Adventures in kit and scratch-building.

[sej]

Having fitted the cab, I sorted out a piece of brass tubing.

 

Slit it with the piercing saw.

 

Folded out the fire-box.

 

And it fits, hurrah!

 

Cheers

Simon

[warren haywood]

Loving this, 2mm scale, wow

Hope it's going to be in full London Livery, now that will be the ultimate micro paint job :-)

[sej]

Hi Warren, is that the livery with all the little curlicue fiddly bits? I would need my single badger-bristle brush and the ability to slow my heart rate to prevent unnecessary seismic movements, so sadly no. LMS livery is good for me I think. However, when I get round to a 7mm version...perhaps you might be interested?

 

Here's some 2mm progress.

 

I sanded a slight bevel into the edges of the splashers to help seat the tops...

 

Which were formed from rolled strips of thin nickel-silver.

 

These were soldered from inside...

 

With the curves smoothed to join the footplate.

 

Cheers

Simon

 

 

[N15class]

Stunning work as usual. I would be happy in 7mm let alone 2mm.

[sej]

Thanks Peter, very kind of you to say so!

 

More spinning:

 

I mark any "tight" spots where the boiler pushes the splashers outwards.

 

Then use a cylindrical oil stone to shape the splashers for a good fit.

 

I marked out a little fold-up smoke-box saddle.

 

Checked the level with the boiler/smokebox in place.

 

Soldered on the wrapper.

 

For a final check.

 

The small gap at the bottom of the firebox is filled later by some little covers.

 

Cheers

Simon

 

 

[sej]

Next, the frame extensions and piano lid, (cover?) (front?); anyway it's very descriptive of the wiggly bit at the front...

 

 

Cheers

Simon

[N15class]

Fantastic work as usual. It certainly is beginning to look the part.

[sej]

Thankyou everyone:

 

Here I'm just adding the little covers at the bottom of the firebox and then trying things out for a fit on the N gauge chassis (2mm versions are also in the pipeline!).

 

 

Cheers

Simon

[sej]

Further Spinner details:

 

Various handrails on and off...

 

And some arc-welding for these beautiful NBrass  castings...

Cheers

Simon

 

 

[queensquare]

Really lovely work Simon and one of my favourite prototypes.

 

Jerry

[sej]

Thanks Jerry, the single wheelers are really beautiful locomotives, I think the GW Dean Singles just beat the Spinners into 2nd place, but only just!

Here's some more 2mm progress:

I built up some details using various bits and pieces to produce the smokebox door.

 

The driving wheel axlebox and springs...

 

And the whistle...

 

And here she is with the NBrass boiler fittings in place.

Cheers

Simon

 

[sej]

Hi, bit of an update, the main work is done, bar the painting and final details and it's the painting that's taking the time at the moment...blimey it's tricky in 2 mm!

 

Cheers

Simon

 

 

[Horsetan]

.....blimey it's tricky in 2 mm!....

 

My recent sight test at SpecSavers suggested I might not be up to the task of seeing much in 2mm scale anymore....

[DLT]

...blimey it's tricky in 2 mm!

 

Simon

 

But you seem to be striding along beautifully!

Dave.

[sej]

Thankyou both, I find high magnification and a hang-over, to steady the soldering hand, can be very helpful!

 

Cheers

Simon

[DLT]

Hmm, I would have thought a hangover would make you shake.....

[steve LY]

Hi Simon just a quick thanks for your two excellent books "scratch building model railway locomotives & your latest scratch building model railway tank loco's" fantastic reads full of useful info spoken in a tone of total understanding of your subject matter and the very people you are encouraging......the average joe of this great hobby of ours.

Can't wait for your next masterpiece.

 

 

so on the strength of both your books i'm having a bash at one of Hughes compound coal engines.......using the excellent London road model of Aspinall small boilered 0-8-0 has the main part of the build........(hope your next book .......can't wait) covers the joys of the flowing lines of outside cyl of the likes of webb's and Hughes compounds.

 

But once again thanks for an excellent read for the man in the street.....who possibly isn't yet up to the dizzy heights of some our great artists in the use of nickel silver and brass in the vibrant hobby of recreating machines of beauty what ever your choice of era or company steve LY.

[sej]

Thankyou very much indeed everyone; I think Steve sums it up really nicely in that you can make whatever you want and enjoy the challenges and skills gained in persuing a brilliant hobby.

Whilst I'm busy being challenged by the job of painting it, here are a few more pictures...

 

Cheers

Simon

 

[sej]

Getting there...

 

Here's the back-head:

 

 

And the crew:

 

Some touching up and transfers next and then possibly varnishing with Ronseal polyurethane satin (although I will be doing some experiments first!).

 

Cheers

Simon

[nick_bastable]

did I miss how your powering it ?

 

Nick

[sej]

Hi Nick, this one's got a cut-down Dapol Terrier in the tender. I hope to build another to 2mm/FS with a tender mounted motor powering the driving wheels.

 

Cheers

Simon

[nick_bastable]

Hi Nick, this one's got a cut-down Dapol Terrier in the tender. I hope to build another to 2mm/FS with a tender mounted motor powering the driving wheels.

 

Cheers

Simon

interesting that it pick ups ok  

 

want  to pm about selling the body ?

 

Nick

[Guest Lyonesse]

Great thread and the Spinner looks fantastic.  One observation though: the crimson lake finish looks rather dull.  I know people have views on whether gloss finishes work in smaller scales but F. C. Hambleton in Locomotives Worth Modelling has a very florid description of how well groomed these locomotives were always kept.

[sej]

Great thread and the Spinner looks fantastic.  One observation though: the crimson lake finish looks rather dull.  I know people have views on whether gloss finishes work in smaller scales but F. C. Hambleton in Locomotives Worth Modelling has a very florid description of how well groomed these locomotives were always kept.

 

Thanks Lyonesse, it's an interesting question isn't it, that of relative shininess! The paint is Precision Crimson Lake and classed as "dull"; I think I might have used gloss if it were available, if only to help with the lining out. In fact I very rarely use gloss and particularly in 2mm scale there is the concept of viewing distances and so on.. Having said that, all my reference photos of the Spinner in the NRM, show it to have a very fine shine. So what to do? It's a minefield! I'm going to experiment with some Ronseal satin varnish and see what that does (on an old Airfix kit first)! Or perhaps a bit of polishing with nylon brush in the mini-drill?

 

Cheers

Simon

[warren haywood]

Hi Simon,

Anything that needs lining should always be painted gloss whatever the scale.

This can then be taken down with the varnish. For varnishing over enamel I have tried lots of methods but if you are going to use a polyeurathane varnish by far the best is Ronseal hardglaze (gloss) with Phoenix precision matting agent added. By varying the amounts of the matting agent the glossiness or flatness can be adjusted to your own preference. The problem with Matt and satin varnish as bought is that it's quite inconsistent and also has quite a grainy texture.

Another excellent method, which I now use exclusively is to use a gloss cellulose lacquer. This works over enamel but the mix must be sprayed at quite a high pressure with just a waft of lacquer coming out of the airbrush. Practice is he key but the final finish far exceeds any varnished model.

Hope this helps

Warren