buffalo Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I doubt that Marc's suggestion for P4 wheels on the 22 will work very well. The flange is too far inset to allow narrowing the treads. There are at least two approaches here on RMweb that are known to work, mine and CK's. There may be others... Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted March 26, 2014 Author Share Posted March 26, 2014 thanks for the tips on the Class 22. I'd seen Capn Kernow's method and planned to try that or a variation of it. I'll hunt around for some wheels, not Ultrascale, and see if I can try the method out on the cheap first. I need to make sure I can do this properly before either spending a lot of cash or cutting up my Class 22, so I think I'll continue to hone my skills on the 45XX before I do that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc smith Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Good luck with that conversion fenderBoth methods are a lot more work than I did, converting mine to EM.....Just wanted to add too, that I used a tiny drop of glue, to satisfy myself that the wheels were as secure as possibleIf using the Captains method, I doubt anyone would notice the fewer spokes...Let us know how you get onMarc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 Good luck with that conversion fender Both methods are a lot more work than I did, converting mine to EM..... Just wanted to add too, that I used a tiny drop of glue, to satisfy myself that the wheels were as secure as possible If using the Captains method, I doubt anyone would notice the fewer spokes... Let us know how you get on Marc I had considered just getting disc wheels but decided it would be sacrilege.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 minor update. with the layout on hold I've been starting small production lines of Parkside wagons. three of these are shoc-wagon/van underframes, which are quite old I think. not sure I'll be doing any more of those as the components are not very fine. the newer models look very good though to my eyes. I do have some etched underframe detailing kits which I will get to later on. these are all un-sprung/compensated and work very well on the track. I have some Bill Bedford springing units which I will use on the longer wheelbase wagons. next up, a few more vans and then I'll be trying my hand at airbrushing these...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 starting on the road to an etched loco chassis I'm not using any springing or compensation on my short wheelbase wagons but the grampus, tube and brake vans will need something so I have purchased some Bill Bedford w-irons and made my first two: the first was a bit fiddly but the second went together easily after I figured out what adjustments have to be made prior to assembly. the instructions say soldering the bearings to the spring carriers is not necessary, but it was recommended in a CLAG article and I found it difficult to assemble without holding the bearings in place by some means or other. the ultimate test will of course be when they are installed in a wagon, but they seem to work so far. this is step 1 in my journey towards a fully sprung loco chassis. 1. sprung wagon w-irons 2. sprung wagon chassis 3. sprung tender chassis 4. sprung Pannier tank chassis 5. sprung outside cylinder chassis, probably a 43XX and later a 45XX or 61XX Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon A Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Have you the Brassmasters fold up jigs that set the wheels at the selected wheel base and ensure the axles are parallel to each other? The jig clips over the axles between the wheels. Gordon A Bristol Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 hi Gordon, yes, I have those. made some more progress today. getting axles in the right lateral position took a while as there is no in-built reference here. I will have to think of some better way to line them up equidistant from the sides other than Mk 1 eyeball. after gluing them with ref to the axle-spacing gauge mentioned above I glued in the sole bars. I have elected to put in separate springs (MJT) and axleboxes (come separate in the kit). however, I have since noticed that some people just file away all the w-iron parts of the plastic moulding, leaving the springs and axlebox. I might try this on my next grampus. this will be a fitted model, although most during this period were unfitted. the reason for this is simplicity, as building the older models with this kit requires a lot more butchery, such as cutting off and replacing the buffers. this will mean more difficulty with the brakes, as they are clasp ones. I will tackle those next week hopefully. there are some riveted plates on either side of the hybox axleboxes which I don't have as a separate part of the kit. I tried to salvage them from the original w-irons but this proved a little fiddly. I will try to substitute some riveted brass strip if I can. