Building a G.W.R. Castle + more in 7mm OF from a JLTRT kit restarts on P.88 by OzzyO,

[gateman49]

Sticking with the Bulldogs, I'm having fun and games photographing and then copying images but here goes with my take on the deep frame version, in this case Goldfinch, from a Martin Finney kit which was a rescue after a previous owner hadn't done the best of jobs.  Having stripped it I decided to add inside working valve gear (with a deep breath I chopped through a standard Slater's axle after fitting the Finney cranks and eccentrics).  As a contrast, behind it is an ancient CCW kit built 2275 (the tender is white metal).  This was my first attempt at fitting inside valve gear (again chopping through a Slater's axle) and it took about 20 years so OzzyO has no competition!  Over the years I've also changed my interpretation of  GW engine green so the two locos are in differing shades.

 

I'm also slowly building an earlier shallow straight frame Bulldog, to be named after my home town, Torquay.  This will have inside gear too but I treated myself to a full set of Harris wheels from Richard Hersey so the crank axle is already built (it is a work of art).  To aid building the valve gear the slide bars are de-mountable and I'm attaching a shot of how that works.  By the way the top slide bar lubricators are from the Pete Roles range.

 

Although I am modelling in O I have used the S7 set of frame spacers (As Martin has blown up the etches from 4mm you get three options on frame width).  The S7 spacers mean that there is more room for the crank axle between the hornblocks and there is no unsightly gap between the dummy upper frames and the main frames where they visibly butt up to each other in front of and behind the smokebox.  I think that I will just about get away with it with the dodge of using the neat little Kean Maygib sprung plunger pickups as used by our 4mm brethren (much less friction than Slater's). 

 

Also shown is the tender (complete with its Harris wheels).  To aid painting etc I don't fully solder the frame sides to the inner tank frame as Finney would have you do.  There are four screws used in setting up and instead of getting rid of them and soldering everything up solid I have kept them.  This means chopping out four circular recesses in the tender body for the screw heads but this is a small price to pay for the added convenience of being able to drop out the wheels (I also spring the brake hangers into the various fixing holes instead of soldering so that they can be got out of the way as well).  

 

I must invest in one of these sonic cleaners!

 

Finally, the photo of Launceston was at Kingswear.     

 

 

[Miss Prism]

Sandy - your Windows Explorer is clearly not ok. Under 'View', put everything into 'Details' mode. Then do a System File Check.

[Sandy Harper]

Can't find 'Details' mode under 'View'?

Sandy

[Guest Isambarduk]

Very interesting post, Gateman. 

 

"... with a deep breath I chopped through a standard Slater's axle ..."

 

I did the same when I built my GWR Castle from a Mitchell kit; I made up my own crank axle and semblence of working inside Walschaerts valve gear:

 

 

"... Although I am modelling in O I have used the S7 set of frame spacers ..."

 

Yes, me too.  This aligned the mainframes with the front frame assemby and allowed me to attach (silver solder) them into one piece so that there was room to fit the motion casting, internal cylinders and the valve gear:

 

 

 

 

David

 

 

[ozzyo]

Hello all,

 

nice looking builds, a tip for gateman49 when your doing a write up on a photo why not insert it just after the writing. If your not sure how to do it, this is how I do it and it works for me. Do the writing in this case Ivor's wheels. Then click add to post,

 

You should then see something like this (attachment=297209:wheels 003.jpg) in your writing. Then before you post if you click on Preview post you will see how your message will look in the thread.

 

If you don't add them, at the end of your message you get a note saying attatched thumbnails. Like this.

 

OzzyO.

[Miss Prism]

Can't find 'Details' mode under 'View'?

Sandy - this is in XP - presumably there is an equivalent in Win7. (And apols for thread digression, Ozzyo.)

 

[Horsetan]

Very interesting post, Gateman. 

 

"... with a deep breath I chopped through a standard Slater's axle ..."

 

I did the same when I built my GWR Castle from a Mitchell kit; I made up my own crank axle and semblence of working inside Walschaerts valve gear....

 

 

I did wonder whether the casting which carries the internal valve gear could be replicated successfully in 4mm - and I don't just mean the simplified Williams/Mitchell method. "King", "Castle" or "Star", someone out there must have done it....?

