The Nth Degree

A small update on the tools I've used. The wheel bearings required opening out – the cast holes being undersize to suit a variety of options of wheel bearing – so I made a purchase of a small set of drill bits. I already had the pin vice. My largest small size drill bit was 1.5mm and my smallest standard sized bit is 4mm so this set fill some of that gap. A reasonable price of £7 for the set of seven drills from my local independent DIY shop. By coincidence, Heywoods wheel bearings fit quite snugly in a 2.4mm hole, which is one of the bits in the set.

I had to refer back to my opening post recently to remind myself what and why I'm doing this due to an 'issue' with the kit. If any of you reading this have bought an ABS kit you will be aware that they come with drawing pins for buffers. No, I'm not kidding. You bang them into a brass tube sleeve and then through some frustrating trickery with spring wire, secure them at the back behind the headstock. I now understand why everybody that I know who has built ABS kits replace the buffers and coupling hooks with something else. However, this is not an exercise in accuracy or to avoid frustration; this is to test the durability of glue as a building medium. So I used them. I can say without hesitation that if I were building these as layout or display models I would also have been one of those people who replace their buffers and couplings.

Already in hand, my dear man

Thanks! Nice to have you stop by as your Mink was one of the models I used for reference, particularly when it comes to planning painting and lettering these. In fact, I'm going to have another look at yours right now...

With only an hour to spare before bed I put myself to work on the body details. Firstly, the door frames were glued on. Being cast, they were not totally straight and flush with the body so some gentle persuasion was required. Easy enough as long as it is gentle. I'll glue the door panels on at the same time as the roof. Also, as these wagons will not be gunpowder vans I added the end vents. Gunpowder vans were not ventilated, just in case an errant spark from the loco happened to find its way in and... well, you can guess. I also need to file off the four discreet rivets from the corners, but I'll do this when I complete the solebar modifications. I'm not sure why I have to do this, I can only assume it was something to do with the cladding or panelling of the interior of those prototypes. Talking of trimming, I've also started removing the extraneous brake hangers that are not required for the refitted V6 Mink – of approx. 1910-1920. I've kept the opposite side central V hanger on simply for balance.

I didn't think I'd be able to hide away in here for too long... But glad you found me. I agree! I have a box full of unmade ABS kits and still need more for my grand vision. Happy that I awoke some memories for you.

Last night I started cleaning up the castings of two Iron Mink bodies. According to the newspaper padding in the boxes these are both kits of circa August 1980 vintage, but are still full of their original detail if slightly blemished. Cleaning up and test fitting took about an hour per van body – gluing took about 20 seconds each, ensuring all corners were square. Originally introduced at the end of the 19thC with lever brakes on one side, some were upgraded during repairs to more modern braking. These vans both have DC1 brake gear, as contained in the kit, although other braking systems are available from ABS as extras. A more in-depth overview of the variation on brakes for these vans can be found on this thread or a more thorough explanation of GWR wagon brakes from this website.

This is a small blog serving a couple purposes. Firstly, to document building these wagons for my personal use, and secondly to test out the Blog feature while remaining fairly anonymous. I have a few ABS wagons to build for my future layout – mostly BR period LMS and LNER opens, plus a few BR brake vans. I bought a small collection of pre-war GWR wagons quite cheaply so thought I could test out a few means and methods of construction before I start on my 'layout' wagons. I never seem to have the time to get my soldering gear out so I'm exploring the feasibility and longevity of using glue, and to that end I've bought a small supply of various types. Along with a basic toolkit, this is all I'm going to use for these wagons and see how they fare on our club layout with as much rough shunting as I dare. So this is it. If I use any more I'll add them as I go. The glue is a fairly thick superglue as recommended by JLTRT, among others. I have a square for aligning sides and ends, a Stanley knife for trimming the castings of flash and pips, a Swiss file bought from my local locksmiths for £5 and a brass pen brush for cleaning the gluing surfaces. As far as I can tell, this is all I'm going to need for the majority of the build.

