Wright writes.....

[Wingman Mothergoose]

21 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Good morning Jesse,

 

I don't know; the way you describe yourself! You're none of those things...................

 

Everything's BR, so probably not. 

 

One Hornby Brit that needs fixing.

One Bachmann K3 (a good runner).

One Bachmann B1 (typical split chassis wobble).

One Bachmann J39 (A good runner).

One Millholme 2P (heavy, and with a K's HP2M motor! Yet, it runs).

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Although the K3 might be more up my street. I have an LNER liveried example that doesn’t fit my chosen era.....

 

Chris

[Tony Wright]

Just now, Wingman Mothergoose said:

Although the K3 might be more up my street. I have an LNER liveried example that doesn’t fit my chosen era.....

 

Chris

Good morning Chris,

 

What I'll do is thoroughly check the models over (I know the Brit needs fixing), and then post pictures of them. They'll only be offered for sale once I'm happy with them (I'm happy enough with both the K3 and the J39 as it is, though not the original B1. In the case of the last-mentioned, it'll probably be offered as a 'runner', but not that good a one!). 

 

If you're happy with the locos' appearances, make me an offer by PM, please.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[The Fatadder]

6 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

The "I" in "THIRD" seems to have disappeared - Rich @The Fatadder, you don't need to worry about your "GRE T WESTERN" transfer after all!

Funny, I hadn’t noticed that when looking at the photo, yet when I did it on the H33 it was blindingly obvious.  Though looking again I think that’s because part of the A is still there moved up against the T.  

It is one of those things that if you were to model that coach accurately, it would look wrong!

 

the model in question, a Comet sides on a Hornby H33 body, rebuilt chassis and roof, replacement ends, and my first attempt at hand lining.  (As well as needing the aforementioned A in great it is also still needs numbering

[Iain.d]

Among other things, I have steadily been building a Roxey Mouldings SR Maunsell Low Window 3 coach set. They are nearing completion, this is them at the final ‘test’ build. I’ve still to do toilet vents and rain strips on the roofs, they’ll be added after the final scrub, and on the under frame I’ve still to fit the brake gear, reservoirs and the second battery box; I think the early low window stock had one each side. All being well over the weekend they will be washed and, if time allows, I’ll get a coat of primer on them.  

 

 

 

 

The roofs aren’t perfect, I struggled to get the fit right. There was a fair amount of recutting and inserting thin strips of plastic card, filler, sanding and so on! More to do with my inability to cut things in a straight line (even when using a ruler and scalpel!) than the moulding design. 

 

I did a few mods, I put an additional 1/2mm spacer between the bogie and the floor pan and moved the bogies centres out 2mm. My concern was that on OO track the bogies would clatter the underframe trussing and the solebar and it’s easier to change it now than after they are painted. It would take a sharp eyed person to notice and the mods can easily be undone.

 

 

The kits don’t come with interiors other than the corridor screen and ‘half height’ partitions so I made up some seats from plastic card. Ratio seats couldn’t be used as the edge of the seat can be seen through the windows, Kirk ones would do but I didn’t have enough. I think they look okay, shame you can’t see them very well when they are fitted in the coach.

 

There were some frustrations building them but I’m pretty pleased how they have gone together, they were a bit fiddley but not difficult. I’m contemplating doing another set, I have two Hornby sets, and they are finished beautifully, but I think there’s just something more satisfying about something you did yourself!

 

Cheers,

 

Iain

 

Edited May 15, 2020 by Iain.d
Typo

[Clive Mortimore]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

Good morning John,

 

I haven't tried the stainless steel-tyred drivers yet (I have another J6 to build which will have them). 

 

Might the coefficient of friction between steel and nickel silver be greater than between nickel silver and nickel silver? I'm not a metallurgist, so I have no idea. 

 

I suppose nothing looks like steel than steel, and the new drivers have a 'cooler' look to the colour of their tyres. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Hello Tony

 

Bearing surfaces are usually of different metals to reduce the coefficient fiction.

[Taz]

31 minutes ago, Iain.d said:

Among other things, I have steadily been building a Roxey Mouldings SR Maunsell Low Window 3 coach set. They are nearing completion, this is them at the final ‘test’......

They look really good.

Can I ask how you’ve done the instep between the passenger and luggage accommodation on the brake?

it isn’t clear from the photos but it looks like a neat solution.

