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[nsl714]

Hello Simon,

 

The Micas are quite nice. I agree that the color contrast is very striking in a world of grey wagons. It must have been a sight to see a block of 30+ plus of them in one train.

 

How do you plan to remedy the non-working buffers on the Mica A?

 

Thanks,

Zach

[Simond]

Thanks Zach,

 

two of them are ok.  One was missing a spring, and the other had apparently been treated to a goodly dose of solvent with the spring installed.  

 

Happily, I have some spare springs (well, I had, I hope I still have!) so I extracted the glued-in one, and redrilled the hole (1.78mm) for the spring pocket.  Both now move smoothly, I’ll find (or buy) some springs and that’ll be that.

 

Tip for extracting stuck springs.  Carefully screw a rat tail needle file into the centre of the spring.  The teeth on the file are cut in a spiral, like a thread, and can grip the spring.  Once I pulled the last couple of coils out, op I simply got hold of it with the pliers and stretched it tip it came out.  Tiny spring, seemed to be about 8” of wire!

 

if the file doesn’t work, use a bent pin.

 

atb

Simon

[Simond]

Well, it wasn’t quite square, it had developed a sort of curve.

 

not any more...

 

 

a rectangle of 1.5mm PK stuck to a couple of “shelves”at the ends, and along the sides.  Once it’s all set, I’ll add a bit of solvent at the corners but I don’t want to risk any seeping thru the joints and spoiling the outside.

 

I’ve also installed around 120g of lead sheet, which, coupled with the weight the previous owner had installed, and all the other bits & pieces, gets me to within shouting distance of 200g.

 

I will leave this strictly alone til tomorrow evening, by which time it should be all set.  Incidentally, I drilled a couple of holes through the floor too, there’s a fair bit of solvent been splashed around in here, we don’t want to trap it.

 

atb

Simon

[nsl714]

That's a handy tip for the buffers Simon. I have one buffer on a Parkside van (coincidentally a Mica A) which I foolishly glued solid while attempting to secure that little nut to the back of the buffer shank. I'll give your method a try to get the spring out. Luckily I anticipated supply issues across the pond for such specialized items as the springs and especially the BA nuts. I have a few spare sets of the parkside buffers on hand just for the springs and nuts.

 

If I may also ask, what do you mean by trapping the solvent? Is it that some vapors from it may get sealed in the body and have long term detrimental effects to it?

 

Thanks,

Zach

[Simond]

Well, it wasn’t quite square, it had developed a sort of curve.

 

not any more...

 

 

a rectangle of 1.5mm PK stuck to a couple of “shelves”at the ends, and along the sides.  Once it’s all set, I’ll add a bit of solvent at the corners but I don’t want to risk any seeping thru the joints and spoiling the outside.

 

I’ve also installed around 120g of lead sheet, which, coupled with the weight the previous owner had installed, and all the other bits & pieces, gets me to within shouting distance of 200g.

 

I will leave this strictly alone til tomorrow evening, by which time it should be all set.  Incidentally, I drilled a couple of holes through the floor too, there’s a fair bit of solvent been splashed around in here, we don’t want to trap it.

 

atb

Simon

[Simond]

1 hour ago, nsl714 said:

Is it that some vapors from it may get sealed in the body and have long term detrimental effects to it?

 

Hi Zach,

 

yes, precisely. this is something I’ve heard of many times, and have seen photos of, but never experienced personally.  

 

As it is trivially easy to drill a couple of holes through the floor to ensure that it doesn’t end up as a sealed box, that’s what I’ve done.  I had a 5mm drill to hand, so that’s what got used.

 

with vans generally, I’d also stick a thickish piece if PK (or brass if appropriate) across in the middle to prevent damage from clumsy handling.  The bit I used on this van was a serious overkill version of that.

 

with Parkside & Slaters buffers, and Premier couplings, I just nip the last couple of threads with the pliers to prevent the nut unscrewing.

 

atb

Simon

Edited December 10, 2019 by Simond

[Simond]

Ok, so we now have a solid square body, and I’ve refitted the solebars.  

 

The tie rods between the W irons were broken, so I removed them

 

It’s much easier to sort the axleboxes out, and then refit the tie rods and the irons that keep the axleboxes in, than to try to glue the axleboxes together without sticking them to the W irons, and, I might faff around with springs again...

