dibateg Posted March 15, 2019 Author Share Posted March 15, 2019 Nearly there - the sanding mechanism either side of the smokebox was a right battle. Both castings seems to be for the left hand side. So the right hand one had to be cut up with the piercing saw into it's component parts - it's longer and the cranks are separate ( 9F parts to the rescue again! ). A job that should take 15 mins took an hour... I've reworked the brakes and re-sited the hangers, they look a lot better. The steps actually fitted without any modification! Roof, chimney and dome not yet fixed... Next... lets get it working.... 8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Holt Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 It might be proving to be a battle, but the result is coming along very nicely. Had hoped to have a good look at the real thing at the SVR, today, but apparently it failed in service before I could get close. As a matter of interest, what became of the Bulleid pacific? Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 Thanks Dave - the BLP will be back next, the Coal Tank was actually in the build slot ahead of it.. Nearly there, I also scratched up the outriggers on the frames, it looked empty without them. The reworked insulated brake gear is now fitted. Just a few jobs left, fixing the boiler mountings, balance weights, wood ends to the buffer beams, tidying and any other odd details I've missed.... The pick ups and motor are in place , she'll be ready for a track test, maybe next week. It will have proper crankpin nuts on the final assembly. 8 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted March 17, 2019 Author Share Posted March 17, 2019 The innermost workings, more work on the brakes to come and some more tidying. The 6 foot reverse curve test. Track test next week... This piece of wood sits in the corner of my room, 4ft curve in the foreground, that one is a test! 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted March 30, 2019 Author Share Posted March 30, 2019 After a little break, I'm back to it ( apart from being recruited for gardening duties by the boss ) and I'm pressing on with the BLP brake gear. With care it goes together nicely to create this small piece of art. I drilled out and pinned the brake blocks as pressing out the half etch dimples were not substantial enough to represent the pins. 6 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Holt Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Very nice. Just spent part of the afternoon oiling all the joints in that lot on P&O at Toddington! Dave. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 Thanks Dave - I like the SR Pacific running gear - they look purposeful and chunky, with lots of distinctive details. I seem to have sorted all the brake clearances now, so I'll press on and fit it out and get it running... 8 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 A days work has got me to this, what I did do, was inset the wheel overlays as fitted flush they made the rims look to chunky. That meant carving out the plastic beading next to the rim, which was fun. It pushes up and down the test track ok, which is a start. 8 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CME and Bottlewasher Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 Superb! Great progress and dedication. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted April 9, 2019 Author Share Posted April 9, 2019 The cab has absorbed some time and I'm afraid it looks somewhat solder drenched. It's not as tidy as I'd like, but it's mostly on the inside. I modified the internal framing ( unless I got it wrong ) as it didn't conceal the line of rivets below the windows. I separated it into roof and sides to install it. Fitting out the inside of the cab is fiddly and I had to resort to a smaller bit on the iron to get in there. Everything fits nicely, but there is also a lot of surface mounting of components. Hence the solder. I got into a knot with the inner window frames as they would not drop into the gap left by the modified framing.. grrr, I should have fitted them immediately after! So I cut them into separate pieces to trim and install. So, yes, some tidying up to do... Attached to the boiler and plonked on to the chassis, it's starting to take shape. It's an impressive machine.. The chassis ran up and down the 6 foot reverse curve with no shorts - which is amazing... At least I don't have to put handrails along the boiler, but there is masses of other detail. 7 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 Work in progress on the front platform, and observing the different conduit arrangements for the lights. One thing to watch out for is the 'lid' over the AWS battery box. It should have an upturn flange at the back, otherwise it sits too far forward. That nearly caught me out! I couldn't think of a way of making the access covers on the lighting conduit. Don't tell me now. Getting those half circle is behind the side lamps was a right fiddle! Looking at the buffers, I think 34091 had parallel ones... that's under investigation... 10 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted April 16, 2019 Author Share Posted April 16, 2019 So a revision of the front end, I've used MOK LMS self contained buffers as 34091 appears to have had that style, and I also reworked the conduit to the lamps. A days work has seen the body detailed, but those rails at the top of the side were fiddly adding little loops of etched brass and suchlike. The unsightly black smudges are Loctite 483, my superglue of choice. It is just staining. The actual moulding is perfect, but on later engines the front sanders were omitted, hence the filler. All those brass bits need carefully shaping to fit the profile of the roof. 6 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 I couldn't work out how to get a convincing join to the moulded atomiser pipes on the front of the smokebox. So off they came and I made up new ones from copper wire. Another job that just takes patience and time, but is worth the effort. Drilling 15 0.4mm holes in the atomiser castings was good for the soul. To be fair they are very tidy and all of the cast holes were there, they just needed to be made a little deeper to take the pipes. Some tidying up still to do... 3 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doilum Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 The detail and execution are exquisite. At the risk of whispering heresy, dare I raise my reservations about the lump of resin. Whilst a perfect air smoothed casing might work in the smaller scales, a 7mm version needs to reflect the patchwork of riveted panels of the prototype. These could be from 10 thou brass over a true to scale framework and come with a warning to handle carefully. Sadly, this is a favourite prototype beyond my skillset. