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  1. 45609

    Sound fitted Stanier 8F

    By 45609,


    Locomotive
    It has been a very long time since I posted anything of note on the forum but I thought my recent work on fitting sound to some of my old loco fleet might be on interest. Encouraged by Robin (Barrow Road) and a few recent visits to the layout I have been impressed by the work he has done on sound implementation. So, I have just had a go myself and put a sound chip installation into my Stanier 8F.
    The results of the bench testing are below and I have been very pleased with the results so far. In most respects the credit is due to a very nice sound project recently released by Digitrains. All I have had to do is play with the appropriate CV setting to syncronise the chuffs to the wheel revolutions. Installation was a bit of a challenge and turned out to be very fiddly as there is not much room in the loco body. The majority of the space is taken up by lead but that does make the loco a really good hauler.
     
     
    Full spec of the install is as follows.
     
    Sound project: ZS044P STANIER 8F PROTODRIVE SOUND FILE FOR ZIMO
    Chip: ZIMO MX649N MICRO SOUND DECODER
    Speaker: SP15X8X8 MINI TABLET 6OHM 15X8X8MM
     
    It brings an interesting dimension to a loco that I built nearly 20 years ago. It now feels like a new model and I'm looking forward to the next trip over to Barrow Road to try it on the loaded coal train.
     
    Cheers...Morgan
  3. 45609
    I got the broad gauge tank back from Warren Haywood a couple of weeks ago and have been steadily working through the list of finishing off jobs. This afternoon I was satisfied that all was done and so a couple of photos were taken for the records. Time to now start thinking about Xmas shopping. Joy of joys!
     

     

     
    Cheers....Morgan
  4. 45609
    Well the promise in the last blog entry of having "....a couple of things to post in the coming days" didn't come off in the way that I expected. Instead I fell into a work (Aerospace Engineering) vortex that chewed me up and only spat me out long after the Xmas break in 2014.
     
    Following this hiatus, where I effectively lost most of my winter modelling time, it has been hard to find the enthusiasm for a number of modelling projects, both personal and on commission. Through April and May I took a long hard look at the things on my list and have decided that I'm going to have to be pragmatic about what I can and cannot do. I'm getting to that time in my life when I realise that I'm not going to live forever. Quite selfishly, and perhaps with a narrowing of horizons, I want to build some of my own models. In future commission work is only going to be taken on if the task ticks a few fundamental boxes. It must really interest me either due to the subject matter or in a way that challenges/extends my skill as a craftsman, designer and engineer. In the case of the latter if I can utilise some of the spin offs from it, for instance a casting master, for my own projects then so much the better.
     
    So in the spirit of that I'd like to show a few pictures of a loco commission that is very nearly complete. It's unsual as I've never done any modelling in this gauge before, although it is P4. The kit is supplied by the Broad Gauge Society and on the whole has built into a nice model of a handsome prototype. There are a few issues that are being fed back to the BGS for inclusion in their instructions but nothing that is insummountable.
     
    The painting is still to come and that will also be a first as I've never done Early GWR livery before.
     
    Cheers....Morgan






  5. 45609

    Saint Ambrose

    By 45609,

    For those readers of this blog that also thumb through the pages of Model Railway Journal it will be no surprise to see these photos. 2912 has been given the prestigious front cover photo in the recently release MRJ242. There are also a couple of lovely photos taken by Philip Hall towards the rear of the magazine. Here are a few more of Philips excellent photos showing some more detail. I'm pleased to have been associated with the re-engineering and re-painting of this wonderful model. Well done Gerry.
     







     
    See my previous blog entry for some background of the model and the work undertaken
     
    TTFN.....Morgan
  6. 45609

    Broad Gauge 3501 progress

    By 45609,

    An earlier entry on my blog ruminated on tackling a fully lined out rendition of the 1880s-90s version of GWR livery. Whilst I think I could have tackled it I'm sure it would have taken me a long time to get it just right. This fact balanced against a lot of other bits of modelling work that are long overdue meant that I decided to engage the services of a sub-contractor for the painting and lining work. Today I received a few tantalising preview images of the work in progress. One of them is copied below from another TV channel. The painter is Warren Haywood and more of his excellent work can be seen on Western Thunder and his website. It should be back at Severnside Loco Works soon for final assembly and detailing.
     
    Cheers....M
     

  7. 45609

    Saint or Sinner?

