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Jack's Present Day Workbench - Coaches of Many Colours


Jack374
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Very nice work indeed Jack! The 68 looks great, the little details that have been picked up certainly help lift it.

 

Those MXA's look superb too, and really look the part behind the 68.

 

Good luck with the apprenticeship as well. Pleased to see they're back in favour now, I felt very lucky when I landed mine (just over 10 years ago) when they were rather scarce!

 

Andy.

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A very productive day indeed! Your 68 looks spot on and them bright red wagons are fantastic.

Good luck at RR!

Thanks very much Will, much appreciated. They are a bit bright so they’ll certainly stand out on a layout. This is the modern railway!

 

Jack.

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Very nice work indeed Jack! The 68 looks great, the little details that have been picked up certainly help lift it.

 

Those MXA's look superb too, and really look the part behind the 68.

 

Good luck with the apprenticeship as well. Pleased to see they're back in favour now, I felt very lucky when I landed mine (just over 10 years ago) when they were rather scarce!

Cheers Andy, I had to search high and low to find the one I wanted, and I ended up singling out 3, these being with Dyson, Jaguar Landrover and R-R. Rolls seemed so professional and seemed 'right', so I went for them. It’s still quite hard searching for the type you want, however I think this will change as they’re becoming increasingly popular.

 

Many thanks,

Jack.

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Very nice work (as usual) Jack, I especially like your "halo" light modification with the "Cat" and good luck with Rolls-Royce (like everyone has been saying!!!) The MXA's look the part, guess I can now resume the MHA project!

Cheers Jules, I think the 'halo' lights look much better but I’m going to change them once some bits arrive next week from eBay to hopefully allow the head/tail lights to work as well as the halos and make the arrangement bigger, because as I said I reckon it’s underscale as supplied. Speaking of MHAs, I’ve got at least 3 thicker body ones I’ll need to make new bodies for to make them thinner...that’s a job for my next (quarry) layout though, work on which may start as soon as I’ve finished 'Tighte End Yard'. I look forward to seeing progress with yours!

 

Thanks,

Jack.

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Many thanks to all for the replies and ratings, they are very much appreciated! :)

 

The countdown begins! With just 6 days until I leave home, I’m trying to finish a few projects and I’ll be thoroughly tidying and rationalising my workbench so I can take (hopefully) everything I need, as I’ve acquired another workbench, exactly the same as my current one, but in oak finish for the room so I can continue to model.

 

Today I’ve been getting 'Tighte End Yard' ready to take to club tomorrow, so after I cleaned the track and added the backscene, I took a load of photos of some past and present subjects to have crossed my workbench. First though, I have painted (very crudely) the interiors of the 68, as most of the interior is light grey. A driver will be added soon:

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And I’ve made some multiple working receptacles for both of my DRS 57/0s. The first pair were copied to make enough for 2 locos, again using some very thin plasticard to make the square and circle pieces (the latter done with my mum's handy hole twist press), and by bending some 1mm plastic rod with a soldering iron. Also, some minute 0.5mm neodymium magnets were added and a piece of flexible rubber string glued between a pair to allow a physical multiple working cable to be added between the pair, as these two are intended to work together mostly. Finally, the bits were painted orange and I’ll add these to the locos later tonight probably...

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The no.2 end light guides have been added to the 68 and the halos are again well lit, however the headlights are now not only dim but they also partly illuminate the halos! I’m awaiting some fibre optic bits from eBay to remedy this for good...

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Also I've washed the roof and underframe areas with black and rubbed it off to tone down the whiting from the varnish, and in the flesh it is now a lot better.

 

And a sequence of photos for fun. 68003 and 57003 are about to leave Tighte End for Derby RTC for work on them to be finished, as the fitter working on them has had to move due to work! :no:

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Whilst they were stood, I got some detail shots of the bogies and fuel tank/underframe. (The bogies had the springs and lower half of the dampers picked out with gloss varnish, which has also been used to highlight the fuel spill down the fuel tank. The brake discs have had a black wash added then rubbed off in a circular manner to tone down the discs, which IMHO makes them look more realistic, as stainless steel in 4mm scale looks too dull, yet Dapol's silver is too bright)...

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(The thinner parts of the buffers have also been glossed, as these too would be greasy in real life...)

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Then they left, and 57309 arrived for refuelling, only for a short stay as it was needed on 'Thunderbird' duties!

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And finally, 57007 was lurking on the shed road (which will have a shed when I finish it!)

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And a side on shot when 57309 departed:

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More soon! :yes:

Jack.

