alanbuttler

Thought I was 99% there with No.5726, but boy does the macro lens show up a lot .... happy though, this has been a fantastic starter project in detailing, its been quite a journey since March 2014...! Credit to George Dent, Paul Marshall-Potter and Iain Rice for the inspiration to first take a scalpel to 7739. Jobs still to do - varnish the decals, screw link coupling for the rear, steam heating cock and pipe for the rear buffer beam, left tank filler lid handle missing, paint the whistles with brass paint. Then weather... then... build the High Level Chassis and get 5726 into the world of P4! That's a job slated for Missenden in the Spring.

Hello Jeff, there is some movement, on a loco front though not building No.5726 fully detailed up No.5726 finally gets a coat of paint and a number, pics of the completed pannier prior to weathering coming soon. (I only went and fitted the bl**dy number slightly wonky after lining up with tape...) No.9000 conversion in progress with top feed and sandboxes fitted No.9018 conversion in progress, needs a respray and numbers Lastly, tonight's experiment... whistles and a long shield. It's quite delicate, the shield is 0.25mm thin.. !

Hi Castle, I'd love to come if there are spaces left, Cheers Alan

Great tip Nick, thank you!

Thanks Mark, its been a real pleasure working on these, with such a good model to work from in the first place its nice to just concentrate on these additional bits instead of improving what's already there.

A number of the Dukedog’s had above footplate sandboxes as determined by the frames of the donating Bulldog. No.9000 and No.9005 will feature in the Works, both of which had this particular trait. There is also another slight variation, No.9000 and No.9005 had their pull rods above the filler lids, whereas 9008 had them running along side the sandboxes, in between the wheel splashers and springs (it’s quite hard to make out, but here is a picture courtesy of the GWSR) This evenings task was seeing how the 3D printed sandboxes for 9000 and 9005 would fit. I’ve had to tweak them a few times to deal with the slight lip on running plate near the rear wheel splashers. First job though was to remove the front sandbox lids from the running plate. These are part of the metal chassis and were not going to budge with a knife, so I threaded a piecing saw blade between the boiler and the running plate in order to cut them away. First complication was that the front grab rails needed removing in order to get a decent cut. These are also metal and quite hard to remove cleanly, in fact I only successfully pulled one, with the other three snapping off and leaving the peg in the chassis. After taking off the sandbox lids I re-drilled these ready for fitting replacements. The sandboxes ping off their build supports really easily, but they do need a little cleaning up with a knife or needle file to ensure a flush fit. The build support penetration can be configured, in this case it was set to 25 microns, so if you remove the supports carefully they just need a quick once over with a file. I’ve experimented with what angle to build them at quite a bit, the best detail being printing them in the normal orientation, but this does mean the base of them is rather uneven – this is due to the resin dripping away and some of it curing. I’m sure that can be resolved, once I replace the layer of silicone in the printer I should get even sharper prints. But for the time being I’ve rotated the prints 45 degrees which gives best of both worlds. On the top of the sandboxes I’d added the short spigots for the pull rods to connect to, more as a test if anything to see if the printer would cope with them. It did, but in practice they are useless, there is nothing for the pull rod to attach to and its too fine a point for glue. These were clipped off and 0.4mm handrail wire used instead, allowing the brass strip pull rods to be soldered to the handrail wire. With that done the next jobs were to bring No.9000 up to the same basic detailed level of No.9018 – replace all the buffer beam fittings, add the ATC electrical conduit etc. The top feed also needed fixing and the pipework modifying, all tasks which involve a fair bit of handling and not ideal after just fixing the sandbox pull rods! Next time round I’ll put them on last as the pull rod connection to the spigots is quite delicate. For the top feed I started out with some 24 swg (0.559mm) copper wire, taped to the boiler with some Tamiya masking tape to get the right shape. With the wire tacked in place it can then bent to shape, with a pair of 16 BA washers added to represent the pipe join before it dips behind the wheel splasher I had originally attempted to make the thin metal pipe casing out of Tamiya masking tape, but I couldn't get the right shape. Something to revisit when I've more patience! Last job now is all the smaller tasks, lamp iron on the smoke box door, replace the whistle, screw link couplings, vacuum pipe and checker plate steps on the buffer shanks. The top feed could do with a little modelling putty to remove that slight gap also - a side effect of the angle I printed the top feed at results in the underside not being completely smooth as it should be. Something that I can work on, or just file out more! That's it for now though, juggling the soldering iron and tweezers trying to make the pull rods has just about finished me off

