Liberty Steel Aldwarke - shelfie/glorified photo plank

[Locksley]

Well that turned out remarkably well! The jig works perfectly and made it an absolute breeze. Just need to knock one up for the end railings.

 

 

I tried my revised quartering jig which again worked well, but unfortunately the 04 chassis has far more problems than just the quartering. I think I finally need to let it go lol.

[Michael Edge]

That looks good, the jig is an excellent idea.

[Ruston]

Is the 04 chassis the same as an 03? If it is there's the High Level chassis http://www.highlevelkits.co.uk/03page.html

[Locksley]

28 minutes ago, Ruston said:

Is the 04 chassis the same as an 03? If it is there's the High Level chassis http://www.highlevelkits.co.uk/03page.html

 

I keep looking at that and neeeaarly hitting the buy button. It says it's suitable for certain eras of 04. Having never built an etched kit before, let alone a chassis, I am a bit apprehensive but I'd really like to try one soon. Chatting to a mate at our local club last week he suggested an 0-6-0 is a better starting point than an 0-4-0 so it could be a good one to go for. Either that or one of Mr Edge's TH Steelman kits.

[Ruston]

2 minutes ago, Locksley said:

 

I keep looking at that and neeeaarly hitting the buy button. It says it's suitable for certain eras of 04. Having never built an etched kit before, let alone a chassis, I am a bit apprehensive but I'd really like to try one soon. Chatting to a mate at our local club last week he suggested an 0-6-0 is a better starting point than an 0-4-0 so it could be a good one to go for. Either that or one of Mr Edge's TH Steelman kits.

I have built far more 0-4-0 than I have 0-6-0and I would say an 0-4-0 is a better starting point. It's an added layer of complexity with an 0-6-0 if you haven't built a loco at all before. The Steelman kit was designed to run on a chassis that is no longer available, so you'd have to make your own arrangements there and as it doesn't have rods wouldn't be much help in getting used to building normal chassis. If you want something to start with etched kits then don't start with a loco at all. Build something that gets you more used to the actual construction techniques first and learn how to make something work later. An etched wagon kit, perhaps?

[Locksley]

11 minutes ago, Ruston said:

I have built far more 0-4-0 than I have 0-6-0and I would say an 0-4-0 is a better starting point. It's an added layer of complexity with an 0-6-0 if you haven't built a loco at all before. The Steelman kit was designed to run on a chassis that is no longer available, so you'd have to make your own arrangements there and as it doesn't have rods wouldn't be much help in getting used to building normal chassis. If you want something to start with etched kits then don't start with a loco at all. Build something that gets you more used to the actual construction techniques first and learn how to make something work later. An etched wagon kit, perhaps?

 

Sorry, I actually meant the Vanguard, I guess that one has an etched chassis? But yeah, I think I will start with a wagon or similar before diving in at the deep end.

[Michael Edge]

The 4 wheel Steelman and Vanguard were designed to fit on Black Beetle bogies, I have been informed now that these are still available but only direct from Australia. Tenshodo (Hanozono) bogies will fit, not the same quality but they are readily available. The Bullant used in the 6wh Steelman does appear to be extinct now though, I will have to work on an alternative to this, we'll need something similar for the GECT 6wh locos before long.

[Locksley]

14 hours ago, Michael Edge said:

The 4 wheel Steelman and Vanguard were designed to fit on Black Beetle bogies, I have been informed now that these are still available but only direct from Australia. Tenshodo (Hanozono) bogies will fit, not the same quality but they are readily available. The Bullant used in the 6wh Steelman does appear to be extinct now though, I will have to work on an alternative to this, we'll need something similar for the GECT 6wh locos before long.

 

Thanks Michael, does the YE DE2 come with an etched chassis? I presume it requires wheels and motor/gearbox to complete? Apologies for all the questions!

[Locksley]

No particularly exciting updates on the layout yet I'm afraid, I'm in the process of laying the road foundations in prep for the sand groundwork/ballast.

 

I have managed to split up the CAD parts ready for printing and tried a test print of one of the sections of stairway which amazingly looks like it's printed successfully (it only finished this morning and I've run out of IPA to clean it up), bearing in mind I've printed 2 flights plus landings and railings in a single piece! I decided to lower the resolution to 0.1mm from my normal 0.04mm and have found that for something like this there's no massively obvious drop in quality, it just means the print time is pretty much halved which is noice. I've also found I've been able to lower the exposure time of each layer too, which is odd as for thicker layers they should have required a longer exp time, which suggests I may have been over-exposing my previous prints at 0.04mm.

[Michael Edge]

DE2 does come with etched frames and coupling rods, it's quite straightforward to build and the top of the engine casing is a one piece moulding.