    By 45609,

    Keeping with the Great Western theme for now over the last week or so I have been working on this beautiful locomotive

     
    Soon to be 2912 Saint Ambrose this particularly elegant GWR 4-6-0 has a rather interesting heritage. It was built more than 25 years ago by Martin Finney using the Proscale kit as a basis. However, how much of the Proscale kit is left is very much open for debate. Whether it is fact or fiction the story that I have been told is that his (frustrating) experience with this loco is what got Martin started on designing his own kits. The rest, as they say, is history. My association with this loco started about 3 or so years ago when my friend Gerry Beale bought the loco from Martin. Martin's interest in the pre-grouping LSWR made a Saint finished in 1920's condition surplus to requirements. The original loco was built to P4 standards and one of the first jobs I did on it was to re-wheel to EM gauge and make some modification to the compensation beam arrangement. In essence simplifying it. This image shows how it looked after I re-wheeled it back in 2012. The original guise was 2920 Saint David although it is not wearing the nameplates in this photo.
     

     
    Following the re-wheeling Gerry took the loco back and stripped off all of the paint and spent a lot of time updating the loco to the late 1940's appearance seen in the first picture. The level of extra detail that he added is quite stunning. Speedo drive, fine pipework and lot of small sundries really lift the loco into the "very special" classification. The agreement between us was that once he had completed the detailing I would take the loco back and apply a coat of GWR Middle Chrome green. Gerry would then do all of the finishing work. Painting the black areas, applying plates, transfers, weathering and final details. It would have been nice if things were so simple as at this point the Saint became a Sinner. Whilst the loco ran tolerably well we both felt that it could be better especially as the loco had a Portescap drive. Some investigative work concluded that the old "variflex" type hornblocks would be worth replacing along with the Maygib steel plunger pickup which were showing signs of rust. However, the biggest issue I discovered was the right hand leading coupling rod was longer than the left hand one by a fraction of a millimeter.
     

     
    This problem explained an awful lot in terms of the running quality of the loco so it was fixed with the help of my chassis jig. New Highlevel fold up hornblocks were fitted and provision made for a removable wiper type pickup plate. In addition to this the brake gear and injector pipe work were modified so that they could be removable for future maintenance should it be required.
     


     
    The chassis has now been repainted and trial run. With the rogue coupling rod shortened to match it's twin on the other side it is much smoother. It has eliminated some rather unhealthy slewing of the middle and leading wheel sets caused by the rods and movement in the variflex bearings. In the meantime the loco body has been thoroughly cleaned and degreased. Following a coat of primer....
     

     
    ....the loco and tender have had a thin glossy coat of cellulose GWR green.
     

     
    So, with a little more work to be done on the chassis over the weekend Saint Ambrose should be going back to Gerry for final finishing next week. I'll make sure I post a final photo in due course when he has finished it off.
     
    Cheers....Morgan
  8. 45609
    OK so it has been a very long time since I posted anything on here but I have a couple of things to post in the coming days.
     
    Firstly, readers of the "Wright Writes" thread will be aware that I planned to produce some small etched cabside screens for use on Hornby LNER locomotives. This morning the postie delivered my etchings and I now have two designs of fret available to purchase. Whilst these items are primarily designed as replacements for the Hornby plastic screens there is nothing to stop them being used on other appropriate RTR or kit built locos. The photos below shows the frets and a screen fitted to a Graeme King A1/1 conversion that used some spare DJH etched cabsides.
     
    Fret 1: Cabside Screens for Hornby A3/A4
    Fret 2: Cabside Screens for Hornby B1/B17/L1/O1
     

     

     
    The basic shape of the visible screen frame is the same on both frets but the mounting spigot positions differ to match the hole positions on the Hornby models. Each fret has 12 screens which is enough for 6 locos (2 per loco) except for the L1 that needs 4 screens per loco. If you are real masochist like me it is possible to glaze them with some thin strips of clear acetate held in place with clear glue or varnish.
     
    If you are interested in one or both of these fret please send me a private message (PM) and I will get back to you with details of how to order.
     
    Cheers....Morgan
  9. 45609

    Postwar decrepitude

    By 45609,

    As a brief respite from bigger projects I've spent a pleasant evening trying out some weathering techniques on a ubiquitous RCH mineral wagon. It is no secret to those that know me that the long term aspiration for my ultimate train set will be set in the 1948-50 period on the ex GN and GC lines around Nottingham. As a result I'm going to need a lot of wooden bodied mineral wagons painted and weathered to show how they looked at the end of their life.
     
