21A Desperado Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 I didnt manage to get in front of the workbench last weekend due to family commitments. (Don't they know that the weekends are for modelling?!) I am keen to get on with a couple of ZKA 'Barbel' ive started, and did a bit tonight, concentrating on the brake handles and vac gear. Its not 100% reflective of the real thing, but is good enough for my needs for now. Ive also treated myself to a RF 31.... 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 Woohoo! I have had a delivery today of two Grampus kits and some rail. Ive made a start on the Grampus kits and they look like they will be good fun. Ive measured and cut up the rail and have dry fitted to the Mullet that I have been working on. Each rail will be painted soon. One thing I am struggling with is the ratchet straps, and I was wondering if anyone could suggest how I could replicate them please? Cheers for looking Trev 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted February 29 Author Share Posted February 29 The postmans' been again......! 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 1 hour ago, 21A Desperado said: The postmans' been again......! The slippery slope is getting close to vertical...... 😁😁😁👍👍 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted March 1 Author Share Posted March 1 On 29/02/2024 at 21:59, F-UnitMad said: The slippery slope is getting close to vertical...... 😁😁😁👍👍 Isnt it just! Its getting out of control! Oh blimey! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 Soooo, Ive had a couple more deliveries, (two Dapol Turbots and a 20T Dutch liveried brake van (also Dapol). These will be weathered and will have loads added. I've also spent a few more hours on the Grampus, with my enthusiasm rapidly turning into frustration with the instructions, which in fairness are bl**dy awful. I've made a couple of mistakes, mainly with the brake hangers so please don't look too hard at the photos I am about to upload! The next wagon I do over the weekend will be better as know I understand where I have gone wrong. The loco stud is now up to the the following in terms of strength: 1 x EWS 08 (I plan to respray this into blue (having been inspired by @Nick G's amazing fading skills) 1 x RF Coal 31. This will be renumbered to 31201 and will receive a yellow cab door and heavy weathering 1 x RF Petroleum 37/4 (37418) this will remain in this livery and will receive decent plates and weathering 1 x Intercity 31. This will become 31405 'Mappa Mundi' 1 x Railfreight grey 31296. This will remain as 'Tren Nwyddau Amlwch/Amlwch Freighter' Lots to do still, lots of detail to add, sound to add, pipework etc! Thanks for looking Trev 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick G Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 You have definately got the O gauge bug now! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 Wow, that is an impressive fleet! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 13 hours ago, Nick G said: You have definately got the O gauge bug now! Its infectious! 😄 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 2 hours ago, 37114 said: Wow, that is an impressive fleet! Thanks @37114Rob, I'm getting there slowly! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick G Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 9 minutes ago, 21A Desperado said: Its infectious! 😄 Tell me about it. I vowed to onley have 08's and no mainline locos. I now have 10 mainline locos! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 I really think that doing some modelling is helping my mental health. I'm also a keen angler, but the recent cold has made my arthritis go bonkers, so Im waiting for the weather to get a bit better before heading back out onto the bank, opting for a nice warm garage instead! Ive had a couple of productive hours messing about with a few projects, (I'm yet to still finish one! 😆and cracked on with the second Grampus, concentrating on the running gear and brake hangers (getting them right this time around!) All was going well until I was fitting the coupling assembly and the spring pinged off into the ether. Unfortunately this is the second time this has happened and I havent learn how to control the damn things! Does anyone know where I can get replacement springs at all please? I will try Peco first off. My main achievement was the development of my vacuum bag. Having scoured the planet, I could not find something that gave a true representation of the dreadful things. (Those that have wrestled with them know what I'm on about). I had an epiphany - Make my own! My basic idea is to strip the insulation off some single core cable and wrap it around a section of brass rod and solder the ends, possibly using a drill to expedite the process. Sounds simple, but its bound to go wrong. Anyhoo, fast forward and its not gone too badly. Ive managed to solder stuff up, only get burnt once, and it looks okay. My next goal was to create the actual bag and opted to retain a short section to pass into the bufferbeam, which proved to be more challenging than I expected. Its getting the curve right that proved to be the issue. Also the length. The next one I do will be shorter and straighter. Thanks for looking. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 (edited) 49 minutes ago, Nick G said: Tell me about it. I vowed to onley have 08's and no mainline locos. I now have 10 mainline locos! Haha! Love it! @Nick GTBH you have got some cracking 08's, I am very jealous! Edited March 2 by 21A Desperado 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D6775 Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 On 19/02/2024 at 20:27, 34006 said: If not a Roundy,then maybe an "L" or a "U".If you used the diagonal you could get 10.8ft.Do what I did,draw out your desired boards on the floor,then put your track out on them,see how it goes.I used chalk on the patio............ Phil I used to mark OO layouts out on the living room floor with masking tape! Never actually managed to build one though!! Some really nice progress here. putting me to shame! I am going to have to pull my finger out and crack on with a few bits. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hal Nail Posted March 3 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 3 (edited) 11 hours ago, 21A Desperado said: My main achievement was the development of my vacuum bag. and opted to retain a short section to pass into the bufferbeam The real thing is hard rubber with a wire outer. If they have been stowed on the retainer they maintain some bend but can be in a variety of shapes And they are an absolute arse to replace but that's another story! They don't actually pass through the buffer beam in most cases but do a u bend underneath and then back up. Slaters replicate this with a cast pipe and a spring for the bag but are a bit pricey. I managed to buy up several bags of ABS cast ones which are much finer than the crude things Parkside supply. Edited March 3 by Hal Nail Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mol_PMB Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Metal guitar strings are a good ingredient, indeed I suspect the Slaters springy bit may be a slice of guitar string. Cut to length they can be threaded onto a core of brass wire. These are also rather nice: https://davidjparkins.com/product/vacuum-brake-pipe-set-two-pairs/ 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 2 hours ago, Hal Nail said: The real thing is hard rubber with a wire outer. If they have been stowed on the retainer they maintain some bend but can be in a variety of shapes And they are an absolute arse to replace but that's another story! They don't actually pass through the buffer beam in most cases but do a u bend underneath and then back up. Slaters replicate this with a cast pipe and a spring for the bag but are a bit pricey. I managed to buy up several bags of ABS cast ones which are much finer than the crude things Parkside supply. I went for a hole in the bufferbeam approach as its so much easier than having to attach the pipe to the chassis from the bottom. I did toy with the idea of sticking it to the underside of the chassis, but it would take a fair amount of bending to match the chassis profile, I know its less prototypical, but..... Ive had to use vac bags in a previous life, and know all too well what fun they are, especially when cold! (shudder!) I will check out the Slaters ones, thank you! Trev Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 3 hours ago, Mol_PMB said: Metal guitar strings are a good ingredient, indeed I suspect the Slaters springy bit may be a slice of guitar string. Cut to length they can be threaded onto a core of brass wire. These are also rather nice: https://davidjparkins.com/product/vacuum-brake-pipe-set-two-pairs/ Some good food for thought there! I will investigate these methods, thank you! Having an hour or two at the bench later, so I will attempt to make a couple of springs, Many thanks Trev Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mol_PMB Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 I bought guitar strings sold as: 'Ernie Ball custom gauge roundwound bass string ###' where ### is the 'gauge', which is the outer diameter of the string in thousandths of an inch. So 40 gauge is 1mm OD while 100 gauge is 2.5mm OD. Choose your string to suit your modeling scale and vac pipe size! I think main-line vacuum brake steel pipe is 2" ID, closer to 2.5" OD, and then the flexible fits over the outside of that so it's probably 3" OD or thereabouts. So about 1.75mm or 69 thou. There's an Ernie Ball 70 gauge roundwound bass string which would be about right. They're about a tenner each but you get a LOT of vac pipes out of one string! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 Just now, Mol_PMB said: I bought guitar strings sold as: 'Ernie Ball custom gauge roundwound bass string ###' where ### is the 'gauge', which is the outer diameter of the string in thousandths of an inch. So 40 gauge is 1mm OD while 100 gauge is 2.5mm OD. Choose your string to suit your modeling scale and vac pipe size! I think main-line vacuum brake steel pipe is 2" ID, closer to 2.5" OD, and then the flexible fits over the outside of that so it's probably 3" OD or thereabouts. So about 1.75mm or 69 thou. There's an Ernie Ball 70 gauge roundwound bass string which would be about right. They're about a tenner each but you get a LOT of vac pipes out of one string! Thank you (again!) I really appreciate your help! Trev Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hal Nail Posted March 3 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 3 1 hour ago, Mol_PMB said: you get a LOT of vac pipes out of one string! You'd get quite a few just out of the excess when stringing a guitar. Next time I change mine I'll pop the bits on ebay! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 (edited) 1 hour ago, Hal Nail said: You'd get quite a few just out of the excess when stringing a guitar. Next time I change mine I'll pop the bits on ebay! I hope to as the majority of my engineers stock is vac braked 🙂 Edited March 3 by 21A Desperado Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 I spent a couple of hours at the bench earlier, having done a serious clean of my fish tank filter and ended up slicing each of my index filters on the glass edges, which really didnt help when it came to my intended afternoons' work of adding waterslides to some of my wagons! I also fitted a pair of instanters to my Tope. Living the dream or what?!!! 😆😄 I also added a layer of rust to the inside of one of my Dogfish. This will look a lot better when I get chance to do the weathering. Still I managed to get the transfers done despite the mortal wounding to my digits(!), with the first transfer going ponto. I think the transfer had a reaction to the Microsol I was using.The others I only used water. Thank you for looking! Trev 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mervyn Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Great modelling and nice to see the old Saltley Depot mascot being used !..... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
21A Desperado Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 2 hours ago, mervyn said: Great modelling and nice to see the old Saltley Depot mascot being used !..... Thank you Mervyn! 🙂 Trev Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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