doilum

A level geographers were told that, apart from an offensive gender specific slang, the word "dyke" might have three meanings. Firstly, an igneous intrusion, often vertical and of dolerite. Then, depending on local usage, the ditch or raised bank. A similar confusion exists over the term "levee". Text books describe the formation of raised banks alongside the edges of slow meandering rivers, yet Don Mclean wrote "the levee was dry". Clearly, in some parts of the US, the levee is the drainage ditch or return channel on the floodplain side of the big bank. Oh, the correct term for a triangular shaped soft white bread cake is a scuffler.

The close ups are cruel and show the amount of remedial work still to do. The front end. I have had the three boiler / firebox / smokebox sections done for some time. The taper boiler and smoke box come part rolled and with a half etched line on the seam. The fire box starts out as two flat halves which require bending ( no problems, did it cold) and a white metal front casting that will ultimately require much heavy duty filing, but provides all the correct locations. The washout plugs were best forgotten, so I scratch built replacements, admired my work, and then found a packet of turned brass items that I had bought over twenty years ago. They remain in the packet. The whitemetal parts have been joined with epoxy, if only because I have probably exceeded my "good luck" limit already. To be honest, very little fetelling was needed to align the three sections. Having already soldered handrail knobs and finished the smokebox door, the front sections were soldered. The firebox is staying loose until the motor gearbox is finalised. The smokebox front is an issue. As supplied, the parts do not add up to make a realistic representation. Remember: some metal working skills required. Having a good, large colour photo in pride of place on the workbench has proved essential.. The smokebox door is fine. The problem is, that in real life it is mounted in a large round casting that slightly protrudes from the barrel. In my case. this was formed by bending some 2mm square rod into a circle to form an outer frame to the door, and then back filling it with solder, very carefully as not to damage the rivets on the smokebox. This was done a while ago and I cannot honestly remember if I soldered or glued the brass rod to the whitemetal plug. It isn't quite perfect, but is a fair representation. The close ups are cruel and show the amount of remedial work still to do. The front end. I have had the three boiler / firebox / smokebox sections done for some time. The taper boiler and smoke box come part rolled and with a half etched line on the seam. The fire box starts out as two flat halves which require bending ( no problems, did it cold) and a white metal front casting that will ultimately require much heavy duty filing, but provides all the correct locations. The washout plugs were best forgotten, so I scratch built replacements, admired my work, and then found a packet of turned brass items that I had bought over twenty years ago. They remain in the packet. The whitemetal parts have been joined with epoxy, if only because I have probably exceeded my "good luck" limit already. To be honest, very little fetelling was needed to align the three sections. Having already soldered handrail knobs and finished the smokebox door, the front sections were soldered. The firebox is staying loose until the motor gearbox is finalised. The smokebox front is an issue. As supplied, the parts do not add up to make a realistic representation. Remember: some metal working skills required. Having a good, large colour photo in pride of place on the workbench has proved essential.. The smokebox door is fine. The problem is, that in real life it is mounted in a large round casting that slightly protrudes from the barrel. In my case. this was formed by bending some 2mm square rod into a circle to form an outer frame to the door, and then back filling it with solder, very carefully as not to damage the rivets on the smokebox. This was done a while ago and I cannot honestly remember if I soldered or glued the brass rod to the whitemetal plug. It isn't quite perfect, but is a fair representation.

Now I compounded my error by choosing the wrong path of salvation. What I SHOULD have done was to sacrifice the rear most part of the floor, even if it meant sacrificing the captive nut. One bold move with the dremel and job done. Instead I went for trying to cut through the joint with a piercing saw, strayed and ended up with a separate buffer beam. The rest came apart easily with the RSU cranked up to "11". Eventually, the problem was all resolved but there is a lot of lead loading in the joints. Mea Culpa. If I ever get to build another: Do NOT solder up the bottom of the sides to the floor. Complete the rear panel and attach to the floor (tacks only) making sure it is DEAD central and SQUARE.. Now bend the sides round and tack in place. Trial fit the top bunker sides, and, if happy, solder it up

