Focalplane's Workbench (mostly 7mm)

[Focalplane]

I am beginning to be convinced!  As it will be a month or two before the track is laid, this can be revisited nearer the time, but I think the legs are going to be shortened!

 

Edit to add

 

I just tried something.  I placed an empty wagon on a piece of track and lowered the wagon side door:

 

 

 

It looks OK?

Edited September 25, 2017 by Focalplane

[Simond]

It does indeed. I'd suggest a bit of a dusting of black over the brown on the rail side, leaving the sides & back cleaner.

 

I'd also suggest NOT cutting down the legs until the last minute. It's much easier to make them shorter than longer!!

 

Best

Simon

[Focalplane]

Another broken night so at 3 a.m. I took Simond's advice and added more black paint and stain around the tops of the wooden stage.  I also added more fine coal and then "fixed" the loose coal with some matt varnish.  The Humbrol spray matt varnish appears to have been a mistake as it has dried with a whitish sheen on some lumps of coal.  It can be easily rectified but for now I will leave it be.  It could just rectify itself over time.  The offending lumps can easily be replaced.

 

The TOAD brake van's progress should quicken today.  We'll see!

[Focalplane]

The elusive Connoisseur ex-GW 20 ton TOAD brake van comes out of the shadows of the coal stage and goes centre stage itself on the Legge Lane turntable.

 

 

All the soldering has been done, just the roof to fix to the body after the interior is primed with etch grey.  I plan to do a spring-loaded  "snuff box fitting" as suggested by Jim in the instructions.

 

An enjoyable kit to build.  Started Saturday morning, built by Tuesday evening but slowed down by the coal stage project.  I actually like having more than one project on the go at the same time.  Painting will begin when the weather behaves, I have the necessary spray cans.

 

When I modelled North American HO in the 1980s there were plenty of box cars, gondolas, tank cars and so on for really long "drags" behind a Cab in Front or an A-B-A consist of EMD F7s but only Athearn made an RTR caboose, the American equivalent of a brake van.  I had two "cabeese", one SP, the other UP.  They cost less than $10 each ready to run plus a dollar for Kadees.  I still have them in storage.

 

Next project?  Probably two running in tandem, the MOK 74XX chassis and bogies for the two Haywood Collett coach kits.

[coachmann]

Coal dust gets everywhere and would settle on flat surfaces. The coal merchant might run his sweeping brush over it now and again, but coal stains everything over time and wood being absorbent, it would look pretty shabby and battered after 50 or so years out in all weathers. To counter this, rain and sun would have a bleaching effect although the softer wood in between the grain would remain dark. This of course ignores creosote, if it was applied occasionally.

[Focalplane]

Late last evening I opened the first of the two Haywood Collett Coach boxes.  The bogies appear to be be quite simple affairs but with sprung hornblocks to give some compensation.  Brake fittings are not included in the box, removing my main stumbling block when building the Sidelines coaches (the brass brake blocks are very difficult to solder in the correct position.

 

The instructions are not as detailed as I would like and some serious thought has been given to whether I am folding the etches correctly.  Normally an etched fold line means that the fold closes over the etched line but in the case of the bogies sides the instructions say to "fold the outer layer through 180º to form a double thickness and solder".  The only way this can work is to fold away from the etched fold line.  This becomes more apparent but no less confusing when constructing the sprung axleboxes but I finally nailed the logic of it all when I realized that only one way can work, the other would not allow the tabs that hold the axlebox in place to be folded.

 

Even so, a dry run suggests that the clearances are tight and the axle does not spin easily.  Some additional fettling may be required which will be the next step once I have taken care of essential food shopping.

 

This afternoon I hope the weather will hold for spraying the brake van with etch primer.

[Focalplane]

Update on the Haywood bogies.  The first one is finished and looks like this!

 

 

Without brakes it does seem a bit too mundane for a 7mm coach, but these can be added later using 3rd party fittings.  But as part of a 6 coach train they will not look out of place.

 

The springing works well with about 1mm play on each axle box.  The wheels move quite freely but I am sure they will spin more easily once run in.  I have started on the second bogie (of 4 in total) and, now I understand the kit designer's instructions more clearly, they will go together quickly.

