DLT's SR Locos - Lord Nelson Craftsman Kit

[DLT]

On 01/04/2018 at 16:08, DLT said:

Well, at long last I've pretty much finished making bits!  so all I've got to do now (All??) is arrange a tender coupling, paint, line and assemble.

Cheers, Dave.

 

AND add some below footplate bits.  Firstly sandpipes.  Pretty straightforward, a bit of bent wire soldered into a hole in an appropriate frame spacer.

 

 

 

Apologies for the remnants of the cotton bud used to clean the flux off.

 

No injectors in the kit, and I've failed to find any.  So it will be a bit of brass tube, some wire and a washer or two.

 

Cheers, Dave.

Edited September 5, 2022 by DLT

[DLT]

And the current "state of play" with the loco body.  Looks like it might be time to start painting, and chase up my Model Shop to see if he's got the HMRS Lining Sheet in yet.

 

 

 

Two of the best bits of this kit are the gorgeous turned-brass chimney and dome.  Smokebox door is a pretty good whitemetal casting, if a bit plain.  So its livened-up with short bits of bent wire added to the door securing dogs, and an exquisite turned-brass smokebox dart from Alan Gibson Workshop.  Gibson also provided the buffers, while the vacuum and steam-heat pipes are from Branchlines.

 

 

That's all for now,

Cheers, Dave.

Edited September 5, 2022 by DLT

[Portchullin Tatty]

That is a very handsome engine Dave!

[DLT]

That is a very handsome engine Dave!

 

Thanks very much Mark, and as a Highland man yourself, I guess it will look very familiar!

[Portchullin Tatty]

Thanks very much Mark, and as a Highland man yourself, I guess it will look very familiar!

 

Yes; although it is missing its sandboxes on the front splasher and I suspect it will be painted in the wrong shade of green!!

 

It should look like this...............

[wagonman]

Yes; although it is missing its sandboxes on the front splasher and I suspect it will be painted in the wrong shade of green!!

 

It should look like this...............

 

 

I would suggest that those two are also in the "wrong shade of green"... :-)

[bike2steam]

'Small-Hopper' looking good, L11 next for the pair ??  

[DLT]

A little bit more "below the footplate" action, this time its the injectors.

I've used the so-called clackvalves in the kit (which bore no resemblance) and made them into injectors.  It just needed the addition of various bits of tinned copper wire, soldered in place and bent to shape.

 

 

Ok, they are not accurate, but I think they will pass muster on the loco.  Here is one balanced in position.

 

 

Cheers, Dave.

Edited September 5, 2022 by DLT

[DLT]

Apologies for lack of updates, I've had to move everything around in the workshop in order to deal with a leaking pipe.

And now I've got to get the layout ready for Trainwest next weekend.

Cheers, Dave.

[DLT]

Yet again I find myself apologising for the apparent lack of progress!  Firstly there was the pipe leak in the workshop and all that went with it, then the preparation for the (excellent) Trainwest Show, and now (would you Adam and Eve it) another leak!

This time its the shower waste, and its come through the dining room ceiling.  After masses of time wasted on the phone going round in call-centres circles, the leak was fixed this evening and the family can shower again.  The ceiling is a right mess though.

Barring any further catastrophes I WILL be at Taunton on Sunday, and I WILL bring the K10.  The plan for it to be painted by now has gone out of the window, so it will be bare brass.

Yours in hope,

Dave.

[DLT]

The very last constructional job on the K10 is the tender drawbar.  As the fixing point for this has to double-up as the chassis/body fixing I've made this:

 

 

Essentially its a conventional pivoting drawbar, but the screw is held captive by the soldered on nut, allowing it to be screwed in to the captive nut on the footplate, clamping the chassis in place.

 

 

 

As the tender is the excellent Hornby product, I've utilised a Hornby plug-in lead to carry power from the tender pickups.  Lead is probably still a bit too long at the mo.

 

These photos also show the bits of lead glued into available cavities to try and provide a bit of weight.

 

Cheers, Dave.

Edited September 5, 2022 by DLT

[DLT]

And again at long last, the loco posed in a scenic environment.:

 

 

 

 

Slight problem with the tender, its not sitting level.  The rear is about 1mm higher than the front for some reason.  I haven't taken it apart yet, but I'm sure we can remedy it.

 

Cheers, Dave.

Edited September 5, 2022 by DLT

[N15class]

Very nice. I do like the K10. I will get Finney7’s 7mm one when it comes out.

 

I always compensate 4-4-0's using side beams on the drivers and the bogie pin as the point of the triangle. Then no matter where you put weight as long as it's not ahead of the bogie pin adds weight to the drivers.

[DLT]

Quote

Very nice. I do like the K10. I will get Finney7’s 7mm one when it comes out.

I always compensate 4-4-0's using side beams on the drivers and the bogie pin as the point of the triangle. Then no matter where you put weight as long as it's not ahead of the bogie pin adds weight to the drivers. 

 

Thanks for your thoughts Peter.  I have to admit I don't usually think about compensation for running and pickup, but I like that weight distribution idea.

 

 

All brasswork has been scrubbed with Ajax, ultrasonically cleaned, and blackened with Carrs.

 

 

 

Ready for some paintwork.

Cheers, Dave.

