RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted November 18, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 18, 2019 The remainder of today's update can be summarised as "limited progress" I found that the coupling rods are a couple of mill shorter than the gap between the crankpins. This could be error on my part in assembling the chassis or the fact that these rods are not specifically for this kit. So i set about opening up the bearing holes in the rods. I got the chassis running nicely with finger power and without any noticable binding. However when i added the motor for a powered test, binding returned. In addition to the binding, one of the crankpins has now sheared. That suggests to me that I still have to release some binding forces. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted November 27, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 27, 2019 I have now assembled a rolling chassis with coupling rods. It's still on the screw-in frame spacers at present. I am reasonably happy now to go forward and solder the chassis. The chassis currently runs well down to a slow speed on the rolling road. It is slightly odd in that it runs smoothly for a while and then starts to "catch" when one rod is at dead center. I think that might be down to flex in the chassis so I need to solder it up to eliminate that as a potential cause. I do honestly believe I have eliminated any tightness in the rods now. If anyone observes any issues in the attached video I would welcome the input. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted November 28, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 28, 2019 Apologies for the slow progress but remember I'm very much a beginner. Spent some time this afternoon thinking about the location of the final frame spacers. I checked the chassis against the footplate. There are two holes in the footplate, presumably for bolting the two assemblies together. That dictates/guides the position of front and rear spacers. The third one will be placed centrally and in conjunction with the rear one will provide a mounting point for the plasticard mounting plate for the speaker. That will prevent shorting the speaker on the frames. Jeremy at Digitrains will be pleased at that as he's getting a bit fed up sending decoders back to Zimo when I fry them! I learned from this exercise that the motor can't face rearwards as it will foul the cab. It will need to face forwards towards the smokebox. I have provisonally poitioned the additional "flat" spacer in front of the centre spacer to act as a limiter for any movement of the motor/gearbox. Not sure if that's necessary as the motor will be in the boiler and if I wrap it in foam insulation the boiler will hold it in place. Here are two photos of the planned arrangements, from above and below. Views/thoughts welcomed. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Hi Colin, First question - did you assemble the chassis in a jig with the coupling rods initially ? Assuming you didn't that may be one cause for the rods jamming and it looks as though you may have opened up the holes a little too much ? Second question - is it possible to have the motor placed vertically into the firebox area ? It may give you a better option if so. Final one - would it be possible to let me know what the distance is from the axle c/l to the outer edge of the gearing please ? The reason I ask is that I will soon be looking to install a motor and gearbox into my Armstrong goods on the rear axle and there ain't too much leeway. Nice work so far mate. G 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted November 28, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 28, 2019 Hi G, 1 I assembled the chassis with the screw-in spacers and wanted to test the coupling rods for fit and free movement before committing to soldering the frames permanently. As I said earlier, the spacing of the holes in the coupling rods didn't line up with the spacings of the crankpins. My original "solution" to that was to open out the holes until the rods fitted onto the crankpins and turned without fouling. Unfortunately that introduced too much slop which then caused problems. I have now soldered the bearings into the outer ends of the rods and just left the centre one slotted now. That's removed the slop and the middle one just moves enough to allow free movement. Yeah I know it's a bodge but.... 2 Unfortunately I think it's going to be too tall but I will have a look at it when I am a bit further advanced with the build - thanks for the idea 3 I attach a quick sketch which hopefully answers this although you'd probably be better to look at the MSC site http://www.mscmodels.co.uk/motor-gearboxes which has all the dimensions 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 (edited) Thanks Colin, I suppose if it works now then all good hopefully, been there done that in 4mm but in 7mm its better in my experience ( dunno why ? ) perhaps its the bigger components I find easier to work with ? I purchased one of these http://www.poppyswoodtech.co.uk for my frame assemblies ( as opposed to a more expensive unit ) mainly because I doubt I will be assembling too many more frames, famous last words ! It does the job very well and for what I need it works fine. Thank you for the details I will get my laser callipers out and do some measurements, hopefully I will purchase a decent gearbox and motor