    The wagon shown below started life as a bog standard Bachmann "Barnsley Main" 1923 RCH mineral. The running gear is an Exactoscale sprung 9ft underframe on wheels from the same source. I reused the Bachmann brake blocks and push rods but substituted the safety loops with etched strip. The brake levers and guards are Craigwelsh items, and damn fiddly they are too, but they do look the part. Buffers are from Dave Franks (Lanarkshire Models & Supplies) and were drilled out to accept replacement sprung heads from MJT.
     
    The paint job started by distressing the original finish with a fibreglass scratch brush. Throughout I've only used acrylic paints and translucent washes from the Vallejo range. This made it possible to do the whole job in one evening. The underframe was painted dark grey followed by a few planks in a nautral wood colour to represent unpainted replacements. Black data patches were next and hand lettering with a fine sable brush. The weathering then commenced with a lot of drybrushing of silvery grey paint onto the plank edges to represent areas where paint has worn off the original private owner livery. A bit of graining was also picked out in the replacement planks. When this was dry successive washes of black, dark grey and brown were applied to add depth to the finish and tone down the brightness of the numbering etc.... The final step, so far, was to drybrush and wash a bit of orangey rust colour onto the iron work to give a feeling a complete neglect. I'm contemplating a final light airbrush of an underframe dirt mix to finsh it off.
     
    The results look ok to my eye but I'd be interested to see what others think. Is the air of decrepitude too much, about right or not enough?
     


     
    Following the feedback below, thanks chaps, I've added a couple more photos for comparison. A little more toning down of the "freshly sawn" plank, addition of the end door stripe and a light blow over with the airbush. I think I'll call it done. AJ couplings now added ready for service on Clinkerford at York over Easter.
     


  10. 45609

    ECML pair leave the works

    By 45609,

    I finally finished off the two A3s last night and decided to wait for today to take a few photos outside. I thought the reflection from the lying snow on the garden table would be good for lighting up the motion. No such luck. It started to snow before I could get out and do the business. Content with having to take more indoor photos I've attached a few below. So, apart from actually lining and varnishing Cameronian both have also been coaled, crewed, fitted with express code headlamps and had the motion weathered. Time to say goodbye to these two and move onto the next job.
     
    Cheers....Morgan
     



  11. 45609
    My antidote to the Xmas excess of food and drink has been to spend some time working towards completing the two A3s. Shown, in the raw, in the previous blog entry the last 2 to 3 weeks has seen both locos primed and painted. This has been a bit of a game with the weather but thankfully enough fair and dry hours have been found to get them done. Using cellulose paint (primers and top coats) gives a major advantage at this time of year as it is feasible to get a loco painted from start to finish in one or two days. The down side is the humidity and cold which can give problems with bloom of the paint as the thinner evaporates.
     
    Day one is the etch primer and even though some say that overcoating is possible within a few hours I prefer to leave it 24 hours. Day two is the high build primer and top coat (or coats in this case). I don't always use a high build primer. It depends on the surface finish of the model. This time it was necessary as the whitemetal castings of the DJH kits had a few blemishes and porosity that would have shown through the top coat without it. So starting early one Sunday morning the grey primer was sprayed followed, about an hour later, by the brunswick green top coat. After a decent brunch, whilst the models dried in a warm airing cupboard, it was time to get to work masking off the bits I wanted to stay green. Some pre-prepared masking templates helped speed this laborious task up. Things like splasher and the firebox bottom edge shapes had been made from card a few days before so that duplicates could be cut from masking tape. By far the trickiest job was manipulating a long thin strip of tape along the running plate valance. By about 3pm the masking was done but the bloody weather had changed and the rain was falling. ######! It was a full week before the weather was fine enough to get back to the garage and spray the black.
     
     
    The remaining work has been taken more slowly at the work bench. Hand painting a few areas to tidy up masking errors and application of the lining. This time I have used Fox Transfers A3 lining packs and I'm very pleased with how they have come out. The only area I have lined with the bow pen is the running plate valance. The remaining transfers and plates are Modelmaster/Jackson Evans items. The final stage was to give the whole lot a coat of satin varnish.
     