[Headstock]

47 minutes ago, Iain.d said:

Among other things, I have steadily been building a Roxey Mouldings SR Maunsell Low Window 3 coach set. They are nearing completion, this is them at the final ‘test’ build. I’ve still to do toilet vents and rain strips on the roofs, they’ll be added after the final scrub, and on the under frame I’ve still to fit the brake gear, reservoirs and the second battery box; I think the early low window stock had one each side. All being well over the weekend they will be washed and, if time allows, I’ll get a coat of primer on them. 

 

The roofs aren’t perfect, I struggled to get the fit right. There was a fair amount of recutting and inserting thin strips of plastic card, filler, sanding and so on! More to do with my inability to cut things in a straight line (even when using a ruler and scalpel!) than the moulding design. 

 

I did a few mods, I put an additional 1/2mm spacer between the bogie and the floor pan and moved the bogies centres out 2mm. My concern was that on OO track the bogies would clatter the underframe trussing and the solebar and it’s easier to change it now than after they are painted. It would take a sharped eyed person to notice and the mods can easily be undone.

 

The kits don’t come with interiors other than the corridor screen and ‘half height’ partitions so I made up some seats from plastic card. Ratio seats couldn’t be used as the edge of the seat can be seen through the windows, Kirk ones would do but I didn’t have enough. I think they look okay, shame you can’t see them very well when they are fitted in the coach.

 

There were some frustrations building them but I’m pretty pleased how they have gone together, they were a bit fiddley but not difficult. I’m contemplating doing another set, I have two Hornby sets, and they are finished beautifully, but I think there’s just something more satisfying about something you did yourself!

 

Cheers,

 

Iain

 

 

Good morning Ian,

 

if you get a decent paint finish on that set, it will be far better than the Hornby version. The latter are very good models, but Hornby are not very good with colour and the 'jam jar' window effect can always be bettered by glazing on brass carriages. Your interiors are very nicely rendered, I especially like the light wood panels that looked so distinctive on these carriages when viewed through the corridor windows.

[Iain.d]

18 minutes ago, Taz said:

They look really good.

Can I ask how you’ve done the instep between the passenger and luggage accommodation on the brake?

it isn’t clear from the photos but it looks like a neat solution.

Thank you.

 

The instep was one of the frustrations! They are a whitemetal casting provided with the kit. However in one kit the casting was about 2mm too low so it’s built up to cantrail level with plastic and filler and sanded to shape. The other, while the right size had the feed pips for the casting on the outer face of the ‘joggle’ which made removal a bit more difficult that it needed to be. Its also about 1mm too wide so the coach side aren't quite parallel, but I don't think its noticeable. We shall see when the paint is on!

 

Cheers,

 

Iain

[Iain.d]

8 minutes ago, Headstock said:

 

Good morning Ian,

 

if you get a decent paint finish on that set, it will be far better than the Hornby version. The latter are very good models, but Hornby are not very good with colour and the 'jam jar' window effect can always be bettered by glazing on brass carriages. Your interiors are very nicely rendered, I especially like the light wood panels that looked so distinctive on these carriages when viewed through the corridor windows.

Hello Andrew,

 

These will be done in crimson and cream; I'll use Vallejo Carmine Red and Humbrol Cream (RC424). I find the Humbrol a bit gritty through the airbrush but hope to get a clean line between the two colours for the lining to sit over. I haven't found a suitable cream in Australia. You're right about the glazing on Hornby's, although I don't think the Maunsell's are as bad as the Bulleid's they do. I have cut the glazing for these from glass microscope slips, I think glass does make a difference. The interior panelling is a distinctive feature and the brass etching has the panels marked so it was reasonably easy to paint them.

 

Cheers,

 

Iain

 

[Taz]

18 minutes ago, Iain.d said:

Thank you.

 

The instep was one of the frustrations! They are a whitemetal casting provided with the kit. However in one kit the casting was about 2mm too low so it’s built up to cantrail level with plastic and filler and sanded to shape. The other, while the right size had the feed pips for the casting on the outer face of the ‘joggle’ which made removal a bit more difficult that it needed to be. Its also about 1mm too wide so the coach side aren't quite parallel, but I don't think its noticeable. We shall see when the paint is on!

 

Cheers,

 

Iain

Thanks.

Last year I built a couple of brass 4LAVs for Rod and John’s Balcombe layout. I built the insets up with filler But it is the area I am least happy with.

