WR 15xx kit build in 4mm

[Pierview]

.For my final winter loco build before I have to turn my efforts to decorating and gardening  I decided to tackle the Nu Cast Partners 15xx  0-6-0PT kit which was a Christmas present from my wife in 2020. I remember building the chassis of the original K's kit for a friend years ago and always quite liked the idea of getting one for myself. It was never a high priority however, and whilst I failed to make a move the K's range passed to Autocom before that manufacturer also disappeared from the market. Thanks to the heroic rescue act by Dave Ellis and Brian Osborne in recent years there is new life for many of these old kits, including the 15xx, so I wasn't going to miss the opportunity this time. Inevitably  the announcement from Rapido trains about a RTR version then followed so I thought that I should get mine finished first! First impressions are that this is one of the better products from the former K's range although I am not sure whether Autocom upgraded the kit during their ownership. So far I am working on the chassis and progress is shown in the attached photos. The frames are very much as I remember the K's originals although made of somewhat thinner brass. Assembly is by the old fashioned screw in spacers and as this method did not afford enough width to fit my High Level gear box I widened the frames by the expedient of introducing washers between the spacers and frame on one side. Once all was square I followed the instructions in soldering the spacers into position on the inside of the frames before removing the screws and filling the external holes with solder, which was subsequently dressed back to a smooth surface. Unfortunately there is no provision for brake gear so before assembly so  I marked and drilled holes for the cross wires. The Mainly Trains etched pack of GWR brake gear provides suitable hangers and these will be fitted in due course. The gearbox is a HL Loadhauler with 90:1 reduction and a 1020FE motor.     

Barry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Pierview
update

[hayfield]

Barry

 

A very interesting build of the K's/NuCast kit. I noticed with some NuCast kits they moved over to simple etched chassis, though this seems to be more of a crossover version, harking a bit back to the k's method, yet having etched springs ?

 

Last year I rebuilt a K's Adams Radial tank chassis to EM gauge, I kept the old frames the same (9mm spacers) and put 1mm thick black plasticard sides on the frames. I used a High Level Slimliner + gearbox which fitted nicely between the 00 gauge frames, I think the High Flyer would also fit

 

I had a quick look in my cupboard of kits to build and found 2 NuCast 16xx's. One with an old milled brass chassis the other with a newer etched version 

[30368]

11 hours ago, Pierview said:

Thanks to the heroic rescue act by Dave Ellis and Brian Osborne in recent years there is new life for many of these old kits, including the 15xx, so I wasn't going to miss the opportunity this time.

 

They have done, and continue (although Dave has retired) to do a really good job. I have built a C2X 0-6-0 and it went together very well.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

[Pierview]

I have now completed the 15xx chassis which is running quite well at present although the mechanism still needs to bed in I think. I am always apprehensive about walschaerts valve gear assembly, particularly when an older kit design is involved ,but this one went together reasonably easily.  I feel that the motion pieces are of their era though and perhaps a little on the chunky side. I did try to slim them a bit with a file but I am not sure that this has made much difference . The only problem I had concerned the valve rockers which hold the combination lever. The white metal castings supplied were impossibly delicate and both broke whilst I was assembling the valve gear. In my opinion they needed to be made of something a little stronger such as  brass in order to do the job. I saw no point in requesting replacements as these would probably also break, so I substituted U shape strips of  NS and glued these in the fixing holes instead. I salvaged parts of the  broken castings and thinned these down before gluing in place on my replacement strips. The second photo shows the chassis with the  completed cab and  boiler/pannier tank  placed in position for effect . The pannier tank has not been cleaned up yet. I am quite enjoying this build so far! 

 

Barry

 

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Pierview
update

[Pierview]

I have now completed the body for the 15xx class. I get the impression that Autocom must have improved the original K's kit as there appear to be a few extra details and minor changes. The cab front  casting has a large rectangular hole , presumably  to clear the original K's mechanism, but the back head does not conceal it and leaves daylight showing either side. To get round this I filled the hole with a piece of scrap white metal and then made a smaller hole to clear the front shaft  of the motor. The biggest problem I faced with this kit was that there were no handrail holes nor punch marks for them, so I had to work out their location with the aid of plans and photographs. This took quite a lot of time as there are more than a few handrails on these locomotives. The  small rear locomotive steps were part of the rear bunker/ buffer beam casting but for some odd reason were facing backwards. I can only think that this was a misinterpretation by the original kit designer and I got round this by cutting them off flush with the bottom of the buffer beam, lengthening them with scrap white metal and then remounting them in their correct position inside the buffer beam. The reversing rod was a hefty casting which neither looked right nor sat properly so I replaced it with one fashioned from  scrap brass etching. The injectors were a little troublesome as  again they  were rather delicate white metal castings and needed to be drilled out for the copper wire. Needless to say, I managed to snap one but manage to effect a repair.  I thought that the wire supplied with the kit was too springy so I substituted soft  copper wire intended for jewelry work and obtained from my local arts and crafts shop. I have added some extra detail but I am sure that I have missed something as the 15xx is  a complicated little beast of a locomotive which is quite different to most GWR types. The painting will follow when the weather settles down sufficiently to enable me to spray outdoors. Might be a few days yet!

 

Barry 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Pierview
update

[Pierview]

With the improvement in the weather I was able to spray the 15xx outside and move on to completion as shown in the photos. I have aimed to portray 1504 as  I saw it as a schoolboy at Paddington in the autumn of 1961. I notice from photographs that the prototype had lost its whistle shield by then but mine has the one supplied with the kit as I didn't have any individual GWR whistles to hand. Anyway, I think all self respecting pannier tanks should have one ! It will be back to Southern projects next, in particular the completion of my PDK G16 kit, but these will have to wait until I have caught up with decorating and gardening.

 

Barry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Pierview
update