ECC Wheal Imogen / Rosevean Station: the expansion

[St Enodoc]

37 minutes ago, The Fatadder said:

It was at this point that I remembered how much I hate programming with the Lenz setup

JMRI DecoderPro is your friend (usual disclaimer).

[The Fatadder]

I really need to start using the sprog/decoder pro more.  It’s the lack of electrical outlets where they are needed in the study that puts me off.  Need to get it sorted!

 

 

Ive been doing a bit of tidying on the layout in preparation of taking some higher quality photos for a potential magazine article.

 

without the facia plate the ends of the bridge were still in white foam board, so this has all been painted black.  There was also a messy strip along the front edge where the bank was built up for the river, so a strip of electrical tape was added to hide the messy part.  This needs something a bit more permanent going forward, but does the job for now. 
 

bits for the compresssor are due tomorrow, so fingers crossed I can crack on with 37668 this week and get it into service.  The chassis had most of the detail bits added last night.  Very frustrating that Bachmann have continued with the rubbish bogie

mounted snowplough instead of doing it properly ala Accurascale.  (Still at least they did the windscreen properly….)

just need one more split box /0, one centre /0 and one more 37/4 body and I will have the whole fleet upgraded (bar the 37/7 which will probably get a Shawplan upgrade)

[The Fatadder]

Utter failure of a painting session at lunch today:

There is a massive air leak somewhere in the outlet system, not the end of the world as the 25l air tank holds plenty, but frustrating none the less.

 

The painting was a car crash, GWR Green had dried solid in the can.  The rattle can of Brooklands Green had also gone off and just splattered the loco with green blobs.  It now needs cleaning up and trying again once I source some replacement paint (no doubt not until Ally Pally or Swindon, which ever comes first).

 

The EWS gold paint had also dried up, with some left in the bottom which was 50 - 50 as to whether it was useable.  after spraying it was rapidly apparent that it wasnt useable and was immediately wiped off the model.   Another new tin of paint needed....

 

Finally the NVA car carrier was successfully sprayed white.

At least one project can now progress over the coming days, just not either of the two more pressing ones!

[The Fatadder]

New loco day….

 

A delivery of my Cavalex class 56, I went for 56074 as the closest of the initial releases.  In my 1998/99 period 56078 was the only 56 to make it to Cornwall (I think there was also a Romanian loco in Dutch that for as far as Exeter).  It arrived in September 98 on the rear of set of chocolate and cream mk1s behind King Edward I, then worked back light engine.   Annoyingly this should have been my favourite 56 049 but it failed causing 078 to be substituted.

 

In my world I’m going to make one small change for now, with the 56 pinched for a china clay turn before heading back up country.   Eventually I would like the mk1 set to go with it along with the King (annoying as it is in BR condition).

 

Back to the model, there are a few areas that need work:  removing the coal sector logos, renumber, change ohle flashes, add Loadhaul cantrail grills, change the buffers at one end.   Of course I will also need to add a crew so will pick up the modelu crew at Ally Pally (not sure if the driver @Southwich had been born in September 98 when the loco was in Cornwall 😂) 

 

This evening I’ve been working on removing the logos, using the process outlined by @James Makinin the Cavalex 56 thread.

 

 

first the logo was covered in thinners and left for 30 seconds or so, then starting from the joint between the greys it was rubbed away.

from some angles it looks pretty good

 

however catch the light and not only do you see the shinyness, there is also some ghosting where you can see where the old logos diamonds were printed.  My plan is to sand back with very fine wet and dry and then re varnish and weather. 
 

next up adding the new transfers.

 

 

overall I’m really impressed with the model, amazing levels of detail (those cantrail grills!)   Some great ideas (love the pre cut etched plates, the template for their application (and the fact there are no preprinted ones to remove).  I can’t wait for the 60…

 

Edited February 10 by The Fatadder

[The Fatadder]

Loco is now fully fitted with its new identity, along with replacing the ohle flashes.  
 

 

In keeping with the spirit of the main Cavalex releases I have replicated the prototypes damage to the 5 which is missing the top on one cab side. 
 

Next job will be sorting out the near cantrail grills and the buffers at the end shown in the photo above, before adding Dinghams and brake gear.   Will need to think about getting a decoder ordered as well.

