grob1234

Good question Graeme.... To be honest, I am not sure is the answer. It is sort of an educated guess, based on preserved loco photos I have seen, and what I reckon looks about right... What I am fairly sure about is that the cab interior in this engine will be very well weathered, rendering the stone colour almost irrelevant. Surely green for green locos? Blue for blue? I don't know... does anyone? EDIT: I was originally going for standard black, but fancied spicing things up a bit with the stone. What do you reckon? Too 'out there' or an acceptable risk?

Hello All, My last update of 2017. Obviously, time at the workbench has been drastically reduced, but other pleasures have taken over. I do still manage some time modelling, especially when his Lordship is taking a nap. I managed to get the J3 fully painted, glossed and numbered, using a combination of Fox and HMRS decals. I'm particularly impressed with the HMRS decals, very nice register, and after a little practice, the Methfix version applied very well. The underframe has already been weathered, and the body in due course. Although it will still be a fairly clean locomotive, picture evidence showing that these were kept in pretty good order by the crews operating them. It would also be prudent to say a big thank you to all those of you on here who have supported my YouTube channel and also my Instagram feed. Although I am sure that there are many out there who think my work on there is a load of old drivel, the channel now boasts approximately 230 subscribers, which is fantastic, given my lack of output, and how long the channel has been going. Add the fact that the subject is pretty 'niche', I am delighted with the growth of the channel. The intention has always been to show what is possible in the hobby of model railways, and if some people see a new technique or a new way of modelling and feel inspired, then my work is done! So once again, thank you for your support, and I hope that my modelling output will increase in 2018. Have a very merry Christmas. And now, a few snaps of the J3:

Good Morning, My last work in progress shot of 2017. My LRM J3 is now fully painted and numbered. The underframe has had a light weathering, and of course the main loco body will also be weathered, albeit lightly; these mixed traffic locomotives were quite well looked after in general by the LNER even in the late 30's. Merry Christmas to all, and all the best for a prosperous and prototypical 2018!

Frank, a 'like' doesn't do this effort justice in my opinion. The track work in itself looks to have been a marathon task. I just hope the spirals and more importantly, the locomotives are up to the task. Just out of interest, have you considered the magnetised underlay system from Woodland Scenics? I think it effectively increases the weight of the locomotives and therefore improves their up hill performance. Just thought it might be worth having a look at if you felt necessary.

Jason, thanks very much for the kind comment. It’s just me messing about really, but if it provides some entertainment then, for me, that is sufficient to make it worth while!

Lovely work on those teaks. Really nice finish IMHO.

Well, Mike, for what it's worth my original question was out of interest - no set up intended, and I don't have any halibuts - they're quite expensive I believe? I model LNER 1935-39, so by definition, the number of kits available to me is small. Therefore due to the small nature of many kit manufacturers I'm interested to see if there are different or better ways to do things that I have not encountered. As for slagging off your builds, this is something I would never do. I hope also that I am broad enough to be able to appreciate good modelling whatever era/scale/gauge it is in. By the way, I am in no way an expert modeller, just someone who enjoys making stuff, and who appreciates other people who make the effort to build stuff. Sadly I tried to find your work on here but couldn't - probably due to the limitations of the site search engine.

I don’t suppose you could do me a favour please and remind him about the LNER bogies for dynamometer car I bought a while back. He was going send a brace to my home address in the UK but I think it may have slipped his mind. EDIT: thanks Dave I have just seen the D&S thread. I’ll probaby write a letter to Dan and ask him for a kit list and of course some bogies. Thanks for the heads up.

Which rolling stock kits do you favour, Mike? Do you have some pictures of them?