     
    So, as you can see in the photos above Flying Scotsman is complete. I now need to finish off Cameronian. She is well on the way.
  12. 45609

    Another addition to the fleet

    By 45609,

    Another small but essential piece of motive power has been added to my collection. 58165's life may have been unremarkable but it was certainly a long one. Built from 1875 onwards the Midland 2Fs 0-6-0 obviously served successive masters well as many lasted well into the 1960's. Their diminuitive stature and low axle loading, giving them a wide route availability, made them useful beyond their years. To adapt a phrase from a well known Danish lager they were able to reach parts of the system that others were not able too. However, I think it may be a stretch to claim that this was probably the best locomotive in the world.
     

     
    The model of 58165 has had a bit of an identity crisis as I acquired the locomotive a year ago and it was finished in LMS livery carrying the number 22974. The loco was built to a very high standard by the late Gwilym McCoach. It runs beautifully being fully sprung with CSBs and split axle pickup on loco and tender.
     

     
    The decision to relivery in BR black was never in doubt and, to be fair, the LMS finish had seen better days. The choice of 58165 revolves around my interest in the ex Midland lines in North Gloucestershire and my involvement with Robin Whittle's Barrow Road project. 58165 had a brief spell at Gloucester Barnwood shed and would have been regularly employed on local trip freights and engineering trains.
     

     
    In the LMS guise the loco did not have a vacuum ejector fitted so during the strip down all the necessary vacuum brake pipework was installed. A few other items were also addressed during the heavy general overhaul and I'm pleased to say a test run on the group layout this afternoon has gone without a hitch. A bit of weathering and some couplings now await.
     
    If anyone would like a closer look at this loco it will be in the display cabinet at Scaleforum this coming weekend.
  13. 45609

    A thoroughbred pair

    By 45609,

    As I was taking some photos to send to along with an invoice I thought a few pictures of the latest locos out of the works would be good to keep the blog chugging along. Lack of time due to work committments have not allowed much other modelling work to take place recently and when this situation arises it has to be the paid modelling that takes priority.
     
    The subject title ought to give a clue as to what is revealed below. Actually the game was given away in a blog posting a few months back. In an attempt to pay homage to the style of photo so often seen in books by P.N. Townend the unmistakable lines of two Gresley pacifics hove into view. Simmering quietly on Top Shed yet oozing power and purpose awaiting the next race to the north. But , "hang on a minute" you all say. "They ain't painted yet". Agreed and it is a fair cop. Painting is the next job. I had hoped to get them completed and sent out before the Xmas holiday. However, as my spraying booth and equipment is located in the garage, the chance of getting enough fair dry weather to coincide with when I’m available to paint the locos is looking increasingly unlikely. A re-pose of the photos will certainly be necessary before they leave SLW for their home shed.
     
    The models are pretty much out the box builds of the DJH A3 kit. Once again a few Morganism creep in with my standard style of electrical pick up and tender connection. Also a few spare parts from the recently designed Thompson pacific valve gear etches have been used to improve the back end of the radius rod in particular.
     
    Thanks to davidw for letting me try these two around his layout this afternoon for an extended test run. 12 RTR coaches.....no sweat
     

     

     

  14. 45609

    Stanier Workhorse

    By 45609,

    Mostly to confound Mike and save him from turning blue here is a quick follow up to last night's posting.
     

     

     
    48079 rolled majestically out of the SLW paint shops at the weekend sporting her shiny new BR livery following an intermediate repair. As some of you may notice the buffer beams still require a coat of red paint but the apprentice called in sick yesterday.
     
    Enough of the story. In actual fact 48079 is a rather beautifully scratchbuilt P4 model of a Stanier workhorse. It is owned by my friend Robin (a.k.a Barrowroad) and I'm sure he would be happy to tell a little more about it's heritage. It was acquired in LMS black livery and had a number of areas where the underlying metal was peeping through. To grace Barrow Road (the layout) it needed to be put into BR black livery so the best long term option was a complete paint strip and repaint from bare metal. Robin and I carried out some exploratory work, in an unseen area, with a variety of paint strippers to establish what type of paint had been used originally and how easy the stripping was likely to be. The only substance that removed the paint rapidly was Nitromors Craftsman paint stripper (the low viscosity stuff in a yellow can). We concluded that the paint was probably cellulose. Robin was also confident to press on with using Nitromors because the builder of the loco had told him that it was all metal and fully soldered construction. So after her investigative visit to SLW 8079 went away to be returned at a later date......naked!
  15. 45609

    Naked Lady

    By 45609,

    The title of this entry is sure to get people looking. Sadly forum management would not approve so you'll have to put up with these photos instead
     

     
    "Lining by L Goddard, 1981"[/i]. We weren't sure if Larry painted it as well but if he reads this perhaps he may recall?
     