Hi Paul, thank's for that, I'll see how it goes when I get round to tackling it

With 5726 waiting on some final bits (smokebox number and shed plate) I thought I'd make a start on the trio of Dukedog's that will feature in the works. At this stage its detailing I'm concentrating on, converting them to P4 will be a challenge for later when I've developed some better skills...! There is a well documented process to convert a Dukedog to EM on Alan Gibson's website, hopefully this could be a good starting point. The 3 Dukedog's will give some opportunity to model some of the slight variations between the class members as detailed by Russ Elliott on the GWR Modelling website. Another great source is Railway Bylines Vol 16 issues 2 and 3 (Jan & Feb). Both have 14 page or so articles on the life of the Dukedogs and some great photos. For the works I've selected first in class No.9000, No.9004 and No.9018, all 89C: 9000 (great reference photos at Dovey Junction, Aberystwyth and Machynlleth) Sandboxes above the footplate (determined by the particular donating Bulldog frame) Top feed No whistle shield Small Dean/Churchward tender Fluted rods Lamp iron on smokebox door Black background number 9004 (On shed at Portmadoc, in store at Wellington) Top Feed Short whistle shield Fish belly rods Lamp iron on smokebox door Red background number 9018 (On freight at Aberdovey, not long till the end, Oswestry) Parallel buffers Tall whistle shield Red background number Fish belly rods Faded GWR shirtbutton motif on tender Other options in the future might be 9005, 9014, 9017... can you tell I like Dukedogs... Looking at the works registers for the period I'll be modelling, there are plenty to chose from. 9018 spent it's last days in store out on 'the batter' siding at Oswestry. Along with 9017 and 9004, these were the last of the Dukedog's to see service in 1960. I'd picked up a cheap Bachmann GWR Dukedog from Ebay with various parts broken or missing - the perfecting starting point for 9018 as most of the stuff which was missing I was planning to replace anyway! First up are the buffers, I've used Alan Gibson parallel Collett versions. I can't say how easy or hard it was to get the original ones off - they weren't on there in the first place! The remains of the old buffers are part of the chassis casting, so these were filed down slightly before fitting the replacements. Next was the electrical conduit for the ATC equipment - a small pipe routed through the cab front, down through and then along the running plate to the ATC kit under the front buffer beam. This was a pretty straightforward task with some 0.4mm hand rail wire and some holes drilled in the cab front and the running plate. Photos from a trip to the Bluebell to see 9017 in store helped with this. Next step, though probably a little early considering what else there is to do, was to fit the fine whistle and mounting bracket. I'd printed this a few days ago after a couple of days of fine tuning the B9 Creator settings. This is the finest detail I've got so far, though amazingly there is still some room for improvement looking at what others are achieving! It's fitted to a Comet Model's long shield, part of the LS74 GWR detailing etch. That's it for 9018 now until a few orders come in next week - I'm waiting on cabside numbers from 247 Developments and smokebox numbers from Pacific models. For 9000 and 9004 I've final samples of the 3D printed top feed and sandbox prints currently curing in the UV oven. Both these designs needed some revisions as the first round of prints weren't quite right. The top feed was a pig to design, not having an diagrams to work from just photos, but I think I've got it somewhere near now. Sandboxes are quite straight forward, there are 2 types, the more common type with the pull rods running along the top, and a less common variation with pull rods running along side the sandbox.

Lovely, looks just like an end cottage in Llanwnog where I live. I'm looking forward to seeing this progreas Jonathan

After what was in retrospect disappointing results with Spot HT – through my own ineptitude I must add, I went back to the tried and tested 1:1 mix of B9 Creator Red and Cherry resin. This isn’t to say one is any better than the other, but with little life left in the layer of PDMS silicone before it needs replacement I didn’t have the leeway to experiment further with Spot HT. This last batch of prints has been more experimentation with what level of detail is possible. Second time round I reduced the size of the whistles and the steam heating cock to be a more prototypical size, even more challenging for the printer. After quite a few false starts (left the projector lens cap on, build table not calibrated properly, not enough resin, ultrasonic died), I finally got a successful batch of prints of the highest detail so far. This feels like uncharted territory because I’ve not wanted to let myself believe that it was capable of this kind of detail, until I’d seen it with my own eyes, coming out of my own printer. The whistles came out almost perfectly, considering that some of the detail in the design was under 0.25mm it would be impossible to see with out a macro lens or magnification. Once cured these fine parts are quite robust, they aren’t indestructible but they did handle tweezers and finger tips, positioning them and trimming away traces of Tacky Wax under a magnifying glass! It’s the detail presented on these that has really left me speechless. The beauty of this resin is it’s use to complement traditional materials, in this case matching up the whistles and mount with a Comet whistle shield etch and two strands of 36 swg copper wire to represent the whistle pipework. The whistle print stood up to the finicky task of glueing everything together well, with impatient tweezer nibs looming, third hands full, trying not to drown the details out in glue. This is the kind of detail I was hoping to attain after a few abortive attempts last year. So with that done I think I’m out of excuses as to why 5726 can’t be finally painted and have its correct numbers fitted!

Sorry Jeff!

HI Jonathan, sounds like a nice plan. I'd read that some of the panniers stationed at Moat Lane were used on the Kerry branch in GWR days as well. I've fancied making a micro of Kerry station towards the end in the 1950's, inspired by the lovely images in BB's GW Steam off the beaten track. Something for static grass applicator to get stuck into with all those overgrown lines!

Looking good, this is the best way I think to start to learn the program. I did similar with a signal box and through that process learnt many time saving techniques to employ in future designs. I'd suggest for anything that you will be using more than one of, windows for example or doors, make them components. Anything else make groups so they don't interfere with other geometry near them as you move things around. Will you be planning to laser cut this building?

