bushrat

Hi Jeff, Solvents probably wont get it off. Early in the build I tried acrylic lacquer thinners, enamel thinners, metho, and all the usual suspects. The ONLY thing that I found that seems to remove it is paint stripper, and plenty of it! With the Boiler and front section and skirts, the same applies, but I needed to use 2 applications with a scotchbrite pad and gloves (of course) These are worth doing as the amount of detail hidden by the coating is quite astounding, I think that the coating on the "grey" parts may in fact be some sort of powder coating. Once the coating was removed from the white metal and brass parts, I found that they tarnished very quickly - overnight in fact - so I got around this problem by brushing a thin mix of WD40 and sewing machine oil over the assembly at the conclusion of work - not too much or it will affect the super glued bits, so go easy on them. Then I just washed off with liquid soap and luke warm (not hot as it will destroy super glue joints) before the next session. A pain in the rear end but it saves it from tarnishing, and since we don't know if it's white metal or "mazac" it's probably worthwhile to keep it in check. Like you, I am late starting this, I finally have all the bits and bobs apart from a motor, but I came to a grinding halt at issue 30 and have been trying without success to get started again for a year now! Ah well, I might get it finished by the time I drop off the perch! Cheers, Bushrat

Looks Great Peter, but just a cautionary bit of advice....... That table that you have your pride and joy sitting on looks like the same tables that are sold here in Australia - usually from Bunnings and others - They are known to have the glass explode without warning, which of course means that everything on the table does the swan dive to ground level. We have had 2 go so far - just BANG! - and glass granules everywhere! Not overly hot, one was in the shade, nobody seems to have an explanation. Just saying mate, I hesitate to put my coffee on the damn things now, and it would be a tragedy if that was to happen. Love the opening smokebox door by the way! Cheers, Bushrat

And of course, the problems surface when we are completely committed to the build. They never fail, do they! Sort of like some of the problems with Flying Scotsman, when they supplied valve motion parts cast in white metal, but at least after lots of those building made a fuss they were replaced with better quality parts later in the build. They have already done this with the wheels, so maybe it's time for you fellers that are up to this stage to start making some noise about it. Here in Australia we haven't hit #90 yet, so we have no idea what is going to be missing. Just a wee thought though, since Scotsman and Mallard are sort of similar, could Scotsman parts be used instead? Are these the parts shown in the earlier post by you Peter? If not can you maybe scan and post the instructions that cover it? I for one would be interested in having a look to see if we cant find some sort of work around for it. I am building mine with side skirts on, so it probably wont affect me, but it's not the point, as you rightly point out, for the price of the build it is not something that we should have to accept, also of course, for those unfortunate souls here in Aussie, nobody carries these parts - it's send off to the UK for them and it's gonna cost us an arm and a leg, and a long wait! I swore after Scotsman that I would never do another partwork of ANYTHING, so I suppose that makes me a dill for getting caught twice! The only way I would ever do another is if the first issue had some sort of breakdown of 1: Materials being used 2: construction sequence and 3: a basic exploded diagram showing what parts were to be supplied in what issues. Wouldn't that be a great aid in doing the project? It will never happen of course, that would be too much to expect. While it is lots easier on the pocket to buy like this, one has to wonder if one is not better off buying a complete kit on the credit card, and copping the interest charges, at least you know what you are getting up front and if its not up to scratch you can return it for a refund. I reckon the cost would be almost the same and you get a top quality kit of your choosing as well! Anyhow, all that said, a very Merry Christmas to all, may Santa and his small reindeer bring many train related gifts to your home tonight! Bushrat

Apologies for off topic post: Finally finished Scotsman! With more than a few departures from original mag specs. Now when I get back from holidays, I can once again tear into Mallard! And perhaps have a fiddle with scratch building Scotsman #2, which reposes on the shelf above Mallard.................. One question though, I have noticed that on Scotsman, the trailing bogie / cartezi truck will touch the side frame on sharper curves and cause the drivers to derail because it seems to put all the wheels in a "rigid" position. There seems to be no easy answer for this, the question is therefore, since Mallard has a similar arrangement, is the same issue going to occur with it as well? Anyone got any ideas? Bushrat

