Austin 7, Alan Gibson kit

[Michael Delamar]

I decided to spray the wheels and rods in place, but before I did that I filled in the Romford Markits nuts with evergreen filler, the advantage of this is that it can be easily dug out if needed to get a wheel off. I smoothed down the filler and put a very small hole with a drill to represent the hole in the axle on the prototype. It was then masked roughly not worrying too much just protecting the gearbox and pickups mainly and then it was primered and painted black with the paint scraped off. The inside valve gear crank which was a washer over the 2nd axle Ive cut to make a U shape so the body can be removed.

 

[PGC]

I decided to spray the wheels and rods in place, but before I did that I filled in the Romford Markits nuts with evergreen filler, the advantage of this is that it can be easily dug out if needed to get a wheel off. I smoothed down the filler and put a very small hole with a drill to represent the hole in the axle on the prototype. It was then masked roughly not worrying too much just protecting the gearbox and pickups mainly and then it was primered and painted black with the paint scraped off. The inside valve gear crank which was a washer over the 2nd axle Ive cut to make a U shape so the body can be removed.

 

SAM_3203.JPG

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That's a neat trick, masking the chassis like that, and one I hadn't though of before. The wheeled loco does look lovely - I wish I could find an excuse to run one of these in Norfolk!

 

Thanks for the inspiration Mike, both with loco and painting!

 

Phil

[Michael Delamar]

thanks you could spend time masking better that was just a quick 5 minute job.

 

the loco has been getting some coal this afternoon.

[Michael Delamar]

Ive now given her some weathering.

 

[Michael Delamar]

cheers its had a little more weathering now, smooth out some rough edges such as under the boiler, the loco is more black in real life than grey looking, ill take another pic in better conditions later.

[Michael Delamar]

Shunting empty coal wagons, Liverpool docks 1959.

 

Edited June 9, 2014 by Michael Delamar

[Jamiel]

Wow, that is a fantastic loco you have built. The weathering really brings out the detail. You should feel very proud.

[Michael Delamar]

thanks its now had 3 links fitted at both ends, some lamps and a crew next.

[Downendian]

Looks an absolute beauty Michael, I love these big freight hauling steamers.

Tis a credit to you.

Neil

[Michael Delamar]

Thanks Neil, its taken long enough

[Michael Delamar]

A shot of her on our clubs test  track with a heavy train which she handles with ease.

 

[gaf2u]

Michael

I've read your thread with interest as I too complete a Gibson 7F kit. Your finished model looks fantastic, and has spurred me to drive ahead and finish mine. There were some really useful insights from both your and Coachman through the thread and I've taken you up on suggestions as follows, and per photo's attached.

1) I formed and fitted a 1.5mm square section all around the inside of the firebox front joint, to enable me form a rounded rather than square edge on the outside. I'm delighted with the result, so thanks to your club colleague for that suggestion.

2) I took Coachman's advice around adding two small sections at right angles to and inside the rear of the cab-sides to facilitate the handrail and strengthen the cab itself.

3) Likewise, I added a formed stiffening rib to the underside of the can roof. It is oversized compared to the real thing in one of your photos, but has made the roof considerably more rigid. 

 

I love the Gibson kits but I do have to take my time forming the likes of the can roof and firebox surround to get them right. It is always worth the effort. I've included a shot of the completed tender superstructure for the 7F, along with Gibson and London Road Models Jinty's that I've completed in past months (both with CSB suspension). There's a queue forming at the paintshop!!

I've made up a 3rd coupling rod for each side, and this will allow me split the kit supplied etches and form knuckles at each crankpin to facilitate a CSB suspension on the 7F too (see 1st photo). I'll post again when I make some more progress, but my bench attendance is sporadic, so could be a while.

 

Thanks again for a great thread.

Darren

 

[gaf2u]

Been a while, between travel for work and family events. Anyway, finally finished (well practically - whistle and lamp irons missing) the engine and can now place it beside the tender for a look-see.

 

It is a lovely kit, but challenging insofar as the boiler tube is quite a heavy gauge (about 1mm wall thickness) and is therefore a significant heat sink. Thus soldering anything to it, even with my 75 watt iron takes time and effort. It is quite long too so I couldn't get my iron into the back of the smokebox door to solder it in situ, and had to do so from the outside which is messy. 

I took Coachman's advice again and left off the etched boiler bands, in part because again it was so difficult to solder them to the heavy boiler tube, and also because I've used tape instead before for perfectly satisfactory results.

 

Here you go anyways.

Major superstructure items in place

 

RHS with all detail attached

 

From the front - fitted handles and piston rod covers as advised earlier in this thread

 

Paired up with the tender

 

It's off to the chassis now. Intend on a CSB approach, but will have to see which axle I can drive first from a motor located in the firebox. Hopefully the last one, beneath the cab.

Darren

[gaf2u]

Final assembly has been a long time coming, between summer holidays, work travel, Christmas and so forth (along with avoiding the ire of SWMBO by disappearing to the workbench too often)

I'finished the 7F, and then decided that a sister in the form of a G2a would be nice to accompany her! Hence the Mercian model in the images below. It made it further down the painting queue too. I'm going to Missenden in March for some painting tuition, so will most likely take the 7F along to same for my 'apprenticeship'.

 

First the 7F, with CSB chassis wheeled, painted and motorised. Used a 1426 motor and 38:1 Comet GB5 and DE50 extender as they fitted nicely between the frames. I didn't clean it prior to the photo, so apologies on that front.

 

Apologies for the deviation from the thread topic now, but a Super D G2a isn't a mile away from the Austin 7, arguably the elder sister!

