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EHertsGER

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Blog Entries posted by EHertsGER

  1. EHertsGER
    After what seems an interminable interlude, I can justifiably claim that the F4 ‘build’ is complete, and have the photos to prove it! Where it languishes right now is in the pre-paint shop stage while it dries after a decent wash and cleanup. Then onwards to primer, paint and...lining. Yes, lining, as it will be appearing in its 1923 form as E106 (just like it says on the box).
     
    In the mean time, some pictures of it in the raw to get a feel for what I have done and, if possible, how...
     
    First off, the cab, as this was fabricated from scratch to fill a complete void in the Gibson kit:
     




     
    Then, the overall ‘look’ of the bodywork:
     



     
    And finally, posed on the chassis built from the kit developed by Justin (Rumney Models) for this project - and the next four F series...
     



     
    That’s it for now.
     
    Best,
    Marcus
     
    Yes, I did add the tank lifting rings and the roof! The front sand pipes must be fitted to the chassis otherwise the body won’t come off. Another little task left to do...
  2. EHertsGER
    I know it's been a while but I am still plugging away at this. Often I look at the modern Hornby model and wonder why I bothered - it is pretty good. Had I been modelling in 00 it would probably have been a foregone conclusion. Similarly working with the Finecast chassis I wonder what would the whole kit given me for the ease of assembling lumps of metal rather than brass. My decision to go this route was based on the 'thin cab side sheets and tender sides' philosophy, so here we are. So far the tender has gone well, but sharp-eyed readers of may last post will notice how the axleboxes are not flush with the frames.
     
    Well, of course they had to come off!
     
    Alas, in doing so I broke one of them, so a replacement was petitioned from PDK. Now I recognise how all this works and chaps are running cottage businesses and have proper jobs and so on, so was not too surprised at a delay of several months. I have a bench full of projects, a proper life and a business to run, so I can wait...
     
    Well, not me. No, I had to fabricate a repair, which I feel has gone quite well:
     

     
    It has been cleaned since I took that photo!
     
    As for the rest of the project - namely the locomotive part, I will add some updates shortly. Suffice to say we have:
    fabricated the valve gear links - from the Finecast chassis - much nicer! added the cylinder block and wrapper as well as piston rod guides completed the drag bar socket and other bits on the tender - which is now in primer

    Than's about it for now - a dull post, I know, but I needed to prove I am still on this project!
     

    Best,
    Marcus
  3. EHertsGER
    Having left you all a while ago while I sorted things, we now have a update. First off is the tender. My plan was to replace the flimsy sides with something more substantial. So, removal of the old sides went well, but the slots close to the edge of the floor split - so while we have the fretsaw out, cut a new floor. I included the slots I needed as they will come in handy when rebuilding it. So here we are...
     

     

     
    Next up, the chassis mounting in the cab. Having marked out the floor that needed to be removed, that was cut away. This let me set the chassis in place at the level required, so now to build the missing mount.
     

     
    So, first off, bolt the chassis firmly at the front.
     

     
    After much pondering and a couple of martinis I conjured up the idea of using the cab floor support to support a ‘false floor’ I could use to hold the anchoring nut. Like this:
     

     

     
    So far, so good, but lets go back to the front under the smokebox. It seems the front frame extensions, well, don’t anymore...
     
    So, cut and fit new ones.
     
    Now, the chassis is in the right place - and by that I mean the axles are centered on the splashers, so its just down to the difference between the PDK body and the Finecast kit. Oh, wait a bit...
     
    Now it seems the cylinders won't sit under the footplate at the right height (i.e. in line with the driving axle centers). Much fiddling about to find out why skipped past the obvious on a number of occasions until it dawned on me that the word 'Finecast' was written on the chassis. This would be an etched chassis designed to fit a cast footplate, then...
     
    So, some spacing under the footplate is now called for so the drivers can sit in the right place and the cylinders can be mounted at the right height. It's days like this that make me wish I had built the Finecast kit...
     
    Back soon...
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  4. EHertsGER
    So, we left the tender while I tried to work out how the spring shackles were supposed to be assembled. The cause of my confusion was these little things (well, there’s only one left now) that I thought were the compete shackle and suspension arm (bear with me, for I am a bear of little brain). My excuse is a lack of guidance in the instructions, but please ignore such feeble claims. I should know how to do this stuff by now...
     