[Guest Isambarduk]

"I did wonder whether the casting which carries the internal valve gear could be replicated successfully in 4mm - and I don't just mean the simplified Williams/Mitchell method. "King", "Castle" or "Star", someone out there must have done it....?"

 

Yes, I would have thought so, too.  I didn't think much of the simplified Williams/Mitchell method of achieving moving outside valve rods but, at the time, I just thought that was because I was a 7mm modeller and so would naturally expect something rather better (than was apparently acceptable in 4mm).  I am sure that it could be done; I'm not used to working quite that small but, if I was, I think I could do it (if that makes sense!).

 

David

[Horsetan]

"I did wonder whether the casting which carries the internal valve gear could be replicated successfully in 4mm - and I don't just mean the simplified Williams/Mitchell method. "King", "Castle" or "Star", someone out there must have done it....?"

 

Yes, I would have thought so, too.  I didn't think much of the simplified Williams/Mitchell method of achieving moving outside valve rods but, at the time, I just thought that was because I was a 7mm modeller and so would naturally expect something rather better (than was apparently acceptable in 4mm).  I am sure that it could be done; I'm not used to working quite that small but, if I was, I think I could do it (if that makes sense!).

 

Might be an idea to buy the Reynalds 7mm casting from Hobbyhorse just to have a look at the shape of the thing. I have a Roche 4mm drawing of it and the valve gear layout, both of which look unusually clear.

[Guest Isambarduk]

"Might be an idea to buy the Reynalds 7mm casting from Hobbyhorse just to have a look at the shape of the thing."

 

Yes, I would think that would be a fair place to start. 

 

Actually, my Mitchell kit of the Castle came with this main motion casting (in whitemetal) but there was no mention of it in the instructions (I do just browse through them once to see if there's anything I should note) and there was no way it could be fitted without i) spacing out the frames, and ii) removing the 2D etched impression of it in the running plate.  Even then, there was quite some machining to do to make it fit, to insert some pivots and to retain it in the frames, and then there were details to add, such as the oil pots.

 

I used the Roche 4mm drawing, 'blown up' to 14mm: ft, to help with making the internal motion and valve gear; some of the parts had to be adapted a bit to suit the situation and I simplified the othrs that could not be seen (even from underneath).

[Castle]

Might be an idea to buy the Reynalds 7mm casting from Hobbyhorse just to have a look at the shape of the thing. I have a Roche 4mm drawing of it and the valve gear layout, both of which look unusually clear.

Or you could come to Didcot while No. 4079 is still in bits? I can arrange for you to climb up and / or under and have a look if you come over on one of our working party days. The motion is still out but won't be for too much longer so don't delay too long.

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[Horsetan]

Or you could come to Didcot while No. 4079 is still in bits? I can arrange for you to climb up and / or under and have a look if you come over on one of our working party days. The motion is still out but won't be for too much longer so don't delay too long.....

Sounds great! What dates are available?

[Castle]

Sounds great! What dates are available?

Horse - You have a PM.

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[ozzyo]

Hello all,

 

as Steve is lending the turntable to a mate of ours I thought that I'd better get on with some work on it! At first I thought I'd just throw a coat of grey primmer over it, and put some of the plates on it just to make it look OK,

 

Then I thought lets get the plates looking right, so the locking plate notice was mounted on some 6 thou? brass strip,

 

After all of the plates were fitted, it was in to the spray booth. After masking all of the inside, you may think that this is a small job, wrong.  This was when the fist problem arose, I could not turn the turntable on the turntable in the spry booth,

 

So I had to spray the job in four goes, two upside down, and two the correct way up,

 

When it came out of the spray booth this is what it looked like, big and grey. this was not what I wanted.

 

So I thought that I'd add a bit more to it,

 

Talk about seeing spots before you eyes. This has just about drove me dotty. Only about another 5,000 to go, then paint it and deliver it on Sat. so no problems on that one.

 

OzzyO.

 

PS. thanks for all the kind words.

[ozzyo]

Hello all,

 

a few photos of the turn table with all it's rivets on.

 

I forgot to take any photos when I had put the second coat of paint on. You may understand why when I tell you that the last photo was taken at 15;30 on the 12th and I was taking it with me on the train at 06;20 on the 13th. All I had left to do was cut the axles and fit the wheel and paint it. I did make it,

 

The table is now installed in it's temporary home, You can't see the rivets nor the writing on the plates, but we know that there their (or should that be, that their there?). 

