Burkitt Posted November 27, 2010 Author Share Posted November 27, 2010 Hi Pete Thanks for the compliments. I'm not really that impressed with the running of the loco to be honest, as it is put to shame by my Bachmann On30 tramcars, which are far cheaper than the Black Beetle motor bogie. I don't think Catcott Burtle was the first layout to use a foamboard base, but it was Chris's use of it which convinced me it was practical and resistant to warping with the right construction, something I'd experienced in previous uses of the stuff. To glue it together I just used a tube of UHU as it's what I had around, but I think a glue gun might have been a bit unwieldy for something that needs to be neat and accurate. It certainly is very different from the insulation board, perhaps foam core board is a more appropriate name to distinguish them. The rail is as you say Peco code 82 (or maybe 81), no idea what make the gauges are though, they came from a stand at Ally Pally years ago. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted November 29, 2010 Author Share Posted November 29, 2010 Further work on the loco... The chassis is now attached to the body using a screw at either end, one on each side of the loco. These pass through a nut glued above the floor of the loco body, and further secured with some milliput filler. A plastic box around the nut and screw will protect it when I fill the "bonnets" at either end of the loco with lead shot to give it some weight. What put paid to my first attempt at building the loco was the body becoming badly bent out of shape, so on the MkII version I've added plenty of longitudinal strengthening. The holes for the screws to hold the chassis on can be seen at opposing corners. I've built the basic shape of the roof up out of layers of styrene on a removable base, to allow access to the cab interior for painting and detailing. The styrene has then been covered in Squadron filler, which will be sanded to the right curved shape then covered in a layer of thin styrene to give a smooth and strong finish. I've also been working on the cab steps, more on them later. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted November 29, 2010 Author Share Posted November 29, 2010 Once it was dry the filler was sanded smooth. A thin sheet of styrene was then glued over the top to give a strong and smooth surface, and microstrip used to form the rainstrips over the doors. At the bottom end of the loco, I've finished the cab steps on either side. Next up is to add the reinforcement around the cab door opening. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted November 30, 2010 Author Share Posted November 30, 2010 There is a distinctive strip of metal around the cab door opening. On the MkI model I tried to create this by bending styrene strip around the edge of the opening, but it broke at the corners and looked messy. So on the second version I have instead covered the whole area in a layer of styrene, then cut it away the inside area and filed it smooth. A narrow styrene strip was then glued around the inside of the opening to form the other part of the reinforcement. The excess across the doorway will be cut off later. Final shot for today of progress so far. Lead weighting and the curved bonnets tomorrow. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scale7JB Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 Looks great Paul, really great..! I might be tempted though to take down the profile of the window surrounds just a smidge for a little extra finesse.. Just a thought, but I reckon it will be worth it after it is painted.. Keep up the good work. JB. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted December 1, 2010 Author Share Posted December 1, 2010 I think you're right JB, they could do with a bit more taking off. Looking at the drawings, they are surprisingly prominent, about 0.5mm thick at 1:43. On the model they are bit thicker in places, so I'll take the wet and dry to them again later. Today I've mainly been watching glue dry, as the superglue holding each layer of lead shot in place slowly solidifies. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted December 3, 2010 Author Share Posted December 3, 2010 Not a snowplough, but the front of the "bonnets" stuck to the sloping top part before being curved downwards to the vertical part. The curved front glued on and filed flush at the sides, and with the central raised strip made from another layer of styrene. Today I also cut the cab door opening surrounds back and added the handrails, made from some brass wire. Still need to cut them to size and make the "knobs" on their ends from a bit of milliput. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scale7JB Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 Argghhhh!!! What's the word on lead shot expanding with super glue ? I have seen a few instances of lead shot being held in with PVA with absolutely disastrous results... might want to check before it's too late.. JB. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted December 3, 2010 Author Share Posted December 3, 2010 Superglue was recommended to me as a safe option for gluing lead shot in, so hopefully it will be OK. If there are any issues it's already too late, the lead's solid as a rock now and wouldn't come out without rippling the loco apart! Fingers crossed! Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted December 6, 2010 Author Share Posted December 6, 2010 Loco progress report: I've fitted some interior details, based on standard tramcar controls. I've no idea if that's accurate for the Hellingly loco as I've never seen a photo of the inside of it, but they seem right for the loco. Also added the bobbles to the tops of the handrails, and slightly sanded down the window frames to make them a bit finer. On the layout itself, I spent a few hours on Sunday with some insulating tape tidying up all the wiring inside the boards, which should make it easier to use the uncoupling magnet. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted December 7, 2010 Author Share Posted December 7, 2010 I've just been doing some rivet counting, specifically, counting the number of rivets on the Hellingly Hospital loco. "It can't be many" I thought, "it's only a tiny little loco." I look at the drawing, and start counting the rivets on half of one side, and there's 87 of them. Multiply that by four and there's 348 of the things. And that's just on the sides. Including the front, there're over 700 of them! So now I've had to order six packs of 153 Grandt Line 0.81mm diameter rivets. Serves me right for being a rivet counter! Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted December 7, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 7, 2010 Coming on very nicely Paul. The brass controller is just a bent bit of brass rod I assume? p.s. rivet counting is bad for you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted December 7, 2010 Author Share Posted December 7, 2010 Hi Kris - yes, the controller is just a bent bit of 1mm diameter brass rod. I've actually got some work done on the layout itself today, with the sides of the rails now all painted in a suitable rust colour. Once they're dry I'll clean the excess paint off the rail tops. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scale7JB Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 Looking very good indeed.. Don't forget to put some nice dark oil stains around the fishplates which will pick them out even more.. JB. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted December 10, 2010 Author Share Posted December 10, 2010 Thanks JB. Your point about oil stains is interesting, but on the prototype photos I'm working from the fishplates appear to be about the same rusty colour as the rest of the rails This is from the Sittingbourne and Kemsly Light Railway, which was one of my inspirations to have a go at narrow gauge. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 Now the track is all painted I've been thinking about the buildings which will run along the back of the layouts. I want to get them drawn up to scale before I start cutting foamboard, so I've been creating some designs in Sketchup: Doorway Windows The designs are based on photos of buildings I've found on the internet - the doorway is from the maintenance shed at Hellingly hospital, and the windows from a derelict warehouse on 28dayslater. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted December 13, 2010 Author Share Posted December 13, 2010 Some more drawings for the buildings, this one from a photo of a warehouse in Huddersfield http://www.flickr.com/photos/thanoz/3712620536/. Sketchup can be a dangerous thing though, as I ended up getting a bit carried away and designing enough extensions to keep me modelling for a few decades... Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted December 16, 2010 Author Share Posted December 16, 2010 My penance for rivet counting starts today, with 700 Grandt Line rivets waiting to be added to the model. To position them I've glued copies of the scale drawings over the loco using Pritt Stick. Once the glue is fully dry I will drill the locating holes through the marked positions to make sure I get them all the right places, then remove the drawings, wash off the glue and put the rivets in the holes. The bow collector arrived in the post today so I've also fitted that this evening. It's a Sommerfeldt one from BEC Kits, which is actually HO scale but looks about right on a narrow gauge O scale loco. The real Hellingly loco had a trolley pole, but I decided that would be impractical for a shunting layout. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 My penance for rivet counting starts today, with 700 Grandt Line rivets waiting to be added to the model. To position them I've glued copies of the scale drawings over the loco using Pritt Stick. Once the glue is fully dry I will drill the locating holes through the marked positions to make sure I get them all the right places, then remove the drawings, wash off the glue and put the rivets in the holes. I've not come across these before. What are they and how do they work exactly? The loco reminds me of the one that worked at the Longendale valley waterworks and reservoirs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted December 16, 2010 Author Share Posted December 16, 2010 Dave, they are basically tiny plastic rivets, which come on a sprue in bags of 153. They came from http://sbmodels.uk.net/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=1173&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=12 , and other sizes and shapes are also available. I originally planned to use Archer rivet transfers, but thought I'd probably remove them when I tried to clean it during painting, and found a reference to the Grandt Line ones on an old RMweb topic http://rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=51057, so went for them instead. Do you have any links about the Longendale valley waterworks locos? I Googled them but couldn't find anything. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scale7JB Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Hi Paul.. Before you go drilling hundreds of holes, check out this link... http://www.archertransfers.com/ JB. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
-missy- Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Hi Paul I have been following your progress on this for a while now and this stuff is amazing. I really like how its all comming together. I think the rivet detail is worth the effort. Once its all finished it will make the engine something special for sure. Missy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
artizen Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Good to see you're back Missy. How is Highclere coming along? You of all people must know what it is like to count rivets in a tiny scale!!!! Paul - do the rivet thing because the model is too large to get away with transfers in my opinion. You need the 3D effect of the Grandt product. You know you can also get such things from vectorcut.com? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Do you have any links about the Longendale valley waterworks locos? I Googled them but couldn't find anything. Paul Here http://www.uklocos.c...les/image43.jpg According to the IRS it was built circa 1904 by Ellis & Ward (never heard of them), was 3ft gauge and was out of use by 1949. The frame was converted for use as a passenger coach on the railway and I belive the body exists. I saw it maybe 10 years ago round the back of the builders merchants yard near the West Lancs. Light Rly. Interesting idea with the rivets and I'm looking forward to seeing the results. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
-missy- Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Hi Good to see you're back Missy. How is Highclere coming along? You of all people must know what it is like to count rivets in a tiny scale!!!! Erm....I havent been anywhere! You are aware of my RMWeb blog arent you? Its HERE. Missy P.S. Sorry Paul. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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