Manning Wardle L Class 0-6-0 (Agenoria Kit)

[jdb82]

certainly for the time being, mine won't be having any footplate crew.....they missed the plane over here, and will have to wait until the summer.

[fredwrekin]

I much prefer the Canal tanks.....always think the long tanks look a bit out of proportion. 

I have a few photos of No.67 that my dad took, which although is a long tank (Sweden type), will be good for the chassis and cab details. Give me a shout if you want them. I never made it up to the KWVR to see Hamburg that I'm modelling, and have just had to make do with photos from the web.

Thanks for the offer on the photos, however we're up country this weekend as the wife & her daughter are shopping for a wedding dress so I'm off to SVR where i believe they have a 'Canal Class' in the education centre at Highley, so I'll be getting some photos of that. I'll let you know.

[jdb82]

National Day here = model day! 

I've painted up some of the cab parts, and have been playing around with some weathering. After painting most of the surfaces black, and the floor a dark brown, it all needed some muckying up. A combination of a light misting of a black/brown/grey mixture with the airbrush, and a dusting of smoke and rust weathering powders give it that used look I'm after. Not perfect, but not too bad for a first go. The rust colour just above the firebox doors needs toning down  a bit maybe....looks a bit too red in certain lights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of the weathering done so far are what I would term "dry" effects. Next I need to make some kind of rain-effect streaks on the can roof. I have the Vallejo rain effects wash, as well as the streak grime wash, but I've not had a lot of success when practicing on scrap pieces with this yet.

Edited February 23, 2018 by jdb82

[Simond]

I reckon that looks b....y good!

 

The water glasses should probably be a bit cleaner, at least where the glass would be, otherwise, exceedingly, delightfully “industrial” & lived-in.

 

Best

Simon

[jdb82]

I reckon that looks b....y good!

 

The water glasses should probably be a bit cleaner, at least where the glass would be, otherwise, exceedingly, delightfully “industrial” & lived-in.

 

Best

Simon

 

Cheers Simon - need to think about the glasses, and how to make a brass casting look clear! I need to get hold of some suitable white paint. Maybe a tester pot of white gloss from the local hardware shop, in the absence of any 'proper' modelling paint

[Guest Isambarduk]

Cheers Simon - need to think about the glasses, and how to make a brass casting look clear! I need to get hold of some suitable white paint. Maybe a tester pot of white gloss from the local hardware shop, in the absence of any 'proper' modelling paint

 

A bit of friendly advice: don't overdo the white. 

 

In the same situation, I have dry-brushed 'steel' over the glass and that gives a fair impression.  I treat similarly brass fittings and copper pipework.

 

 

This view of the cab of an 8F doesn't show the glass very well at all but it does show the idea with the copper and brass rather better.

 

David

[jdb82]

A bit of friendly advice: don't overdo the white. 

 

In the same situation, I have dry-brushed 'steel' over the glass and that gives a fair impression.  I treat similarly brass fittings and copper pipework.

 

 

 

This view of the cab of an 8F doesn't show the glass very well at all but it does show the idea with the copper and brass rather better.

 

David

Thanks David, a useful tip! I’ll be sure to give it a go

[jdb82]

It turns out ultrasonic cleaners work. Just given the tank in mine a wipe with some kitchen roll, and this was the result - the only things I have cleaned in there are the cab pieces, chassis, brake hangers and coupling rods in one session! Dread to think what it will be like after the main body has had half an hour in there!

 

[jdb82]

Wheels all masked up and primed, ready for their red coat, and the chassis has it's red coat too. 'Hamburg' has it's outer frames painted red as well as the inside. Result - it all (currently) looks very red! Especially with red coupling rods and red wheels.....It won't stay that way though, lots of black and 'frame dirt' will be applied, black weathering powders and some kind of glossy thinned black to make the oily bits, errr, well.....oily.

 

 

[jdb82]

Been a bit slow progress this week. Suitably grubby weathering effects have been played with, some more successfully than others. Not entirely happy with how the chassis has turned out, but it could be worse. 

 

I might have to do something with the wheels. I'm quite pleased with how they've turned out colour-wise, but in some places, theres a bit of an edge where the pain has met the masking I put over the tread/flange. I wonder if I've been too generous with the paint and made too thick a layer.

 

The coupling rods have turned out nicely - a bit of thinned black gloss paint was used for the oily areas.

 

 

 

 

 

And this is what I'm aiming for..... I'm not quite there, but not a million miles away.

 

Next job is to put everything back together again and see if it still runs!

[jdb82]

And now with the chassis built up, brake blocks and hangers on. And it still runs smoothly. Bonus.

I'll cut down the crankpins and blacken the nuts once I'm sure everything is as correct and final as it's going to be!

 

 

And just to prove it still runs slowly:

https://youtu.be/52YxAAwzfUE

[jdb82]

Fitted the pickups this afternoon. I'd read about various different options for pickups. I don't have any plungers here, and top wipers as described in the instructions would have been too visible for my liking. The Slaters wheels used are all insulated, so split frame pickup (is that the right name?!) wouldn't be an option. I went for the wire on the back of the flange option.

 

It seems to work OK. Some of the time. It's fine once it gets going, but can be a bit sticky to start off, and need a tap to get it moving (see video below). Is there anything I can do to improve this, or have I just chosen an inefficient pickup method?!

 

Thought I'd see what the loco looked like all put together,  just to indulge myself. Think it'll look pretty good once the body is painted up. Not looking forwards to trying to clean all the nooks and cranny's up though!

