ian@stenochs

That most have been a different modelling experience for you Jim.  The parts are actually big enough to see!

Ian.

On 19/06/2020 at 19:46, CKPR said:

No. 7 and No.20 (or maybe No.6 ?)  at the close of play this evening - No. 20 now has a new smokebox front, buffer beam and valences and has had the large hole in her boiler filled. This brings both engines to a similar state of completion and I can build them in unison from here onwards. In reality, these two engines were both built and rebuilt at Maryport and despite their very different pedigrees in model form, I am discerning a distinct family likeness, which I'm taking as indicating that I'm on the right lines.

Hi CKPR,

Would it be possible for you to take the photos with your back to the light please?  The back lighting of the subject makes the detail impossible to appreciate.

Ian.

Mike,

I get my small drills from Drill Services Horley.  Excellent quality and the common sizes we need are not as expensive as those usually sold at exhibitions. They do mail order and in normal times delivery is quick. 

I also use an Expo 'wishbone' drill sharpener which is great for when a drill does break. 

Ian.

 https://www.drill-service.co.uk

I enjoy the odd browse through catalogues of yesteryear. This is one from my collection. A time when most modellers were scratchbuilders.

For 1951 there are some interesting items illustrated especially the views of custom builds.
 

Ian.
 

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

 

But 0-4-2 tender engines were popular in some quarters - perhaps especially among Ayrshiremen - in the 19th century.

Yes the 0-4-2 was popular in Ayrshire but this one spent most of it’s time in Galloway working on the Port Road and Portpatrick branch!  Hence the tender cab.

Mike,

I have an optivisor and am now using it for all my modelling instead of just on fiddly bits. One of the downsides of age! 
 

However I also have a a fancy phone which does get used quite a bit but not to the detriment of the modelling time! This reply is being typed on the phone  because it is handy to do while I finish my after dinner coffee in front of the tv news.

Ian.

22 hours ago, airnimal said:

Krusty, that is a possible but I have made the decision to go with just a longer inside corner plate.

I must have been mad to attempt this drilling hundreds of holes in 3 different sizes and putting all these rivets / nuts / bolts on a simple coal wagon. It's the sort of things lighthouse keepers or long term jail birds do. And when construction is finished I have got to paint it to look like the photos.

I have done a couple of hours this morning so to preserve my sanity will do a couple of hours out on the bike today.

The different sizes certainly make a difference Mike. The moulded nuts certainly look better than the rod or glued on cubes of styrene that I have used in the past.  You certainly are leading the way in quality wagon building!

Can I ask a couple of questions please? Are you drilling the holes by hand or using a powered drill and where do you buy the moulded nuts?

Ian.

6 hours ago, airnimal said:

All the plans this year now look to be scrapped but at least we have a hobby we can do at home. Now we are all locked down and nowhere to go we will have to make the most of it while we can. I don't have a top draw of unbuilt kits like most modellers, only boxes of parts. 

So out with the bits to see what we have and prepare the parts for a couple of Dia 13 bolster wagons. 

Cleaning the cusp of the etches and modifying and preparing  the wheels still took a good few hours. 

I have included  some photos of the modified Slaters S7 wheels and some Slaters unmodified finescale wheels. 

All those propaganda photos by the P4 society many years ago worked for me. Remember those big chunky wheels falling off the track......

Agree with you completely Mike, the P4 wheel thing got me too!  
I don’t have a stash of kits either but I do have quite a stock of wheels, motors, metal sheet and sections.  I won’t weary for something to keep me occupied plus it is good to have a legitimate excuse to get at the workbench!

Keep safe and sane,

Ian.

On 01/04/2020 at 16:16, Perthshed said:

Hi, I too bought a set of etches for the G&SWR piano tank this week 01/04/2020 can you let me know which wheels i should use and if I can get some of the castings.

 Thanks,  Tony.

I am the G&SWRA person responsible for the sale of the etches.  All gone now. They were designed some time ago by John Boyle, not as a full kit but as an aid to scratch building, and utilised a bit of spare sheet on another kit. There were no mainframes on the etch so we commissioned  profile milled ones. Original drawings and information on early Barclay locomotives is thin on the ground so John put together a drawing from basic dimensions and photos. Purchasers of the etch got a copy of the drawing but part of it is reproduced here.