 

The Mercian loco and tender. This was a slow one to build, in part because it was my first time building this loco, along with the kit itself requiring more time than others I'm more used to (not helped by scant instructions).

 

Accompanied by Comet chassis (CSB fitted), 1424 motor, High Level SLC+ gearbox and drive extender, and excellent Bill Bedford coupling rods. I love the assembly approach for these - so simple and effective.

 

Now with loco and tender coated with etch primer. I did some filling to the boiler whitemetal castings, but more to do there, and around tender top. Overall the quality of all of the whitemetal castings was only OK. I replaced the buffers with Gibson spring ones, which look much better.

 

Post final assembly. The firebox can only take the 1424 motor and no flywheel, so will see in due course how this performs whenever I get to building a layout.

 

Very happy with the final result, regardless of the time and effort required to get there. Ironic that I could go to Warley and buy a Bachman equivalent for £90 just after finishing this one. Such is life....

 

 

 

[Jol Wilkinson]

 

Very happy with the final result, regardless of the time and effort required to get there. Ironic that I could go to Warley and buy a Bachman equivalent for £90 just after finishing this one. Such is life....

Anybody could do that, but you have a unique and special model.

[gaf2u]

Took a while - I've been collecting a brace of engines on my painting bench, so finally bit the bullet and got permission from SWMBO to spend the first 3 days of the holidays finishing them. 

I need to install pick-ups, and trim the crank pins on the Austin 7, but otherwise good to go!

 

 

Here's her sister, the G2a, just finished similarly.

 

[Brocp]

Great models there!. Quick question, should the Super D have a front number plate? Most ex LNWR locos didn't have them.

[Jamiel]

Great models there!. Quick question, should the Super D have a front number plate? Most ex LNWR locos didn't have them.

Interesting point, they were rare on a G2A, but 9263 did have one in LMS days. Photo from http://www.railalbum.co.uk/steam-locomotives/lnwr-080-1.htm

 

 

I love the Austin 7 model and the G2a, lovely work, as with others who have posted here. I wish Alan Gibson would run another batch, hopefully it will come around before too long.

Edited August 3, 2017 by Jamiel

[Jamiel]

I am probably going to kick my self for this, as I can not afford one at the moment, but Alan Gibson currently have the kit for sale. They had one boxed at the York show today, and also have others back at the workshop about 10 I think was mentioned.

If there is a rush on them and I miss out, perhaps the interest will lead to another batch.

Jamie

[gaf2u]

Bringing this thread back to life again as I am in the middle of building (very slowly) two more 8 coupled locos, an Alan Gibson SDJR 7F, a DJH Stanier 8F, along with having just finished an Alan Gibson Stanier Class 5. I love the Gibson kits, but both the 7F and Black 5 did prove less than straightforward.

 

The 7F kit is unusual in that the footplate and chassis are a single integrated assembly which makes combining the firebox/boiler, motor/gearbox and frames/wheels together a bit trickier than normal. I was scratching my head a little while but eventually resolved the puzzle per the picture below. My usual approach of painting chassis and wheels separately, and mating them thereafter also proved trickier, but got there in the end (with some choice language along the way. I am now stuck though as attaching the radius rod/ combination lever/union link assembly to the crosshead and expansion link mounting has demonstrated that something is wrong. In essence the combination lever pivots on the end of the radius rod, and the arc described by the top of the combination lever is greater that the clearance available inside the dummy valve box. I've tried some judicious filing, and moved the mounting point at the expansion link end but to no avail as yet. Ideas welcome. I love the model and can't wait to get it moving under it's own power. 

 

[gaf2u]

I couldn't figure out how to add more text to the above post, so will follow on with another. 

 

I usually use a CSB approach to suspension but on this occasion, given the complexities of the integrated footplate and frames, I elected for a Jazz type approach and sprung the two innermost drive axles as shown, and slightly oversized the associated holes in the coupling rods. Can't say if this is successful as yet insofar as I haven't added pickups and tried the loco under power.  It does seem to run very smoothly under finger power.

[gaf2u]

The DJH 8F is a little different from a chassis perspective in that it has the more traditional separate chassis and footplate/body. On this occasion I binned the DJH chassis altogether and used a Perseverance chassis kit for an 8F. It uses a flexi-chassis type arrangement for the front pair of axles, and equalising beams inside the frames for the rear pair of axles. Seems to run really smoothly - I'm very hapy with is one. Build is stalled while I await a new worm for the gearbox from Chris at High Level Gears as I used a motor with a 2mm shaft versus the worm I purchased having a 1.5mm bore.

Motor is retained by the ring shown, which has a transverse tube underneath, and a 0.7mm rod is thread through the frames and this tube which allows the motor/gearbox assembly pivot slightly with suspension movements, but retains it in position from a torque reaction perspective.

 

[gaf2u]

I mentioned the Gibson Black 5 earlier - a beautiful kit now that it's finished. Again a bit slower to build and main problem was that the boiler was too short by about 1.5mm. Filled the gap with low melt solder, and used transfers for rivets before painting. CSB suspension, and runs like a dream.

Camera cruelty - the glazing will have to be done again on one of the cab windows, and the 3-link coupling needs to be chemically blackened.

 

[gaf2u]

By the way, if anyone has a set of instructions for the Gibson Stanier 2-6-4T kit I'd be very appreciative of a copy - seem to have misplaced mine. She's next on the list.

Cheers

Darren

[Blandford1969]

Very nice building as usual. Out of curiosity, how do you then attach the boiler on the 7f is it screwed in?