greenglade

Morning all, today's blog entry has just been posted and no it's still not the spindles/bobbins...:) I decided that since I had corrected the running board paintwork I may as well get the smokebox out of the way too. This involved a lot more work than just a new coat of paint, details within... http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/completion-of-petticoat-pipe-and-repaint-of-the-smokebox/ Pete

Hi Simon...IIRC the rocket is 3 1/2 gauge, you could try PnP for sections of track, not cheap but can be laid permanently if required Have you tried eBay for a copy of the instruction manual? might be worth a search.. Pete

good afternoon all, sorry for lack of content of late, I was away in Cornwall for a while and now in the middle of some DIY. However, I have found time for 4472 and continuing with my recent post, I have now taken care of that paintwork which has bugged me for so long. well bugged me twice, first the bad finish and then recently the too high level of gloss... I think that I've sorted it now, well, sorted in my mind that is, I like the new finish and think it will look just right on the finished model. Here's the latest blog entry to show what I mean. http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/repaint-of-running-boards-etc/ Pete

Hi guys... a change in plan re 'paint' finish...As can be seen, by the two accompanying photos, I have painted the running boards in the 90% gloss finish, well you can see the splashers, everything else had been boxed up to protect from dust and await hardening before I tackled the removal of any blemishes... However, the amount of gloss had been bothering me as it's just too shiny to how I see 4472 during the late '30s, or for that matter at any time in her long career. This morning I have been looking through all of my reference images from the '20s/30's and also during preservation and none look as gloss as the picture shows here. Now I know that yes full gloss is the finish applied but you have to be very careful when applying it to a model or you end up with what looks like a 'toy'. Even the close-up photos that I took of her at York in 2016 show a satin finish, yes I know it began life as a full gloss but it soon dulls down and it's that 'patina' which I believe my model needs to look right. Therefore, in due course when I sand down the parts to remove any dust/debris from under the paint I am going to give them a light coating of satin which is at 70% gloss level. Not an easy decision to make but each time that I look at that gloss I know that in my head it will always look wrong, or should I say, wrong for a model of this scale. In other news, some of you may have noticed that my blog has been offline for the last 7/10 days, this is due to the server still playing up. Hopefully early this week normal viewing shall return as the blog is migrated over to new hardware, sorry for the inconvenience to those who have been using it as a visual guide to their own builds. Pete Ah, forgot to add, I'm not counting her high gloss finish as applied for Wembley 1924/25... Edit: I'll get back on to the spindles/valves soon

Well, that's the cross-heads all but the taper and some final polishing, next will be the spindles and if the material arrives in time the valve bobbins too. http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/piston-valve-crossheads-part-2/ Pete

On to the piston valves etc...just making a start in this blog entry http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/piston-valve-glands-crossheads-spindles-and-bobbins-part-1/ Pete

Hi guys... this isn't a new entry as such, just me adding to the last blog entry as it's too short to warrant an entry of its own and I think that these details need to be included. I guess the next job on the list is the cylinder valve spindles, bobbins and valve crossheads, that should keep me busy for a while.. Please check the previous link posted for details. Pete

Good day all... I have now assembled the 2:1 gear, there are a few small bits left to do. I need to plot and drill the holes for the retaining split-pins, Don states to use 3/64, I think that I'll go smaller with 1/32. I also need to finish drilling the oilways, these are very small at No.60 and I should have waited for a new drill bit to do these. The first one went without incident but alas I broke the drill on the second pin and I seem to have mislaid a pin too? No big deal, I'll wait until I have a new drill bit and tackle the job properly then. A big thank you to Eddie for describing how the middle cylinder link pin is secured on the prototype, I have done something similar for the model, details in the blog. There is also a new time-lapsed video showing the gear being assembled onto the model, well it is except for my big arm getting in the way, I must try harder next time, now that has a familiar tone to it, from perhaps 50 years ago... http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/gresley-conjugated-gear-valve-connecting-links-part-3/ Pete

Evening all, tonight I have the second installment for the valve connecting links, I had hoped to conclude these parts in this update but there's still some work left to do. I must say thank you to Doug for his timely tips on the fulcrum pin, you'll see what I mean in the blog entry. Hope you find it of interest. http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/gresley-conjugated-gear-valve-connecting-links-part-2/ Pete

On to the connecting links, after much head-scratching and discussion with fellow modellers of Gresley 2:1 conjugated loco's I have decided to change the fulcrum and 1:1 lever bronze bushes to sealed stainless (shielded) ball bearings, just like the full size. This will be covered in the next entry but I'm out of commission next week so it may be the week after before you see the fruits of my labour. In the meantime, here are the details on the connecting links, or should I say half the details, not finished yet but you can see what I've been up too. http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/gresley-conjugated-gear-valve-connecting-links-part-1/ Pete

