Chuffnell Regis

[Graham T]

2 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

Graham, in reality the lettering might well have been bashed off anyway?

 

Yes, good point Andy...

 

1 hour ago, BroadLeaves said:

Could you paint the planks with the missing lettering in a different colour, as if they'd just been replaced? That would provide a reason for the lettering not being there.

 

I could have done that, but didn't think about it at the time.  And having tried to restore the lettering, I'll go with the heavy weathering option this time!

 

[longchap]

Bearing in mind these wagons would seldom be washed in service and that graphics over protruding surfaces would be completely worn through in short order, all you need do is some removal with a fibreglass scrubber and weathering to taste.

 

No worries, job done 🙃

[57xx]

5 hours ago, Graham T said:

I painted the wagon yesterday, and have tried to replace the missing lettering.  Doesn't look great in this close-up, but is ok from normal viewing distance, and some weathering will help I imagine.

 

 

I've been giving some thought to the weathering.  I think my normal method of using the Mig dark enamel wash might well remove more of the lettering, so instead I'll just use powders this time, and then seal everything with a spray of matt varnish afterwards.  Wish me luck!

 

 

varnish it first, then weather it?

[Graham T]

57 minutes ago, 57xx said:

 

varnish it first, then weather it?

 

Too late I'm afraid!  It's been weathered with smoke, rust, and dark brown powders, and then sprayed with matt acrylic.  I might now try distressing some of the lettering as per @longchap's suggestion, and also add a little more rust around the W-irons and brake gear.  Any thoughts?  Yes, no, don't care?!

 

[57xx]

Jeeezuz you don't hang around do you. 😂

[Graham T]

12 minutes ago, 57xx said:

Jeeezuz you don't hang around do you. 😂

 

Carpe diem, Rodders, carpe diem!  Do you think I should roughen up the lettering a tad Ric?

 

 

Edited May 14, 2023 by Graham T

[57xx]

It looks good as it is to me, if you prefer a more worn look, then it could be worth a go but given the fragility of the transfers, I wouldn't like to make the call. :)

[Graham T]

1 hour ago, 57xx said:

It looks good as it is to me, if you prefer a more worn look, then it could be worth a go but given the fragility of the transfers, I wouldn't like to make the call. :)

Yes, they aren’t very strong. I think I’ll quit while I’m ahead!

 

[Graham T]

A couple of little jobs achieved today.  The main one was to add some weight to the Dean Goods, in an effort to make it able to pull the skin off a rice pudding, at least.  There isn't a great deal of room inside the loco, but I managed to pack some lead into the dome, and a bit more behind the smokebox door.  As you can imagine I was a touch flummoxed when it seemed to perform even worse after adding the weight!  But I found that slackening off the drawbar screw under the cab, just by half a turn or so, made a big difference.

 

The other job ticked off the list was to plant the loading gauge.  I haven't glued it down, just in case...

 

 

[Fishplate]

Looks great.

 

Ref my earlier comment on loading and structure gauges, your good shed lintel looks a lot higher than the loading gauge you 've just planted 👍

[Graham T]

23 minutes ago, Fishplate said:

Looks great.

 

Ref my earlier comment on loading and structure gauges, your good shed lintel looks a lot higher than the loading gauge you 've just planted 👍

 

It does indeed...  Have I made a(nother) howler?

 

[Fishplate]

3 minutes ago, Graham T said:

It does indeed...  Have I made a(nother) howler?

 

No. It's how it should be @Graham T. The Structure Gauge is an envelope around the track that no structure should come inside (bridges/ platforms etc). The Loading Gauge is an envelope around the track that no vehicle (or its load) should go outside. Therefore there should always be a gap between the two Gauges to ensure safe passage. 

 

Having the goods shed lintel above the loading gauge is correct as you won't clonk the lintel with a too high load. Inbound it would hit the loading gauge first, giving a visual indication for the shunt to stop.  Similarly outbound, anything that is beneath the loading gauge will be clear of overbridges, or clonking the gauge would need to be reduced in height before dispatch.

 

 

 

 

[MrWolf]

7 hours ago, Graham T said:

 

Too late I'm afraid!  It's been weathered with smoke, rust, and dark brown powders, and then sprayed with matt acrylic.  I might now try distressing some of the lettering as per @longchap's suggestion, and also add a little more rust around the W-irons and brake gear.  Any thoughts?  Yes, no, don't care?!

 

 

I think that the wagon looks great as is. The weathering is very subtle overall.

 

If you wanted to make it look like the lettering was damaged around the ironwork, I think that painting over it would be a safer bet.

I used a fibreglass pencil to fade the lettering on my Groby Granite wagon and even though the Dapol lettering is printed, it's easy to overdo it I found.

 

 

[Graham T]

I've been doing some pondering about turntables, so thought I might pop this up here 🙂

 

[Graham T]

The pondering has been along the lines of, now that it seems Metalsmiths turntables are no longer available, what will I use when I eventually get the funds together to make a start on Chuffnell Regis Mk II.  One option is to re-purpose the existing turntable, but I'm sure there must be others...