I've been looking for ages for an online build on one of these kits, I've got 4 or 5 of these in the stash but I'm not entirely sure of starting any of them yet. Do you have documented progress from the start of he build or just where you've left off?

I have a Bachmann/San Cheng/Tower 101 DMU that uses the tiny version without any problems. The motor in these is several times larger than the chip itself.

Good luck at the weekend Chaz. I'm just off for a long weekend in Paris so won't be able to pop over. Hope everything goes well and see you some point soon. Steve

I really like the dusty look of these. How about a brief overview of what you've done?

Really nice Chaz, looks like it's going to be a crowd puller. I'm a bit worried about popping over to pick up the 37 in case I ruin your packing order! Steve

I'm sure I'd be interested in this, if only I could read it...

Well, if we restrict ourselves to RTR (a kit is far more likely, in my opinion) then it's even less feasible unless, as you say Steve, that all prototypes have been covered – which is a LONG way off for Heljan. And then what's to say they wouldn't move into industrials, for example, which are also highly sought after and offer a bigger margin. Anyway, this is pure speculation. Personally, I'd much prefer Lion or Kestral – both much more attractive as models and uniqueness.

I understand, but you're comparing 4mm to 7mm and RTR to kits. Plus we have a more basic problem with numbers. There are 100 or more 4mm modellers to every 7mm modeller. Even if all those 2000 Heljan's sold, once converted to 7mm sales we're only talking 20 at best. Would those 20 sales cover the costs of tooling, moulding and time on research? Probably not. Anyway, back to the Thumper!

Jeff, Brian, do you honestly think that it's likely? It was one – a single – loco. How many sales do you think it would achieve? Before that there are plenty of Type 1 locos that would be much bigger sellers; the Class 15 for starters. Plus many more that are not yet in the Type 2 line-up, like a decent Class 31. Both of those would outsell a Falcon many, many times over.

Oh, rats... Sorry, that should have said 0 gauge Class 24/25s.

Brian, I've been following your thread for an age, and recently have been using your JLTRT Clayton build as a reference for my build about to start soon. Really good stuff here so thanks for the inspiration. What glue do you use for putting everything together – do you use the glue recommended by JLTRT, and which types; Hot, Rapid, Max, etc? What glue do you use for windows? Cheers, Steve

Citranox is just a brand of citric acid, with an added detergent. There are UK supplies of citric acid for less than £2 per 250g and if you use cheap (additive-free) washing up liquid you've pretty much reproduced it. An alternative would be to use white vinegar with a little salt and the same cheap washing up liquid. I use white vinegar on its own for cleaning after soldering but it doesn't always clean tarnishing, and that led me to thinking about using an ultrasonic cleaner as an agitator for the cleaning solution to work much better, but I've not seen any absolute proof that an ultrasonic cleaner is better than a soak in a cleaning solution for a couple hours. Speed is an obvious bonus but a side-by-side comparison would be a real clincher either way.

Someone got a bargain, normally £440... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Just-Like-The-Real-Thing-O-Gauge-loco-Kit-Class-17-Clayton-/251359273597?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&nma=true&si=KNeguaJGIjgW8n%252FQsekT15enwk0%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Why pay less than £100 for your O gauge coach seating when you can pay £150 – and with the pleasure of funding the ****** Gostude too? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360751177634 Retail price, brand new, would be £99.95, so for a whole 50% extra you get... absolutely nothing! This seller must rely on the gullible and stupid to survive. I bet he does it quite well too.

I love this bit. Researching and reading and putting that down on paper is probably the most exciting part in the early stages, which probably explains why there are so many abandoned layout threads here – mine included! I've found that just when I've discovered the perfect prototype and I'm putting the finishing touches to it, another will suddenly appear and offer something better or more appealing. Well done on the thread, very enjoyable.

I'm looking forward to the next episode to the show!

Colin, you'll have to be wary of removing the moisture from the surrounding footings through the cellar brickwork, and therefore bring about some movement in the walls. What is your surrounding earthwork like? Is the cellar the same area as the house above? Steve