Well, that's the first part of the 2:1 gear finished, a few more pictures than usual for this one, next will be the 1:1 lever and connecting links. http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/gresley-conjugated-gear-2-1-gear-lever-part-3-completion-of-machining/ Pete

2:1 lever continued http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/gresley-conjugated-gear/ Pete

Good evening all, I am now returning to the motion, to begin with, I'll concentrate on the conjugated 2:1 gear...after this I may finally get back to the cylinders and the valve bobbins which is basically all they require. We'll see what transpires, as some of you will know, I have a bad habit of deviating of course... http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/2-1-gear-lever-part-1/ Pete

We now have working brakes, well should I say in as far as when hanging from the lifting jib, they will, of course, need final adjusting once sitting under its full weight on rails. http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/brakes-part-6-testing/ Pete

evening all, tonight's blog update shows the final assembly of the brake rig and being painted, later in the week I hope to be able to refit the rig to the chassis and test it. http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/brakes-part-5-final-assembly-of-the-brake-rig-and-painting/ Pete

Evening all, more work on the brakes completed today, this time the pull rods, hopefully for the update after this I'll have finished the brakes and tested them too. Blog link http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/brakes-part-4-pull-rods/ Pete

Hi guys... at long last, I have managed a few hours on 4472, hopefully, this means we are back to regular updates. This time it's the brakes and their compensators and links. here's the link for full details... http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/brakes-part-3-compensators-and-links/ Pete

Hi guys.. my apologies for lack of updates, still not been able to do much during the lockdown, hope to do some more on 4472 soon. In the meantime, I have something for the blog news section. these parts which will form the cab fall-plate were laser cut for me by my son-in-law, Mike, thankyou...I'll cover how they go together later, lots of cutting and filing will be involved, that's for sure. The diamond pattern is prototypical as supplied by Adam (Cro fittings) I did the actual drawing for the fall plate in 'Inkscape'. Alas, the laser etcher wasn't big enough to etch the part-whole so a little lateral thought and slight redesign were required. I think it will look better, things will become clearer when I actually get around to cutting out and assembling the parts. http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/cab-fall-plate/ Pete

I've finally got around to doing a small update which covers the brake beams. I'm going to try something different with my updates and that is to perhaps just post a picture to show that it's new and then the link to the particular update involved rather than writing it all up here. The reason is it will save me hours of time when posting to the 4 media outlets that I log the details at, 5 now if including the blog. Alas, it's not a simple case of just copy/paste, if it was then doing it to the 5 wouldn't be an issue but each forum/media outlet has its own system which doesn't allow me to just copy/paste. I'm happy to hear any/all views on this, positive or negative...I find the blog much easier to navigate through if looking to find any particular subject and also much easier to see with clearer text and pictures. Individual sections are very easy to see what's going on, it also includes sub-sections which I couldn't post here as they would just get lost in the 'annals of time' . Blog; http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/brakes-part-2/ Pete

Hi guys Apologies for no updates of late, what with SWMBO working from home all day due to the lockdown, which it seems may now become her normal routine, the new norm so to speak, I've found it difficult to go out and leave her to it... I have been busy writing up the new blog though, this is now fully up to date which was no small achievement believe me. Today I am actually making bits in the workshop, this is the first time cutting metal in a month, hope to have details soon although not sure in what format yet, might be easier just to post a link to the blog with a subtitle or such, we shall see. For those who haven't visited the blog yet, here's the link, it's also in my signature for later reference. http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/ More on 4472 soon... Pete

Looks very much like an A3 to me Tim... nice work. Pete

I have now completed the brake shoes and hangers along with their pins. I say 'completed' there will be a little more fettling later just to tidy things up before painting. Only two pictures to share but it is progress and I'm looking forward to getting on with the rest of the brake gear next week. the first picture is just to give an idea of how much material I removed to get them closer to the prototype, the shoe on the left is the modified item. I have a few machine marks to remove and a little work around the pin-hole to get the shape symmetrical. And a view to show all components ready for the stretchers to be fabricated. When linked up the hangers will hang more or less vertical with the brakes in the off position. As stated. next week I'll make the stretchers depending on whether my propane bottle runs out, it's been getting low for a while. I have ordered a refill for next week but no delivery date given, should be by the middle of the week though. I'm hoping that in two weeks time I'll have finished all of the brake components and be able to test on vacuum... fingers crossed. Pete