     
    A little head scratching and a larger Martini solved the issue and so we went ahead and put them all together. The wire suspension arms are 0.7mm brass from Eileen’s Emporium. Add a few other bits and bobs like lamp irons and this is progress so far. If I was really paying attention I should have removed about 1mm from the bottom of the frames to allow the boxes to sit properly as the bottom of the casting is not flat. I could,take it all apart and do it again or I could just add a little filler - I am NOT going to try flooding castings with solder and watch half of them dissolve! Anyway, progress - and I am pleased.
     

     
    Just a little cleaning and polishing left - this is in ‘just off the bench’ condition.
     

     
    The tool boxes and brake standard are posed and will be fixed later after I sort out the drag beam slot and stuff...
     
    More anon.
    Best,
    Marcus
  5. EHertsGER
    Not much else to say, really. I turned to the tender while I contemplated the valve gear, never having built an outside cylinder locomotive before...now that post will be fun, some come back soon!
     

     

     
    I have also ‘paused’ the tender, so to speak as the axleguard spring shackles in the kit bear no relation to anything around the axleboxes of a ‘Schools’ class tender. Oh, whatever happened to the days when kits were a set of parts ready for assembly (Airfix, for example)? No Maunsell axleboxes on the market so more fabrication required. Chiz.
     
    Best,
    Marcus
     
    So, to an update. The issue with the axle boxes was all of my own making; looking more closely at what seemed like spring shackles in the PDK kit revealed that, yes they were exactly that, but I had mistaken the long 'feeder' for an integral part of the shackle component. Turned around the right way, they are actually a rather good representation of the shackle itself (not a hope of a decent photo otherwise I would have attached one!), but do not include the suspension arm, as I had first thought - that has to be made from brass wire and then the whole axle box assembled one way or another. Watch this space; that is planned for Saturday!
     
    IF I have any excuse, it is that the illustration in the instructions does not help at all!
     
    So, many apologies to the PDK casting chaps!
  6. EHertsGER
    So by way of a brief update I have attached some images of the ‘whole’ to confirm I am doing things, illustrate that those things might be called progress and a little bit of showing off. More constructively, almost the sum of the parts now resembles a Class V ‘Schools’ and is a solid superstructure on which to begin actually building a locomotive.
     
    So far, no great revelations, then. However, I did ‘grow’ this blog out of a bit of chatter about PDK Kits, so how does this shape up as a kit in general? Very well, I feel. This is my first PDK effort (Gibson, Finecasts, Riceworks, and even K’s have gone among prior efforts) and so far I am impressed. The etches are clean and fit well, often with tabs and slots that do just that: tab and slot rather than twist and miss. Joints are clean and fit well, while the etches in the flat fold and bend along marked lines with little effort: the multilevel footplate and inwardly angled valences took little special skill nor tools. So, as a kit I would say that it would warrant a place as one’s first venture into 4-4-0s, outside valve gear or tender locomotives. I have complicated things a bit by using the Finecast chassis, but if you don’t mind the PDK one and are not building it as a P4 engine, the contents of the box would be a good starting point with little beyond the usual wheels, motor, gears etc to add.
     
    Heres progress so far:
     

     

     

     
    In the above you will have noticed that I finally decided that the earlier bogie sideframes will be my choice and filed the profiles to suit. In addition, you will note that the Finecast chassis has lost its forward frame extensions. More surgery will follow, but for now that’s where we are.
     
    It all needs a good clean, especially the joints, as well as some tweaking and aligning, but as a ‘straight off the bench’ condition I am pleased.
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  7. EHertsGER
    Once again a perfunctory entry due to 'life, etc' but at least I can claim that all the forward boiler 'gubbins' is done, with the obvious exception of the handrail and lamp bracket at the top of the smokebox.
     

     
    The smokebox door in the kit is the early GER 'dished' pattern, while I am modelling 106 as she appeared in 1927 with the post 1913/1915 (?) 'domed' pattern smokebox door. Currently it is fitted (fitted? 'Bunged in for effect' is more accurate) with a J15 'domed' door, bit it doesn't look right. With a bit of luck Dave at SE Finecast will be sending me a NuCast smokebox from their old kit...
     






     
    So in the meantime I shall be stepping back into the cab to sort out the insides. If anyone has a picture of a screw reverser as fitted in the F4/5/6 I will be profoundly grateful...
     
    The chassis, meantime is now together and running nicely.
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  8. EHertsGER
    By way of introducing this blog, my aim is to post occasional comments and observations on the process I am undertaking towards completing a model of Widford Station on the Buntingford branch of the GER/LNER/BR as it was between the years 1900 and 1964. This content will be aimed primarily at my efforts and, with a fair wind, successes in building 4mm scale models of the rolling stock, locomotives and infrastructure of Widford and traffic of the line between 1900 - seen as an arbitrary starting point - and closure in 1964.
     
