33C

Another quick "Jintystein"or B12 bash, a J19 with dual identity. (I can only see one side at a time on my layout!)

Here's "The Great Bear" mk.2. knocked up over that week off. Got to find a couple of princess bogies for the tender as she's on accommodation bogies for now! And a contrast to the usual Hall class to compliment her....

Try this.......or this.....

I have used the Kitmaster van motor as a tender drive and it works fine. As for the loco wheels, just a light sand and polish of the axles allows them to roll very freely with no modification and only the lightest of lead in the framing to keep the centre of gravity as low as possible. The tenders other 2 axles are dummy if you look closely.... failing that i did experiment with a slimmed down Triang class 31 motor bogie in the Dukedog which wasn't a complete success looks wise!

Not really a Nellie bash, just an experiment to see how L.B.S.C. livery would look on the model after reading about Vivien Thomson's layout.

Puts me in mind of the armoured trains used during the Boer war.

I seem to get a lot of B12's come through my hands, probably more than Princesses lately, so ,as threatened earlier, here are my conversions, done over the last 10 years....L.N.W.R./L.M.S. Claughton, Caledonian 908 class, G.E.R. S69, G.C.R. B2, L.N.E.R. C1, L.S.W.R. T9 Paddlebox and L.N.W.R. "Prince of Wales" class.

Like it! It's a pain to get rid of the offside nameplate isn't it.......!

Whole chassis with modified rear pony, filed down wheel flanges(see above) and original bogie, 2/3 running plate, lower cab-sides, lower firebox, rear dragbox, front upper middle cylinders cover. This is the "spine" i used to build on. That way you keep the mounting points, buffer height and rigidity of the scratchbuilt superstructure, (plasticard and plastic water pipe for boiler). And the smoke-box door!

Forgot i had this princess conversion. An L.N.E.R. class A6.

I use the smoke box door from the Hornby class D 0-4-0T . They are both 19mm and pop straight in with a little bit of filing on the rear lip plus , they are plentiful. (Peters spares, part no. L6996).

Here's the template i use for the Gresley "hush hush", no. 10000 boiler casing. When folded over the princess body, the middle straight line on both sides, will line up with the princess running plate. (I glue one side on to this first to aid the folding). Cut the smoke-box of your donor loco at approx 30 degrees from middle of smoke-box door up to first boiler band and glue front apron to curve down to front framing (a good picture would make this clear). Cut down the cab sides and remove roof, dome and top feed. A chimney is a slice of plastic tube and a bit of filler, shaped to a V. (<0 ) The cab is an easy exercise of straight lines and can be done as one piece for both sides and roof. Once attached to the shroud, the extra length will become apparent. (A dummy boiler backhead can be added for extra rigidity if needed and can be detailed before insertion). If you have a drawing/blueprint, all the better. The pony i lengthen with plasticard dummy side-frames and, to keep it simple, a dummy trailing wheel set, keeping the princess axle as is, so it can go round train set curves. Add the handrail to the front framing. Colour is battleship grey with silver boiler bands (plasticard/sellotape/sticky back plastic). Add an A4 tender and white Letraset letters/numbers and your done, for a fraction over whatever you paid for your donor princess. Incidentally, for older chassis with the deep flanges, i just clamp the bare chassis in the vice and give each wheel's flange, 2/3 strokes all the way round with a coarse file at 90 degrees to the wheel and dress with a wet and dry sanding sponge block to a smooth finish so no more bumping on the sleepers! Whole lot takes about 20 mins. Check out the "Railway Modeller for December 1965 "The streamline era" article. Good luck! (My build thread, in detail, is titled "L.N.E.R. 10000 for a 1000 pence.")

Thanx, It's a bog standard "Nellie" chassis with shaped Hall cylinders and shortened valve gear. (cut and drilled), Desmond smokebox/boiler with balsa block glued on top and shaped to an ogee. The rest is plasticard. It's a G.E.R. 209 , L.N.E.R. Y5 class, like the one that was plinthed at Woolwich.

Wet plaster? Green scatter? Z gauge track? Rack railway up your foot! Failing that, tray table railway......!

They would have to be VERY fine and flimsy if you are going to connect the coaches with them. I once tried them on my 00 stock and they caused no end of derailments, catching each other or locking together. I have some very fine paper ones on my wooden fleet that were made at the same time as the contemporary Gresley's but with a good gap. i can fold them out and attach together with bluetack and they work but the coaches are very heavy so do not get pulled over.

It is a bit out of proportion but i saw the idea in a very old "Railway Modeller" and have replicated it as i saw it because it was so radical compared to the usual Princess conversions and i love this kind of thing, doing what you can, with what you've got.....

Brushes may have developed a lip and can catch in a high spot on the commutator where it has predominantly run forwards also, the pick-ups could have worn down and catch in the rims/spokes (common on old Tri-ang jintys). Failing that, i go back to basics, pick-up, wire ,motor in, motor out wire, pick-up. Then test forward/back. If that works, discard everything else! Some of the birds nests i've taken out of loco's have given me enough wire to fill a Bisto pot!!

As a change from loco building i decided to model a 'box i know well after my son bought me the kit for my birthday. This is the first building i have done in years and the research has been a pleasant surprise. No rush on this one as i want to get it as close to the condition as i remember it......

4F model, all flanged. Same with the real 7F, all flanged. Get the Dremel out and reduce a set if your curves are tight.

If i have a Belpaire box, i get a really coarse file and shave off the corners, pack out with card and P38 body filler, smooth with a wet/dry sand block. Fit old Jinty wheels to your chassis and pack the body up. I would saw the B12 tender in thrice and pack out to length if it was all i had or the good old Princess tender cut down with added raves and greedy boards!

Fowler 4F boiler dia. 4' , 7F- 4' 1" - later 5'. So not much in it. Razor saws aloft!!

Here are a few of my school Art and Graphics exam pieces. Hope you like them.

James would make a perfect one of these.....

I was thinking of glueing two Airfix chassis together, using the original tender drive and splicing two bodies together. (I don't like spending money!) If you've got the bits, go for it!

Looks tailor made, look at the running plate up-sweep over the cylinders and the line of rivets on the tanks showing where to cut. bit of cab/bunker/chimney work and put the kettle on!