OK, that's it, I give up. My atomisers fell apart, I drilled a .5 hole in my pinky finger, the handle snapped off my steam cock, (most distressing) and none of the wire would bend neatly, all for only 3 hours work! Some of the parts supplied with Scotsman (and Mallard) are an absolute disgrace, there can be no doubt. So now, I have to find an alternative to the atomisers, I have a couple of options as I see it: 1: Remove the wreckage, fill the holes and have nothing at all, or, 2: Make up a couple of handles as in the photo above and put them on both sides. So hard to find photos of the left side for some reason so I dont know if both sides had the same setup ... So annoying to be in the home stretch with this build and to be brought undone by a couple of rubbishy (but highly visible) parts, anyone got any suggestions or options? Would be appreciated if you do. Bushrat

Thanks for all the info chaps, it can be most interesting looking at how things evolve over time cant it?

What terrific old photo's! Love the wee loco in the second one, there has to be a story attached to that! It is fascinating to see the small detail changes to this loco in just a few short years, still trying to work out what the lower rod and lever are on the boiler in the second photo cheers, Bushrat

Orange, yes, I see that now, it comes back to what I was saying, there have been so many changes to her over the years....... If you get a chance to post that link sometime it would be great, Cheers, Bushrat

Thanks Pete, They are really nice clear photos! Sometimes of late I have wished that I could pretend that it was a really big tri-ang out of the box job and not worry about such minor details! Looking at the photo's it seems that the model might be missing several pipes, but I suppose that can happen, after all, where does one stop when it comes to detail? I have looked at so many photo's of the beast over the last few days, and the times that these parts changed location and setup over the years is truly dazzling, I am thinking that there is probably no right or wrong place for these bits as they differ from loco to loco, and workshop to workshop, so I guess I will just whack them on in a way that they look half decent and hope for the best!............................... And a YELLOW line on the footplate instead of red? Never seen that one before .................................. Thanks for the post Mate, it has helped greatly, will stick an off topic piccy on here when it's finished, as the old thread seems to be gone - cant find it anywhere. Cheers, Bushrat

Thanks to all for that, it puts me on the right path! Sounds like the same "Indian Red" that used to pop it's head up here in Australia many years ago, everyone had a different name for it from Indian Red to Russet Red, but basically it was just bright red "dirtied up" with a touch of black until it looked right, and no set formula, as it seemed to vary from workshop to workshop (yep, it happened here too, just like in workshops over your side of the puddle). One would think that even back then there would have been a "recipe" to mix paints, it really makes one wonder why the difference...............? So I guess that is what I will be doing, and for the sake of my sanity will name the colour "Dirty Bushrat Red" So now back to the endless fruitless searching through internet pages to see if I can find out where those darn Flying Scotsman atomiser pipes go to.......... Bushrat

Can anyone tell me what shade of red is correct for the wheels? I would like to paint them (and chassis) before I fit them, and by doing this hopefully wont have to take them off again. It sort of looks like a maroon in some photos and just a red in others, any ideas? Also, I know it's off topic, but I have almost finished Scotsman now, and am tearing my hair out trying to work out where the lower pipes from the atomisers go. There is nothing in the destructions about them, they just seem to vanish under the footplate, and the photos dont really show anything that can help. Are they attached to anything on the footplate or do they just sort of hang..? Cheers, Bushrat