    Modelling the GER at any time in its life is not any easy task, so I hope some of my titbits and experiences are useful to others. There is no structure to any of this - posts will be more or less what occurred to me at the time, so trawling through this may prove to be tiresome, so please indulge my foibles!
     
    Otherwise, I wish all in their endeavors my best wishes and encouragement.
     
    Marcus
  9. EHertsGER
    So, we have got to the point where we can pause awhile and admire our handiwork. Below is the chassis in more or less complete order; mainframes, wheels and so on. Onwards from the last entry was the addition of the cosmetic sideframe overlays that hide a multitude of slots and tabs as well as add an additional dimension in terms of bolt heads and so on, as well as a two-layered ashpan side representation.
     

     
    Which all looks pretty good on the rudimentary body assembly from the Gibson kit:
     

     
    All we have to do now is get it to move on its own and look the parts and so on...
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  10. EHertsGER
    On from mere theory and some general muck I have tried to get somewhere close to 5510 in the above (or is it 'previous') entry.
     



     
    I hope it 'makes the grade' as it has been a long time coming (and I plan another??), taking me away from Widford type things. Oh, well, it was fun! Just need to do a few bits and bobs - white on the cab handrails, window bars in engine compartment and fit P4 wheels...
     
    And a wash and brush-up; dust everywhere and filthy windows. Prototypical...?
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  11. EHertsGER
    As an adjunct to my post on the subject of Brush Type 2/Class 31s I thought I would add some notes on how I 'butchered' the LIMA chassis to support the Hornby motor and bogies etc so here we go...
     
    First off the LIMA chassis has to be stripped of all its gubbins - though keep it; I have heard that a 'double-motored' LIMA 31 is a beast to behold - I may yet try one! So too, the Hornby, which has probably shed a few bits along the way. Some those little 'baggies' come in handy making sure things don't get muddled/lost here.
     
    Onwards. I have presumed at this stage that there is a Hornby donor available. I have yet to try this without the buffer beam shrouds from a donor as they are unavailable as spares. Anyway, the LIMA buffer beams are all wrong - anemic shroud on the outside and a curved buffer beam within, so just lop it off level with the underside of the chassis. We will come back to this later.
     
    Next to go is the fuel tank. at this point replace it with the one from your donor Hornby - make sure you get it the right way round to match the original. The gauges and inset part are at the number 2 end (the one without the fan).
     
    Now to some fabricating. You will need some black (saves painting it later) plasticard in 0.040", 0.060" and 0.080" thicknesses. Some 0.020" may come in handy too. You will also need a sheet of 1/8" thick lead and some liquid gravity stuff, epoxy and superglue.
     
    Tea at this point works well...
     
    Off we go. Cut a piece of lead 80mm x 20mm and set aside. Now the solvent has set on your replacement fuel tank stuff as much lead as you can into it until it comes up to the level of the chassis moulding floor. Any gaps can be stuffed with liquid lead to get the most weight into it. Note that your heaviest option here is always going to be lead. Next comes chilled #12 shot (chilled as it has a higher density/animony content (or is that less antimony?)), regular #12 shot (see your gunsmith/tackle shop for this, probably) THEN Liquid Gravity - good stuff though it is, it is not lead and it is not 'packable' as it is a lot of tiny spheres (as is shot), each of which will have air around it however cozy they may get in confined spaces. Result? So far I have noted that lead will weigh twice as much as liquid gravity when packed into the same space. So, lead sheet it is. Tip some cheap superglue in and stand well back - and I mean well back. The fumes are not nice.
     
    By way of comparison my LIMA 'core' chassis (not motor etc) weighs in at 250g against the Hornby chassis minus the cab ends/buffer beams that fell off that weighs in at 215g.
     
    While the fumes are dissipating cut some 0.080" into 20mm wide strips long enough to be half the remaining length of the chassis less the 80mm of lead you just cut.
     
    Once your chassis is nicely set it should already have some heft to it. Now cut those 0.080" 20mm wide strips to fit inside the outer rim at the 'nose' of each end with the 80mm x 20mm lead sheet sitting over the fuel tank - you can stick that down centrally too if you like. I left it until I got all the bits to fit. Then, bond the shaped 'nose' sections to the floor of the LIMA chassis moulding. The chassis suddenly becomes surprisingly strong and rigid at this point.
     
