Jump to content
 

Jack's Present Day Workbench - Coaches of Many Colours


Jack374
 Share

Recommended Posts

On ‎20‎/‎03‎/‎2020 at 18:31, Jack374 said:

Well, over a month without an update. This is because the only achievement between the last post and this Monday was that I weathered the ONE container with a wash of RM 'Frame Dirt'...nothing to write home about.

 

However, last Friday was my second of 3 assignment deadlines, the last being 3 weeks away, so this week I’ve done some modelling! :danced:

 

The first project to be tackled was my DRS 20, 20303. The powered bogie was intermittent with the gears sometimes not meshing properly. Upon taking it apart, the final gear before the worm drive had lost the pin through the centre, allowing about 2mm of movement so it could disengage. This was rectified with some brass rod, secured after with a piece of tape either side, and all is now well:

7F762042-2303-41EF-BCC2-B3046E498110.jpeg.a05b5f3cf762da32dc6743f8aab81bad.jpeg

 

Then to the lights. I want full independent control but had to settle for day running directionally due to time constraints. This week however, I un-soldered the wires from the 21-pin breakout board and started afresh. Thankfully, I’d given each LED its own resistor and soldered in a wire for each light 'set', leaving the cab and night light wires as loose ends for connection later. For the nose end, wires were soldered to the breakout board whilst the cab wires were all soldered straight to the decoder to make use of the powered function outputs on both solder pads and the 21 pin interface.

 

48A1FC60-9D21-4DE2-B4FE-57DF3E146F66.jpeg.9696c1978a260fdb6c74282c40e860b2.jpeg

 

And a dodgy diagram of wiring positions, taken from the ESU LS V5 manual:

 

44F1994F-CE0C-4015-B2A1-1AAEBE0F005E.jpeg.41ae968b40d52956c4d461e1a22acf6b.jpeg

 

Then mapping on JMRI DecoderPro took place. F6 and F16 show marker lights only at cab and nose ends respectively, and if either of these are active then directional (day/tail) lights are disabled at that end, achieved by directional lights needing F6/F16 to be off to work. F20 and F21 control whether headlights are on or which are on during normal F0 directional light mode respectively, which works for both ends. All other lights are controllable from F23 upwards. Hopefully it’s clear as mud! :yes:
 

DecoderPro function map:

 

5A33B981-B9C6-4CA7-B09A-63870A9BB7D7.jpeg.8d4a8a7841e550ec958027b00aac75f3.jpeg
 

My function list:

 

655271AD-B79E-489D-8E21-EDEB3B35DF6B.jpeg.38778a8c0422d5b83fe5c488d2d222bd.jpeg

 

And full test. This was achieved with F6, F7 (cab), F16 and all of F23 to F28 active. This can actually be prototypically achieved as each individual light (except red pair) have a separate switch on the real 20/3s...

 

5073E3C6-0F2E-44B9-9E8E-E8ACBBCC0048.jpeg.36b64adae0279352100afa9133e919e2.jpeg

 

ED229EA9-2E03-4C54-BBB6-37FCBE102DF0.jpeg.694e7cf6bc74050aeb5b7768719fcd3d.jpeg

 

A couple of paint touch ups and she’s ready to roll. I might tackle the 08 next, although I don’t expect it to be as plain a sail....

 

In light of the current global situation, I hope everyone is keeping well, and stays safe. An important thing to remember during this time though is to not panic (buy) and keep modelling! :senile:

 

Thanks,

Jack.

Looking good Jack..

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Evening all, hope you’re in good health and have been well enough to do some modelling!

 

Before this week, I made an order from Richard Croft (Roads and Rails) for some speakers, one of which was an EM2. Very pricey for one speaker, but I’ve not heard any other with such an amount of bass that will fit in a loco. The loco chosen was my 68, which (after hearing Legomanbiffo's own EM2-fitted loco) I realised would benefit from an upgrade. Thankfully, when I milled the chassis I took as much metal off as possible, so the chunky EM2 fit nicely with some minor chamfering to the edges of the plastic enclosure. Some internal wiring re-routing and hot glue completed the job. The difference the EM2 makes is phenomenal.

 

D5E7CA35-D26F-45A7-A32E-FF35222A7532.jpeg.fe08dc992981ab66caecc30aa4b26d45.jpeg

 

I also had a play with the lights and turned them up slightly (the pic below exaggerates the brightness wildly), and although I’m not 100% happy with the amount of light bleed and blue hue, 90% happiness is enough for me not to rip them out and start again! I’ve learnt lessons for the next loco I do though...

 

1E97519B-6237-4A2B-9592-2F04E1DFC676.jpeg.60205c6f54f24ee0dee46da5d1c11ace.jpeg
 

Also this week I’ve finally signed off my DRS class 20 pair - the first ever time I’ve had 2 finished. The dummy Hornby body had windows and frames re-attached using the Shawplan originals I removed to repaint the yellow panel. Lights were then added using the board previously shown in this thread (I think), simply wired to a Hornby 4 function decoder and given the same address as 303 to work as a pair. If I don’t want the lights on 308 I’ll just unclip the body and disconnect the 3 pin plug from the decoder to the lights, simples!

