dj_crisp Posted August 18, 2018 Author Share Posted August 18, 2018 All part of the fun. I’m revisiting 37116 as I wasn’t happy with the finish (testors) or some of the detail. Satisfying certainly , but where to stop is the question Where to stop is indeed an excellent question. I'm going with attempting to maintain some sort of sanity and what i can't see on photos. So I'm choosing the long distance types Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkAllen Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Afternoon Finally got my copy of traction yesterday and well worth the read it is. Nice approach you have to modelling and it’s inspired me to get on with my hoovers too. I look forward to reading more from you. Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted August 18, 2018 Author Share Posted August 18, 2018 Afternoon Finally got my copy of traction yesterday and well worth the read it is. Nice approach you have to modelling and it’s inspired me to get on with my hoovers too. I look forward to reading more from you. Mark Great Stuff! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 (edited) Sadly I've been far too busy to be able to fit in some decent modelling.... but I've managed to tick over a few projects. I've been trying to get a decent rear tail lamp for my MK1 TSO project. The aim was to have an appearance of it being hooked on the lamp bracket with no obvious wiring or illumination from light guides. Many attempts were epic fails but eventually I stumbled upon a DCC concepts flashing tail light; Looks rather nice. The "fun" bit is installing the thing. I started off using the gubbings the light came with (which is quite alot) but ultimately this failed as I couldn't get a stable flash rate. I guess it needs a capacitor or something but as this is a TSO there is very little space for one, Even with all wheel pickup on the coach I couldn't improve it. So I've dumped the lot and just used the lamp which is hooked up to a resistor and a decoder that I've programmed to flash. This works very nicely. Why can't DCC concepts do this?? BTW I'll be happy if they supply the lamps on their own for less money!! If you're reading this Alex (of DRD transfers) please look away as Helvellyn has been turned out in that popular Transrail livery.... Transfers are rub on Replica Railways and I these are excellent - sadly I think they've stopped making them and I think I may have bought the last of their stock. I hope they carry on. Helvellyn has had a second coat of flint grey, which has been darkened in order to match my other 60's rather than the prototype. TBH I do have a few photos found on Flickr where it looks a little darker so maybe Hornby are right ? Lol. I think it should be a it lighter but with the "correct" colour it looks a little odd with the lower rail grey being a little on the green side. I really didn't want to respray the whole thing... as there would be two others that would look odd next to it. Although I'll admit i didn't go as dark a grey as Hornby though Some detail painting to do and i need to spray the grilles but this one is looking better. Phew! And back to Grids... This project had stalled as I didn't like the body side cross members (no idea what they're supposed to be called!) and couldn't face re-doing them in plastikard. Hornby's efforts are too even for a 56! Anyway speaking to Brian @ Shawplan he suggested using his early etch for class 56s which I've bulked out using plastikard; In truth these are scale size so are too wide and Hornbys efforts are too short... and Brian's superb extreme etchings grille is sized to match Hornby. Compromises everywhere! So in truth I've lined up the new etch to the middle cross member and snipped a bit off each end. I also had to open out the side a little too. A trial fit; All in it didn't take me long to sort out both and the effect is more pleasing than Hornby's efforts which I probably wouldn't have improved on. Couldn't resist spraying and fitting; A terrible set of photos but at least it feels like small progress despite not having much time to devote to modelling which I hope is not troubling you! cheers Will Edited February 21, 2019 by dj_crisp 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted October 12, 2018 Author Share Posted October 12, 2018 (edited) It's all about Grids at the moment.... I've had an enjoyable time messing about with them and fitting the final body work details. Fitting Shawplan's excellent roof, cantrail and body side grilles to 56049 & 56101 was very therapeutic, I say therapeutic as I have to do it slowly and not rush fitting them in order to get them to look ok, Doing two loco's actually helps as between fitting it allows the grilles to harden by moving onto the next loco. I find it's important not to try and stick them down all in one go.. get an edge fixed with superglue... leave it to dry... attach a bit more... then finish up. In fact the offcuts of the grille etches are excellent tool to slip a bit of glue under the etches The grilles were pre-sprayed before being fitted but need a bit of touching up which i'll do soon. I've also sprayed and started weathering the roof using railmatch paint and their railfreight grey blends in ok - it's a little darker than Hornbys, but that helps as i've used it to also weather bits here and there and do a bit of shading on the roof. I always seem to have near disasters on my work bench. The latest was getting super glue on the body side where I'd feathered in a previous scrape (the loco was bought cheaply second hand in a sorry state).... managed to get away with it and i've ended up with some nice body side scrapes which actually look quite good. Not a recommended method! I'm also trialling a bit of a dustpan brush as the aerials... if they survive the work bench they should survive layout use! Door hand rails are 0.45mm wire painted white. 