Salmon Pastures

[gr.king]

If one light coat of satin varnish on everything doesn't have the necessary unifying effect, you can always try a bit more satin varnish on any bits that have stayed too dull, if the definition of detail is still good enough to stand the extra layer of varnish. Who says that all parts of locos were equally dull or equally shiny anyway? There must have been instances of a patch painting job after a light repair, or even only one part of the loco cleaned during a light repair, or perhaps times when the cleaner was called away before finishing to tackle a "more prestigious" loco instead...

[salmonpastures]

1 hour ago, gr.king said:

If one light coat of satin varnish on everything doesn't have the necessary unifying effect, you can always try a bit more satin varnish on any bits that have stayed too dull, if the definition of detail is still good enough to stand the extra layer of varnish. Who says that all parts of locos were equally dull or equally shiny anyway? There must have been instances of a patch painting job after a light repair, or even only one part of the loco cleaned during a light repair, or perhaps times when the cleaner was called away before finishing to tackle a "more prestigious" loco instead...

Thanks for the tips Graeme,,, I am in un-chartered territory here,,, any advice is appreciated,,, do you use modelling varnishes or DIY stuff,,, was reading Wright Writes this evening and somebody mentioned using "polyurethane satin" sounds lovely but is it applied "neat,, diluted,, just a smidgen",, I don't know!!!

 

But I'm about to find out!!!!

 

SAD

[gr.king]

I currently make routine use of Railmatch satin varnish, sprayed wherever possible, although I am assured that Ronseal satin works well too and is much better value if you use a lot of it, providing you store the tin in right conditions if you keep it long term. There will no doubt be those who swear by acrylic stuff too, but I prefer to stick to substances that behave like proper oil based or solvent based paint.

[salmonpastures]

A good day for the D21 today,,, it is starting to look like an engine again.

Removed all the boiler bands and filled in the horrible join along the top of the boiler and fitted the handrail knobs.

 

Made a proper smokebox from brass then fitted the boiler to the frames, and cleaned up the cab sides, refitted handrail knobs and then both sides fitted in place.

 

The chassis now has some suspension which were fabricated from bits out of the spares bin.

 

I started on filling in the horrible seams on the tender panels,,, a bit of a pain as things can go wrong very quickly,, but so far so good and it is worth the effort as the end result will be so much better than the 2" gaps it came with.

Am building with some 26mm drivers and will test tomorrow for shorts,,, the project will then go on the back burner until the 27mm wheels arrive.

 

SAD

[salmonpastures]

Well as it is/was half term I can announce the kitchen is redecorated and Mr Isinglass has sent me a drawing full of NER tenders so we have set about improving the accuracy of the D21 tender.

I started by removing all the coal rails around the top of the tender body,,, and about 4mm from the front end of the chassis plate which is where the wing plates used to be.

 

There were no small D cutouts on the main chassis plates so the front and rear plates were also removed so I can replace then with more accurate ones  with the holes in place.It has proved to be a much easier hacking session than I was expecting and the tender is already starting to look completely different,,, which is the object of the excercise.

 

Am also pleased to announce that as the school reopens tomorrow I can get back to some serious self isolating with the D21.

 

SAD 

[salmonpastures]

Some more progress on the D21 tender.

Made up some frame extensions and added the smaller D holes and we now have some steps and the wing plates have been filled in and made up a new buffer beam.

Have made front and rear bunker plates so next will be the side plates with all the fancy fluting and the lockers and coal hole all attached to the front plate.

It is certainly starting to look different to the original from Gem tender.

 

Also found a bit of time to clean up a long bunkered L&Y tank which I bought as a "cold winter night special" well before Bachmann released their version,,,, having had a good look at the body it was obviously made some time ago as the chimney is made up of a piece of tube, 2 washers one at the top and one at the bottom and then the shapes filled in with solder and filed to shape,,,, not to mention the split pin spring hangers,, ha ha,, just like in the good old days!! ,, I love buying old and battered models as you can see how people do things differently to yourself,, and credit to the builder as the dimensions appear to be spot on with this one

Have managed to cram a 7 pole motor into it so the performance should be interesting,,, when/if  the wheels arrive,,,, is Mr Markit still in business??

[salmonpastures]

Another good session with the D21 and we now have some detail added to the front of the tender and the distinctive NER coal rails are fitted on one side.

 All the tin work is just sitting in place on the above shot and is not fixed to the main body as yet.

The really good news is Markits have confirmed the driving wheels on their way to be fitted so we should be able to crack on with the loco again when they arrive.