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 Thank you doilum - it's a valid point, the resin casing is perfectly moulded. We do tend to make our model more perfect than the prototype. When you look at photos of the real thing, there is battered and flaking paintwork, tatty panelling etc. Getting that to look right in model form is difficult... Skillset - that developed over years of loco building, I still think I can do better, I used to be known as Mr Blobby for my awful soldering... Regards Tony 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doilum Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 On the plus side: no walschaerts valve gear (although I have t shirts for A4, V2 and the 3MT tank) , but that brake gear is something else! Perhaps there should be a Finney kit on the bucket list. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 Doilum, I have to agree now I have 3! In my to do one day draw. I have started 2 of them with the tenders. I really need to pluck up the courage to start to build the chassis. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard i Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 18 hours ago, doilum said: The detail and execution are exquisite. At the risk of whispering heresy, dare I raise my reservations about the lump of resin. Whilst a perfect air smoothed casing might work in the smaller scales, a 7mm version needs to reflect the patchwork of riveted panels of the prototype. These could be from 10 thou brass over a true to scale framework and come with a warning to handle carefully. Sadly, this is a favourite prototype beyond my skillset. Or hit the resin casting with a hammer lightly and it will give a slightly irregular pattern. go on I dare you.......or perhaps try on an off cut. love the build so far. richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Holt Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 (edited) Although these locos were often seen with crinkled casing, I'm not sure that it would look right on a model. Happy to be proven wrong by anyone brave enough. Dave. Edited April 18, 2019 by Dave Holt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted April 18, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 18, 2019 2 hours ago, Dave Holt said: Although these locos were often seen with crinkled casing, I'm not sure that it would look right on a model. Happy to be proven wrong by anyone brave enough. Dave. Tony only needs to send it to me to paint, voila, crinkled casing! Mike. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Michael Edge Posted April 18, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 18, 2019 Years ago I built a West Country in 7mm from a Ravenscale kit, this had separate etched panels for all the casing. When assembled (quite carefully in this case but they could have been a bit battered) it had much more of the appearance it should have had, as you say many models are actually too perfect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted April 29, 2019 Author Share Posted April 29, 2019 After another short break, we are on the home (ish ) straight.. Sorting out and understanding the pipework. The multiple lubricator pipes pass up and into the cladding leaving two pipes that run along the bottom edge of the casing. They are sometimes tatty, sometimes not, one dips down with some sort of drain aft of the slidebars. the inner one is wiggles around but that cannot be seen from a normal viewpount. The steam heating pipe comes to a union under the drivers side, then changes size as it is often lagged. As Mick D found, the truck was sitting too low, that might need a little more fettling. The front sanding hatch has been filled. The screws for the brake hangers come from the inside, as I don't like visible screw heads. There will be some fiddling to ensure that on final assembly. I've sprayed the backs of and behind the deflectors black as I couldn't figure a way of making them removable. Broadside view, I did try to make the pipe unions for the lubrication feeds, but failed to make 40 consistently. I think if you can't make consistent and good detail, leave it off.. Forward brake hanger has the screwhead showing as I forgot to fit it before the motor... that's going to be interesting putting them from the inside. The drawbar pin is a screw that goes in from underneath... simples.. Final body detail next, backhead and track test... 7 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted May 3, 2019 Author Share Posted May 3, 2019 The backhead has a remarkable amount of pipework and reference to prototype photos helps, although things are often changed in preservation. The AWS fittings alter how things are laid out I also scratched up the valve assembly next to the firehole door cylinder. Next a tidy up and paint in all the necessary bits. 3 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted May 3, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 3, 2019 2 hours ago, dibateg said: The backhead has a remarkable amount of pipework and reference to prototype photos helps, although things are often changed in preservation. The AWS fittings alter how things are laid out I also scratched up the valve assembly next to the firehole door cylinder. Next a tidy up and paint in all the necessary bits. Where is the Insane icon when you need it! Mike. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deano747 Posted May 3, 2019 Share Posted May 3, 2019 1 hour ago, Enterprisingwestern said: Where is the Insane icon when you need it! Mike. Couldn't agree more!! That is one amazing work of art! (I do like to see good plumbing!) Regards, Deano. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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