stuff arrived from Europe without any post brexit shenanigans too, which was nice ! Edited March 18, 2021 by Porkscratching 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium readingtype Posted March 19, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 19, 2021 (edited) A pointless comparison with @Porkscratching's Kriegslok, but this is my progress on a Thunder G10 van kit (mentioned above) started on roughly the same date, as of now. Almost all the bits you see are nice and simple channel sections, and all fitted beautifully and were free of flash, so unsurprisingly it hasn't been the existential challenge the BR52 seems to be. I'm just moving a bit more slowly :-) Could anyone advise on the technique for filling in the mould release pin holes with liquid sprue? Edited March 19, 2021 by readingtype Brand name is Thunder not Thunderer 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 (edited) Not pointless at all, v. nice to see your progress, I was wondering how you were getting on with it ...I'm looking forward to seeing it done so please keep posting here as you progress ! As regards sprue filler, I chop up bits of sprue, shavings of it, whatever, the smaller bits the better, then mix them up in a small vessel with Tamiya liquid cement, or similar...leave for the bits to dissolve ( you can add more solids if you need to thicken it up and more liquid cement if it needs thinning ) When you're happy with the consistency drop some in the release holes, make sure they've fully filled the nooks and crannies / holes, then leave to set, I'd err on the side of leaving it as long as poss to set, as I've found it can still be soft in the middle when dry on top. Once fully hardened you can shave with blade, sand etc.. I'd try it out on a bit of scrap to perfect your technique ! Edited March 19, 2021 by Porkscratching 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 I felt the need to do a trial dry fit of the cab parts to see if they fit together squarely ( or indeed at all !) According to someone else who researched these locos quite closely (and built a much modified model ) the cab is the most accurate rendition in this kit. ...oddly enough it did kind of fit together ok, aided by sellotape and after some slight butchering of parts, (naturally) plus gluing a block of wood inside the boiler back head which was splayed apart at the edges a quite bit... If I was reviewing this kit I'd give it 3 out of 10 for fit and finish of parts frankly. I've carved all the dodgy detail off the above part ready for various aftermarket detail bits. I also for a lark, (and the sake of morale) balanced the whole thing thus far together, on the "bog roll tube", for the full Blue Peter effect ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 Rather minor and uninteresting progress here, tho I have started a Tiger tank project too so not wholly idle ! Did a bit of fiddly photo etch, the little frames around the cab front glass, the apertures for these needed filing open to fit. The prototype units could open and shut of course, swivelling on a central axis, probably not worth replicating a working version as you couldn't reach them to open and close once the model's made anyway !. ..window units will need a bit more fitting / fettling when glue's set properly Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted April 6, 2021 Author Share Posted April 6, 2021 More window frames / glazing.. A bit quicker today as I'd had practice on the last lot! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hartleymartin Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 How did it go? I have been looking at those kits for years and wondered about them. 41mm gauge would be scale for standard gauge, or Gauge 1 at 44.5mm gauge would be so close as doesn't matter for Russian 1524mm gauge - only 1mm over. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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