Hi to all, I finally got around to experimenting with the super glue and Bicarbonate of Soda trick that I mentioned hearing about in one of my earlier posts. Got to tell you chaps - this trick is absolute MAGIC that would do Hogwarts proud! Try this one yourself; 1: Squeeze two small puddles of super glue on a bit of scrap or whatever 2: Sprinkle a small amount of Bicarb on one. It sets INSTANTLY and ROCK HARD! The other one can take an hour or more depending on temperature. Now, I realise that super glue sets fast on mating surfaces, like two flat bits of brass, but when you have something thats a tad sloppy, like a bit of .4mm wire that is going into a hole that you had to drill using a .6 drill bit because that was the only one you had, it can be a different story. Fill the hole with super glue, hold the wire in position, sprinkle on the bicarb, done - instantly! Give it a try. The other thing that I have found it works well for is FILLING. Holes, unwanted detail, whatever. You can just build it up in layers if the hole or scratch is deep, with a sprinkle of bicarb on each layer of glue - sets instantly, ready for the next layer. The best part is yet to come - it can be wet sanded with wet and dry paper within minutes, to a fairly smooth finish ready for undercoat/primer and then paint. I have tried over painting with enamel, and auto acrylic with no problems at all, just wash off the bicarb to neutralise the surface. Every so often, one come across one of these tricks that actually works really well, and this is one of them! I have downed tools on Mallard for the moment and am concentrating of putting the final touches on Scotsman, which is making me feel guilty every time I look up from putting another part on Mallard, and see her sitting there unfinished! Have decided that I am going to give her driver the nickname of "Ben Isaacs" - some of you older movie buffs might get the pun...... Cheers, Bushrat

With regard to the guard irons; My experience with Scotsman was one of putting them on when told during the build, and then having them constantly bent until they eventually broke due to the amount of handling that occurs during the build. Ended up having to make new ones, and found it best to make them the last parts fitted before painting, they just get in the way all the time. Try and fit them as late in the build as you can....

Yair Peter, I was thinking that myself. Issue 52 arrived here today with all those lovely wheels, so I have ordered a couple more. Havent compared them yet but they look very similar to the Scotsman wheels..... wish they had given us some extra screws though, they strip the heads so easily... For me, haven't done a thing on mine for a month - trying to sort out a few other things that have a higher priority and getting nowhere fast, never mind, it all takes time!

Hi Cypherman, I agree with you on the Hafix, I found a guy selling it at the local markets about six months ago, and after he did a demo I almost broke my arm getting the old wallet out of my pocket! I am pretty hard to impress, but this stuff is pure MAGIC, and also happens to be the ONLY glue that I have found that will stick loose parts onto the models offered in the "Great British Locomotive Collection" series, which I am collecting just out of interest. I don't know what sort of plastic they use but NOTHING will re-glue any of the parts - and there are often loose bits floating about in the packs - that have fallen off. I have tried everything from ordinary super glue, to polystyrene cement, epoxy, and even plumbers pipe glue. They wont stick, but Hafix does. He told me to keep it in the fridge to prolong it's shelf life, which it did, at least it did until I forgot to put it back one night, and even left the top off. Three days later I discovered this to my despair, and it was bye bye Hafix, so I now have to order another off him. I initially thought it was expensive too, and it is at A$30 for the small one, but I got to thinking about that and did a little experiment. I found a plastic screw top container (was a refill bottle from an inkjet printer refill kit) and proceeded to madly open cheap super glue tubes and squirt the contents into it till I had about the same quantity in there. After counting up the tubes of glue I had used I realised that it actually worked out CHEAPER for the Hafix, mainly due to the fact that the tubes of super glue don't have much in them at all, probably only a teaspoon full of glue, and of course once opened and the contents exposed to the atmosphere, half of that usually goes off anyway! And yes, that is true about cold glue taking longer to "grab", it gives one a few extra precious minutes to get things in position. Another little trick I have been told about is to sprinkle bicarbonate of soda over the outside of the joint, which is supposed to accelerate the setting time and also reinforce the bond, another article ( also on "instructables" website ) mentions mixing powdered (filed off) material from the original broken part with the glue itself and using it as a filler! The chap doing it was restoring guitar frets, and it seemed to work well. I haven't tried these tips yet, but I will get around to it..... Another thing that i am going to try is to put some bicarb in and mix it with chilled glue and see if it gives a stronger bond than normal, I figure that if the glue is chilled I will still have some working time left before it sets, and if this little trick works, it might just make super glue a bit more reliable, we will see....................... Jeff - Sorry mate, I should have mentioned that bit about the screw heads, but it slipped my mind completely - seniors moment! You don't actually remove the heads completely, before painting, just file them down until the slot is gone. If you do happen to see them afterwards then they just look like an inspection plate or similar, and after all, these locos had so many bits hanging, dangling and swinging about that I don't think any two were the same anyway! Bushrat (Rattus Australis Horribillus)

