London Road Models J21

[5XP]

Although the GW ROD and horsebox are ready for painting I'm unable to get out side to carry it out because I'm stuck at my workbench for a few weeks unfortunately B) .... while I recover from the op on my knee.

 

So I'm going to make a start on a series of builds for the Rowntree Halt layout following its first outing at York which went pretty well so following its positive reception I can now justify the expense of three more loco kits for the layout as well as this one for Jim.

 

First up: London Road Models J21, this is an ex Connoisseurs kit that has been updated in some areas by LRM and stands up quite well considering it was introduced a number of years ago.

Its an etched brass and nickel silver kit with a pre rolled boiler.

It will be built in OO with Gibson wheels and a Highlevel or Comet gearbox.

Finish will be mid fifties with early BR crest.

 

I only managed a small amount yesterday as I've had to keep my leg up which was a bit uncomfortable under the workbench at present but that carry on will finish today.

 

The first picture shows the window rims soldered in place along with the beading at the rear cab edge, I've left one cabside as soldered just to show that I do splatter solder about just like anyone else and have left as is just for the picture.

 

The valences have been soldered in place along with the laminated buffer beams and a start has been made on soldering the splashsers together and fitting them to the running board.

 

The cabsides while cleaning up:

 

Centre splashers soldered in place and awaiting the tops and front sandbox/splashers being assembled:

 

Cab soldered together before cleaning up and fitting:

 

Darren.

[Worsdell forever]

Hi Darren,

At this rate of working it will be finished quicker than the J27! I built one of these about 15 years ago and it was a lovely kit to put together, everything fitted so well. The finished result can be seen in the video of Felton lane. The J25 parts on the etch were later used to help me scrathbuild a J24.

 

Looking forward to seeing this progress.

[Tim Lewis]

Good luck with this. I built an LRM J25 (bought many years ago from George Norton just before he retired): see workbench for (nearly finished) pictures. I have a J21 in the drawer for a rainy day. To be honest, I found the J25 to be harder work than it should have been, although the end result is very nice, and LRM deserve enormous credit for updating the instructions. I found that the tabs and slots didn't really work, and there were many butt joints which with my (very limited) soldering skills were hard work. I also couldn't see how it was possible to build the cab seats (so I didn't: there will be plasticard replacements when I get round to finishing it).

 

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy building it and am pleased with the end result, I guess we're just spoilt with very well designed kits these days (such as, for instance, the LRM G5, which is so much better IMHO), and this one shows its' age a bit (it's been around since the 70s).

 

Look forward to seeing more progress.

[5XP]

Hi Darren,

At this rate of working it will be finished quicker than the J27! I built one of these about 15 years ago and it was a lovely kit to put together, everything fitted so well. The finished result can be seen in the video of Felton lane. The J25 parts on the etch were later used to help me scrathbuild a J24.

 

Looking forward to seeing this progress.

 

Thanks Paul, I would like to finish it quicker that the J27 while I have the time but I do fluff about a bit watching cr*p on PC while working but I'm trying to stay focused so I can get onto the next three locos.

Ive already checked out the both the video of the J21 along with the pictures & the J24 on your website, thanks for that.

Good effort with the J24 btw.

 

Good luck with this. I built an LRM J25 (bought many years ago from George Norton just before he retired): see workbench for (nearly finished) pictures. I have a J21 in the drawer for a rainy day. To be honest, I found the J25 to be harder work than it should have been, although the end result is very nice, and LRM deserve enormous credit for updating the instructions. I found that the tabs and slots didn't really work, and there were many butt joints which with my (very limited) soldering skills were hard work. I also couldn't see how it was possible to build the cab seats (so I didn't: there will be plasticard replacements when I get round to finishing it).

 

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy building it and am pleased with the end result, I guess we're just spoilt with very well designed kits these days (such as, for instance, the LRM G5, which is so much better IMHO), and this one shows its' age a bit (it's been around since the 70s).

 

Look forward to seeing more progress.

 

Thanks Tim, Yes I do know what you mean as I did cut all the body parts away from the etches and clean them all up ready to assemble then thought where do I start!

But its going together OK so far and I'm reasonably happy with it.

 

The J21 kit is identical to the J25, they just supply a supplementary etch for the J21 which has the larger splashers and different cab sides etc

 

I have the J25 kit sitting here in front of me ready to be built after the J21.

 

Thanks,

 

Darren.

[Tim Lewis]

The J21 kit is identical to the J25

 

Yes I know, that's why it's staying in the drawer for a while! I've got lots of other stuff to get on with.....like a Bradwell Q6, Chivers D20 and many more, and then there's the layout...

[5XP]

Oaahh a Bradwell Q6 B) I had to restrain my self at the Scalefour meet at Wakefield as I very nearly walked out with one of them too for the only reason that it likes blo*dy nice,

But I really dont need one or have anywhere in particular to run it.

