James Harrison Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 This is a placeholder for my intended construction of a McGowan Models Great Central 8F 'Immingham'/ LNER B4. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard i Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 you have a kit of one you lucky so and so, i have been trying to track one down a t a reasonoble price for a while now. I will watch the build with interest. Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Harrison Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 Well, I have part of one. The body, and some castings for the chassis (though it was designed to take the Triang B12/ Hall chassis too- which will probably make motorisation a lot easier). There isn't, currently, a tender with it. Shall have to see what to do about that.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard i Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 perserverance sell one and they can be got on their own, i just have been sent some ten foot bogies and a 50ft full brake by the new owner of the company. If you can not track it down PM me and i will root out the actual web address. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Michael Edge Posted March 19, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 19, 2015 We do a GC 4000 gal. tender kit. Michael and Judith Edge Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Harrison Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 D'oh! I've had a whitemetal GCR tender arrive from that well-known internet auction site today. I'll do some research as to whether it's right for the 8F, and if not I'll have a go at one of your 4000 gal. tender kits Michael. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Harrison Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 I am now ready to commence my build. The machine I shall be modelling will be No.1102, as illustrated in John Quick's GCR loco liveries book on page 84, in lined black livery as worn between about 1910 and 1923. The list of parts gathered for the build runs thus: -McGowan B4 kit (bought pre-assembled on ebay, lacking a tender, chassis, wheels and motor)- needs some repairs and replacement of boiler fittings (most notably the safety valves). -BEC D10/ D11 tender (again bought pre-assembled via ebay, in LNER black livery so needs repainting)- I should note that according to the Green Bibles B4s did tow D10 tenders in GC days [or maybe that should be that Directors towed Immingham tenders?]. -Boiler fittings- whitemetal castings from my bits box. I'm fairly sure they're from the Craftsman range. -Hornby B12 chassis- modern type with fluted con rods and the smaller motor. The motor mount will need a degree of cutting down to fit inside the body. -Bachmann O4 cylinders- can be bought from the Bachmann spares department (I bought three sets a few years ago for various Robinson 4-4-2s and 4-6-0s I was hackbashing at the time. One set has been cannibalised and the left over bits used on a Jersey Lily, one set was used on my first 'Immingham' and returned to the bits box when that was scrapped and the third is on my current 'Fish', to be returned to the bits box when I get around to the McGowan B5 languishing in a cupboard somewhere). First order of business, once I have found (again) that thread describing how to cut down the B12 motor mount, will be to reduce the overall height of the chassis and to paint the wheels black. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr.king Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 A new upper part for the cab front, cut from thin sheet, makes a world of difference in lieu of the cast Mc Gowan approximation. Moving the rainstrips inboard from the egdes of the roof and getting rid of the unrealistic overhang of those edges adds true Robinson character too. The B12 chassis works well, but in the end I chose to fit mine with a set of Markits wheels to up the diameter a little and to eliminate the massive balance weights on the B12 drivers. If you re-mount the bogie on a pin sliding in a curved slot, as used on a number of modern RTR locos, rather than sticking to the swinging arm arrangement, then you can have bogie wheels of something like the right size too: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Harrison Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 That's very useful to know; thank you Graeme. The cab needs a fair bit of attention as the casting for the cab roof blocks the spectacle plate; the cab roof will most likely need removal to remedy this and if the roof is off it makes sense to amend the spectacle plate at the same time. I may look at what can be done with the B12 wheels to bring them closer to my prototype; I have three or four of them sitting in a spares box for some reason so can practice filing down the balance weights, as I'm really trying to make use of spares I already have (three large chocolate tins' worth, and no space for them either!) Remounting the bogie is certainly worth investigation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Harrison Posted May 9, 2015 Author Share Posted May 9, 2015 I've made a start in earnest on no.1102. Firstly the B12 chassis had large parts of its motor mount cut down, along the lines described in this thread: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/92190-when-is-a-4-6-0-not-a-4-6-0-making-a-brace-of-scottish-locos/ When this was done I found that the body was still a very tight fit, and probing around a little suggested firstly that the wheels were catching on the inside edges of the wheels splashers and secondly that the worm drive was catching on the underside of the boiler. So out came the file to carve a litle notch into the boiler for the worm drive, and the dremel was brought back into play to carefully remove some small slivers of material from the inside of the wheel splashers. Success! Except that now, the model looked to be too low at the front and far too low at the back... Out with the plastic sheet to fabricate some packers. 