TurboSnail Posted June 1, 2018 Author Share Posted June 1, 2018 Painting round 2 has been done with Phoenix paints this time, and is much better for it - my homebrew Indian Red wasn't far off, but the green was way too light. Even the lining went better this time! 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted June 3, 2018 Author Share Posted June 3, 2018 No modelling done this weekend unfortunately, as I spent a couple of days at a friend's house (which happens to be a Welsh castle) trying not to annoy the vicar who was wandering around with a halberd. Sometimes life is stranger than fiction... Reassembling the chassis shouldn't take too long and then I can refit the motor and do some proper testing with the new conrods. The body, having been hacked up, is now getting bits and pieces added back to it, and I'm awaiting an order of handrail knobs before I can start painting it. Photos to follow shortly, or at least when I remember. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack P Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 This looks to be coming along really well! excited to see it finished! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 Finally finished exams this morning! Still very busy though as I have about a month to build a racecar... Anyway, here's a video of the chassis running, the gear mesh is pretty good, but the conrods have a tight spot that I need to sort out. I should also try and reduce the friction caused by the pickups as well, as it's loading the motor quite heavily so it gets pretty hot. All solvable problems though, so I'm feeling pretty good about it at this stage! 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted June 14, 2018 Author Share Posted June 14, 2018 Handrails are now on, the curved one on the smokebox is really tricky to do so I'll just have to be satisfied as it is. I've also been experimenting with the Conrods and have stiffened them with some thin sheet bronze which has helped the running - it's still not perfect yet though, I think there's a slight size discrepancy between the chassis and the rods as they came off different printers. I have a plan to fix this though. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted June 14, 2018 Author Share Posted June 14, 2018 Looking really good! For the curved handrail at the front, if you bend the wire over a AA or A battery , it will become more pliable and easier to bend to the correct radius. Out of interest, did you find cutting back the motor 'bulge' at the firebox difficult? I'd never noticed it until you cut it away. The handrail was bent round the loco's flywheel which was about the right diameter, still needed some tweaking though. The motor bulge is easy with a Dremel but quite time consuming - I used the engraving attachment which removes very small amounts of material. And then covered the hole with paper and PVA, not great but I can't think of another simple way to do it. If you look back through the thread to the Maunsell green loco, it has the same treatment and it looks alright once painted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium cctransuk Posted June 14, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 14, 2018 .....covered the hole with paper and PVA, not great but I can't think of another simple way to do it. Apply some 5 thou. plastic card INSIDE the body. When it's gone off, fill the hole with Milliput and sand back when hard. Regards, John Isherwood. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 Apply some 5 thou. plastic card INSIDE the body. When it's gone off, fill the hole with Milliput and sand back when hard. Regards, John Isherwood. Thanks for that tip - I used that method to fill in the chassis mounting hole in the rear bunker and it works very nicely, but I didn't use it for the boiler as it's quite an awkward place to sand without accidentally sanding the surrounding bits as well. Someone with more patience than me could make it work! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted June 17, 2018 Author Share Posted June 17, 2018 The NEM pockets work pretty well with modern Dapol stock, occasionally misses with some of my old Dublo/Wrenn wagons but I'm moving all my stock over to the new small style couplings anyway to improve the appearance and to work better with my uncoupling system. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 Primer on, and final details going on before painting. I need to figure out a way of doing transfers too, as I'm planning to use sem's transfers but have no access to a laser printer at the moment. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BlueLightning Posted June 19, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 19, 2018 Tom, I used Sem's transfers printed on my inkjet on regular paper and stuck on with UHU, the only thing I did was varnish them before sticking them on to seal in the ink! Although not the sole focus of this image it is the best one I have, the Terrier was done by altering Sem's Transfers, and although my phone doesn't want to show it the colours of the transfers and paint do match!! Gary 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted June 20, 2018 Author Share Posted June 20, 2018 Tom, I used Sem's transfers printed on my inkjet on regular paper and stuck on with UHU, the only thing I did was varnish them before sticking them on to seal in the ink! Although not the sole focus of this image it is the best one I have, the Terrier was done by altering Sem's Transfers, and although my phone doesn't want to show it the colours of the transfers and paint do match!! Gary Thanks Gary, I think I'll give that a try. Did you have to colour in the white edges of the paper at all? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BlueLightning Posted June 20, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 20, 2018 Tom, Yes, the process was, pant loco with Phoenix SECR green, print decals, leave to dry for an hour, seal decals with matt varnish, leave to dry for an hour, cut out and apply to loco, leave to dry, touch in edges with Phoenix SECR green pain, leave to dry, varnish entire loco. Gary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted June 30, 2018 Author Share Posted June 30, 2018 I still haven't had time to have a proper sit down and sort out the chassis yet, it's definitely the Conrods size being slightly out that's causing the issue - more on that at a later date. I also tried painting the body, but it turns out phoenix paint doesn't thin that well as it seems to go a bit more Brunswick green. So I guess it's back to the old 'slap it on straight from the tin' method. