NickL2008's workbench: Renumbering and reworking a Dutch Tractor

[NickL2008]

Hello-

 

Thoguht id start a thread here instead of the blog which will be updated still form time to time. First up are my 156s that ive been worknig on for a while now. The two units are Lima models one in Provincial livery 156481, and the other in Northern Spirit Livery; 156491, which was "detailed" by me when I was younger. Both have been detailed and have had the "box" removed and as well other parts have been modifyed as well so that the overal appearance is improved. Detailnig Lima/Hornbys' 156 isnt easy as there are limited parts availiable for this model. However with reusing whats already there a decent rework of the underframe can be acheived by carefully cutting out the lima components and backing them up with Plastic sheeting. The Hornby clas 153 underframe I have also found lends itself as well with the components as well that are used which also helps when rebuilding the underframe; compressors, exhause silencer

 

Other parts done were the Vestibules in which the walls are too thick so with careful filnig were thinned down. Whilst doing this I also made a representation of the front covers with the lamp iron which were made from sheeting, glued onto the front of the vestibule and then shaped to match the profile. Both models are "in progress" so look messy in the photos, so thats one task that still needs doing.

 

More to follow soon

 

NL

Edited December 28, 2023 by NickL2008

[NickL2008]

Hello- quick update, 156s have been slow moving whilst I have done other projects .. Currently a few of many projects I am doing are a hybrid Hornby Class 153, using a 153 chassis and Class 155 bodyshell ... a Hornby Class 86, and my Regional Railways class 150 which is being detailed and the DMS being reworked, hopefully have some pictures on here soon

 

NL

[NickL2008]

Hi-

 

Something else I have been worknig on Recently whilst sourcing the 153 and 150 parts ot finnish those projects off. A Lima/Hornby Class 31 model of 31452 in Fragonset livery as shown in the naff photos taken off of my phone whilst my camera is in for servicing, First mentioned here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/235/entry-7904-a-break-from-the-western-class-56-47s-and-31s-currently-working-on/ .

 

Ive finally made some progressed and am gonig to be finnishing this model off along with 31130. The latest development with this model, now almost finnished is the correct roof paint was obtained, and as well the Extreme Etchings Grill for the Lima model. I must admit the grill is a very fine etch indeed, however With the delicacy of the mesh I am affraid to "Roll it" to match the roof profile of the roof, but needless to say it will look great when its on. My thoughts now turn to the construction of the Roof Grill, The Fan is easy to assemble with the parts number in sequence, but im wondering how to stick it together ,wheter to solder or to use glue.. but Im wondering what these other parts are for especially the Grooved ring which is pictured near the Hornby working fan assembly... hopefully Ill figure it out.. somehow

 

NL

[NickL2008]

Sometimes you do wonder what others do to their models, at least that's what I thought when I received this model of 31452 from the well known auction site after a few clicks. The model was in quite the state with a lot of glue. Thankfully Ive removed the worst parts off, namely the poorly stuck on high intensity headlight and the pool of glue welding in the lighting unit and cab interior, I could go on writing many paragraphs whats wrong with this model, but. The parts are pictured below to show how badly they were glued in. So after taking the model apart and removing the glazing, handrails etc, the job list is as follows:

 

• Replace poorly glued on headlights
• Open out ETH cut-out on cab fronts
• Replace handrails
• Replace glazing with Shawplan Laserglaze
• Replace roof fan with Shawplan Extreme etching
• Replace broken chassis: mount of Lima chassis and rebuild, using existing Hornby drive parts
• Repaint - as 31452 in Fragonset livery
• Detail bufferbeam and weather

There are many more small details, but that has probably already been covered elsewhere. The first to go is definitely the existing lighting units, which has now been discarded along with the Hornby chassis which has either had the dreaded Mazak problem, or the previous owner has been careless (or probably both). Please excuse the roughness of everything, the model is in early stages of re-building

 

 

The front; which cracked when I removed the glue so that will need repairing also, an easy enough job, a pity the right taillight has been ruined slightly because of the excess glue used

 

 

 

So this one will certainly be a challenge to complete, namely obtaining the spare parts ,but hopefully by the end I'll have a working loco out of this. So for now this bodyshell is off to be stripped of paint!

 

Loads more updates soon!

 

NL

[rob D2]

That’s really knackered. I hope the price reflected It !

[NickL2008]

That’s really knackered. I hope the price reflected It !