 

SAD

[salmonpastures]

Finished the coal rails on the right hand side today and fabricated a water filler for the tender.

Still have quite a lot of cleaning up to do but it is coming together nicely now,,,, hopefully won't be long before we are back on the loco.

 

SAD

[westerner]

Looking good SAD, and I know the loco will look equally as good.

[salmonpastures]

It's certainly different to be doing something ex NER,,,this excercise has proved without doubt my "library" is very Gorton + Doncaster based/biased,,, but the guy's on the LNER site have been so helpful,,, as normal.

Hopefully it won't be long before you can come and try it for yourself !!!!

 

SAD

[salmonpastures]

Well the tender now has working pickups, and brake gear

 

beading on the top of the coal plates and some whitemetal lockers and detailing bits are on the way!!

Looking forward to putting improved driving wheels on it and we can then set about a bit of serious detailing.

 

SAD

[salmonpastures]

As I am still waiting for the new driving wheels to arrive for the D21 I have moved back to working on the L1.

I have spent quite a lot of time running up and down through my pointwork and that has sorted out a lot of the problems.

Not surprisingly the brakes on the rear bogie were contributing quite well to poor running as was the rather beefy sandboxes crammed into the front end,,, however all is well at the moment.

 

Today I have got the beading attached round the top of the tanks and have made a start on the steps,,, I find steps a bit of a bind,, they seem to be never ending but we are nearly half way there and the area below the footplate is now starting to look rather busy.

 

 

SAD

[salmonpastures]

Time for a beer!!! the steps are finished [yoo hoo],,, have spent today putting them on the right hand side and the 2 sets along the rear,, which make it look a lot better.

Have spent a fair bit of time testing it with steps fitted and to my surprise no snags to attend to, so I intend to crack on with the cab tomorrow,,, I know what is going to happen,, now I've got my L1 mojo back the wheels for the D21 are going to arrive.

 

I really am going to have to hide that 10BA nut,,, it is starting to drive me barmy.

 

SAD

[salmonpastures]

Another good day session tin bashing on the L1 and we now have started adding some detail to the cab.

Nothing fixed as yet but I am sure you get the rough idea.

 

 

Keep calm and solder on,,,,, I am a little bit worried this lock-down might come to an end,,, and that means mowing the lawn!!!

 

SAD

[gr.king]

I hope no recent news from Norfolk means only good news SAD...

Any further progress to show on the D21 and L1?

Does that D21 kit have a murky past? I ask, because tonight I found my (undated) 1970s W & H catalogue, which features a picture of an assembled GEM D21 with something looking much more like a NER tender than you originally had. I believe your loco had for some reason acquired a tender for an NBR Scott or Glen.

The model in the catalogue picture may have the right sort of tender but I think its livery is either poorly researched or the result of wishful thinking, i.e. LNER lined green (only applied up to 1928) with large numbers on the loco itself (only appropriate for post 1929 black livery).

 

Edited July 15, 2020 by gr.king
Removal of error

[salmonpastures]

Hi Graeme,

Apologies for the delay!!!!,,, being married to a teacher I find I can basically do whatever I want during term time but am expected to act like a "devoted human/husband" during the holidays".

So I haven't been "active" since July-ish

 

Thankfully the schools returned last week so I am slowly getting back to normal.

 

So,,, a good question and my honest answer has to be "I haven't a clue"

I bought it because it appeared to me to be decidedly cheap,,, it came [as shown in the original pictures  as per the 18th May post] in a very expensive Ferraro Rocher chocolates box  without any instructions whatsoever but somebody had taken the time to scribble D20 on the cardboard lid,,,, I quickly found out it was a D21 not a 20.

 

If the tender I received was the original I don't know,,, I guess that it is because the quality of the white metal appears consistent and it had most definitely been painted [very poorly] by the same person at the same time.

 

After masses of assistance from this forum [and the other one] I can catagorically state that it is pretty academic now as the tender as it is today bares little resemblance to the one I started with!!

I can also advise that despite my efforts to get it as accurate as I can even if the tender is ex Scott or Glen I have no intention of starting again with the tender as after copious amounts of fiddling/bodging  it is pretty close [enough for me,,, rule 1 applies] to the Isinglass drawing that was purchased for a D21 back in the spring.

 

Ironically what started out as a "quick funds generator" will probably be kept,,, having read up on D21's in the green bible's and having also purchased Ken Hoole's NER loco book I have become quite attached to the thing and it transpires that quite a few were shedded at Holbeck and they worked through to Sheffield Vic quite regularly ,,, so it has now acquired the "frequent visitor status",, on Salmon Pastures!!!!

