Hull Paragon

It's quite a while since I did anything tangible to the model but I have been sidetracked at first by the wheels issues and as a result, lathe matters. Walsall responded very positively when I contacted them and I sent the wheels back. I have to say that I was very disappointed with their return. I'm not sure if I should have had a newly formed set but they returned them in a 'repaired' state. (They ignored the wheel on which the two halves didn't quite match). They had simply splashed some more resin on them and although the gaps in the spokesare more full, they are still dimpled enough to be visually defective. Also, the amount of resin on the spokes has produced more, bigger blobs which have to be cleaned off. I've sent them back again and to be honest I'm beginning to get a little bit annoyed at the delay and continued poor quality. As this has developed I spoke to Mark Wood. After a short conversation I bought a form tool from him for future use. I also explained to him that I had not turned wheel castings before and he very kindly included 3 rejects for me to practice on. I read all the blurb about how to turn them (his site and Raymond Whalley's) and tried to set my mini lathe up. It was very quickly apparent that the 'right size' tool was too big and the cutting point was some 1.5mm above the centre line without any way to adjust it downwards. Warco immediately offered to change the tools for smaller shank ones but in the meantime, I was advised to get myself some quick change tool posts......which I did. This immediately cured the tool problem as the new quick change tool holder sits about 5mm lower than the one I exchanged. I trained as an engineer many years ago but it is some considerable time since I used a lathe in anger so I am enjoying a lot of test pieces although within 5 seconds of trying to part a piece, I broke the tool! However, being impatient I did turn the face of one wheel and enjoyed the shiny result! I now intend to buy a full set of drivers from Mark and turn my own......I will buy an extra one though just in case. Ray

Ray Thanks for this interesting comment. I don't disagree with the method. If I had chosen to do it myself as you have outlined, I would be quite happy to take the time and effort to do it. My issue is that having paid a princely sum for the Walsall wheels I shouldn't expect to have to do it myself. It's seriously time consuming and relatively awkward. Perhaps I should have returned them straight away but they didn't look quite so bad before I put the primer on....even though they were not perfect by a long chalk. The buckled wheel is as a result of the two parts not being properly aligned before being bonded. It's not much but is tangible. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have had problems with Walsall. However, they have always responded quickly so I don't want to knock them without good reason. I will look at the JPL J94 pattern though. (I've got a J94 in the 'to do' box). Walsall don't do one and the Slaters pattern looks just awful. Ray

Thanks Mark I had a brief look and they appear to be quite good. I will contact him and find out if he can machine them as well.......I am a bit apprehensive about ensuring accuracy drilling holes etc.... Ray

I have had too much time off what with all the preparations for Christmas and guests needing to be hosted etc. As I was sort of confined indoors, I took a stroll down my Windows 10 learning curve and finally found a method to install my copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 which is supposed to be incompatible with Win 10. Anyway, it loaded and it now works so I can edit my photos on this machine.......... I wanted to straighten up the spring assemblies as a couple of the positions of the bits were not quite right. After I broke off one of the hangers I wished I hadn't! It didn't take too long for it to be resoldered and the re-aligned system to be ready for re-assembly. I still have a small issue with the amount of movement on the rocker beams so I decided to add a 0.6mm shim to each spring tie bar to reduce the float on the axles. In the meantime, I turned my attention to the wheels as I want to set up the coupling rods. As I said earlier I have chosen Walsall wheels having used them before. They have a metal chunkiness that I like and, especially for the Class 4, they do a V-Rim version. For those who don't know, Walsall insulate their wheels by casting them in metal, then cutting through the spokes (in a circle which separates teh central part from the outer) and inserting an adhesivel (epoxy maybe?) which bonds the two parts of the wheel back together. However, this batch has resulted in an almost total quality control failure. All 6 wheels have issues. I thought that the defects might be less obvious if I put a coat of primer on them....but it actually made them look worse as the contrast increased with the lighter colour on them. Here are a couple of examples: The gap where the bond is missing is quite clear....and it's not just one spoke. The blobby bits on the spokes are where the bond has not been properly cleaned off and has been left to harden on the spoke. I tried to file it off but the profile of the spoke makes it slightly awkward, and the spce to get a file in is more limited as you move towards the centre. This wheel is a mixture of the above problems. Another is slighlty buckled where the two parts haven't quite been lined up correctly before the bond was applied. It's not a lot, but is indicative of perhaps deeper quality issues. I suppose I could fill the gaps myself with Milliput or something, but I shouldn't have to do that. Apart from that, it would take ages to fill, clean up and file with the risk of damaging the spokes even more. I really don't like knocking our suppliers. I think in the main they do a pretty good job so I have written to Lez Allen at Walsall and await his reply. Normally they are pretty good at responding to problems so I don't anticipate any issue with getting replacements, but I'm still quite annoyed that I am going to lose a lot of time getting it sorted out. I had a quick look at JPL's wheels at Reading earlier this month when I caught site of their cast J94 wheels, but they don't have a web site so it is not easy to look more closely at their other options. Paraphrasing the character on the Fast Show, 'Today I have mainly been knocking up a paint spraying area for a small portable booth with an extractor so I have a permanent place to spray bits and pieces. Thank you'. Ray