 

It was a lot worse when I actually received it, but not things are slowly getting there, including a nice long soak to remove the awful weathering and paint job

 

NL

[NickL2008]

Hi- More work on the 31, which now has a chassis. The idea is to mount the Hornby body onto this. Starting off with the bufferbeams, these are removed and replaced with styrene sheet and micro strip. I have also added the Hornby bogies and motor, its probably already been covered elsewhere so ill keep the detail short unless anyone wants me to get into further detail. Pic below shows the stage im up to, just drilling out the final holes for the pick-up wires to pass through before testing it out. The PCB is temporarily plonked on top and the chassis does look a bit bowed, but will be strengthened by adding padding around the motor, which will be filled with liquid lead to add weight to it, as its a bit light at the moment

 

 

On the subject of Chassis, which has been covered a lot in the relevant thread, it is a shame that hornbys Metal chassis is just so weak, whilst working out what to do wit hthe rest of the chassis ,curiosity arose, so I wanted to see how tough the metal actually was, and it..wasn't, the metal snapped with minimal pressure from my hands, so it goes to show the entire chassis casting Hornby uses is just useless!

 

 

So onto the body, which has been stripped of some of the paint and cleaned up, despite it looking rough still. My usual method of stipping paint, just made the paint go sticky in some areas, but with some enamel thinnrers I was able to remove some of it, the rest dryed and left a very shiny finnish, so out came the wet and dry paper which thankfully removed it but removed the moulded detail such as the panel strips and rivets etc, but these will be replaced once im happy with the paint removal.

 

 

Comments welcomed

 

NL

[muddy water]

Great to see you are using your modelling skills to give this locomotive a new life! There seems like there are to many box openers waiting for their next model to be made for them!

I hope you do not get rid of your modified class 156 for the fancy new one! (Though good luck to new model manufacturers)

[NickL2008]

Changes

 

2 years since ive posted anything major. It has been a while and time does go by quite quickly. a lot of projects were again non movers. And wit hthe new layout plan, they would not of all fitted in with the new theme. A while back I was looking at some layouts and noticed some nice "Diorama" based ones so settled upon a compact layout. So with this I have now decided t  o concentrate on my two favourite nad mmost remembered eras; the late 80s and 1990s-early 2000s, which I will name "Era 1" and "Era 2".

 

A lot of stock was moved on, and new stock purchased over the past year, with a view to getting everything detailed up to my usual standards for use on the layout. So without having a long paragraph Ill keep it short and will start a new layout thread soon when time allows.

 

207001 (Era 1)

 

We rejoin my current project which is a Class 207. It will become 207001 in Network Southeast livery formed of DMS 60126, TC 60600 and DTS 60900. After looking to secure the DC Kits version and not having much luck, I settled on forming the model out of Replica bodies and parts. So after everything arrived I set to work. The bodysides have so far been reprofiled to have the subtle curve, as well as grafting on the MLV cab ends. Etched windows also added alongside the bottom beading and cantrail guttering which will recevie rainstrips over the doors. The DTS has Bachmann BR1 bogies that have been detailed and reworked to closely match the Class 207 bogies. The udnerframes being too narrow and shallow were also padded out to increase depth and width and give a more "slab sided" feel to the model. The DMS, has had the doors altered as well as the front end motor area re-worked and the engine grill added on the bodyside which is a scratch built item by myself made from brass strip and Shawplan mesh. Today I recevied the donor model which will power the DMS in the form of Bachmanns' MLV model. Still plenty of work to do and details to rework as can probably be seen in the photos below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

work will begin on transplanting the motor from the Bachmann model into the Replica chassis. the MLV I then plan to repaint into another livery or possibly re-work into a Class 489 GLV - but more on that later. Plenty more updates to come

 

NL

[NickL2008]

Good morning,

 

Things have been progressing with the Thumper. lots of tedious filling, priming, resanding , rinse and repeat! So with the motor has been transplanted into the DMS' chassis, retaining the self tapping screws, four small "collars" that locate the screws were glued onto the chassis, for the screws to then "thread" into to hold the motor block - simple and effective. Thoughts turn to how I will wire it all up. I would use the Bachmann PCB, but unfortunatley it wont reach to the training bogie pickups, which would require making a recess in the Replica chassis which is probably creating more work than nessessary. The plan is to have the + and - wries from the Bachmann motor thread into Verobaord and the nsimply attach the relevant wires onto the same "row" so power flows through. The own drawback with this is making it DCC ready which will either require hardwiring a decoder, or adding a DCC socket onto the Veroboard and rewiring everything accordingly to match the Pin arrangement. I've quickly cobbled together a diagram below on how I will wire this up and hopefully it will work - comments and thoughts welcomed as always

More visual progress photos to follow later

 

NL

 

 

 

[cheesysmith]

Unless you are using the Bachmann lighting, junk the original board and hard wire them wires together. Or as a alternative to your plan, you could just use some male/female sockets which can be used with a DCC chip at a later date.

 

I did wonder how the replica cab would look converted into a DEMU and the work so far says it works. Keep it up.