 

You shouldn't knock your own effort with the J25 as I think you've made a fine job of it especially with the extravagant drive system you've built into it.

 

Knowing what you know now after building the J25 the J21 should be a doddle.

 

 

Darren.

[Horsetan]

It occurs to me that the NER is really starting to blossom in the loco kit field now. Maybe it will be fashionable to build loads of NER engines, just as the Peppercorn K1 phenomenon took off a little while ago!

 

Imagine the kitbuilding equivalent of Vogue magazine

[5XP]

I have to agree Ivan there are plenty more options for NE locos modellers from more modern kit producers alongside with what's always been available maybe fueled partly by the fact that the smaller six coupled and eight coupled sloggers have not yet been covered by the big two RTR concerns....yet.

 

For me though LNER locos are not really my main area of interest its just because I'm involved with the layout that requires them so I'm just filling a motive power gap.B)

 

D.

[Blue Max]

Horsetan,

 

Couldn't agree with you more, its never been a better time for NER modellers. I have 19 etched brass NER locos all of different classes and with the work being done by Arthur Kimber for eventual production by David Geen, it looks as if there could potentially be another 6 or 7 locos eventually coming on shed. I was also talking to Jim of Connoisseur Models at York and trying to persaude him to do a limited batch run of some of his 4mm locos, if he does that I will be able to get the N10 0.6.2 I missed. This would be close to 30 classes of loco which for a pre grouping company must be better than most.

[dmsmith]

I regret not having purchased a 4mm Connoisseur N10 kit and asked Jim McGeown a few months ago whether there might be a possibility of a rerun, at least of the etches. He replied that, in theory, that might be possible, but only in batches of ten. It looks like we have might have accounted for two of these ... we just need another eight!

 

David

[ArthurK]

Horsetan,

 

Couldn't agree with you more, its never been a better time for NER modellers. I have 19 etched brass NER locos all of different classes and with the work being done by Arthur Kimber for eventual production by David Geen, it looks as if there could potentially be another 6 or 7 locos eventually coming on shed. I was also talking to Jim of Connoisseur Models at York and trying to persaude him to do a limited batch run of some of his 4mm locos, if he does that I will be able to get the N10 0.6.2 I missed. This would be close to 30 classes of loco which for a pre grouping company must be better than most.

 

The N10 was one of those I considered. But I assumed that the Connoisseur Models offering was still available. I did start the design of this and some years ago when I considered a white metal version under the Chivers' banner. It is still on the back burner but there are others before that.

[micklner]

According to the 52F website Alexander Models are doing a N8 N9 & N10 soon

[5XP]

Perhaps this subject along with the N10 deserves a separate thread.

 

Back to the WIP, I did manage a reasonable amount of work this afternoon which saw the boiler seam soldered up and the firebox sides bent down before adding the inner smokebox wrapper and saddle assembly.

The outer wrapper has been annealed and formed to shape but I cannot be arsed to solder it tonight so tomorrow it will be.

 

The cab has been soldered to the footplate along with finishing the splashers and adding the reverser lever, the gussets under the front buffer beam have also been soldered in place but I'm still not entirely sure they were there in later BR days.

 

All going well tomorrow should see the boiler finished and fitted to the loco.

 

 

 

Darren.

[James]

The J21 build is looking good - I have one to build, as well as resurrecting a Nu-Cast example. The kits are quite pleasent to build - I've built the J25 version and don't think it turned out too badly...

 

but only in batches of ten.

 

I think Botanic Gardens could nearly fulfill that on its own!

[newcastle_central]

I'm watching this build with interest as I've always wanted to build this LRM model. You appear to have made a good start and more progress than I make.

 

I'd be a third for the N10 if a batch were released. When I bought one of his G5s I did also hear that Dave Alexander was planning to release an N10 as said above.

 

Jonathan

[5XP]

The J21 build is looking good - I have one to build, as well as resurrecting a Nu-Cast example. The kits are quite pleasent to build - I've built the J25 version and don't think it turned out too badly...

 

I think Botanic Gardens could nearly fulfill that on its own!

 

Thanks James, cheers for the link to your blog, some nice modelling and some helpful pics.

 

I'm watching this build with interest as I've always wanted to build this LRM model. You appear to have made a good start and more progress than I make.

 

I'd be a third for the N10 if a batch were released. When I bought one of his G5s I did also hear that Dave Alexander was planning to release an N10 as said above.

 

Jonathan

 

Thanks Jonathan it does help that I'm stuck at home at the moment as there's probably around two weeks worth of evening work done on the loco if I had been out at work during the day.

 

Darren.

[5XP]

I've had a number of visitors today at home which was nice as Im a little sick of being stuck at home as I cant even get out for a pint...., at least the loco building helps me to retain my sanity..

