MikeOxon

8 hours ago, Mikkel said:

I’m just a bit of an Anglophile

Be careful, we might be holding out the begging bowl soon - though I gather currencies aren't doing too well in Scandinavia either.

Another post that reaches places others cannot reach 🙂

How come you have such an extensive knowledge of British history?  I doubt many school children here know anything about such matters.

Beautiful modelling, as usual

Mike

11 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Add to that the informative posts you have provided on here and I think we owe your printer a toast when the time comes to send it off! 

I'm pleased you find the information I write here of interest.  I enjoy writing up what I've done, as it helps me to remember the procedures that I've used and provides a reference on what to do (or not to do) next time!

On 19/08/2022 at 17:25, Mikkel said:

How would you assess the value for money of your current printer,

I think the value of my printer lies in the fact that it opened up a whole world of modelling to me that had seemed quite impossible before.  Compared with other computer-controlled modelling tools, such as CNC machines, the initial cost was remarkably little.

i bought mine as an experiment, to see if i could do anything with the technology and at first, the learning curve was steep and i almost gave up the thought of being able to design my own creations.  Gradually, and with the aid of a lot of thinking time provided by covid restrictions, I started to discover ways of making some simple objects and carried on from there.  I'm still only touching the edge of the possibilities but have found out enough to make models that satisfy me. 

Running costs are almost negligible and there's no messy preparation or cleaning up after printing.  All the work is done on my computer, which means i spend too much time sitting in an armchair. 

If I replace this printer, it will be another filament type - unless some other new technology come along. I may turn to the 'original' Prusa.  The Chinese 'clones' seem to come and go quite rapidly and there is little support for my printer In Europe, although ordering directly from China does work, albeit slowly.

I've been thinking about R/C for a while, so this post was especially interesting. 

I looked at stuff intended for model railways and it all seemed expensive and in short supply.  I felt sure that there should be cheap stuff around, because of all those R/C toys that are around and I'd been thinking of pulling apart one of the grand-children's toys to look at the innards.  I'm sure they won't mind!

The disadvantage i see to this method  is that trains won't stop if they come off the rails - you may have to chase one down the back lane some day 😀

32 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

In the Henley photo, perhaps the lining was lost with colourizarion, or maybe doesn't show on the original film. 

Whatever the reason, it's of great comfort to small-scale modellers that lining is often invisible 🙂

Some very nice figure painting, Mikkel and brought to life by your inimitable story-telling. 

I recall that I tackled some of the issue you mentioned about holders and magnifiers some time ago and I have now found them in a blog post from 2015  My title was "Figure Painting - First Steps" but I never seem to have taken any more steps!  Too many distractions elsewhere, as I flit from one thing to another.

That 'Model Craft' universal work holder that I mentioned was very good for holding figures during painting and has a comfortable wooden handle.  I also use an illuminated magnifier and agree with others that x3 is a useful strength.  My version, however, has an additional smaller area of high magnification, which is great for examining the finer details.  If that style is not available, you could perhaps add a small supplementary lens over part of the main lens.  The combination of lenses worked well for me.

I'll see if I can restore the figures to that post, as they may be helpful.  It's clear that we can expect no more 'restoration' in older posts but I have been restoring images to quite a number of my posts, mainly in the Broad Gauge blog, so far.

Mike

2 hours ago, kitpw said:

If I've understood your illustration correctly, you have the pull rod connected to a crank on the lever arm.

I think that was a mistake and I've altered my drawing   I hope the new version is clearer,

This looks very good and I think the Silhouette cutter works better with card than with plasticard, where it can only cut very thin sheet.  Your roof moulding is a real tour de force

I wrote about the Dean clasp brake at  https://www.rmweb.co.uk/blogs/entry/19076-broad-gauge-mail-coach-part-5/   The important thing to recognise is that the pivots work in two planes.

4 hours ago, Mikkel said:

... I must admit that the sombre look is growing on me...

It's much better than the 'fairground' look favoured by many modern companies.

In paint terminology, 'lake' pigments are those produced from organic materials, as opposed to  mineral pigments, such as vermilion or ultramarine.  Woad was originally a 'lake' pigment although, like most pigments nowadays has been replaced by synthetic substitutes. 

Crimson 'lake', also known as Carmine, was produced from the cochineal insect.  This red pigment was highly prized by artists because of its translucency, which allowed great intensity of colour to be achieved as, for example, in paintings by Titian.

Because of this translucency, 'lake' paints can be used as a varnish over mineral based paints.  I don't know what happened on the GWR but it is possible that red 'lake' layers were initially placed over brown mineral pigments to produce a 'richer' red appearance.  The confusion in reports during the 'experimental' period could have been the result of different ways of layering the translucent varnishes.

Mike

11 hours ago, Mikkel said:

I bet you'll end up printing them instead

You may be correct but I'll have to escape from my pre-1850 mind-set first 🙂

I can only echo what others have already said.  It's always useful to know what goes together easily and where the problems arise - and how to overcome them.  Perhaps, one day, I shall replace my old Tri-angs with some of these 🙂

Mike

Great for you!  Enjoy them.

