EasyBuild Metro-Cammell Class 101 kit, first steps in to 7mm kitbuilding.

[RJdeVries]

Hi Everyone, over the last 2 years I've slowly ventured in to the world of 0 gauge and I've now

got a 60 feet long garden railway that has kept me busy, as this is up and running I was looking

for an 0 gauge DMU and after some advice I ordered an EasyBuild Class 101 2 car kit.

 

Easybuild MetCamm Class 101 7mm Kit by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

This kit was ordered last summer and I've made some substantial progress along the way and

it now sits proud on the workbench, just waiting for some additional parts (in the mail)

 

Class 101 progress by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

One of the first items to be build was the power bogie, this was competed in a day and after 

some tweaking of the chain drive it runs sweet as a nut, even under load.

 

Easybuild class 101 motor bogie by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Easybuild class 101 motor bogie by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The chain drive provides the unit with enough pulling power when it's complete as a lot of weight

will be added with all of the white metal parts yet to be installed.

(and I did remove the wrong bogie channels in the end as used the wrong ones)

 

Then it was on to the 3 remaining bogies, these where relatively easy to construct and therefore I also

took the time to add some extra details like the brake rigging since it's fairly visible.

 

Class 101 bogie construction. by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Metro-Cammell scratch build brake gear by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The body posed the greatest challenge, I went and added the hinges and door stoppers first before 

assembling the body to the cab and rear bulkhead, this was all done with ABS cement and superglue.

 

Class 101 body assembly by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

With a day in between the roofs where added to both cars, clamped to a block of wood the roofs where

given a day to dry  and then the fun part, scraping off the driprail along the body and sanding it smooth.

 

Metro-Cammell 101 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Shaving Class 101 bodies, removing raingutter by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

As this was mentioned to be a very messy undertaking I went and did this in the garage, scraping first and then with ever

finer sandpaper I smoothed out the join between roof and side, it only took me about half a day!

 

 

More progress is to be posted as I do intend to have her in paint next spring so she can run around the garden.

 

 

Regards,

 

Robbert Jan.

Edited December 25, 2021 by RJdeVries

[RJdeVries]

Over the weekend I made some more progress on the Class 101, completing all of the interior

partitions so I can start with making the actual interior seating etc.

 

Roofs and interior walls. by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The biggest issue was the roof panel, take 1 wasn't succesfull and the panel had to come off

again because it wasn't smooth all the way around, luckily I used PVA and it came off after a 

quick bath in water.

 

Attempt 2 went far smoother, a bit more shaping of the panel was required using every round

bit of pipe I could find, even a bit of VW beetle steering coulumn 

 

So after 4 days I went and peeled off the tape and yes, it was smooth enough around the edges.

 

Roofs and interior walls. by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

So that also meant that the roof vents can be installed, all 30 where cleaned of any burrs and

where stuck in place with a little bit of glue.

 

Roofs and interior walls. by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

I'm happy with the result and now I can continue with the internals 

 

Regards,

 

Robbert Jan.

[RJdeVries]

Some more progress has been made over the weekend.

 

Metro-Cammell Class 101 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The Class 101 is sitting pretty and is now ready for the bufferbeams and the

new buffers and couplers I ordered at Roxey Mouldings.

 

Buffers! by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The buffer beams are designed to be fitted with standard buffers on a raised mount

so that had to be removed in order to fit the Oleo type buffers from Markits.

I've used couplers from Slaters, these where altered to fit the slot in the bufferbeam.

 

Buffers and bufferbeams by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The bufferbeam itself is supposed to be fitted to the underside of the cab, that didn't 

really sit right and I figured that it would make more sence to mount  it to the chassis

strengthened with a couple of gussets.

 

Buffers and bufferbeams by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

When placed on the track both cab ends match up nicely, so now its on the the bufferbeams

on the other end of both carriages.

 

Buffers and bufferbeams by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

 

Regards,

 

Robbert Jan.

Edited January 2, 2022 by RJdeVries

[RJdeVries]

I've been doing some little jobs, just cosmetic in nature to enhance the look of 

the attached buffers.

 

Tiny nuts and bolts m0,6 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

I've ordered a couple of metric 0,6mm bolts and nuts to make retaining bolts

for the buffers, just 4 holes in each buffer doesn't really cut it.

 

Tiny nuts and bolts m0,6 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

A tiny amount of glue is enough to set these in place and it instantly looks finished.

 

Tiny nuts and bolts m0,6 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

I'm chuffed that I found these at one of my go to shops, they do nothing but small 

size bolts and nuts (and everything in between) for the modelling industry, this is the

smallest functional brass bolt I could obtain.