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BlueLightning Posted June 30, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 30, 2018 I have never had a problem thinning Phoenix paint. What are you using as a thinner? I always use Humbrol Enamel thinner, my R1 was done that way with the airbrush, and it looks a completely different colour to yours!!!! Gary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted June 30, 2018 Author Share Posted June 30, 2018 I have never had a problem thinning Phoenix paint. What are you using as a thinner? I always use Humbrol Enamel thinner, my R1 was done that way with the airbrush, and it looks a completely different colour to yours!!!! Gary Using generic cheap thinner. I don't have an airbrush but I find a few drops of thinner in paint vastly reduces brush marks when hand-painting. The colour should be better with direct paint application, hopefully - the stuff that's dried around the lid of the tin looks much closer that what's gone on the loco. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted July 5, 2018 Author Share Posted July 5, 2018 Painting (round 2) went a bit better this time, the green still looks a bit dark, but is much better when it's in the light. I'm going to have to decide on a stopping point though, as the SECR green is one of those liveries where you can just keep adding details! 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted July 19, 2018 Author Share Posted July 19, 2018 Returning to this after other comittments, I think I'll need to give in and get another chassis printed with the correct conrods. Since I'm doing that, I'm also going to try out a different motor/gearbox combo, which should have slightly slower performance and is a bit cheaper. It's kind of unconventional though, so it looks a bit weird. The CAD has been redone and it's ready to print, but I'm going to wait until my F class is ready to order it so I save on postage. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 (edited) I was hoping to have a go at doing the 'transfers' tonight, but unfortunately there were two sizes on the sheet, neither of which fit! The green is also not a good match. I'm blaming my Uni's printers for having some eco-settings on for that. Fortunately, I'm using sem34090's printed ones, so I can fiddle around with the printer settings and have another go. At least, I can when I find a printer I can use... which might not be until September. Bother. Edited July 30, 2018 by TurboSnail 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sem34090 Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Ah - There should be an updated version which is both the right size and has a better green... I'll try and dig it out at some stage. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted August 20, 2018 Author Share Posted August 20, 2018 The F Class project has taken over most of my modelling time recently, but it eventually got to a stage where I could order prints of it, and get the new R Class chassis done at the same time (the R chassis is the one in the bottom right of the photo, the rest is for the F class). It has been printed in resin, which is more detailed and needs less surface preparation but does require support material to be removed and is a bit more delicate. Aside from the new motor and gears (which should make it slower and allow more of the cab to be modelled), there are a few modifications to the pickup placements which should mean the body fits with a bit less modification. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted August 28, 2018 Author Share Posted August 28, 2018 The new chassis is under construction now, I broke a couple of the brakes off when removing the support material, but they've glued back on quite nicely. The motor also fits well, although for space reasons I may have to use the smaller of the two gears I was planning to use, which means a slightly higher top speed than I wanted, about 380mm/s if my maths is accurate. I could also modify it later down the line if that is too high. The extra raised bit behind the motor is there in case I want to experiment with a flywheel, but for now it will be made as is. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 Tom In the raw the chassis looks really good, however the proof will be in the performance. Firstly how well the chassis performs with coupling rods (I am still not sold on printed coupling rods) and without a motor, simply to assess the chassis free running charistics. Then how well it performs under power which is the ultimate test. The brake gear looks good, the linkage being inside the wheels and Wizard Models di the etched brake rigging, https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/locomotive/mt186/ which may help the detailing As for body detailing this is a nice useful etch from the same company https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/locomotive/mt226/ and if you have copied the wheelbase etched coupling rods from the same company https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/locomotive/mt226/ Still exceptionally promising, well done 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted August 28, 2018 Author Share Posted August 28, 2018 Tom In the raw the chassis looks really good, however the proof will be in the performance. Firstly how well the chassis performs with coupling rods (I am still not sold on printed coupling rods) and without a motor, simply to assess the chassis free running charistics. Then how well it performs under power which is the ultimate test. The brake gear looks good, the linkage being inside the wheels and Wizard Models di the etched brake rigging, https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/locomotive/mt186/ which may help the detailing As for body detailing this is a nice useful etch from the same company https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/locomotive/mt226/ and if you have copied the wheelbase etched coupling rods from the same company https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/locomotive/mt226/ Still exceptionally promising, well done I'm not 100% sure about the rods either, but they seemed to work pretty well when I test assembled the chassis. I have reinforced them with a section of metal sheet superglued to the back to increase the stiffness, so in theory they have similar properties to a metal set. The chassis rolled forwards ok and there was a small tight spot in reverse - I'm yet to try it with a motor but I think it will be ok. I've never managed to assemble a perfect running chassis anyway, and it's a lot better than the previous attempts, I think the old printing method was less consistent, leading to the errors that caused the rods to bind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 Tom Sometimes I think its better to go the composite route and use the correct material for the job in hand In 7 mm scale where I can I swap etched coupling rods for Milled ones, certainly looks much better and I would imagine more accurate than soldering three sets of etchings together to get the correct thickness. In 4 mm scale we seem to get away with either one or two piece rods, the issue that worries me with your chassis is keeping the wheel bearings both parallel with each other and at the same time preserving the wheelbase, having said this RTR manufacturers do this in plastic so I guess its achievable. as for the coupling rods they need to be slender but strong Good luck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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