 

This post today is partly inspired by Max Staffords help post regarding soldering as I thought I may as well share my methods along with the equipment and flux/solder combos.

 

I currently using London Road Models Phosflux at 6% and "Building O Gauges" water based product, there seems little to chose between the two at the moment but I will be getting some more of the water based product soon as I'm nearly out.

 

I use 145 solder for the majority of my work and occasionally 188, I did try the 179 on C & L's personal recommendation and found it to be totally unsuitable for me and wasn't much impressed with it.

The 145 solder flows nicely and forms a very strong and thin joint which is easy to clean up by gently scraping if youve applied to much or with a fibreglass pencil just to finish the joint neatly.

 

I use the 70 degree for large whitemetal joints but if I'm adding whitemetal detail parts I sometimes just flash them on with an Antex 25w and 145 solder and have never had a problem or failed joint as yet and Im impatient with low temp irons.

 

I have three soldering irons and an RSU, Antex 18w, Antex 25w and an Antex 50w temperature controlled low temp iron for whitemetal.

 

The Antex low temp iron I hardly use as I just dont find it hot enough so I generally just solder all my whitemetal stuff with the 25w Antex which can be a bit fraught but as long as I'm quick and don't linger with the iron it works well for me.

 

I do the bulk of my work with the 18w Antex fitted with a 3mm wedge tip, so contrary to popular belief bigger is not always better/ necessary for 4mm.

For the larger items or sweating stuff I use the 25w Antex with a 3mm or 5mm wedge tip.

 

Using a smaller iron has a couple of benefits as there's less cleaning up and a minimal amount of distortion to the etched parts.

 

I'm starting to use the RSU more than I use to but at times you just cant beat the iron as I just find the iron quicker to just pick up and make the joint in some situations.

The RSU is a bit of a luxury really and not necessary for the average modeller but I'm a bit of a tool geek and wanted to experiment with one and I have found it useful at times and it does minimise the cleaning up required but it would never replace the soldering iron for me as there's nothing you can do with an RSU that you cant do with an iron.

 

 

Please bear in mind that these are all methods and combos that work for me and as we all have different ways of doing things some of you are bound to disagree with me on certain points which I have absolutely no problem with at all.

I'm only trying to share my way of doing things so maybe I can help others that are having problems with their current projects/set ups along with I hope offering a bit of useful advice.

 

 

I didn't get the boiler assembly finished today but in while assembling it I used four different methods of soldering while working:

 

The first was to sweat the outer smokebox wrapper by first flooding the underside of the wrapper with flux then holding the wrapper tightly while it was tacked using the 25w iron, once happy with the position I then carried a little bit of 145 solder on the tip of the iron and applied it around the edge and allowed the capillary action to draw the solder into the joint.

The iron was then applied to the outside of the wrapper to insure the solder flowed and sweated the wrapper all the way around on the inside after first wiping the tip on the wet sponge of the solder stand effectively cleaning and removing any solder from the tip so it it doesn't end up on the outside of the wrapper.

 

The dome was then soldered in place using the second method involving direct application of the 25w iron to get the heat into the dome and then gently drawing the iron around the base of the dome to allow the 145 solder to flow neatly around the base, as its such a neat thin joint the excess solder can be removed in a couple of minutes with a fibreglass pencil leaving a near invisible joint.

 

The safety valves were attached by the third method by applying the soldering iron from underneath the firebox to minimise the amount of solder getting on top of the firebox and pooling around the valves.

 

The fourth method was a bit more delicate so I decided to use the RSU to attach the smokestack so that the smokebox wrapper that was sweated in place earlier was not disturbed and the solder didn't run out of the joint.

The smokestack was first pre tinned with solder on the underside before placing on the smokebox and flooding with flux before sweating in place with the RSU.

This could have been done with the 25w iron by applying it to the base of the stack but as I've invested in the RSU I may as well use it for what it was intended for and no cleaning up of the joint other than a rinse is required.

 

 

I hope this long winded post has been of some use...

Regards,

 

Darren.

[5XP]

Well I finally got around to finishing the boiler assembly today, I fitted the handrails and other detail as a sub assembly and will solder it all to the running board and cab tomorrow after the sanding gear linkage has been fitted.

 

 

 

Sorry not much else to share today,

 

Darren.

[James]

Did this build progress any further?

[ArthurK]

Horsetan,

I have 19 etched brass NER locos all of different classes and with the work being done by Arthur Kimber for eventual production by David Geen

 

Picking up this thread after a long gap I must add just one comment. My kits are marketed under the title "NORTHEASTERN KITS" available only from myself. Enquiries to CharlesArthurK@aol.com.

 

Adding a plug I have the J24, J73, J77 and Q5 available.

 

ArthurK