Grasshopper John

Tim, dont know if this helps but i drilled my coupling rods out to 2.7mm to give a bit more room for the 2.4mm bush ( top hat ) its plenty to give a nice action.

On my build Tim I assembled the front and rear motion brackets before the slidebars, as the front one will have a recess for the slidebar which may or may not have a slightly downward slant for the slidebar, this reduced a little bit of reassembly for me, although not a lot

Hello Tim, Be prepared to assemble - disassemble many times on the valve gear, even when you think it's right something will bite your backside Hope this helps OzzyO gave me this buts it's Dikitriki aka Richard Picture from his superb build. This should help you identify the parts a bit easier.

Hello Tim, one thing I've got used to assembling my valve gear is the use of 10, 12 and 14ba nuts and bolts, I use CH bolts and once fitted I file away the groove in the head to give it a rivet effect, you also have to file the nut away for clearance but the effect is quite good. Grasshopper.

Hello Tim, found you at last thanks to OzzyO use the rivet, thats what it was intended for. Put a bit of cigarette rolling paper in between the washer and the coupling rod, this will stop any solder getting through to the coupling rods. Re Instructions I agree with you, I have found quite regularly the written refer to parts that don't appear on the diagrams, sometimes they appear about 3 pages on from the one I'm working from. Grasshopper

Lovely workmanship Sandy superb recovery just amazing. And I thought I had a problem. Regards Grasshopper J.

Beautiful workmanship Martyn.

Hello Ken, Don't know if this might help, in a book i am reading about strange facts on the railways it mentions the LION was the star of a film called the Titfield Thunderbolt ( 1952 ) It features an original Lion built in 1838 still running under it's own steam. HTH Grasshopper J.

Lovely build as always Ken, I don't think she is ugly though, mighty workhorses were not built for their looks I guess Regards Grasshopper John.

Unbelievable! have been waiting for this thread for a while and although I have been looking I was looking for the wrong thread title ( I assumed it would be DA not Javelin as never heard of them), No offense Javelin. My friend OzzyO pointed me in this direction and glad he did otherwise I would still be waiting. Things come to those who wait. A pleasure to read, digest, and enjoy the build of a craftsman. The more I see it the more I love it! Cheers Pete, you are a star. Regards Grasshopper John. PS & Thanks Martyn.

Bob you will certainly get help on here, I should know. And the bonus is you make Friends. You should see my work ( dining room table ) Bench, yours is just an untidy tidy mess Keep Posting Bob. Regards Grasshopper John.

Hello Hayfield, Remember me , My first ever build started in Jan 2012. What an adventure and what a learning curve. I fancied building something and came across a 70's K Kit Hall 68xx on the bay neither of which i had ever heard of. I was surprised when it arrived that is was vertualy a flat pack of WM parts all vacuum packed. Thus began a never ending story and getting bitten by the bug of building Locomotives, which incidentally I have a fond passion for being a late 50's kid. Anyway Hayfield and others were a great help on my uphill struggle. I used all of the Kit apart from wheels and motor ( i'll get me coat ) Was never pleased with the gloss paint finish but it was a learning curve, still building to this day all of 15 months later, still love it. Grasshopper John.

Lovely work Ken. Grasshopper John.

Wow 30801 that is certainly a project and a half and one you can be proud of, great stuff. Regards Grasshopper John.

I am new to building but I have had to learn as I go along, I have had a few VERY frustrating moments I can tell you and my wife has told me off about the language but for all my trials all I have to do is ASK one of the professionals on here and I have a solution within minuets I'm only on my second model btw, a problem shared is a problem halved but what a learning curve, I love it. Regards Grasshopper John.

Many thanks Ken, i've looked at airbrushes on the web and they do look nice a bit of a difference in prices though, is it hard to master this art i am new to this but the sheer quality of your finish wants me to follow suit ( a good few years down the line ) rather than a mixer ( air & Paint ) which looks complicated i think i'd prefer a single trigger action to start off with. Any advice much appreciated. Regards John.

So do i need to buy an airbrush OzzyO as i've already bought the primer which comes in two bottles. Also apologies to Ken for my stupid questions and highjacking your thread. Regards John.

Hello Ken, all i can say is WOW what superb workmanship. I am new to building myself ( just finished an old K kit grange ) and starting an A3 in white metal, so on a learning curve OzzyO kindly invited me over to pick up some hints am at work so have to be brief how do you get such a superb finish on you primer coat ? i used halfords for first attemp but have bought some etch primer ( what is etch primer ) which i have to mix with thinners and i intend to hand paint it. Any advice would be appreciated. Regards John.