 

Regards,

 

Robbert Jan.

[47606odin]

19 hours ago, RJdeVries said:

I've been doing some little jobs, just cosmetic in nature to enhance the look of 

the attached buffers.

 

Tiny nuts and bolts m0,6 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

I've ordered a couple of metric 0,6mm bolts and nuts to make retaining bolts

for the buffers, just 4 holes in each buffer doesn't really cut it.

 

Tiny nuts and bolts m0,6 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

A tiny amount of glue is enough to set these in place and it instantly looks finished.

 

Tiny nuts and bolts m0,6 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

I'm chuffed that I found these at one of my go to shops, they do nothing but small 

size bolts and nuts (and everything in between) for the modelling industry, this is the

smallest functional brass bolt I could obtain.

 

Regards,

 

Robbert Jan.

do you have a link? Could be about the right size for those missing off the Dapol 08

[uk_pm]

The whole build looks terrific - you make it look very simple (and I know it isn't!). Can't wait to see the completed model.  Good luck with it.

[RJdeVries]

4 hours ago, 47606odin said:

do you have a link? Could be about the right size for those missing off the Dapol 08

 

I've purchased the bolts and nuts at www.kingmicroschroeven.nl

It's a dutch firm that has a great range of small fasteners for the 

modelling community.

 

@ uk_pm 

 

It sure is a lot of work, and as stated in the manual, it's called easy build, not easy to build  

I'm however do not intend making it to easy on myself, making a lot of parts from scratch

or improving on the parts in the kit.

 

Regards,

 

Robbert Jan.

[RJdeVries]

With the buffers in the right place I put my focus towards the undercarriage and started

cleaning up the various bits of cast white metal.

 

I determined that the engine blocks wherem't equal to one and other and although they 

won't be seen together at any point I decided to make a pair from scratch.

 

AEC 220 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

I've only used the flywheel (has been reversed, it was backwards) , oil filler pipe and recently

the adapter piece for the exhaust system.

 

Undercarriage bits and bobs. by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

All of the pieces where glued to the undercarriage and left to dry overnight before I went and

did the other side.

 

Drivers side by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Placing all of the bits also gave me a good idea of where to place the speaker so it wouldn't be 

very visible, in between both space heaters near the end of the DMBS turned out to be a good spot.

 

Underframe details. by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

It's an ESU bass-reflex speaker (50344) and it's very similair to the EM-1 but with the added bonus 

that it can be used on it's own rather then in conjuntion with another speaker due to a low (0,5) watt rating.

(this low rating is likely to fry the amplifier on a decoder)

 

Next job is the detailing of the DTCL.

 

 

Regards,

Robbert Jan.

[jcarta]

Nice job Robbert .....

[D6775]

This is looking fantastic. I desperately ned to get mine finished!

[RJdeVries]

It's been almost a week so time for an update on the project.

 

I've been assembling the fuel tanks that go underneith the DMBS, taking care to notch

one so it has plenty of clearance so not to interfere with the speaker.

 

Speaker mounting. by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Speaker mounting. by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

 

With the undercarriage of the DMBS almost done I turned my attention to the DTCL, cleaning up

all of the white metal bits and glueing them in place using the manual and lots of photo reference

material as I didn't quite get the bits to sit right.

 

Class 101 DTCL by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Class 101 DTCL by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

 

The vacuumcilinders where installed this morning and I went and finished the assembly this

afternoon, looking pretty smart.

 

Brake system details by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Brake system details by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Both vacuumcilinders are supported by plasticcard strip that is in between the cilinder and floor.

The axle is a 2mm styrene rod as I didn't have any 2mm brass in house, it has no function so 

it will do the "esthetic" job allright.

 

Now I just need to find a place for the vacuum tank as I can't find any pictures of a DTCL with 

the tank in place....

 

 

Regards,

 

Robbert Jan.

[RJdeVries]

The past few days have been "exhausting" as this was a part of the Class 101 that had not yet been touched.

 

Exhausting work by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

This is version 1, the exhaust pipe has the right shape but the cannister coming of the manifold was a 

bit to tall and it made the exhaust hang to low, aswell as pushing the engine up in to the floor.

 

So the cannister was ajusted for height and soldered back in place, the opposite side had the same

treatment, the exhaustpipe is a lot simpler to make and it was done in half a hour.

 

Underframe detailing by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Both exhaustpipes are made from 2mm Evergreen rod as I didn't have brass on hand, maybe a good

thing as the styrene rod is malleable enough, especcialy when softened with plastic glue.