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon A Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Have you thought of scribing a centre line along the underside of the floor using vernier calipers? I have also measured the width of the springing units and used this dimension to position the solebars when gluing to the underside of the floor. gordon a Bristol Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 some very fiddly progress today. I've used the hybox axleboxes which came with the kit and added in some whitemetal springs and the riveted strip alongside. looks pretty good I think. hopefully will really come together when it's painted. next, have to figure out how to fit the clasp brakes around the BB springing modules..... EDIT: well that was easier than expected! just a bit of filing some of the brake moulding out of the way and they popped in with little trouble. in fact I've noted that there's no reason I can't install these at the same time as the springs and wheels, before putting the whole springing unit into the wagon. even easier! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 oh how cruel the close-up! the new buffers on my grampus look ok in real life though. similar to, "measure twice, cut once", this is a case of "research twice, order everything you actually need once". (long boring story) for some reason I had it in to my head that the Parkside grampus came with hydraulic buffers. so I duly ordered some of the big fat sprung buffer heads from Dart. when they arrived I realised I didn't have the correct drill bit to open out the mouldings for them to fit in to, so I ordered some new ones from Eileens. when those arrived I set about the laborious task of gradually drilling out the required hole with successively bigger bits, until the excess plastic was wafer thin. then I made sure they fit correctly. I then referred back to my research on grampus wagons for some last details, only to realise that in fact Parkside appear to have modelled oleo buffers, not hydraulics..... oh well. having gone to all the trouble I will stick with what I have for this wagon. the van on the right is my first Cambrian kit. I found this much harder to build than the Parksides I've been doing, particularly in getting it to run completely cleanly. there is a slight wobble on this one but hopefully won't annoy me too much at shunting speeds... I originally wanted to make my three grampus wagons unfitted (as 1/572), and so ordered the extra unfitted underframes to facilitate this. however I have now decided I will do at least two of them as 1/574, and so have purchased two of the Dapol unpainted grampus bodies which I will put on top of my spare Parkside 12ft chassis kits. works out at 4 pounds a wagon (plus wheels), so not a bad deal! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 today I completed my first wagon, including the weathering, which was an experiment straight from a Humbrol "how to" video: looks ok but I think I will use a more traditional method next time. this one involves painting on the weathering powders, then painting the wagon its base colour, then scratching the paint away and using enamel thinners to let the underlying "rust" seep through. there are some parts of the wagon that look very good but it seemed hard to control how much of the base colour is washed away, giving too much rust in places. also I had to brush paint the wagon as I had to apply the decals first, which doesn't leave as good a finish as airbrushing. still, happy I've finished my first bit of rolling stock! edit: just noticed there's a fishplate that needs adjusting...maybe the track, like the layout, is also "never finished"? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon A Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 If you keep looking for faults you will find them. We are own worst critics. Keep going forward, with occasional looks backward. Gordon A Bristol Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Hi Fender, What a smashing layout you are constructing, I'm really enjoying it! I must say, you don't hang around and you know how to get where you are going, I like the philosophy! Great stuff, John E. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 today I finished the extension for the cassette. this was the original plan, with the cassette able to be flipped around or slid from side to side (for example on run-rounds), after I added the parallel track: however, the underframe attachment to the main board wasn't very user-friendly (bolts), so I switched to the removable-pin-hinge gambit, making the use of the extension much more flexible (able to be detached or lifted up for example): but this negates the side-to-side movement of the cassette: unfortunately I didn't think of this before adding the hinge on the right. moving it will be difficult so I will have to redesign the cassette system or use a loco-lift. I've also finished (prior to painting) my grampus. as you can see the door springs are somewhat coarse in close-up (I found them very fiddly to file) so I may look at brass ones for the next one. I have to say that although this one is far from perfect I'm very impressed with the running qualities brought by springing. this just zips through the points effortlessly and quietly. I still have to add some weight to it but I may have to think about springing even short wheelbase wagons. certainly the Cambrian kits I have, which I've found very difficult to get completely square, may benefit from the Bill Bedford units like I've used here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 well after a month of noprogresswhatsoever we have moved and the layout is set up in my new railway and music room our 'office'. for my last 'Penzance' layout I used Ikea Gorm shelving for the underframe. for this one I am using