Hi Jeff, Yair, I considered that, and what you say makes sense, but I felt that the roof was not thick enough in section to countersink safely and be able to cover it up. This way when the final adjustments are made and the nuts in place underneath, all I have to do is cut the head off the screw, wind it in a couple of turns with a bit of loctite or dreaded superglue applied to the thread, and fill the hole, which will be a lot smaller than what would result from a countersunk head. Maybe if it was a thicker section I would have done just that, but I reckoned that this way there's less chance of the fill coming out and being visible. With the spring attachment screws, they are pretty well hidden by the driving wheels, in fact on Scotsman, there were a couple of them behind the drivers, I forget what bit they held on, - I think from memory it might have been a chassis bracing rod somewhere in the middle of it all - with the instruction to file the head down smooth after they were in place, and you cant see them at all once a bit of black paint is on the chassis, so it worked ok. Scotsman chassis pic below, which also shows my cunningly hidden motor, I will be doing the same on Mallard, except I think I will be using the live tender method for my pickups. The Slaters plunger pickups worked sort of ok on Scotsman, but I figure that live tender might be better for this one, (I hope) ! Cheers, Bushrat

Happy Christmas and New Year to all! Finally getting around to taking some photos............ The body so far, I fettled the nose section to make it fit the boiler and side skirts, as my nose section was a touch longer on the left side. My solution to the cab roof problem. Screws in roof section will have the heads removed and be filled before painting. Body mounting plate is screwed to inner support for extra strength. Chimney is pinned with a 14 BA screw Springs screwed with 14BA cheese heads - now they wont fall off! Close up of boiler front Backhead so far...A couple of bits need adjusting It is a pain doing all this extra, but I feel that there could be problems with bits coming off otherwise ........ Bushrat

Thanks Mike and Jeff, I combined both or your suggestions, and the idea evolved as below................ Much head scratching and use of Great Aussie Expletives later, I found a less than elegant solution, but it will work. I fashioned two squares of brass sheet left over from one of the larger etch frets, These are about the same size as the rear cab windows. I have been soldering my brass parts rather than glueing, so it was a matter of using alligator clamps to stop the previously soldered cab window assemblies from coming apart. I then proceeded to solder these two plates on to the top of the cab window frames, pointing up at a roughly 45 degree angle. I Clamped the roof in the right position, and drilled through the cab roof and the plates. Tapped in a couple of 12BA brass cheesehead screws so that the thread projects through the plates. Because of the angle, just the screws without any nuts on enable the whole shebang to be lifted by the cab roof. SUCCESS!!! One just has to spring the sides of the cab out to get the initial position right so they go into the holes. When the time comes for final assembly, the screw heads will be removed, and the resulting scar filled and painted, so it wont be seen. I will also be able to trim these plates down in size to make them less obvious and hopefully, with the help of a small "c" clamp, bend them to a snug fit uder the roof. I will use "Sikaflex" adhesive construction silicone as a secondary attachment, which also has the advantage of being paintable. Pity upon me if I ever need to remove it! Sikaflex is good stuff, I dont know if you get it over there, but I actually used it to stick a marble slab about a foot square onto a sandstone headstone when the bolts rusted out about 5 years ago, and it is still holding on, taking the full weight, after being out in the weather and all, so it should work quite well! On mine, with the roof in place, and the cab doors fitted, I tried to slip the backhead in. Now, even with the cab doors open wide it will foul on them, and as I suspected, the steam turret on the backhead top, which fits in the recess created by the sliding hatch assembly in the cab roof. so it is nearly impossible to get it in with any accuracy. I had visions of trying to get this in with the roof attached, epoxy all over everything, and trying to get the position right, and concluded that I have done the sensible thing here! I learned from bitter experience on Scotsman that one follows the instructions as given on these to ones own peril, so I have got into the habit of trying to spot potential problems as I go and doing a workaround. I have used super glue over the years on brass HO scale models, and whilst it is good, it can also let go without warning. Some years ago, I took a shotcut using super glue on a rather expensive brass loco, and glued on a detail part on the footplate. All was well for about two years, when one night, during a running session on a mates layout, the part let go, speared into the track ballast and propelled to loco straight off the edge of the layout and onto the floor, via the head of my mates Labrador dog, much to the mutts displeasure! The dog's head broke the fall, but I still had a badly damaged loco, with a bent footplate which meant a full rebuild and repaint, plus of course a dog who growled at me instantly every time he set eyes upon me after that. Unfortunate, but a lesson well learned! Superglue doesnt like oil, heat, vibration or stress. I have even had it let go on models in storage. Some plastics cannot be glued with it AT ALL (like the Great British Locomotive Collection models) so when it came to Scotsman/Mallard I tried to think outside the square a little bit. Some of the other parts I have modified are as follows; Chassis springs - drilled and pegged with 12BA cheesehead screws, which will have the heads filed down later, the screw head will be hidden by the wheels anyway, the chassis mounting plate in the boiler - drilled and tapped in a 14BA screw in addition to epoxy, as if this were to let go when lifted the chassis would drop, only being held by the two screws uder the cab, and this would bend the whole chassis at the back, The chimney has also been drilled with a 14BA in from under the smokebox, as I figured that this part would also cop a few knocks. So my logic is that if it can fall of, be knocked off, has any kind of stress or strain put on it, the screw it or pin it! I know it's over engineering, but time has taught me that a little prevention is worth a lot of cure! I am building mine as a runner, as I did with Scotsman, not that I have an O guage layout, or even the space for one, but, well, one never knows........ I will post some photos over the next few days to show the modifications above, Cheers, Bushrat.