Amazing. I would never have thought that it would be so incredibly popular....but the Minster is one fantastic attraction! Ray

Was it full? 12/13 coaches to go to Beverley for a few hours? Ray

It has been a slow period. The workshop is quite cool as you might expect, and as a SAD sufferer, the lack of sunshine is really not good for me. I have spent some time thinking about the compensation and how best to put it together. The instructions call for a gap of 0.25mm between the hornblock and the rocking arm on a level track. Unfortunately, in order to do this you need to put the wheels in. After that, there is no way the suspension can be adjusted. In fact, I couldn’t see any way of setting the gap accurately so I set the chassis up on blocks with dummy axles and guesstimated the correct location of the hornblocks which I marked on the frame. I then set the tie bar up so that the tang held the hornblock at the ‘correct’ height and measured the tang….I then set the tangs for the other three axles at the same length and wished myself luck. I didn’t get it right and I have about 1mm of movement so I’m a bit unhappy about that! At least having taken the time to tap holes and screw the assemblies together I can take it apart and tweak it if necessary. (Actually, there is a small amout of metal on the spring which could be removed to tighten up that 1mm a little. The whole lot went together although I had to do a lot of enlarging of various holes to get the screws to locate in the hangers. A very tedious operation and for a short while, the total enjoyment of the kit went out of the window. Now I need to think about the pick-ups before I go any further, as well the motor and gearbox before the coupling rods go on. And I can get back to tabs and slots! Chassis with springs: Ray

There are times when I sit down and wonder where the time has gone! For some reason I just haven't got round to much recently, but I have still made a little progress. The chassis slots together easily enough providing you take it slowly...I did it from one end to the other and once I was happy, I twisted the tabs......not all of them though as some are needed to locate the frame overlays. This can then be soldered. When I bought the kit, Dave was quite proud of the fact that normally, the driving wheels are already lined up and no chassis construction jig is needed...or it shouldn't be. The instructions advise leaving any wheel adjustments until after the chassis is solid. I'm not so keen to take anyone's word for it though so I put some dummy axles through just to check. The alignment was almost perfect but there was some very slight tightness. However I found that if I gently squeezed the chassis with my fingers the rods dropped out. So I tweaked the construction like that before I soldered it. This worked perfectly. Being the impatient type I wanted to set the drivers up and run it by hand though a test curve. The front set were quite tight and I had to rub the bearing surfaces down a little bit.....but they soon freed up. The rocking beam arms and box are visible in the second picture. I now need to fit the springs and set the suspension up....not particularly easy if my experience this afternoon is anything to go by! Ray

Hello Martin Thanks for your comment....helpful as usual! I haven't got far to be honest but I'm usually able to find online help for the low level things I have managed to do. I just happen to be one of those that learns quicker when shown! Ray Of course! Thanks Simon

Dave I have no idea! They don't seem to appear in the instructions but maybe I'll discover that they are used to route piping or something. The tabs above the axles are for the chassis overlays. Ray

Thanks Simon I do go on the forum but it's like rowing through treacle sometimes trying to piece things together. I'll persevere! Ray

I posted some stuff a short while ago, including some replies to comments, which don't seem to have uploaded. The site was very slow that day so maybe there was a problem. Anyway, I sorted the back to front frames out including re-soldering those **** sand valves.....several times. They are still not 100% like some I have seen (Dibateg for instance!), but I must move on or I will never finish it. I took a minor divergence from the instructions .....I wanted a flat surface so that I could use the RSU to solder the spring hangers on, so I soldered the loose support for the sanding valves and filed it flat so the tab didn't protrude. So, on to the springs and suspension. Loads of bits and pieces to prepare: I soldered the hangers on and then replace the bearing. A couple of sand pipes later and now I can cut the support off and unsolder the tab. One of the sand pipes needs to be routed a bit higher as another sits below it and at the moment there isn't enough room. A quick view of the RHS: And the inside with pre-assembled stretchers and rocking arms box in place but not yet soldered. The LHS is almost done.....just the sand pipes and I can assemble the chassis for soldering. Hopefully that will be done today before I set the suspension up later. With apologies for the darker than normal pictures....If anyone needs a clear copy of one (or all) I'll redo it/them. Ray

