S7 scratch building

[airnimal]

Dave, it was good to meet you and the rest of the Scale 7 clan today with so many friendly people in the group.  I agree with the comments after the AGM about the need for more members and spreading the word that modelling to Scale 7 standards is as easy as modelling in any of the other standards, it just works and looks better. And as for the myth that modelling to S7 standards is elitist made me laugh because they let me join the group !  I started modelling over 55 years ago trying OO, finescale O before doing S7. I couldn't get anything to work for me until I started S7. 

 

I wish I could claim responsibility for the coaches but I couldn't paint and build to that standard no matter how hard I tried. They were the work of John Petcher who allowed me to buy them when he retired and downsized to a retirement flat. I feel very privileged to be the custodian of such fine models. I wish I had taken more photographs of them on the Ellerton Road layout. 

[Regularity]

Nice loco, too. Such simple lines require attention to squareness and parallelism.

[MarcD]

Mike ,

 

I was digging around my photo collection and I found this its clipped from a photo of Lindal moor mines B30 pit cric 1900. it looks like it might be a Wigan Coal and Iron hopper wagon. Have no more info on it. However I do know that there was a ore train that left lindal ore sidings once a day destination Wigan and WC&ICo had fingers in a number of ore mines in the lindal area.

[Dave Hunt]

Mike,

 

I forgot to add in my last post, congratulations on winning the wagon competition with your Joel Carrington wagon. Excellent as your models are in photographs, in the flesh they are even better.

 

Dave

[Compound2632]

13 hours ago, MarcD said:

I was digging around my photo collection and I found this its clipped from a photo of Lindal moor mines B30 pit cric 1900. it looks like it might be a Wigan Coal and Iron hopper wagon. Have no more info on it.

 

Looks like it has self-contained buffers - note the large diameter buffer guides - suggesting that it was originally a dumb-buffer wagon.

[Compound2632]

24 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

the wagon competition

 

You S7 people have a wagon competition? Most enlightened!

[woko]

17 hours ago, airnimal said:

Dave, it was good to meet you and the rest of the Scale 7 clan today with so many friendly people in the group.  I agree with the comments after the AGM about the need for more members and spreading the word that modelling to Scale 7 standards is as easy as modelling in any of the other standards, it just works and looks better. And as for the myth that modelling to S7 standards is elitist made me laugh because they let me join the group !  I started modelling over 55 years ago trying OO, finescale O before doing S7. I couldn't get anything to work for me until I started S7. 

 

I wish I could claim responsibility for the coaches but I couldn't paint and build to that standard no matter how hard I tried. They were the work of John Petcher who allowed me to buy them when he retired and downsized to a retirement flat. I feel very privileged to be the custodian of such fine models. I wish I had taken more photographs of them on the Ellerton Road layout. 

 

 

 

 

Those coaches are indeed absolutely cracking! 

[MarcD]

3 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

You S7 people have a wagon competition? Most enlightened!

Yes one for scratch built and one for kit built.

Hopper Wagons this year. Next year I think it's NPCS.

Marc

[Compound2632]

2 minutes ago, MarcD said:

Next year I think it's NPCS.

 

Oh, right. Not an annual wagon competition.  

[MarcD]

Annual compensation slightly different subject each year. 

Catagories 

1) scratch built 

2) commercial kit build 

Ongoing debate on where 3d printed one off fits.

 

 

 

 

 

[Compound2632]

1 hour ago, MarcD said:

Ongoing debate on where 3d printed one off fits.

 

If it's printed at home from the modeller's own CAD that's scratchbuilding in my book. It's a craft activity, just the tools and materials are different. And the thing has to be painted, after all.

[MarcD]

I would agree with you however others disagree. But this is not a debate of mike's thread.

Marc

[airnimal]

Dave, I wasn't going to mention about the competition because that would seem like I was blowing my own trumpet.  It would have been far better if there was more entries and with 3d printers now available perhaps there will be more people entering in the future.  

Marc, I don't mind people discussing the topic on here or any other topic people want to voice. 

 

Woke,  I agree that the coaches are cracking.  They were made in the early 80's from Trevor Charlton etched zinc sides and ends. The 6 wheelers have Slaters etched underframes with the rest scratch built from various white metal castings. The painting is done in cellulose and hand lined. The finish is fabulous and I never handle them without cotton gloves on for fear of putting fingerprints on them. 

I don't really own them I'm just keeping them safe for the next generation to enjoy.  

There are the work of a master craftsman whom I have known for many years.  I first saw John  Petcher's work in the early 80's but at the time I had been made redundant for the second time with a couple of young children and a mortgage I never had the funds to acquire any. 

 

I have broken off from the decorating to have a brew so I thought I would post these photographs.  

The bedroom has been emptied  ready for the wallpaper stripper to be fired up while my good lady has gone for coffee with the girls before going to choose new decor  !

Edited June 20, 2022 by airnimal

[Compound2632]

10 minutes ago, airnimal said:

They were made in the early 80's from Trevor Charlton etched zinc sides and ends.

 

Trevor Charlton lived next door but one to us when I was growing up but as a teenager I never summond up the courage to knock on his door...

 

He was a keen jazzman and cyclist, as well as being fabled for his etched carriage sides.

[Regularity]

3 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

He was a keen jazzman

A drummer: appeared on Pebble Mill at one frequently.

