RMweb Gold Budgie Posted January 23, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 23, 2013 I have had a Comet Models Collett non-gangwayed third maturing in my unmade kits box for a number of years, with the intention of building it as an intermediate autotrailer to diagram A42. I was a bit frightened of starting it, because I haven't built an etched kit before, but after reading some of the other kit-building threads on RMweb I thought I might as well give it a go. So after a few days, I got as far as this: The black bogie on the underframe is one of Mr Bachmann's finest, and the other is one of the pair supplied with the kit. I haven't decided which type I shall use when I have finished, but, whichever one it is, it has to allow me to use Kadee couplers on the coach. It was always my intention to obtain an A44 autotrailer, and having seen Mallard60022's excellent efforts with one of these kits, I decided to order one. This arrived yesterday, and I immediately set about drilling the holes in the sides for the hinges and door bumpers. The door bumpers' holes are half-etched on the A44 sides, but the A42 (being such an old version of the kit) does not have them. I thought about this for a while, and decided that maybe a way of positioning the holes on the A42 would be to use the A44 sides as a template and push the drill bit through the holes in the A44 to drill the A42. This works reasonably well, and I did it for the door hinges also, as it is a tad difficult to use the jig after the roof has been stuck on. I've only done half of one side of the A42 so far; I hope to do the rest of it later today. More pictures soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted January 23, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 23, 2013 Hey Budgie, they look superb. Glad you felt inspired...... Oh yes, maturing in my unmade kits box for a number of years.... don't we all? (Not Coachman) I only tack my roof on with Evo-stick (other adhesives are available if you can be ar*ed) so that I can access the interior from top and bottom and shove a wood block inside (more or less correct width) if I need to update with (say) hinges. What I am rubbish at is door grabs using the bent wire method discussed earlier. They always seem to look too big when I do them with 0.45. I've decided that I'm going to try using pre etched grabs where I can and it's prototypical. On (say) a nice Comet etched side, where the door grab holes are pre etched through and not the same dimensions as the pre etched grabs from (say Frogmore/MJT/Roxey), I'm going to experiment blocking up one of the holes (probably lower) and re drill so that the etched grab fits that way. Bit of a faff but probably worth the time taken? I've done that on plastic kits so that relevant etched commodes, grabs and similar fit but plastic is so easy to drill P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Wintle Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 You can also get the older style door grabs etc as lost wax castings (ex Slaters kits). I don't know if they are currently available as a separate set of parts though (they were when Slaters had the kits). Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Hi Budgie, There are a few pictures of the cab interior of Auto trailer No. 231 on Mallard's thread that I posted for reference - they may be useful to you to with the A44. I am glad to see that you have taken up the etched brass challenge - you will really get into it and it isn't as hard as people assume it to be - particularly with the excellent Comet kits. Have fun! All the best, Castle Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Budgie Posted January 25, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 25, 2013 Of course, If I'm going to run a train of autotrailers in the Valleys, I'm going to need the right locomotive. Sorry for that awful decoder in the cab; that was the only place it would go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted January 25, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 25, 2013 Could you 'disguise' the Dec as Crew? Get a good 3d print of a Driver/Fireman and pop those just to the inside of the cab Otherwise, invent a dome shaped Dec and make a fortune I used to love these little beauties whizzing around Plymouth in the late 50s/early 60s - nice loco by the way. P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Hi Jane, That's a lovely looking little pannier there - very nice! How about one of those black insulating covers over the decoder and a couple of suitably chopped and fitted loco crew to take the eye off the electronics? There are couple that I have used in my model of No. 1363 that can be posed at the edge of the cab and I think Dart have some that actually lean out of the cab a bit so it won't make the problem too much worse! All the best, Castle ...And Mallard beats me to it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Budgie Posted January 25, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 25, 2013 Yes, but the crew would be the fireman, who can't lean out of both sides at the same time, coz the driver will be in one of the autotrailers. Glad you like the loco. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Hi Jane, As long as you arrange it so that you can't see both figures at once from the front or rear, you will be fine. The decoder will work to your advantage as a view blocker here to some extent too. In an Auto train set up (and on the Railmotor), when the driver is at the other end, the fireman has to do half the drivers job as well. The driver retains control as he has a brake valve and operates the regulator through a linkage so the go and stop is still his. There is also a thin steel cable or wire runs through the coach to operate the whistle, an ATC box, an electrically operated bell with a push button and a handbrake. All other operations have to be done from the locomotive. Things such as notching the reverser up and down and operating the brake ejector however can only be done in the cab of the engine. There are a series of standard bell codes to communicate the driver's instructions to the fireman. As a result when he isn't firing, he is on the other side of the cab being half a driver! Just don't cut your figure vertically to represent this...* All the best, Castle *Just kidding! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 At the risk of making the topic digress, what is the pedigree of the loco? Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Neal Ball Posted January 26, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 26, 2013 You could of course move the decoder out of the loco and put it into the carriage. That way you can also add extra pick-ups!Good luck with the kits. At the risk of making the topic digress, what is the pedigree of the loco? Chris 64xx auto fitted Pannier tank. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Budgie Posted January 26, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 26, 2013 It's a NuCast kit from the West Coast Kit Centre. I've been thinking of adding extra pickups on the Hornby autotrailers, and connecting them to each other and the loco using Viessmann 2-pole couplings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted January 26, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 26, 2013 Right, this is all getting a bit complicated for a drake; electrickery stuff....arrrggghhh. Love the split personality fireman though. I hadn't even cottoned on to the fact that the Driver would be in the Auto.....doh! I think you should have a Loco Inspector on the footplate (bowler hat) and that solves the two side thing. I think a 64XX could be a wish list loco'? Did they have smaller wheels and detail differences from (say) a 57XX (like ChrisF apologies for slight deviation). P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 The sort of wish where you have to close your eyes VERY tight and stir the cake mix most vigorously ... I think a 64XX could be a wish list loco'? Did they have smaller wheels and detail differences from (say) a 57XX (like ChrisF apologies for slight deviation). P Same diameter wheels but different wheelbase [7'4" + 7'4" instead of 7'3" + 8'3"] and lower boiler pitch. They were staple power for the Plymouth - Saltash autos until supplanted by dmus in 1960 and were found very useful in South Wales - Pontypridd - Machen, Abercynon - Aberdare, Bute Road - Maindy and the St Fagans Pullman. I should think those kits are a bit lesser-spotted by now. Thank you. Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted January 26, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 26, 2013 O Lord. Was it really that long ago that the bog carts took over the Saltash Stinker - it seems like just a while ago in my dear old noggin? See what you mean about lower boiler pitch Chris as there is no sign of boiler top on the Nu Cast kit. So surgery on an existing body is way out of my league then despite probably being capable of sorting a Comet (or other) Chassis to fit. I've been stirring for years and nothing's happened....................... P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan100 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 "I hadn't even cottoned on to the fact that the Driver would be in the Auto.....doh!" I think it depends which way the train is going. Geoff Comet Models Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted January 26, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 26, 2013 Doh again........ P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Budgie Posted January 26, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 26, 2013 "I hadn't even cottoned on to the fact that the Driver would be in the Auto.....doh!" I think it depends which way the train is going. Geoff Comet Models With more than 2 autotrailers, you will have at least one on each side of the loco. I propose running 4 of them, 2 Hornby on one end and 2 Comet on the other. There are many pictures of this sort of arrangement in John Lewis's book. In particular, the picture on page 284 shows a certain 64xx loco. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Budgie Posted January 26, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 26, 2013 See what you mean about lower boiler pitch Chris as there is no sign of boiler top on the Nu Cast kit. So surgery on an existing body is way out of my league then despite probably being capable of sorting a Comet (or other) Chassis to fit. I've been stirring for years and nothing's happened....................... P The obvious solution is to persuade someone to introduce an etched brass kit for them. Now, who do we know who produces etched brass loco kits? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Budgie Posted February 7, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 7, 2013 A question for the experienced coach-builders on this forum. How do you handle the door hinges?Having finished drilling all (?) the holes in the sides of the A42 and the A44, I decided to start filling them on one side of the A44, to try to gain some experience before doing the A42. The door bumpers proved to be rather easy, although sometimes I did leave rather too much (i.e. 10 mm. or more) on the outside, but that was easily dealt with using wire cutters and a file. However, when it came to the door hinges ... *** !!!Things I've noticed about door hinges: Do not remove too many hinges from the fret at any one time. Ideally remove them one at a time, but if you must remove more than one, stop at three (i.e. one door's worth) Prof. Brian Cox will tell you that nothing moves faster than the speed of light. He obviously hasn't seen one of these door hinges when something goes wrong when I am trying to insert one into its hole. If one of your door hinges should try to make a trip towards the pot faster than a wink that has been squidged by an international tiddlywinks player, do not bother to go looking for it. It is so small that you'll never find it, even if you know where it went. If Richard Strauss's "Ariadne auf Naxos"* should happen to come on the radio, switch off either the radio or the soldering iron as you can't concentrate on both at the same time. If you don't, things will go wrong. There aren't enough door hinges on the fret to cope with those that have taken a trip into outer space. If it took you five seconds to position and solder the last hinge, it will take more like 15 minutes to do the next one. Stop for the day before you go mad, even if you haven't done all you planned to do. Mind you, when you've put them in, they do look nice. * Insert your favourite piece of music here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold gwrrob Posted February 7, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 7, 2013 Yes hinges are well fiddley but worth trying to get right.I use the Frogmore ones and try to get a tight fit in the hole to stop them moving.Asbestos fingers helps and certainly no distractions.I'd hate to be listening to The Who's 'Whos Next' with a soldering iron in one hand ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Hi Jane, With me, it's a bit like the old saying about eating an elephant - one bite (or hinge) at a time! Stick it through the hole and bend over the tag on the back to try and stop it falling out. When that fails, lay the coach side on the bench and then solder from the back. You have to switch off the brain and switch on something like QI on BBC iPlayer... Just one of those jobs. All the best, Castle Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted February 7, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 7, 2013 One can become unhinged doing this really exciting and absolutely essential task (but not on loco's). As your GP or Lifestyle Guru would say, "it will get better with time, just don't drink too much tea...." Coachman would say that just doing the lower hinge on some coaches would suffice, however I think he may have referring to panelled stock? You can all now understand why I sound completely barmy most of the time - it were those there ####### 'inges me lud As for music I prefer that old juke box gramaphone favourite 'The Lark Ascending' followed by anything very loud by the Who or Stones; such fun as Miranda's mother would say. Progress on the DT has ceased whilst the interesting A18 is on the bench and I'm taking some R & R in Cumbria (sort of quite near Shap and Appleby really - he, he, he.) TTFN, Quack. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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