    Now stripped of her clothes the Patriot is booked in for a BR lined green paint job and light weathering with Ian Rathbone later this year. She will emerge as either 45504 "Royal Signals" or 45506 "The Royal Pioneer Corps". Given her current state of undress shouldn't it be "Lady Godiva"? In the meantime Robin has entrusted me to give the loco a once over and repair a couple of locations where the solder has let go. As with the other 2 locos the standard of construction by Richard Hersey is truly awesome. It has real finesse but is also quite fragile in places. Some reinforcement and reflowing of the acessible soldered joints has been necessary to make them into robust layout locos. As far as I know Graham Warburton always kept them in a display cabinet and when you take a look at the last photo I can understand why. Other jobs on the Patriot whilst in at SLW have been to install a DCC decoder (a Zimo 621) and fit AJ couplings front and rear.
     

  16. 45609
    Over the last few months I've had a couple of DJH Gresley A3s on the workbench. In itself there is nothing special about the two builds. However every now and then a small construction problem requires an unconventional approach. Having said that it is only unconventional if one is not familiar with using machine tools in their modelling. I certainly don't want this to be seen as an attempt to sneer at those that do not have machining facilities but rather I hope it will show people that do have the equipment or are even considering buying a lathe or milling machine the sort of things that can be done to lift the quality and finish on your models.
     
    Credit must go to a friend of mine, Mick Moore, who I saw last weekend and he reminded me of the techinque I'm about to show.
     
    Prelude
     
    The problem is best shown in the photos below..... The DJH kit provides a pair of piston valve cover castings that have to be attached to the running plate castings. One is shown below in situ.
     

     
    However the castings themselves are a little too tall and also a bit tapered from inside to outside. The photo is not as clear as I'd like (used my phone camera) but I think the basic problem is shown. The top of the casting should be flush with the top of the frame edge just to the left. Measurements with the calipers confirmed that the casting height was 0.25 to 0.35mm taller than it should be.
     

     
    Of course it would be possible to attack the bottom face of the casting with a file but holding the part securely whilst trying to do this and get the face reduced in height, square and flat would be rather tricky. The amount of material needing to be removed was far more than just removing a few high spots. So I decided that this was a job for my Unimat 3 in milling configuration and the task has 5 distinct parts to it.
     
    Part 1 - Making a fixture.
     
    With such a thin and soft whitemetal casting clamping something directly into the machine vice is just not going to be possible. Even if it were setting the work up square to the milling cutter in 2 planes would also be very problematic. The answer was to make a fixture to hold the parts from a block of aluminium. Any suitable material, brass, tufnol or similar would be ok but it just so happened that I had a bit of aluminium the right size. After clamping in the machine vice the top face has been cleaned up square and a slot slightly wider than the castings has been milled down the centre of the block. The depth of the slot is just a bit less than the final thickness of the castings to give tool clearance and maximum support during the final operation. The photo below shows the finished fixture.
     

     
    In this case there is a slight complication as the casting has a raised sandbox filler lid on the face to be located in the slot. A couple of counterbored holes needed to be put into the base of the slot so that I could locate two castings at the same time to fly cut the bottom faces.
     

     

     
    Part 2 - Holding the work and setting up to cut.
     
    As Mick reminded me last weekend when machining something soft like whitemetal or plastic it is quite feasible to use glue to hold the work. His recommendation is a 2 part epoxy. Now I think he uses the full on 24 hour cure stuff however I'm a bit impatient so I tried 5 minute epoxy but left it for at least 3 hours before machining again to achieve some strength and hardness.
     
    This photo shows the parts glued in place. I've tried to avoid using glue in the bottom of the slot instead building up some glue on the edges in a few places to stop the part from sliding when the cutter traverses the work. You will also notice a black mark on one of the castings. This is the thickest part of the 2 castings, measured with a micrometer, and the actual size "2.07" millimeters has been marked on the fixture as a reminder.
     

     
    Once I was sure the glue had gone off (about half an hour or so) I set the machine up ready to take the first cut. I planned to do this with a fly cutter rather than an end mill as this method is a bit more controllable and gives a better surface finish. Also whitemetal can clog the flutes on an end mill. After checking the tool bit was sharp and honed I set the flycutter into the quill of the machine and moved the tip of the cutter over to the black mark. I then moved the quill by hand over the mark whilst simultaneously moving the cutter down until it just contacted the work. It isn't that easy to see in the attached photo but a couple of bright marks have appeared in the black where the tool face has just cleaned off the surface. The zero position is now set and sufficient material will need to be removed to get the castings to 1.70mm overall.
     