 

168493C5-C0A0-48AE-903F-C4F5A2CE23FC.jpeg.0087a8084dbc65b14b7585d74c6d3c63.jpeg

99DC8108-732B-4BA7-94C1-D38E798E8A6D.jpeg.5fead322def7df198a8afeb5953829a0.jpeg

 

I also made another MW cable, again just some 0.5mm elastic and 1mm neodymium magnets glued with superglue, then dipped in orange paint:

44951CCC-7C30-457C-840C-976929784B8A.jpeg.f447dd12706467637c30f88250e6dd90.jpeg

 

And for the first time (for me), a photo of my DRS class 20 pair:

 

FEC67D28-44CD-4138-9B51-CE2CE1FABFC4.jpeg.0b2762f94b0ad17eceb9a1ab4eb6facd.jpeg

D5DA0F3D-6006-44C8-90D0-182F9CB4311B.jpeg.1863e1b84552631ee4d405c003689016.jpeg

 

Right at the beginning of this thread I wanted a 20 pair, and always had plans to make a dead 20 (Hornby one which I did and subsequently reworked recently) and a powered Bachmann 20, and finally we’re there! :imsohappy:

 

Next task is to fix my 08, however the layout the 20s are on was delivered by special parental courier early this week, so I’ve got something to crack on with over summer...

 

Thanks and stay safe! :yes:

Jack.

  • Like 12
  • Craftsmanship/clever 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

Evening, just the one photo today. I started the day by fixing my 08. There was an apparent jerk with every revolution of the wheels and when it stopped it lurched forwards, which appeared to be a gear backlash issue. I checked, and unlike the LokSound V5, there is no apparent backlash CV to compensate for this in the LokSound V4 Micro in the 08. So body off time.

 

I checked the backlash and meshing of the gears, and nothing untoward was apparent other than one mangled gear tooth, but the odds of stopping on this tooth every time are implausible. I then removed the connecting rods and the loco ran sweeter than ever. After reinstalling them I stopped the loco just as the tight spot was about to be overcome, and one rod set was taught and had no horizontal play at all, so I opened up the holes at either end and hey presto, it runs well now. After damaging some yellow paintwork, this (along with some white paintwork) was touched up, and some crank slip marks were added as seen on the prototype:

 

BD937296-D9C9-40CD-AC31-7BA34BD7905A.jpeg.d74f2c3f6ac6d63deef57fc4aa6e96ed.jpeg

 

Whilst I was in the loco, some more lead weight was added in every space available to give more traction effort, and I oiled the mechanism. These both enhance the running further, and hopefully that’ll do for another year or so! :yes:

 

I’ve now dismantled Lady Penelope for her speaker and lighting upgrade, however this will now share modelling time with my layout 'Fordley'...you never know I might have a layout to run some of this stock on soon! :senile:

 

Stay safe and happy modelling,

Jack.

  • Like 12
  • Craftsmanship/clever 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 27/03/2020 at 22:39, Jack374 said:

Evening all, hope you’re in good health and have been well enough to do some modelling!

 

Before this week, I made an order from Richard Croft (Roads and Rails) for some speakers, one of which was an EM2. Very pricey for one speaker, but I’ve not heard any other with such an amount of bass that will fit in a loco. The loco chosen was my 68, which (after hearing Legomanbiffo's own EM2-fitted loco) I realised would benefit from an upgrade. Thankfully, when I milled the chassis I took as much metal off as possible, so the chunky EM2 fit nicely with some minor chamfering to the edges of the plastic enclosure. Some internal wiring re-routing and hot glue completed the job. The difference the EM2 makes is phenomenal.

 

D5E7CA35-D26F-45A7-A32E-FF35222A7532.jpeg.fe08dc992981ab66caecc30aa4b26d45.jpeg

 

I also had a play with the lights and turned them up slightly (the pic below exaggerates the brightness wildly), and although I’m not 100% happy with the amount of light bleed and blue hue, 90% happiness is enough for me not to rip them out and start again! I’ve learnt lessons for the next loco I do though...

 

1E97519B-6237-4A2B-9592-2F04E1DFC676.jpeg.60205c6f54f24ee0dee46da5d1c11ace.jpeg
 

Also this week I’ve finally signed off my DRS class 20 pair - the first ever time I’ve had 2 finished. The dummy Hornby body had windows and frames re-attached using the Shawplan originals I removed to repaint the yellow panel. Lights were then added using the board previously shown in this thread (I think), simply wired to a Hornby 4 function decoder and given the same address as 303 to work as a pair. If I don’t want the lights on 308 I’ll just unclip the body and disconnect the 3 pin plug from the decoder to the lights, simples!

 

168493C5-C0A0-48AE-903F-C4F5A2CE23FC.jpeg.0087a8084dbc65b14b7585d74c6d3c63.jpeg

99DC8108-732B-4BA7-94C1-D38E798E8A6D.jpeg.5fead322def7df198a8afeb5953829a0.jpeg

 

I also made another MW cable, again just some 0.5mm elastic and 1mm neodymium magnets glued with superglue, then dipped in orange paint:

44951CCC-7C30-457C-840C-976929784B8A.jpeg.f447dd12706467637c30f88250e6dd90.jpeg

 

And for the first time (for me), a photo of my DRS class 20 pair:

 

FEC67D28-44CD-4138-9B51-CE2CE1FABFC4.jpeg.0b2762f94b0ad17eceb9a1ab4eb6facd.jpeg

D5DA0F3D-6006-44C8-90D0-182F9CB4311B.jpeg.1863e1b84552631ee4d405c003689016.jpeg

 

Right at the beginning of this thread I wanted a 20 pair, and always had plans to make a dead 20 (Hornby one which I did and subsequently reworked recently) and a powered Bachmann 20, and finally we’re there! :imsohappy:

 

Next task is to fix my 08, however the layout the 20s are on was delivered by special parental courier early this week, so I’ve got something to crack on with over summer...

 

Thanks and stay safe! :yes:

Jack.

The mu cable looks good.....need a bar coupling and pipes to take to another level....will look good on new layout do tell more!

  • Thanks 1
  • Friendly/supportive 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

The Bachman coupling intended for between coaches works well between a pair of 20’s, especially if it’s modified to prevent it pushing through the NEM pocket.