[Iain.d]

14 minutes ago, Taz said:

Thanks.

Last year I built a couple of brass 4LAVs for Rod and John’s Balcombe layout. I built the insets up with filler But it is the area I am least happy with.

 

Yes, that would be difficult. Assuming they're Roxey kits I'm surprised something wasn't included in the kits.

[Taz]

No, they were Worsley etches. So you just get the sides, ends and floors. Everything else you source yourself.

[Coach bogie]

15 hours ago, Bulwell Hall said:

Superb photos - any more GWR like that?  Just perfect for my 1940s period.  In due course I need a Restaurant Car exactly like that for my Weymouth - Paddington express.

 

Gerry

It is a H38 usually used on North to West cross country services. the only etch I am aware of was a set of sides by Tony Hammond. As you can see rule 1 applies and mine is boarded for Weymouth express.

 

Mike wiltshire

[New Haven Neil]

Experience with a small-ish live steam loco (7 1/4" gauge) with stainless steel tyres, is that they were awful, with very poor adhesion.  How that scales down I wait to see with interest.

[St Enodoc]

14 minutes ago, Coach bogie said:

It is a H38 usually used on North to West cross country services. the only etch I am aware of was a set of sides by Tony Hammond. As you can see rule 1 applies and mine is boarded for Weymouth express.

 

Mike wiltshire

Comet do the refurbished H38, which would be right for the 1940s.

[Tony Wright]

5 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Experience with a small-ish live steam loco (7 1/4" gauge) with stainless steel tyres, is that they were awful, with very poor adhesion.  How that scales down I wait to see with interest.

I won't know for a while, Neil,

 

The next J6 is way down in the list of priorities. 

 

I assume your live-steam loco was running on steel rail? 

 

Is there anyone out these who knows about the various properties of metals, please, particularly respective coefficients of friction? 

 

I think Markits has changed because of the increasing cost of nickel silver.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Headstock]

2 hours ago, Iain.d said:

Hello Andrew,

 

These will be done in crimson and cream; I'll use Vallejo Carmine Red and Humbrol Cream (RC424). I find the Humbrol a bit gritty through the airbrush but hope to get a clean line between the two colours for the lining to sit over. I haven't found a suitable cream in Australia. You're right about the glazing on Hornby's, although I don't think the Maunsell's are as bad as the Bulleid's they do. I have cut the glazing for these from glass microscope slips, I think glass does make a difference. The interior panelling is a distinctive feature and the brass etching has the panels marked so it was reasonably easy to paint them.

 

Cheers,

 

Iain

 

 

Ian,

 

to be fair to Hornby, their Crimson and cream is OK and quite nicely executed. They could do with a more realistic finish though, as they do have a very plastic look. Their war time / post-war greens, or rather green is a bit naff, they could benefit from a repaint, you have all the advantages of painting your own.

 

RC424, is that acrylic? I hardly ever touch the stuff. When compared to enamels, I find acrylics generally too coarse if a  good smooth surface is required. They are very convenient for anything black, like a bogie that will be weathered. Even then, I only use them if time is an issue. If I had a problem with a slightly gritty enamel pigment, I would recommend either a gloss  varnish mix with the paint in the airbrush cup/bottle, or a slow build up of very thin layers on a low pressure. The latter might work with acrylics, I'm not sure.

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

I won't know for a while, Neil,

 

The next J6 is way down in the list of priorities. 

 

I assume your live-steam loco was running on steel rail? 

 

Is there anyone out these who knows about the various properties of metals, please, particularly respective coefficients of friction? 

 

I think Markits has changed because of the increasing cost of nickel silver.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

I worked as a metallurgist for about 6 months, 27 years ago and specialised in spring steel.  My knowledge of the frictional properties of these materials is very limited, but what I can tell you is that in this application, matched wheel-rail profile is at least as important as material choice.  I seem to remember reading of this on the NYMR not so long ago, when the Schools Class suffered repeatedly from wheelslip.  After the wheels were turned to the correct profile on the lathe, the problem largely disappeared.

 

Generally similar metals will provide the best coefficient of friction, as under high contact pressure, one surface can begin to bond at the atomic level with the other; low amplitude vibration of contacting surfaces of similar metals can suffer the damage known as Galling, for this reason.  One surface can go into solid solution with the other and when the surfaces separate, they erode each other.

