Colin parks Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 Is it a '2 CIG' or half a '4 CIG' ?! More 'Bachmanising' of the TSO side and both sides of the MBSO in the last few days has got things this far: All window frames are installed by tacking them in with solvent, although a couple of openings need to be made slightly larger, so there are one or two frames that need to come out again. The sides will fit snugly onto the chassis when the floors are screwed down. The original Bachmann floors will be given new interiors. I have made a mistake in positioning the DCC decoder socket, as it has ended up being in the passenger compartment next to the guard's compartment. Thought will need to be given as to where else it could go. With the MBSO, I took a deep breath when fitting the sides for the first time. The central door is by some miracle now where it should be in relation to the resistance bank boxes etc.. Phew! The middle door is pleasingly off-centre to the central cross-member of the trussing. I have now remembered that the trailer coaches all sit a little bit high on their bogies. (Well it is over two months since the unit was last together in any form. Not sure how to remedy this as yet. As it stands, these two coaches are in running order, although the coulping method may change. I have some 1mm dia. magnets which exert a remarkable 400g force. It might be tempting fate to use magnets for coupling the unit. We shall see. One thing worth a try is to make up some jumper cables with a steel plate on the ' loose' end and locate a magnet in the adjacent socket position. Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Harvey Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Very nice Colin. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted June 27, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 27, 2012 Hi Colin Starting look like the vehicles of my youth, after the set backs of the earlier trials and tribulations, well done! Cheers SS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 Still fiddling about with the body sides! The MBSO has had the large windows nearest the guard's compartment moved towards the centre of the coach by 1.5mm. This has had the effect of balancing the widths of the panels either side of the quarter lights (the l/h one of which is slightly too far to the left). I have been lucky to get away with the surgery without any damage to the window frames. They are still only tacked in with solvent as yet. The DTCL sides have been a source of much pondering and staring at photos these last few days. I have basically now done a cut-and-shut job on the original four DTCL sides to make the area around the toilet/inner end look right. There are now eight spare (or should that be 'reject') 4 CIG sides to practise painting and lining on. The basic parts of one DTCL are shown here with an unaltered roof end. At least it has now been possible to see that the cab front window frames will be just below the gutter level and that the cab side windows are level with the front ones. (This would show up once the wrap-around grab rail was fitted if they weren't.) I shall never, ever again, fit ventilators to the roof of a coach that has not been fitted to a body first! All but six of the seventy-four roof vents have been, or will be, re-positioned. Well, you live and learn. The idea of clip together sub-assemblies for the DTCL bodywork is appealing if not a little fraught with problems getting it all to fit with no joins showing. Having studied Cepitc's side-on photos of the cab, it can be seen that the joint on the real thing is not vertical when viewed from the side, but angled back. I might ignore this and put the cab/roof join where the yellow paint line is. If the all else fails, the body will have to be made as a a complete bodyshell, though this will make painting and glazing that much harder. Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptic Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Hi Colin. Re:- the join btween the ends and the sides. It's not so much angled back, but more of a subtle curve, from top to bottom. The reason for this is, where the vertical flat of the end cuts into, or joins obliquely, the vertical curve of the side, it will produce a curve. A bit like sawing at an angle, i.e obliquely, through a piece of circular tube or semi-circular material, produces an eliptical edge. To illustrate what I mean, have a look at these. This subtle curve shows up better on Bulleid profiled coaches due to their smaller, though more generous, radii. HTH, Ceptic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 HI Frank, Thanks for the clarification and plans re. cab/side joints. What I meant about the 'angled joint' was between the cab and roof, but somehow missed out the crucial words in post 229. It is going to be fun getting the curves and angles right on these DTCLs. I have hopefully got the curves right between the sides and inner ends of the vehicles, but I was nearly caught out when trimming the sides to length - they are that bit longer than the usual Mk.1 sides. On the cab fronts though, there are the radiused edges (3" radius ?) to contend with too. Perhaps I will have to opt for permanently joining the sides and cab fronts together to get things right. The plan for the next step in the contruction process is to make up the cabs to the shape of the fibreglass prototypes and see what can be done with the joint to the sides then. Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted July 3, 2012 Author Share Posted July 3, 2012 Finally, all the roof ventilatoors have been fitted back onto the DTCL roofs. The sides for both coaches have been given the locating strips and so on , like the TSO and MBSO. This view shows the definitive (you are being complacent in saying that, Parks) positions of windows/panels towards the inner ends. At least there is a nice wide panel betwixt toilet window and quarter-light now. Up to now, the outer ends of these chassis had not been removed, so it was out with the razor saw. With the Bachmann ends removed, the sides could be carefully adjusted to fit. The leading edge of the Bachmann roof has not been trimmed to length, nor have the sides at the cab end. I still cling to the hope that I can have detachable sides on these two coaches. The latest plan is to fix the cab fronts to the roofs (after profiling to the bowed shape of the cab fronts, laminate a strip down each side of the cabs to thicken them up and then form the radiused edges. This will then leave the join between the sides and the cabs where the yellow paint meets the blue/grey paint and no risk of a join (or do I mean gap!) between cab and roof. Those plastic buffer heads will have to go! The Bachmann chassis on all four vehicles have very alarmingly bowed floors/solebars. I do hope that when it comes to screwing down the floors, they will all become flat. (Fingers crossed.) Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Harvey Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Looking good Colin. What are you going to use for the new buffers? Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted July 3, 2012 Author Share Posted July 3, 2012 Looking good Colin. What are you going to use for the new buffers? Pete Hi Pete, I think it's just the heads that need to be changed. That is, unless the basic shape of the Bachmann buffer body is incorrect for a 4 CIG (hope not). The new heads will be turned brass, filed to shape and blackened. Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted July 4, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 4, 2012 Hi Colin, That front end is coming together very nicely. Cheers SS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted July 7, 2012 Author Share Posted July 7, 2012 Works slowly progresses on the cab fronts. Recesses have had to be cut in the floors to accomodate the MU boxes. The bloodied finger bears out the fact that blunt knife is more dangerous than sharp one! If all goes well, the cabs might be basically together by tomorrow. SQL Error notices are making updates a bit tricky - hope this post makes it onto the forum. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 The bloodied finger bears out the fact that blunt knife is more dangerous than sharp one! If all goes well, the cabs might be basically together by tomorrow. SQL Error notices are making updates a bit tricky - hope this post makes it onto the forum. Ouch! Hands up all the "been there; done that" club members... Ever considered a thimble as digital armour in that scenario? Just a thought... Glad your posts are making it onto the forum, Colin. Always an excellent source of inspiration and 'can do' attitude. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 Ouch! Hands up all the "been there; done that" club members... Ever considered a thimble as digital armour in that scenario? Just a thought... Glad your posts are making it onto the forum, Colin. Always an excellent source of inspiration and 'can do' attitude. Thanks Jan for your comments. I have also learnt that when a Swann-Morton craft knife falls from the work surface, it is best not to try and catch it between your knees before it hits the floor. Colin (Edited for bad punctuation etc.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 Self-inflicted injuries aside, I've been fettling and filing away at the cab front areas. This has just got to be about the most fiddly work ever - and I thought the cab shape of a 2 HAL was hard. Ha,ha! There is still a bit of sanding and refining of shape, but the fronts are on (well a press-fit at least). The only way of telling if everything was in alignment was to crunge the whole lot tight by screwing in the as-yet unaltered Bachmann BSK interiors. The interiors won the fight with the two bent chassis and the bodies look fairly level - for now. The roofs just clip in with a click rather like the RTR coaches did before all this happened. Whilst filing and offering up the cab fronts for the umpteenth time, I had an idea for the secure attachment of the cab fronts. This amounts to screwing them onto a brackets in the cabs at right-angles to the floor. The screws will be hidden behind the gangway assemblies which are also just a press-fit for now (as witnessed by the sagging gangway on the rear DTCL). This method of assembly will only be suitable for the full-yellow-end liveried units, so just as well this unit will be in BR blue and grey. Side-on, it can be seen that I am not quite there yet. It has been a case of taking a few thou. of plastic off at a time. This recalcitrant cab front has decided to slip a down a little -grrr. The white lumps on the roofs are the driver's roof ventilators. They need some gentle sanding to achieve the square-domed shape of the prototype's vent hoods. Another characteristic of these units is the way the gutters finish just short of where you would expect. (As does the beading on the bottom edge of the side.) Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Harvey Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Looking great Colin You will have it all finished in a short time I'm sure. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 Looking great Colin You will have it all finished in a short time I'm sure. Pete Hi Pete, How short a time I don't know! The two DTCLs can at least have their window frames added now all the 'bashing about' with the cabs is over. The to-do list is still rather long: three chassis need detailing, the sides are in need of hinges, some details have to be added after painting, four interiors to re-build and so on. Then there is all the glazing to cut out too. But at least if all goes to plan, the sides will be easy to glaze as they will be separate components rather than ship-in-a-bottle style working on complete bodyshells. To complicate matters further, I have these 1mm dia. magnets which might be useful for authentic-looking jumper cable connections. I am also hoping to have the speedometer cables connected from the bogies to the solebars by means of these tiny magnets set in the bottom edges of the solebars on the DTCLs, with the speedometer cable wires having ferrous ends. (It could, on the other hand, be a disaster, but it's worth a go.) Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 A trailing pick-up bogie fitted with PHD etched transoms and guard irons. There are thirteen parts to the assembly. It really hurt keeping all the parts together while soldering them Pete! There are two brass pins holding the transom to the r/h bogie frame. The other end of the transom is not attached or the wheels would be permanently trapped in the bogie. As luck would have it. I have found a rather nice pair of buck-eye couplings in a second-hand bag of parts bought for a pound - a bargain. There are also new buffer heads for each DTCL and footboards have been added. Foot boards have been added to the solebars. Some pictures seem to show the longer boards being replaced with two shorter ones on some units. Just visible at the back of the coach is a waste pipes from the toilet Underframe details have been added from Southern Pride parts with the white plastic AWS shoe housing being scratch-built. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted July 15, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 15, 2012 Hi Colin This progect is coming together very nicely now that all the earlier set backs are well behind you. That front end captures the prototype nicely and will look even better once all the detail is added. It won't be long now before you will be able to send it to the slap dashers for a lick of paint. Cheers SS edit to remove repition Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Harvey Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Colin Try using Plastercine or Blue Tak to hold them in place while you solder them or make a small jig with a few pieces of wood. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 Hi Colin This progect is coming together very nicelynow that all the earlier set backs are well behind you. That front end captures the prototype nicely and will look even better once all the detail is added. It won't be long now before you will be able to send it to the slap dashers for a lick of paint. Cheers Phil Hi Colin This progect is coming together very nicely now that all the earlier set backs are well behind you. That front end captures the prototype nicely and will look even better once all the detail is added. It won't be long now before you will be able to send it to the slap dashers for a lick of paint. Cheers SS Thanks for your comments SS, That front end, I have just noticed this morning has lost the l/h cab window frame. Aaagh! Just off to look through the contents of the vacuum cleaner bag. Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 Colin Try using Plastercine or Blue Tak to hold them in place while you solder them or make a small jig with a few pieces of wood. Pete Thanks for the soldering tip Pete. I did make some use of wood as a primitive jig, using dressmaker's pins to hold the transoms while manouvering the other parts into place. I have also learnt to solder left-handed! Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Work in progress on the cab fronts. Funny, the horns looked to be level when setting up the photo! There are two lamp irons. Although later on in service the l/h ones seem to have been taken off (judging by photos), a small cut-away remained in the fixed part of of the gangway side. Most of the MU fittings came off the Heljan class 33/1 that was converted back to a 33/0 in May of this year. Waste not want not. Also represented are the handles which operate valves or something. These have been made of brass from an old etch of door handles. Whatever they do, they will be painted red, which will look good against the yellow ends. All the MU fittings are a push-fit into holes and will be removed for painting. The albino replacement l/h cab window frame still needs easing out to size and sanding a little. Where the brass one went - who knows. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 All the windows are finally in! (That still leaves the hinges, door bumps and all the various handles.) DTCLs from the front: DTCL inner ends, complete with toilet waste pipes! The small cut-away on the side of the gangway which gives clearance for the l/h lamp iron. Having looked at prototype photos, it seems 4 VEP cab gangways did not have this cut-away, nor the l/h lamp iron. I wonder why two lamp irons were considered necessary in the first place, as there would have only been the need to be one for a tail lamp - somebody must know. (I have now bent that air horn up too much.) The foot steps will have to be refined -they look a bit crude. There are small plates at cantrail level where the gutter stops at the cab end on these units. I am thinking about adding them, but even 10 thou. plastic is far too thick. Colin (Edited to include query about lamp irons.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 Back from hols in France now. The 4 CIG has been put together using as yet unaltered Bachmann interiors to hold the sides in place so the running qualities can be tested. The MBSO has had the original Hornby class 73 steel weights installed temporarily and this has proved to provide plenty of traction for the unit. There is a Bachmann 36-553 DCC decoder in place with the back EMF set to get the best out of the motor bogie. The unit can creep along very slowly, but does exhibit a 'cogging' effect at speed step 1: i.e. a little bit jerky. The MBSO has a slight list to one side which must be to do with inaccurate fitting of the motor bogie bracket from the class 73 chassis. A shim of plastic will sort this out - I hope. The second coach in these pictures, the TSO, is riding high at one end. It could be that the bogie is sitting on the close-coupling mechanism. I had tried to get away with leaving the orignal moulded sole bar steps on the outer ends of the TSO, but they look too narrow on the front edges due to the relief angle on the moulding and will have to go. The corridor connections have proved to work well with the squares of soft foam for springing. They do part on one side going around the 40" curves of the layout but remain touching on the viewing side luckily. All in all, without wanting to sound complacent, the whole thing runs pretty well and I can get on with the multitude of small and large jobs left in order to finally complete this thing. At last an authentic unit for my rather unauthentic layout! Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted August 23, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 23, 2012 That looks good Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.