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The 68 looks fantastic, you've hit the mark perfectly with the wheels and toned down weathering on the bogies and chassis, just enough to highlight all the details and give it a sense of "weight" too.  Fantastic!

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Thanks very much all!

 

JDW you’ve hit the nail on the head with what I aim for...in 1:76 scale these locos should weigh literally over 1 tonne, so the least I can do is make them look a little heavier!

I was a bit nervous dirtying mine up Caz, but once I’d got the airbrush out and it was going well after 'practicing' on the track work of my little depot layout, I just had a go! The worst that can happen is you have to take some paint off with thinners...for me airbrush weathering isn’t the end of weathering a loco, as I’ve spent the last couple of days tweaking bits and painting small details, which bring out the best of a model. I’m never truly happy! Funnily enough, 57007 and (apart from the underframe) 57003 were entirely weathered by workbench techniques using brushes, thinner, cotton buds and patience!

The 68 will hopefully get better still Will, as I’m chomping at the bit to get on with the lights once the fibre optic arrives from eBay. I’m about ready to fill and repaint the yellow panel too, which may get done this week.

 

Thanks,

Jack.

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Thanks very much all!

 

JDW you’ve hit the nail on the head with what I aim for...in 1:76 scale these locos should weigh literally over 1 tonne, so the least I can do is make them look a little heavier!

*

*

*

*

Thanks,

Jack.

Sorry to be  a pain Jack, but weight is scaled by volume, i.e. in all three dimensions.

Therefore the weight of 100 tons should be scaled down by 76 x 76 x 76.

This would make a 100 tonne prototype scale to 0.23kg approx.

 

Steve.

Edited by Steve Hewitt
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Sorry to be  a pain Jack, but weight is scaled by volume, i.e. in all three dimensions.

Therefore the weight of 100 tons should be scaled down by 76 x 76 x 76.

This would make a 100 tonne prototype scale to 0.23kg approx.

Cheers for clarifying Steve...I always thought my logic was a bit off and having done maths, further maths and physics at A-level I should’ve realised! Doh!! :nono:

 

Thanks,

Jack.

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A little more done on the 68 today...

 

At the number 2 end I’ve removed the number with some thinners, and tomorrow (hopefully) I’ll fill in the joint line across the yellow panel, so once I’ve resprayed the front I can add a much thinner one. I’ve rubbed off the corners of the yellow panel with 1200 grit sandpaper, trying not to remove the blue paint underneath. This is because I think the shape of the panel is wrong. These two photos show the shape has circular edges when viewed head on, yet has a subtle 'S' bend edge when viewed at roughly 45°.

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And my first attempt. I’ll mask the final shape off once I’ve filled and smoothed the joint line, ready for a deeper yellow spray (I reckon Dapol's yellow is a touch too light)...

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With a little less curve at the bottom, the 'S' shape will definitely be there.

 

Also I’ve finally signed 57003 off as I’ve added the multiple working sockets. The magnets had to be redone as I’d done a couple the wrong way round, but IMHO - for a small depot layout like TEY - it looks prototypical:

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And some photos from 'Tighte End Yard' taken yesterday. Last night I took the layout to my club to show our exhibition manager with a view to taking it to the summer exhibition next year...

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Keep modelling! :locomotive:

Jack.

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Quick Question, how do your megafrets run now you have made all the mods to them?

 

Hi Ben,

 

Apologies for not answering sooner, I’m getting to grips with work! :no:

 

I’ve not run the pair much to be honest, but they run better than out the box because of the rigid couplings. I’ve yet to test them properly on points etc, but in terms of how they run this is the only modification I’ve made. I’ve been toying with the idea of fitting Keen Systems couplings to the chassis, however I’ve not got a 'roundy roundy' to run anything on so I’ve shelved the project.

 

Thanks,

Jack.

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Well then, after my first week at R-R, I’ve finally done some modelling this evening! :D

 

To start, here’s the new workbench set up...basically a copy of my home (Lancashire) 'bench but in oak effect not black:

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And with a telly!

 

I’ve got round to sanding the filler in the joint line on the front of the 68...the opposite end needed more filler as I’d missed a bit, so I’ll revisit before repainting:

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The lighting arrangements for this loco have been tested and soon I’ll be able to start making the actual light units. More soon as I decide what’s best!

 

Finally, my Northern Belle pair of duffs have had their MW sockets shortened as these protruded too far IMHO:

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They now look much better. Magnets will be added as per the 57s in due course.

 

It’s worth mentioning that I’ve only got DRS locos and stock with me in Derby, as these will all be for Tighte End Yard, which remains at home as I’ll work on this when I go home at weekends or during the Christmas break...at R-R you get the time between Christmas and New Year off gratis...win! :yes:

 

I’m away this week so we’ll see what chance I get to do some modelling in the next few weeks.