Hello Is there anyone out there who lives in the Portsmouth area who is reasonably up to speed with Templot? I really struggle trying to understand the written instructions and guidance on the various forums so it would be useful to sit with someone who knows the system a little bit and see how it works. I can do some things but as soon as it gets a bit more involved I hit a mental blank wall. It's worth a beer or two......... If you would let me know via the site I would appreciate it. Thanks Ray

No such pictures I'm afraid....I only went to Craven Park once and I didn't see any coaches! Ray

Mark A good tip thanks Ray

Well done to the bearing spotters and others who may have noticed that I also put the sanding valves in the wrong way round. I'm really annoyed at that because I didn't do well getting them in and now they have to come out and be done again! I realised my mistake when I had soldered in a pair of spring hangers and I was looking at the bearing arrangements to set the clearances......I just couldn't figure it out until I discovered that I had put the hangers on the wrong side as well. This all stems from my mind somehow managing to ignore the fact that the hornblock arrangement houses the rocker beams and therefore, is on the inner side. Mind you, it could have been worse as I snapped a 12BA tap off in a hanger and couldn't do anymore so I only had one pair that I could fit. I phoned Dave yesterday (Friday) who put a new one in the post yesterday and it arrived this morning. Fantastic service Dave thanks! So I took out the wrong bits and soldered them all back on the right side......on one frame anyway. The second one still awaits my next session. So my advice for the day is: Read the instructions, twice, then read them again, and before you do anything check twice.......... Ray

Doc It wasn't an advert, it was a series or something about the First World War......I think! And I'm sure it wasn't a Pacific.....but it was a long time ago!! Ray

I hope these might be of some interest. They are pictures I took in (I think) 1989 when I went into Hull Paragon and discovered a TV programme being filmed. There was a steam loco in the end platform....could have been a preserved Southern Region engine. I don't know what the programme was called but I did see it when it was broadcast! Ray

I'm in the process of putting the springs and hangers together but before I post the results, a short quiz. Here are the frames again..... Has anyone spotted my deliberate mistake/s? Ray

Dan Good luck. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Ray

Mark Many thanks for your detailed comments. I have got other kits in the pipeline so I probably won't ever get round to an MMP one.....but you never know! I use a lot of low melt but the flux I have been applying was pretty corrosive.....going green in about 5 minutes. So I recently changed to another one from Squires that I saw in a George Dent book....without washing it stays clean for at least 48 hours....my test period. I will have a look at Smat solder and thanks for the tip. Ray

Thanks for your encouragement Mr G. Good luck with your build! Ray Thanks Dave. Hopefully the new photo size will work for everyone. It's difficult to fully justify the cost of one of these kits but in the end (for me anyway) you only live once so be bold. You won't be disappointed. Ray

I have eventually started the locomotive chassis. This has been accompanied by a change of laptop and the immensely complex issues thrown up with Windows 10, not least the fact that my Photoshop is not W10 compatible so I now have to work between 2 laptops to get my photos edited. Anyway, the frames are the starting point. After the hornguides and front axle bearings are in, the next step is fitting the sanding valves. I have to admit another breakdown in rationality as I struggled to get them soldered in. I don't know why but I just couldn't get the solder to run on the first set......the second set was much easier thank goodness. Next comes the stretchers and they need nuts soldering into the etched positions. My RSU, rapidly becoming my favourite piece of equipment, was used with 188 solder....plus a bit more solder. One of the tender nuts fell off and I had quite a job getting it back on, so no mistakes this time around. This is followed by the brake lever assembly. The components: And the assembly part finished. I have since finished it without any problems Then the ash pan: And finally, the motor mount. I have used the recommended ABC mini gearbox with a Maxon motor. I have not finalised this assembly yet. It will bolt in somewhere and I want to be sure all is well before I finish it off. The suspension is similar to the tender without the folded up housings. The assembled balancing beams and rocker box are shown below. That's it so far. Next the hangers and springs............ Ray

Just a short note. I'm not sure what has been happening in recent posts, but regardless of the content of the points that are raised, I try to treat everyone with courtesy and respond accordingly. Whatever is going on, this really isn't the place for bickering. I want a series of posts relating to the build of a complex and at times, difficult locomotive. I hope that at some time in the future, someone will read it and find it useful. That's all! Ray

I'm not sure what this relates to but from my point of view I altered the picture sizes that you were having difficulty with......did that help? Ray