Now I compounded my error by choosing the wrong path of salvation. What I SHOULD have done was to sacrifice the rear most part of the floor, even if it meant sacrificing the captive nut. One bold move with the dremel and job done. Instead I went for trying to cut through the joint with a piercing saw, strayed and ended up with a separate buffer beam. The rest came apart easily with the RSU cranked up to "11". Eventually, the problem was all resolved but there is a lot of lead loading in the joints. Mea Culpa. If I ever get to build another: Do NOT solder up the bottom of the sides to the floor. Complete the rear panel and attach to the floor (tacks only) making sure it is DEAD central and SQUARE.. Now bend the sides round and tack in place. Trial fit the top bunker sides, and, if happy, solder it up

The chassis is painted. No agonising about which exact shade of Precision black that will ultimately disappear under layers of weathering. Etch primer. Rattlecan automotive matt black. Precision track grime through the airbrush. Just a light coat, and give the black overnight to harden. Job done. This is a loco where the inside frames will only be seen by those picking it up off the floor, so it didn't warrant lots of masking and a coat of works red. The frame is now in limbo whilst I find the funds for a motor gearbox. so, turn my attentions back to the superstructure. Here lies a cautionary tale of two ends. This is in no way a put down of the kit, just a guide to those following. The rear. You may have noticed from earlier photos that the rear end was missing. I had elected to complete all the steps and handrails whilst it was still flat on the bench. I added brass buffer castings from Roxey Mouldings, and was pretty well pleased with the result. The problems started several weeks ago when I folded up the body sides. The rear bunker section tapers, and despite much care ,I didn't get the taper perfectly symmetrical. This did not become apparent until the job was completed including a solid seam of solder at buffer height. The error only revealed itself when the bunker top sides would not line up.

It has to be God's Own County. Nostell on the old Great Northern lines. Continuous running. Gresley and Peppercorn pacifics mixing with austerities and early 60s diesels. Full length trains. Landscaping to Pendon standards. In 7mm.

CIF or Mr Muscle. Work with an old tooth brush and follow up with toothbrush in washing up liquid plus water. Should then wipe off with a cloth. I agree with the thin brass screw suggestion. Much easier to disguise in the ballast and can also be@ hidden inside a sleeper for visual continuity.

Just checking my notebook. The double gusset became standard on HE 3700 of 1950. Repulse is HE 3698. Brussels HC 1782 of 1945 was damaged in an accident and rebuilt by Hunslet in 1958 to current WD spec.

Correct. Most were from the wartime builds. Look on Amazon for "Continent, Coalfield, Conservation" which is a full register of the wartime locomotives.

One further mod. A double buffer beam brace was introduced on the post war locos. Many of the earlier examples were retrofitted either by Hunslet, or by the NCB.

My work is usually 7mm but method could work on industrial building in 4. Mark out position of windows on front. Drill 1mm hole just inside the corners. Flip over and draw windows correctly. Position windows with d/s tape and add window reveals in microstrip with mekpak. Corner holes should be just visible. Cut out window space and glue prepainted and glazed window into reveal. I tend to back the embossed plastikard with plain 30 thou before starting, and cut an oversize hole in the building carcass for the completed windows to drop into. Often the facade is completed before the carcass. This is only one way of skinning the cat. Hope it helps.

Had a few holidays there in the early /mid 60s as my late father attended an annual conference. One perk was that the local council issued a family complementary pass for the railways, naval battle and swimming pool. Happy days!

In the meantime, returning the edges of the cab door opening to body colour will slim them down.

If you can solder to that standard, consider scratch building the cab from thin brass. It will really make a difference when compared to RTR 4mm models. Love the inside valve gear. Why don't all my 7mm austerities have it? Maybe next years upgrade programme!

