Paul Cram Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Gresley 4200 gal tender from a Dave Bradwell kit. Some photos of my current project which has been a challenge to say the least. The instructions are incomplete and leave you to guess where certain details need to be fitted. In addition the brass side sheets are rather flimsy and need careful handling. I am not sure what the thickness of the plate is for the tenders but .15mm seems a little under scale to me or perhaps brass isn't the best choice of material. Some of of the other details require ome scratch building.I have to say it runs beautiffuly though. All that needs doing now is attaching the lamp irons before sending to the paint shop. The rest of the brake gear can then be fitted. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Paul having built 3 of the Dave Bradwell kits I am a little surprised that the instructions are missing the salient points. I know that Dave does a good running kit (I have built the B1, J27, and currently working on the Q6) and I have now modified a number of tenders to use the same method!. I do agree that Dave does drop a few of the detail twiddly bits out of the instructions but it is all there and you have to check photos to see whether yours carried them or not. (even Dave admits that he looses interest in the twiddly bits and leaves them off himself). On the "thin" Brass comment I woud say that the kits are lovely in that you do get that thin edge look that is missing so much from the RTR plastic that you see. At the 15 thou measurement it is still 0.38mm which is over an inch think in scale. I don't know what the standard tender sheet thickness is but at this think ness must be pretty close. Well done by the way his kits arn't that easy to put together but you seem to have done a great job. When you are ready to paint it use a product along the lines of "shiny sinks" to clean the brass ready for priming. I have been doing a few NER coachs recently and have found the cleaning to be of utmost importance then not to touch it with out rubber gloves to avoid grease/oil getting back on the surface. Prime when the kit is"warm" (sit on a radiator along with a can of Paint) to heat everything up and give the paint a good shake. I look forward to see the loco that will sit on the front! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Paul having built 3 of the Dave Bradwell kits I am a little surprised that the instructions are missing the salient points. I know that Dave does a good running kit (I have built the B1, J27, and currently working on the Q6) and I have now modified a number of tenders to use the same method!. I do agree that Dave does drop a few of the detail twiddly bits out of the instructions but it is all there and you have to check photos to see whether yours carried them or not. (even Dave admits that he looses interest in the twiddly bits and leaves them off himself). On the "thin" Brass comment I woud say that the kits are lovely in that you do get that thin edge look that is missing so much from the RTR plastic that you see. At the 15 thou measurement it is still 0.38mm which is over an inch think in scale. I don't know what the standard tender sheet thickness is but at this think ness must be pretty close. Well done by the way his kits arn't that easy to put together but you seem to have done a great job. When you are ready to paint it use a product along the lines of "shiny sinks" to clean the brass ready for priming. I have been doing a few NER coachs recently and have found the cleaning to be of utmost importance then not to touch it with out rubber gloves to avoid grease/oil getting back on the surface. Prime when the kit is"warm" (sit on a radiator along with a can of Paint) to heat everything up and give the paint a good shake. I look forward to see the loco that will sit on the front! Thanks for the comment. The loco will not be so impressive being a Bachmann V2 body on a comet chassis utilising exactoscale springing and wheelsets. (At least the chassis will look the part.) The look of the sheets is very good but .15 of a mm scales at less than .5 of an imch and is very susceptible to damage being unsupported along the front edge.It was the supporting brackets along the top of the side sheet which were not clear and there was no diagram to assist.It inolved a visit to the NRM to try to clarify and even this proved tricky as getting a view of the top of the tender was not easy!. I still haven't managed to work out how the fall plate fits as it was attached to the tender on the early V2s and I haven't found a picture yet. Luckily I had an Isinglass drawing for the positioning of the rest of the fittings on the tender front. As I say it runs really well and from this perspective it is really good model if a little challenging to build. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 (edited) The latest workbench project is this BTP built from Stephen Barnfield kit. There is more to do on the underframe not least fit the dummy inside valve gear. This is proving interesting as the instructions refer to a sketch that does not apper to have been included. Has anyone else built one of these? Edited March 25, 2012 by Paul Cram 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 I thought I would share the progress I have made this week with a number of projects. The J21 has had a new 52f chassis fitted and after test running I need to finish painting the pipework on the buffer beam and refit the brake gear. The BTP has had the smokebox handrail and door fitted. I have also fitted a reverser in the cab which is a beautiful little casting from Alexander models. I now need to fit the beading around the cab and the bunker. I'm not looking forward to that job. The class C in black livery has had the backhead fitted and weight put in the boiler. The cab has been painted and now needs the tender lettering. A chip needs to be fitted and then test running can commence. The class P needs the smoke box door fitting and the tender requires wheels. Unfortunately I have misplaced the CSB components that I purchsed to do this. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Looking good there Paul. You are a lot like me when building kits. I need to have about 3 on the go at any time as one finishes another takes its place.... My little black Hawthorn is now painted and running. So a vacancy appeared on the work bench... now it has been taken up with a LRM G5... which is going together very nicely.... I have just a slight concern in that it is going together so well I may get it finished and painted before the Q6! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 I do tend to get easily distracted with new things. Having acquired a bulk pack of Slaters 20 ton hopper kits I have been merrily modifying by fitting compensated double w irons and Ambis brake lecers. However at the weekend the D & S dia 67 horsebox arrived. (ebay purchase) and I have felt the urge to build it. Progress has bee quite swift as the attached photo will show. Some serious clean up now required before the rest of the whitemetal fittings are attached. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
