MikeOxon

I had hoped to have moved a lot further with No.184 but, unfortunately, have made a very elementary mistake! I knew that one of the problems with 00-gauge is that it is, in fact, a narrow gauge, with implications for fitting the boiler, etc., between the wheels. I think this had lulled me into a false sense of security with the outer dimensions, but these do become rather important in the case of an outside-framed locomotive with outside cranks! I 'got away with it' on my earlier scratch-built 'Queen' locomotive, because it didn't have these features. My 'Queen' locomotive in photographic grey, showing excessive clearance outside 00-gauge wheels My silly mistake was not to allow for the thickness of the metal, when folding the footplate structure. I had marked it out for 7 ft (28 mm) width but, of course, the 10 thou brass sheet is, itself, 0.25 mm thick, which, doubled-up both sides, is another 1/2mm, plus a bit because the fold isn't quite 'tight'. Once the cosmetic outer sides were added, I'd run out of clearance for the outside cranks on 32 mm extended axles (which actually measured at only 31.7mm). Fortunately, my rectangular footplate is simple to re-make to a nominal 26 mm, between the fold lines, but I mention this, in the hope it might save others who may be tempted to follow my very basic approach to model-making. Another poor aspect of the design was that the large cut-out in the footplate, to accommodate the driving wheels, had weakened the structure very markedly. With my 'Queen' model, there were large areas of flat plate both in front of and behind the single drivers and these provided firm platforms on which to place the cab and smokebox. My solution for No.184 was to design the raised firebox such that it includes strengthening lugs, passing between the drivers to the outside frames. Once fixed to the front of the cab, which is itself soldered to the insides of the rear wheel splasher faces, the 'rear end' of the engine became much more rigid. Underside view (temporary fixings with 'Blu-Tack') With these 'improvements', the main components of the engine body have fitted together quite well and the overall dimensions lie close to my initial drawing, as shown in the photo below, where I have super-imposed the drawing. There is still a lot of rather 'fiddly' construction to do, including fitting the tops of the splashers and the splasher 'boxes' inside the cab. After that, the tasks change, as it becomes a matter of adding all the components, such as springs, axle boxes, and boiler fittings. Only then will the 'character' of this particular locomotive become apparent. Photo of current stage of model, with drawing super-imposed One pleasing event is that I think I have found a paint to represent 'Wolverhampton' green. I have been scouring the shelves of various suppliers and recently spotted 20 ml jars of 'Rust-oleum' 'Painter's Touch' enamel in my local 'Homebase' store. Conveniently, this paint is packaged in clear jars, which enabled me to judge that their 'Dark Green' colour had the bluish-green shade that I was looking for. I've not tried using this paint yet but I'm looking forward to seeing the effect on my model. I expect to take a break from modelling over the Christmas period so wish all members of RMWeb a Happy Christmas, with the hope that Santa proves to be a railway fan Mike Continue to next part

A 'real' use could be for making back scenes! Mike

In my opinion, the colour of the sky in your current pictures is about right for London in the 1950s, when coal fires were still used. Mike

Thanks Alan. I suspect that Farthing may turn out to have some very characterful artists of its own

Thanks for the comments wenlock, Mikkel, Job. It's funny that I've had the program for some time but never thought of applying it to the railway. It's rather nice to see what one's trying to achieve, without having to face all those modelling imperfections. Even an Airfix cottage looks quite good under Amy's brush I hope you'll enjoy the software, Mikkel, and also hope that Farthing can produce a few local artists. For the record, I used the 'Benson' style, with the standard settings. I'll have to see if I can find any of Blanche's daubs too - I'm sure they will be very different! My real hope is that I will unearth something of No.184 in the not-too-distant future. Mike

I have written before in this blog about the Wilcote family, whose activities formed such a large part of the social life of North Leigh in the late 19th-century. Any regular readers will know a little about the younger daughter, Blanche, but her sister, Amy, was a far more serious character. Like any well-educated young lady of the period, Amy enjoyed practising her artistic accomplishments. Remarkably, some of her work has survived and come into my possession, so I am fortunate to be able to show some of her paintings of scenes around the village. She was no 'wishy-washy' water colourist but had clearly studied many of the new works being produced by the major artists of the period, and she attempted to copy their styles. View from North Leigh Station to the Quarries Beyond Does that sky indicate that she has, perhaps, seen works by the post-Impressionists? More conventional perhaps, is her study of one of the farms that lie below the steep slope leading up to the quarries: North Leigh farmhouse Her subject matter was not, however, confined to 'pretty' cottages and 'scenic' views but included the railway and the machinery associated with it. Indeed, she has been reported as expressing outlandish views, such as wishing to study engineering. History does not record how Sir John responded to such bizarre suggestions! North Leigh Sawmill Perhaps her most remarkable achievement is her painting of a local train, headed by one of the Dean 2-4-0s, arriving at the station. it is such a pity that there weren't more artists like her, capturing the colours and atmosphere of the late Victorian railways. North Leigh Station I wouldn't like anyone to imagine that I myself have any ability with an artist's paint brush. I was looking at some of the work in the Forum Thread on Railway Art and remembered that I have a computer program called 'Dynamic Auto Painter'. Somehow, the software seems to have encapsulated Amy's spirit and has transformed some of my layout photos into her style! Mike