 

Update on the GWR 20 ton brake van.  Fair weather this morning meant that the brake van has received its primer coating.  Already that looks like a good decision as the wind is now coming off the sea and the humidity is rising.  The roof is not fixed yet as glazing will be needed later.

 

[coachmann]

The GWR toad is looking very neat. Re bogies, brake blocks look to be essential on a 7mm GWR Pressed Steel bogie.  But I have to say they were time consuming to solder onto the LMS coach bogies. It took me a week to build a coach and I'm afraid that isn't nearly fast enough for me.  I looked to see if I could speed things up by designing my own and asking a friend to do the CAD's, but ......

[Focalplane]

All four bogies now complete (minus brakes) and primed. They are solid pieces of brass and white metal and should be robust in service.

 

So what's next?  Over lunch I started to look at the D127 diagram coach itself and decided to build the chassis.  I spread out all the parts (minus bogies):

 

 

The etched sides are pre-folded with the tumblehome while there is a fold over strengthener along the top of the sides, a useful touch if the roof is to be removable.  The roof is an aluminium extrusion, similar to Sidelines' LMS coaches.

 

The chassis consists of the brass sheet floor, solebars and all the gubbins below.  After folding the solebars I found that its tabs are not quite in the right place, so some filing was required to get the solebars in the right place with an equal space at each end..  My "coach-building" soldering iron (80 watt) has seen better days and became frustrating to put it mildly, even after re-dressing and so on, so the out of sight joins don't look all that good.

 

 

[Focalplane]

Went out and got me a new soldering iron, Camping Gaz (electric) 30 or 60 watt, switchable.  The 60 watt setting is perfect for large coach sides, floors, etc., switch to 30 watt when adding details.

 

I probably own about ten soldering irons these days, though not all them work or were bought in North America so need a transformer..

 

I also bought a Camping Gaz (gas) torch for heating up brass when annealing.  Should have bought it years ago!

 

I have started on the D127 coach, as noted above, and there are quite a few poorly sited tabs, the ones this evening on the end stepboard(s).  Not a problem, just slows me down a bit!

[Focalplane]

Yesterday was a trying day, so I will unload some thoughts on the Collett coach build.  I should stress that this is not meant to be a criticism but rather an assessment of the Haywood Railway kits.  The instructions are not comprehensive and as a result I cannot complete the two kits on this "tour of duty".  I just ordered a copy of "A pictorial record of GW Coaches" by Russell and it has to be delivered to the UK by the second hand book seller.  That is unfortunate but it is better to have the book later and leave the kits as far built as I can.

 

I would also say, as a piece of advice, that I am glad I have already built Sidelines kits, because their instructions actually help in understanding how best to complete a Haywood Kit.

 

There is nothing wrong with the Haywood kits other than the small errors that can creep into etch design, etc.

 

There are a total of 24 etched steps in the kit but no mention of where they might go.  In searching the web for photos of pressed steel 9ft bogies I discovered that 16 of them actually belong on the bogies, though not necessarily for some photos show them, some show none at all, and some show steps only where they would be useful (like under a guards door on the Brake Composite).

 

Here is a photo of a bogie with the steps:

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GWR_Collett_pressed_steel_double-bolster_9_bogie_(6901721072).jpg

 

It becomes apparent that if these steps are added to the bogies they would hide the brake blocks that are not included in the kit!  So I will add all 16 of them.

 

When it comes to the drop lights, the door windows have slots for hinges but the doors do not.  However, there is an etch in the box that includes what can only be door hinges, and that is what I will use.

 

So, this is the ongoing plan:

 

I have been able to complete most of the chassis of D127.  There is no reason why I should not do the same with E162.

 

I can also at least start on the body, soldering various pieces to the sides and ends, perhaps soldering the sides and ends to make a box.  I can then test the fit of the body box on the chassis, allowing me to fit the remaining stepboards on the chassis which can then be primed.

 

Another comment on the chassis under bracing.  Brass channel is supplied which must be bent.  My bends (after annealing the brass channel) were not very good, so I found some identical channel (bought because Sidelines' channel is made from folded etch) and designed a different way of installing them.  I will do the same on the second coach but the build should go a lot more quickly than on the first.

 

At this stage I will put the coaches to one side until I have the reference book to hand.