Leaves plenty of space to replicate the other pipe work too.....:chok_mini:

 

Cheers,

Phil.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Cheers G, Phil and Swifty...I’ll certainly have a look into a better coupling arrangement, but the photos showed the absolute worst case with tension locks and was to prove that the MW cable would stretch between the void.

 

And a shameless plug to answer G's question...more information on my layout 'Fordley' can be found in my signature and here: 

Most of my time will be spent on this going forwards, as I’ve got all the stock for it, and bar some weathering and mods it’s almost ready without the layout to run on! :nono:

 

With this in mind, I’ve pushed on with the last of my projects needing remedial work due to time constraints when I first finished them. I wanted to utilise the many function outputs on 'Lady Penelope' fully, as it’s fitted with a LokSound V5, so I started by dismantling the original light boards, which I’d already heavily modified.
 

Once all components were removed, I found I could reuse the boards by re-soldering the red LEDs back in and also adding two legs to support a tiny 0603 white SMD to provide day and night headlights. This was mainly done to ensure all white lights had the same hue, as the original LEDs were noticeably more blueish than the SMDs. I also wired all +ve legs to a common bus bar and therefore had to cut one track on the lighting PCB as both headlights would’ve been connected together. Pictures will show better than my description:

 

4B8C6D41-E716-4448-AB99-18F4F26320CF.jpeg.6250d18111a827a93bf93e952d945200.jpeg

97E98D8E-9422-45B3-982E-74DF99F70E35.jpeg.9d5388a97e0d0a7136aa8c3b71ea958b.jpeg


This meant there was a common +ve and each LED/SMD had its own connection. The plastic shrouds were then reinstalled, and the marker lights I added previously (described in this thread somewhere, just some copperclad and SMDs) were connected to the new bus wire. All installed and tidied up:

 

B2EF0610-B661-4837-BA15-8F28A69240C1.jpeg.6b5484b14375dd0d95176ba82e7969bd.jpeg

 

The cab roof mounted light units were next to be butchered. The cab lights are yellow/orange as supplied and look horrendous, so the SMD was broken off and a new white replacement soldered on (appears yellow in the RHS pic below). The top marker light SMD oddly had a resistor on the same board, whilst the cab light had one on the main PCB. I like to solder in my own resistors on common boards, so if any need adjusting it's very straightforward to. Thus, the resistor on the board was broken off and the pads shorted (LHS below). I left the little beige capacitor in to provide a small amount of smoothing:

77A2D375-CF74-41B2-8D2A-F2D27FB74FED.jpeg.2b04f4ee7831fc6acfabe9160e733b4f.jpeg

Finally, each SMD/LED was fed through a resistor, with 10k for the SMDs and 3k3 for the 3 markers which share 1 resistor. These can be altered if needed when I test it. Power comes from board-mounted pads for FOF, FOR, AUX1 and AUX2 whilst AUX3 to AUX8 come from solder pads on the decoder itself as these are full power outputs. This allows markers, tail, cab and day/night headlights to all be independently controlled.

 

0CEF415D-4DD2-405C-A5CA-E96060E730B4.jpeg.7fbeba0ac09ae6f900e889d7502aa36e.jpeg

 

I’ve checked everything with a digital multimeter but there’s always a bit of nervousness when you first put it on the track! :senile:

 

Testing will follow before I put it all back together and program the decoder, I’ll post some pics when I do. As I say, after this loco I’ll mainly focus on the layout but I’m sure some other projects will feature in between! Snowploughs, class 66s, a class 70 and a certain purple unit are all on the current 'to-do' list.

 

Thanks and stay safe,

Jack.

  • Like 8
  • Craftsmanship/clever 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Evening all, I hope we’re all well and finding lots of time for modelling... :senile:

 

I've finally finished the 57 for good. The lighting turned out to be a bit of a pain, firstly because Aux6 wasn’t working, much like the 20 LokSound V5 too. After speaking with Richard from Roads & Rails, I found out that on (at least these two of) Legomanbiffo's V5 projects, Aux6 is turned off using a CV, so a simple CV change and it worked. Quite annoying but glad it’s sorted. Also Richard told me which CVs change the headlights from fading on and off to coming straight on/off as per the real life LEDs on the 57, so these were changed. Quite simple really when you get your head around it! If anyone wants any help with this in future LMK. :yes:
 

The speaker was from Richard and is a small megabass speaker based on a 'sugar cube' with enclosure, and sounds surprisingly good for its small size. It fit nicely in the fuel tank:

 

65A1AF0E-4A59-4BAE-ACD5-E050DA51C16E.jpeg.3aa228ec0f6784b947f7c3b086e204d4.jpeg
 

The final task before detail painting and reassembly was to degrease the mechanism like Phil Mc did...the amount of excess gunk is extraordinary...

 

0B5300C7-FCF2-41CF-AD02-EDA64C172FF5.jpeg.c2bcf706980a6dd99856345f5b40d2c7.jpeg

I swear that’s from the drivetrain and I didn’t have a good nose pick!!

 

Some photos, with the 57 arriving on 'Fordley' with day headlight, then moving onto the depot with just marker lights, then ready to leave later with night headlights and cab light...

 

06EB0855-915A-4B86-88A6-64908D315E99.jpeg.c5125d1dac8c93cc5f78c90d874338c2.jpeg

F5FEF0D6-3DFE-4246-B108-DD0AE4F302D5.jpeg.4835a89de338fdb73e385fee33dc211d.jpeg

6B58F37C-F851-4903-961E-CE5D4150D206.jpeg.decd41d15f2f9c76ebe0f6d5f7f0f147.jpeg
 

Apart from that, the ETS cable was made from wire at the no.1 end to represent the double length one fitted to 57/3s to allow then to reach the Pendolino. Also I added some Dellner coupling extensions underneath the under-nourished Bachmann moulding, just using some pieces of square styrene rod. Finally, some tyre slip marks in white and other details were painted, and that’s it done!