I've only just found this thread and have been admiring the skills of the artists who have placed work here. For those without the necessary skills with brush or pencil, there is a 'cheat' method, through software called 'Dynamic Auto Painter' from http://www.mediachance.com/ ( no connection with the firm other than as a user of their product). The software starts with a photo, which in my case was one I took of 'Fire Fly' at the Didcot Railway Centre, and then 'paints' it in one of a choice of many different styles. The one I chose here was 'Book illustrator' I find it fascinating to watch the program working, as it builds up the picture in a series of stages, rather as a 'real' painter would, through an initial under-painting and then a succession of finer brush-strokes, using a wider range of brushes, pencils, etc. according to the chosen style. Mike

Glad to know you survived! When I'm using bottles of stuff I don't want to spill, I try to remember to stand them in a small ramekin dish. I learned this lesson after my small son spilt a tinlet of Humbrol malachite green over a new book that I'd just bought - he remembers it too - 30 years later

Hi again Don. The idea about blunting the drill came from this video: Mike

Hi Don, As I understand it, the requirement when drilling brass is to blunt the drill a little, so that it doesn't cut a spiral into the brass. I can see that broaches will be useful. As I learn more about scratch building, I realise that drawings and precise dimensions are only a guide and that the real fit is achieved with files, sandpaper, broaches, and the like Mike p.s. and when the above tools fail, it's time for the fillers

I think 'First Group' could be said to have the same conceit as 'Premier Line'! That D43 is a very attractive little vehicle. If the colour description is 'vermilion' then I think it probably should be more orange than your shade but, with 19th-century colours, who really knows? I'm interested that you jumped straight from 2mm to 7mm when so many people seem to find 4mm a good compromise.

There's one 'buy it now' at £16.50 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ATLAS-1-87-Lautorail-Billard-A-75-D-1947-A040-/141433881996

Thanks DonB. I'm sure that 'real' engineers use all sorts of specialist tools to achieve optimum results in an industrial environment. As a 'part-timer' I generally make do with what I can get off the shelf at Screwfix, or wherever, but I do appreciate that the correct tool for the job can make a big difference. I have read that grinding small flats on the cutting edges of HSS drills can help a lot when drilling brass. My first test holes were a bit rough, until I used a lubricant. I believe that paraffin is best for brass but I used a very light oil, which helped a lot. 'Bits flying' was a bit of an exaggeration but I wanted to emphasise the importance of eye protection - it only needs one small speck... Mike

My drill is a Dremel 8200, which mounts onto the stand. The drill is 'cordless', which is a slightly mixed blessing when the battery goes flat at the wrong moment! I also have a very small 'cheap n cheerful' 12v drill that is useful for jobs like drilling pilot holes under the baseboard. I'll bear in mind those tips for aligning rods for my next build! I agree about lead-free solder - horrid stuff that goes all stringy. Apparently, it's banned for defence and aerospace work in the USA because of the potential for growth of tin whiskers, which can lead to short circuits. Mike

Thank you, Rich - I still can't believe it's rolling beautifully! I had ordered some 8' rods from Alan Gibson but it turns out that he's out of stock, so I'll have to make some. I had read that idea of drilling them all together but too late now! I had only 'tacked together' the body with UHU for the earlier photos, so now I'm cleaning up and preparing to solder the parts together. Apart from those coupling rods, I'm now on familiar ground Mike

A very long freight has just pulled in. Note the guy riding the buffers at the back. He joined his mates as he came alongside. There's been a long conference and it looks as though the shunters are getting into position. Mike

Of course! Thank you for that - one of those things that is obvious afterwards but I was so concerned not to take anything apart until I was sure. Now I've done it once, I'm sure it will seem quite straightforward next time but I wanted to convey something of the tension of doing things for the first time Mike

Perhaps I can humour you by suggesting that a prototype Deltic is almost an honorary steam engine

The number could be to do with Feng Shui or other concerns about lucky and unlucky numbers. Many Chinese tower blocks have missing floor numbers (though not 13, in their case) for this reason.