 

Underframe detailing by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The exhaustpipes do need some more brackets like the real thing, but they are atleast on the verhicle.

Meanwhile I also made some smaller detailing parts like the brackets holding the fuel tanks to the floor.

 

Underframe detailing by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Even the battery cabinet has some brackets surrounding the perimeter so these where also glued on

using 0,5mm square stock.

 

 

All in all I'm pretty pleased with the progress so far, on to the next challenge.

 

Regards,
 

Robbert Jan.

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by RJdeVries

[RJdeVries]

I've been busy again the last few days, adding the white metal multiple cable equipment to the

bufferbeams and preparing these for the cables themselves when all is painted.

 

Class 101 Vacpipes by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The other major modification is the vacuum pipes, these have been made using spare parts from

a pair of Slaters kits as I was not going to build these particular kits with vacuum brakes.

 

4 lenghts of 1mm brass angle where used to make the 4 mounts underneith the bufferbeam.

For the pipework I used some left over brass castings that just had the right size and shape.

 

Class 101 Vacpipes by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

 

With the above ticked off the list another little job was waiting for attention, the pickups.

 

Bogie Pickup Mount by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

I've made inserts from plasticcard that sit inside of the bogie, these will be bolted in place

so I can remove them to replace the plunger pickup would it be worn or maybe even dirty.

The mount has since been shaped and is now almost invisible looking at the bogie from

the side, neat and tidy.

 

 

Regards,

 

Robbert Jan.

[pwr]

Neat solution that Robbert. I wiould never have thought of that and would have gone with wiper pickups. I have some DMU's in the waiting to build pile and will consider your solution when I get to that point.

 

Paul R

[RJdeVries]

Thanks Paul, 

 

It wanted to try a new approach having seen this style of pickup

on the Dapol 87xx and various kit build locomotives. 

I'm will use wiper pickups on the motor bogie as there is little room

so fosforbronze pickups will have to do. 

 

Regards, 

 

Robbert Jan. 

[RJdeVries]

It has been a while but there is progress on the build.

 

Dapol Class 122 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

First of the Class 101 has got a sister, a Class 122 by Dapol.

 

And then on with the building of the kit;

 

The body had to be attached to the chassis at one point, this requires the 

body stretchers to be glued in to place.

As I was already planning to have the body removable as a whole, with the

complete chassis untouched, it needed a different approach.

 

Class 101 body stretchers by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

So i will make use of 3 stretchers, on behind each gangway at the enterance doors

and one at the very rear, these will be glued in to place.

To make attaching the body to the chassis easy and durable (instead of putting a screw

in to plastic) I decided to use a brass strip with m2 nuts soldered to it.

 

Lining up 6 holes was a challenge in its own right, I had to drill the holes in the chassis

prior to glueing the stretchers in to the body, this made for some tense moments 

hoping that all holes lined up when both are offered up to eachother.

 

Body fastners etc for the 101 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The most difficult part was working around the details that are already underneith the

chassis, but in the end I managed to make it all work, the DMBS has an extra stretcher

in white because the position for the bolts that where supposed to go there is taken

up by the speaker.

 

Body fastners etc for the 101 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

 

Another job that needed doing was glueing in place the body side grill, its just stuck on 

to the side but it looked out of place, photographs confirmed that it is almost flush

with the side, so I scribed around the outer edge and made a new hole in the side.

 

Class 101 side grill and coolant filler by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Class 101 side grill and coolant filler by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

A nice (nearly) flush mounted grill, and whilst at it a pair of recessed coolant filler caps

where also added to the sides of the DMBS.

 

Class 101 side grill and coolant filler by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

 

Hopefully I can go ahead and prime the body very soon, weather permitting.

 

Regards,

 

Robbert Jan.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by RJdeVries

[pwr]

You are making a cracking job of that

 

Paul R

[37114]

What Paul said; nice job.

[RJdeVries]

Thanks gentlemen!

 

 

Meanwhile a spell of relatively good weather had me taking some pictures outside

on the temporary bridge (the layout is still in storage)

 

Class 101 in the garden. by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Class 101 in the garden. by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

After this photo session I went and finished the bogie steps, a fiddly job that 

had me scratching my head on noumerous occasions.

 

DMBS Bogie steps by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Guards area bogie steps by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

DTCL Bogie steps by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The etched parts where modified to get them to resemble the original, meaning the 

larger step beneath the guards compartiment is comprized of 2 regular steps soldered

together.