the more-expensive and presentable 'Kallax' range, thus proving I am moving up in the world. today was the first day I have been able to do any modelling in the new house but instead of starting work on the backscene (because I couldn't face another trip to B&Q) I did a bit more work on the weighbridge office: the end brickwork is just propped up for now but I'm quite satisfied with my first attempt at the curved brickwork above the window. another little milestone passed. the idea is to see how this building goes before committing to the goods shed as a scratch-build project. I've pretty much abandoned my idea of scratch-building the villas at the back of the layout as there isn't enough space for a proper villa-sized garden, even in half-relief. therefore I will probably down-size to the Dapol detached house kit or some variant of that, as inspired by a recent Railway Modeller article. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted September 4, 2014 Author Share Posted September 4, 2014 progress! I have affixed most of the backscene frame and stuck on the backscene (a common Gaugemaster one). as you can see, it went on a little wonky. I was tempted to redo it but that would probably have meant ditching the image and buying another, and it occurred to me that the bottom edge will be completely covered up when it's finished anyway. in fact, most of the backscene will be covered up! so it's not exactly like the view you would have gotten from the goods yard, as the ground fell away dramatically at the end, but I couldn't figure out a way of marrying a sky backdrop with the necessary houses on the other side, so this is a compromise. I hope it will still reflect the character of the place when it is finished. one thing it does do is make the space look much more compact, which of course it is, so I will have to see if I can do anything to make it look a bit more expansive. next, time to build up the ground at the back of the layout. now that the backscene is done I should be able to make swifter progress with the scenery. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 it's been taking a long time to complete my wall. mostly because I haven't been devoting enough time to it! also made some progress on the weighbridge hut. I like the tiling-slitted-paper method but unfortunately was so taken by the ease and effectiveness of it that I forgot about the chimney! I suppose that will have to be stuck on top of the tiles and disguised with some suitable 'flashing'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornish trains jez Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Nice work! Lovin' the wall, looks great! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Hi Fender, The layouts coming on nice now, I do like the backscene. I also see where the name Fender comes from , hahha. BTW whats the Red Amp in a previous pic, is it a Matchless or a Fender FSR Hot Rod Blues 3? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 Hi Fender, The layouts coming on nice now, I do like the backscene. I also see where the name Fender comes from , hahha. BTW whats the Red Amp in a previous pic, is it a Matchless or a Fender FSR Hot Rod Blues 3? no it's a Vox AC15, in some sort of red limited edition colour, although the same as the other AC15s. very nice amp. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 A Vox Ltd Ed? wow, its looks good from the bit I can see, I've just managed to pick up an as new, second hand Tone Lab, AC 30 and Boutique are the best sounds. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 pretty much finished with my defunct cattle dock. wall is also nearing completion, after which there should be some quick progress on much of the rest of the scenery. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornish trains jez Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Top stuff! I really like the effects that you have created on the wall and also the platform edge wall of the cattle dock. How did you achieve this? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Top stuff! I really like the effects that you have created on the wall and also the platform edge wall of the cattle dock. How did you achieve this? thanks. the cattle dock was done by painting all the bricks in individual colours and then using a white-wash of paint over it, leaving it for a few minutes, and then wiping it off. I think. or it may have been the other way round. anyway, I wasn't too happy with this method as it was very trial-and-error and often made a mess, meaning I'd have to go back over the work. the wall however was totally different. it is embossed plasticard (Slaters) painted with mixtures of brown, black and light grey. the overall wall is painted this way, not the individual bricks(!), with no rhyme or reason as to how it's done. at the end you are left with a wall that looks like it has been badly camouflaged. I found simple model filler to be the best for the next step. I used Plastic Putty, from Deluxe. I simply put small amounts on a paper towel, rubbed it into the plasticard and then immediately wiped it all off again with a dry paper towel. inevitably some gets left in the cracks. I have then attempted to 'weather' the wall a little, but this has been less successful so I will have improve on that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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