 

9A265AC3-BA06-4EC4-8F7A-8FAE43DFCB88.jpeg.6a88e78e74ba24678da801845d4ce6d0.jpeg
 

And for now at least, the workbench is empty of loco projects! I honestly can’t recall the last time I didn’t have any projects 'on'. The 222 will be looked at soon, but I need to scratchbuild some signals, buildings and a bridge for Fordley in the meantime, so any modelling updates will be in that thread.

 

Thanks for staying tuned, I’ll be back shortly I’m sure. :good:

 

Jack.

  • Like 7
  • Craftsmanship/clever 5
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

Looks good Jack ! :good_mini:

Remember to lower the top speed now you’ve got all that grot out of the drivetrain !! 

I’ve got a DRS 57/3 under my workbench, but seeing as I’ve already done ‘301 in its current livery I want to do something different...

...quite like the look of ROG’s ‘312, if anyone does the transfers ! :lol:
 

cheers,

Phil.

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Looks great! 

 

52 minutes ago, Phil Mc said:

Looks good Jack ! :good_mini:

Remember to lower the top speed now you’ve got all that grot out of the drivetrain !! 

I’ve got a DRS 57/3 under my workbench, but seeing as I’ve already done ‘301 in its current livery I want to do something different...

...quite like the look of ROG’s ‘312, if anyone does the transfers ! :lol:
 

cheers,

Phil.

On a side note, there's been some discussion about 57312 in ROG on Facebook modelling pages of late and there's a consensus some of the transfers are too thick so perhaps worth investigation before buying!

  • Thanks 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Cheers all for the comments and likes. I said I’d be back but owing to a lack of things to do on Fordley, I’ve been at the workbench a lot the last few days, and might be for the next few weeks! :O

 

So now for something completely different. I bought a pair of Network Rail livery ZZA independent drift snowploughs when Flangeway announced another run. I had heard about some missing/incorrect details, and upon receiving them they seem a fairly basic model by (my) current standards. Lots to do then! And I don’t apologise for the amount of images as I’ve enjoyed this project!

 

The first job I tackled was the misshapen plough. Looking at prototype photos, the top and bottom edges are both straight, whereas there is a pronounced curve on the model. I wasn’t originally going to rectify this, but decided it best so I don’t see it every time I look at the models! The first 'plough was sorted initially with a soldering iron, bending the bottom edge straight, then a piece of plastic was glued to give a straight edge. The whole lot was then filled, and after primer is now ready for the third pass of filler (photo later):

1F9FDCB3-73F1-455F-B9D2-36BE11AADB72.jpeg.eb091480dfbc6b37ee6c0b45bc3c48ca.jpeg

 

On the next plough I thought I’d try and make replacement parts from brass, with lots of cutting, filing and rolling to get the right shape, which I’m very pleased with:

0539E42D-F747-4B1A-9475-3F5534144E07.jpeg.d1c83dfd8d4da5f99609df75018b5fd8.jpeg

Hopefully much less sanding and filling on this one. At this stage, the chassis has had the yellow for the chevrons, red for dumb buffer (is that G's nickname :jester:) and white for footsteps sprayed.

 

At this point, most other details were taken from the prototypes I’ve chosen, which were ADB965209 and ADB965231, which I saw last year heading north after refurbishment:

Snow Progress

 

During refurbishment (confirmed from a photo inside the RTC), the small window at the loco end of the ploughs were blanked off - and not too cleanly either with the outline of the window still visible in some cases! As I’m modelling these as in the above photo, I filed down the windows and sanded roughly smooth, which turned out ok after primer:

3367DED6-DDF0-4480-B989-BD20DDAA5A3C.jpeg.63cf1b220f28871f69fb2940640e63bd.jpeg

The windows were not for being removed so I just filed them down.

 

Turning to the innards, I decided to add a directional lamp to each one, which shows solid white in one direction and flashing red in the other. I chose to control these with 2 Zimo MX686 decoders, which both allow a capacitor to be used for charge storage and allow the user to program the flash rate for any function output with one CV, choosing on time and off time. I haven’t yet found a fixed flash rate on a decoder which looks 'right', and I can change this with one CV. The decoder and huge 1000uF cap were taped to a piece of plasticard through a hole in the floor in the chassis as shown. This allows all electronics to be mounted on the chassis/sub chassis, and leaves the main inside area free for lots of lead for good adhesion! Not that I need it with a monstrous capacitor...

02B0076D-2AAF-41B6-B959-8EAD58C8789B.jpeg.e36e9c84e415575b5ab473654ab7daf3.jpeg

 

Pickups were added from phosphor bronze strip (Slater's), and wired to the decoder:

47A761FD-DA30-46E5-86C1-1DE4F4675652.jpeg.72bcbebc624d66f5a30d9018c51b5f4e.jpeg

 

And completing the lighting, a lamp was made from plasticard and two tiny 0603 size SMDs, soldered to some enamelled 0.3mm copper wire, with common +ve:

94A96E63-295D-4E3D-A2F3-E67FC76AB244.jpeg.5b63f7452b9f692912a4a01bafa25269.jpeg

1252AFE7-9DED-47A1-BE15-3F0670948A00.jpeg.b0d89cc0e97d1dceeae5665d4cdb848c.jpeg

I'll do some photos of the lamp lit when the ploughs are finished, but it works very well.

