Kirley's Workbench

[merlinxlili]

A really lovely piece of work Jeremy! Up to your usual standard.

[pat141]

Very nice model, looks great.

[Irish_R_M]

This is my own version of the J15 (an SSM kit).

 

At the time I put together this one I was informed that the smoke box was to be black rather than the grey which itselfDSCF4408.JPG is not all that different from Kirley's.   Is that correct?.

Jeremy. 

 

I think it was a case that the smoke box heat destroyed the paint finish, and at some stage it became standard to paint it black. Kieran, lovely work as always. RM. 

[fletchj1]

Of course this loco with the black smoke box is my own version rather than that of Kieran (Kirley?).

 

Jeremy. 

[kirley]

Enterprise DVT

 

I picked up rake of Mk4 coaches painted in the 1st De-Dietrich livery.

 

 

but there was no DVT so I got a Mk4 to adapt.

 

 

I took a image of the front of a 201 and inserted it into MS publisher and drew lines over the top of the picture which I printed out onto acetate sheet and got this.

 

 

After cutting it out I attached it to the Mk4 body after cutting off the end of the coach.

 

 

The Acetate was too flimsy on its own so I added a thin layer of plasticard behind it.

 

 

I needed to attach the front of the cab to the roof but still had to be able to remove the roof for glazing etc. so I cut a small section and attached the cab front to it.

 

 

Then it was on to filling and sanding and filling and sanding ..........

 

 

At last I got it to a stage that the primer did not show up to many areas to fill.

 

 

I was lucky enough to get the paint for the 1st De-Dietrich livery from Ian McNally (MIR).

 

 

DVT completed.

 

 

 

 

Pictures of it running on Kirley Junction layout page to follow.

 

 

 

 

[fletchj1]

A really lovely piece of work Jeremy! Up to your usual standard.

to merlinxlili,   Robert.

What is wrong with your email address?. (realgone@merlin.priv.no)

My emails are all 'bouncing back' saying that the above address had permanent fatal errors. (reason: 554 5.7.1 Recipient address rejected: Unknown recipient)

Jeremy.

[merlinxlili]

to merlinxlili,   Robert.

What is wrong with your email address?. (realgone@merlin.priv.no)

My emails are all 'bouncing back' saying that the above address had permanent fatal errors. (reason: 554 5.7.1 Recipient address rejected: Unknown recipient)

Jeremy.

Jeremy,

Computer crash - everything went down the tubes. Working on the problem.

[fletchj1]

Robert,

In the meantime - the Bo-Bo arrived, has had its Kadees fitted and given a trial run.   Runs very nicely and smoothly.   Thanks very much.

More later.

Jeremy.

[kirley]

Class 80 Project.

 

A friend parted with a MIR Class 80 Kit he got in 2005 but never built it.

 

 

Made a start on the Lima donor coaches using my trusty OLFA knife, it makes the job of cutting plastic coaches so much easier.

 

 

Brass sides lined up with the bodies, donor locomotive Hornby Class 73 in the background.

 

 

 

Fitting the Class 73 chassis into the coach body.

 

 

 

White metal bogy sides included in the kit, a bit on the chunky side.

 

 

Roof detail added to the Power Car.

 

 

 

White metal bogies fitted.

 

 

Grey primer added.

 

 

First base coat of paint applied, interiors completed.

 

 

 

Nearly there but then disaster struck; the painting of these models has been ongoing for the past week and involved painting one coat and after sufficient time masking over the new paint to put on another colour. However when the masking tape was removed it removed the paint in a few areas including the grey etch primer which I used as an undercoat.

 

This has happened so many times that I have consigned the models to a bath of brake fluid to strip off the paint down to the brass and start again. So frustrating...

 

[pat141]

It was all going so well.

i hope the brake fluid doesn't take the etch off the coach.

[Glover]

Arrrgh!! Hate that.

 

Although I've now built a few brass coaches, I'm not terribly comfortable with it.

I think the advice from the experts is to clean the brass in warm water with a cream cleaner before applying the primer.