[St Enodoc]

11 minutes ago, The Fatadder said:

In keeping with the spirit of the main Cavalex releases I have replicated the prototypes damage to the 5 which is missing the top on one cab side. 

I find I can manage that sort of thing without trying.

[The Fatadder]

1 minute ago, St Enodoc said:

I find I can manage that sort of thing without trying.

I have a fair bit of thought as to whether or not to faithfully replicate this for the thought of it just looking like a mistake.

 

 

[The Fatadder]

More work on 56078

 

First up, the prototype had a non standard bodyside grill on one side with an X brace for the first full panel at the cab end.  I took some Evergreen 30 by 40 strip, painted it in Exec dark grey, and cut to seize before supergluing in position.  Once dry paint was touched in from the front.

Just noticed a small paint mark under the grill which has now been removed.

 

Next up was adding the scars where the old BR arrows and Depot plaques had been removed.  Cavalex’s excellent metal plate location guides were really useful here.  For the plaque I used the guide to draw an outline and then touched it in with paint.

 

For the BR plaque, I glued the etched plate onto a stick, applied paint to the back and pressed it onto the model (again using the Cavalex tool for alignment.)  Afterwards tidying up with a blunted cocktail stick to thin the paint down.

 

 

 

The final job was to paint the compressor on one side light grey, the prototype gained a new part in early 1998 

[Daddyman]

1 hour ago, The Fatadder said:

The final job was to paint the compressor on one side light grey, the prototype gained a new part in early 1998 

Nice work, Rich. Were the compressors light grey or a sort of pale duck-egg blue? Certainly on 60s I've done them the latter colour, but I know even less about 56s than I do about 60s... 

[The Fatadder]

Thats a good question, this photo on Tim Horn's flickr was my inspiration, it only appears to be grey on one side (and 9 months later it was much less distinct due to the weathering.   the part on the other side appers to be black as per the model.

https://flic.kr/p/b6QnET

To me the colour looks pretty similar to the rail grey bodyside 

 

As to whether its grey or duck egg blue I am not sure, I dont think it will matter once its dirty.

 

Edited February 12 by The Fatadder

[Daddyman]

Hard to say, isn't it? I'm sure I had a good reason for painting it duck-egg on the 60, but I can't now find that reason. And as you say, once weathered...  

[The Fatadder]

A little more on 56078 this evening, which has now been fitted with Dinghams, more details in the Cavalex 56 thread

[The Fatadder]

had a delivery of small LEDs today so I’ve finally got on with finishing off 37025.  
 

I have soldered the new micro led (supplied with wires fitted) onto the high intensity pads on the pcb reusing the OEM resistor and shorting across the (removed) component for the OEM separate headlight control.

 

the 2022 lighting board (complete with its extra led) was then hardwired to the last gen chassis (no need for those useless touch contacts).

 

With that 37025 is ready for weathering, although that can wait until I have 37668 painted so both can be weathered at the same time 

[The Fatadder]

This evening I’ve started work on weathering 56078.   As the sides still need a dusting of varnish there’s only so much I can do.  But the roof as ever is the obvious start point.

 

My usual mix for weathering a tripple

grey roof is mostly Vallejo grey black (with some random shades mixed in).  This brush painted over the roof before streaking with a large flat brush.  Once dry Tamiya powders were used to blend it all together.

 

looking at the photo I’m not entirely happy with the cross piece I added to the side grill which I think sits slightly back from the mesh so it’s not as visible as the OEM part.  I might try removal and refitting 

Edited February 14 by The Fatadder

[Daddyman]

The photo isn't displaying Rich (at least not for me) - might be why the undoubtedly deserved "likes" aren't coming! 

[The Fatadder]

Try again, not sure what is happening there

 

 

I have also made a start weathering the chassis, this time with a mix of German cam black brown, burnt umber and black.

 

 

The light grey compressor is now somewhat hidden in dirt (as it was on the prototype by the end of 98/99)

 

Nice to see my new phone can automatically cut out the background mess photographing a model on the work bench 

[The Fatadder]

I had a pack of 3000 grit sanding sponges arrive today so the next step on 56078 was to sand back the remains of the Railfreight logos.

 

This was followed by masking the doors / windows and giving the sides a coat of semi satin varnish.

 

with that done the final step today was to add streaks from the roof, for this I have been using the dregs of paint in the bottom of my brush cleaning bowl!

 

I will give it another day to dry before finishing off the side with powders. 
 