     
    Part 3 - Fly cutting the work
     
    After what seemed like more than 3 hours (I really am that impatient) the job and glue looked like it was ready to take the first cut. I was careful to feed the fly cutter across the parts in a direction and position that pushed the castings into the rear edge of the slot. Any movement or snatch on the first cut would have been disasterous. The vertical feed was very cautious at only 0.05mm per pass but after the first one the castings had partially cleaned up as shown below.
     

     
    After a further 2 passes (0.15mm removed) the faces had fully cleaned up. So far so good and a further 4 passes (7 in total) were taken to get the part to the theoretical size. (i.e. 2.07-0.35 = 1.72mm). Given the style of the fixture accurate measurement of the finished size is a bit of a leap of faith but you have to rely on the accuracy of the initial measurements and have familiarity with your machine. The parts looked like this after the final pass and I set about removing them from the fixture.
     

     
    Part 4 - Removing the work
     
    This is where I had a little bit of self made difficulty by not making the slot wide enough to get access with a small chiselling tool to prise the glue bead off. In the end I brushed a bit of cellulose thinner onto the parts to soften the glue but it still took a little bit of heat to get the glue to give up it's grab completely. This was a bit nerve racking as the parts are whitemetal. Indirect heat applied to the aluminium fixture with a small cook's blow torch whilst keeping my finger on the top of the block to make sure it didn't get too hot was the safest way to proceed. The glue softened and I was able to lever the parts off without damage with the tip of a craft knife blade. Phew!
     
    Part 5 - Final fettling
     
    With the two casting safely off the fixture all that was needed was a clean up of the edges to remove any machining burrs and excess epoxy. A check with the micrometer confirmed the thickness of the castings to now be consistently 1.69mm at every location I checked around the perimeter of the parts. Just about perfect! A dry fit was carried out on one of the A3 running plates and the results were exactly as required. Flush and square with the frame edge.
     

     
    Whilst I've been doing this blog entry the second pair of castings have been mounted to the fixture and the glue is curing. So is it worth it? Well I think so but I have been known to go to extraordinary lengths in my modelling. Perhaps it has given one or two readers ideas of their own.....
     
    Cheers.....Morgan
  17. 45609

    Coronation Tank

    By 45609,

    The latest loco to be put through the paint shops has been a Craftsman A5 4-6-2 tank engine. Now finished in LNER lined black livery and numbered correctly the loco body as received was carrying a rather peculiar number and a poor paint job. The brief was to improve and repaint. The model was thrown in jar of paint stripper which also dispensed with a few of the plastic items. I found that whilst it appeared to be largely soldered together quite a few parts had been glued on. What had been soldered really needed to be re-done as it was only tacked instead of properly seam soldered. The best approach was to attack the stripped and cleaned model with a small blow torch and watch it fall apart before my eyes. When all the component parts had been cleaned up as much as possible the kit was reassembled. Dome, snifting valve, footsteps and handrails were replaced for better and appropriate items for the early LNER period.
     
    Painting followed my normal procedure with one additional step. The re-use of parts meant that one or two had a few scrapes and gouges which needed to be covered up. After etch priming the model received three successive coats of a high build cellulose grey primer. This has been very effective and the application of the gloss black resulted in a very smooth finish. Lining was done with a bow pen directly on to the model with a few pieces lined on black decal sheet (boiler bands and a couple of small inaccessible areas). Transfers are HMRS pressfix and a final coat of Ronseal gloss varnish, let down with a little matting agent, finishes it all off.
     
    All in all quite a satisfying restoration job.
     
    Finished
     

     

     
    After rebuilding
     

     

     
    What I got in the post
    Dont ask me why it was carrying a number for a Q1 0-8-0T
     

  18. 45609
    Quite a while ago I said I'd post up a few comments about the painting process I employ on the locos featured in my blog. This blog entry has been in draft for some time because I've pondered over how much detail to include. In the end I guessed it would be best to publish and see what comments/questions arrive.
     