[CKPR]

I still have a letter from him in which he mentions coming to Keswick to play jazz at a local festival as well as updating me on the production of  M&CR and FR coach sides

[airnimal]

I have broken off from the dec............ for a few minutes respite. We have had 2 of our grandsons here who wanted to help grandad paint. One is 2 and the other is 4 so with a brush each they have had great fun getting paint everywhere.  The carpet is being replaced after the room is finished so it didn't matter that we now have a multi coloured patterned mess. It took a lot longer with help but the joy on each little face was priceless.  

 

A small packet of 3d printed brake wheels came in the post yesterday to fit to my brake van's. They are the bees knees with proper shape and form complete with handles and to the correct size. When I first had the etched parts drawn up I didn't think to check the diameter assuming that they would the right size because the works drawing was used. This now is a problem because I can't get at the ones I have already built but any new construction with have the new wheels in place. 

I must thank ap131 for his generosity in printing these for me. I offered to pay but Aidan says a small donation to charity would be sufficient.  

As I am at the Hospital tomorrow I said I will donate to cancer research.  

[S.D.L.]

1 hour ago, airnimal said:

I have broken off from the dec............ for a few minutes respite. We have had 2 of our grandsons here who wanted to help grandad paint. One is 2 and the other is 4 so with a brush each they have had great fun getting paint everywhere.  The carpet is being replaced after the room is finished so it didn't matter that we now have a multi coloured patterned mess. It took a lot longer with help but the joy on each little face was priceless.  

 

A small packet of 3d printed brake wheels came in the post yesterday to fit to my brake van's. They are the bees knees with proper shape and form complete with handles and to the correct size. When I first had the etched parts drawn up I didn't think to check the diameter assuming that they would the right size because the works drawing was used. This now is a problem because I can't get at the ones I have already built but any new construction with have the new wheels in place. 

I must thank ap131 for his generosity in printing these for me. I offered to pay but Aidan says a small donation to charity would be sufficient.  

As I am at the Hospital tomorrow I said I will donate to cancer research.  

They look very nice

 

[airnimal]

Not much time for workshop activities but at least the dreaded dec...................has nearly been completed.  Our 2 youngest grandsons are staying over weekend so I have to more all the furniture back into our bedroom so they have somewhere to sleep. The carpet man is coming Monday to measure up so it will all have to be moved back again. 

Good news from the Hospital yesterday the test I had a couple of weeks ago came back negative. 

So while I wait for the paint to dry before I can give it a second coat I ventured into the workshop for 30 minutes. I got one of my brake van's out and opened up the hole in the interior wall to take one of my newly gifted printed brake wheels. If I get any time over the next few days I will try to paint it so I can glue the wall in place. Thanks Aidan. 

[apl31]

As I told you I'm honoured that parts I designed and printed have passed the strictest quality control on this website😉.

Aidan

[airnimal]

The dec............... is 95% done. Just the door and frame to paint. The carpet has been ordered but I will leave whatever else the good lady needs ? wants. I have done my bit hopefully for the next .... years. 

 

The brake van wheel has been painted with some old Humbrol brass paint that I have had for over 40 years with a black centre.  My painting looks a bit crude in close up but looks good by eye. I had to make a new foot board because I dropped it on the floor before I had time to glue it in and trod on it it. 

 

 

 

[airnimal]

I am on a roll at present with most things going well.  I plan to finish the dreaded dec...................

this afternoon after we have been out. We are taking a friend of my good lady who has out to dinner for compiling our family trees. One result of the family tree was contact was made with cousins of my wife whom she had not seen for 50 years because one went to Canada. So on Monday night we all had a meet up near where my wife was born and shared memories and old photographs.  

 

So feeling good I set about doing so modelling.  The Park Lane wagon has the end stanchions glued on and the Dia 2 LNWR wagon has had the wheels jig fitted. A couple of other LNWR underframes have been found and the W-irons cleaned and made ready to be fitted. One is to be a 10 ton coal wagon but at this stage I'm not sure what the other one will be just yet.

 

 

[airnimal]

Moving on with the Park Lane wagon with a bit more detailing I have made the coupling plates using one of my little jigs. This makes it so easy to get the plate to a consistent shape. I hope the photographs show what I mean. I just cut the corner before turning it over and doing the same.

[Regularity]

Back in the day I studied psychology, and got fed up with people saying, “I could have told you that: it’s obvious, innit?” To which my usual response was, “Yes, but you didn’t. And neither did anyone else until so and so came up with the idea.”

 

I mention this as I look at that tool, and think, that is so simple, so elegant, and so effective that I wonder why I didn’t think of such a tool?

 

Brilliant!

[airnimal]

I am glad you fined some of my methods useful.  Not bad for someone written off at school as being thick and going nowhere. 

I have hopefully mastered jig building a wagon underframe so that I can remove the wheels for painting and any other issues that may arrive in the future.  

A base plate of 60 thou is cut to fit between the solebar's and the W-irons placed on top and the fixing holes marked with a pencil.  Any slack is taken up with spacers place either side so that the minimum side play is reduced to acceptable levels. The base plate can then be drilled to accept 12BA nuts sunk into the base plate with a soldering iron.  Once I am happy the pair of wheels can be placed back in the underframe the wheel base jig can locate them in the underframe carefully measuring the distance is identical from both ends before glueing them into position.