 

Finally on the ploughs for now, the small bracket (for towing or lifting?) on the sharp end of the plough was produced from plasticard, along with some lifting brackets which are buffer beam mounted. These were sprayed yellow:

683BBCF0-B005-4757-8C87-4B0CF1F4B00F.jpeg.8677b1ef52d37a3d382210f034974823.jpeg

 

And some progress shots of the first plough, after bolt heads, chevrons and handrails (0.3mm steel wire) were picked out this morning:

4AA618FC-B48E-4484-BEB8-499252BD1A21.jpeg.9e44965e17e54eeeb8580c876b66009f.jpeg

62851AD1-5B67-4610-941B-C32F1048AAE5.jpeg.464c722bc9ae53e400dc2f09d0f71c69.jpeg

806845AD-AC5B-4D7C-8041-3C5CB4B2FF7F.jpeg.67707009c32097d49999642d065d73d7.jpeg
Still lots to do but these should be a mean pair! :yes:
 

The other thing I’ve been tinkering with is a scale ground position light (GPL) for Fordley. This was made using copperclad board and my favourite (not...) 0603 SMDs. The lenses were meant to be brass but I got fed up making them so went for fibre optic, filed to the correct shape, which looks very effective. I built it because I’m a cheapskate (all signals needed for Fordley would cost over £100 from some suppliers...) and I’m not convinced with the scale of some which seem quite over scale, whereas I know this one is to scale as I found Unipart-Dorman drawings online...

7D92CAC8-6817-4A52-9C24-89D1D1D67B5C.jpeg.0ee040575651abc35e60cfb93f702ac9.jpeg

5FE4CFF1-FACB-4DB8-BE45-7566CFA70DB4.jpeg.d4874457d10978134c7d99d9a878a6c1.jpeg

B6AE5F2D-11B3-42D7-8D8A-EC13897F254C.jpeg.307d1c66572ced914f3609d7e4664431.jpeg

F3BB989C-C68F-4741-8331-69AB000E5646.jpeg.0fd7b22df12727081269566a5d42d000.jpeg
All good fun! :D

 

I hope everyone is staying safe and is well, and can enjoy some modelling time. :senile:

 

Keep modelling!

Jack.

  • Like 9
  • Craftsmanship/clever 8
Link to post
Share on other sites

Great modelling as always Jack.

 

For the snow plough did you just use paint for the chevrons or some transfers? I was planning on ‘finishing’ the model by doing that and picking out the details you had but didn’t realise the plough was the wrong shape also. 
 

Best regards

Ali

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Pegleg90 said:

For the snow plough did you just use paint for the chevrons or some transfers? I was planning on ‘finishing’ the model by doing that and picking out the details you had but didn’t realise the plough was the wrong shape also.


Thanks Ali, I just painted the yellow with Halfords spray then cut a strip of 1.5mm masking tape and did the chevrons with that, which worked well if a bit tedious. Check the 'ploughs you want to model though as this bottom edge chevron is different with at least two different sizes I’ve seen. Transfers would be fine...the small raised details are a little under scale (adding to the list of errors...) so transfers would go over these fine.

 

The plough issue is only an issue for me because now I’ve noticed it I can’t un-see it! Had I not have had lots of time I probably wouldn’t have changed it as it's taken a lot of effort. As Jules says, maybe the Hattons model for the same price is better, but I definitely wanted an independent drift plough not a Beilhack variant. Flangeway's model would’ve been good a decade ago but by today’s standards it’s underwhelming compared to Hattons' model.

 

Jack.

  • Like 1
  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On ‎29‎/‎04‎/‎2020 at 16:06, Jack374 said:

Cheers all for the comments and likes. I said I’d be back but owing to a lack of things to do on Fordley, I’ve been at the workbench a lot the last few days, and might be for the next few weeks! :O

 

So now for something completely different. I bought a pair of Network Rail livery ZZA independent drift snowploughs when Flangeway announced another run. I had heard about some missing/incorrect details, and upon receiving them they seem a fairly basic model by (my) current standards. Lots to do then! And I don’t apologise for the amount of images as I’ve enjoyed this project!

 

The first job I tackled was the misshapen plough. Looking at prototype photos, the top and bottom edges are both straight, whereas there is a pronounced curve on the model. I wasn’t originally going to rectify this, but decided it best so I don’t see it every time I look at the models! The first 'plough was sorted initially with a soldering iron, bending the bottom edge straight, then a piece of plastic was glued to give a straight edge. The whole lot was then filled, and after primer is now ready for the third pass of filler (photo later):

1F9FDCB3-73F1-455F-B9D2-36BE11AADB72.jpeg.eb091480dfbc6b37ee6c0b45bc3c48ca.jpeg

 

On the next plough I thought I’d try and make replacement parts from brass, with lots of cutting, filing and rolling to get the right shape, which I’m very pleased with:

0539E42D-F747-4B1A-9475-3F5534144E07.jpeg.d1c83dfd8d4da5f99609df75018b5fd8.jpeg

Hopefully much less sanding and filling on this one. At this stage, the chassis has had the yellow for the chevrons, red for dumb buffer (is that G's nickname :jester:) and white for footsteps sprayed.

 

At this point, most other details were taken from the prototypes I’ve chosen, which were ADB965209 and ADB965231, which I saw last year heading north after refurbishment:

Snow Progress

 

During refurbishment (confirmed from a photo inside the RTC), the small window at the loco end of the ploughs were blanked off - and not too cleanly either with the outline of the window still visible in some cases! As I’m modelling these as in the above photo, I filed down the windows and sanded roughly smooth, which turned out ok after primer:

3367DED6-DDF0-4480-B989-BD20DDAA5A3C.jpeg.63cf1b220f28871f69fb2940640e63bd.jpeg

The windows were not for being removed so I just filed them down.