 

I also had to do some minor work to the "power bogie" as this was not sitting level

with the track, it was by no means finished but I couldn't get my head around a 

good way to solve the problem and retaining the option to take the bogie apart

with the 4 bolts in the center structure.

 

Class 101 Bogie strenghtening by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The solution was making a pair of triangles that slot in to the ABS sides, keeping the

sides level and giving the whole bogie it's final shape, level with the body.

I've also soldered in a pair of brass channels as the section of the bogie was fairly

weak and prone to bending under stress.

 

Another weekend well spent 

 

Regards,

 

Robbert Jan.

Edited February 27, 2022 by RJdeVries

[RJdeVries]

It has been a while but I've not forgotten about the Class 101 and the build hasn't stopped.

 

I've been painting most of the larger pieces after completing most of the detailing.

 

Class 101 underframes painted by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The photo above is from the 22nd of last month, that day the underframes, bogies and 

body shells where primed and partially painted.

 

Spray painting the underframe and bogies by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Spray painting the underframe and bogies by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The underbodys where sprayed with a grey Tamiya primer prior to a bit of red for the 

cab end bufferbeams followed by a coat of matt black.

 

Painting red and black by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

There is still a lot of work left to do finishing the paintjob but that is for another time,

for now it is looking very decent.

 

 

My attention then turned to the body shells, these where painted and off white on the

inside, followed my a lot of masking and some hints of orange formica.

 

Painting the interior bits Class 101 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

As I'm building a heritage unit this will depict a specific period in time with the 70's 

interior being in place, it also pops and draws one's eye to the interior.

Minor modifications where done to the interior walls such as a sliding door and

handrails.

 

Painting the interior bits Class 101 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Interior detailing class 101 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

All together with the blue floors it looks very 70's, the floors will be toned down with a 

darker wash as these would have been well worn by the time of preservation.

 

2nd and 1st class seating was also completed, in blue and grey ready for install.

 

Interior detailing class 101 by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Yesterday was spend adding the final details to the body prior to a last dusting of

primer before the BR green will be applied.

 

Class 101 detailing prior to painting by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

The hinges where added, carefully, as these sit in the join between the cab moulding 

and the side wall, no rush!

Other holes had to be drilled according to photo's, the handrail for instance that

is also present on the opposite side.

 

Class 101 detailing prior to painting by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Class 101 detailing prior to painting by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

 

Above all doors I've glued on a short driprail to complete the 50's look that the 

preservation society longed for.

 

 

Hope you enjoy!

 

Regards,

Robbert Jan.

 

[boxbrownie]

Fantastic job there Robbert, I have an Easy Build 101 kit, I got as far as building the bogies and motorising and then we moved house and soon after that I decided to change scale, I cannot compare mine with yours but I did like adding the little details and doing some “custom” building on the bogies and drive, as you say not exactly an easy build kit. 

[Hal Nail]

13 hours ago, RJdeVries said:

 

Class 101 underframes painted by Robbert Jan., on Flickr

Coming along nicely!

 

Ive just moved and am toying with a garden line and the above photo caught my eye. Is there an advisable width for boards to prevent things plungung off in the case of a derailment, or do things tend to stay upright anyway? (hope I'm not tempting fate!). 

[D6775]

Thanks looking ace. Hopefully my painter will get eh body for mine sorted soon and I can start the finishing touches. 

[RJdeVries]

3 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

Coming along nicely!

 

Ive just moved and am toying with a garden line and the above photo caught my eye. Is there an advisable width for boards to prevent things plungung off in the case of a derailment, or do things tend to stay upright anyway? (hope I'm not tempting fate!). 

 

Hello Hal Nail, 

 

Thanks for the comment, the layout is completely raised to a maximum

height of about 2 feet at the lowest point in the garden. 

The boards are approximately 5 inches wide so, yes, if a train derails

it will plummet in to the abyss (and yes it has happened once

with little damage) 

 

I've chosen to build the garden railway on this narrow base so it blends

in with the garden. 

(photo's can be found on my Flickr page in a separate album.)

 

 

@D6775 I can't wait to see how my handy work will look in a coat of

BR (Locomotive) green 🤞🏻

 

 

Regards, 

 

Robbert Jan. 

[RJdeVries]

@boxbrownie

 

I've been building the kit for just under a year now, on and off I will add. 

The kit is definitely not for first time modellers as it requires a fair amount

of knowledge and skill, especially with the materials used. 

 

I've added a lot of details myself improving the final look using photographs

to make sure items are in the right location, it is still not done though 

and more details will be added later on. 

 

 

Regards, 

 

Robbert Jan.