56049 having a trial fit; At first glance i thought the front was riding high - I'm sure there are better Grid experts out there who know but I'll do a bit of research to check its ok. This loco has been a bit of pain to get running well as it felt the need to derail on a straight piece of track.A classic problem of wheel rock on the centre axle and getting a file out resolved this. It now runs smoothly but will benefit from a period on the rolling road. I've always fancied doing a Romanian Grid but never seen one in my price range. Anyway by luck one appeared for a reasonable price on Hattons as a non-runner so i took a plunge and went for it. On arrival it certainly was a non-runner... but power was getting to motor but with nothing else happening. Stripping it down I found the culprit; I reckon Hornby must have used some kind of glue as a lubricant...! The bearings on the gears had completely seized up. Cleaning them and re lubricating them has solved this problem and I now have a sweetly running Romanian Grid to hack about Funny thing is exactly the same has happened on the chassis for 56101 which I was about to convert to EM. One to sort out on a rainy day. Lots more to do and I'll need to get the airbrush out for a bit more weathering and eventually varnishing so hopefully it stays warm over the next few weeks. Happy Modelling All!! Will Edited February 21, 2019 by dj_crisp 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack374 Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 Superb work Will, I do like the 'grids'...they certainly have a presence. I use the dustpan brush technique and all mine have survived thus far. Recently I’ve actually used one from a long handle floor brush as this has thicker bristles. On the 56 chassis, I found on my 60 that the cast chassis was severely bent at one end - I had dropped it once but I’m not sure this was the only cause. A bit of persuasion with a small ball pein hammer on a solid surface and it’s now a lot better. Only the other day I was contemplating EM gauge, but I’ve got 2 layouts on the go in 00 currently...one to muse over methinks.... Keep it up! Jack. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne 37901 Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 Nice work Will. Do you have a layout for all these locos to run on? Cheers Wayne Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted October 12, 2018 Author Share Posted October 12, 2018 Superb work Will, I do like the 'grids'...they certainly have a presence. I use the dustpan brush technique and all mine have survived thus far. Recently I’ve actually used one from a long handle floor brush as this has thicker bristles. On the 56 chassis, I found on my 60 that the cast chassis was severely bent at one end - I had dropped it once but I’m not sure this was the only cause. A bit of persuasion with a small ball pein hammer on a solid surface and it’s now a lot better. Only the other day I was contemplating EM gauge, but I’ve got 2 layouts on the go in 00 currently...one to muse over methinks.... Keep it up! Jack. Thanks Jack - usefull info! I'm very suspicious of some of the chassis blocks in these diesels... didn't have this problem with good old Lima OO is all good in my book and if you're happy there is no need to change. My dip into EM all came about as I wanted to standardise the wheel profiles across all my stock as I felt this would help running. It was very noticeable on my first OO layout that certain stock just fell off the rails and changing the wheels did help things. Mind you this was in the 90s and modern stuff is so much better these days. Anyway I decided to replace the wheels on pretty much all stock to keep things consistent, and while at it thought I'd have a go at widening the wheels. Decided at the start I wouldn't be able to cope with P4! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted October 12, 2018 Author Share Posted October 12, 2018 Nice work Will. Do you have a layout for all these locos to run on? Cheers Wayne Hi Wayne Not really - I have a plank with some dodgy track to test out my builds and ideas but thats not worth sharing. I have some plans for a layout in the future but unfortunately I'm rather time poor at the moment due to work commitments so have prioritised stock builds. As I work away from home a fair bit about half of the work on each build in this thread has been done in hotels! (It's a bit easier carrying a loco body or coach in a suitcase Saying that I've just had a browse of your layout threads and they're excellent and rather inspirational... I'm getting very tempted to see if I can do landscaping or building buildings! cheers Will 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted October 12, 2018 Author Share Posted October 12, 2018 Flickr is just a great source of info https://flic.kr/p/Dk9NFb There is definitely something odd about the buffer beam area on the Hornby model. One to ponder over the weekend Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartynJPearson Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Just found your posts about the DCC Concepts tail lights. I had a couple of issues with mine too, but solved them by introducing a slight kink into the springs that go over the axles to form the pickups, the reason being that the axle (Lima) was slightly narrower than the spring was designed for. The other thing I did was to remove the Hall sensor and just have the light on permanently, as I was finding that any slight interruption to power meant the light went off again. To omit the Hall sensor, connect the purple and yellow wires and insulate the white wire. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted October 13, 2018 Author Share Posted October 13, 2018 Thanks! I think your approach sounds better than mine. I'm going to stick with using a decoder for the last two that I have and then probably not use them again unless there is space behind where the lamp is. Will try and position mk2s at the end of my rakes now Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Departmental203 Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 (edited) I have a Hornby Class 56 56059. I didn't run it for a while and when I ran it, the gears made a grinding noise. I never knew the small cover can be opened to expose the gear but how did you do it with the Romanian Grid? Surprised me that all you have to sometimes do to get a non-runner working is an inspection of the moving parts or wires, I always thought that spares had to be bought for this. Thanks for the info and keep up with the work. Jules Edited October 17, 2018 by Departmental203 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 I have a Hornby Class 56 56059. I didn't run it for a while and when I ran it, the gears made a grinding noise. I never knew the small cover can be opened to expose the gear but how did you do it with the Romanian Grid? Surprised me that all you have to sometimes do to get a non-runner working is an inspection of the moving parts or wires, I always thought that spares had to be bought for this. Thanks for the info and keep up with the work. Jules Hi Jules You never know with non-runners as to what you're going to get and I've had a couple of efforts that have needed spares to get working.... broken bogie clips being the hardest thing to fix. Ive now had two Hornby 56s and a 60 that have had this issue where when power is applied the motor humms but nothing happens. Other than not moving the locos have all been mint so my guess is they've never been run and the grease has solidified that prevents the motor turning. A simple clean is all that's needed. To do this on the 56s is quite easy... if you want I can take a few photos as it's probably easier to demonstrate rather than describe! Its worth having a look to try and locate what's causing a grinding noise. Could be lubrication issues or something has worn. One of my Vitrains 37s was terrible... really noisy and this turned out to be a broken gear cog which needed replacing. Thankfully that was when spares were available and it's the only issue I've had with Vitrains mechs so far. Cheers Will Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Departmental203 Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 I think the cause is that the lubricant has dried up. I'll open up the Grid tomorrow and look again. I think photos will help. Cheers Jules Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted October 18, 2018 Author Share Posted October 18, 2018 (edited) I think the cause is that the lubricant has dried up. I'll open up the Grid tomorrow and look again. I think photos will help. Cheers Jules Hi Jules Some photos which hopefully help explain cleaning the gearbox mechs - I've already cleaned the one in the photo and can't demonstrate the amount of grease Hornby uses Slide a small screw driver from underneath to release the gear housing - it's a satisfying click. Repeat on other side. Then lift out the gear from the flywheel. When I've got both ends off I then check the motor is ok by applying a small amount of power and hopefully the motor rotates! Probably not a recommended method!! Also its interesting to listen as to how noisy the motor is so I can compare to when I put it all back together. So far all mine have been near silent. Inspect, clean & lubricate and hopefully all is ok. Putting back together isn't any harder. There is a lip of the flywheel rod to line up - easy on the end shown as you can get at it easily but the fan end is a little more trickier to line up - i rotate the motor manually so i know where to slot the rod in. I put the bearings back on the worm, then slot it into the flywheel rod, then drop it onto the gearbox. I find tweezers are the easiest way to put the square bearings in place. Finally attach the gearbox cover which must click on both sides. It also acts to keep the bogie in place! The other end is a little trickier as the fan mechanism needs taking off. I don't use this so simply snip the elastic band that is attached and ditch the mech but you may want to be more careful here than me. Also I find i need to lever off the cab wall to give me a bit of space especially when putting it back together. It's a very similar procedure for a 60 too. I'm also finding the bogie gears are full of grease too and benefit from cleaning - it'll be interesting to see how bad the Romanian 56 is when I convert it to EM, but at least that one is running smoothly now. Hope this helps Will P.S. I'm experimenting with body height which is why the body locating struts have been filed down on the chassis in the photo. I think the 56 body rides a little high on mine (about 1-2mm) which is probably made worse by the light connectors lifting the front of the cab. Edited February 21, 2019 by dj_crisp Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Departmental203 Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Thanks for the photos, Will, but I don't think I'll be too comfortable (at first) ripping out all the mechanisms even though I took off the fan assembly to try to get the fan belt out in one peice!! I would (eventually) take the plunge when I gain some bravado!! Cheers again Jules Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted November 18, 2018 Author Share Posted November 18, 2018 (edited) To make life a bit easier I'm trying out Precision ready mixed for airbrushing varnishes. TBH I haven't mastered them and also haven't worked out the optimum air brush pressure to use. Personally I prefer Railmatch Varnishes which I seem to achieve a better finish with as the Precision version always seems a little grainy to me. Must be my airbrushing abilities! Anyway I thought I'd try their matt varnish on a Hornby 60 and to be fair I'm quite pleased with the finish; Who said unbranded grey was dull One less model of Canisp in existance.... I'm sure it's going to a rare model one day Just glazing and some Thornaby Depot Plaques to add and then I'll reunite her with a chassis. Happy Modelling! Will Edited November 18, 2018 by dj_crisp 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 December and January are odd months as there is always too much to do that is non-modelling related! Also the garage is freezing! I've managed to progress a number of Type 5 projects... I'm pleased