45609 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Hello Paul, Some interesting stuff you have been building and a nice job you are making of them. What gauge are you working in? It is not immediately obvious to me. Cheers....Morgan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 (edited) Thanks for the comment. I work in P4 Edited June 21, 2012 by Paul Cram Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 On the workbench is my latest ebay aquisition. I think this is going to take a little longer to build. It was advertised as partly built but the photo didn't indicate just how badly it had been built. Whoever had started it was not very good at soldering as can be seen from the attached photo. In addition the parts that were glued have been done badly as well. I am now going to try to dismantle it and try to rectify some of the poor assembly. The compensation was locked solid although I have managed to free this and need to look at the soldering of the brakes as this I think is contribuiting to the problem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 Whilst looking through my Kit drawer I discovered some 5'2" wheels that I had purchased 20+ years ago from Ultrascale. What they were for now escapes me but I have recently acquired a Bachmann J39 and a Dave Bradwell chassis kit. As the weather is looking a little overcast I thought I would make a start on buidling the chassis. Here is a picture of the main parts before we start. Having read through the instruction a couple of times I am still not sure how it goes together. Hopefully all will become clear as I progress the build. Probably will take longer than a week though. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Your workbench has some very similar residents to mine at the moment! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 Hi James, obviiously a man of taste. Quick update as I have not got as far as I had hoped, due to daughter requiring a trip to B & Q and the hedge needing trimmiong. Ah well best laid plans and all that. I have got as far as fitting the firebox and test fitting the frames to the body. Time to make tea now so hopefully a little more progress later. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 obviiously a man of taste. I believe so I have various items on the go but at the moment being finished is a LRM Class C, Conniossuer Kits Class U, butched Mainline J72 being back dated and soo to join them will be a real mix of a class C - a Jidenco kit with an ancient Nu-Cast tender which has bit recovered from the appalling tender side etches (sides, flare and coal rails all in one piece!). This one will have a few nice extras to bring it up to standard but the core of the loco is pretty accurate thankfully! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Oh no.... more NER models comming along. Sorry it has been so long since I have read up on things Paul. One problem that you may strike on the J39 is the openings in the flanges are too small for the exactoscale bearings to fit into. I have had this twice so far. the solution, though ineligant, is to solder the bearings the wrong way round onto a sheet of 5thou brass and cut/ drill the sheet back to the correct size. it is alot easier than trying to open out the etched squares! be careful as Dave's kits are a little addictive. I have just bought another J26/27... but I have to finish the LRM J24, and J21's that I have started! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 Hi Doug All ok on the bearings front. They fit easily, if anything they may be a liitle too easy but I think it will be ok when soldered. Not made as much progress as I had intended due to having to decorate the daughters bedroom and then spent a day working on the layout. Hopefully I may get the bearings sorted this afternoon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 Quick update. I have now soldered the hornguides into the chassis. A bit of a three act drama as they are Exactoscale and come in many pieces all of which require a pet octupus to hold in place whilst trying to get them aligned in the frames with the coupling rods. I don't know why some of the more superior hornblocks were not supplied. I do not like the Exactoscale ones as they are overly complicated for what they are and require the wheels to hold the hornblocks in the guides and therefore slop about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 Following on from the do you ever finish your kits thread here is an update on some of items. The BTP now has a coat of paint and is awaiting lining.A couple of midland wagons have also been painted and lettered. still need couplings. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted December 28, 2013 Author Share Posted December 28, 2013 Sitting at the workbench trying to finish some long outstanding projects. The BTP is lined and now requires some number plates. The P1 is painted but requires number plates and new front wheels due to splits in the plastic. The class C requires a coat of varnish and number plates. They all need their connecting rods painting red. I have also been lining the milk van using transfers. This is not the way to do it I feel. I have spent many hours over many days and still have not completed 1 side yet. With 3 coaches painted and needing lining and a horsebox I am not sure I will live long enough. On top of that I am not that impressed with the result. I have attached a picture to show you what I mean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) It has been awhile since I updated this thread. Having purchased a High Level J72 chassis at the weekend I have been putting it together. Frames and Hornblocks now assembled so just the valve gear and brakes to add. Lovely crisp etch and has gone together well. Edited May 29, 2014 by Paul Cram Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micklner Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Did you ever finish the V2 ? Atre you awre of Graeme Kings new resin body for one ?. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted May 28, 2014 Author Share Posted May 28, 2014 No the V2 is on the back burner. Having cut out the hornblocks in the comet frames I now find that they are too deep as well as being too wide. I have corrected the width with strips of brass and now need to do the same with the tops.At that point I was contemplating a new set of frames and starting again. Other things have than taken priority not least progressing the layout for which a V2 is wrong. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
45609 Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 You will also find that the frames for the Cartazzi on the Comet V2 are too deep. There are two options. Remove material from the bottom and reshape to accurate profile or take the material off the top. I have not tried the latter option so there may be other problems as a consequency of removing material off the top edge. The consequency of doing the former and reprofiling means the footstep slots need to be recut. Better to know all this before you have soldered them to the frames. I hope that is your situation. I discovered the problem after attachment to the mainframes and they were a b****r to modifiy in situ. There are some excellent prototype pictures here. Compare to the latest picture of the Comet V2. It's also a good idea to replace the Comet axlebox with a more accurate Cartazzi from ABS models. cheers...Morgan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 I do tend to get easily distracted with new things. ..... *guilty laughter* Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cram Posted May 29, 2014 Author Share Posted May 29, 2014 Hi Morgan, thanks for that but I have already assembled them. It was when I came to fit the exactoscale hornblocks that the cut out size became apparent. I have acquired a set of Branchlines frames from ebay and I am considerer binning the comet ones and using these. This is partly why I haven't progressed this further yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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