    Now for the stressful part. What you are trying to achieve is to replicate the shapes and bogie mounting hole you have in the Hornby chassis, so cut with care measuring and checking all the time. Sorry I can't give any measurements as it is all now assembled...but I am sure you get the idea.
     
    At the #1 end (the one with the fan) cut and mount a piece of black 0.080" plasticard across the chassis to give the bogie a rubbing plate - see the left hand end in the picture of the underside of my chassis, below. Don't worry about drilling it out again yet, just get it mounted and set, the redrill your hole for the bogie pivot to ensure a clean hole all the way through. A pillar drill comes in handy here. At the #2 end do the same with 0.060" plasticard. These thicknesses suited the height of the loco I had - but check your heights etc to make sure it sits right before securing these pieces. Once they are secured, drill a couple of holes to allow the power leads to access the upper body work (see them just behind my bogie mountings?)
     
    At this point you should be able to set the body on the bogies and feel happy it is sitting right. Keep on checking!
     
    Going back to the upper part of the chassis, cut and fit another piece of 1/8" lead to fit into each of the 'nose' sections but clear of the arc of the bogie pivot hole. Over that add a piece of black plasticard to bring everything level with the outer rim of the chassis (see photos). This will form the cab support in the future.
     
    In the center, over the lead sheet add a piece of black plasticard (I used 0.060" I think) cut to clear the motor and universal joint links, but making sure a snug fit to the outer rim and bond it in place against the rim with solvent. You can ooze some superglue underneath too, if you like. Depends if you like the fumes...
     
    On top of this motor frame you can build a frame on which to seat the circuit board, best understood from the pictures below...
     
    That's about it for the chassis apart from assembly.
     
    It all goes together the same way the Hornby one does apart from the bogies. The clips that go over the worm gear housing will need the half round pivot points reduced to ensure they are a secure seat on the bogie - the floor is now a lot thicker here than the Hornby chassis. I am sure it can be done without the need for this using a thinner floor, but I chose to add a strong full length brace above, so ended up with a thicker floor etc.
     
    I hope the following photos help...
     

     

     
    Now, the buffer beams. Taking stuff from the Hornby donor you will have two buffer beam shrouds but probably no buffer beams as these are cast and most likely have fallen to bits...
     
    So, out with the 0.080" black plasticard to fabricate both a new beam and the reinforcing section - the 'flat' bit parallel to the track - you can see in the photos above. Bond all that lot together with solvent and you have a buffer beam unit that can be screwed to the chassis (into all that nice thick plasticard and lead you have above the floor, remember?) or simply bonded to the chassis with solvent. I chose the latter. After that, decorate as required (pipes, couplings, buffers and so on as listed in my previous post).
     
    I hope that is a useful set of pointers to convert the chassis. Wiring it all up again is the same as the Hornby one (you did make a note of which wire goes where on the circuit board, didn't you?) No?
     

     
    Better? Now for the paint shop...
     

     
    Best,
    Marcus
  12. EHertsGER
    ...never travelled over the Buntingford Branch (come on, please show me I am wrong...anybody??) but did ply their trade on the Hertford Branch. Thus it is no surprise that I saw the issues with the Hornby 31 as a chance to make some old LIMA 31s more presentable. After a little sweat and a few lower deck expressions, the first has emerged, though not yet primed even.
     
    I thought I would share some photos as it really is that easy! All the bodywork detailing is shown up as brass on my 'LIMBY Skinhead' with the exception of the 'tube' that will seat the Shawplan fan.
     

     

     

     
    The chassis is a simple reinforced LIMA one lined with lead as described here (thanks for the notes, chaps!) and now weighs some 10g more than the Hornby lump it replaced.
     
    I haven't done the cabs yet - still thinking etc. nor has the proposed conversion to P4 occured as I am waiting for Ultrascale wheels and, fingers crossed, the Penbits bogies I have heard are on the way...
     
    This will be finished in pre-TOPs blue, but I'm not sure of the number yet...so far 5510...give me a few days to get the paint on...
     
    The next will be GFYE with double arrows as 5624 - as it was on 17/2/1971 - the day it fell off Hertford North Station!
     
    Anyway, hope you like it and feel inspired to drag that dodgy Hornby out of the cupboard...
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  13. EHertsGER
    Goodness it’s been ages since I wrote up the goings-on related to the build of ‘Rugby’.
     