 

So there is quite a lot to keep me occupied over the next few days.

[81A Oldoak]

Yesterday was a trying day, so I will unload some thoughts on the Collett coach build.  I should stress that this is not meant to be a criticism but rather an assessment of the Haywood Railway kits.  The instructions are not comprehensive and as a result I cannot complete the two kits on this "tour of duty".  I just ordered a copy of "A pictorial record of GW Coaches" by Russell and it has to be delivered to the UK by the second hand book seller.  That is unfortunate but it is better to have the book later and leave the kits as far built as I can.

 

I would also say, as a piece of advice, that I am glad I have already built Sidelines kits, because their instructions actually help in understanding how best to complete a Haywood Kit.

 

There is nothing wrong with the Haywood kits other than the small errors that can creep into etch design, etc.

 

There are a total of 24 etched steps in the kit but no mention of where they might go.  In searching the web for photos of pressed steel 9ft bogies I discovered that 16 of them actually belong on the bogies, though not necessarily for some photos show them, some show none at all, and some show steps only where they would be useful (like under a guards door on the Brake Composite).

 

Here is a photo of a bogie with the steps:

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GWR_Collett_pressed_steel_double-bolster_9_bogie_(6901721072).jpg

 

It becomes apparent that if these steps are added to the bogies they would hide the brake blocks that are not included in the kit!  So I will add all 16 of them.

 

When it comes to the drop lights, the door windows have slots for hinges but the doors do not.  However, there is an etch in the box that includes what can only be door hinges, and that is what I will use.

 

So, this is the ongoing plan:

 

I have been able to complete most of the chassis of D127.  There is no reason why I should not do the same with E162.

 

I can also at least start on the body, soldering various pieces to the sides and ends, perhaps soldering the sides and ends to make a box.  I can then test the fit of the body box on the chassis, allowing me to fit the remaining stepboards on the chassis which can then be primed.

 

Another comment on the chassis under bracing.  Brass channel is supplied which must be bent.  My bends (after annealing the brass channel) were not very good, so I found some identical channel (bought because Sidelines' channel is made from folded etch) and designed a different way of installing them.  I will do the same on the second coach but the build should go a lot more quickly than on the first.

 

At this stage I will put the coaches to one side until I have the reference book to hand.

 

So there is quite a lot to keep me occupied over the next few days.

 

Paul,

I built a Haywood B Set many years ago. They are basic kits and the instructions are brief almost to the point of non-existent. I liked the very simple method for building spprung bogies, but the cosmetic bogie frame castings were basic. The pair has now been retired following the acquisition of a Lionheart B Set. Sadly, I only have Volume 1 of the Russell book otherwise I would have offered to scan the relevant pages and send them to you via email.

 

Regards,

 

Chris

[coachmann]

Kits are designed for amateurs who lose nothing by spending weeks and months building them and there was no doubt in my mind that I would have had to design my own coaches had I gone into full production in 0 gauge.  

[Focalplane]

Kits are designed for amateurs who lose nothing by spending weeks and months building them and there was no doubt in my mind that I would have had to design my own coaches had I gone into full production in 0 gauge.

 

I agree with you, as an amateur in the true sense of the word meaning I love what I do particularly now retired. I think I have been spoiled since moving to 7mm scale with the excellent instructions that come with Connoisseur, MoK and other kits.

 

My frustration comes from not being able to move fast enough with a kit which has a steep learning curve as I have lots of other things to do to get Penmaenpool up and running. As Tony Wright recently said, many of us have exceeded our three score years and ten and while longevity has been on the increase, that is a good thing, but only up to a point.

 

The irony is that having made one coach I am much better placed to set about building a dozen more, but I don’t need a dozen more!

Edited September 30, 2017 by Focalplane

[Focalplane]

Despite my earlier post this morning I have made good progress with the D127 coach, adding components to the chassis, sides and ends and folding the interior partition.  Some components cannot be added at this time (buffers, for example, they need to be put on after the body is attached to the chassis).  Also, I am not sure about the steps on the bogies so they are off for the time being.

 

I could solder the sides and ends to make a box, but I am reluctant to do this until I have more information.  I may have to unsolder them which I would prefer not to have to do.