that I've actually put back together a number of Hornby 60s which have been wired up with lenz decoders & express model lighting kits, fitted kadees and laserglazed. Very pleased with how they're progressing and they just need a bit of final weathering and a little bit of varnish. Next up is the Grids. The body's are currently having glazing installed which always feels like I'm on the last stage, My least favourite jobs are fitting kadees and lighting circuits. Well at least the Kadees are out of the way! Next up - working out lighting! There are always more jobs to do though. I'm well annoyed that two of my DCC concepts decoder fitted Cromptons have failed on me. The Lenz fitted ones are fine so I've come to the conclusion that I'm never going to go near DCC concepts chips ever again. My last failure was rather dramatic as it simulated some nice exhaust smoke...It has however inspired me to re-visit my Cromptons that have had a bit of work on but didn't replace the roof grilles etc. As soon as my Type 5 splurge is over I'll have a good go at them. cheers Will 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted March 24, 2019 Author Share Posted March 24, 2019 I haven't been posting much recently which has been down to being somewhat busy. But at least I've sneaked in a bit of modelling To gain some sense of achievement I've had a blitz on my 60 fleet as the base model is rather good so doesn't need alot of work. As the thread shows I started these a while ago and really should have finished them by now!! They've all had the same mods being; - conversion to EM - laserglaze - new lighting using an express models kit but with warm white led. - lovely zimo decoders fitted - fitting of kadees to the chassis - weathered and varnished. - Shawplan nameplates, plaques and railfreight logos. - removal of GPS - some sunblinds fitted And the Triple Grey locos were all originally Canisp but have been renumbered using the excellent DRD transfers which make life so much easier! The rest of the transfers are mostly Fox. 60018 Moel Siabod in Construction 60042 Dunkery Beacon in Mainline Grey 60077 in the rather striking Mainline Blue (possibly my favourite livery) . Backdated it to 1995 so changed the overhead flashes and removed the GPS equipment. And the nearly finished... 60037 Helvelyn. Just further weathering and numerals to go. 60064 Back Tor. Yep I made a mess of removing the mainline lettering... I couldn't face respraying the lower grey so just got a big sticker! I rather like this one as it didn't carry a full loadhaul brandings and a few photos on flikr show it as a bit of a mess. Still got some more weathering to go and numerals but nearly there! Cheers Will 12 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted March 24, 2019 Author Share Posted March 24, 2019 And it's not all been about 60s as the 56 project has progressed a bit... but rather slowly as I'm trying to think of the best way of illuminating them... and also to get the side windows looking ok. I've managed to fit my own front glazing which i think improves the front. My duffs have been left but I'm experimenting with new "eyebrows" on my NSE example; I've taken a photo to see if they look ok... or perhaps they're a little thick? Not sure myself. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted March 24, 2019 Author Share Posted March 24, 2019 Occaisionally opportunites come along that are too good to be true. I've long held an ambition to build a layout thats a bit like goonbarrow sidings but with a station. In the cupboard I've got quite a bit of stock for a china clay layout but haven't got round to building a layout it as two things have previously put me off... these being baseboards and flatbottom points. My plan called for a main line with flatbottom crossover with a branch and holding sidings made up of bullhead track. I saw an advert for an EM layout "Bisley Junction" which Martin wished to sell and was rather surprised to see that it's very close to my plans... The "crossover" board And a close up of Martin's excellent flatbottom crossover which was the clincher for me going for it! Martin's plan was for this to be a SR terminus with some oil sidings and this would have been rather excellent. I'm going to have a crack at changing it's location, have a small re-jig of the bullhead rail and hopefully do it all justice. It does mean that stock might be a bit slower in the build time though as I'm just learning about electrics.... DCC... TOUs etc etc. Lots of new stuff to learn and definitely not in my comfort zone! Mind you it was fun at Ally Pally asking lots of questions! cheers Will 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 I've just set up a seperate thread for Bisley Junction and will keep this one focussed on Stock. If you're interested please do have a look and input will be greatly appreciated ! https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/143501-bisley-junction-1990s-em-gauge/ I imagine it'll be slow progress but I hope to get locos running on it soon for some playtime 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne 37901 Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Hi Will, Nice to see the 60 article in Traction. Although the Hornby 60 is a lovely model, I just can't justify the cost of one at the moment. I have two Lima ones I'm looking at rebuilding as I have the bits already, both will be Canton based probably one Metals and one Petroleum. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted June 8, 2019 Author Share Posted June 8, 2019 Hi Wayne Great stuff and thanks! I'm still very fond of the lima model and with a bit of work they look great. I look forward to seeing yours! I do also like the Canton machines and my only regret is not doing a full metals one. At the price they currently go for there is very little chance I'll do one! (There was a great period where the Canisp model was in the £50-60... Sadly not anymore.) Cheers Will 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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