    The delay is explained largely by something of a ‘back-story’ insofar as I had much to learn before moving on. Attached is a view of the chassis as it currently stands, hopefully showing that I used the PDK cylinder block over the Finecast framework. This was because I felt the Finecast arrangement was a little less representative of the actual block. In assembling it I managed to lose one of the upper cylinder extensions (correct term?) and so set about replacing them. The Finecast parts didn’t ‘do it’ for me so I resolved to make new ones. And so therein lies the ‘back-story’. In short; buy a lathe and learn how to turn new ones. Simple heh? Well my choice of lathe turned out to be the Proxxon FD150 as I did not view the larger and possibly better models to be appropriate to my modest needs. Suffice to say I am very pleased with it once I had it fettled and set up (that was a learning process to start with). So, we have new cylinder extensions and a skill that will be used more as I become more adventurous and inventive, I am sure.
     
    Anyway, a chassis begins to grow in front of me, as you can see.
     

     
    The wheels are a spare set of Gibsons I am using to set things up - the actuals wheels are to be Ultrascale - yes I had time to wait for them to be delivered! I have the valve gear partially assembled off the chassis, to be added once the wheels are in place and the coupling rods set in their quartering. The brake gear is removable.
     
    The tender is now in primer.
     

     
    The tender chassis was scratchbuilt as the PDK one was a bit basic, while, for some peculiar reason, the Finecast one, though nice, had a different wheelbase, something afficianados of Maunsell tenders might be able to explain, but not me. I also built it to be compensated - the brake gear, again, is removable.
     

     
    Yes, I know everything is filthy and needs a jolly good clean, as well as making sure brake arrangements actually fit and look as if they will stop something. The gaps between loco wheel and brake blocks are likely to be narrowed to such purpose by a sliver of plasicard to bring the shoe closer into the wheel.
     
    So, that’s it for now. I wasn’t sitting on my thumbs all this time - I have also had great fun building a couple of Wills kits ‘straight from the box’ onto some old Triang-Hornby chassis. I am becoming addicted to these old kits...
     
    More anon, I promise!
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  14. EHertsGER
    OK, so we’ ve cut the tender sides, but, as those who have (should have) read the words of Guy Williams, we have added a strenghthening piece to maintain the integrity of the tender sides, we have the following:
     

     
    which involves soldering a piece of brass tube (spare from fabricating the exhaust vents on my Class 31 as the strenghtening piece, but anything that brings rigidity to the sides will do).
     
    Also visible is the beading, which was a basic process of attaching some 0.010” NS to the sides and filing it down. So far, so good...
     
    More soon...
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  15. EHertsGER
    In some ways I should have expected this; indeed to an extent I did but remained naiively opimistic. When trying to mate the body from one kit to the chassis of another it should be assumed it they won’t mate; the trick being to minimise the extent to which this is the case and the amount of cutting and swearing necessary to effect a solution.
     
    So, in our case things are not so bad. I have already chopped off the front frame extensions from the finecast chassis as these are an integral part of the PDK bodywork and, given their protrusion into the front footplate, should remain so. Luckily the ‘join’ between body and frame can be hidden behind the front of the cyclinder block (another story, for later).
     

     
    Now all we need to do is mate the rear of the chassis with the footplate. We have two options; chop the chassis or chop the footplate (avoiding the third option; chop a bit of both, in the interests of avoiding ‘oh, ######’! and having to put things back again).
     

     
    Having offered one to the other and scribbled about with the blue pen my chosen option is to chop the footplate. Why? It’s one of the above options, it’s easier to remove metal and disturbs the chassis less, and whatever ‘bridge’ I fabricate to raise the chassis anchor point will vanish under the footplate itself once that is fitted. The only down side is that the rear of the chassis doesn’t quite reach the rear (making allowance for the cast Finecast kit drag beam?) but that is a minor issue.
     

     

     
    So, watch this space for the solution (I am writing this as a form of therapy that will steel my resolve to take saw to footplate...) shortly...
     

     
    In the mean time, we have snag #2, another one I sort of saw coming but didn’t do anything about it. Now, a word to all those coming to this article as a ‘lets see if I can do this by watching some other fool have a go...’ prior to taking your first etched kit in hand. My first words to you, therefore are the very ones I ignored: If you can’t work out how to do it, look in a book written by Guy Williams (there are two) and DO IT LIKE THAT. You cannot go wrong. Really.
     
    So what did I do wrong? Well, looking back at the tender body etch I did think that the etched side, having been etched to provide a raised beading around the top, resulted in the actual platework being seriously thin. It was, but I went on ahead anyway. What should I have done? Guy Williams recommends that for lengthy runs of platework (tank sides, tenders and so on) there should be bracing behind to avoid just exactly what has happened. With even moderate handling the tender sides have started to bow inwards, dammit!
     