[Barclay]

On 15/08/2019 at 13:54, Ruston said:

I have built far more 0-4-0 than I have 0-6-0and I would say an 0-4-0 is a better starting point. It's an added layer of complexity with an 0-6-0 if you haven't built a loco at all before. The Steelman kit was designed to run on a chassis that is no longer available, so you'd have to make your own arrangements there and as it doesn't have rods wouldn't be much help in getting used to building normal chassis. If you want something to start with etched kits then don't start with a loco at all. Build something that gets you more used to the actual construction techniques first and learn how to make something work later. An etched wagon kit, perhaps?

Completely agree. That story of 0-4-0's being harder to build is quite commonly heard, but it's nothing but an old wives' tale in my humble opinion!

[gpplumy]

If it's not Facebook I find you on here haha !

[Sweet pea]

Hi Alex the jig has done the job really well, it looks great on loco.

[Locksley]

Thanks for the comments chaps, I'll probably go for the DE2 at some point soon hopefully.

 

A little more of an update on the layout. I tried a few test prints of the stairway which came out really excellent, I'm surprised they look as good as they do, they just need a bit of cleaning up. I also got the rest of the materials I need and finally laid the road surface. I'm going to plan out where the rest of the scenic bits are going to go (Stairways, drainpipes, pipe bridge across the road mainly) and lay some small bits of card to act as concrete foundation slabs, then spray the entire board black before weathering the track. I also picked up some black sand from the flower arranging aisle in hobbycraft which looks like it should be perfect for that sort of dirty earth/cinder ballast and groundwork, I'm hoping I can get away without painting it and just do a bit of weathering but I'll have to do some experimenting.

 

 

[Sweet pea]

Hi Alex nice work printing the stairways, look forward to seeing more.

[Locksley]

Thanks Kevin!

 

A bit more significant progress made with the access stairway, I've now printed 4 of the 5 flights and assembled them with support beams. Very happy on the whole, it's only a bit wonky The top flight finished printing this morning and I have the first down pipe to try out too, so once they're done I can see how they all paint up.

 

 

 

I also fleshed out the CAD mockup a bit more to full length so it'll give me a better idea of the composition and make it easier to build any future 3d printed models to scale. I need to figure out the best way to do the pipe bridge accross the road next I think and then sort out some supports for where the pipe attaches to the building, as well as the curved crash barriers around the footing of the bridge at either side of the road. The vents and grit bin are both ready for print now too.

 

 

 

[Sweet pea]

Nice modelling Alex, the stair and girder supports look great and I am sure you will have them painted and weathered up nicely.

[Locksley]

Got the final stairway flight in place last night and I also managed to print off and paint up the roof walkway. I tried to do these somewhat in the style of Chris Nevard, i.e. aiming for an overall effect rather than more specific details. I'm pretty pleased with the result. The building also looks loads better weathered, although it's more subtle in real life than the photos suggest.

 

 

[SHMD]

Are you sure they are the same steps?

 

Fantastic work there Alex.

 

 

Kev.

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Whilst prototypically un-prototypical, a bank of sidings in front of that, full of the usual steelworks suspects wagons, both BSC and BR, would look excellent IMHO.

 

Mike.

[Locksley]

15 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Whilst prototypically un-prototypical, a bank of sidings in front of that, full of the usual steelworks suspects wagons, both BSC and BR, would look excellent IMHO.

 

Mike.

 

I totally agree! I think if/when I decide to do the adjoining board I will deviate from the single track and at least put in a loop and a few sidings.

[Down_Under]

This might sound like a simple question, but how did you weather the sca.e scenes paper like that?

[Sweet pea]

Fantastic modelling Alex! The weathering to the building, walkway and stairs is blooming great.

[Locksley]

16 hours ago, Down_Under said:

This might sound like a simple question, but how did you weather the sca.e scenes paper like that?

 

It's a fairly simple answer! I used Mr Hobby Aqueous Chocolate Brown thinned slightly in the airbrush and did a few general sweeps across the surface to tone everything down before coming in slightly more prescisely around the bottom of the catwalk and where the brick meets the siding. I then did a similar thing with RAF Light Stone before some streaks downwards with both colours. Only took a minute or two and it massively improves the look. You may also be able to do a similar thing with spray cans if you're very careful and don't have access to an airbrush.

[Down_Under]

11 minutes ago, Locksley said:

 

It's a fairly simple answer! I used Mr Hobby Aqueous Chocolate Brown thinned slightly in the airbrush and did a few general sweeps across the surface to tone everything down before coming in slightly more prescisely around the bottom of the catwalk and where the brick meets the siding. I then did a similar thing with RAF Light Stone before some streaks downwards with both colours. Only took a minute or two and it massively improves the look. You may also be able to do a similar thing with spray cans if you're very careful and don't have access to an airbrush.

Thanks Locksley,

 

I have the scalescenes factory complex/boxfile and was trying to work out how to tone it down and add another dimension to it. Good thing I guess is that you can print it off as many times as you like and weather it until you get it right.

 

Cheers

 

J