next weekend at the Reading Trade show. Keep it up matey ! G Edited November 28, 2019 by bgman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted December 2, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 2, 2019 (edited) Again today I have put in lots of hours and achieved very little. I am unsure as to the positions of the firebox front and ashpan which in turn need to fit in between the folded chassis spacers. I'm also uncertain as to how the firebox is supposed to sit in relation to the footplate. I've emailed Laurie for help with these questions as there is no exploded diagram with the instructions. I have managed to solder the front and back spacers today and the chassis is still nice and square and a bit more rigid than it was with the screw-in ones. Whilst waiting for some guidance from Laurie i decided to do a couple of easy bits so I have soldered the draw bar to the footplate and the buffers to the front buffer beam. I also added the cosmetic overlays to the springs. Edited December 2, 2019 by colin penfold Stupid auto correct 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted December 4, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 4, 2019 It lives! Really pleased now that the chassis is properly soldered up with all the cross members in place she runs nicely in both directions. Pick ups and brakes to fit before I move on to the superstructure. I do feel this bit of the frames needs some detailing. I'm going to ask Laurie if there is something I've missed in the kit and if not, see if I can make something up Portion of photograph c DL Bradley 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Well done matey, even more surprised to hear its a musical chassis ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted December 5, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 5, 2019 some decent progress today on brake gear and pick ups mostly. First though, my query from yesterday was partly solved. I had a look again at the etch and found some components which were not shown in the parts list or in the instructions, but do in fact provide the relief detail on that bare area I was worried about, thus I then gathered the brake components together to have a bit of a plan. There was a thin etched option and a big chunky cast option for the brake blocks and although the shape of the etched ones is better, the appearance of the cast won the vote. I had to open up some hoes in the castings and then I looked at how the arrangement would work. There is a nice casting for the brake cylinder and two for brake adjusters. No idea where they go so I soldered them inside the pull levers, as they give a secure support for the brake rod I then assembled the pull rods and brake blocks with supporting pins made of plastic rod and Plastic tube, in an attempt to insulate the metal brake parts from the frame When I tried the brakes in position, the coupling rods fouled on the brake rods when the former were at their lowest point of travel. I then had to solder the pull rods to the very bottom of the brake blocks to clear, instead of using the drilled holes to make a more secure join I also soldered the brake cylinder in place and ensured that the actuator rod would fit across from pull rod to pull rod via the cylinder Having now got sub assemblies for each side of the brakes I put them to one side whilst I did the pick ups (Slaters sprung) That's it for today. I think I will fix the brake parts into position tomorrow, and give the frames a coat of paint before moving on to the superstructure. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted December 6, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 6, 2019 Today I fitted the brakes and painted the underframe as planned. Here is a close up of how the brakes are fixed to the frames. 0.05" plastic rod through the brake blocks and plastic tube sandwiching the frame giving spacing, fixing and insulation all together Here's a pic of the assembled frames, painted black I then moved on to the superstructure. First job is the under-footplate valance. The instructions saycto use scrap. I had some thin strips of brass left unused from the Ford railcar kit so i sweated them together to double thickness. Filed and cleaned they look just right I had enoughh time to cut out and shape the cab front and add the spectacle frames and add the beading on the cab sides. Positioned as a dry test it looks pretty good 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted December 7, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 7, 2019 A good day today Picked up where I left off yesterday with the cab. Roof shaped and rain strips added, all soldered up Cab front soldered to footplate, sides soldered to front Then got the splasher parts together, shaped and soldered into place The splashers inside the cab were tricky. I folded up the parts and tried them in position. They looked a bit odd as a gap was left in the floor When I tried joining the chassis and footplate together I found the splashers fouled the wheels. I cut away the offending face and remade the splashers to bridge the gap that was previously left. I had to make a small allowance for the backhead which fitted fine when I had the splashers wrong! Notwithstanding that little remake, I have had a good day and ended up with something that is starting to look a bit like a loco 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted December 8, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 8, 2019 today has been spent on the boiler. I had to cut rather more from the bottom than I had hoped, to clear the motor and gearbox, but it doesn't really show once it's in the frames. Smokebox wraps and supports and firebox front added. Just boiler bands to add, then the frames and boiler can be united as one unit. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted December 9, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 9, 2019 Today as planned I got the boiler bands on I then tested the mating of body and chassis And then got on with cleaning up over-soldering, and drilling holes for handrail knobs, boiler fittings etc. Here's a preview with some major ones loosely fitted... No updates for the next few days as the inconvenience of work is about to be reintroduced into my life 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted January 12, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 12, 2020 Well, the few days comment was optimistic. A three day a week job is actually a 45 hour week job, and with that and Christmas I've not had any modelling time for nearly a month. This weekend I have been able to get back to the build and have been slowly and steadily drilling holes for the various body and boiler fittings. I have decided that I will spray the body before fitting these items and paint them individually before gluing in place. I feel like I will give myself the best chance of achieving a good paint finish if im not trying to spray around small fittings. Here are the various bits and a picture of the body with its holes drilled. I have bent the handrail to shape and test fitted it. I know it's easier to do this in two halves but as there isn't a knob at halfway I went for it all in one. I started from the middle and got the smokebox curve right first. I've emailed Laurie because i don't think i have the right numbers of handrail knobs. You will also note I have soldered the lamp irons in place. You might even notice the lower left one had worked loose while I wasn't looking! Now sorted. After lunch I will give some thought to the cab fittings and backhead. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted January 12, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 12, 2020 As billed this afternoon was spent on the cab details. I won't fit these until the last minute but I wanted to work out where everything goes and do any drilling ir soldering before I paint the body. Cab floor including hand brake & reverser, fall plate and tender floor Back head details glued on (gauge glasses, regulator, drivers brake valve and firehole door mechanism) When the glue is dry I need to fix pipes from those components down to floor level. Then these components need gluing to the cab front. Gauges, blower valve and box lubricators. Up at silly o clock tomorrow to drive round the M25 for wages. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Moore Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Colin I've built a lot of 0 gauge locos over the years & would like to offer some advice. On the chassis measure with a verbier caliper the size of the top hat bearing on the crankpin. I think its 2.6mm, so with a 2.6mm drillbit drill all the holes in your coupling rods equally, if you still have a bind in the running open the hole to 2.7mm then 2.8mm until it smooths out. You need to keep everything accurate. I'm not sure how you've built your chassis? Have you used a set of chassis building jigs or have you just screwed it together? It needs to be set up so it is true otherwise itll never run happily & that lovely ABC gearbox will wear out or burn out fast. The other thing is the soldering on the bodywork of the tender. Get yourself a solder wick, they are inexpensive & then you can tidy up the excess solder on the tender sides which will then just need a polish off with a fibreglass pen. If you ever need any help feel free to ask, my facebook page might be of help www.facebook.com/sjmlocoworks I've documented plenty of builds on there in various scales. It's a lovely loco the ilfracombe goods, I fancy doing hesperus off the shropshire & montgomeryshire light railway 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted January 15, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 15, 2020 This morning i have done the backhead pipework and fixed the gauges and lubicators to the cab sheet. You might notice I used a bit of scrap brass as a "floor" to which I soldered the pipework. That assembly was then glued under the backhead whilst locating the pipes into the holes in the gauge glasses and brake controls. I also sorted out the tender brake cylinder and steps. I haven't found any more info since I finished the tender so I've gone with my assuption supported by the photos I have. Therefore I produced a structure to support the steps in front of the cylinder shaft. I soldered the steps to that and then glued the assembly and the cylinder to the side of the tender. 