Great post Tony. I feel I have graduated from the Tony Wright school of locomotive building distance course, so you have certianly assisted me immensely, though not on a 1 to 1 basis. I may not have graduated with flying colours either, but you are definitely responsible for my addiction to loco building, and I think, if you watched me build, that you would recognise most of the techniques I use. It is one of my big regrets (probably not yours!) that I'm not able to visit more regularly. I have always thoroughly enjoyed my visits to see you and Mo, your collective hospitality, and the warm welcome I always get is most appreciated. I feel our discussions always cover more than 'just railways', and very much enjoy chewing the fat and putting the world to (w)rights. I cannot possibly spare the time to read everything that is written on this most interesting of threads - but I do check in daily. On the whole, I find the discussion lively and relevant, but I most enjoy seeing 'wot people have dun'. By the way, that Dan Pinnock kit looks great. I saw two similar kits on Ebay sell for in excess of £80. I know Dan is mostly retired, but this shows me there IS demand for this sort of thing. Not really sure what point I am trying to make with this post, apart from to say - to all - please keep the pictures and lively debate coming.

I think I should treat myself to a Finney V2, but treat it as a very long term project while I get on with other, easier builds. To me they look like the ultimate in detail and finesse - a good challenge, though not a particularly interesting video series! Your production list would surely rival Doncaster in its heyday. Clearly using your retirement well, and why not, you earned it. I suppose having a full time job, and now a 5 week old baby, my modelling time is rather less that you have available. Having said that I will have one more completed model before the year is out, and for me, that is quite an achievement. I have two others in various states of completion, plus 8 Silver Jubilee coaches that are about 70% complete - all major soldering done, just interiors, roofs and wheels to fit. Simply a question of time...

So I was thinking about getting a Finney V2, it looks amazing, and I really like V2’s. Given that it takes me months just to complete a simple J3, can I assume that at the age of 35, I am liable to die before I complete the V2? I also note with interest the comments in the old magazine. I have a MRJ from 1994, recommended to me by JW for my A1 build, and the comments in the editorial section are almost identical to the ones quoted above. Can we assume then, given the precedence set in 1959, 1994 and today on this thread, that as modellers we will bemoan the decline of real modelling, but also, as modellers we will model whatever the situation with regards to kits or RTR? I hope so, indeed I have been making acquisitions that will enable me to model and build locomotives for at least years. Excellent.

I’ve taken to using liquid thread lock on my crank pins, in paranoia of them working loose, but also for the slight possibility I’d want to remove them in the future. My personal preference is for the old soldered variety, they look neater to my eye, but of course it’s all personal preference, as long as the loco works ok!

Oh BTW I found that the deluxe crank pins required the parent hole in the wheel to be eased with a tapered tap, whereas the standard ones don’t, even though, having spoken to Mark, they are the same size. Anyone else had this problem?

Yep, looks like a steam train to me! Mind you I’m a fairly basic chap at heart!

That's my favorite bit of construction - getting the chassis up and running then installing and testing the motor/gearbox.

Thank you all for the interesting responses on frame width and motor mounts/gearboxes. I decided to get the calipers out, and measure some frames. The outside frame to outside frame measurement on the DJH C1 and A1 are both 11.3mm, so like I suspected on the narrow side. The J3 comes out at 12.8, after my modification of filing down the spacers. This modified measurement compares quite nicely to ArthurK's 12.5mm measurement for OO frames. I'd probably go for something closer to 12mm on reflection, given that I like to fit insulating washers to all wheels, as I want my locomotives to be able to run DCC if required, and therefore all wheels are insulated. Having finally got the motor inside my J3, I am fairly confident that a D2 could handle a decent motor, due to the way the splashers come up to the bottom of the boiler, meaning I can take more off the inside of the boiler to make room for the motor etc. I usually have a play about with templates from the HL website, but was a little over ambitious with the J3!