 

Turning to the innards, I decided to add a directional lamp to each one, which shows solid white in one direction and flashing red in the other. I chose to control these with 2 Zimo MX686 decoders, which both allow a capacitor to be used for charge storage and allow the user to program the flash rate for any function output with one CV, choosing on time and off time. I haven’t yet found a fixed flash rate on a decoder which looks 'right', and I can change this with one CV. The decoder and huge 1000uF cap were taped to a piece of plasticard through a hole in the floor in the chassis as shown. This allows all electronics to be mounted on the chassis/sub chassis, and leaves the main inside area free for lots of lead for good adhesion! Not that I need it with a monstrous capacitor...

02B0076D-2AAF-41B6-B959-8EAD58C8789B.jpeg.e36e9c84e415575b5ab473654ab7daf3.jpeg

 

Pickups were added from phosphor bronze strip (Slater's), and wired to the decoder:

47A761FD-DA30-46E5-86C1-1DE4F4675652.jpeg.72bcbebc624d66f5a30d9018c51b5f4e.jpeg

 

And completing the lighting, a lamp was made from plasticard and two tiny 0603 size SMDs, soldered to some enamelled 0.3mm copper wire, with common +ve:

94A96E63-295D-4E3D-A2F3-E67FC76AB244.jpeg.5b63f7452b9f692912a4a01bafa25269.jpeg

1252AFE7-9DED-47A1-BE15-3F0670948A00.jpeg.b0d89cc0e97d1dceeae5665d4cdb848c.jpeg

I'll do some photos of the lamp lit when the ploughs are finished, but it works very well.

 

Finally on the ploughs for now, the small bracket (for towing or lifting?) on the sharp end of the plough was produced from plasticard, along with some lifting brackets which are buffer beam mounted. These were sprayed yellow:

683BBCF0-B005-4757-8C87-4B0CF1F4B00F.jpeg.8677b1ef52d37a3d382210f034974823.jpeg

 

And some progress shots of the first plough, after bolt heads, chevrons and handrails (0.3mm steel wire) were picked out this morning:

4AA618FC-B48E-4484-BEB8-499252BD1A21.jpeg.9e44965e17e54eeeb8580c876b66009f.jpeg

62851AD1-5B67-4610-941B-C32F1048AAE5.jpeg.464c722bc9ae53e400dc2f09d0f71c69.jpeg

806845AD-AC5B-4D7C-8041-3C5CB4B2FF7F.jpeg.67707009c32097d49999642d065d73d7.jpeg
Still lots to do but these should be a mean pair! :yes:
 

The other thing I’ve been tinkering with is a scale ground position light (GPL) for Fordley. This was made using copperclad board and my favourite (not...) 0603 SMDs. The lenses were meant to be brass but I got fed up making them so went for fibre optic, filed to the correct shape, which looks very effective. I built it because I’m a cheapskate (all signals needed for Fordley would cost over £100 from some suppliers...) and I’m not convinced with the scale of some which seem quite over scale, whereas I know this one is to scale as I found Unipart-Dorman drawings online...

7D92CAC8-6817-4A52-9C24-89D1D1D67B5C.jpeg.0ee040575651abc35e60cfb93f702ac9.jpeg

5FE4CFF1-FACB-4DB8-BE45-7566CFA70DB4.jpeg.d4874457d10978134c7d99d9a878a6c1.jpeg

B6AE5F2D-11B3-42D7-8D8A-EC13897F254C.jpeg.307d1c66572ced914f3609d7e4664431.jpeg

F3BB989C-C68F-4741-8331-69AB000E5646.jpeg.0fd7b22df12727081269566a5d42d000.jpeg
All good fun! :D

 

I hope everyone is staying safe and is well, and can enjoy some modelling time. :senile:

 

Keep modelling!

Jack.

More top stuff I see Jack:good:

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Some more work on the snowploughs has been done, although a few tasks have been a bit repetitive of late...caused by having to do two of everything and also so far I’ve filled, filed and primed the first plough 5 times! :O I hope they’re both done now though, with a final rub down before I’m happy to paint them proper. I added the supplied icicle breakers to the tops, which were filed down a bit and scrub up alright...much easier than scratch-building brass replacements. Brass plough is shown first, below:

06F84771-BB98-41C7-ABEB-41516A499A71.jpeg.6ce34377444cb0a926cd9a3b85816add.jpeg
FE8B06BF-8FE9-47F5-8910-98B9CACAE6E6.jpeg.36897fab5180f82c19a8405c7756a35f.jpeg

 

Also the second chassis is finished bar cover handles and detail painting. The pickups, decoder/capacitor and portable lamp were added in the exact same way as before, as were the chevrons:

90698E7E-710E-426C-A639-CCCD63A97B4D.jpeg.344def3efb3d45e6f4fee12559a18b45.jpeg

(They’ll be getting a coat of varnish when done so the patch painting will be hidden...)
 

Also made and painted are the tread plates or coupling protectors which sit on top of the buffers at the loco end of the plough. These are made of two pieces which sit over the buffers and a middle portion which hinges up to allow coupling access. Having seen various photos with the middle bit up and down (admittedly always down when running), I’ve modelled both situations. The pieces which will be horizontal are from A1 Models diamond plate whilst the raised middle section is standard brass, with a square of styrene glued on the back which is angled and will be stuck to the top part of the plough...photos will show better:

09618D58-51CD-4121-B51C-0F8C41AEA68C.jpeg.35daf0ca2eebe1c5e877dae2d6e0e0fc.jpeg

E7663337-F6BC-45F8-B164-3AB9FC02EAC6.jpeg.80b58b8fd377260e188492a9a35d81a9.jpeg

 

Finally for the ploughs, a shot of current progress:

09D2F41F-A9FB-4120-8002-209854FADD46.jpeg.64bb88b17dcfd3a587cbd3692a5db826.jpeg

 

Now then...I’ve restarted a previous project, before I realised how much work it’d be. The 'Purple Peril' East Midlands Railway 222. The first driving coach (MSO) has had more styrene added to the nose and I’ll show this in the next update. Meanwhile, the next coach has been started, the MSRMB (or standard class centre coach for ease!), which needed lots of work. After looking at photos of the real 4 ex-Hull Trains 4-car units, I found both centre coaches had the aircon units the opposite end to a 220 - the base model. And before anyone says, I did check the coach is the right way around because the windows and exhaust are correctly orientated! :yes:

 

To begin, I marked with masking tape (having very roughly marked with Sharpie during research) where the unit recess needed moving to. I made the new slot slightly longer than the existing slot, so I could use the cut-out as a blank for the existing slot and have continuous ribs, which are a PITA to make!