Edited September 5, 2022 by DLT

[Jack P]

Looking good Dave!

 

Are you doing the painting too?

[DLT]

On 07/05/2018 at 06:03, Jack P said:

Are you doing the painting too?

 

In a word Jack;  Yes!

 

Although I have to admit to having a bit of a nightmare with Railmatch spraycans.  Firstly I had a can of paint that would not dry, still tacky after several hours, so I had to wash it all off with white spirit and start again.  Replaced the can with one that seemed fine but the nozzle clogged.  Then I thought I would brush-paint it, but the stuff in the jar was a different green, nearer to BR Brunswick than SR Olive.  Eventually I stuck with the brushed, and finished it off with a waft from the good can.

 

All other colours are brushed, mostly Humbrol.  Black has only had one coat so far.

 

 

 

It seemed a shame to have to carefully scrape the lovely BR lining off the Hornby tender, but there we are.

 

 

Still seem to have a slight "orange peel" finish to the paint, but its a lot better than it was.

 

I guess this all paints (sorry "points") to the inevitable conclusion that I have to get to grips with the Airbrush I bought some years ago, and have never learnt to use....

 

That's all for now, 

Cheers, Dave.

 

PS  There's a whole topic on how bad Railmatch spraycans are, here:  http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/126774-railmatch-paint-spray-cans/?hl=%2Brailmatch+%2Bspray  Maybe I should have read that first...

Edited September 5, 2022 by DLT

[PaulRhB]

Yes I'm afraid they put rather a lot of paint on and I ended up spraying them into a pot and cranking up the airbrush the last time I needed their colours. You can spray a patch and get it colour matched at certain Halfords and similar. Their spray cans are much better.

Don't be afraid of the airbrush

It does look lovely already

[Daddyman]

Can you use a Halford's nozzle in a Railmatch can? Can't remember, but it might bring their performance up to scratch. 

[Northroader]

Alex, you weren’t painting yourself green last weekend??

[DLT]

     Nope, sadly not- I couldn't find my green eye shadow in time, but I wore a dress with flowers and ivy on, a green hair clip, green seamed tights... I also felt very very green after a whole bottle of gin to mysen! Ah well, I had a good time at any rate. I'll do Jack in the Green properly one year, nose-to-toes green. One year I'd planned to go in a Peter Pan inspired costume but never got around to it.

 

     Back to Maunsell Green, however...!

 

Goodness, the directions RMweb can take you in never ceases to amaze me...!

 

Thanks for all the painting advice, I must admit I hadn't thought about getting Halfords spraycans made up, that would be a good solution.  Aren't their colours all high gloss though?  That would mean adding a satin varnish on top

 

The Railmatch finish is quoted to be "satin" but it looks completely matt to me.  

 

Thanks, Dave.

[Denbridge]

Goodness, the directions RMweb can take you in never ceases to amaze me...!

 

Thanks for all the painting advice, I must admit I hadn't thought about getting Halfords spraycans made up, that would be a good solution.  Aren't their colours all high gloss though?  That would mean adding a satin varnish on top

 

The Railmatch finish is quoted to be "satin" but it looks completely matt to me.  

 

Thanks, Dave.

gloss is better for applying lining and lettering

Then seal with your desired varnish.

[DLT]

gloss is better for applying lining and lettering

Then seal with your desired varnish.

 

Thanks Denbridge, what do you recommend in the varnish department?  I know Railmatch do them but that's where we came in!

Normally I rely on the paint finish, and only varnish the transfers to cut down the gloss.

 

Things keep going wrong with this one.  I broke off one of the smokebox lamp-irons the other day, soldered it back on - at a funny angle!  Could I get it off again?  Suffice to say that I got it fixed eventually, and without melting the extremely adjacent whitemetal smokebox door.

 

Also remembered that I had forgotten the swan-neck sandbox filling pipes, prominent above the footplate.  I'll try some brass rod for this, or see what I have in the whitemetal bits box.

 

Cheers, Dave.

[Denbridge]

Thanks Denbridge, what do you recommend in the varnish department?  I know Railmatch do them but that's where we came in!

Normally I rely on the paint finish, and only varnish the transfers to cut down the gloss.

 

Things keep going wrong with this one.  I broke off one of the smokebox lamp-irons the other day, soldered it back on - at a funny angle!  Could I get it off again?  Suffice to say that I got it fixed eventually, and without melting the extremely adjacent whitemetal smokebox door.

 

Also remembered that I had forgotten the swan-neck sandbox filling pipes, prominent above the footplate.  I'll try some brass rod for this, or see what I have in the whitemetal bits box.

 

Cheers, Dave.

i generally use precision having given up on humbrol and railmatch long ago

The late Guy Williams used to swear by thinned ronseal which i keep meaning to try.

[Daddyman]

Yes, absolutely - Ronseal is the best varnish I've ever used, recommended by Ian Rathbone. Use it with matting agent to take it down to satin or matt as required. 

[N15class]

Yes, absolutely - Ronseal is the best varnish I've ever used, recommended by Ian Rathbone. Use it with matting agent to take it down to satin or matt as required. 

Is this the water based one or solvent. As the trouble with varnish varnish it yellows with age, not to bad on colours but bad on whites.