 

The soldering iron will be turned on pretty soon and I will post further pics of it slowly getting closer to the paint shop!!!

Again apologies for the delay,,,as mentioned I have been VERY busy,,,, [and scored an enormous amount of marital brownie points,, which will always come in handy at some point in the near future!!]

 

SAD

 

  

[salmonpastures]

Well here we go again for another active winter,,,,

 

We have survived lockdown 2 without any visits from the KungFlu so fingers crossed.

 

Have given up on my old Fuji camera and am now trying to come to terms with a Sony,,, hopefully posting pics with the new one will not take as much time as the actual modelling!!!

 

Some progress on the D21,,, the tender is nearing completion and I have spent a couple of days jousting with the various pipes on the right hand boiler side,,, compared with the last pics it now has a few bits added to the boiler top.

 

 

Having spent about 6 months looking at the Jersey Lily in its coat of Citroen Black [rattle can] paint I decided it was not acceptable,,, it went on like treacle and obliterated a fair percentage of the detail so it has had another bath in the Nitro-Mors and is now back to white metal,,, as I will not be going anywhere near it with either a rattle can or spray gun until the garage gets a bit warmer I am now back to my earlier fidelity crossroad,,,,  black or green!!!

 

Can anyone suggest a foolproof way of spraying driving wheel treads,,,, as you can see on the C4 despite using etch primer all over including the drivers I am not having a lot of success getting it to adhere to the drivers.

I cleaned them with Cilit Bang quite carefully before the etch primer but evidently not well enough.

 

Good to be back,,,

 

SAD

[salmonpastures]

 

Temperatures in the garage at the moment are definitely acceptable so I have managed to get a fair amount of the pipework and detailing done on the D21.

 

We now have some cab detail fitted,  reversing lever, washout plugs and the Westinghouse pump plus a start on handrails, just the smokebox handles, steps, whistles and the main boiler handrail and we can then wait for the temperatures to come back before giving it a layer of etch primer.

 

Mojo is half back having considered the progress from recent efforts on this one and I will be cracking on with the L1 Zeppelin over the festive season.

 

Have to admit I have been in there a couple of times lately and just played with my train set,,, wonderful fun but an ever growing "hit-list"!!!

 

 

[westerner]

Looking good SAD.

[salmonpastures]

Mick,

As requested.

 

SAD

Edited May 22, 2021 by salmonpastures
duplication

[salmonpastures]

After yet another break whilst looking for my mojo,,, I am back at the D21.

Am now down to all the fiddly bits but it is coming together and we slowly trundling up to the paint shop.

The whistle's are a mystery,,, I know it had 2 of them which I have obtained from ArthurK but how they actually fit to the boiler//or front spectacle plate is a bit of a puzzle.

If any NER fans out there can point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated. 

[micklner]

I have seen two versions of the whistles on the D21's.

Both twins sets,  one pair of Bell Whistles with the usual different heights , and one pair of a Organ version and a Bell .

Both types appeared to be fitted to the Boiler top with levers through to the Cab interior. My luck, my Loco had the Organ version, I cut one bell off a pair off I think a Arthur K or Dave Bradwell casting and added a Organ whistle . Mine is finished !!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by micklner

[salmonpastures]

Very nice too Mick,,, especially the paint job!!!

The whistle's I received from Arthur K come on a U bracket,,,, am unclear if they mount with the bracket or mount as individual units,,, have umpteen photo's of the real thing and not surprisingly none of them show the arrangement from the boiler top view.

 

SAD

[gr.king]

2 hours ago, salmonpastures said:

After yet another break whilst looking for my mojo,,,

 

I wonder if the prolonged suspension of safe normal activity due to the pandemic might have at least something to do with that? As an added factor in my case, I've found that having a lot of extra "free" time has given me many opportunities to think, not just about model railways of course, resulting in conclusions including things such as "Why bother, is there any need" , "will it make any real difference", "why should I put up with that" and various other generally negative things that do not hasten progress! It's just as well that I have the positive influence of liberation from my increasingly oppressive and unprofitable previous career to cheer me up! 

Maybe I'll see you again at a genuinely safe exhibition if there are such things next year?

[micklner]

27 minutes ago, salmonpastures said:

Very nice too Mick,,, especially the paint job!!!

The whistle's I received from Arthur K come on a U bracket,,,, am unclear if they mount with the bracket or mount as individual units,,, have umpteen photo's of the real thing and not surprisingly none of them show the arrangement from the boiler top view.

 

SAD

SAD

 

Yes they were mounted on the U Bracket. Very common on D20's in photographs.

 

cheers Mick