 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/Jx2bmOm1mlc

[Simond]

Hiya,

 

Backscratchers do work, if the wheels and tyre backs are clean and smooth (Slaters wheels typically have a moulding pip or two on the back which needs polishing off on wet&dry on a flat surface) and the wire is springy enough(ideally you want 3-4 cm of ~ 0.4 or 0.5 mm wire - More is better as long as it can’t short) , and there is not too much sideplay in the wheelsets.

 

Fundamentally, they’re just like plungers, though I find they gather more fluff. The other issue is that their flexibility in the inboards-outboards direction is typically the same as in the up-down direction, and this is their downfall, as the wire can end up shorting on the frames, brakes etc.

 

HTH

Simon

[Regularity]

You’ve reached that stage where it looks almost too beautiful to paint.

 

Nice workmanship.

[jdb82]

Hiya,

Backscratchers do work, if the wheels and tyre backs are clean and smooth (Slaters wheels typically have a moulding pip or two on the back which needs polishing off on wet&dry on a flat surface) and the wire is springy enough(ideally you want 3-4 cm of ~ 0.4 or 0.5 mm wire - More is better as long as it can’t short) , and there is not too much sideplay in the wheelsets.

Fundamentally, they’re just like plungers, though I find they gather more fluff. The other issue is that their flexibility in the inboards-outboards direction is typically the same as in the up-down direction, and this is their downfall, as the wire can end up shorting on the frames, brakes etc.

HTH

Simon

Things improved a little bit after a bit of running in this evening; though still not perfect. I think I might get the finer grades of wet and dry paper out and really polloh the back of the flange up to try and smooth it out.

[jdb82]

You’ve reached that stage where it looks almost too beautiful to paint.

Nice workmanship.

I think I might just admire it for a while.... I love an engine in the nude

She’s quite tarnished and grubby currently after sitting on my desk for several weeks. No doubt there’ll be a few photos posted here once she’s shiney and sparkling, before getting covered in monochrome primer....

[N15class]

I don't like shiny brass when it comes to painting. Brass is very hard to get paint to stick too. So the smoother shinier it is the harder it is. Yes it needs to be very clean.

[jdb82]

I don't like shiny brass when it comes to painting. Brass is very hard to get paint to stick too. So the smoother shinier it is the harder it is. Yes it needs to be very clean.

 

 

In that case, my plan might be to polish it, admire it, and then ruff it up a bit with some wet&dry.....not too much mind - don't want scratches!

[Regularity]

If you have one or access to one, an abrasive powder airbrush is the best way to key the surface just prior to priming.

[jdb82]

If you have one or access to one, an abrasive powder airbrush is the best way to key the surface just prior to priming.

 

 

Unfortunately not. The paint on the chassis seems to be holding up with me handling it, however anything with a hard edge easily takes paint off. The primer certainly hasn't 'etched' into the surface from what i can see.

[Simond]

It seems like a common experience to lose paint on the edges of foot plates, etc. I’ve not tried it, but perhaps metal black the body before paint?

 

Best

Simon

[jdb82]

It seems like a common experience to lose paint on the edges of foot plates, etc. I’ve not tried it, but perhaps metal black the body before paint?

 

Best

Simon

Can you do that on the treads of wheels too? Do you know if it affects conductivity?

[Regularity]

Yes you can. No it doesn’t, but you could, if worried, put something like Carr’s surface conditioner on it.

Or just some light oil onto the surface.

Do not use Electrolube with your plastic-centred wheels, unless you are certain they have been tested against it and found to be immune to its chemical actions. Don’t ask how I know this...

 

Martyn Welch demonstrated how to do this to me many years ago at Warley. First, he wiped the tyres with a cotton bud dipped in cellulose thinners (your cotton bud needs to have a wooden stick for this!) and then he dipped another cotton bud into Birchwood Casey gun blue solution, and not only put it on the tyres but rubbed it in, just a few rubs, returning to the gun blue and back to the wheel, and moving on to the next bit. About 6 of these per small wheel is about right. IIRC, he “stopped” the reaction with a quick wipe with another bud dipped in water. Then the clever bit - for steel tyres, at least - he had a steel wire brush, of the chimney sweep style, in a mini drill, and whizzed this against the tyres, which polished up the tread nicely to a very good dull but hints of brightness steelcolour. You could also use steel wool for this. But it really does set things off nicely.

 

With the footplate edges, it would be a case of clean, rub, wash and that’s it. If you want a weathered black finish, Laurie Griffin used gun blue for most if not all of the Wantage Tramway MRJ project loco. He cleaned the surface first using Shiny Sinks followed by rinsing in hot water, I seem to recall.

 

When doing this, wear some nitrile or similar gloves, for two reasons. (1) keeps any accidental thumb/finger prints appearing on your nice, clean surface; (2) selenium dioxide solution (a.k.a. “gun blue”) is best kept off your fingers and out of your digestive system!

[jdb82]

With work as crazy as normal, and my attempt to make it past the first round of the Brunei Badminton Open this year, there has been absolutely zero progress mid-week!

 

I did spend a couple of hours de-tarnishing and generally cleaning her up this afternoon though, which has allowed me a moment of indulgence with probably a good 30 minutes just spent admiring my hand-work. I'm generally quite self-critical, but I'm just allowing myself a moment of thinking that actually, for a first build, I've not done too bad a job   . I now have more cleaning up to do: the mountain of Gariflex 'droppings' and picking out tens of fibreglass shards from my fingers.....

 

I make no apologies for the number of photos that follow ;-)

 

Now it's off to the ultrasonic cleaner for a bath, before it gets a coat of primer, hopefully tomorrow morning.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2018 by jdb82

[doilum]

Looking great. I have always found that an immediate coat of primer is required. Overnight gives shiny brass too long to start oxidizing. The same applies to soldering, reclean the contact area immediately before applying flux.