LaScala Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Here is a long stalled rescue mission: a Springside 45xx that must be 25 yrs in the making. This was a pick up on a certain auction site about 18 months ago now at the head of the queue, more or less. The instructions are ancient and yellowed. I think it has tormented previous owners. I think there may have been two builders over the years, the first pretty good and the second a superglue freak. It has some very good features like neat rivets, clean castings, milled frames and lots of weight. It came about 50% built but the problems were:- · Springside wheels horribly wobbly, would never have run on even plain track · Brakes butchered with glue and hangers broken · Steps also smeared with treads in wrong places · Fit of roof and boiler woeful · Roof mangled · Some detail missing inc a buffer · An unbelievably basic motor mount Solutions intended so far are:- · Slaters wheels on order · Brakes and steps can be saved · Boiler now in straight line · New roof to be made · Laurie Griffin to rescue with details, Slaters with buffers · Replacement gearbox Not quite a lost cause, but the bill for bits will approach 100 notes............... It won't ever approach Ozzyo's Mitchell but I hope it will be presentable Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendy1 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Hi I did something similar last year. I bought a part (badly) built springside 45xx from ebay and ended up dissolving away the araldite joints and remaking them with solder. My wheels were originally somewhat wobbly but i managed to get them almost true. The chassis runs fairly smoothly now but i may replace the wheels with new ones eventually. I have not completed it yet but it has been enjoyable to get it to a reasonable standard. There is something nice about the weight of the loco compared with brass kits. Good luck with your rebuild. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaScala Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 Hi I did something similar last year. I bought a part (badly) built springside 45xx from ebay and ended up dissolving away the araldite joints and remaking them with solder. My wheels were originally somewhat wobbly but i managed to get them almost true. The chassis runs fairly smoothly now but i may replace the wheels with new ones eventually. I have not completed it yet but it has been enjoyable to get it to a reasonable standard. There is something nice about the weight of the loco compared with brass kits. Good luck with your rebuild. Tony It's a shame about the wheels, they look terrific better than Slaters IMHO, but two out of three are shockers, there is no chance of the rods ever fitting, let alone the crosshead clearing. I have spent ages on that safety valve cover and it's still not level. Likewise the parallel section of the boiler behind the smoke box. It was not square against the tanks and was too long. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendy1 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Looking at the photos you posted several of the washout plugs are not seated properly and look like they stick out way above the surface. Strangely all my washout plugs were the same when I bought the model. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaScala Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Looking at the photos you posted several of the washout plugs are not seated properly and look like they stick out way above the surface. Strangely all my washout plugs were the same when I bought the model. Tony Yes the washout plugs are nothing like they should be. I think cutting them off and drilling them out is the answer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaScala Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Have cobbled the bits together on the dud wheels. Chimney is better seated but smokebox saddle is far from flat. SV still not level, might be time to surrender on that. Also decided to persevere with the roof because it has good rivet detail but will need new rain strips and more fettling. The front buffer beam needs brass behind it to give it some beef. I can't see it withstanding any kind of drawhook load. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzyo Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 For a 25+ year old kit in white metal that don't look to bad. When I'm fitting the S/V bonnet, what I do is to "mill" out the seating face (this is only about 10 thou deep) so that you only have about 1mm around the edge , then it's filing the edge to get it to sit right. All it takes is a bit of time to get them to sit right. OzzyO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hal Nail Posted March 8, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 8, 2012 and ended up dissolving away the araldite joints How do you do that please? I know glue is generally frowned upon but if properly prepared and sufaces cleaned first does it last? In other words would you always remove glue or if the joints seem strong is it best left? Sorry for slight hijack but it is relevant! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendy1 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 How do you do that please? I know glue is generally frowned upon but if properly prepared and sufaces cleaned first does it last? In other words would you always remove glue or if the joints seem strong is it best left? Sorry for slight hijack but it is relevant! There are several ways of doing this. For my 45xx i immersed the whole body in a container of nitromors overnight. This effectively softens then araldite and the pieces fall away from each other and it then becomes easy to clean off all the bits of softened aradite from the parts. You have to be careful with nitromors as it can burn the skin so you need to wear gloves and work in a ventilated room. It works very well though. This is for an unpainted model of course! You can also do things like putting the model in a freezer overnight when the joints become brittle. If you search rmweb there are several discussions about doing this withseveral variations. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaScala Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 For a 25+ year old kit in white metal that don't look to bad. When I'm fitting the S/V bonnet, what I do is to "mill" out the seating face (this is only about 10 thou deep) so that you only have about 1mm around the edge , then it's filing the edge to get it to sit right. All it takes is a bit of time to get them to sit right. OzzyO. Thanks Oz, I did make some progress with SV last night and have almost got it level. The smokebox saddle is also sitting on the footplate a bit better, close enough to be filled I think. My rescue of the rear steps might be in vain as the backs are so chunky, see pic. That "steel" must be a scale 6" thick! What would be a suitable source for washout plug replacements anyone? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzyo Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Hello LaScala, I used some turned ones from Warren Shephard (www.warrenshephard.com) 10 @ £2.50, 25 @ £6.00 or 50 @ £11.00. You can see them in use in my build thread in Mess. # 215 on page 9. OzzyO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaScala Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 Hello LaScala, I used some turned ones from Warren Shephard (www.warrenshephard.com) 10 @ £2.50, 25 @ £6.00 or 50 @ £11.00. You can see them in use in my build thread in Mess. # 215 on page 9. OzzyO. Thanks Oz, will have a look Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaScala Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 Shephard washout plugs on order, meanwhile not a great deal of progress apparent but soldering of front end much more substantial. Fit is still poor so filler will have to be used. Trial fit of front stay illustrated. Hopefully wheels will arrive this week and attention transferred to getting chassis running. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaScala Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Slaters buffers have arrived ahead of wheels. Big improvement but left hand one not quite straight in cruel scrutiny of photo. A bit difficult to clamp, sneak the iron in and get dissimilar metals to join. The beauties and limitations of whitemetal illustrated only too well however; plus:- excellent rivets, minus:- heavy & uneven edges............. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hal Nail Posted March 15, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 15, 2012 minus:- heavy and uneven edges............. True but easy to file down to a finer edge and instantly rewarding! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 On white metal kits I often replaced the footplate with brass sheet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiebrfan Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Looking great so far, good luck with the rest this. What livery/no. will you be finishing this as? Regards Glenn Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaScala Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 True but easy to file down to a finer edge and instantly rewarding! In the flesh it's not as bad as this pic infers. Easy to wipe out those nice rivets too........ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaScala Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Looking great so far, good luck with the rest this. What livery/no. will you be finishing this as? Regards Glenn Good old Land Rover Mid Bronze Bronze aka post 1928 GWR green Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaScala Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 On white metal kits I often replaced the footplate with brass sheet. Very tough ask with this kit as valance was cast with footplate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hal Nail Posted March 16, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 16, 2012 In the flesh it's not as bad as this pic infers. Easy to wipe out those nice rivets too........ Yes admittedly you do have to be careful! My own model has been on the go for about 20 years now... I thinned down just about every visible edge, around the inside of the cab openings, bunker and tank tops, footplate edge and the backs of those steps you've already mentioned. You need to take your time obviously - but not necessarily quite as long as I have! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffP Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 LOL, twenty years..........not laughing at YOU, just comparing it with how fast Jazz of this forum works. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaScala Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Front end looking a bit more the part. Some things just take a long time. The coal doors on the back of the cab are well detailed but the fit was nowhere near. Half an hour just to get two tiny flat bits in. I have not been going for >20 yrs but this kit has. The instructions are dated 1987 and came from a manual typewriter. They are yellow and almost brittle. If only it went together like an Airfix kit, Jazz might have some competition. Wheels did not arrive from Slaters so have to persevere with body. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I know what you mean. I have had a week of bits taking there time on the Ivatt rebuild. I am now nearly where I was at the begining of the week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaScala Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 Not much to report as wheels are no show and other goodies are still on the way from UK. Would like to get it mobile before finishing small details. In the meantime, some modest progress with getting unsightly gaps closed up and it generally looking a bit less like whitemetal......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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