Timber

It is not just the printer we should be impressed with - the quality of the artwork is also superb - well done Jim - these look brilliant.

Not so much of an unconventional scale but here is my latest S Scale engine....full details of the build in the S Scale section of RMWeb,,,,,,

Job done. More like "Toy Town" than a super detailed model. I actually dont think that the B&M would have run a loco in this livery, these engines were primarily used for passenger stock and, therefore, were unlikely to have been painted war time black. That said it looks smart with its brass dome and the Hornby motor runs very well with alot of power. It will be a useful conversation piece if I ever get to an exhibition. That is the end of this post.....all parts are available should anyone want an extra bit of motive power.....soldering iron and a few hand tools is all it takes. I spent an hour every evening on this and it took four weeks. In reality it could be done quicker as it is a simple build. I will post another loco in a few weeks for another set of parts I have put together for a Sharp Stewart Passenger loco..,,,,but first i need to catch up on some other projects...

Etch Primer on - couple of shots to show that the 3D print can be easily prepared so that it is as smooth as the metal, helping disguise the hybrid nature of this model.

Now for cleaning up all of the excess solder and flux, fit the tank filler caps and hand rails. The dome and safety valve are a dry fit for this photo and the whistles will be fitted post painting... Backend also not fitted until painting complete. Smokebox door handle will be fitted after undercoat. That is the end of the build. Off to be painted......

Final stretch now....the brakes need to be added to the chassis. This is a single 3D printed brake unit that clips to the chassis. I made an error with the front sand pipes, they needed to be adjusted. Ideally these should not be shaped until after the brakes are fitted.

Couple of jobs to do at the front of the engine. The dummy headstock clips in between the buffers and is then secured in place with super glue. This can be seen in the first photo as a black plastic strip behind the buffer that simulates the wooden buffer beam/headstock. The vacume pipe that emergies on the prototype between the tank and the boiler is then placed in possition and gently held in place with some spots of solder on the tank edge and under the footplate. I simply drill a hole close to where the boiler and tank meets, into the boiler as this offers a neat solution rather than desturb the tank and boiler alignment. You will not notice.

Getting to the handbrake. This is situated within the bunker. Using one of Markits' super useful extended handrail knobs, a piece of folded wire makes the handle. The body then drops into the available 3D printed body and the whole piece is glued inside the bunker. This will be made more rigid post painting as the coal is added.

Quick dry fit of the 3D printed roof to ensure it sits cleanly in the cab...may require some gentle filing where the cab front meets the side to clean any solder and to make sure that it is a good fit.

Rear Sandbox sits at back of cab on bunker

3D printed sand boxes, two at the front of tank and one in cab. The plastic extrusion on the two front sand boxes go into the holes at the front of the tank so that they are firmly in place and then araldited into possition.

Fit front hornblock and bearing....this is a 3D print.

Rear steps are part folded, base of step upwards and then the second step tab soldered in.

Thanks MarshLane.....mabe we will meet you at our autumn meeting? Back to the footplate. First fitting the bunker floor. Remove the 6BA nut and bolt. Adjust the base so that it slides to the bottom of the bunker. Replace and refit the nut and bolt and then solder to finish the job.

Now to the clack valves. These are in the spirit of keeping things simple. A piece of 0.7mm brass wire, 7mm short hand rail knob and a 14BA screw is what I use. This is modest to some of the beautiful detail I have seen from fellow members.

Next up is to make the safety valve and test fit. The safety valve is part 3D print (body), part lever (etch) and a 2mm spring from ebay. Cut the lever carefully from the etch. You need to retain the long spine. The spring goes through the spring and inside the 3D print. The spine will protrude from the bottom of the print and secured in place with a blob of solder. Through using this technique you avoid any solder on the valve itself. Once open up the hole in the cab front a little, possibly flex the lever downwards and test fit. Do not fix in place this will be completed after painting. But better to test to avoid scatching the fresh paint.

Front and rear headstock detail added. The vacume pipes are Markit and held in place with two 7mm short handrail knobs, drilled out to 1mm. The coupling hook is oversized, closer to 7mm....this is my choice as I find it easier when running and shunting. Markits or similar 4mm components will also fit.

Adding the boiler pipe work. 1mm brass that sits in the smokebox and connects back into the cab. On the prototype it appears that this pipe is fixed with a fastening possitioned between the inner tank side and the boiler. This prototype fastening would be too fragile to model so I use a Slatters 7mm long handrail knob placed into the boiler skin. There may be better ways of doing this but the possition of the pipe makes it vulnerable to handling so the rational is that something relatively robust to prevent the pipe from flexing too much is preferable. There may be a better way... The cab hole for this pipe is slightly missaligned. Better to realign with the pipe in possition and then some solder to fill the original hole. The nylon boiler has better heat resistant properties than plastic and so can take a little heat but please take care. The front handrail will also need some attention. I produce the 3D in Fusion 360 and the etch artwork in Visio. It is tricky aligning some details between these two systems and the boiler handrails where they attach to the tank ends is one example. Aligning the handrails has been a challenge. With each print and etch I get closer but better to fill the hand rail knob hole and redrill in situe...a small job.

I have not found an exact match but use Markits Sprung 16" head BR Std. They have broadly the right profile but possibly a little bit chunky in the stock.

Where the boiler meets the tank top, there will be small gaps. To help reduce the gap and create a seamless connection, I mix up some araldite with a small brush and from within the tank paste araldite down the length of the joins, gently filling the gaps. I have found that the wipes that can be purchased in hardware shops for removing grime are great at removing semi hardened araldite so if the araldite runs or smears it can be cleaned with a wipe from the top.

Fit handrail knobs to the cab and bunker before refitting the bunker with 6ba bolt (1/2 inch) and nut as before. Do not cut the 6BA bolt, it will be used to fix the chassis, Once in possition, solder the bunker to the footplate through the recesses in the footplate floor. The cab roof can be either the etched metal or in this instance a 3D print....if you are going to use a soldered etch roof then fit the backend as once the roof is on it will not be possible to fit.

Next step is to start to fit the boiler into the body. In the footplate there is a 6BA clearance hole, likewise in the base of the smokebox. The bolier slides into the tank; be very careful not to scratch the boiler... Then with a piece of wire feed a 6BA screw (1/2 inch) into the boiler and through the connecting holes. It may help to gently open up the smokebox hole to assist in fitting the screw. Once the screw is in place, fit a nut to the underside of the footplate. This nut sits within the clearance hole in the frame. Do not cut the screw as this will be required to hold a mounting plate that holds the chassis to the body. A similar arrangement will be added under the bunker, creating the two fixing points. In the photo it is just possible to see that before fitting the boiler I smoothed any 3D printing surface marks......most of the attention is on the smokebox door. The 3D printing orientation is biased to trying to secure the best finish on the boiler surface. However, this then results in a little rework on the smokebox door face and around the smokebox door rivet detail.

Chassis is now painted and assembled. Assembly is very straight forward. Post painting, exercise bearings in the frame to make sure that there is the requirement movement. The connecting rods are a pair that solder back to back to form a 1mm thick piece. I use my own design plunger pickups but the etch is designed to support Allan Gibson which work fine and is a good place to start. Spot of light oil and it should be good for a test drive. Wheels will have to come off again to fit the brakes but I "run in" before I fit the brakes.

Finally solder the tank and cab in possition....