Hi everyone, Just got to the point of fitting the cab roof assembly, and I need some advice. The instruction about super glueing it on seems pretty silly to me, it is not a great fit, and I reckon that it would let go fairly easily if anyone (probably me!) were not thinking and picked the loco up partly by the roof. There is nothing to glue onto really, except the thin brass section of the cab sides, which does not mate up well. Also, it seems to me that the steam turret on the backhead would catch when putting into place, and it would be a nightmare to juggle in and attach the backhead assembly with the roof already fitted, so I think that I would be best served by maybe making the roof removable, maybe with screws. So, has anyone else had the same thoughts on this, and do you have any ideas on a solution to the problem? Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated, Bushrat

Hi Mate, I think they were in issue #3 from memory.... Cheers, Bushrat

As I sit here, happily assembling cab doors, a thought occurs, two thoughts actually..... 1: Why do we have horn blocks supplied, which seem to be non-functional, and are in a place where the only time they will be seen is if the loco is upside down? 2: The cab roof is to be super glued on, but there is not much there for it to grab onto, at least Scotsman had a rollover along the sides of the cab to mount the roof. I am thinking what I can do to attach this in a better and perhaps removable way, as I can see somebody picking up Mallard by the roof and it coming apart and ending up on the floor, anyone have any thoughts on a way of doing this? Bushrat

Sound like a pretty good plan if it's sunny, but tell me, are the wheels properly quartered on your bike?

Hi Mike, I sort of wondered about that, and you are probably right. In any case it wasn't a big problem, just got the trusty Dremel out and shaped it to match. I am thinking of drilling a 1mm hole in these through the chassis and putting in either a brass pin or small brass machine screw just for a bit more peace of mind in case I ever get to run it - would hate one of those chunky springs to have the super-duper-glue let go and go through the spokes of a driving wheel..... We are only up to issue 20 here in Australia, and so far no unsolvable problems, but this thread has gone a bit quiet in recent weeks, hasn't it? Maybe everyone is taking a break or something............. Cheers, Bushrat

Just about to start putting on the chassis spring castings, and I notice that the second set I got has two rear springs and no centre wheel spring, which has a concave top. Anyone else got this problem? Can anyone tell me the reason for the concave top on the centre spring, and would it be ok to use this as is or would I need to shape it with a file? Info would be appreciated.... Bushrat

Now watch as there is a huge demand for issue 52 from far and wide, you can put me down for about 3 of them, all six wheels and axles, NICE! The question is of course, how is this going to affect the build sequence? Can we build around it, or should we wait until we have the replacement wheel sets? The old wheels might make nifty key rings ........... Bushrat