086B6C9B-49F3-4507-A77E-9FE296EB6ABD.jpeg.76e79ef6a55d882a0c58e9c75eacb59e.jpeg


Then it was out with the hacksaw for the cross-roof cuts and fresh blade in the craft knife for the long cuts, resulting in this:

8E3D724A-4959-4672-A313-0D84811C83E0.jpeg.dd338f95b556db7adcd01b60cc85f4e8.jpeg

 

The hole was tidied up, the blank filed flat underneath and the old recess filed flat before offering up the blank and ensuring it fit well. The blank was then glued in with liquid superglue, and a styrene plug cut to fill the hole:

74E0141A-B3A0-498A-B192-FF052FC2FD1F.jpeg.4c5081d2a5c1a9e5841f148bac2c0489.jpeg


Easy peasy! Not...and the other centre coach is the same! :nono:

 

Next job was to move the unit at one coach end inwards, as the 222s have them mounted right at the end of the coach with no tanks on the roof like the 220s. The knife and saw were used in a broadly similar manner:

109A431E-136A-4F8D-8CA3-9AB753389E60.jpeg.221ea4850908843e98543b06ade9b4f7.jpeg

 

And fitted in place with superglue once cleaned up:

F58EF26C-8727-4AB1-A3BB-E7F79972311F.jpeg.5379fd28f47bf5c0d6e459452640e1e3.jpeg
 

Lastly, a new window was created using a 2mm drill in a pin vice and the craft knife. Lots of 1.5mm holes were drilled around the edge to allow the knife to cut easier...didn’t take any photos during the process so must do next time...

FB1F6143-1608-4B15-98F7-0C33FD21AE07.jpeg.8115647796996b2eca66e78d939646e5.jpeg

 

Next job is to fill the gaping hole left by moving the roof end unit. I’m undecided how to do this; I’ll probably end up cutting the profile out of multiple pieces of styrene then gluing them together and filing to shape before fitting, as I don’t want to remove even more ribs if I can help it. Also I need to make the half-size windows about third- or quarter-size, as shown above. Then lots of filling and sanding (my favourite past time...NOT!) and tidying up to be done.

 

Maybe I should’ve listened to my elders and taken G's advice when I first announced the project after he said there were lots of differences...he wasn’t wrong! I’d started by then though, so no going back...

 

Hope everyone is well and can keep on modelling! :senile:

Jack.

  • Like 5
  • Craftsmanship/clever 5
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

Ploughs are looking good Jack !

You've more patience than me, I bought 2 Hurst models kits of these ploughs at least 25 (!) years ago, built one, and the other one is still a flat etch !! :lol:

 

Think I'd be searching eBay for a spare voyager body, for the roof panel !

 

Like the use of the word 'elders' too !! :taunt:

 

Just one question, how do you drill 1.5mm holes with a 2mm drill ??!! :P

 

Cheers,

Phil.

  • Thanks 1
  • Funny 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice work on the 222 there Jack! I wouldn't mind having a go myself, but I've got too many FGW Mk3 used projects on the go for now. 

 

Come to think of it, I might have a spare Voyager body if you want it? 

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium
1 hour ago, Phil Mc said:

 

 

Like the use of the word 'elders' too !! :taunt:

 

J

 

Just whom are you referring to?

 

Be careful, or I'll tell the stories about when your Dad dragged you round shows........

(Rather than it being the other way round. Hi Mac!)

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium
4 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

Just whom are you referring to?

 

Be careful, or I'll tell the stories about when your Dad dragged you round shows........

(Rather than it being the other way round. Hi Mac!)

 

I'm saying nuthin guvner......:P

 

Cheers,

Phil.

Link to post
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Jack374 said:

Some more work on the snowploughs has been done, although a few tasks have been a bit repetitive of late...caused by having to do two of everything and also so far I’ve filled, filed and primed the first plough 5 times! :O I hope they’re both done now though, with a final rub down before I’m happy to paint them proper. I added the supplied icicle breakers to the tops, which were filed down a bit and scrub up alright...much easier than scratch-building brass replacements. Brass plough is shown first, below:

06F84771-BB98-41C7-ABEB-41516A499A71.jpeg.6ce34377444cb0a926cd9a3b85816add.jpeg
FE8B06BF-8FE9-47F5-8910-98B9CACAE6E6.jpeg.36897fab5180f82c19a8405c7756a35f.jpeg

 

Also the second chassis is finished bar cover handles and detail painting. The pickups, decoder/capacitor and portable lamp were added in the exact same way as before, as were the chevrons:

90698E7E-710E-426C-A639-CCCD63A97B4D.jpeg.344def3efb3d45e6f4fee12559a18b45.jpeg

(They’ll be getting a coat of varnish when done so the patch painting will be hidden...)
 