One thing that I found when building my LRM J3 was that the frames seemed quite wide for OO. I don’t know if I made a mistake somewhere, but I definitely used the most narrow of the spacers provided. I found that there was very little clearance for the side play of the wheels, meaning that the locomotive struggled around even relatively slack curves. The result being I had to unsolder, remove about a mm off each spacer and remake the chassis. Not a huge deal, just something to bear in mind. I calibrate my locos to run round 3ft radius curves by the way. As an aside, the DJH chassis for the A1 I’m building gives almost too much sideplay in the wheels. I wonder if there is a rule of thumb for frame width and minimum radius curve? I have two D2’s in order from John, whilst exchanging emails, he mentioned that GNR kits are going really well, and that he was out of stock of several of them due to high sales. Great news for us kit builders! Sorry to highjack your thread, but Jol have you a recommendation for a motor/gearbox combo for the D2? My usual preference is high level boxes. I only ask as I made a rod for my own back by trying to fit too big a motor into my J3 which has made fitting it all inside a bit of a hassle!

I quite often fly the Perth route Scott, so you'll have to listen out for my dulcet tones on the PA next time!

I am fairly sure it should be arsey, though the google spell checker seems to disagree... We do fly between the UK and AUS, via HKG of course. You could choose from Manchester, London Heathrow or Gatwick to HKG then onwards to wherever it is in Australia you fancy. Off the top of my head we go to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Cairns. Your best bet would be what we call 'Premium Economy'. You get more luggage allowance, wider seats with plenty of leg room, champagne on arrival in your seat, but most importantly you have a quieter cabin, and a greater sense of space than when flying in economy. In terms of booking and achieving a good price, the best way is to be flexible on your travel dates. Quite often for example weekend flights are more pricey. Pay particular attention to special offers as well, they crop up from time to time. My wife told me that recently return flights to Aus with Cathay in business were £3000, which is good considering LHR to HKG can be over £4000 business return. Hope this is in some way useful, though sadly as with a lot of things these days, it is all down to the amount of searching you're prepared to do in order to find the deal that is right for you. PS, if you do happen to transit through HKG, be sure to let us know, and we will take you out for some drinks in the worlds highest bar within a building, it is quite spectacular at night, with view across all of Victoria Harbour.

I've watched that a few times, really nice viewing.

Yes! I knew there was inspiration somewhere in my choice of making a couple of D2's. I'd seen your step by step guide in your book, but last time I came back to Hong Kong I was already close to my luggage limit and sadly, the book had to stay at home. However, when my wife is home in the early new year I'll get her to bring it back for me. Really lovely looking locomotive you have shared with us, Tony, and I entirely agree with you about the finesse of brass versus plastic. Only today was I highlighting the crispness of the tender railing of my LRM J3 Stirling tender to my parents, compared to the three inch thick scale tender sides on the Hornby J15. Please don't misinterpret my comments as being anti RTR, I'm most definitely not - the J15 runs superbly and has loads of detail, it's just that personally, I feel it is almost too perfect. My J3 is far from perfect, and it is these imperfections that give the locomotive its personality and provenance. One imperfection I'm particularly pleased with is a small dent on the tender flare. I have no idea how it got there, but it looks like a heavy handed coal loader dropped a heavy bucket on it or something and added some character. I noticed it prior to painting, but left it in there for fun. PS can I be an arse; I notice the spectacle frame is on the outside on the unpainted model, and seems to have disappeared on the completed model? Which is correct?

Excellent, many thanks Rob. Nice excuse to buy two by the looks of it.

Sorry for the change of topic. I'm looking at D2's in particular the LRM model (my Christmas present from my wife ). As I don't yet have information books on the class, I was wondering if anyone could tell me if the following from the class had the superheated boiler or not in about 1937-39? 4323 4324 4330 4338 4361 4370 4399 All of these appeared at Grantham in 37/38 according to 'Shedbash', so I thought they would have shuttled up and down the ECML on local services etc?

Hello Rob, very pleased to have stumbled across this thread as usual some months late. Also interesting to see the process of the loft conversion, you have done a proper job, and you'll reap the rewards of this over time. So much better than a botch job, too much humidity, large temperature swings, and worse, falling through the floor and into the bedroom below! Not long now til trains are running then....