The wheels on these early locos were varied, on this example they were 3’ diameter , 6 spokes, but some had 8 spoked wheels of a different diameter.  Needless  to say there are no commercial wheels on the market which look anything like the originals. 

When we got the etches originally I used some of them to build a model of 258, which became the G&SWR Works shunter on completion of the Largs branch where it had served the contractors.  In actuality I didn’t finish it as ‘Works’ but made it a freelance loco which let me use the Slaters Barclay wheels.  See my post of September 18 above.  
 

However I still wanted to  build ‘Works’ which had 3’6”, 8 spoked, H section wheels, so during the Christmas holiday I made myself four wheels. I have now got the loco finished to painting stage, see below.

While I was in the mood for wheels, sounds like a song, I made a pattern for the 3’, 6 spoke, at the same time.  Currently away to be cast in resin but with the virus problem I don’t know when I will see the finished castings. I did however make one in solid brass just to see how it looked.

Ian

I can recommend the nylon worm/brass worm wheel from Ultrascale.  Quite a few of my 7 mm scale locos are so fitted and run quiet and very smoothly.  The gear boxes I use are similar to the fold ups but home made from heavier gauge metal and very rigid. They have had about 15 years exhibition running and there is no obvious wear on either the worm or wheel. 
 

Ian.

Hi Mike,

I don’t know how my reply has repeated out of sequence!   I have been out all afternoon and not online.

The photo doesn’t show too well, just taken on my iPad, but I measured it tonight and there is just over 1mm of metal between the bottom of the recess and running surface so you could reduce the tyre diameter by almost a scale 3 1/2”.  That would go a long way to reproducing that well worn look!

Ian.

Mike,

Here is a photo of a Slaters driving wheel tyre in section.  It has been turned down from fine standard profile to S7 and you can see that there is still a lot of metal which could be removed to reduce the tyre thickness. The limiting factors are the groove and how you hold the wheel to reduce the diameter.

The wheel got damaged so I thought I would have a look at the design of the tyre. 
 

Hope this is helpful,

Ian.
 

Mike,

Here is a photo of a Slaters driving wheel tyre in section.  It has been turned down from fine standard profile to S7 and you can see that there is still a lot of metal which could be removed to reduce the tyre thickness. The limiting factors are the groove and how you hold the wheel to reduce the diameter.

The wheel got damaged so I thought I would have a look at the design of the tyre. 
 

Hope this is helpful,

Ian.
 

12 minutes ago, airnimal said:

Gordon Bennett *********  I have do it again ! 

Having finished the Buxton wagon I thought I would make a quick build of a small N.S.R one plank open. 

Simple, straightforward and nothing taxing. Or so I thought !

I had a frame already made for a 15' wheelbase wagon in a pile of rejects, so it was easy to reduce it to 14' 6"" as the drawing. This I did but I decided it wasn't right so I scraped it and started again using the drawing from the N.S.R. wagon book. I am working from a photograph that wasn't in the book but it looks identical with detail differences. 

I was pleased with my progress last night and sat watching the box with a glass of beer and the wagon and book in front of me. I looked to check the drawing to see what differences were between my model and the photograph in the book. 

So I placed the model over the drawing and ********

I hadn't noticed the dimension on the drawing said 14' 6" inside !

Of course I have done it 14' 6" outside !

Is this one of the signs of old age. Am I loosing it ! 

My old boss always said its only a problem when you drop a clanger when you can't fix it.

So if I cut off the end plank and headstocks and make new ones I think I might be able to rescue it.

Or I might take up stamp collecting. 

 

Mike,

You are not alone.  My scrap box is full of bits of metal which I have cut to the wrong size.  You would think that at our age we would remember, measure twice cut once!  However even with our little lapses, It’s still more satisfying than stamp collecting.

Ian

18 hours ago, Caley Jim said:

Latest addition to my 2FS fleet of locos is a CR 323Class 'Jubilee Pug' 0-6-0ST.

 

 

The finish leaves something to be desired, I know, but it's the best I can manage these days.

 

Full details of the build are here.

 

Jim

 

Nice one Jim. I do like the look of those archaic Caley pugs!  
 

