RMweb Premium newbryford Posted September 28, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 28, 2021 Don't talk to him about partially EMT liveried 222s...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack374 Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 12 hours ago, Swifty11 said: That 222 is absolutely superb! Really impressive, now to start the EMT livery one Jack? 11 hours ago, newbryford said: Don't talk to him about partially EMT liveried 222s...... Will that do Tom? I'll be honest I was torn between ex-EMT (difficult to paint), all purple EMR (difficult to design transfers) or this, which is best of both worlds…so I thought… Safe to say no more 222s are on the horizon! Jack. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 Good lord, that Meridian looks stupendously amazing. Fair play mate, that's beautiful. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Departmental203 Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 Impressive work on the aubergine "Meridian" Jack, must be satisfying to have such a unique model! And yes, I feel your pain for university, really eats up your modelling time. Not just that but its consumed my mojo too! Just look ahead, time will fly much faster than you think... Kind regards Jules 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted October 3, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 3, 2021 You've got until March 2022 to finish it....... 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jack374 Posted November 1, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 1, 2021 On 03/10/2021 at 22:40, newbryford said: You've got until March 2022 to finish it....... Gulp… Thanks for the comments guys, much appreciated. The end is in sight now which I’m thankful for…been a bit of a mammoth project. As a small interlude, I finished the second Dapol pocket wagon, by weathering the interior as per the first. I’ve yet to decide if it’s too bright…it might get a dirt dusting next time the airbrush is out in a few months: Recent attention has turned to through wiring the Meridian and adding lights. Each coach has 5 through wires: track + and - (so 3 of the 4 coaches supply pickup power - 12 axles!) then lights + common and FOF/FOR. I’m not doing independent lighting on this for sure. The MC has 7 wires with an extra pair for a sugar cube speaker, to have a speaker in the leading vehicle and provide a bit of balance to the bass speaker in the centre (ish). Connectors are IC sockets chopped up: …and wiring in the MC (which has no pickups) with hot glue to secure the wires. It’s not all this neat… MSRMB completely wired: Now to the lights. My usual affair of copperclad with 0603 SMD LEDs. The white/red marker/tail combo were soldered close together to shine through the same hole… The top lights were done using the original lenses (cut short) which were around 3mm diameter, and some 3mm LEDs in cool white. Some aluminium tape was wrapped around, simply securing them together and reducing light bleed completely. And the results! The light bleed in the other lenses really isn’t too noticeable in reality. I’ve yet to paint black around the insides to stop light bleed being visible. The hue of the top and RHS headlights is less blue than it appears below, but still cooler than the large headlight, which is warm white. Oh! I received a letter the other week from Belper way on, which can only mean one thing…Steve has been busy turning my amateur CAD doodles into professional quality transfers. They are certainly worth the wait…they’re superb. All credit to Steve and Railtec. They’re so good, you could say they're… With apologies for the cruel close up. I’ll show them fully in the next update. Next jobs are finish detail painting (I’ve done some silver and black since these pics), then seal it all with gloss and slap on these transfers. Following glazing we should be there…in theory… Thanks, Jack. 17 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted November 1, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 1, 2021 Nice work Jack. It'll fill half the road vacated by the EMT HST. Don't forget your liner train can now be four vehicles longer..... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack374 Posted November 2, 2021 Author Share Posted November 2, 2021 10 hours ago, newbryford said: Nice work Jack. It'll fill half the road vacated by the EMT HST. Don't forget your liner train can now be four vehicles longer..... Ta much…already thought of that…Freightliner rake can be 18 vehicles long and the GBRf-ish rake can be 16, so think we’re good! If it’s not long enough I can always mod and weather another of my stash of megafrets…. Jack. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swifty11 Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 Looks superb! Now, when are you tackling the EMR power car with the spare purple paint? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack374 Posted November 2, 2021 Author Share Posted November 2, 2021 36 minutes ago, Swifty11 said: Looks superb! Now, when are you tackling the EMR power car with the spare purple paint? Cheers Tom…I’ve seen models of the purple one but no plans from me I’m afraid…I don’t own any HSTs! SoMeONe mentioned they might like an EMR 156, all they need to do is ask for the rest of the can! Jack. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack374 Posted December 6, 2021 Author Share Posted December 6, 2021 As usual, apologies for the time between updates! Aside from the 222, I’ve had chance to do some work on a couple of wagons. First up was securing the RHTT modules on a Hattons FEA set. The easiest way I could think of was some very thin wire, twisted at the bottom. This will allow removal if needed but forms a permanent bond for now. They need some serious weathering! Next project was my MRA side-tipping set. The bodies have never sat properly due to the poorly-mounted side rails, which the bodies sit on top of rather than straddling the chassis with them. Instead of moving them out I decided to take them all off and glue them to the chassis. The issue: And once glued on: Each chassis top was sanded smooth to ensure a snug fit. The other mod was to remove all the handbrake wheels, then remount half but with about 1mm less protrusion. The other half were glued to the other side of the bogies with wheels re-mounted, so in the end half the bogies had wheels on both sides, and half had none, as @newbryford showed in the Dapol MRA thread. I discovered an easy way to remove the wheels was to poke through the bogie frame with a 0.7mm drill bit, and they just popped out with a bit of pressure: I also noticed the chassis sat a bit low, with the buffers marginally lower than other stock. Since more gap between the bogies and chassis will allow more room for the handbrake wheels to fit, some 0.8mm crude washers were made: Another small mod is to address the poor stability of the wagons because they derail often! I noticed the bogies seemed quite rigid horizontally, and this is due to two small lugs on either side of the bogie which prevent any rocking. These were removed, since there is a ~10mm wide bogie pivot mount on the chassis which provide well enough stability. I’ve yet to test the wagons on a layout, but more rocking yet still stable is an improvement for sure. Finally, I cast my eye over the couplings. I’d already removed the originals and they’ve been in landfill for the last 8 or so years. I drilled some holes underneath just behind the buffer beam, allowing some 1mm copper wire to be bent to a [ shape, with one leg longer than the other, which will be bent round to secure one end permanently. The other simply hooks into the hole. I’ll do the 222 in a separate post… Jack. 14 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jack374 Posted December 6, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 6, 2021 The 222 now has one coach (MC) transferred-up with my custom sheet from Railtec. Before application, the whole coach was brush-painted with Pledge floor polish (ex-Johnson's Klear) and another coat was brushed on after the transfers were applied. First are a couple of shots of the transfer sheet, drawn by yours truly and manipulated, enhanced and printed by Steve @railtec-models for a very reasonable price. Many thanks Steve, I know it’s been months in the making (mostly due to my dodgy artwork!) but well worth it: Below a few shots of the coach finished: Windows were glued back in using Deluxe Glue N Glaze, but before this I went round each aperture with a black Sharpie, just to simulate the rubber surround and not show up any dodgy painting where the inside edges may have been a different colour to the body! Since the smaller windows are more 1/3 size on a 222 rather than 1/2 size on a voyager, the windows needed were chopped down from some spare full size originals and sanded to fit the individual ( different sized!) apertures I’d created: Thanks to Pete @Powerhaul 70 Pey, the 222 had its first run as a painted unit on Pete's superb layout Durrington (featured on this forum). To say it went smoothly would be a small lie…the inter-coach couplings basically derailed it on every curve. I’ve already sorted 2/3 of the problem by investing in a Really Useful Box which can hold 2 coach-length trains. Therefore only the centre connection will need to be unplugged after every use. I’m working on it but probable solution is to move the connector inboard so only the wires go between the coaches. Anyway, some pics in the urban environs of Durrington Central: As of this evening the rest of the coaches have been varnished with Klear, so transfers will be applied over the coming weeks. Thanks for reading my posts this evening! Jack. 17 12 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPNaylor0301 Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 That 222 might be the most impressive piece of modelling I've ever seen mate. I can't fathom how you'd know where to start, never mind getting a finish like that! Hats off mate, hope to see it running somewhere next year 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 MRAs - thanks very much for those tips! I've got a set that fall off at every opportunity. Same goes for the Hattons RHTT sets. I'll have a look closer at my set and see if I can get them to run better. 222 - jeeeez that looks bloody amazing. Like, seriously. I've seen a fair bit of cut-and-shut in my 14 years in the hobby, and this is one of the best I've ever seen - fact. 