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gaf2u

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  1. gaf2u

    Mick Bonwick

    Only checking in to RM Web having been on holidays and absolutely floored. I had the extremely good fortune of meeting with Mick at Missenden on a number of occasions, and as someone who has come to the hobby relatively late, and without any history in terms of relationships with the broader hobby, he made me feel instantly welcome, at ease and one of the gang. I cannot find words that would sufficiently describe his generosity of spirit, his willingness to listen at any time, his patience, and his sheer enthusiasm. As many have already said, he was the superlative gentlemen. For me, weathering tuition will never be the same again, and whenever I do dabble in future, I will forever think very fondly of the teacher and great sport that was Mick. My thoughts are with his family on their premature and tragic loss. Darren
  2. Finished the 7F at last - I really do put off fitting brakes until there's nothing at all else left to do, it soooo tries my patience. Running under it's own power and very well too - I'm delighted with how it runs actually. Crosses all point work, all curves etc with no issues whatsoever in both directions, and runs really smoothly with no rattling and banging over the track. I did have some challenges finishing the vale gear but got there in the end. The early error with the slide bar support bracket fitted in reverse really punished me. In short this meant that the eccentric rod was too long (evidenced by the expansion link be tilted too far backwards) and the valve/radius rod was too short. I drilled new holes in the valve/radius rod for the mounting pin through the expansion link - took a few trial and error attempts, along with adjustments to the eccentric crank position before I could get it running freely, albeit it is not strictly prototypical. Some further changes were required at the top of the combination lever, above the valve rod joint. I replaced the box representing the valve spindle crosshead with one that permitted a much longer throw or operating arc at the top of the combination lever. I slotted the combination lever through this box while off the loco, inserted a pin through the top of the combination lever to prevent it falling down out of the box, and then fitted the whole assembly to the loco (crosshead arm to the crosshead and representative valve spindle crosshead soldered to the inside of the valence. As the loco was run in this seems to operate quite well. The finished article on Engine Wood - valve gear to be painted further, the cab inside painted, and then everything weathered. That will be God knows when...
  3. I'm looking for e set of instructions for an OO Alan Gibson Stanier 2-6-4T tank engine. It's on the bench now and next in line, but I've no instructions. I could probably manage, but if anyone could supply a set it would definitely save me a considerable amount of head scratching. I would be willing to pay a few bob for a copy. Thanks a mil
  4. 9C85 - the clamp is from Phoenix Precision paints. They do various sizes and I find them invaluable for spray painting everything The coach was lined with a ruling pen - don't look too closely. I'm still learning (in a big way) and as Ian Rathbone says, practice, practice, practice. The hardest thing on a coach side is how to negotiate over protrusions such as door handles and vents. A lot can be tidies up afterwards with a very fine paintbrush. Darren
  5. To Blanford - yes, boiler assembly is attached via two screws. One from beneath into the smokebox, and one from the cab into the front of the firebox. The Firebox was quite flimsy, so I added some strenghtening pieces along the base on each side where it sits on the footplate to help avoid it distorting if squeezed by finger pressure when lifting the loco (because the firebox isn't soldered to the footplate). You can make these out on the photo, along with the lead sheet that was cut to fit the firebox sides, and glued in situ just above the strengthening strips. The casting for the smokebox saddle was a little narrow, so shim were added each side so it sat snuggly between the frames. Other items of note: the kit had no wheel balance weights, nor boiler washout plugs, so spares box and some fabricating required. Likewise added a strengthening piece beneath the rear of the cab roof. Biggest mistake I made during assembly was with the slidebar support bracket. One half fits across the frames and then a second etch is fitted on each side outside the frames afterwards, later in the build. The instructions don't specific the orientation of the initial part that fits across the frames, and I put it in the wrong way around (facing forward), and had to add the half etches to the rearward face later. This meant that the bracket was slightly further back that it should be, had it been installed with the initial part the opposite way around (facing rearwards). Seems to have worked out OK. Will let you know in due course how I resolve the valve gear conundrum. Darren
