Building an MTK Bulleid 4-EPB

[74009]

Hi all,

 

Since the 309s were finished I've not posted much - I was intending to get straight back to the 4-DD but I was still thinking about some aspects so I started two MTK kits - a Bulleid 4-EPB and a class 207 '3D'.  I'll put a thread up about the 207 too, but this one is about the 4-EPB.  There's also a No Nonsense Kits 2-EPB coming along at the same time - this is an upgraded version of the MTK kit, particularly at and below solebar level, and some of the thread is about that too.

 

As MTK kits go, the 4-EPB isn't too bad at all so I'm using most of the original parts; the main exceptions are the bogies and the cab ends.  The MTK cab ends were actually ok, but I substituted them with NNK ones because I wanted the 2-EPB and 4-EPB to match each other in appearance as far as possible.

 

Once the vehicle ends have been glued in, the first job is to scribe in all the door frames.  There's a handy jig for doing this supplied with the NNK kit - it doesn't fit the MTK bodyside that well due to a difference in design, but it still helps.  One or two wandering scribe lines, but I'll sort that out later.

 

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by 74009

[74009]

Handrails and door handles fitted, also some etched brass window frames.  Initially I didn't notice that the driver's side window is the same size as the window on the opposite side - on BR-designed units the driver's one is bigger - so after these pics were taken I had to remove the etch, make the aperture smaller then fit a new etch.

 

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by 74009

[74009]

One distinctive feature of the Bulleid EPBs is the massive amount of trunking on the roof.  Quite some time was spent studying photographs of this as it's quite complicated - a few pics below of the arrangement that I came to (some are from the 2-EPB).  I decided to do the 4-EPB with the high roofline, but the 2-EPBs all had the low roofline so there was no choice for that.

 

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by 74009

[74009]

Where there are pieces of trunking that need to be a mirror image of each other, I super-glue together 4 pieces of brass rod, make the bends and then separate them.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by 74009

[74009]

The primed EPB bodyshells, with the 207 shells that are being dealt with at the same time.

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by 74009

[74009]

... and with some Blue and Yellow paint applied.  A bit glossy at the moment and not cleaned up.

Edited September 6, 2021 by 74009

[74009]

One quite problematical issue with the No Nonsense Kits ends was the way that the MU pipes are cast on in one piece.  Because of the limitations of the casting process, this leaves significant metal webs behind each pipe, so the only way to disguise it is with some extremely careful painting (not yet done in the picture).

 

It would have been so much better for the pipes to have been left off and supplied as a separate casting  -  curiously the original MTK ends were actually produced in that way so it was quite a retrograde step to change it.  For any future builds, now that I know I'll file off all the pipes completely and reinstate them with separate ones. 

Edited August 11, 2022 by 74009

[pete_mcfarlane]

On 01/09/2021 at 22:25, 74009 said:

Where there are pieces of trunking that need to be a mirror image of each other, I super-glue together 4 pieces of brass rod, make the bends and then separate them.

Now that is a brilliant idea. I shall be doing that in future. 

[74009]

Thanks Pete.  I always think that consistency is more important than absolute accuracy in things like that - so even if the shape's not perfect at least they all match!

 

Edited September 4, 2021 by 74009

[KeithHC]

Is the 207 a dc kits model? Great work on all of them very much on my wish list along with a 4LAV and 4COR/BUF etc……..

 

Keith

[74009]

Hi Keith,

 

The 207 is MTK as well - I've started a short thread about it here : 

Best regards

 

Stuart

[74009]

The EPBs are pretty much finished now.  There's a little bit more to do - I'll add a cab interior and maybe some lights, and I may redo the saloon glazing as it hasn't adhered that well and has started to pop away from the sides.

 

Now that they're complete, there's not actually that much difference in appearance between the MTK 4-EPB and the No Nonsense Kits 2-EPB (although both have NNK cab ends, which does help).  The underframe detail is far better on the 2-EPB though.

 

All the 2-EPBs had the low roofline, but I chose a high roofline for the 4-EPB as this distinctive feature makes it stand out.  I actually have one NNK 4-EPB kit still to build - this will also have the high roofline, but will be in blue and grey.

 

The MTK '207' is done too (other thread) - so I'm back to the 4-DD next.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by 74009

[muddy water]

Lovely!

What motor  did you use to power them?

[74009]

On 08/11/2021 at 22:52, muddy water said:

Lovely!

What motor  did you use to power them?

 

Thanks Muddy Water - sorry, I've only just seen your question.

 

The 2-EPB has a Black Beetle motor bogie, and also has pickups on 6 wheels of the motor coach and 4 wheels of the trailer.  It runs very well but is slightly noisier in one direction than the other - I'm hoping this will disappear with running in.

 

The 4-EPB actually has a chopped up chassis from a Hornby class 73.  The MTK bodies were quite narrow at the bottom and the 73 chassis, being of reduced width too, just about fit.  The motor is the later type, not the ringfield, and this runs very nicely.  I had to put a fair bit of weight in the power car to enable it to move the rest of the train (which is heavy) without slipping, but having done this the performance is good.