 

The buffers now all work  and I’ve fitted the Premier screw couplings.

 

 

Need to sort out the brake gear, it’s a bit messed up.

 

Still, we’re looking a bit more like a decent model.

 

 

the corners are not perfectly tight, it’s a shame as this is one of the strengths of the Parkside kits, but they are tight enough to touch in with a very little filler, the roof’s just sitting in place, it’s now symmetrical, which is another bonus!

 

Brakes next, I think.

 

atb

Simon

 

 

 

 

[bgman]

Worth it in the end Simon, one more almost ready for the layout.

 

G

[Deano747]

On 10/12/2019 at 06:26, Simond said:

Well, it wasn’t quite square, it had developed a sort of curve.

 

not any more...

 

 

a rectangle of 1.5mm PK stuck to a couple of “shelves”at the ends, and along the sides.  Once it’s all set, I’ll add a bit of solvent at the corners but I don’t want to risk any seeping thru the joints and spoiling the outside.

 

I’ve also installed around 120g of lead sheet, which, coupled with the weight the previous owner had installed, and all the other bits & pieces, gets me to within shouting distance of 200g.

 

I will leave this strictly alone til tomorrow evening, by which time it should be all set.  Incidentally, I drilled a couple of holes through the floor too, there’s a fair bit of solvent been splashed around in here, we don’t want to trap it.

 

atb

Simon

 

Hi Simon

Enjoying your progress with the wagons (and excellent weathering BTW!)

Those clamps look very handy; do you recall the supplier?

 

Regards, Deano.

[Simond]

Thanks Deano,

 

positive feedback always welcome!

 

yes they are, and no I don't!!!

 

I think I got them back in my 16mm days, maybe from a model plane or model boat shop - I just had a quick Google and can't find them, but there are these

 

https://www.axminster.co.uk/pair-of-japanese-hatakane-brass-bar-clamps-200507

 

and these

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/372852235414?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=372852235414&targetid=522856822958&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9045105&poi=&campaignid=7412990377&mkgroupid=76068633490&rlsatarget=pla-522856822958&abcId=1139366&merchantid=101737489&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgs3PjtSt5gIVA7TtCh2mWQHVEAQYAyABEgKLpvD_BwE

 

neither of which have the same "reach" as my pair do.  I'd definitely buy another pair if I saw them again

 

If you find them, do let us know!

cheers

Simon

 

[Deano747]

Thanks Simon

 

They do look very useful. I'll keep looking and will let you know. (There's no hurry for me but just another tool in the armament!!)

 

Regards, Dean.

[Simond]

This was the worst gap at a corner, after giving the wagon a quick blast of Halfords’ best, I filled it with milliput before bed.  

 

 

looks ok, so another blast of white is called for!

 

 

in cruel close-up, it still shows, options are a) ignore, b) glue length of microstrip into fault and then file & scrape it back to match the side & end.

 

I’ll go to work, and consider it later, though I’m tending to (a) at the moment,  the downsides with (b) are that it’s a bit of hassle, and there are bits of rivet detail that may be damaged and will then need to be reinstated, and if I don’t do a mega good job of that, it might look worse than leaving it alone.

 

decisions, decisions...

 

atb

Simon

[Simond]

If anyone has sound recordings of steam era GW AWS hooter/klaxon and bell, I’d be very grateful for a copy

 

atb

Simon

Edited December 17, 2019 by Simond

[Bluemonkey presents....]

Happy Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.

Thank you for sharing your builds and projects.

[Simond]

Thanks to everybody for their kind & constructive comments and feedback over the year.  

 

The Mica rebuild continues, suspension of a different kind has been installed and seems to work, it’s a great deal simpler (and cheaper) than all the faffing around with coil springs.

 

 

 

the spring wire is 0.42mm, 17 thou, steel guitar string (G) and seems to give a ride height that’s not on the bump stops, so the wagon is sprung “floating”.  The dimensions are 15mm high, about 14mm from the hairpin to the vertical bit and about 37mm overall on the flat bit.  I’m going to make a jig to make this repeatable.  The wire is melted into the top of the axle boxes, and retained by the little blocks of PK glued to the floor.  You can see the vertical bit of the wire on the assembled wagon, if you look carefully, with a magnifying glass, and it hasn’t been painted...

 

I’d like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy, Healthy, Peaceful & Prosperous New Year!