Hi guys sorry for no content during the last two weeks, lot's been going on here both with writing the blog and being isolated for you know what. the good news is that this gave me more time to write the blog as some may have seen. I was also finding machining the brake shoe slots very monotonous which also slowed things up a little. Anyway, yesterday I finished the slots and today got the shoes for the leading driver near ready to fit, just need a little filing and polishing to complete. All being well, I'll get the other four to the same stage tomorrow. So, a few photos to share, the first shows a start being made on one of the brake shoe blocks, they were simply centred in the machine vice, chocked up on parallels and machined with a 3 mm slot drill. Now when testing the fit of the shoes I wasn't that happy with the look of them, they looked a little too chunky when compared to full-size photos and also didn't hang right in my mind's eye. Of course, those fitted on FS today may have some wear but even so, they still looked too deep in regards to the brake pad section, from want of a better word. A bit of a pain to remove more metal from the braking surface but even so I decided to do so. With the ring no longer in one piece, I'd have to do them separately and for this, I brought out of retirement the jig that had been used all those years ago when machining the tender brake shoes. Wanting to keep the 3 degree taper (IIRC the tender shoes were done on the rotary table with no taper which was then done by hand later) I decided to fit the old jig to the faceplate. Setting the rad to match the wheels and held securely with a screw into the faceplate near the centre and also two clamps either side of the jig plate after checking for squareness to the centre of the faceplate, each shoe, in turn, was then bolted to the jig and trapped between the two roll pins, that's probably not a very good description but hopefully, the picture will show what I mean. The last two pictures to show the shoes both off and on, I still have work to do on these but will get the others to this stage first and then finish all of them at the same time. lastly a picture with the brake on Tomorrow, depending on how long it takes me to edit tomorrows first blog, I'll finish the shoes and fit them to their respective hangers, I have to make the pins first. I thought that I had done these, well I had but not to the right size... what I mean is, those odd 6 pins I made which were very slightly longer than the rest are the pins but I hadn't noticed that they should be 3/16 pins and not 1/8...lol I must be getting old... still, I now have 6 spare 1/8 pins... Pete

Hi Tim Great to see you posting plans/progress on your A3 here, I shall be following it with great interest... hopefully when things return to normal I'll get to see her at the NLSME track....have fun... Pete

Hi guys Not an update as such, just me sharing my goodies which arrived from Adam (Cro fittings) yesterday. These consist of the Wakefield No.7 mechanical lubricators and the Gresley manifold, both to scale. Lubricators first, here's a close up showing the level of detail which 3D printing can achieve, very impressive. A little of the step processing seen but I'll remove most of this and once painted I'd expect that most, if not all will no longer be visible. The quality of the detail is superb, you can read every word, my hand should give you an idea of the scale. These come with the hinge blocks already tapped 1mm for the pins which are also supplied. Since my smallest tap currently is 1.4 or is it 1.2mm? this was a welcome surprise. The underside to show the 6 oil-way outlets, these are quite small but I'm hopeful of getting these to supply oil, I have already considered a possible mech to feed them, just need to draw it up and have a few R&D sessions. I know that Bob (mech forum) has successfully fitted pipe to 8BA sized flanges which is probably pretty close to these, perhaps even a little smaller. Here I have held one of the lubricators in it's proper location to take this picture. Alas I can't hold the operating arm at the same time, when it's all built the arm will drop through the slot which you can just see and connect to the operating arm below. This arm is attached to the back of the expansion link and also to a rod which connects the the other lubricators arm near the smokebox, all as per prototype. Some may think that these boxes are too small to be practical, well in fact they are about the same size as Don's drawing for his own design, perhaps even a fraction bigger. The trick is going to be to design a system which pumps oil to the 6 outlets...... did i mention how much I love a challenge?... this is something that I have really been looking forward to getting. Here we have the scale manifold, drawn up by Adam specifically for my loco, although I do believe that Adam may have another in stock for any other true scale guys who may be considering the same... First observations show that it's going to be tight although perhaps not as much as it looks. The prototype's manifold handles sit behind the water gauge fitting and it's top valves, although the manifold in general is higher up. I will look at this later once the boiler is back on the frames and the cab attached. I could raise the manifold on a spacer if there is room below the cab roof, if not I may need to get a little creative on the pipes running from the manifold otherwise it's perfect. Yes the handles won't be easy to operate when the loco is running, but then they shouldn't need to be, these are after all just isolators. More soon guys... Pete