Finecast SER R1 and R class 0-6-0Ts

[pete_mcfarlane]

Having nearly finished my SECR Birdcage brake, I fancied a suitable SER engine to pull it. So I decided it was finally time to build the Finecast R1 I've had in the cupboard for at least 12 years. This was the first whitemetal loco I bought, but it soon became clear that the kit had the wrong chassis - one of the generic ones that Finecast use for their G6 and possibly other bodyline kits. A suitable chassis is available from Branchlines, but this needs modifications to fit the body which were beyond me at the time. So the project ended up being shelved until I had the skills to do it.

 

This is the basic chassis etch.

I removed the frames, tack soldered them together and then marked the 1mm at the top which needed removing to get the body to sit at the right height. This was then filed off, and the frames checked against the basic footplate. All good so far.

Next steps are to assemble the gearbox and motor, and work out if I can fit it using Branchline's frame spacer positions. I've already decided to use their EM frame spacers - the OO ones were a shade over 10mm wide, which makes you wonder how much sideplay they expected you to need on the middle axle. I also need to find the Gibson wheels and Maygib buffers I've bought at some point in the past for this loco......

 

I do have a soft spot for R1s, I have two ancient Hornby-Dublo ones bought cheap when I was a student, for £11 and £15. These were detailed and repainted to my (not very good) standards of the time. I'll have a crack at fitting decent chassis to these one day.

 

Edited July 10, 2019 by pete_mcfarlane

[pete_mcfarlane]

The basic chassis is assembled, using Comet jigs and their frame spacers. These were wider than the ones Branchlines provide. Then I spent this evening making it fit, removing some of the cast lumps under the footplate with a mini-drill and burr.

Next steps are too check the clearances for the wheels, as they are now in the correct positions rather than the ones intended by the kit designer.

[N15class]

This looks interesting. I do not know very much about the prototype, as my interests in Southern are more ex LSWR.

[pete_mcfarlane]

This looks interesting. I do not know very much about the prototype, as my interests in Southern are more ex LSWR.

These were rebuilds of the Stirling R class, and were fitted with similar boilers to the SECR H class. They are one of those classes that was rebuilt and modified so many times that every single one of them ended up slightly different. The SEMG have a page on them that is worth a look.

[pete_mcfarlane]

And anther quick update. The R1 now has wheels (4 of the 6) and a cab. The motor and Branchlines 39:1 gearbox have been assembled and test fitted.  I'm using Gibson wheels with a GW models wheel press to assemble them. 

The cab is a bit of a pig - the kit comes with both the original Stirling round cab for the examples used on the Canterbury and Whitstable, and the later Wainwright cab, which I'm using . The side sheets were 2mm too long and needed shortening, and a lot of filler was needed to get the corners square. Even now it need a bit more work to get it right.

[robmcg]

Lovely to see.  I had a couple of early Hornby versions too.  Ah the effect of those Hornby Dublo models!

 

Great work.

 

Rob

[pete_mcfarlane]

The latest update in my intermittent build of the R1. The boiler is now on - this took most of the my modelling time over the weekend.

It's pretty obvious now that Finecast have reused a lot of components from their other SECR kits. The boiler sat too high, so it had probably come from the H class which have a higher piched boiler. It needed a lot of filing and adjustments at the front end to make it sit at almost the right height. Almost, but not quite as it is probably a millimetre too high, but that extra millimetre would need a huge amount of work to fix.

 

Having fitted the boiler, to check that the motor would fit, I couldn't resist adding some of the fittings. I replaced the white metal safety valves with one from Branchlines. This was a nicer casting, but was wrong, despite being sold for upgrading the R1. The lever was the wrong shape, and has been modified to as close to the correct shape as I can manage. Basically it has a couple of 90 degree turns in it and enters the cab much lower down. The Finecast one was wrong as well.....

 

Since the kit has no rivets on the smokebox, I've decided to keep my sanity (by not adding hundreds of rivets using Archer transfers) and model number A47 which had a flush riveted smokebox in Southern days.

[Horsetan]

..... Finecast have reused a lot of components from their other SECR kits. The boiler sat too high, so it had probably come from the H class which have a higher piched boiler......

 

If it was supplied with the two tank top plates cast integrally either side, then you may well be correct about it being shared with the "H" class kit. Common parts can be useful, though; I used exactly the same "H" boiler casting to replace the terribly oval one in the Branchlines "O1" kit.

[pete_mcfarlane]

If it was supplied with the two tank top plates cast integrally either side, then you may well be correct about it being shared with the "H" class kit. Common parts can be useful, though; I used exactly the same "H" boiler casting to replace the terribly oval one in the Branchlines "O1" kit.

 

It did indeed have the tank top plates cast as part of the boiler. It's actually a rather nice casting, with the various brackets etc included. Much nicer than the usual tank top castings you get in whitemetal kits. 

 

I think the use of common parts also explains why the cab sidesheets were a bit too long.

[robmcg]

Looks to me as if you have definitely got the character of the R1 exactly, and remember there were hardly two the same in their long lives. Hopefully the boiler height won't be apparent at approx. 1mm high, these things are often impossible to see unless pointed-out, and then impossible to ignore. <g> Congratulations on what looks superb so far.