    Solution? Take off the sides, fabricate new ones (0.0010” nickel silver sheet) and attach beading using fine wire and file to shape (see Guy Williams), making sure even that is braced within. That is for later when I have a suitable size NS sheet in stock (on its way).
     
    That’s the ‘snags’ we have found - or was that ‘created’? - for now.
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  16. EHertsGER
    Ok, so here we have some kind of progress...
     
    First up, the boiler, rolled using one of George Watts contraptions. This is only my opinion, but for forming boilers, even those that profess to be pre-rolled (no doubt by the same senorita for whose thighs Bizet was obsessed), stop mucking about and buy one. Even I can make them round, so you have no excuses...
     


     
    Note the ring of unpressed rivets inside the smokebox. These appeared on rebuilds some time after the period in which I am presenting the model, so have not been addressed. Once in BR times, these should be pressed out, but check your individual locomotive for the dates.
     
    I will go into more detail as the boiler evolves in a separate chapter.
     
    Now we have the chassis (plural) in comparison. The assembled one is the Finecast effort, that ‘in the flat’ is the PDK one. I know which I prefer. The PDK does come with a handy selection of valve gear bits that count as spares, so may come in handy later if you go to the Finecast one and get into trouble, though I would be wary of combining two different sets of geometry. I am sure one can make a sound chassis with the PDK effort - it just looked a bit dull to me.
     

     
    The basic premise is that the driven wheel is the rear driver, while the front driver is balanced against the bogie by an internal beam - so it's really an equalized 0-6-0 chassis, making the 'difficult' 4-4-0 rumours go away...
     
    Sharp-eyed readers will have noticed that the bogie frames are parallel and not angled, as originally built. I will admit to being rather fuzzy about this, but my chosen period for 'Rugby' is the 'early 1930s' (which means I prefer the earlier serif script livery with the number on the tender). 'Sometime' (considered to be 'early 1930s') these bogies had new frames with the parallel lower edge fitted, along with coil springs (which Finecast supplies in the kit). I could still opt to file them to shape and fit leaf springs, making sure of a late '20s/very early '30s condition...
     
    I will go into more detail as the chassis/brakes/motor evolve in a separate chapter.
     
    And finally, the footplate, not altogether clear, but the front frame extensions (no rivets marked in the PDK kit) are held in by a makeshift clamp. It is the frame extensions of the Finecast chassis that have to go. If you are building a later batch that featured snap-head rivets at the front, you will need to transfer the marks and either press (buy George’s tool while you are ordering his roller) these out or drill and fit wire dummies. Up to you. Rugby was flush riveted here, so no work to be done.
     

     
    My next post will go into how I made the Finecast chassis actually fit the PDK superstructure...
     
    That’s it for now. Another Martini (from the ‘Lord Charles school of kitbuilding’, I suspect) beckons...
  17. EHertsGER

    At the ‘off’

    By EHertsGER,

    Well, here we are with the kit out of the box and a few steps taken to familiarise ourselves with the contents. So far, lots of brass bits and so on, plus the Ultrascale wheels (after months of waiting, of course). The plan is to build the body onto the Finecast chassis which, of course, is designed to fit an entirely different kit. Why not build the Finecast kit, then? I just like building in brass as it gives me those nice fine edges to cabs and tenders and so on.
     
    So, initial observations? I built up the chassis to a framework to get the hornblocks and so on in the right place, then a rudimentary assembly of the footplate to check it fits. It doesn’t, so that will be my next post; modifications needed to make it fit and so on with some pictures to show what’s needed. Right now it’s late and I am on my second Martini, so please be patient...
     
    During the second Martini phase of the build is an ideal time to peer at photographs and check out the details in the Swift book (you need books if you are going to do this by Martini stages). Rugby was one of the second batches built, with the angled bogie frames and flush headed rivets to the front of the frames. Dammit! I’d poked out all of the rivets in the chassis kit! Salvation is at hand when we discover that the frame extensions in the kit clash with the frame extensions of the chassis. Simple - remove the chassis frame extensions. The ‘join’ sits neatly behind the cylinder blocks so, as Eric would say ‘you can’t see the join’. Good so far. But wait! The footplate supports are different. Another Martini methinks. Back soon...
  18. EHertsGER
    My apologies for taking so long to continue this; life keeps getting in the way. All I have to offer today is some pictures updating the construction so far, starting with the chassis, which is all but assembled and sitting nicely on both lateral and vertical springing:


    It does show some handling wear to the first coat of paint, but we'll come to that once it is completed. The bodywork has had one or two bits and pieces added; the condenser pipes took almost two days to get right. If there is anything still amiss, they are staying like that!