Also made and painted are the tread plates or coupling protectors which sit on top of the buffers at the loco end of the plough. These are made of two pieces which sit over the buffers and a middle portion which hinges up to allow coupling access. Having seen various photos with the middle bit up and down (admittedly always down when running), I’ve modelled both situations. The pieces which will be horizontal are from A1 Models diamond plate whilst the raised middle section is standard brass, with a square of styrene glued on the back which is angled and will be stuck to the top part of the plough...photos will show better:

09618D58-51CD-4121-B51C-0F8C41AEA68C.jpeg.35daf0ca2eebe1c5e877dae2d6e0e0fc.jpeg

E7663337-F6BC-45F8-B164-3AB9FC02EAC6.jpeg.80b58b8fd377260e188492a9a35d81a9.jpeg

 

Finally for the ploughs, a shot of current progress:

09D2F41F-A9FB-4120-8002-209854FADD46.jpeg.64bb88b17dcfd3a587cbd3692a5db826.jpeg

 

Now then...I’ve restarted a previous project, before I realised how much work it’d be. The 'Purple Peril' East Midlands Railway 222. The first driving coach (MSO) has had more styrene added to the nose and I’ll show this in the next update. Meanwhile, the next coach has been started, the MSRMB (or standard class centre coach for ease!), which needed lots of work. After looking at photos of the real 4 ex-Hull Trains 4-car units, I found both centre coaches had the aircon units the opposite end to a 220 - the base model. And before anyone says, I did check the coach is the right way around because the windows and exhaust are correctly orientated! :yes:

 

To begin, I marked with masking tape (having very roughly marked with Sharpie during research) where the unit recess needed moving to. I made the new slot slightly longer than the existing slot, so I could use the cut-out as a blank for the existing slot and have continuous ribs, which are a PITA to make!

086B6C9B-49F3-4507-A77E-9FE296EB6ABD.jpeg.76e79ef6a55d882a0c58e9c75eacb59e.jpeg


Then it was out with the hacksaw for the cross-roof cuts and fresh blade in the craft knife for the long cuts, resulting in this:

8E3D724A-4959-4672-A313-0D84811C83E0.jpeg.dd338f95b556db7adcd01b60cc85f4e8.jpeg

 

The hole was tidied up, the blank filed flat underneath and the old recess filed flat before offering up the blank and ensuring it fit well. The blank was then glued in with liquid superglue, and a styrene plug cut to fill the hole:

74E0141A-B3A0-498A-B192-FF052FC2FD1F.jpeg.4c5081d2a5c1a9e5841f148bac2c0489.jpeg


Easy peasy! Not...and the other centre coach is the same! :nono:

 

Next job was to move the unit at one coach end inwards, as the 222s have them mounted right at the end of the coach with no tanks on the roof like the 220s. The knife and saw were used in a broadly similar manner:

109A431E-136A-4F8D-8CA3-9AB753389E60.jpeg.221ea4850908843e98543b06ade9b4f7.jpeg

 

And fitted in place with superglue once cleaned up:

F58EF26C-8727-4AB1-A3BB-E7F79972311F.jpeg.5379fd28f47bf5c0d6e459452640e1e3.jpeg
 

Lastly, a new window was created using a 2mm drill in a pin vice and the craft knife. Lots of 1.5mm holes were drilled around the edge to allow the knife to cut easier...didn’t take any photos during the process so must do next time...

FB1F6143-1608-4B15-98F7-0C33FD21AE07.jpeg.8115647796996b2eca66e78d939646e5.jpeg

 

Next job is to fill the gaping hole left by moving the roof end unit. I’m undecided how to do this; I’ll probably end up cutting the profile out of multiple pieces of styrene then gluing them together and filing to shape before fitting, as I don’t want to remove even more ribs if I can help it. Also I need to make the half-size windows about third- or quarter-size, as shown above. Then lots of filling and sanding (my favourite past time...NOT!) and tidying up to be done.

 

Maybe I should’ve listened to my elders and taken G's advice when I first announced the project after he said there were lots of differences...he wasn’t wrong! I’d started by then though, so no going back...

 

Hope everyone is well and can keep on modelling! :senile:

Jack.

Your mad as a box of airfix kits...! For doing 222!

Long road ahead ...many drill holes many knife blades..watch fingers .....lots of filler...and the odd plaster!

Look forward to updates

For your next trick ....are you making a 180 dmu out of a triang 101met cam dmu?

Good work jack

Edited by bradfordbuffer
  • Thanks 1
  • Funny 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Phil Mc said:

You've more patience than me, I bought 2 Hurst models kits of these ploughs...

 

Just one question, how do you drill 1.5mm holes with a 2mm drill ??!! :P


Cheers Phil...tbh at least the Hurst kits should be a better shape! Wouldn’t be surprised if the amount of time I’ve spent on mine would be proportionate to building those kits.....

 

Yeah not my finest choice of words! I meant 2mm holes for the corners then lots of 1.5mm holes in between. :no:

 

11 hours ago, surfsup said:

Nice work on the 222 there Jack! I wouldn't mind having a go myself, but I've got too many FGW Mk3 used projects on the go for now. 

 

Come to think of it, I might have a spare Voyager body if you want it? 


Thanks! If you do have one that would be awesome, I shall PM you. :good:

 

9 hours ago, bradfordbuffer said:

Your mad as a box of airfix kits...! For doing 222!

Long road ahead ...many drill holes many knife blades..watch fingers .....lots of filler...and the odd plaster!

Look forward to updates

For your next trick ....are you making a 180 dmu out of a triang 101met cam dmu?

Good work jack


You did warn me haha! TBH the first coach has gone alright so I’m optimistic about the others. The centre coaches need the most amount of hacking, and I reckon I’ve got the ends nearly there with styrene...some filler and primer will show whether I’m there.

 

Thanks,

Jack.

  • Like 4
  • Friendly/supportive 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...