  6. This one got me thinking quite a while back - dug out an old Lima GUV, and added flush glazing, wheels, coupling hooks etc, and a repaint (after paring back the roof ridges) with lining via ruling pen and numbering with HMRS transfers. Didn't happen quite as quick as typing the sentence, but it was a nice distraction from loco building.
  7. Couple more examples of late - took some poetic licence with both liveries as I fancied a Crimson Lake finish, whereas I believe that the 0-4-4T never carried this, and I'm not 100% that the 2-4-2T did in LMS guise either. U-Pol rattle can etching primer, followed by Phoenix enamels (airbrushed), lined with a ruling pen (again Phoenix paints) and finally covered by Ronseal satin varnish (airbrushed). Chassis not built as yet for the 0-4-4T - have one in hand but it's on the todo list.
  8. By the way, if anyone has a set of instructions for the Gibson Stanier 2-6-4T kit I'd be very appreciative of a copy - seem to have misplaced mine. She's next on the list. Cheers Darren
  9. I mentioned the Gibson Black 5 earlier - a beautiful kit now that it's finished. Again a bit slower to build and main problem was that the boiler was too short by about 1.5mm. Filled the gap with low melt solder, and used transfers for rivets before painting. CSB suspension, and runs like a dream. Camera cruelty - the glazing will have to be done again on one of the cab windows, and the 3-link coupling needs to be chemically blackened.
  10. The DJH 8F is a little different from a chassis perspective in that it has the more traditional separate chassis and footplate/body. On this occasion I binned the DJH chassis altogether and used a Perseverance chassis kit for an 8F. It uses a flexi-chassis type arrangement for the front pair of axles, and equalising beams inside the frames for the rear pair of axles. Seems to run really smoothly - I'm very hapy with is one. Build is stalled while I await a new worm for the gearbox from Chris at High Level Gears as I used a motor with a 2mm shaft versus the worm I purchased having a 1.5mm bore. Motor is retained by the ring shown, which has a transverse tube underneath, and a 0.7mm rod is thread through the frames and this tube which allows the motor/gearbox assembly pivot slightly with suspension movements, but retains it in position from a torque reaction perspective.
  11. I couldn't figure out how to add more text to the above post, so will follow on with another. I usually use a CSB approach to suspension but on this occasion, given the complexities of the integrated footplate and frames, I elected for a Jazz type approach and sprung the two innermost drive axles as shown, and slightly oversized the associated holes in the coupling rods. Can't say if this is successful as yet insofar as I haven't added pickups and tried the loco under power. It does seem to run very smoothly under finger power.
  12. Bringing this thread back to life again as I am in the middle of building (very slowly) two more 8 coupled locos, an Alan Gibson SDJR 7F, a DJH Stanier 8F, along with having just finished an Alan Gibson Stanier Class 5. I love the Gibson kits, but both the 7F and Black 5 did prove less than straightforward. The 7F kit is unusual in that the footplate and chassis are a single integrated assembly which makes combining the firebox/boiler, motor/gearbox and frames/wheels together a bit trickier than normal. I was scratching my head a little while but eventually resolved the puzzle per the picture below. My usual approach of painting chassis and wheels separately, and mating them thereafter also proved trickier, but got there in the end (with some choice language along the way. I am now stuck though as attaching the radius rod/ combination lever/union link assembly to the crosshead and expansion link mounting has demonstrated that something is wrong. In essence the combination lever pivots on the end of the radius rod, and the arc described by the top of the combination lever is greater that the clearance available inside the dummy valve box. I've tried some judicious filing, and moved the mounting point at the expansion link end but to no avail as yet. Ideas welcome. I love the model and can't wait to get it moving under it's own power.
  13. Fabulous Kit and build Ian, how do I go about ordering a kit (or etches) from you? Thanks Darren
  14. Here's my Coal Tank with an LRM chassis as recommended by Jol Wilkinson back in January. Goes without saying that it is light years ahead of the K's chassis that it replaced, so many thanks again for the suggestion. Built as a flexichassis, with equalising beam and hornblocks on the front two axles, with rearmost driving axle fixed. Small DJH gearbox and mashima motor doing the business. BTW, John at LRM was a pleasure to deal with too! The fact I dropped the loco off the workbench and had to repair it delayed things somewhat - maybe testimony to the strength of the Whitemetal assembly that it didn't crumple up too significantly, and only minor reassembly straightening out was required. Cheers Darren
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