    The first stage of the painting process involves a thorough cleaning and degreasing. I can't really stress enough how much cleanliness is to the success of the whole process. I will typically give the model a number of cleaning steps to get every last vestige of gunge, flux and glass fibres off the model. Step one is the general clean and I've found the Cillit Bang Universal Degreaser and Grime & Lime products to be very useful for neutralising and removing the c-r-a-p. The next cleaning step is gentler with warm water and the ultrasonic bath. It is surprising how much crud still comes from unseen locations and if it is particularly bad I'm not averse to going back to do more of step one. Finally I will give the model a serious degrease by immersion and agitation in cellulose thinners. This will remove any oils, fats and residue that was missed by the first two steps. Don't forget that dunking in cellulose is not a good thing to do if your model has any plastic or glued together parts on it. Isopropyl Alcohol is a better option in this case.
     
    Once clean the locos are always handled whilst wearing disposable nitrile gloves, the un-powdered variety for preference, again thinking about cleanliness. The last thing you want is talcum powder falling onto your freshly cleaned or painted surface when you pull the gloves off. I get mine from a local safety supplies business along with the disposable "SOCO" suits I wear when spraying. The final and most essential piece of equipment is a breathing mask. Whilst cellulose paint and thinners is not as nasty as some paints it is still hazardous to health and appropriate steps need to be taken to protect yourself. The mask I use has activated carbon and particulate filters. Anything less is a waste of money and will not give adequate protection. One thing to remember for the beardies amongst us is that you will get a better seal on your mask if you shave off the fuzz beforehand. If you can smell the paint you are breathing it in.
     
    On to the painting proper the first step, for metal models, is to apply a coat of 2 pack etch primer. As far as I know the stuff I use is the same as the etch primer sold by Precision Paints. It smells the same and is the same beige colour. I purchased mine from a local trade vehicle paint supplier (i.e. 1 litre of paint and 1 litre of activator/thinner). 2 litres of etch primer cost about the same as 250ml from PP and I'll have enough to last me a long time with careful storage. The primer is made by Tetrosyl and for anyone who is interested in obtaining paint in the way I do this link may be a good starting point.
     

     
    The thinning ratios for spraying are 1 part paint, 1 part activator thinners and 2 parts cellulose thinners. If you follow the 1 part paint to 1 part activator thinners instructions on the tin the paint will form cobwebs and strings as it hits raised detail on the model. How do I know this.......? Essentially the paint is dry before it hits the model and that is the one thing that you don't want.
     

     
    I think that might be a good point to stop for now. After applying the primer the next stage cannot be tackled for at least 24 hours. So the best thing to do is get out of your alien autopsy outfit, pack up, have a cup of tea and wait until tomorrow.
  19. 45609

    Crabbing

    By 45609,

    Courtesy of Kempenfelt here are a couple of pictures of Barrowroad's re-liveried Horwich Mogul "42763". As I think was mentioned on an earlier entry this loco arrived as SLW's shopfloor last summer finished in early LMS livery. Photo below
     

     
    The loco was stripped and repainted at the same time as the 8F and K1 but I have only just finished off the lining. In this case I've used Fox transfers along with a bit of hand lining on the running plate. Prior to all this the loco needed a little work to bring it up to a late 1950's condition. This consisted of...
    Tender coal rails, revised front frames with lifting holes and cab doors using a Brassmasters detail etch
    Snap head rivetted smokebox wrapper done with Archer transfers

    Stuff still to do
    Paint rear buffer beam
    Tender plates
    Dirty cream walls inside the cab
    Cab glazing
    Coal and crew
    AJ coupling on the pony truck
    Final varnish coat
    A "3 weeks out of the works" light weathering job


     

     
    This is a big heavy loco and I reckon it will romp up Fishponds bank with 10 on......and no banker.
  20. 45609
    The last week has seen the lining and detail painting on Peppercorn K1, 62038, completed. Just prior to the dayshift knocking off the loco was shunted out into the yard for an impromptu photo session. The date is 13th December 1962 and this is the last time 62038 will look this clean prior to taking the short journey back to her home shed, 36A, Doncaster. In just over ten months 62038 will be withdrawn and condemned for scrap. In the wholesale scrapping of locomotives 62038 was a comparatively early casualty from this class on utility 2-6-0s. Less than 15 years from building to the cutters torch just highlights how rapid this transition process was. On something that was built to have a useful life of more than 40 years a more moderate approach to the replacement of steam would have probably seen her well into the 1980's. It is an interesting to think that instead of seeing the usual pair of Class 20s on the colliery trains where I grew up, every so often, your patience at the lineside would be rewarded by the distant bark and then sight of a K1 hauling HAA empties up the 1 in 100 from Colwick North Junction to the coal screens at Gedling pit. The date of this little flight on fantasy would be circa 1982.
     