Although this may seem a short post, it represents a very big step for me! I had been seriously concerned that I would not be able to construct a chassis with sufficiently well-aligned axles, within the constraints of my own abilities and my lack of any real workshop facilities - just a desk and Dremel drill on a stand. My work-desk When one builds a kit, the designer has already made lots of difficult decisions for you. A scratch-builder has to think out every little step for himself - what metal to use for the frames, where to position the spacers, and so on. I decided to cut my frames from 1mm x 6mm brass strip and to hold them apart by three Markits-type spacers. Since one of the driving axles is close to the centre point of the frames, I had to decide where to place the 'middle' spacer. I chose to put it ahead of both driving axles, in case the space between them was needed for motor mounting purposes. Next decision was how to align the frames for drilling the axle and spacer-mounting holes. I have read the suggestion to solder the two frames together, so decided to follow this approach. My iron is a fairly basic Maplin 'solder-station' and, by trial and error, I have discovered that a temperature setting of 285°C works well for me, when using lead-free solder, without too rapid tip-oxidation while 'standing -by'. I've no idea how accurate the temperature read-out is, so other irons may differ. There are convenient buttons on the controller, to switch to pre-set temperatures, and I usually switch to 200°C if I'm not using the iron for a reasonable period. This keeps it warm between uses, without much oxidation. I clamped the frames together, applied some phosphoric acid flux to the ends, and soldered them together. This was fine for holding them when drilling the 2mm pilot holes but, when it came to opening out the axle holes to full size (1/8"), the drill tended to push the frames apart a little, so perhaps I should have soldered them together all along their length. I wasn't sure that my iron had the 'beef' for that and whether I would get them apart again! I measured the positions as accurately as I could with a metal rule (marked in 1/2mm graduations), scribed guidelines with a small diamond scriber, and then centre-punched the holes for drilling. I used a 2mm drill in my Dremel mini-drill, mounted on its vertical stand. I aligned the drill by eye and held the parts in position with BlueTac and adhesive tape - supplemented by my fingers. Eye protectoirs are essential, since tiny specks of brass do fly about when drilling. I applied a drop of very light oil, which seemed to help the drill to go through quickly and cleanly. Once all the holes were completed and I had checked that they all seemed to be in the right places, I applied the soldering iron again, to separate the two frames. Then I cleaned up all the faces with needle files. The spacers screwed in easily and seemed to be well-aligned (I have yet to counter-sink for the screw-heads) but I knew that the acid test would come when it came to fitting the axles through their bearings. I had to use a larger power-drill to open out the axle holes to 3.5mm and then I used a circular needle file to open out the holes very carefully, until the bearings were a firm push fit (with pliers). I smoothed off the ends of the (Alan Gibson) axles and gentle tapped them into the bearings. Everything worked --- they slid into position smoothly between the frames. To say I was relieved would be a great understatement. Actually, I was b----y amazed With that hurdle crossed, I can turn my attention back to the 'body' and , in particular, to obtaining the various fittings that need to be added. One very prominent fitting on many of these early engines can be seen just behind the chimney. I remember, many years ago, that I found it quite difficult to identify this item, so I'm happy to pass on that it is a displacement lubricator for the cylinders. It was placed in that position for ready access to a steam supply but later, the fitting moved to the sides of the smokebox. Later still, these lubricators were controlled from the cab and led to another fitting that puzzles some visitors to GWR footplates. There is an item in the roof that looks rather like an electric cooker element but it is not there for crew comfort - it is the condenser for the displacement lubricator in these early 20th-century engines. Mike Continue to next part

I agree that model lining can be too conspicuous but omitting it altogether misses a lot of the 'character' of19th-century engines. Although it may not show up in photographs, it was there in reality and I think we should aim to restore the colourfulness of the period in our models. You may like to look at my posts on making your own GWR lining in my blog at http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1405/entry-12905-home-made-lining-lettering-1/ Mike

Those guys have no sense of humour - they'll give you at least 20 years!

Hi Cornerman - it is an interesting wagon, isn't it! I use a rugged paper guillotine to cut the straight edges - it copes well with 10 thou brass but I wouldn't try anything thicker. Grip the sheet firmly and cut slowly and steadily. The curved tops to the ends were cut by hand using jewellers snips. i have both straight and curved-blade varieties, bought from Shesto. Work slowly and trim away the excess brass at intervals, to avoid it getting in the way and throwing you off the line. Aim to cut just outside the line and do a final smoothing to the exact shape with needle files or sandpaper (I use a sanding drum in my mini-drill). Mike ps - looked at your website - superb modelling

also 'kit built' (!) Airfix Class 1400 "VGC loco - finely constructed and detailed. Note the fabulous link couplings...." http://www.ebay.com/itm/Airfix-Class-1400-Kit-Built-0-4-2T-Loco-GWR-Green-Livery-1466-VGC-Unboxed-/261666097882?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item3cec83cada

I scratch-build for my own pleasure, mainly! I can fiddle about and try different things, and I suppose I like the feeling of 'mine, all mine' As I'm sure is apparent from my posts, I go for 'atmosphere' rather than strict accuracy, though I don't like getting things wrong, knowingly. Kits can teach a lot about the details of railway stock. For example, before I built the Wizard Models/51L etched brass kit of the GWR N6 horse-box, I knew very little about brake gear. I can't get over-excited about all those details that are hardly noticeable when a train is running and sometimes re-assure myself that, once I have built the basic 'shell', I can add details later, whenever I feel like it (though I usually start something else before reaching that point) When/if I feel that I've acquired the skills to do justice to an expensive kit, I may well have a go, just to see what I'm missing at present Mike p.s. scratch-building can get expensive, too - mainly from sourcing the detailing parts! I'd like an affordable3D printer so I could keep everything in my own hands