Jack. :senile:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Cheers Shaun and I am within civil aerospace at R-R Rob.

 

The last few weeks have seen a couple of sessions but currently I’ve settled into modelling what I want to rather than what I probably need to, and I’m enjoying it! I’ve had an urge to sort out my 08892, by adding lights and sound and some other slight mods. The first job was to strip it! Then I removed Hornby's chunky brute of a motor, and set about making a mount for a Replica Railways 5 pole motor, picked up at Wigan. This is the motor developed by them for their motor chassis. The photo shows it in position using a piece of plasticard 'H' section and both motor and mount will be secured once the glue has cured. A 1mm hole diameter driveshaft socket I found in the spares box has been firmly knocked onto one end, and the original driveshaft added just to visualise for now:

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I now have access to a lathe both at university and R-R, so I’ve sourced some 10mm brass rod and I’ll make a flywheel in due course for extra smooth running.

Also the lights have been drilled out for some 0.5mm fibre optic, and a headlight lamp has been added to the cab as if the main light had failed, just for added detail:

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Finally for now, the radiator grille was removed and the back part drilled out and cut out to allow the sound to escape once a suitable chip and speaker have been sourced/added.

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The main issue with this loco was poor running, so I’ll add a stay alive system in the new space created. I’m currently awaiting some Brassmasters coupling rods, which will be much better quality than Hornby's rounded ones. I may also add another little gimmick that I’m currently musing over...... :scratchhead:

 

Keep modelling!

Jack.

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This evening I’ve got some more done on the 08 after the etched coupling rods from Brassmasters arrived this week. They’re a 3 ply etch for the main rod which thickens to 5 ply around the ends. They went together very well after tinning each piece and heating gently, lining them all up with a cocktail stick:

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The thickness is shown well in this photo:

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After I’d finished bonding the layers, I went round and added a skim of solder on all the edges created by layers, then everything was filed to leave a smooth finish. The oil filler points were added with small pieces of 0.45mm wire, as per instructions.

 

All photos are compared to Hornby’s underscale offering, and whilst the original rods look fine, once you scrutinise them against prototype photos and offer them up to a scale alternative, there’s no competition. They’ll be sprayed yellow in due course, hence why I’ve omitted the washers from the photo and (not really visible) I haven’t flattened the small rivet yet. In my opinion it’s well worth the evening I’ve spent soldering one up...just another to go now! :no:

 

In other news, after my first week at R-R (I’ve booked tomorrow off), I’ve done some proper engineering on a milling machine....

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This piece is essentially most techniques you can use on such a machine. Good fun! :D

 

Keep modelling!

Jack.

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Hi Jack

 

Excellent work with the Brassmasters etch! It'll be interesting to see how the loco performs with the smaller motor which I suspect will be fine. Always thought some of motors fitted nowadays are a little ott. But I prefer them that way over being under powered! A great idea as space is rather tight! I've fitted an express models light kit and found that a challenge to fit it all in.

 

Cheers

Will

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Cheers Will! I’m eager to see how the motor performs too, but I think (really REALLY hope) that with the slow gearing on the 08 it’ll be fine, as there’s no turning back now! :no:

 

This week I’ve been at uni and in the evenings I’ve been beavering away. This has seen the second set of coupling rods soldered up, and hopefully both sets can now be painted this weekend if the weather holds out and I have time! I’m at R-R this week so I’ll have time in the late afternoon if not (4:15 finish 4 days then 3:30 on Friday)....

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And the bolts have been cleaned up by securing them in a pin vice then scraping and filing off the paint...

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And now to the lights. A simple circuit board for each end was fashioned, each comprising of two SM LEDs (one red and one white) along with resistors. These were soldered up using copper clad, then both were painted black and glued in place, along with a single LED on its own board for the cab light. This evening I’ve added the fibre optic pieces (1.5mm for the lamp and 0.5mm for the standard lights) in the holes and toned down the colour/brightness using masking tape (standard off white and Tamiya yellow) along with a permanent marker and some yellow paint. All were used as needed to create a protypical effect...however the portable headlight is nowhere near as blindingly bright as below IRL:

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Each end will be controlled by a decoder FO with the cab light on another separate FO.

 

I’m in the process of ordering a sound decoder (I’m not on pocket money anymore!!), then I can finish off the loco and *maybe* have it done for Blackburn expo in a couple of weeks, if Mr NB lets me play with it..... :senile:

 

Keep modelling!

Jack.

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