Looking around on the second hand stalls, the duette seems to sell for around£15 in mint condition. When hell freezes over it will be because the duette has finally failed. They have the advantage of having all the mains wiring safely boxed away and have the auxiliary take offs for points or signals. That said I still rely on my collection of ancient ECM compspeeds.

I forgot to add: if using rim insulated cast wheels, make sure the plunger avoids the insulation!!!

I always solder the wire to the brass tag. The secret is to find very fine flexible wire. If using busbars, leave sufficient wire to allow for movement. This free movement is the key to Jim's method.

It is surprising what can be cut with a decent pair of kitchen scissors

Consider 18 or 22 mm OSB on some treated 4x2 beams with cross members every 16". Waterproof glue throughout. Seal the OSB with proper bitumen paint having first glued treated strip wood to seal the sides. This should give 20 years plus. Or, how about a upvc door as the basis of a station area? Ground movements are something else. I built a summerhouse for my 16mm Roundhouse loco on steel fence post sockets to save on concrete and landscaping. The door bolt can shift plus or minus 6mm from week to week as the ground moves. Thus I have to start each running session by re levelling the lift out door section.

the one on the left ( no locking screw) has been tweeked. Hopefully I shall get back into the workshop this afternoon and complete the other. I shall do a final all wheels and motion test and then prepare for priming whilst the warm weather lasts.. To be fair to Scorpio, this is the only time that the "some knowledge of the prototype" disclaimer has been pushed so far. Big thanks to 82045 without whose photos this "knowledge of the prototype" would simply not exist without searching the official British Railways drawings.

camera recharged, here are the illustrations.

whilst awaiting the return of "Lazarus", I looked at the pony trucks . The instructions run to less than two lines , but at least diagram five gives an exploded view of the parts. What follows is not so much a criticism of instructions ( that is a minefield of it's own), but advice to anyone tempted to follow in my path. We are fortunate that the 82045 group have photo documented their build so well. Even so, I have made a fundamental error that needs correcting, plus another I shall live with. Given that there were four examples of part 42 (the main A frame) I decided to laminate two pairs to produce a beefier item. Lots of filing and adjustment was needed to complete each truck, but this is an old school kit and to be expected. The error I shall live with concerns part xx,: I noticed the half etch line and assumed it was for an impossible fold and so soldered the m straight to the A frame. I should have realised that it was a guide to set it half way creating a return angle on both sides of the A frame. my job is too neat and strong to change now so I live with it. Doing it again, I might be tempted to dispense with the brass bushes and replace them with a carefully cut length of brass tube to locate the axle. This would have been much quicker than carefully cutting slivers of tube to act as spacers / washers. If following this advice, don't forget to drill a couple of lubrication holes in the tube. The pony truck pivots were added to the frames using the conventional method of soldering a captive nut behind (on top of) the stretcher. The preassembled trucks were now added and clearly, something was amiss. The pony trucks had been assembled from diagram 5 in a single plain. They were now at an acute angle with the guard irons rubbing on the rails. Photo research shows that these were quite stumpy items and were quickly rectified with the Dremel. This did little to resolve the real problem, The acute angle that even Margate would not have allowed. Photos from 82045 show the complex casting and fabrication of the pivot points. First step was to remove my stretchers and reverse them so the nut hung below the stretcher. This was further developed by filing the captive nut round and soldering a sliver of tube round it to create a passable impression of the real thing. These rings are at present about 4mm deep to allow for some fine tuning with a file. Another trial assembly looked much better and had the rolling chassis gliding through a Peco point. I was still not happy about the whole structure being in a single plane. Then I came across the defining photo on the August 2917 update from 82045. The two, as yet incomplete, frames were propped up against the loco. Clear as day there is a change of angle. Now, off to the workshop to modify and photograph.

Hope so!! Once the superstructure is firmly bolted down the cylinders should line up. Needless to say, this is the first thing I will check tomorrow before I put the frames into paint.

Just reread this for mandrel read collets.

not sure how i got the photos out of sequence!!