 

[longchap]

42 minutes ago, Graham T said:

The pondering has been along the lines of, now that it seems Metalsmiths turntables are no longer available, what will I use when I eventually get the funds together to make a start on Chuffnell Regis Mk II.  One option is to re-purpose the existing turntable, but I'm sure there must be others...

 

 

This area appears to be a minefield Graham, at least for an accurate and well engineered scale model of a GWR prototype. Scratch building will be a challenge, particularly for an all singing and dancing indexing system, as electronics are not everyone's cuppa, certainly not mine.

 

I was lucky enough to find a new unbuild Metalsmith TT with all the gubbins some years ago, which is intended for the mainline part of my railway in due course. If you can source the underboard mechanics and electronics, then the CR1 superstructure unit certainly looks the part. The MERG group probably have modules to control a turntable and their members would have experience of the build and installation, so if this appeals, take a look at what they offer and perhaps see if they have a forum, or indeed any useful into on RMWeb.

 

Bon courage mon ami 🤞

 

[longchap]

https://www.merg.org.uk/content/kits

 

 

 

[Neal Ball]

9 minutes ago, longchap said:

 

This area appears to be a minefield Graham, at least for an accurate and well engineered scale model of a GWR prototype. Scratch building will be a challenge, particularly for an all singing and dancing indexing system, as electronics are not everyone's cuppa, certainly not mine.

 

I was lucky enough to find a new unbuild Metalsmith TT with all the gubbins some years ago, which is intended for the mainline part of my railway in due course. If you can source the underboard mechanics and electronics, then the CR1 superstructure unit certainly looks the part. The MERG group probably have modules to control a turntable and their members would have experience of the build and installation, so if this appeals, take a look at what they offer and perhaps see if they have a forum, or indeed any useful into on RMWeb.

 

Bon courage mon ami 🤞

 

Interesting you say about the MERG kit Bill. I tried to use that to power a Peco turntable and couldn’t get it to work.

[longchap]

2 minutes ago, Neal Ball said:

Interesting you say about the MERG kit Bill. I tried to use that to power a Peco turntable and couldn’t get it to work.

 

Hmm, so very sorry to hear that Neal.

 

I did mention the word "minefield" 💣

[Neal Ball]

1 minute ago, longchap said:

 

Hmm, so very sorry to hear that Neal.

 

I did mention the word "minefield" 💣

Of course after my MERG experience, I then went and bought the turntable from Greenwood (not recommended), although it now works very well.

[longchap]

3 minutes ago, Neal Ball said:

Of course after my MERG experience, I then went and bought the turntable from Greenwood (not recommended), although it now works very well.

 

 Having watched the above video, it seems that the builder needs to be experienced enough to anticipate issues not necessarily covered by the instructions, so not for everyone. On the other hand, with a logical mind, patience and methodical approach, most things can be eventually overcome. The issue of course is the learning time to sufficient expertise, which happens all the time, as I'm discovering with loco building, which I'm now really enjoying, although have little interest with electronics.

 

Having said that however, my plug and play control panel wizardry for point controls using touch toggles are simply brill and very easy to install and use, but more of that in due course. 

 

Time for some zzzs here, as Longchap was up at 0445 taking the bride to the airport and am now struggling a tad. Latters

 

😴

 

[Rowsley17D]

2 hours ago, Graham T said:

The pondering has been along the lines of, now that it seems Metalsmiths turntables are no longer available, what will I use when I eventually get the funds together to make a start on Chuffnell Regis Mk II.  One option is to re-purpose the existing turntable, but I'm sure there must be others...

 

 

I can vouch for the London Road turntables, Graham. No indexing but if you have eyesight of the tracks then they can be lined up easily as it turns extremely slowly on DCC speed scale 1. I use speed 10 until I get near where I want to be.

 

http://www.londonroadmodels.com/various_pages/arch_kits.php

 

 

 

 

[Graham T]

Thanks all for the very useful inputs ref turntables.  The London Road ones look good but are a touch short for my needs - the table at CR Mk I is 55 feet.  All good info for later though.  I suspect I might try to re-use at least some of the Greenwood table that I have now...

 

[Graham T]

In other news, I've put together a pair of MJT 9' bogies for my Lima Siphon G.  Here's how the workbench looked just before battle commenced...

 

 

And here's the first victim, just before surgery.

 

 

I decided to use the included press studs for the mountings.  There's a handy pair of tabs moulded onto the Lima underframe that help with locating the mounting plate - but more of that anon...

 

 

Assembling the bogies themselves was a doddle, relatively speaking, even for a clod like me.  I have a "Hold and Fold", which is really useful for things like this.  Only mod I needed to make was to slightly ease the holes in the side frames with a rat tail file for the bearings.

 

 

But that's where things have come (slightly) off the rails, as it were.  As you can see, using the supplied mounting plate the ride height is way too high.  Time for Plan B.  Also, a question for that prolific coach builder, @Neal Ball - do you fold up the support tabs on the centre stretcher?

 

 

 

 

 

[Harlequin]

You're not going to buy an AccuraScale Siphon G, then Graham, and get the latest greatest version???

 

Be careful posting photos of blue siphons - someone will pop up and tell you it's the wrong shade... 😉

 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Harlequin