Only one criticism, the figure on the footplate looks as though he has lost his bow and arrow.  I know that Caley crews threw coal at their Sou’ West rivals as they ran on parallel lines at Ardeer but shooting arrows is a bit drastic!

Ian.

1 hour ago, airnimal said:

I have put the plates in some gun blue and then polished them with a Garryflex block. I did try to rub them on a white printing pad to make them look like the raised letters were painted white. Unfortunately because the depth of the letters is so small this was not successful. I have managed to lose a bit of the paint above a couple of plates which I will have to touch up. I think with a bit of a tone down and some matt varnish all over it will lose the shine on the plates. I am not sure if I can do any better. I did think I could spray the plates with a white paint and leave this to dry before attempting to fill in all around the letters with black paint. But there is only so many times I can keep going trying to make everything perfect if I am ever build a layout. I still have to paint all the ironwork black inside and out.

Mike,

On the few etched plates that I have painted black with white raised lettering I painted the whole plate white, rattle can spray usually.  When dry paint all over with black and quickly wipe it off with a paper towel to leave the raised letters showing white.  
 

Ian

I thought about ordering one on Saturday after reading Jeffs post. However when I looked it up on the bay it said ‘Last One’ so thought about it and didn’t bother. I looked again today and it still said last one but also 2 sold in last 24 hours!  Marketing ploy, dodgy stock control or what?

Do I really need another tool?  Merry Christmas,

Ian.

19 minutes ago, Caley Jim said:

They and '&' are my pet hates neither of which I ever seem to be able to get right. Another good reason not to model the G&SWR!

Oh I don’t know! A bit of masochisim is good for the sole and the Sou’ West NEVER omitted the ampersand.  That’s why I invested in custom made lettering decals a long time ago. I find it  hard enough drawing straight lines without hand painting lettering but Mike has got the later just right.

Sorry for invading your thread Mike, keep up the good work.

Ian.

David Cross, Derek's son holds the copyright. I know he lives down south somewhere but I don't have an address.

Ian.

While reorganising part of my workshop I decided to sort out the component storage area.  Lo and behold I discovered that I have sets of wheels for over 20 locomotives! I better get a move on and get the locos built before I fall from the tree.

Ian.

19 hours ago, airnimal said:

I am going to use Slaters Midland W -irons on this wagon for no better reason than I have half a dozen in stock. Because the photo is of a wagon is so distant I am not sure how close they are to the prototype but I am going to use them anyway.

When I have used them in the past I have cut of the fixing tags and let them into slots in the solebars.

This time I wanted to be able to screw them into the floor.  Slaters supply them with self tapping screws which may be fine with kit built wagons with solid plastic floors but would not work with my method of floors made from 60 thou plastkard.

I wanted to use my own method of using 12 BA nuts melted in a second piece of 60 thou plastikard and then the W-irons screwed in to that.

So I have modified the W-irons by soldering a length of 3mm X 3mm T section obrass on the back of each one.

I then drilled through fixing tags before removing the same tags. 

I made a couple base plates out of 60 thou plastikard and melted the 12 BA nuts in pre drilled holes with the tip of the soldering iron and cleaned everything up before glueing both units to the floor.

Mike,

That is a very neat idea which I must try on my next wagon build. I have a few wagons with the self tappers showing through the floor, easily hidden by a load but not all wagons run loaded!

In the past I have soldered the w-irons onto a piece of brass which I have then glued under the body but I have usually left the under frame timbers off the model.

Ian.

15 hours ago, Ruston said:

I'm going to buy some more Stadden Victorian/Edwardian loco crew figures, which are pewter, so at least they will add more weight than plastic crew but I'm not sure that they'd make much difference, Ian.

 

I've made and fitted the steps and the side sheets and capping around the footplate. The capping is made from nickel silver so that it can be left unpainted and look like polished metal.

Every little helps, perhaps add a piece bag made from a sliver of lead too!

Many a mickle makes a muckle!

Ian.

Can you get a fat driver and equally fat fireman in cast Whitemetal?   I know that helps my Edwardian 4-4-0s pull a decent train.

Ian.

I’ve got a S7 Thomas!

Ian.