     

     

     
    The reality is that the model below has been built from the excellent DMR etched brass 4mm scale kit. This is the first DMR product I have built and generally I have been very pleased with how it has gone together. Agreed that it does not have the detail or finesse of a Dave Bradwell K1 but equally it does not take as long to build. The main point is that, apart from a couple of issues with the valve gear, all the parts fit together well and the essential character of the prototype have been captured without making the construction overly complicated. The valve gear issues I encountered could partly be of my own making, influenced by my normal endeavours in P4. This model was built to 00 gauge and I find that it was necessary to add spacing washers in various places to get the rods oscillating parallel to the loco frames rather than at an unrealistic angle. The difficulty was that, having done this, I found a couple of locations where adjacent parts were fouling. The simplest way of explain this is to refer to the page from the instructions attached below. It is marked up with the modifications and adjustments I made to get a smooth and reliable mechanism.
     

     

     

     
    Other points to note in the construction (or Morganisms) are
     

    Tender coupling hook fabricated from 0.8mm brass rod shaped to look like the hoses between loco and tender. This idea was first shown here Hinged fall plate. A length of 0.8mm wire soldered along the front edge of the fall plate is pivotted in 2 short lengths of brass tube soldered to the back edge of the footplate. Coil sprung pickups fabricated from 33 SWG phosphor bronze wire. A series of photos on how to make them can be found by following this link Removable brake gear (pictures here) Sprung centre axle using a Brassmasters/Comet style hornblock sliding directly in the frame cut out. Even in 00 I do this as it improves the pick up and running qualities significantly
    The powerplant is a Mashima 1420 driving through a Highlevel Highflyer 40:1 gearbox onto the middle driving wheel. Control is DCC via a Train Control Systems MC2 decoder.
     
    In my next post I'll explain a bit more about the basic painting process.
  21. 45609

    Hard Lining

    By 45609,

    The last few days have seen me tackle some BR mixed traffic lining on a Peppercorn K1, made from a DMR kit. Consistency of lining is always a tricky job and it takes me a while to get into the swing of it. Also spending so long looking at it close up tends to make me overly critical of small blemishes and defects. Frequent breaks and viewing from a distance help keep things in perspective. The attached photos show where I'm up to on the loco body. The tender is not too far behind. After this is finished Robin's crab will be getting similar treatment.
     

     

  22. 45609

    SLW Paint Shops

    By 45609,

    As an opening play on words it is perhaps sensible to "gloss" over the myriad reasons why I haven't posted anything on my Blog for nearly 2 years. So moving on....
     
    A few weeks ago I completed the construction of a spray paint booth in my garage using the left overs from the kitchen installation I completed over the winter months. Obviously with a few grands worth of new worktops, units, tiles etc... I was not keen to continue my habit of spray painting models in the kitchen.
     

     
    A 1.5 metre length on worktop was cut in half and routed to size to form the main work surface and an undershelf. A couple of cheap B & Q table legs support the front edge and Contiboard sides, back and roof give the structure rigidity. A couple of brackets are also used at the top to secure everything to the wall. The roof has a 2 foot long fluorescent strip light and an extractor fan ducted to the outside wall of the garage. Since the photograph above was taken I have added a hanging rail inside the booth so that models can be hung up to dry off. I have also purchased another compressor and Asturo spray gun for a more serious attempt at painting future models with cellulose paint from the gun rather than the acrylic rattle cans from Halfords.
     
    So there is a little starter. Over the next few posts I'll show and explain a few of my early attempts at painting in the new facilities although I will say that after a hesitant start I am now getting some very pleasing results. More soon.....
  23. 45609

    A trip to Memphis

    By 45609,

    Last week during a trip to the USA I was able to find some time to check out some of the local rail operations. Prior contact with some of the local railroad enthusiasts meant I made the most of my free time. As a result I saw some great "big diesel" action over a couple of afternoons at the lineside. Many thanks must go to this friendly bunch. Although I'm fairly new to watching trains in the USA I'd say Memphis is a pretty good location. If you know where to go trains are pretty regular and diverse. I saw locos from 4 major operators CSX-T, BNSF, NS and UP (CN and Amtrak can also be seen in Memphis) with a variety on consists. A much more in depth and interesting view on the Memphis railroads and a lot more besides can be found by browsing Mike Condren's web pages.....
     
    http://condrenrails....road-pages.html
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