Could that be where the problem has arisen, especially given that some of the primer has also lifted?

 

It will come good; just going to take you a little longer.

 

Best,

 

Glover

[E3109]

Despite the masking/paint issues a job very well done, I assume you've gone for the 73 because the bogies are similar?

I know brass (and aluminium) can be a booger to get a decent key for the paint, I note that you used etching primer of some sort first.

Rail match is good, Halfords might be a better bet though due to a larger tin for roughly the same price (approx £8).

 

When I was heavily involved in restoring old buses, we used an etch primer that ate into the surface of the aluminium and many years later the paint hasn't given way, aluminium is notoriously bad at allowing paint to stick to it (maybe more so than brass) but the stuff we used was spot on.

We used to scrounge it from friends at the local bus depot, I think it was made by Williamsons and perhaps it's suitable for model railway applications if suitably thinned.

Edited October 6, 2018 by E3109

[kirley]

Thanks for the advice. I used Halfords Etch Primer on the brass which usually worked previously.  I've had the odd small area come away before but never to this extent.

I'm just after getting advice from Eoin Murray, an expert model maker, "Phosphorous Based Etch Primers needs air to etch properly! a very light translucent coat is all one should put on brass, one should be able to see the brass under the coat. If you spray a opaque coat the air cannot get at the brass/phosphorous to activate it!"

 

I'll have to read the instruction but worth a try, meanwhile the models are still in the brake fluid bath with no sign of the paint softening, must have been doing something right...

[John M]

Some spray etch primers do not contain phosphoric acid and may not necessarily etch brass!

 

The on line SDS for the Halfords product is incomplete and does not identify whether Halfords Etch Primer includes phosphoric. Similar spray primers use acetone and toluene as a de-greasing/etching agent for plastic and metal surfaces.

 

Regardless of the type of primer I found that preparation, temperature and humidity are important factors. If you have a compressor a Badger air-abrasive gun with aluminium oxide grit is a useful surface preparation tool otherwise fine wet and dry abrasive paper is effective. I usually place the can on a shelf above a heater or in warm water before spraying, allow plenty of time to dry between coats and avoid spraying in conditions of high humidity.

[kirley]

Thanks John for your in-depth advice.  My knowledge on using etch primer is growing.

[61666]

Have only ever used ordinary Halfords grey or red spray primer. Most of the time it works well, but edges can suffer from wear, chipping etc. One way around this that works well on black locos is before spraying on the primer, first use gun blue [or other metal black], then go over this with a black spirit marker pen. Seems to work well. not my idea - comes from a Martyn Welch article in MRJ.

[kirley]

It has taken some time, I had to resort to a Brillo pad but eventually got all the paint removed.  Then gave it a good clean with Jiff so it's away to dry out and some repair work before starting to apply paint again.

 

[kirley]

The Big ‘D’

 

One of my long list of locomotives to ‘bodge’ as Colm Flanagan terms it was to have a go at a SG3. 

 

 

Denis Grimshaw did one many years ago using a Mainline LMS Class 4 but my donor is a Bachmann Class 4F (DCC ready of course).

 

 

A boon for ‘the bodger’ is the way modern engines are made in pieces so it makes the process of adding or subtracting so much easier.

 

 

The obvious difference with the Class 4 is the fire box which has to be removed. My favourite tool for this sort of work is a piercing saw. The nearest cylinder I could find to match the diameter of the boiler was a piece of plastic conduit but it was a few mm short. I laminated a strip of plasticard round it to bring it up to the correct diameter.

 

 

 

The Bachmann Tender looked nothing like any GNRI ones but I needed it’s chassis as it has some excellent pickups on its wheels and the socket for the DCC decoder.

 

 

I retrieved a tender body from the scrap box and adapted it to something near a D1 tender.

 

 

Added sub-splashers on the running plate.

 

 

The body got a new dome and safety valve.

 

 

The Cab got a new roof and front.   I’m waiting on Spectacle Plates from Phoenix Paints to finish the front before re assembling.