[pete_mcfarlane]

I've been detailing the body, and this is the current state of progress.

The parts are all included with the kit. The only tricky bit so far was bending the one piece boiler/smokebox handrail to shape. This took a lot of cursing and three attempts too get right. A far bigger problem is going to be the parts not included in the kit - there's a load of piping and injectors on top of the boiler in front of the cab that will need to be scratchbuilt. South Eastern locos have a lot of exposed pipework.

 

Progress on the chassis has stalled. The coupling rods that came with the Branchlines chassis weren't very good. They were made from two layers, but each was half etched so the actual rods were only the thickness of a single 15 thou sheet. The fishbelly curves weren't symmetrical, and as a final straw the end of one snapped off whilst I gently opened it out to take Gibson crankpin bushes.

An order will shortly go in the post for some Gibson rods. Replacement coupling rods for the replacement chassis. 

 

 

Edited July 31, 2013 by pete_mcfarlane

[robmcg]

Excellent and all watched with interest. Are you intending to keep it 'in the metal' for a while or will painting be soon after completion?

 

took the liberty of turning the picture 90 deg. might have been my browser.

 

Lovely work. I love the curves in the various parts of the engine, both prototype and model, as with such as the D class 4-4-0 and other Victorian-era engines, where PROPORTION was important..

 

Edited July 31, 2013 by robmcg

[N15class]

I always have a supply of electrical cables and flexes just for pipework. Being copper they are easy to form, and can be left unpainted if required. I always spend time looking at photos to see which ones go over which one. Then start with the ones close to the boiler etc first.

[pete_mcfarlane]

It wasn't your browser - the photo was the right way round on my PC, but got spun through 90 degrees on being uploaded. Uploading it a second time fixed the problem. Answers on a postcard.....

 

As for the proportions of the R1, they are nice little locos. I think they may be slightly less well proportioned than the original R class. SEF do a kit for the R using some similar parts (including the incorrect chassis) and I've got one in my to do pile so I should be able to do a comparison before long. 

[DLT]

An interesting project Pete, thanks for sharing. 

 

From another Southern man,

Dave.

[Horsetan]

.... The coupling rods that came with the Branchlines chassis weren't very good. They were made from two layers, but each was half etched so the actual rods were only the thickness of a single 15 thou sheet. The fishbelly curves weren't symmetrical, and as a final straw the end of one snapped off whilst I gently opened it out to take Gibson crankpin bushes.....

 

Hmm. When I made them for the O1, I managed to make them with working knuckle joints.

 

I agree they are fragile and easily bent if you're a bit unhandy.

 

Branchlines did create some real curate's egg kits during the era of Andy Mullins and Paul Berntsen. Good in parts, but careless or unfathomable in others.

[pete_mcfarlane]

Did I really start this in June.....

 

After some intermittent progress, a recent spurt of activity has got the R1 ready for painting. At the end of the last instalment I was about to order some Gibson coupling rods - these arrived and were eventually fitted. It took a while to fettle the rods to get smooth running, but it now quite smooth and controllable. This is good, as I've not built a loco without a flywheel before and wasn't sure what to expect.

 

Once the rods were on, the rest of the chassis went together as per the instructions.

The body detailing is now done - these Victorian engines look simple, but they have quite a lot of piping. Most of which didn't come with the kit and was fabricated out of bits of wire etc. The biggest challenger here was finding photos of the same loco from different angles at roughly the same time. Along with the Terriers (and possibly the GS&WR 101 class) I can't think of a class with more detail variations.

This was the state last night - today it's had a blast of Halford etch primer. 

This has shown up the inevetiable gaps and blobs of glue, so these will be sorted before it gets a coat of black. 

Edited November 18, 2013 by pete_mcfarlane

[Londontram]

A very high standard of modeling, I look forward to the next installment  

[pete_mcfarlane]

The R1 is finally finished. The lining was done by hand using a bow pen and the transfers are HMRS. There was a brief moment of horror when it was placed next to other rolling stock and the buffers were way too high. It turned out that I'd not spotted that the holes for them were too high, so some careful modification and touching up later they are in the right place. 

 

 

Overall I'm very pleased with it. It looks a lot better than the examples on the box lid, with their incorrect chassis. 

Edited June 15, 2014 by pete_mcfarlane

[N15class]

What green did you use for the lining? I always us emerald. The books seem to say started out dark but never say what shade, but went to emerald as the dark lining soon disapeared. Yours looks nice, I may try a darker one next time.

[pete_mcfarlane]

It's an Emerald green from the Valejo range. Looking at the photos the lining looks very thick, but it's less noticeable on the actual model. Of course, lining in 4mm scale is always too thick or it would never actually show. 

[bigbadbadge]

Nice looking R1 Pete , fantastic work, I have the old Hornby Dublo one and will have to look at getting one of the Branchlines chassis for that.  

 

Thanks for sharing

 

All the best

 

Chris

[pete_mcfarlane]

I have a couple of old Hornby-Dublo R1s in my to do pile with the etched chassis and detailing bits. They should make nice models when detailed.

[roythebus]

Does anyone have contact details for Branchlines? My favourite search engine fails to find them!

[pete_mcfarlane]

Try sales@branchlines.com - he's normally pretty quick at responding.