16 hours ago, The modeller said:

wouldnt dual gauge for em gauge and p4 work

The Broad Gauge Society publish track standards at https://www.broadgauge.org.uk/modelling/models_standards.html  P4/S4 and EM are all considered compatible with 28.08 mm BG track, providing appropriate flange clearances are applied.

On 07/05/2022 at 09:44, Mikkel said:

The Gel style superglue is also my favoured glue, especially the Loctite variant.

Yes, it's Loctite that I use - it comes in packs of 3 small tubes that seem to keep well - better than the liquid sort.

Another example of reality catching up with my imagination:  as part of his mechanisation at Buscot, I read that "Mr. Campbell has has employed the most powerful steam ploughing engines which have yet been constructed,"  Back in 2014, I posted one of Amy's paintings that showed one of these engines at North Leigh creamery, where it had apparently been used as an emergency steam supply after a boiler failed!  Now I know where it had come from!!!

My model was from an old Keil Kraft kit stated to be 1/72 scale but, when placed against a 4 mm-scale drawing of the prototype, the model matches very well!

The idea of bringing in a traction engine as an emergency power supply also did actually occur on the Buscot estate.  According to this article :  "Similarly, the Oldfield mill could be driven externally by traction engine should the turbine fail.  Traction engines were also widely used for estate duties."

6 minutes ago, phil_sutters said:

I hadn't come across the Internet Archive before.

I'm pleased you've found it.  It's a wonderful resource for 'out of copyright' works and there are lots of 19th century railway books, including many classics.  I use it extensively!  There are also books that can be borrowed for a short period.

Thank you finding that, Phil. 

I had done a search myself but only found 'Appleby's Illustrated Handbook of Machinery, 1877', which simply copied the text and illustrations from the Engineering article.  This handbook also lists an 0-6-0ST, with a detailed specification and prices for various sizes.  There are lots of splendid illustrations of steam boilers, cranes, etc.

I'm not sure where that leaves us.  The statement "the springs are between the inner and outer frames" could be read to mean that the springs are within both sets of frames, possibly as a loose transcription of the original information.

If I put my model body onto a commercial chassis, it's irrelevant anyway but I shall also build a static display version, as closely as I can to the engravings that I have.

1 hour ago, phil_sutters said:

In the details under the illustration of Edith in the Appleby Brothers' catalogue, it says that the springs are between the inner and outer frames

Interesting!  The Engineering article includes the statement that: "1he arrangement of the springs, and
the details generally, are so clearly shown in the views we publish, that it will be unnecessary for us to describe them."  I've looked pretty closely at their published views and all the indications are that the springs were inside the inner frames.  I don't have the catalogue that you mention so, if the illustration is different from those in Engineering, I'd be interested to see it.

According to Lowe's 'British Steam Locomotive Builders' in the page about Appleby Brothers, regarding this engine "It was named EDITH and whether the firm [Appleby] did actually build it is debatable, and it is probable that orders received were passed on to firms such as Fox Walker & Company. Avonslde Engine Company and others. "

If this was the case, the catalogue entry may have been somewhat 'generic'

Mike

3 hours ago, sir douglas said:

the drawings and engravings were done by the magazine and not the builders

What has struck me as very odd is that the springs seem to be inside the inside frames!  I don't know much about tramway engines so perhaps this is not unusual.  Could it be connected with the use of outside valve gear?

Mike

1 hour ago, sir douglas said:

"some inconsistencies between the various illustrations"

Thank you for commenting.  I'm gradually learning not to trust published drawings too far.  In some cases, It's simply that the engine wasn't built to the drawing, which was very common in earlier times.

Having got this far, I intend the print the parts and may build a static model showing all that outside valve gear.

1 hour ago, David Bigcheeseplant said:

Do you know how the brake gear gear was arranged?

Hi David, you will find a description in my post at https://www.rmweb.co.uk/blogs/entry/19004-broad-gauge-mail-coach-part-4/ (I have restored the illustrations for you)

Mike

4 hours ago, David Bigcheeseplant said:

at this period I don't think there were brakes.

Not in 1st class carriages but they were on 2nd and 3rds, where a guard rode inside the carriage to operate them.

Lovely rendering in Fusion 360!

3 hours ago, JimC said:

"an attempt to meet Brunel’s virtually impossible specifications."

I think you make a good analogy with IT procurement.  So often, the difference between serving a small number of clients and one for thousands of users is completely ignored and the system falls flat on its face when overwhelmed.   In the case of Aeolus, smaller driving wheels, new cylinders and valve gear made it into a useful small engine, rather then a grossly inadequate express engine.

5 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Dickens apparently referred to Lardner as "The Prince of Humbugs".

Attributing a boiler explosion to lightning does seem to fall into the 'humbug' category!