1.5mm packing at the front of the chassis and 3mm at the rear got the level of the running plate looking about right, compared with the tender and a couple of my other locos. Then I was able to move onto the bodywork. The snifting valve behind the chimney was removed, as was the stumpy remnant of the original whistle and the Ross-Pop safety valves. A Robinson safety valve cover was sourced from the spares box and glued into place. At various points around the body the original cyanocrylate glue was much in evidence, and was carefully removed using files and tweezers. Finally, the rainstrips down each side of the cab were filed away and replacements begun, in .5mm plastic strip. Finally for this post, a few photographs illustrating the model at present: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard i Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 this looks a great start, i am surprised at how much packing is needed. I will bear it in mind when i start on mine. are you going to remove the guard irons on the bogie at some stage? Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Harrison Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 I've actually removed a little of the packing, as on second thoughts it seemed to ride too high. It now has 2mm to the rear and 1mm to the front; still a little high but closer to the 25/ 26mm on my C A Reddy drawing than the 28mm I originally started with. This means that I may have to remove a small amount of material on the insides and undersides of the running plate valances to avoid the connecting rod pins catching. The guard irons on the bogie do need removing, but it is one of those 'when I get around to it' sort of jobs. Reminds me actually, I should really get around to taking some more photos of the loco, since I've lined out the cabsides and splashers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 We do a GC 4000 gal. tender kit. Michael and Judith Edge On sale here at RailEx. Just £30. The same price as their D10 etch, should you be tempted....! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Harrison Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 Over on the pre-grouping subforum we've a little discussion going concerning DIY transfers, paper overlays and suchlike for creating pre-1923 paint schemes. I've had a hard time trying to find anything close to GCR red-white-black-white lining, surprising really considering how it's close to LYR lining and therefore a canny transfer maker could do one sheet of it to suit two companies.... anway I digress. On one of my previous locos I made my own decals on a computer and printed them on decal paper, and got very good results. This time around, wouldn't you know it but the printer decided to break down.... this gave me the excuse to start experimenting with various types of paper and inks and paints, to see what would work when it comes to hand lining. The best result so far (and which has finally made it onto the model) has been to use designers' detail paper (very light, almost translucent in colour) with artists' inks applied using calligraphy pens. This can, with a bit of patience, produce rather a fine result. (I've recently changed my 'phone and I'm playing about trying to get the camera on it to work at present).... it looks much neater in the flesh than in the photo and I am quite convinced that with a little more work I can get a very respectable result from it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Harrison Posted August 8, 2015 Author Share Posted August 8, 2015 After quite a lengthy break, work continues on the 'Immingham'. After three or four attempts, I finally achieved lining that I'm happy with, for the present at least. I drew up the splashers, cab and tender sides in Photoshop* and put the lining in digitally, then cleaned it up with paint pens when it was printed (and needless to say it hadn't printed as originally intended). I've still got a little ways to go with it, but it is nearly there. *Other photomanipulation software is available Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard i Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 This looks great, however, it is also the reason I will most likely build mine in green as the white black white lining is available as a transfer as it is the same as lner. I am just chi kenning out of the hard work. Well done for taking it on. I feel you might have a (little) money spinner on your hands offering to line pre grouping locos. Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Harrison Posted August 8, 2015 Author Share Posted August 8, 2015 I'm nowhere near good enough to sell my lining skills (thanks though!) I do feel that doing lining on a computer and then printing it out as a transfer is the way forward; it's so much neater a finish if you take the time to draw it out accurately in the first place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Harrison Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 Well, she's now practically finished (it's getting her from 'practically finished' to 'completed' that always takes about five times longer than actually getting it from a box of bits to 'practically finished' in the first place...) The insignia and lettering are waterslide transfers supplied by Quainton Road Models. The only problem with them is that as they're new-old stock the carrier film is quite obvious, especially on a black background. My solution to this problem was to put two coats of varnish over the transfers, and when that didn't work I used a calligraphy pen loaded with Indian ink to very delicately touch in. The carrier film is still slightly visible but doesn't stand out from a mile away as was previously the case. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard i Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 It looks great. I find to lose the film showing you have to cut the transfers close it takes guts but it means you dont see the carrier film as much. Also gloss paint as the base coat. IMHO for what it is worth Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Harrison Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 Thanks! I do try to cut off as much carrier film as possible but tend to baulk at going within a gnat's whisker of the transfer itself. I supect one of the reasons why it hasn't shown up on any of my green engines is because part of my painting technique for that livery involves gloss brunswick green.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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