Nile's kitbuilding bench - Midland 1377

[Nile]

I've been working on a way of securing the body to the chassis. This uses a tab into a slot at the rear, and a screw into a nut at the front.

At the rear I've glued some plastic card to the chassis. This forms the cab floor, and also engages with a bit of plastic glued to the body.

 

At the front I've glued a nut. This lines up with a hole in the front chassis spacer.

 

A side view of all the bits put together.

The tender wheels are 16mm Romfords.

[Nile]

I've made a start on painting the model. Halfords grey primer followed by Humbrol 27 sea grey.

 

The wheels were brush painted.

 

More painting to do, and then some transfers.

[Pete Harvey]

Neil

 

Looking very good

 

Can I make one suggestion use the deluxe threaded rod pivots  from Mainly Trains they cost a bit more but they are worth it and they allow for more fine tuning than the ones you have at present.

 

Pete

[Nile]

Thanks Pete. I'd like to use the deluxe rod pins as these wheels have plastic spokes. The problem is getting hold of them as it looks like MT has sold out, unless I'm looking in the wrong place.

[Smiffy2]

They're in Markits' current catalogue - but that is still the 2013 one...

Are they still in business?

 

Could you give a little tutorial on bending the handrail? My first effort recently was less than a resounding success.

Edited March 22, 2015 by Smiffy2

[pete_mcfarlane]

I'm not  massive fan of resin, but that looks rather good. 

[ozzyo]

Markits is still trading or it was when I bought some stuff off them late last year or early this year.

I thought that the wheels were still metal but had just been blackened.

 

OzzyO.

[Nile]

Smiffy hopefully this will help.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/82968-niles-mostly-freelance-bodging-bench-a-midland-3f/page-11&do=findComment&comment=1701334

[Smiffy2]

Thanks, Neil, you make it look so easy!

I guess it's follow that method, practice and be prepared to chuck a few away!

It was the curve that I got wrong - I hadn't thought of using a battery and then opening it out.

[Nile]

More of a black art than science, with plenty of bodging!

[bigbadbadge]

Wow, there is some cracking work Nile of some great locomotives, was thinking about an 01 when funds allow. 

 

Thanks for sharing

 

Chris

[Pete Harvey]

Roxey Moldings have them.

 

http://www.roxeymouldings.co.uk/product/845/deluxe-crankpins-for-markits-and-romford-wheels-by-markits/

[Spitfire2865]

Markits Is still trading. Its just next to impossible to contact him. Im currently waiting on an order I placed.

[Nile]

It may not be until Expo EM that I get the deluxe crankpins. Meanwhile work continues on the model. More paint and transfers have been added.

I've added a bit of plastic painted red for the regulator.

 

I've used Fox transfers on the tender.

I've given the springs a wash of black to represent grease.

 

[hayfield]

Markits Is still trading. Its just next to impossible to contact him. Im currently waiting on an order I placed.

 

 

Markits are a one man band and the owner does everything himself, at one time he was mainly manufacturing and quite easy to get hold of, since the demise of most stockists he has to do everything. Now I am not justifying his working practices. If you want to speak with him you just have to keep trying every ten mins or so, the phone is in the office which is above his workshop. I know this as I live quite close to him and visited him a few years back to pick up a few bits. He says his mail order system works well despite it being a bit ancient.

 

He is an honest chap who does fulfil all his orders, perhaps not as quickly as some, but he does it

[ozzyo]

He is an honest chap who does fulfil all his orders, perhaps not as quickly as some, but he does it

 

I will agree with that I ordered a number of packets of 7mm handrail knobs off him of different types, when I got the order all but one pack were the 7mm ones that I ordered but one pack was 4mm. I phoned him up and explained what had happened and said I would return them, he just said keep them and I had the correct ones in a day or so.

 

OzzyO. 

[Nile]

I've fitted pick-ups to the loco chassis, made from 0.35mm phosphor bronze wire. One long bit that links the two pieces of PCB sleeper strip per side, and contacts the outer wheels. A second shorter bit  contacts the middle wheel.

 

Then I fitted the gearbox and discovered that it touched the rear wipers. So I added some extra bends to create clearance for it.

(This photo is from the other side)

 

To stop the motor moving about I used a sticky foam pad (the white thing under the motor). Add a couple of wires from the PCB strips to the motor and it's ready to go.

I also found a flywheel just the right size.

 

In the tender I've glued a weight left over from a wagon project.

It has a hole in just the right place, a screw through the middle holds the top onto the chassis.

 

[Nile]

To prevent any light showing through the less than perfect join in the boiler I've glued some plastic strips onto the bottom part of it.

 

And painted them grey.

 

Under the tender chassis I've secured the wheels in place with some pieces of brass rod glued across the axle slots.

If I was going to be running this loco regularly I would probably fit bearings to the axles.

 

Using bits of round and square section plastic I made these. They are quite small.

 

Brass rod glued into carefully drilled holes.

 

Painted and glued to the loco.

 

More details still to add, but it's getting there.

[N15class]

It looks very good

 

I am hoping it is the photo, but the wheels do not look square and parallel.

[Nile]

The middle axle is at a slight angle, another reason to open out the slots and fit bearings.

[paulaspinell]

Has anyone here built the Branchlines 01 kit, and what are your thoughts as a reasonably experienced kit builder I think I would prefer to go down this 'track'. after all there are lots of 'C's around now & the 01 is an interesting alternative.

[Nile]

It's a lot simpler if you use the Hornby chassis the kit is designed for. A bit of searching will find photos of other's efforts.

[Nile]

A few more bits added.

On the front of the tender a handrail and handbrake, made from bits from the spares box.

 

After painting.

 

On the front of the cab, this bit of pipe recovered from a Bachmann C class.

You can also see a cab side plate. I had to print new ones, as I can't find the ones I'd printed before for my C class repaint.

Next I'm going to make some sand boxes, as these are quite prominent on the real thing.

[DLT]

Really neat job Neil, and I particularly like the way you've done the motor and cutout boiler.

Cheers,

Dave.

[Horsetan]

 

Has anyone here built the Branchlines 01 kit, and what are your thoughts as a reasonably experienced kit builder I think I would prefer to go down this 'track'. after all there are lots of 'C's around now & the 01 is an interesting alternative.

Yes. I wouldn't recommend it unless you're prepared to do quite a bit of corrective work. The oval boiler casting is only one of its flaws.

 

Not exactly the last word in design, and the choice of whitemetal in certain areas where etched nickel silver would have been so much better is unfathomable. It really needs a second kit to correct it.

 

 

Good bits? The brass castings, the tender body, and some of the etchings. That's basically it.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Horsetan