Craftsman Lord Nelson class kit restoration

[Pierview]

Over the last year I have acquired a number of kit built locos which had seen better days but all lent themselves to restoration, albeit some requiring more work than others. This Craftsman Lord Nelson kit is the last of the batch to be rebuilt and was a fairly quick exercise this month. The result cannot compare in any way with the superb build of a similar kit currently being described by DLT but it has been a quite rewarding project and a cheap one as well! The first photos show the model as acquired.

 

 

 

 

The original builder had made a very neat job of assembling the etched brass components but the white metal cab did not sit square. There was damage to the front end with the buffer beam adrift and damage to the LH valve gear, including a missing piston rod. The Bulleid era paintwork was quite attractive but perhaps a little  heavily applied. Obviously quite a lot of work to be done but as the loco only cost me £30 I thought it a worthwhile project.

 

Inevitably everything needed to be stripped to component parts and I began with the chassis. I expected to have to re-motor the chassis as the seller had doubts that the MW 5 pole motor was still working. To my surprise this proved not to be the case and I found that it still had plenty of life left in it. As I had spare motors of this type in stock I decided that I would retain it. The chassis was stripped and the wheels repainted from Malachite Green to black. On re-assembly I repaired the damaged valve gear and brake assembly and added  a replacement piston from a piece of brass rod fitted into a hole drilled in the surviving white metal crosshead. The pick ups were made good and the chassis runs tolerably well , albeit inevitably not up to the standard of modern motors.

 

The locomotive and tender bodies were then submerged in a bath of Dettol for a few days which did the business admirably in both removing the paint and breaking the glue joints.

 

 

 

 

Re-assembly included replacement of all the handrails and piping and a small amount of extra detail, including the diagonal pipe runs on each side of the boiler. I was not convinced by the kit Lemaitre chimney so I treated myself to a Markits one and also added clack valves by the same maker.

 

 

The final finish is in early 1950's BR livery with lining transfers from Fox. I found that they were a little tricky to apply but I am pleased with the effect. 

 

 

 

So there you have it. Not a masterpiece but at a total cost of about £56 a  very economical exercise so far as I am concerned!

 

Barry 

[sagaguy]

18 hours ago, Pierview said:

Over the last year I have acquired a number of kit built locos which had seen better days but all lent themselves to restoration, albeit some requiring more work than others. This Craftsman Lord Nelson kit is the last of the batch to be rebuilt and was a fairly quick exercise this month. The result cannot compare in any way with the superb build of a similar kit currently being described by DLT but it has been a quite rewarding project and a cheap one as well! The first photos show the model as acquired.

 

 

 

 

The original builder had made a very neat job of assembling the etched brass components but the white metal cab did not sit square. There was damage to the front end with the buffer beam adrift and damage to the LH valve gear, including a missing piston rod. The Bulleid era paintwork was quite attractive but perhaps a little  heavily applied. Obviously quite a lot of work to be done but as the loco only cost me £30 I thought it a worthwhile project.

 

Inevitably everything needed to be stripped to component parts and I began with the chassis. I expected to have to re-motor the chassis as the seller had doubts that the MW 5 pole motor was still working. To my surprise this proved not to be the case and I found that it still had plenty of life left in it. As I had spare motors of this type in stock I decided that I would retain it. The chassis was stripped and the wheels repainted from Malachite Green to black. On re-assembly I repaired the damaged valve gear and brake assembly and added  a replacement piston from a piece of brass rod fitted into a hole drilled in the surviving white metal crosshead. The pick ups were made good and the chassis runs tolerably well , albeit inevitably not up to the standard of modern motors.

 

The locomotive and tender bodies were then submerged in a bath of Dettol for a few days which did the business admirably in both removing the paint and breaking the glue joints.

 

 

 

 

Re-assembly included replacement of all the handrails and piping and a small amount of extra detail, including the diagonal pipe runs on each side of the boiler. I was not convinced by the kit Lemaitre chimney so I treated myself to a Markits one and also added clack valves by the same maker.

 

 

The final finish is in early 1950's BR livery with lining transfers from Fox. I found that they were a little tricky to apply but I am pleased with the effect. 

 

 

 

So there you have it. Not a masterpiece but at a total cost of about £56 a  very economical exercise so far as I am concerned!

 

Barry 

The trick with Fox lining,especially tender lining is to cut it into quarters or more and apply one piece at at a time teasing it into position with a small brush and water.This is an 0 gauge DJH Fairburn tank loco that i lined using Fox lining transfers.

 

                         Ray.

[sagaguy]

The same technique was employed on my refinished. Hornby Dublo WC loco.

 

                             Ray.

[Pierview]

On 24/03/2023 at 08:56, sagaguy said:

he trick with Fox lining,especially tender lining is to cut it into quarters or more and apply one piece at at a time teasing it into position with a small brush and water.This is an 0 gauge DJH Fairburn tank loco that i lined using Fox lining transfers.

 

                         Ray.

 

Yes, that's definitely the technique to use and I did the same with this model. Last year I messed up a lining set by being impatient and trying to apply sections that were too large. Inevitably the transfer curled up on itself and could not be untangled.  They are excellent transfers but need to be applied with care.

 

Barry

[DLT]

On 23/03/2023 at 13:53, Pierview said:

 

The final finish is in early 1950's BR livery with lining transfers from Fox. I found that they were a little tricky to apply but I am pleased with the effect. 

 

 

 

So there you have it. Not a masterpiece but at a total cost of about £56 a  very economical exercise so far as I am concerned!

 

Barry 

Very nice indeed Barry.

 

You are always at a disadvantage if you're trying to sort a kit that been damaged or messed up, and this isn't a simple kit to begin with.  So yours looks a great job!

I've always used HMRS Pressfix transfers (and I grab any I see!) but I'm thinking a'm going to have to convert to waterslide.  Not had much luck with them yet.

 

All the best, Dave.

[Pierview]

4 hours ago, DLT said:

Very nice indeed Barry.

 

You are always at a disadvantage if you're trying to sort a kit that been damaged or messed up, and this isn't a simple kit to begin with.  So yours looks a great job!

I've always used HMRS Pressfix transfers (and I grab any I see!) but I'm thinking a'm going to have to convert to waterslide.  Not had much luck with them yet.

 

All the best, Dave.

Thank you for your kind words Dave. Regarding HMRS Pressfix transfers I believe that they are available again direct from HMRS. Certainly I purchased a  BR lining set from them earlier this year.

 

Barry