[Glover]

Interesting project Kirley.

 

I bought a Bachmann J39 a few years ago at one of the Toy Fairs in Dublin, with the intention of creating a D class.

The footplate will need a complete rebuild but the boiler is an easier starting point.

My intention is to use an old Hornby B12 tender, which looks like a reasonable match for the generally short GNR tenders.

 

Haven't done anything on it yet. One issue which I've yet to address is a replacement chimney and dome; much more difficult nowadays to find these items.

 

Best of luck with it.

 

Cheers,

 

Glover

[kirley]

Had to do a new Cab front and then started on the detailing.

 

 

 

The almost finished model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will have to do a test run on Kirley Junction soon.

[Georgeconna]

`

 

Class 80 Project.

 

A friend parted with a MIR Class 80 Kit he got in 2005 but never built it.

 

Class 80 1.JPG

 

Made a start on the Lima donor coaches using my trusty OLFA knife, it makes the job of cutting plastic coaches so much easier.

 

Class 80 2.JPG

 

Brass sides lined up with the bodies, donor locomotive Hornby Class 73 in the background.

 

Class 80 3.JPG

 

Class 80 4.JPG

 

Fitting the Class 73 chassis into the coach body.

 

Class 80 5.JPG

 

Class 80 6.JPG

 

White metal bogy sides included in the kit, a bit on the chunky side.

 

Class 80 7.JPG

 

Roof detail added to the Power Car.

 

Class 80 8.JPG

 

Class 80 9.JPG

 

White metal bogies fitted.

 

Class 80 10.JPG

 

Grey primer added.

 

Class 80 11.JPG

 

First base coat of paint applied, interiors completed.

 

Class 80 12.JPG

 

Class 80 13.JPG

 

Nearly there but then disaster struck; the painting of these models has been ongoing for the past week and involved painting one coat and after sufficient time masking over the new paint to put on another colour. However when the masking tape was removed it removed the paint in a few areas including the grey etch primer which I used as an undercoat.

 

Class 80 14.JPG

This has happened so many times that I have consigned the models to a bath of brake fluid to strip off the paint down to the brass and start again. So frustrating...

Man alive,This is happening to me all the time, Even plastic kits and it is really knocking my Mojo for 6. I reckon since I moved out to the Portacabin the Damp / cold or such affects the paint. thats my theory but everything, from Metal,Plastic and resin.

 

Love the tip about the P cutter, I used a dremel with disk but found it a bit messy.

 

I have one to paint as well but I can bring myself to task, I now try the 1mm masking tape and then Masking fluid onthe outside but even the 1 mm tape takes paint off.

 

I dunno, nearly about to pack all this in at the moment....

[Georgeconna]

It has taken some time, I had to resort to a Brillo pad but eventually got all the paint removed.  Then gave it a good clean with Jiff so it's away to dry out and some repair work before starting to apply paint again.

 

Class 80 15.JPG

 

good Luck!!

[kirley]

CIE D Class [301] Project 16/2018

 

I got a Hornby Class 08 to convert to a CIE D Class which I believed to be a simple conversion.  However when I compared the Hornby model with a drawing of the D Class it was then I saw quite a lot of differences.

 

 

So nothing for it but to get out the saw and craft knife.

 

 

 

The cutting did not improve its looks so it was time to re build it and add those extra boxes.  Lots of filling and sanding was then required.

 

 

 

I added an underskirt and re-positioned the steps. Time for more filler and more and sanding.

 

 

After first primer coat, more filler applied and sanded with some extras including brass hand rails added.

 

 

I gave the model a black livery with white above the rear cab windows.  My decals from Silver Fox only provided number 301 so that’s what it got.

 

 

 It’s now ready for trials on the layout.

[NoelG]

Impressive and resourceful job. Well done.

[kirley]

CIE TPO

 

I got a TPO kit from Tom Bradley, IFM which provides everything except bogies and paint.

 

 

A very straighforward kit to build.