81A Oldoak Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Very interesting. I am hopeless at building 4mm scale chassis, but have no problems with 7mm scale. Here is my forum describing the construction of an 0 gauge Cambrian 15 Class 0-6-0 goods loco. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/77034-cambrian-railways-15-class-gladiator-kit/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted March 29, 2014 Author Share Posted March 29, 2014 Lovely loco that, I will have one in Cambrian condition and one BR as well eventually! Today's progress though was with the Dean Goods tender. The tank filler, dome and rear coal rail all needed to be replaced on the Hornby body as they're quite simply wrong, so... First off I cut off the offending bits, then overlayed some 20thou styrene to hide the hole. Sadly this does raise the tank top level, but it's a small sacrifice for an overall much more accurate looking tender. I actually did this in 2 pieces, since I was originally working from a Mike Lloyd drawing which did not show the position of the coal rail, I assumed Hornby had it right, then I saw another drawing and realised it would have to go too. Anyway, today I've just turned a new dome from styrene. First I laminated a load of 20thou bits together, then drilled a hole through and glued it to a spare 00 gibson axle, which is a lovely tight fit in the standard collet of my minidrill. Thus with various files and a modelling knife I formed the dome, and finished it off by hand with some 800 grit sandpaper. I'm rather pleased with that! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted March 30, 2014 Author Share Posted March 30, 2014 lick of paint to highlight any flaws... Spot of flash to highlight the fact I painted it grey....! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share Posted April 4, 2014 Well I've been tinkering and fiddling behind the scenes, and coupled with a lot of experimentation and some thinking (what a headache that gave me!) I've decided that I'm going to switch to Markits wheels, and I'm going to be building all tender locos on the American pickup system - IE loco live one side, tender live the other. I've tried out wipers on the tenders, they didn't work for me, I've tried plungers on the Cambrian tank, and whilst they work there's a lot of drag from them and they are quite nerve racking to implement! I've also had enough of Gibson wheels, I've had several whose tyres won't stay on, and on the Cambrian 2-4-0T I got it all running free and found one of the wheels was wobbly! I think they are best reserved for those folk with more patience than I! I'm also going to look into split framing for tank locos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 I have some old HO models with the split frame idea. Poor runners over less than ideal track. Thats my experience though. Might have just had some crap locos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted April 7, 2014 Author Share Posted April 7, 2014 Probably just the locos in question, split framing is the norm in 2mm scale modelling which is considerably less forgiving than working in 4mm. I'm looking into using gearmotors and bevel gears as per a thread in the 3d printing section on here as they are a) cheap b) slow running c) I can 3d print bevel gears that can also act as muffs for joining split frame axles. Anyway, in the material world, progress is being made with the Dean Goods tender: I'm now on my 3rd and final variation of assembling brake gear. I can't take credit for the idea, I saw it on someone else's model and thought it was a brilliant idea! Basically, in order to keep the wheelsets removable, the brake gear needs to be too. On one of the previous tenders I followed Mainly Trains' method of having the shoes soldered to the pull rods/cross shafts and then clipping onto the top cross shafts. Whilst this worked unpainted, it soon didn't once painted! The new method is similar, all the shoes are soldered to the lower cross shafts and pull rods, but this time they are also soldered to the top cross shaft at the rear, which isn't soldered to the chassis. This means the whole assembly pivots about the rear top cross haft allowing the wheels to drop out, and is secured in place in normal use by the other two top cross shafts just pushed through the holes, the rods themselves are stopped from falling out by the valance on the underframe. I also spent some time making up small diameter tube spacers to keep the shoes all in the same place relative the chassis. I've also made the tank filler, using the top of a Bachmann one an some plastic turned in the minidrill as per the dome. Needs a water scoop now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 Well lets see, what's new? Water scoop - robbed from a Mainline 3500g chassis, a hole drilled in it and a 12BA screw glued into said hole, with a corresponding hole drilled in the chassis. It's a little further forward than it should be, but then I don't think anyone's going to really be able to notice. Markits wheels fitted to the loco. Not as nice looking as the Gibsons, but a lot more practical! The loco is now left side live so I need some corresponding live wheels for the tender to make it right side live. (As an experiment I've 3d printed in brass some centres for the Gibson tyres currently fitted) Also as per another thread I've started I need to sort out the centre axle height on the Dean and Collett chassis. To that end I dismantled the Collett chassis and rebuilt it using the jigs this time - took a lot less time, and I've also revised the location of the spacers. I'm experimenting with a very slow running gearmotor driving mitre gears, probably on the rear axle now given that the centre one is going to need to be sprung or free hanging. The mitre gears are being 3D printed as we speak to see how well FUD behaves as a gear material (I think it'll be fine as long as the teeth are meaty enough). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 Ahh more of my least favourite subject - brake gear! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanbuttler Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Hello mate, I've not been online for a while so it's been good to catch up on your progress. Looks like its coming together nicely! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 Yes the Dean is starting to look more loco like rather than kit of parts like now! Still lots of little things to do to it, drawbar, new live axle wheels for the tender, hell I don't even have a front for the smokebox yet! I've just acquired some more projects - another Collett goods which is odd in having 3205 on the buffer beam yet 2261 on the cabsides. The numbers are raised suggesting etched plates but I can't seem to separate them from the cab if they are! Either way, it's set to become 2239, the one with no cab windows. I've also acquired a Manor - but as I bought it on the strength of a picture on my phone and described as weathered, I think I may have to pass it on as beyond redemption! It hasn't arrived yet, though when I checked the pics on a proper screen it appears weathered meant plastered in brown paint with a trowel. A couple more comet chassis required me thinks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 Actually, given that it has no smokebox number plate or shed plate, perhaps 2280 would be a better candidate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanbuttler Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Great stuff, looking forward to see them all progress! The windowless 2239 has been on my list of potential Collett's to model as well. If you ever decide to make your own Manor chimney's I'd be very interested in how you go about it, I've had no luck at all in finding anyone who makes them or has them in stock, I've got 6 waiting on new chimney's! I was talking with David Green at Scale Forum North and he might have some kicking around, he unfortunately no longer has the etches for the lovely Malcolm Mitchell Manor kit, but does have all the fittings still. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 If I can get a drawing of the chimneys I'll 3d print them, the only drawing I could find though is so low resolution none of the dimensions are legible unfortunately. Collett goodses are so cheap to buy I'm going to end up with a few I think. I could easily make up 3 locos all numbered 3208 and all wearing different liveries and tenders! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanbuttler Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I'll hopefully be at the NRM this weekend and STEAM next week (both off the back of work visits to Swindon and Leeds) I'll see if either have the diagrams in their archives. I was looking at the High Level Chassis of the Collett Goods and the Dean Goods at scaleforum, they really do lift the detail of the models considerably, have you built one mate? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 I considered them - but haven't plucked up the courage yet. I've seen the instruction sheets for the tenders, and they scare me! Everything that's on the prototype is there, as well as provision for god knows how many different suspension arrangements and pickup configurations. I would love to have the inside motion on the Collett though, it's annoyingly visible! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 Right then the new acquisitions: Hinton Manor, sporting an experimental chimney bandage.... Lovely "weathering" from the previous owner! (Basically the top half of the boiler and tender were slathered in a different shade of green, and the motion painted brown!) Tender has had the sides filed down flush and the grotesque lumps of coal chiselled down to something more believable! A bit more work on this and it''ll make a nice welded example. The identity confused Collett Goods next... Coal load on this one looks believable! And today's post brought a 14xx. I should have photographed it before disassembly, but I was marvelling at the amount of engineering and detail that went into it - puts a lot of recent offerings to shame (apart from the awful smokebox door!) The Manor is likely to become 7810 Draycott Manor finished in grubby BR Black, The Collett hasn't had an identity decided yet and the 14xx is going to become 1459 in BR Black and without top feed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 You've got to love 3D printing! Having wrecked the original smokebox front for the Dean Goods, I've managed to print a new one! Just arrived today from Shapeways: It's a perfect fit! It's currently sitting in a pool of primer to fill out the print lines. Looks like it should be quite usable. Now to make another for the 'Stella' conversion! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanbuttler Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Looks superb mate! Options appear to be limitless for what you can achieve with it, as long as you can draw it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Looks superb mate! Options appear to be limitless for what you can achieve with it, as long as you can draw it! Cheers, need to do an alternative one with dished door now for the Stella I'm making from my latest Dean goods body. Here's a recap of some of the many ongoing projects littering my bench: Bachmann 3500g tender top with all rivets removed as well as everything below the floor. This was the one that came with the Manor, and will end up behind a Collett Goods eventually. It's going to have a Hornby chassis. Airfix 14xx being modelled as 1459. RHS toolbox needs moving forward and the top feed has gone. A little more fettling to do on both areas. The new Dean Goods, which is being converted into a Stella. Here it's seen having some attention to the underframe below the cab, which is a weak point. The black one just snapped, this one disintegrated leaving nothing to bolt to! Since this pic it's had the leading splashers removed by chain drilling around the periphery and cutting through with a no.11 blade. The sandboxes were saved and are to be refitted later. The Dean goods chassis now has 6 wheels on the ground.... ....and the Collett goods has 5! An interloper! An airfix 4f is undergoing major surgery in order to bring it up to spec as No. 44445 of Bangor shed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 The story of Stella and Dean continues... Stella has the beginnings of a footplate and smokebox in place of a splasher ^ And the 3D printed smokebox front is looking good with a Caley Coaches brass dart added: (Excuse the slightly psychedelic nature of the paint, it's still wet!) just to compare, here is the factory Dapol offering on Stella... I've now made a Mk2 version which has the dish of the door deepened and the waist transition moved down slightly as I made it a touch too high. It's not obvious when fitted to Dean, but on Stella it's obvious as there's no sandboxes to hide it! I've also made a Mk3 version especially for Stella with a smaller flat rimmed door set on the centre line and the valve chest cover lowered accordingly. Need to source a parallel chimney for Stella and those rather unique underhung springs with long hangers too... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Hi Quarryscapes, Like your work to date on the Dean, ironically I too am considering a Dean for conversion to a Stella, so, if you have any luck in sourcing a chimney I'd be interested to know where from please . Happy modelling Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 Thankyou! if all else fails and I can't get a suitable off the shelf item, I can always 3D print one. As I'm modelling 3519 I need an old school smokebox front so that's being taken care off by Shapeways as it is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike morley Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Have you got the Dean Goods to run yet and, if so, how did it fare? My own Dean Goods has had a convoluted history, starting off with a compensated Perseverance chassis and Gibson wheels, changing to a sprung Comet chassis with Markits wheels and now mixing the best of both with the Markits wheels under the Percy chassis. Despite that, it continues to run very erratically - capable of hauling a heavy train up a steep gradient one minute then wheelspinning to a standstill when running light engine the next. I think I have tracked the problem down to the tender - which has had Gibson wheels under a Comet chassis from day one. Gibson tender wheels set to EM Gauge have a total width of 20.75mm but the width between frames of the Hornby tender frames is just 21.25mm, so any curve tight enough to be detectable without the use of a laser will result in the wheels grinding against the frames. Cause of problem identified, thought I, cursing myself for having given away the Comet etched nickel-silver replacement tender frames I'd bought with the chassis. I haven't got the cheek to ask if I can have the frames back so I took a file to the inside faces of Hornby's plastic and have increased the sideplay to a tad over 1mm on the centre wheels and about .75mm on the rear wheels. That ought to have made at least some difference, yet I cannot convince myself that it actually has and I would welcome the second opinion of someone running similar equipment to see how they fared. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 I haven't got it running yet, modelling ahas stalled somewhat due to work commitments however... Looking at my tender which also uses the Hornby frames and Gibson wheels has plenty of sideplay available, in the region of 2mm total, although I have limited it on the outer axles. I wonder if the moulds have been altered over the years? I've sold the mainline one from the Stella so can't compare sadly (That's getting comet frames) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryscapes Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 Finally some progress! Here's a High Level Load Hauler+ 80:1 gearbox and Mashima 1015 for the Dean Goods. It should theoretically just be possible to shoehorn this into it. I'd have gone for 108:1, but I wasn't sure where the extra diameter would be in the gears, I didn't want the final drive to be too large or it would have fouled the cab floor, as it is things are going to be close! Nice little gearbox, assembly hassle free so far, with the Gibson bogie wheel axles pictured it turns as free as anything. Just need to find a slitting disc now and cut the proper shaft material now! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.