    As it is all coming together nicely, things should go quite quickly from here, but it is surprising how much gubbins there is around the boiler - to say nothing of fitting out the cab and the stuff under the footlplate!
     
    So, more anon...
    Best,
    Marcus
  19. EHertsGER
    With not much happening over the last few days I will try to be brief. I had originally planned to fit out the cab before moving forward, but I felt that getting the lines, boxes and circles working together to look like the outline shape of an F5 would contribute more. Building a beatifully fitted cab inside an anomaly seemed a waste of time.
     
    So, onward toward the front of the loco. First, the tank tops. You may recall this project came, phoenix-like, from the remains of a previous attempt to build this kit that fell to the wayside as other things came and went. Initially, I took a blowtorch to the superstructure to separate the 'salvage' from the rest. One casualty was the tank tops, a single piece in the kit, and erroneously so. The bolier sits, as one would expect, between the tanks, so the effect we are after is just that; the boiler curving away below the tank, leaving a gap at the top, above the centerline, as one would expect with basic geometry.
     
    So, tank tops added, we turn to the boiler. The brass tube supplied in the kit is fine - if you like wrestling with heat sinks - but see below. Dismantling the loco, as above, left me with a badly cut, scarred and ugly piece of brass that had to go. The question was: do I use another similar tube, or roll a new one? A quick look at Guy Williams' book (the first, for I am that old..) got me rolling away in short order and thus a new boiler and smokebox appeared. Many words of wisdom on rolling boilers appear on this site, too.
     
    Next to be addressed was the issue of the valve chest/smokebox support. In the kit the smokebox support is intended to sit between the frame extensions, leaving a gap that is acknowledged in the instructions. I took the approach that the valve chest top should be there and the smokebox sit atop that. Thus we have the assembly as seen in the picture. The smokebox saddle had to be cut down by a few millimeters (3 I think) before being installed. Prior to installation was the removal of the boiler inside the tanks to create a space for the motor. Once all is assembled it is surprising how little space there is inside for such a long locomotive now we have a full cab as well.
     
    So, here is progress to date:

     
    The smokebox door is just sitting there for effect...as it comes in the kit it includes the front of the smokebox saddle, but when trying to fit it to the brass tube supplied it sat proud, producing the wrong 'face' to the loco (the use of photographs cannot be understated as I learned many years ago that a kit is only a set of parts, not a total solution). The supplied tube wall is 1mm thick, which is way too heavy for this. Coupled with fabricating the valve chest, I removed the saddle front and slid the door into the boiler happily. The boiler is rolled from 10thou nickel silver with futher wrappers of 15 and 10 thou, the latter rivetted accordingly as I had also destroyed the kit supplied wrapper. Much of the new fabrication is also nicklel silver, as I prefer working with this as opposed to brass. Fabricating the valve chest top also enabled me to form a better 'piano' front than that of the kit. So far, so good...
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  20. EHertsGER
    So, having put together the basic chassis and body, time has come to unite them to make sure they are 'as one'. However, in doing so, those of you with a Gibson kit on your bench at this point will notice the huge void inside the cab - alas, the kit has no provision for much more than a rudimentary floor. Having its origins in the days of 'motor in the cab' (I suspect - please correct me) this is disappointing, but should not deter you from buying an otherwise nice kit.
     
    Anyway, to the point. Well, I had to fabricate a cab, but before that, I replaced the etched coal bars with actual bars on the rear windows:
     

     
    Then the floor and bunker front, to which I need to add sandboxes, coal delivery doors and destination board hangers, disc hangers and that mysterious cupboard between the windows (its purpose, apart from stashing coffee and sandwiches, perhaps??). A post-1944 loco would also need folding seats:
     

     
    Turning now to the front of the cab I fabricated the splasher/seat assembly for each side:
     

     
    The cab front and rear etches in the kit are rather thin, so I sweated them to some 0.010" n/s to add strength. The rest of the fabrication is also 0.010" n/s, which makes wielding a soldering iron around in close proximity to other joints much easier. So, there we have the basic cab. The backhead is a London Road product and is sitting there for now. I normally epoxy them in last of all as the mass of metal can be a rather uncontrollable heat sink otherwise.
     
