RMweb Premium Nile Posted July 27, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 27, 2014 Snap! I have one of these to build, so I'll watch with interest. Looks like an 'interesting' challenge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 Snap! I have one of these to build, so I'll watch with interest. Looks like an 'interesting' challenge. If I have anything to say so far, its watch out for the body castings. They arent perfectly square and Im not sure what to do about that. And the brake gear is far too ignored. Very little on the actual assembly of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Nile Posted July 29, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 29, 2014 You've done a good with the W iron units so far, but there is more to do. I've had a go at one, here is what I found. The W irons need bearings to be fitted. The holes will need to be enlarged slightly. The bearings are from Wizard/51L themselves. The axlebox fits over the bearing. The hole in it will need to be enlarged until it fits. These are the mounts for the W iron units. The one on the left is for the rocking axle. The one on the right is for the fixed axle, the tabs at the ends are folded up and soldered. This is how they go together. The tabs in the middle need to be bent over to keep the W iron unit attached. Does that help? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Knew all that. Bearing holes all opened up for bearings. The axlebox should be flush? So should I solder the bearing to the w iron? Then just glue the axlebox on?exactly how much packing needs to be added? And how the hell can I fit sprung 3 links? The headstocks have been opened up for smiths 3 links yet I discovered the w irons get in the way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Ok. So quick update on my day off. I started today with finally soldering the bearings in place. They went in fairly easily. A little issue with half desoldering a bridle bar on one W irons but that went back on with a quick touch. Once the bearings were all in, I grabbed the axleboxes and with a few turns of a drill bit, opened up the holes enough to fir over the bearings and superglued them on. Heres a loose fit of all parts so far The body was superglued together and the plasticcard floor was cut and fitted with even more glue. A little frosting around the edges occurred but hopefully paint and a heavily weathered interior will hide any imperfections. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 57xx Posted July 30, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 30, 2014 Looking good. Is the compensation unit on the right of your pic the one in "non-rocking mode"? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Looking good. Is the compensation unit on the right of your pic the one in "non-rocking mode"?Yes? One is rocking, one is solid. Since I posted this. Ive added horsehooks, inside V hangers, and Ive started packing the floor to bring it up to correct height. Im just nervous about not getting the right height. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Nile Posted July 30, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 30, 2014 Check it against your other wagons before committing. If it looks right then it probably is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Yeah. Im.building packing in many shaped layers to fit around all underframe bits Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 Wow. 2 updates in one day! And I have photos for you all. I had a dentist appointment today so I was a few towns over, and I was close to a model shop which has stock of almost anything you could imagine to do with US railroads and modelmaking. If its over 20 years old, he probably has it. Well, I stopped by and saw a small handheld controller with a phone cord jack on the bottom. It got me thinking about a fun little controller. So I talked to him and I found an old cab control unit. It worked and I was quite happy to walk out with it, even if I left with less money than I hoped to. It has a momentum option which works very well, as well as 5 throttle options. Run, coast, service, quick service, and emergency. Essentially go, go, slow down, Slow Down!, and STOP!! I just had a nice half hour playing with it and a length of track on my floor. I did NOT know a Hornby Pug could go that slow. So yeah. Also I brought my Hornby Hogwarts Express home and had a go running that with the new gear. Works well, and any problems were caused by bad track. And then, at my grandmothers house, I found an old DC transformer which works perfectly for the controller. The company was located within an hour drive from my house. Oh when things werent made in China... So yeah. Today was a rather productive day off. I did more on my kit, I bought a new controller, found the perfect transformer, got perfect marks from the dentist, and had a great dinner. I love meat pies. Oh yeah. Heres my other Hornby loco I originally got the Philosophers Stone train set when it came out. My dad brought it home from a business trip to London years ago. The loco served me well, but finally died about 6 years ago. It sat in a box for about 4, and then I contacted Hornby about it, sent them it, had them ruin it somehow, got it back, complained about un-satisfaction, and got a newer replacement. I just hate the stupid light on the smokebox...what were they thinking? Well, I wanted to try it out with the new purchase and it runs beautifully. I love slow speed running. Wow..lot of talking. Goodnight! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 Well, been a few days. Have been working both at my job and on my trains. My Midland Long Low is coming along. Was primed and painted last night, and buffers added this morning. Still need to attach the wheel assemblies and then underframes. And ughhh couplings...how will I ever fit those... Wheel assemblies were masked, primed, and painted. Came out nice. And just needs a little touching up in a couple spots. And now, new things! I just got my order from H&A models yesterday. I got 3 nice new kits. All of them have now been primed. Waiting assembly...and time... A parkside 7 plank with end door. This will be painted and lettered in LMS livery. Heres a cambrian LMS van. Ive wanted to try a cambrian van for a while. I just dont look forward to the underframe...its cambrians biggest fault. But it does have wire handrails rather than moulded details, so theres a plus. And this will be my first wagon with Morton brakes. Yay for firsts. And finally a Slaters MR coke wagon. This may be my last slaters kit for a while...I hear theyre having production issues again, and most kits seem out of stock. Sadly, Im rather disapointed with this kit. Its an open wagon, yet no internal details were provided. Not even a planked floor. A bit of scribbing and a permanent load will be on order. Well...first permanent load then. But Ill never need this for anything else but coke so I guess Ill live with the compromises. Well theres my update. Not too big, but a good bit of news. Oh, and my new controller is still very fun to mess with. If anyone has any ideas where I could find a sort of spiral phone cord with 4 separate wires, that would be very helpful. Since this is a handheld controller, I need a connection better than 4 loose wires. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Nile Posted August 2, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 2, 2014 (edited) Cambrian seem to have heard the complaints about their chassis. The latest kit has a one piece chassis, I'll post a photo of it in my next update. Edited August 2, 2014 by Nile Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 Cambrian seem to have heard the complaints about their chassis. The latest kit has a one piece chassis, I'll post a photo of it in my next update. I dont even want a one piece chassis. Slaters, parkside, they know what theyre doing. The solebar fits snugly against blocks moulded to the floor. No balancing against nothing but the axles. Also, if they fixed their w iron moulds. Theyre uneven most of the time. If you build it flat and square, you get a 3 wheeler. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Nice job on the wagon and I'm looking forward to the other kits, I have the same Cambrian LMS van to do Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 Well Im being a bit of a modelling butterfly right now. Jumping from one kit to the other. I cant even finish one first! First is the Long Low. Today, not much work besides fitting the outer v hanger which is an etch. Primed, paimted, and glued on. Painfully slow. You may just be able to see it here. On the other side as well. Now. My Slaters coke wagon. I rather liked the picked out ironwork found on the picture while in MR livery and Im going to keep that whether or not it was picked out in LMS livery. All 4 sides are painted, underframe bits are painted, floor is ready, solebars are surprisingly done. I didnt get the best paintjob on the w irons but my black paint isnt cooperating in the muggy weather recently. And the Parkside open. Ive done a lot of work on this tonight. Aside from being primed. The inside is all painted and weathered for coal. My hands are filthy from the powders. If you look closely, I took the time to paint all the ironwork inside. Not sure if its correct, but looks pretty good either way. I always forget how I do wood weathering and always do it differently the next time. Gives a good variety! This time, a base coat of flat tan, followed by a rubbing down with grey/brown powders while still wet, then a rough imperfect coat of flat brown, finished with a heavily brushed coating of grey/brown and black powders. Then, rubbed with both fingers and a wire brush once dry. It leaves a very patchy yet blended finish. The floor had a few planks picked out, redone, and toned down again to give slight variation. Just to illustrate my point, Im not sure why but the camera makes it A LOT lighter than it is, my fingers are mostly black with only the ridges clean. And finally, my newest kit. The Chivers LMS Bolster wagon. It looks like a fun challenge. And much more wire than my Parkside brake van! One of the solebar mouldings was actually damaged in the packet. I was able to fix it and even though they offer part replacement, even for your own screw ups, Im fine with saving him the trouble. It got here earlier than expected and Im just happy for that. I cant wait to build it...but I need to clear my workbench of the 3 other wagons first....the long low came in first and I think will leave last... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Nile Posted August 4, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 4, 2014 Nicely weathered fingers! The wagon isn't bad either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 Nicely weathered fingers! The wagon isn't bad either.Haha thanks. To immitate coal, you must first be the coal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 Lots of pictures. Well. The coke and coal wagons went together quickly. The coke wagon needs lettering and a permanent load. I cant find a single picture of one online so Im at a loss for how to do it. The instructions neglect any livery detail and the picture I hoped to go on doesnt make sense. The coal wagon is in the same boat. No livery info, no running numbers, no anything. Im at a loss whether to paint a white stripe,not do it, or anything. All this needs is brake gear and door springs and assembly is finished. Since my work has been slowed on these two wagons until the Essery book arrives, I have to move on to the cambrian LMS van. Handrails done, everything primed and painted. Now for assembly. Just a note to whoevers reading this. Telling someone to buy a hard to find book when theyre asking for some help isnt help. I couldve bought at least two more kits, or spent the money on something non train related. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted August 7, 2014 Author Share Posted August 7, 2014 (edited) Cambrian makes great wagon kits. Nice detail. Durable parts. Great selection. Yet their underframes are hell. Their steel underframes are especially impossible. The mounting tabs to connect solebar and w iron is extremely inaccurate. This is my 6th cambrian kit and by far my worst. The wooden underframe kits are fine if youre careful with the solebar mounting. The steel on the other hand are a lot easier to screw up. And thats exactly what I have done. I hope the redo I did will fix it. I had to carefully pry apart the two parts and wiggle them a bit to get a more level fit. Oh how I hate it so. I actually am considering spending twice what I already paid for the kit to get some brass w irons and cast axleboxes. At least then Id get a level chassis. Forgive crap pictures. Its late, desk is a mess, and Im too tired to bother now for such a small update. My first attempt ended up with a mm or two gap under