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swifty11 Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 Credit where it's due mate that 222 looks better than the real thing! Really is superb, now when are you starting the EMT set 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powerhaul 70 Pey Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 It really is stunning work Jack having seen it in the flesh so to speak. It was a honour for Durrington Central to host its test run. Thanks for sharing the photos. Hopefully it will feature again in our next running session! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfsup Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 Fantastic job with that 222 Jack! I'm pleased that spare Voyager body has been put to good use - I couldn't think of a better use for it! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxokid Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 Had good catch up here on your projects jack keep up top work my mate 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Departmental203 Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 Fantastic job on the 222 there mate, hard work has certainly paid off! Would certainly like to see it in the flesh sometime soon! And the little jobs on the wagons, they don't seem like much indivually but they do add up and certainly make them different! Jules 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jack374 Posted January 16, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 16, 2022 Thanks very much for the kind comments guys! It’s been a long time in the making…but I’m ready to say I’ve finished the 222… (…bar a light weathering, when the airbrush makes an appearance) The final push to get it ready has meant a stall on any other modelling, apart from one 'quick win' task I had. I’ve been meaning to rewire my 37716 for some time, to allow independent control of all the lights. What this means in practice, using a LokSound V4 (6 functions), is that the tail lights, marker lights and headlight at each end have their own function output. This required 2x 2N7002 transistors, as explained previously on 60065, since aux3 and 4 are 'logic level' - not powerful enough to drive LEDs. The task was made easier since I’d done the lighting boards myself when I converted the noses from centre headcode to ex-split box, so I disconnected the headlight from the markers and gave it its own feed, then the circuit board on the chassis was butchered. The results, I think, were worth it… I've also altered the function output modes and on/off delay, so each set of lights turns on/off differently, like the real thing! Now to the 222. First job was to finish the transfers, mostly from my custom sheet from Railtec. I have to say, they went on a treat - even the cant rail - which I was really surprised about because I’ve struggled with it in the past. Practice makes…partially perfect! Here are the transfers for the DMF before they began their bath… Then I re-fitted the windows. Each coach required a couple of windows to be chopped about…the centre cars due to the smaller 'half windows', which are about half size on a Voyager but around a third of a full window on a Meridian. On the drivers, the cab side windows had to be hacked around as they’re a complete different shape to a Voyager. That completes the build, then. It’s been fun, challenging, testing at times, but I’ve learnt a lot from it for sure. Roll on the next major project! Actually, think I’ll have a break first and focus on some slightly smaller projects… Thanks, Jack. 18 4 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPNaylor0301 Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Jack, I've said it before but that meridian is one of the most impressive pieces I've seen. Takes me back to the weekly Derby - Loughborough on a Saturday when I was a teenager Well, except the colour... 716 looks superb too, as James May might say... 'listening to her shifting 2k+ of Derbyshire countryside around in red boxes doesnt half give me a fizz', and you've captured her nicely! Top job mate, well done! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Oh ye gods, that 222 is simply beautiful. And yes, I said that, about a Meridian. I doff my hat to you Jack. That 37 is superb too! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Phil Mc Posted January 16, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 16, 2022 Hi Jack, The 222 looks great !! Looking forward to seeing it on a certain appropriate layout sometime.... Cheers, Phil. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted January 16, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 16, 2022 6 minutes ago, Phil Mc said: Hi Jack, The 222 looks great !! Looking forward to seeing it on a certain appropriate layout sometime.... Cheers, Phil. I wonder where that could be....? 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Andy7 Posted January 16, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 16, 2022 Super work on the 222. A labour of love that you should be rightly proud of, enjoy showing it off. Well done. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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