 

OzzyO.

[Grasshopper John]

Your Dotty that is all.

[daifly]

but we know that there their (or should that be, that their there?). 

 

OzzyO.

It's neither! It's 'they're there' (abbreviation for 'they are there')

 

Your modelling is much, much better than your grammar!

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[ozzyo]

It's neither! It's 'they're there' (abbreviation for 'they are there')

 

Your modelling is much, much better than your grammar!

 

Cheers

 

Dave

 

Hello all,

 

after using this daft language of ours, for over fifty years you would think that I'd remember all of that? Would you not? Or would you.

 

So let's have a go,

 

There, as in the place.

 

Their, as in belongs to.

 

They're, as in there in place, but meaning that they are there,

 

After not using the written word for most of my working life, you do tend to forget these things.

 

Now do you all think that I care about it?????????????????????

 

OzzyO. 

[11B]

 

After not using the written word for most of my working life, you do tend to forget these things.

 

Now do you all think that I care about it?????????????????????

 

OzzyO. 

 

Hi Paul.

 

Two words....... Royal Mail

 

Kind regards

 

Ian

[ozzyo]

Hi Paul.

 

Two words....... Royal Mail

 

Kind regards

 

Ian

 

All I had to do was read the address and then get rid of it. at the correct door (or at the correct address). 

 

OzzyO.

[ozzyo]

Hello all,

 

just to finish the turntable off, one of the transfers sheets before I started on the turntable,

 

I ended up using bits from two sheets to get all of the rivets that I needed, this is what I have left,

 

Would I use this type of rivet again?

 

YES.

 

OzzyO.

[3 link]

 

Your modelling is much, much better than your grammar!

 

 

 

 I do not know what it is with some folk, this is a modelling forum not " Countdown "  .

 

Martyn.    

 

PS     Yes Martyn with a " y " not an " i ".

[ozzyo]

Hello all,

 

I'm back with some more photos of my Hawksworth tender build. As this tender is from some of the first artwork some of the parts have a few problems. The top of the tender tank is one of them, it has a slot in it for a support that is not now used (you could use the support and cut a chunk off the rear of the "brick"), I decided just to fill in the slot.

 

The front of the tender, I have just mounted the toolbox's to the sides and front coal plate, the gaps don't look that bad in real life, but I may still do something about them,

 

All of the tank top castings in place, that is the body just about completed.

 

As this loco is going to have a sound chip it's going to have to fit in the tender, along with the speaker. I did think about doing it so that just the body would be removed, but that would involve six screws having to be removed.

 

So this is what I did, this matches the cut-out in the base of the body. It has removed a lot of metal but the outer frames are still strong enough.

 

Onto the inner frames, these have had me scratching my head for a while. I have to have four wires running to and from the engine and four wires running to and from the chip. I also want a place for the chip to fit. So I came up with this, the wires will run to a strip of P.C.B. on the underside and the chip can fit on the top (I hope) all I now have to do is work out how to get the wires to the front of the tender. This bracket will be held in place with two 10BA screws.

 

The same as above with the outer frames in place.

 

The top part of the scoop in place along with it's supports and brackets for its operating gear. You can also see the brake pivot and fixing points for the safety chain. The large cross frame support should go to the outer frames but when it's all together you don't see that it doesn't.

 

The vac. tank and the brake pivots etc.

 

Starting work on the front brake shaft. From the left these are, hand brake lever, support (model), brake crank, vac. brake lever, support (real), brake crank. All of these have to fit to the outer frames and to the brakes on the inner frames as well.

 

The front of the inner and outer frames showing the water scoop operating lever (this is mounted to both the inner and outer frames), you can see how I get around this problem. (sorry about the quality of the photo).

 

The brake operating shaft in place, one of the problems with this is that the bearings are on the outer frames but all its bits are on the inner frames. So the only thing that you can do is cut the shaft just inside the outer frames, you can just see this in the photo.

 

OzzyO.     

 

PS. after spraying up the wheels, I have now found out that I've run out of black etching primer. I do like this stuff for jobs like frames and wheels. Ebay will be my friend? I hope!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Grasshopper John]

Hello OzzyO, nice to see you doing some work for a change

[JeffP]

Whilst not criticising, I do suffer withdrawal when Ozzy stops posting......