one w iron. Im no engineer (yet) but I dont think those fit into OO gauge tolerances. I ripped it apart and tried to redo the solebars. I seem to have managed to get it close enough. Not perfect but better than before. Hoping the glue goes off like that and doesnt revert to how it was. The 7plank is fully built. Just needs livery details. Same for coke wagon (no photos) And finally, I figured with the parkside and slaters kits stalled at lettering, cambrian stalled at building, and not wanting to start a 5th kit (the chivers), am trying to finish the long low. Still need to figure out couplings. Maybe just cutting some smiths down and gluing them in with plenty of superglue. Or somehow drilling a hole in the hook to mount it with a pin directly behind the headstock. I wish I could cut metal... Edited August 7, 2014 by Spitfire2865 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 (edited) Interesting to watch. I did a Chivers double bolster recently: At least your kit was complete, mine was missing the ends and sides sprue so I had to scratch build those parts. I used Archer rivet transfers to reinstate the bolt heads. LMS Wagons Vol 1 has some good info that was invaluable for this build. John Edited August 7, 2014 by brossard 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twright Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Great work on the wagons, I would guess (but not on any information) that it should have a white line on the tipping end of the wagon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 Hello again. This morning saw some work. With lettering stalled for the coal and coke wagons, and the long low giving me trouble still, I put the van in top priority. The underframe as I have said before is a pain. I really never want to build another. Next time will need a brass underframe. The roof is still not glued down. Ill do that later. The underframe is surprisingly my best cambrian yet. Solidly on all 4 wheels, no rocking at all. What a difference from the 1mm gap before. The brake gear was all glued with superglue because at the time, I was so fed up with plastic cement. What I love about superglue is you can pry it apart and the parts are still good. No gooey plastic. Speaking of superglue, I can thank it for the existence of the long low still. I discovered the brake gear could not fit with my packing so I carefully pulled the underframe off the body and floor. Came clean off and with a quick dremel and some sawing, had the packing severly cut down. Went right back in too. Now I discover the brake gear is moulded incorrectly and requires a fair bit of bending to get it all to line up with the brake rod and wheels. So Im giving up on that for a bit while I finish some other kits. Im really happy with the van. It turned out very nice and will look the part with some very light weathering. Im also happy I happened to have a picture of the van So yeah. More work to be done. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 Well. One RMwebber was kind enough to take some pictures of Esserys Midland book which gives me the info needed to letter the coke wagon and the long low. I wont letter the latter until its complete but the coke wagon was waiting. I had a fun time getting the word coke to fit between the v hanger. I ended up using the small condensed letters off the HMRS PO sheet. The rest comes from the HMRS LMS sheet. Sadly, the M doesnt actually fit in the proper place. Its a hair too big but its close enough. The black metalwork may be incorrect, but I think it helps it stand out in a sea of grey. After looking at the pictures, I realized the wagon had a grab rail to the right of the door. Its odd. What looked like bolt heads was actually the mounting for the rail which was neglected in the instructions. At first I tried to drill into them but the bit wouldnt bite in and instead of risking further damage, I just glued the bar right to the bumps with superglue. I blackened the bar, which is piano/guitar wire by running it over a flame. Although brittle, its blackened. Thats all I wanted. Rather dark photos. Sorry about that. Brighter now. The wagon still needs a proper load. Its currently loose and I already have a piece of cardboard ready to mount inside. The top plank is painted and weathered inside but below that is my wood basecoat. I was too quick to build and I forgot to do a proper interior. Oh well. Wasnt going to leave it empty anyway. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Well. One RMwebber was kind enough to take some pictures of Esserys Midland book which gives me the info needed to letter the coke wagon and the long low. I wont letter the latter until its complete but the coke wagon was waiting. I had a fun time getting the word coke to fit between the v hanger. I ended up using the small condensed letters off the HMRS PO sheet. The rest comes from the HMRS LMS sheet. Sadly, the M doesnt actually fit in the proper place. Its a hair too big but its close enough. The black metalwork may be incorrect, but I think it helps it stand out in a sea of grey. After looking at the pictures, I realized the wagon had a grab rail to the right of the door. Its odd. What looked like bolt heads was actually the mounting for the rail which was neglected in the instructions. At first I tried to drill into them but the bit wouldnt bite in and instead of risking further damage, I just glued the bar right to the bumps with superglue. I blackened the bar, which is piano/guitar wire by running it over a flame. Although brittle, its blackened. Thats all I wanted. image.jpg Rather dark photos. Sorry about that. image.jpg image.jpg Brighter now. image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg The wagon still needs a proper load. Its currently loose and I already have a piece of cardboard ready to mount inside. The top plank is painted and weathered inside but below that is my wood basecoat. I was too quick to build and I forgot to do a proper interior. Oh well. Wasnt going to leave it empty anyway. Very nice, You need to find something more like coke for the load, as the coal you have looks nothing like it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 Very nice, You need to find something more like coke for the load, as the coal you have looks nothing like it. WHat would you say coke looks like? Softer and duller? Smaller isnt it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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