    Turning now to the underside of the cab we can see how the frames and splashers interact. Because we have built the chassis to be a little narrower to enable curves to be travelled, the frames do not sit inside the splashers. The solution, in this case is simply to file down the top of the frames (in the light of this experience, perhaps we should change the drawings to accommodate this, but not this week.) so the cab floor sits on top. This is fine for the P4 version we are building, but what of the EM version? Thinking about it (as I have not built one) my solution would be to 'tweak the illusion' somewhat. As we are only looking to narrow the clearance for the wheels by a millimeter or so and fabricating a cab anyway, making the overall splasher some 0.5mm wider and the actual wheel splasher another 1mm wider on each side would not spoil things too much, I feel. Have a go and let me know!
     

     
    That is as far as we have got right now; inside detail needs to be added, then onwards with the tank tops...
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  21. EHertsGER
    So, moving on we come to the chassis in more less its first stage of completion. In the photos that follow you may be able to see the two 'ponial' trucks - essentially 'pony trucks' pretending to be radial trucks. This has been achieved by making sure the pony truck assembly takes advantage of the whole CSB beam that runs the length of the chassis (the wheelbase being longer than a 9f for those who are concerned with such things) as well as separately sprung lateral control. So we have four springs in total, hence the expression 'four-sprung durch technik'. The air reservoir tank is attached to the rear truck to make matters easier in the articulation of said truck
     

     
    You may also note that the air reservoir tank has a groove filed out to accommodate the 10BA bolt securing it.
     
    The High Level hornblocks have attached to them the spring carriers that also accommodate the CSB bearing surfaces, thus enabling the hornblocks to be removed at any time once the springy wire is removed, which makes inserting wheelsets a lot easier.
     
    The more general side view might look a bit wonky, but is only due to the 10BA bolts securing the 'ponial' trucks not being washerd or tightened at present.
     

     
    More anon, as I have been known to add...
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  22. EHertsGER
    Under the locomotive will be the chassis I have commissioned to save me the bother of cutting six identical frame sets and so on...
     
    So, back from the etchers via Justin Hewitt who did most of the hard work, came these;
     


     
    Which, after about five minutes of clipping from the fret and four bend later, becom this, an 'instant' fold-up P4 chassis;
     

     
    After another ten minutes (I kid you not...) and the frame spacers are in place;
     

     
    Those among you with better eyesight than mine may also like to note that the spacers have been designed to be in the correct places for CSB- based suspension and fulcrum points in the form of etched holes included in the spacer - no calculations to do and no mucking about with handrail knobs...
     

     
    ...and looks like this sitting under the bodywork;
     

     
    More anon once I have cleaned up the bench a little and had my lunch...
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  23. EHertsGER
    This is a project intended to begin the process of adding at least half a dozen of these 'F' series locomotives to my roster for the Buntingford Branch. The basis of the models is the Gibson kit which has been around for a while. Falcon Brassworks list on on their site as unavailable, but it my be again soon. Who knows? I also understand NuCast is working with SE Finescale to revise their offering also.
     
    My choice, like it or not, is the Gibson kit as that is the only one available right now. They will be built to P4 standards. Helping me along with the process is Justin Newitt of Rumney Models, who has just produced an etched chassis kit for me for P4/EM. This seemed an easier option than fretting out at least six sets of frames.
     
    I plan on adding a commentary here every now and then just to share my thoughts on building these locomotives, starting with this one:
     

     

    Which is not only the subject of the (very good) drawings mentiomed above, but seems to have been a Buntingford loco for most of its life.
     
    Anyway, lets see what happens...
     
    Best,
    Marcus
  24. EHertsGER
    Well, here we all are again...seemingly still stuck in the land of J15s...
     
    At least this one:
     

     
    Actually got finished and works perfectly. The others? In my haste to build them, I seem to have missed out on a number of small, but crucial details (the tender sides on 65460 are slightly different to others I have seen and to the Gibson kit; getting hold of Whitaker tablet apparatus has proven difficult, amd so on and so forth), the result being that the others that I finished have been stripped of paint and some partly dismantled...
     
    Add to that the chore of fretting sides for chassis I have set down my J15 saw in the hope I can pinch Brassmasters chassis sides when they eventually turn up...
     
    In the mean time...
  25. EHertsGER
    So here it is, awaiting dirt, windows and wipers...


     
    After much fretting over the exhausts...
     

     
    There, that's better...

     
    ...and after I 'chucked the muck' at it...
     

     
    Though at this stage we have just a basic coat of filth. Prototype photos show all kinds of shades and colours around the whole locomotive. The underframes particularly have the usual grease, oll and track dirt etc There is also some odd looking white substance that is present on the lower bodyside - detergent residue from the carriage washing process? Who knows, but one day the above should look a bit like this:
     

     
    Best,
    Marcus
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