Nile's Mostly Freelance Bodging Bench - Pre-Grouping Locos

[brumtb]

Very useful, thank you Neil.  I've already discovered a topic I'd missed!

Tony

[LNWR18901910]

Oh, good! I see you've completed your horse box set! Very well done!

[Nile]

No sign of them in my bits box so I must have thrown them out. I tend to only keep the useful (to me) parts, like brakes.

[Nile]

The long summer recess is over and I am slowly getting back to some railway modelling.

While rummaging through some Parkside kits at a recent show I had an idea. Their GWR Beetle kit has almost enough parts to make two small old horseboxes, by cutting the sides in half.

 

I made new ends from Plastikard as there are only two ends in the kit and they look too GWR. I've used a 10'wb chassis from Red Panda with some modifications. I still need to make a new roof as the one in the kit isn't long enough for the two shorties I'm making. This is what I've done so far.

 

I have another Beetle kit that I've started building as it should be, for comparison with my conversions.

[Mikkel]

Very ingenious Nile! True to form. More LMWR blue stock I assume?

[Nile]

It's WMR maroon this time.

[Nile]

Having proved the concept I'm building another one using the rest of the bits from the kit. With this one I shall go into a bit more detail of its construction.

The sides and floor (half the original) were glued together with a new bulkhead of 40thou plastic card. The curved top was cut using an original end as a guide. Seen to the left is a new end - planked plastikard underneath with black 20thou plastic card on top, it's made to fit into the end like the original would have.

 

Because the floor is shorter than the modified sides there is gap at the other end that needs filling. This was done with some 40thou plastic card.

 

The other end is similar to the first, but it sits on the end rather than within it. Some 30x30 thou strips sit either side.

 

Glued onto the end.

 

I added another bulkhead with the same roof profile to help support the roof, eventually. I had to add a bit to the first one as it turned out to be about 0.5mm too low.

 

Finally for now a seat to go in the end compartment. Not the most detailed, but it can hardly be seen.

Edited October 12, 2019 by Nile

[Nile]

Onto the chassis. The starting point was a Red Panda Models kit of a BR 10' wb fitted chassis. The solebars were shortened by cutting off the ends beyond the springs. The photo below shows front and rear views. On the back (of both) I've added a 20thou strip. I've found this necessary to set the chassis to the correct width for Allan Gibson wheels and bearings. On the front I've filled in the channel with plastic strip to make it look like a wooden chassis. The small holes in the w-irons were filled with some micro-rod.

 

 

Various chassis bits glued to the underside of the floor, with new headstock of 40thou plastic. The brake shoe units needed a bit of trimming to fit, even after some of the ribs on the floor underside were removed.

 

A representation of the brake rigging was made up from bits of micro-rod and strip.

 

The part on the cross shaft is actually two halves glued together around it.

[Nile]

End detailing. The human compartment end is a lot busier than the other end. As well as the steps and handrails there is the communication alarm indicators. The vertical rod in the middle is part of this and will link with the vacuum pipe eventually when it is fitted after painting. The buffers are LNWR type from Wizard.

[Mike 84C]

On one of your wagon detailing threads you show a very nice brake lever and ratchet etch, I liked the very fine holes for the lever peg. whose etch was it please?  As I have some early wagons to detail which need single blocks per side. 

 Mic

[Nile]

Hi Mike, I've had a look in my box of wagon bits and found these from Wizard models.

 

There are other makes available, such as Bill Bedford, that need the holes drilled out. That also applies to the last wagon kit I built, the SER coal wagon.

[Mike 84C]

Nile, thank you so much very helpful. I shall order some on Monday. Help is so freely given on RM Web.

   Mic

[Knuckles]

Page 33.

 

I've only just seen that gorgeous green loco you did from one of my designs.  I wish you showed me earlier!

 

Great job. 

Edited November 20, 2019 by Knuckles

[Nile]

Oops, I thought I had. I started it a long time ago, so must have forgot.

[Knuckles]

They really do look splendid.  You have a nack for making the best out of WSF.  Would you be ok if I used some of these pictures as promo shots?  Ok if not but they'd look good.

[Nile]

Yes, go ahead.

Meanwhile, some progress on the horse boxes.