I've found it best to draw in real dimensions and then scale down as you say, Sketchup struggles at very small dimensions so drawing at 4mm:1ft you will find certain functions like follow me, or offset don't work properly as there is not enough resolution in the dimensions to create the wireframes (something I found on the Missenden Abbey 3D course). Good drawings make everything a lot easier as you can import the drawing directly into sketchup and use it as a guide - if you have 4 hours to spare watch this rather intense video of a chap creating a 'working' Flying Scotsman in Sketchup from the works drawings: It's impressive to see his mastery of the product, I'm far from that level and just creating these test parts posed some head scratching, especially the top feed. Also now the excitement of something actually printing out in Spot HT, I can look at the results a little more critically this morning! They are not to the standard I'd expect (based on the W&LLR print), there is some banding, I'm sure the finer detail should come out better and there is some flashing on the steps. All solvable I'm sure but it will need some more tinkering

Cheers Mike, its still early days with the printer and I'm getting to grips with it, needs a bit of planning now for how best to use it to its full capabilities. I've had some success and some outright failures with it, bit of a steep learning curve but the results are hopefully going to continue to be very good. There won't be any progress on the works building or laser cutting for a while yet, so loco detailing and kits will be my focus for a while. This evenings efforts have been some small parts for the 57xx and some for the white metal 74xx:

Other B9 Creator users have had some impressive results using Spot-HT resin, in particular for small highly detailed components (see Rab's creations!). The main difference with this resin to the proprietary B9 resins is that you cannot use it for casting, it is also much less viscous which should mean that it settles quicker. I'd just about enough life left in the layer of PDMS for another print, so today I tested printing some detailing components using Spot-HT. The test parts I've roughly drawn up in Sketchup, some will need a little more work depending on the results of the print. The test pieces were: 4x Pannier tank rear steps 1x Top feed for 74xx 12x GWR Whistles pairs and mounting bracket 14x Steam heating hose cocks First up, the steps have come out really well, with a thickness of 0.5mm they look just right. The rivet detail has come out nicely but I will probably increase the size next time round. There is some flash to remove from the edges of the steps, due to the positioning on the build table. Another thing for next time is printing these small components on a sprue. They were a devil to get off the build table without damaging! That said, this material is pretty tough even before curing under UV light. The whistles have lost quite a lot of their detail but I think this is down to the clouding of the PDMS. However, the small nut on top of the whistles has printed really well, considering its 0.25mm wide its pretty amazing! The steam heating hose cocks also look pretty good, with the addition of a turned brass pipe and handle made from 0.4mm handrail wire. However both these items are slightly overscale, I'll have to get the micrometer out next time and make them more accurate! For now that's it for printing. I'm waiting on my spare vat to return from the USA as its being fitted with a replacement for PDMS called Nuvat, developed by Evert on the B9 Creator forum (details here). This new material should last a lot longer than PDMS.

The full copy of Handbook for Railway Steam Locomotive Enginemen is online here - https://ia600801.us.archive.org/13/items/HandbookForRailwaySteamLocomotiveEnginemen/Btc-HandbookForRailwaySteamLocomotiveEnginemen.pdf

Hi Simon, happy new year! Regarding the coaling stage road, how about having it purely cosmetic, not joined to the layout point work but heading off scene on a more realistic gradient, thereby also breaking up the line of sight between the layout and the back scene? You might be able to squeeze in an ash road then possibly :-) I'm thinking along the lines of Abercynon Fach or similar.

Happy new year another update on the 5726 front, http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1519/entry-15368-5726-steam-heating-pipes/

Thanks, though I think I'm going well beyond what's needed for an operable layout, you'd never see half of these tweaks if the loco is moving It's in the works with the macro lens where I'm hoping they'll add something different. Good luck with 5724

Happy new year all! Today I've finished the replacement pipework on 5726. For the injector overflow pipe I've used slightly smaller washers, reamed out to fit the copper wire as I think they look a little more to scale than my previous effort. For the steam heating pipework I fancied having a go at creating the effect of cloth cladding so I've experimented with some surgical tape. Micropore has a fibrous texture and I think might be just about fine enough to look something like the real thing. The handrails have also been completed, using Markits short 1.6mm knobs, not Alan Gibson as I'd originally thought. Last job now is the whistles and shield before painting finally! Steam heating pipes - Micropore around 0.4mm handrail wire by CAMBRIAN AL, on Flickr

I've just found the packet for the handrail knobs - they were markits short, pack of 12! That'll explain why I've none left then...

Mince Pie Special at Llangollen today, cold but absolutely beautiful Happy Christmas all and have a great 2015

Here's a couple of pics Mikkel, its great -

Cheers mate, they are Alan Gibson short type (code 4M53). I think it was worth the effort, as a learning exercise if nothing else as I'd not done it before. Bending the handrail wire was a challenge, but heating the wire first helped no end. I was just about to order some more handrail knobs when I found they come 25 to a pack, and I can only count 11 that I've used so I must have more safely stashed somewhere....!!