Simon

[ChrisN]

Simon,

Have a good Christmas and New Year.  I have not said much, I think, on your thread as I generally try not to say anything unless I can add to what is happening but I do love your thread.  It is one of those where I know before I click on the link that there will be some excellent modelling.  Keep having fun with your modelling in the coming year.

[Simond]

Chris

 

thank you for your kind comments.  I’m delighted that you enjoy the thread, please don’t be shy!

 

Merry Christmas!

Simon

 

[Mikkel]

Merry christmas Simon, I hope you had a good day.

 

Those springs look ingenious!

[Simond]

Thanks Mikkel,

 

A few posts earlier in the thread I sprung the first Mica with coil springs.  Around the same time, Paul C on Western Thunder had posted a question on Parkside wagons, and there was a brief discussion.  Adrian then posted some thoughts about suspension on WT, and this was the outcome of my thoughts.  What I wanted to create was a very simple, cheap and foolproof improvement to the suspension, which, as supplied, is the opposite of equalisation.  *

 

Paul C’s discussion

https://www.westernthunder.co.uk/index.php?threads/parkside-kits-then-and-now.8336/#post-196120

 

Adrian’s thread here

https://www.westernthunder.co.uk/index.php?threads/parkside-permutations.8357/

 

 

Key to my objective is that that I should be able to make a jig, which would facilitate the repeatable production of the spring, and that installation would require no fancy machining or other fiddly operations.  I can self-justify hours of work on a loco, but plastic wagon kits should be easy!  Part of that would be that the wire should be bent only in one plane, or at most only one bend out of plane.  As soon as you have two or more bends in three dimensions, the accuracy & repeatability is very difficult to maintain.  If you have one bend out of plane, it probably makes the spring asymmetric, and then you need two jigs, and it’s more complexity again...  So, single plane is best!

 

I haven’t yet made the jig, as I’m pondering whether I can do it so that the spring wire is fully hidden behind the W iron.  When I do, I’ll publish pretty pictures, well, pictures...

 

* the Parkside kits are supplied with loose axleboxes.  Imagine the wagon is held firm, the right way up, end on, with the wheels off the track, and you lift one wheel of the nearer axle, eg with the tip of your tweezers.  The axlebox on that side will lift til it hits the spring.  Then the other wheel will lift as the axlebox becomes the fulcrum.  This is not equalised.  If it were, the fulcrum would be in the middle of the axle, and as you lift one wheel, the other would press down.  The “classic fix” for this is to glue two axleboxes solid at one end, and to fit a central bearing on the other axle, so the axle does rock like a see-saw.

 

atb

Simon

Edited December 26, 2019 by Simond

[Simond]

Mica proceedings...

 

 

A few bits to see here, folks.

 

Door locking bars.  These were missing (as are the footsteps / etch for same  ) made the bars by laminating 20 thou sq microstrip onto some 80 x 20, and adding details from other microstrip sections.  Painted Vallejo Dk Grey and stuck on.  Entertaining half an hour (and the same again waiting for the MEK to evaporate).  Quite fiddly, but quite pleased with them.  Needs drilling for the bent wire handles.  Would have been more difficult without one to copy, and it’s still a bit notional, but I don’t think anyone will say “ooh, that’s the one he made, it’s Dreadfully Incorrect” anyway!

 

Brakes

 

- vac cylinder refitted, new spindle, and a pin added to represent the pivot on the side you cam see it.  No point on the other side, as it would be entirely invisible.

 

- vac cylinder crank - missing in action.  New one made from laminated microstrip, drilled & filed to shape.  

 

- cross shaft. Piece of hard brass wire cut over length.  Holes drilled in V hangers and brake levers and cranks.  For some reason the previous owner had glued the cam-side brake hanger on inside out, so the cam was on the inside.  Cut it off, glued it on right way round, and braced the joint with microstrip.  Once I’ve assembled everything, I’ll superglue it in place and trim off the excess.

 

- cranks, pushrods, shoes & hangers.  I suspect previous owner didn’t know about the cams, and attempted to make the brakes look as if they worked by changing the cranks.  Now will be gluing them back together as the kit maker intended...

 

- safety loops.  Cue funeral march...  they weren’t well, and only one survived the dismantling.  New ones required to be made from flattened wire.  Might have to ask John to run some wire through his rollers.  Won’t be tomorrow!