[LNWR18901910]

On 31/03/2019 at 21:28, Nile said:

I think it's finished now.

Amazing steam locomotive, Sir! Judging by WMR on the tender, it stands for West Midlands Railway like the company going through my hometown right now.

 

Have you thought about a WMR Mogul?

[Mikkel]

9 hours ago, Nile said:

Yes, go ahead.

Meanwhile, some progress on the horse boxes.

 

Very good-looking set Nile. The best illusions are re-organised reality.

 

How about allocating diagram numbers to your converted models?

 

 

[andyi009]

On 17/12/2016 at 13:01, Nile said:

Continuing with the narrow gauge theme for now, I decided to improve the Minitrains Bagnall wing-tank loco. Here is another view of it as it comes.

The main issue for me was the lack of daylight under the boiler, due to its use of the existing mount on the chassis. This could be disguised with various boiler fittings and toolboxes, but I wanted to go further.

 

Disassembly begins.

I think that the screw on the chimney is enough to hold the whole thing together, so I can remove the plastic clips that hold the body and chassis together.

 

Further disassembly of the boiler/tank part.

 

I cut away the 'skirts' under the boiler and refitted it to the body. This is more like it, but I need to fix the underside of the boiler and ideally retain the original weight.

Hi Niles hopes all well 

im trying to take my bagnall apart and having a nightmare it just doesnt want to come apart if you can remember how does this model come apart without breaking i could hide my face in shame but no expert on these 

 

thanks 

[Nile]

With the chimney removed the only thing holding the body onto the chassis is the plastic clip under the boiler (it's a push fit). Try inserting a flat bladed screwdriver under the front of the footplate, above the cylinder, and twisting. Gentle force will eventually prize them apart.

[Nile]

14 hours ago, LNWR18901910 said:

Have you thought about a WMR Mogul?

I have many ideas floating around in my head, one of them is an ARLE mogul. The problem is finding the time to do them.

[LNWR18901910]

5 minutes ago, Nile said:

I have many ideas floating around in my head, one of them is an ARLE mogul. The problem is finding the time to do them.

Maybe using a Bachmann C Class, extending the front, adding a pony truck at the front and giving it a Midland 3F tender?

[Nile]

A bit of progress on the horseboxes. The lower panel of the door was about the only clear space for the decals.

[Nile]

And now for the task I can put off no longer, making two new roofs. I'm trying a new (to me) method this time.

The roof is made from two layers of 10 thou plastic card, glued together with D-Limolene. This is less harmful to the plastic, and dries slower than, MEK. One piece was cut to the correct size, the other was a few mm bigger. They were pre-curved around a small tube, then glued together.

 

Before the glue had set it was placed around a former, protected by layers of card. The former is about the right size for the roof. An elastic band held it all together while the glue set. I waited about 10 mins. This photo was taken after removing the outer layer of card. Some of the glue has seeped out of the join and is holding the roof in place.

Running a scalpel under the edge released the roof from the card.

 

These are the two roofs, the one on the right has been trimmed to the correct size. Easy to do by running a blade along the edge of the smaller piece.

 

I painted the edge light grey before gluing it onto the body.

[Gibbo675]

24 minutes ago, Nile said:

And now for the task I can put off no longer, making two new roofs. I'm trying a new (to me) method this time.

The roof is made from two layers of 10 thou plastic card, glued together with D-Limolene. This is less harmful to the plastic, and dries slower than, MEK. One piece was cut to the correct size, the other was a few mm bigger. They were pre-curved around a small tube, then glued together.

 

Before the glue had set it was placed around a former, protected by layers of card. The former is about the right size for the roof. An elastic band held it all together while the glue set. I waited about 10 mins. This photo was taken after removing the outer layer of card. Some of the glue has seeped out of the join and is holding the roof in place.

Running a scalpel under the edge released the roof from the card.

 

These are the two roofs, the one on the right has been trimmed to the correct size. Easy to do by running a blade along the edge of the smaller piece.

 

I painted the edge light grey before gluing it onto the body.

Hi Neil,

 

That is the method I use and it works a treat, so long as you can find something of a suitable radius around which to clam it to while curing.

 

Gibbo.