 

Next I will do much the same with the E162 kit, then box them both up until November.

 

I have done so much soldering today my iPhone finger print sensor isn't working, the combination of liquid flux and a lot of degreasing has partially removed my fingerprints!

[N15class]

On the subject of basic kits, I quite like them as long as they fit together. As you can add detail to make a display cabinet model or make a working model. Some more sophisticated kits it's hard to leave out some details because of the means of construction. I just wish Haywood's would do some LSWR ironclads.

[Simond]

Paul,

 

I always have at least two fingers and two thumbs recorded in my iDevices, just in case of a sticking plaster or whatever. I think they'll accept five fingerprints. I've never had the patience to try a toe...

 

Pete,

 

I'd add a constraint to your comment about fitting together. I think they need to be dimensionally accurate too, at least in the key dimensions that you're never going to modify.

 

Best

Simon

[Focalplane]

Further to the above comments, now I have trimmed all the etches for the second coach I have found several defective parts which is frustrating but not, I hope, a disaster in that they can be replaced.  In this respect the D127 is much better that the E162 (no hinge slots in the sides being the most glaring omission).

 

I am not in a hurry now, just want to do all I can, so waiting for the replacements is not a serious matter - I have a 74XX to build!

[Focalplane]

Simon

 

I have several fingers programmed but the two I use most are also the ones that are worn down.

 

I heard an interesting tale about a boyfriend who didn't want his girlfriend to see the content on his device so he programmed only his big toe print!

 

Paul

[Simond]

I could tell you a hair curling story about one of my ex staff, and what his wife found, but good taste suggests the veil should stay drawn over that one...

 

Best

Simon

[Jintyman]

Yesterday was a trying day, so I will unload some thoughts on the Collett coach build.  I should stress that this is not meant to be a criticism but rather an assessment of the Haywood Railway kits.  The instructions are not comprehensive and as a result I cannot complete the two kits on this "tour of duty".  I just ordered a copy of "A pictorial record of GW Coaches" by Russell and it has to be delivered to the UK by the second hand book seller.  That is unfortunate but it is better to have the book later and leave the kits as far built as I can.

 

 

 

 

Hi Paul,

 

I have one of J.H. Russell's books, "A Pictorial Record of Great Western Coaches (1903 - 1948)" and neither of your two diagrams are in there (D127 or E162).

Apparently there are 5 books in this series and I have volume 2, so I'm not certain which book you've ordered.

Just wanted to give you the information that they are not in Vol 2!

 

Jinty

[Marshall5]

They aren't in Pictorial Record Vol,1 as that only deals with pre-1903. I would have expected them to be in Vol.2 but obviously not.  They could be in Great Western Coaches Appendix Vol.1 which deals with diags. A-E post 1903.  Jinty, if, by the 5th volume, you mean 'Official Drawings No3 G.W. Coaches' they are not listed there either according to http://www.gwr.org.uk/nolitt.html

It might be worth looking through the indexes of back numbers of G.W. Journal. http://www.gwrjournal.com/

Cheers,

Ray.

[Focalplane]

I sent an email to Haywood Railway last night detailing some of the issues and hope for a reply.

 

Ordering the book is as much to get a flavour of GWR coaches as to get finite details.  I have done the same in the past with LMS coaches while researching the Midlander rake I am building and every bit helps.

 

For example, I have no roof diagrams with the kits but the placement of vents and other items could be standardized à la Swindon practice.  The instructions merely say "mark out, drill and fit the roof ventilators. . ."

[Focalplane]

As an aside to the book order noted above, when I visited Toddington on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway last month, the second hand book stall had a notice saying no further donations were being accepted, as they were over-stocked.  A second "restoration" stall had all sorts of items for sale for a donation of a pound per item.  Rob (I think that's his name) who runs his own stall there was also keen to offer deals for the same reason.

 

Sadly I came away with very little - not one book on the Cambrian and no GWR coach books either!

[Jintyman]

  The instructions merely say "mark out, drill and fit the roof ventilators. . ."

 

 

Wow, that's helpful.

 

I have just ordered Great Western Railway Coaches Appendix Volume One by J.H. Russell.

If the contents include the relevant diagrams I will scan and send over the details for you.

 

Jinty