[Grizz]

Great modelling Nick, you’ve captured the look of the 207 very well. 
Totally agree with Cheesysmith’s recommending junking the Bachmann PCB. Many years ago I hacked up a Bachmann class 25 chassis to power a Southern Pride Class 207 kit. Only using one bogie and half of the chassis.
Not the greatest of powering up successes to start with, but then I didn’t junk the PCB initially.  It does now run well. 

The class 207 was always my favourite DEMU as they were Sussex Units. As a kid I used to watch them thump out of Uckfield and If I was really lucky occasionally travel on them.
 

Do you have a layout for your unit?

 

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by Grizz
Edit

[KeithHC]

Looking good but just as a matter of interest..... Did you narrow the bodies or are they at Res 4 width?

 

Grizz just as a matter of interest was the Southern Pride kit built to the correct width.

 

I currently have a DC kits part built but would like to add another one as well.

 

Keith

[NickL2008]

6 hours ago, cheesysmith said:

Unless you are using the Bachmann lighting, junk the original board and hard wire them wires together. Or as a alternative to your plan, you could just use some male/female sockets which can be used with a DCC chip at a later date.

 

I did wonder how the replica cab would look converted into a DEMU and the work so far says it works. Keep it up.

 

That definitley sounds a good idea, Ill add those into the diagram, Ive an idea now on how to wire it up a bit more neatly.

 

The work invovled required alot of sanding down of the bodyside, and rounding off the bottom edge as a fellow modeller pointed out when posted on Social media. I did wonder if it was going to be a simple "add the cabs to the ends" type of job, but then again these jobs are never as simple as that

 

NL

[NickL2008]

2 hours ago, Grizz said:

Great modelling Nick, you’ve captured the look of the 207 very well. 
Totally agree with Cheesysmith’s recommending junking the Bachmann PCB. Many years ago I hacked up a Bachmann class 25 chassis to power a Southern Pride Class 207 kit. Only using one bogie and half of the chassis.
Not the greatest of powering up successes to start with, but then I didn’t junk the PCB initially.  It does now run well. 

The class 207 was always my favourite DEMU as they were Sussex Units. As a kid I used to watch them thump out of Uckfield and If I was really lucky occasionally travel on them.
 

Do you have a layout for your unit?

 

 

 

Thanks Grizz! I think I will definitley scrap plans on using the Bachmann PCB and just hard wire everything in, at least then Ill have more control over the wiring and will be able to add DCC when the time requires it. I used to love these units, my fondest memory was a stay down at Normans Bay caravan site whic hwas right next t othe line into Hastings and at the time when these and the class 205s did the "Marshlink" services - 2 weeks of happy memories as they thumped out of the station a few minutes walk away from where we stayed!

 

I have a layotu being built which when time permits, I really do need to do a write up about it

 

NL

[NickL2008]

22 minutes ago, KeithHC said:

Looking good but just as a matter of interest..... Did you narrow the bodies or are they at Res 4 width?

 

Grizz just as a matter of interest was the Southern Pride kit built to the correct width.

 

I currently have a DC kits part built but would like to add another one as well.

 

Keith

 

Hi Keith,

 

Yes, both bodies have been reduced in width, I think it was 53mm(?) width profile (8' 6" / 9' 0" overall)

 

NL

[NickL2008]

Good evening,

 

Work and other things has intervened hence the delay, but plenty of work on the 207, mainly on the DMS transplanting the MLV components. After putting mounting the Motor cradle the underframe from the GLV was stolen, nicked, borrowed and Zap gapped onto the underneath of the chassis, the different compnents such as the circuit brakers/exhausters(?) and fuel tanks and battery boxes were scratch built and put into their respective positions (very time consuming!). The MLV had an incorrect trailing bogie, and as I had a power bogie frame sides in stock from Dart castings, these were added onto the trailing bogie after sawing off the Bachmann frames, this is also being detailed as detail on the castings is rather basic, and detail is being added as shown in the photo, namely the missing axle box covers and bolts, brake rigging and the center suspension, which the Bachmann frame is also missing. The Bachmann "wiper contact" system proved to be unreliable so wries were soldered onto the contacts, which has helped with performance; after some persuasion to move 9partially because of my test track being dirty no doubt) the chassis came to life and quickly picked up performance wise making the transplant sucessful despite the messy wiring shown below. To aid with DCCing the chassis in the future I have found this on Ebay:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AL-18-8-Pin-DCC-socket-Compact/223670776213?_trksid=p2485497.m4902.l9144

 

This will make adding a DCC chip easier, although im still open to other options including hard wiring in the Decoder, and of course thought needs to be given to where I will place the speaker for this model, as this, along with all of my fleet I plan on having DCC sound