 

[The Fatadder]

Had a delivery from Rainbow Railways this afternoon containing a couple of tins of Phoenix paint.

 

So this evening given it was still warm enough for spraying I cracked on with the EWS gold on 37668 (which in turn will

mean the main EWS red can be sprayed on Saturday, and hopefully the blue on the NVA tomorrow).  Really looking forward to having this painted and reassembled.

 

I also had a delivery of a Dapol decoder for 56078, just need to work out how to get everything working now.

Edited February 15 by The Fatadder

[The Fatadder]

 

it needs a little bit of rework where the masking hasn’t quite held up, going to have to do something about the LH side where it looks like the gold stipe gets fractionally wider.   Then it’s a case of painting the body side grill grey and adding transfers.  Should be finished over the weekend all being well.

 

the NVA was less successful, mostly because the Phoenix First Blue was more of a purple than a blue. So it’s now back to square one trying to find something passable for the prototype 

[The Fatadder]

 

a start on the transfers from @railtec-models,  with just the cantrail and reflective stripe still to add.  I’m not 100% happy with the fit of the nose grills,

once it’s varnished I might try removing and refitting (but will need to print and paint a replacement set first).  At least with a home painted model it’s easy to colour match.

 

Will be in Bristol watching my 10 year old’s final performance at the Opera tonight so I doubt it will be finished until tomorrow now. 

 

[The Fatadder]

Turns out we didn’t need to leave as early as I thought today, and I’ve had time to put the rest of the transfers on 37668.   Still not entirely happy with the grills though. 

Body loosely placed on chassis 

 

Hopefully it will be dry enough to varnish tomorrow so I can crack on with getting the laser glaze added, along with properly reattaching to the chassis 

[The Fatadder]

After varnishing the loco this morning, this evenings task was to finish off the model fitting the glazing and hard wiring the lights at one end to replace the damaged lighting socket. 
 

I’ve yet to test it as the work was finished too late to be setting off a sound chip, it will also still need weathering and the handrails painting 

 

seems a good time to show off the rest of the 37 fleet, starting with the 2022 Bachmann bodies on old chassis

37674

 

37510

37521

37025

37262, the only one of my 2022 37s that retains Bachmann’s livery (all be it with some modifications to the roof and the names removed)

 

Next up the locos using the last gen shell but with the Extreme Etchings upgrades to windows and roof grill

37671

37065 with its odd ends

37670 fitted with a full set of reinforced windscreens, loco still needs its headcode boxes replacing once I print some more 
 

Finally there are the locos that are the last gen Bachmann model with Extreme Etchings roof grill and a hybrid overlay/reglaze cab.  Earmarked for future upgrades

37057

 

37710

 

37403, one of the Railtec plates seems to have fallen off.  I’m still pleased with the hand repainted BR crests to get the faded look.

 

Edited February 18 by The Fatadder

[The Fatadder]

The penultimate post on 37668, after work this evening I’ve been testing the loco under power for the first time since I ‘fixed’ the squealing motor.  Annoyingly it’s returned so the whole thing will need taking apart again.  This time I will be more drastic and completely replace the motor mount (and remove and modify the fuel tanks to improve the fit at the same time).   The noise isn’t so bad as it was, just annoying that it’s there!

 

of course with the body hard wired to the chassis it’s going to be a lot harder this time!  I’m tempted to see if I can remove the fuel tanks and then enter from below, rather than removing the body, then the bogies in order to remove the chassis moulding…

 

one other thing on the hit list, I need to reprogramme the tail lights to be off by default.  I don’t like the Bachmann default of having to turn off the lights at one end to disable them.

 

just spotted this end still needs lamp irons as well…

 

With the resting done it’s onto the weathering, first up some streaking added to the sides around the grills before getting stuck in to the roof.  Once this is dry it will be onto the bogies to get it to an intermediate state where it’s layout ready.  As sound loco no3 I’m sure it’s going to get a lot of use!   Makes me think I really ought to switch the sound out of 670 into something in the top list.  So I can have a transrail with sound….

[The Fatadder]

After weathering the chassis 37668 is now in service 

[The Fatadder]

Another wagon that is complete awaiting transfers is this EWS liveried Rudd (with Grampus sides).

 

looks a little odd with the livery painted the wrong way round.  I think the lower strip is a little narrow in the Parkside tooling vs the prototype.