 

Roof Access Steps.  These are a complete PITA, as they simply don’t have enough grip. I managed to do the original Mica without losing any, though I think they all fell or were knocked off at least once, and some rather more frequently, but this wagon does not have a full complement.  I have two loose ones and need three, and three of the ones that are still there are glued on upside down.  I think I’ll have a look for some brass angle, drill 2 holes in the flange and solder pins on.  They can then be superglued into holes on the van ends, and will stay put...

 

Roof.  They’re supposed to be white, but like coach roofs, I’m sure they got rather dirty, rather quickly.  Accordingly, I have painted it mottled grey.  If anyone has a 1930’s picture of the Birkenhead Meat train, I’d love to see it!  

(Preferably in colour, and during the day, even though they ran at night...  )

 

Solebar footsteps.  Fret from brass, fold, solder, attach, paint.  Don’t hold your breath..

 

Vac pipes.  Need reattachment.  Probably easier to paint them first.  Indeed probably easier to weather the wagon first too.

 

More soon

atb

Simon

[Simond]

 

that’s better.  

 

Atb

Simon

[Simond]

In the spirit of innovation and experimentation, I wondered if “drawing in” the gaps between the planks might emphasise them without the rather overwhelming grubbiness of the previous Mica.  Yorkshire Dave suggested a “prepaint” weathering coat below the top coat to provide a subtle shading, on the basis that it was good enough for Rembrandt et al.  What he forgets is that he’s right up there in the Premier Division first team, and I’m wallowing in the Sunday League...  

 

I used a sharp HB pencil.  I then regretted it.  There are no photos.  Anyway, it doesn’t look too bad after several coats of Halfords best white primer to hide the mess.  Interestingly, the effect I was trying to achieve, has, more or less, come through.  I will attempt to find, buy, beg, borrow or steal a 4H pencil before doing the ends and other side...
 

The donor wagon’s brake safety loops had not survived the rebuilding of the brakes.  New loops were made from flattened 0.8mm tinned copper wire.  I’m a little disappointed that they don’t look rather finer than the kit originals on t’other wagon, as they are considerably thinner.  
 

I also found some 1mm angle in the bits box, and snipped two bits of brass shim to make the steps.  Folded, soldered, ultrasonically cleaned and glued on.  Probably should have soldered a tail to them and poked it through a hole in the floor, but they’re firmly fixed (located and initial fix with superglue, then fillet of 5-minute epoxy to secure “for ever” I hope)

 

End steps might get done in between the cooking tomorrow (old schoolpal & wife coming to dinner) and then transfers...

 

progress

 

 

HNY

Simon

 

 

[Mikkel]

Funny that, this afternoon I have been experimenting with something similar to accentuate gaps between flagstones. I used a 0.3HB pencil, then painted a thin top coat afterwards. The result was a bit too faint, but maybe going over it with the pencil again will work.

[Simond]

Hi Mikkel

 

I had the opposite problem, in that it was far too accentuated, and my efforts to clean off the excess turned the wagon side grey...  bizarrely, the grey seemed to “float” through the paint when I sprayed it on, you could see the colour change as the paint dried.  Really odd.  Took three coats to hide it.  I guess it’s a chemistry thing...  

 

anyway, I shall see if I can find a harder pencil!

 

HNY

Simon

[hayfield]

12 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Funny that, this afternoon I have been experimenting with something similar to accentuate gaps between flagstones. I used a 0.3HB pencil, then painted a thin top coat afterwards. The result was a bit too faint, but maybe going over it with the pencil again will work.

 

Speaking as someone who has very limited artistic ability, I marvel at the way military modellers paint their models especially figures where they finish off with a wash which accentuates the details. I have had a quick look at the Games Workshop site and I think its the shade colours which achieves this

 

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/detail?N=882366425&Nr=AND(sku.siteId%3AGB_gw%2Cproduct.locale%3Aen_GB_gw)&Nrs=collection()%2Frecord[product.startDate+<%3D+1577791080000+and+product.endDate+>%3D+1577791080000]

 

I am thinking of trying one of these on a building where I have painted it in a base colour and put in some highlights/contrasting colour, initially my thoughts were to use precision weathering paint, but now thinking of using an earth shade (dark brown), How would an oil (blackish) shade/low light in the groves work?