MarkNJ

Hi Mike, That is a view I do not have, thanks for posting it. Apart from clearly showing the locations of the tank fixing brackets it confirms the location of the filler between them. As for the absence of lifting brackets on this loco, just one more mystery to ponder. Best regards Mark

Gentlemen, I am in the process of building the Mercian kits in O and HO. I am at the point of installing the tank braces and noticed a couple of details that seem to have been over looked due to the lack of a proper GA and the similarity of this loco to the Jinty. Mainly it is the location of the tank fillers and lifting brackets. On the accompanying photo clippings it seems the tank fillers are a lot further aft than we all thought and the front lifting brackets are where the tank fillers are assumed to be located. This post is meant for information and is in no way intended to detract from the excellent work done by k222009. Best regards Mark

Hi Tex, I live in northwestern Canada and have the same issue getting suitable paints. I have been trying Citadel and The Army Painter brands as the local gamers store carry them. The Army Painter is excellent paint and adheres to brass very well once cured. I found Citadel not so good for brass. Both ranges have a large selection of colours though the local store only carries a small selection. The Army Painter "Chaotic Red" is a very close match for LMS/BR maroon. I have heard excellent reports about Vallejo paints but have not had chance to try them myself. All the above should be easily available in the USA. All the best Mark

Hi Chas, The Jubilee just needed setting up once, after it was balanced. All the best Mark

Hi Chas, I model in various scales and gauges and I have tried various systems except CSB. I find horn blocks are not an absolute necessity but make life a little easier. My O scale MOK 9F uses both springs and compensation beams and is a very smooth and powerful loco even around the 72" radius curves and points on my outdoor layout. In 4mm scale I have a Gibson Jubilee which is fully sprung and once set up is smooth and pulls well. I also have a High Level Andrew Barcklay 0-6-0 which has just compensation beams no extra weight and has better traction than my old K's J72 which is about twice as heavy. My HO steamers are all fully sprung, but I think the springs are a bit too stiff to compensate properly. I hope this is some help to you Mark

Hi there, I find the main advantage of compensation is improved traction, this means I do not have to weight my locos, just balance them. Cheers Mark

Hi Ian, Those etches look beautiful. Mark

Thank you both for the help. Mark

Hello Peter, Some very nice modelling going on here. 3D printing has opened up a whole new era in the ability to model the very early railways. My self and a friend have been working on some 3D printed parts. I do the drawings in SketchUp Make and he has the printer, the main issue for us is exporting the drawing in a format his printer will accept. SketchUp Make only exports as .dae or .kmz. which are not compatible with my friends slicing programme. I see from your screen shots that you are also using SkechUp Make and checking on your printers web site it's slicing software also does not support .dae files. How do you get your info to the printer? Best regards Mark

Hi there, I have used a full size sand blaster, but find it is a little too aggressive for the finer model sections. The Paasche works well from 30 psi upwards. The secret is to eliminate any moisture from the blasting medium. Also resist any temptation to reuse the medium any impurity will result in a blocked nozzle. I have used a 3/4 hp contractors compressor with tank for the last 30 years. I found the aerosols to be totally useless. I started with the Badger unit until it wore out then upgraded to the Paasche which I find does the job admirably. Hope this helps. Mark

That's great thanks Porcy. Mark

Hi all, I thought I would share the modifications I made to this excellent kit. I made the sides removable and the clamps operational so I could pose it being loaded. I also sprung the buffers as I find with the Dingham couplers I use it improves operation. Does anyone have details of the palletized brick loads the wagons would carry. I had a look on line but did not see much. Regards Mark

Hi there, I can strongly recommend grit blasting. I have been doing it for the last 35 years and find it makes painting a breeze even on brass. I do not have access to the various etching primers I read about on the forums so had to find another way to make the paint stick (especially to brass) and grit blasting was the answer. The fear of paint lifting when removing any masking was eliminated. I use a Paasche air eraser with their aluminium oxide grit or Badgers. Mark

I have an outdoor layout and use PECO 124 bullhead flex with hand built pointwork using Marcway components. Not very unusual until you realize I live in the Yukon with -40deg C winters and +28deg C summers. When I was planning the layout I contacted PECO regarding the suitability of their track, they did not recoomend it due to the temperature variation. Not wishing to hand build the regular track I ignored their advice and used their flex. After 3 years the track is as good as new. I was surprised that the PECO flex track was cheaper than the components from Marcway for the regular track which I would then have to assemble. The rail and sleepers for the pointwork I bought from Marcway. They were a lot cheaper than PECO points and enabled a more flowing formation. I hope this helps. Mark

Hi Hendie, I know what you mean with erratic paint supply. Hi Hendie, My commiserations on the window location error, it also looks from the photos like they are a bit too low. It looks like the tops should line up with the main windows, or even a tad higher. Keep up the excellent modelling. Mark

Hi there, Yes it is suitable. Just make sure you let it fully cure before applying decals. I use an automotive acrylic hi gloss, this works very well. Mark

Hi Emmo, If you have access to a lathe you can enlarge the axle hole, then glue in a piece of Tufnol then bore that to the correct diameter for your axles. Best regards Mark

The crumbling carrier film is usually caused by old age and improper storage. An overspray with a clear gloss finish before use usually makes them workable. My choice for setting solution is Solvaset which is very aggressive but really settles the decals over any ribs and rivets. My experience with the excellent Railtech decals has shown that a setting solution is detrimental, especially anything with a white component to it. I have found that is causes them to curl up instead of snuggle down, and they then resist any attempt to flatten them. Mark

Back in the day the rule was to match the sealing coat to the decal. Some decals had a matte finish and some a gloss finish. Once that has cured you can then use your preferred final finish. A high gloss base is the only way to get a consistent quality finish with water slide decals be they matte or gloss. Mark

If you are using an airbrush with well thinned products you will not lose any detail definition. I have done many Z scale repaints which required a gloss coat for the decals followed by a dull coat to seal everything. Mark

Hi there, here is an Agenoria Jinty I painted as Thomas for my next door neighbour's boy. He likes to come over and drive the trains on my outdoor layout. Mark

So after diligent research Canadian Tire have a spray bomb in their Premier Paint range called Strawberry Fields gloss. This is close but a bit bright, I decanted some and then added tad of blue acrylic and a bigger tad of black acrylic this came very close to Bachmann's rendition of BR Maroon. I then stopped in at a gaming store in town and they stock two ranges of paints for wargaming models. Games Workshop Citadel "Blood for the Blood of God" is a great match for for the redder version of BR Maroon. The Army Painter Warpaints "Chaotic Red" is just about a dead match for the Bachmann colour. I do not know how people rate Bachmann's maroon, the coaches I own are the only real reference I have. Photographs especially on the computer are totally unreliable as far as colour matching goes. I hope this helps anyone who lives a little of the beaten track. Mark

I'ii add it to the list. Mark

Hi John, I am due to be in Montreal towards the end of the month so I will try and get to Udisco. Thanks again for the help Mark

Hi John, You are quite right about the grey primer, I was planning on spraying a coat of red oxide prior to the top coat. I also have built the Comet 4mm version and I used the Humbrol acrylic but I was not happy with the shade. I weathered it and now it looks OK. I wanted a more pristine look for the larger scale model. The reason for wishing to use auto paint is it is available here in Whitehorse at Canadian Tire, Canada Post seems reluctant to allow people to mail fluids, which makes it very difficult to get supplies from the usual stores. Thanks for the help Mark