 

 

The bodyshell also has received attention, mainly "rounding off the bottom corners to give a more rounded look. This and the Door and lower boyshell "beading" added as well as the cantrail strips above the doors, the DMS and DTS have had this treatment, but I havnt included a picture of the DTS as not much has changed so far apart from that. Still a work in progress, but plenty more updates to come along with progress on the Bachmann GLV, which is now being converted into a GLV

 

 

 

 

 

NL

[NickL2008]

Evening,

 

After a Long silence, im back with another update. Ive been working away on the 3D and got the centre car, but I've not been happy with the paint job I did on the DMSO, however as this wont be a major feature on the layout, its now gone down the priority list, as Im now working on models that will feature more regularly. Back a few years ago, I secured a couple of Dapol bubblecars, wit hthe aim of having them running regularly. The Dapol model itself is decent, but the detailing and the running wasn't the best. When Bachmann announced their Bubblecar, it looked good, but like with the Dapol model, there were asepcts that didnt grab me too much, but the underframe was well rendered, this being proven not just by pictures, but but Bachmanns' own 117 , despite it having some errors. So what if the two were merged? Well, thanks to @dj_crisp s lovely work on his models, I decided to give it a go. So fast forward to Christmas 2022, and two bargain purchases later, and I had two donor models. 

 

My two (three with the Railtrack one - updates on that later) are to be done as L122 and L123. both models will have the Bachmann Chassis with the Dapol body. Pictures are how things are at the moment (excuse the cruel close ups), so work done so far, along with my 117 bodyshell (part of L409):

 

• Replaced broken speedometers, with rod and elastic - will look at 3D printing these in the future
• Replaced the chunky MU socket cables and air resevoir (?) with wire
• Replace moulded junction box cables (?) with wire
• Added welded panel into the headcode panel for L122, plated over former router indicator for L123, reprofile roofs to less pronounced curve
• Add missing side plates for bufferbeam, added padding to add the air lines into bodyshell from the MU sockets

 

 

 

 

 

so far the roofs have had a blast of primer, that has shown up some inperfections so those will be sorted out. Next up will be snading down the filler, and getting the roofs painted, then work can focus on getting both Chassis complete, moving onto the bodyshells

 

More soon

 

NL

[dj_crisp]

Hi Nick

 

These are looking very good! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how these turn out.

 

I like the extra details you've put on the underframes... been thinking I should do the same on mine so may have a go!

 

Cheers

Will

[Southwich]

Excellent Nick - stunning work! Looking forward to seeing these develop further

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[NickL2008]

19 hours ago, dj_crisp said:

Hi Nick

 

These are looking very good! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how these turn out.

 

I like the extra details you've put on the underframes... been thinking I should do the same on mine so may have a go!

 

Cheers

Will

 

Hi Will,

 

Thank you, the Chassis is good, but still needs little more refinement, bizarre they charge so much yet key details are missing, but a good excuse to do some refinement work

 

Im also looking at the destinations as, as you say sit back a bit too far, so experiementing with a Dapol destination sitting on top of a few peices of clear plastic, laminated together - im hopnig that will fix the issue, as I have the Railtec renumbering pack, and it has transfers of all the destinations Im likely to use! so would seem a waste not to use them if my idea works

 

NL

[NickL2008]

18 hours ago, Southwich said:

Excellent Nick - stunning work! Looking forward to seeing these develop further

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

 

Hi Will,

 

Thank you! theyre getting there slowly with these, nice winter project at the moment

 

NL

[Charlie]

Hi Nick, 

 

Any chance you could replace the missing pictures on here please? I’ve a 155 and 156 so trying to gather info on what can be done.

 

Cheers

Edited March 3, 2023 by Charlie

[NickL2008]

On 03/03/2023 at 12:46, Charlie said:

Hi Nick, 

 

Any chance you could replace the missing pictures on here please? I’ve a 155 and 156 so trying to gather info on what can be done.

 

Cheers

 

Hi Charlie,

 

I'll have a look through my pictures and see what I can find

 

NL

[NickL2008]

Hello,

 

Its been a while since ive updated my workbench thread, plenty has gone on, the DMUs are nearly finnished. Well one of them is, until I checked on 55023. The grey has yellowed as has the rest of the body, although the blue isnt as bad it is definitley noticable on the grey band - very annoying!

 

Exhibits #1 and #2 on display here before they get treated, although it looks like it isnt noticable in the photos? ive attempted to leave them in sunlight which hasnt really done anything

 

So off to the respray booth for both of these models, which in hindsight isnt a bad thing as 55023 has some overspray and different colour between the Dapol Blue and my blue where the Double arrows are

 

 

 

NL