RMweb Gold Rowsley17D Posted January 1 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 1 All the best, Graham 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 1 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 1 Thank you Jonathan, and to you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 7 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 7 Well here we are back in a cold and rather bleak Vienna. Feeling a tad low as my girls went back to the US on New Year's Day and I won't see them again until March. Here are a few more pics of our visit to the SVR. Excuse the rather strange ICE powered interloper, but seeing as it's named after the ship that I went frontline with then I thought it shouldn't be missed! 16 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post Graham T Posted January 7 Author RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted January 7 The mojo is still a touch subdued, but I did manage to gee myself up sufficiently to do a bit more to the toplight. The second side has been fitted, and the grab handles attached with glue and glaze. I've touched up some of the black paint, but I'm sure there will be more to do - it really doesn't like adhering to the whitemetal and aluminium parts, and flakes off if you as much as give it a stern look... I still need to add the door handles and fashion the handrails for the ends, which I'm not looking forward to. Transfers are - hopefully - on their way from HMRS. And I'm still pondering a solution for couplings on my coaches. As previously mentioned, the magnets in the corridor connectors aren't 100% satisfactory, and although the Hornby close couplings do close up the gaps very nicely, they're still a bit ugly! (As you can see in the last photo above). I'm thinking about trying some of these instead ... ... but that still leaves the issue of coupling to locos. Maybe leave some coaches in fixed rakes with a screw coupling at each end? I never imagined this would be so problematic. Anyway, here's the toplight in what I hope might pass for a suitably mixed Great Western train. 27 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold gwrrob Posted January 7 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 7 My experience of those Bachmann pipe couplings is the gap is still significant when used on some coaches, trial some and see what looks satisfactory Graham. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroadLeaves Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Those coaches are really good! I see what you mean about the couplings though - the one on the end in the last photo looks like a droopy TT:120 affair. Have you considered Hunt Magnetic Couplings? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 7 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 7 11 minutes ago, gwrrob said: My experience of those Bachmann pipe couplings is the gap is still significant when used on some coaches, trial some and see what looks satisfactory Graham. Thanks for that Robin. I'll do some experimenting when they arrive. Matters aren't helped by my having cut the NEM pockets off some of my coaches, with the thought at the time that "I'll never go back to tension locks, so those boxes can go". Not being aware then of the other options... Never mind! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schooner Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 32 minutes ago, Graham T said: if you as much as give it a stern look... Then be gentle with it...and yourself too. Lovely pics of trains, and quite right to include the diseasel, considering! Toplight's gorgeous, the rake looks perfectly 'Swindon Standardisation', and couplings will sort themselves out - keep trying until you find one you like...or spend more time on the forum/youtube to learn from others' mistakes... 😇 4 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 8 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 8 13 hours ago, BroadLeaves said: Those coaches are really good! I see what you mean about the couplings though - the one on the end in the last photo looks like a droopy TT:120 affair. Have you considered Hunt Magnetic Couplings? Thanks BL. I’ll add Hunt to the list of possible solutions! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 9 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 9 All the grab handles and door handles have now been fitted - although the latter are pretty hard to see! And I've made a start on forming up the end handrails. Ugh, horrible job! This is the first one, I think it needs more of a curve before I commit to fitting it permanently though. 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schooner Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 7 minutes ago, Graham T said: ...pretty hard to see! Agreed. If you wouldn't mind doing CR all over again in 7mm that'd be great, thanks. 😇 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 9 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 9 13 minutes ago, Schooner said: Agreed. If you wouldn't mind doing CR all over again in 7mm that'd be great, thanks. 😇 Har dee har. You can go off people, you know 🙃 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 That toplight looks really good Graham, the extra details make the sides seem 3d. Seeing it in a train is typical Great Western, making up rakes seemingly from whatever was handy. I've had the opposite problem with the handrails I made for my clerestory cut and shuts, slightly over long so ended up with too sharp a bend in them.....🤬 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 9 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 9 37 minutes ago, MrWolf said: That toplight looks really good Graham, the extra details make the sides seem 3d. Seeing it in a train is typical Great Western, making up rakes seemingly from whatever was handy. I've had the opposite problem with the handrails I made for my clerestory cut and shuts, slightly over long so ended up with too sharp a bend in them.....🤬 Danke schon Herr W. I think I've now got the curve about right - just have to make three more that look vaguely similar! The instructions in the kit are very helpful: "Make four end handrails from wire". Reminds me a bit of the old Haynes manual gag along the lines of "reassembly is simply the reverse of all the previous steps"... 10 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 If it helps, I have twelve of them to make! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 9 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 9 Rather you than me! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John Besley Posted January 9 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 9 A bell has just gone off in my brain.... on BR standard MK1 I think they double up at pipe connections to fill up the roof tanks for the WC... how did the GWR fill their roof tanks Someone correct me please if I am wrong 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold sjrixon Posted January 10 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 10 That's one very beautiful coach.. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 10 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 10 Thanks very much Scott. It's been quite a challenging build, but I'm quite pleased with how the coach is looking so far. I have another one to build, which hopefully will go a bit more smoothly! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 10 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 10 The handrails are now on and painted. I formed the curves at the top ends first, bending the wire around a rat tail file, and then tried (not very successfully) to match up the curves for the longest sections. The four are certainly all individuals... For the next toplight kit I'm wondering if it would be possible to superglue a couple of lengths of brass wire together, form them into shape as a pair, and then separate them. Next step will be to add the lettering from HMRS, and then weather the roof and underframe. I think I'll use powders there, and then seal with a spray of matt varnish - having masked the sides first! 12 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Neal Ball Posted January 10 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 10 3 minutes ago, Graham T said: The handrails are now on and painted. I formed the curves at the top ends first, bending the wire around a rat tail file, and then tried (not very successfully) to match up the curves for the longest sections. The four are certainly all individuals... For the next toplight kit I'm wondering if it would be possible to superglue a couple of lengths of brass wire together, form them into shape as a pair, and then separate them. Next step will be to add the lettering from HMRS, and then weather the roof and underframe. I think I'll use powders there, and then seal with a spray of matt varnish - having masked the sides first! I'll let you into a secret - but don't tell anyone 😎 I haven't done the end handrails on my recent carriages. I am surprised there isn't a jig you can buy for them. I'm not relishing making the handrail for the front of the County 4-4-2T, being the face of the loco it has to be perfect. I've seen a video of Tony Wright making them and he makes it look very easy! The carriage looks very nice, well done. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted January 10 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 10 5 minutes ago, Neal Ball said: he makes it look very easy On the Missenden course the experts say its best to plan on making three times as many as you want and then picking the best of the crop - and these are experts so I guess we should not beat ourselves up too much. 5 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schooner Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 15 minutes ago, Graham T said: superglue Solder? Comes undone much more easily, and can be chased down to a sacrifical end/'solder-sucker'd off...? 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 88C Posted January 10 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 10 I built a couple of these coaches ages ago, I must admit they don’t come out of their box very often. The way that you have added the grab rails and handles makes a big improvement over the printed ones. Well done. Brian 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Neal Ball Posted January 10 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 10 49 minutes ago, Andy Keane said: On the Missenden course the experts say its best to plan on making three times as many as you want and then picking the best of the crop - and these are experts so I guess we should not beat ourselves up too much. Thanks Andy, that seems like an awful lot of wire going to waste! But of the Missenden guys are saying that, clearly thats the way to go. I was hoping someone would say "but there is a Jig" - company xyz sell it 🤣 Instead, I will have to practice. Thanks again, Neal. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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