[Iain.d]

6 minutes ago, Headstock said:

...RC424, is that acrylic? I hardly ever touch the stuff. When compared to enamels, I find acrylics generally too coarse if a  good smooth surface is required. They are very convenient for anything black, like a bogie that will be weathered. Even then, I only use them if time is an issue. If I had a problem with a slightly gritty enamel pigment, I would recommend either a gloss  varnish mix with the paint in the airbrush cup/bottle, or a slow build up of very thin layers on a low pressure. The latter might work with acrylics, I'm not sure.

Yes, RC424 is one of Humbrol's  acrylic railway colours. My preference is for Railmatch enamels, but I've never seen that in Australia (certainly not Perth) and I don't have a cream. I have about 5 pots of the Humbrol cream (and 6 of their crimson - but that seems even grittier) that I bought from a model shop that closed down about 2 years ago. Neither of them brush very well either. Your tip of mixing a bit of varnish in the cup has made me think maybe I could try the same with an acrylic varnish on a practice piece; thanks. I also have a variety of acrylic thinners so I'll have a play over the weekend.

[St Enodoc]

8 minutes ago, Iain.d said:

Yes, RC424 is one of Humbrol's  acrylic railway colours. My preference is for Railmatch enamels, but I've never seen that in Australia (certainly not Perth) and I don't have a cream. I have about 5 pots of the Humbrol cream (and 6 of their crimson - but that seems even grittier) that I bought from a model shop that closed down about 2 years ago. Neither of them brush very well either. Your tip of mixing a bit of varnish in the cup has made me think maybe I could try the same with an acrylic varnish on a practice piece; thanks. I also have a variety of acrylic thinners so I'll have a play over the weekend.

Iain, I don't think that Railmatch or Phoenix/Precision is available over here at all nowadays. Like you, I much prefer enamels and I was very disappointed when Humbrol introduced their new railway colour range in acrylic only. For BR crimson/carmine I use a car spray, Holts Hermitage DSF43. I haven't found a decent cream spray yet though.

 

Edit: Standard Humbrol 103 cream might be OK. I think it's coincidence but R103 in the old railway colour range was BR cream.

Edited May 15, 2020 by St Enodoc

[jrg1]

2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

I won't know for a while, Neil,

 

The next J6 is way down in the list of priorities. 

 

I assume your live-steam loco was running on steel rail? 

 

Is there anyone out these who knows about the various properties of metals, please, particularly respective coefficients of friction? 

 

I think Markits has changed because of the increasing cost of nickel silver.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Stainless steel is difficult to machine, as it tends to tear-I am not sure of the performance on brass or Nickel Silver rail.

[Wingman Mothergoose]

1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

Iain, I don't think that Railmatch or Phoenix/Precision is available over here at all nowadays. Like you, I much prefer enamels and I was very disappointed when Humbrol introduced their new railway colour range in acrylic only. For BR crimson/carmine I use a car spray, Holts Hermitage DSF43. I haven't found a decent cream spray yet though.

 

Edit: Standard Humbrol 103 cream might be OK. I think it's coincidence but R103 in the old railway colour range was BR cream.

I’ve been using Ford Rosso Red as BR crimson, seems to look the part 

Chris G

[Tony Wright]

Well,

 

The K3 has sold (to Wingman, above). 

 

 

Anyone interested in the weathered J39?

 

 

A very nice runner......

 

 

[Headstock]

19 hours ago, Headstock said:

 

 

I forgot to mention,

 

the H38 Restaurant composite is fourth in the formation. The train being formed from the engine as BTK*/TK*/CK*/catering (H38)/CK*/TK*/BTK*/TK (strengthener)

* = Sunshine stock.

 

Copyright VR Webster. Please respect copyright.

[Steamport Southport]

2 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Iain, I don't think that Railmatch or Phoenix/Precision is available over here at all nowadays. Like you, I much prefer enamels and I was very disappointed when Humbrol introduced their new railway colour range in acrylic only. For BR crimson/carmine I use a car spray, Holts Hermitage DSF43. I haven't found a decent cream spray yet though.

 

Edit: Standard Humbrol 103 cream might be OK. I think it's coincidence but R103 in the old railway colour range was BR cream.

 

It seems to be very similar, if not the same as the old Authentic colour. The Chocolate seems to be the same as well although they aren't using the same number.

 

https://www.humbrol.com/uk-en/98-chocolate-matt-14ml-enamel-paint.html

 

 

 

 

Jason