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxerbayrailway Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 Hi Colin, It's looking very good. I'm following this with interest as I'm considering the same kit for my light railway. I converted from OO a few years ago and started with a little RTR but I'm itching to build my own models now. Felix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted January 15, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 15, 2020 Thanks Felix. It's a real light railway classic and a decent kit if not the easiest one I could have chosen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scale7JB Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Hi Colin, Only just found this thread, and it's definitely coming along. May I say the etches are absolutely filthy, and I'm surprised that anything is sticking to the brass at all. Can I recommend you get a bottle of a product called Barkeepers Friend. It's sold at large Sainsburys, and probably Amazon as well. Its a powder product. Mix some with a little water so its almost a runny paste consistency, and use with a toothbrush to really scrub it or for more delicate areas a 1" paint brush. This will clean the brass beautifully, and give you a much cleaner surface for the flux to work on. You would also do well to use the 145 solder that you have as your main solder. Carrs products Do a 100 degree flux that can be used for the details if necessary, but I never never used anything other than 145 for all of my previous builds except where soldering white metal castings of course. If you would i'd be more than happy to take some pictures and show you the difference between badly tarnished brass and clean enough to solder with. JB. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted January 18, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 18, 2020 Thanks that's a good tip and I will get some. I had actually finished soldering a while ago and plan a clean up after i have done some abrasive work on the body. When I was soldering I tried to keep the brass cleaner using a product called grease off which worked OK. I will definitely give your stuff a try. I will also try using the 145 for main work on my next project. This job will be glue from this point forward, as it's just adding small details. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scale7JB Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 I've just been searching through my thread on a different forum for some example photos. This is how the etches came in the kit.. quite tarnished and a noticeable lack of shine. Brass tarnishes very quickly so regularly needs cleaning. And this is the nearly completed wagon as cleaned with Barkeepers friend. It really ought to be this clean before soldering commences. You'll find that the flux works better and the solder will just flow really nicely. You can also see the difference between the freshly cleaned wagon and the tarnished coach. It's a completely different colour. JB. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 Hi Colin, A product that I use is Viakal, it brings up the brass extremely well, although it will dull any soldered areas, but not to any detriment. Its in a liquid form and easy to use. Obtainable on most cleaning product aisles from the major shops. Yours, Mr.Shiny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted February 2, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 2, 2020 An opportunity for some modelling and progress made. Firstly, I decided that the tender chassis wasn't running freely enough. I therefore admitted defeat and bought a poppys woodtech loco builder box. I completely disassembled the tender chassis and remade it using the box. Success first time, proving that looking square and actually being square are subtly different things! Having now got a free running tender chassis I can finish the tender ready for painting at the same time as the loco. First job was the brake gear I am worried about the potential for shorts caused by metal brake gear touching metal wheels so I try to produce insulated brake gear. For the tender I used plastic tube to allow me to gap the wires between brakes, thus I superglued a small bit of wire to each brake hanging point, with a small piece of tube as a spacer Here are the brakes in position on the hangers with the control rods glued in place and a control rod made of plastic rod, with the cast brake lever attached at the point below the handbrake lever. There won't be any other rodding, as it's invisible when running and life's too short! Here is a view with the tender body loosely placed on top Which is when I discovered the problem! The body of the sprung buffers occupies the same space as the top of the rearmost brakes As you can see from these pictures the chassis fits under the body exactly so there is no mistake on my part. The wheels align with the axle boxes so here is the conflict My solution is to use the same wire and tube to do the top mount on the rear brakes. I glued a right angled piece of wire into each end of a length of tube. I glued the tube to the underside of the chassis and the wire to the back of the brake levers. When the glue is properly hard I will then cut away the top of the two brake levers to clear the buffer bodies, i.e. removing the section of brake lever above the wire (below in the photo) No doubt the force of cutting will break the glue joint and I will have to swear and re-do it, but that's for another day now... I also quickly knocked up a drawbar which will be bolted in place using the rear body fixing screw on the loco and simply hooked onto the tender Next job will be to refit the plunger pickups to the tender wheels 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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