EHertsGER

Are you still looking for the teak coaches? I have several for sale $50 a go/free postage to the 48

Now this is where the work starts in earnest. Assuming you have all your preparation done and the etched frets in front of you, it is probably best to start with one complete carriage and built the next then the next and so on. Due to the slightly different construction of the brake that includes an inset brake section, for example, I felt we should go with this one first. So, to the door hinges. On the rear face to the side and lower side etches there should be – I say ‘should’ as I found some to be missing – witness marks showing where the door hinge ‘brace’ should be soldered in from the inside to enable two things; visible door hinges and a shaping of the carriage side to ensure a consistent turn-under to the lower side. These are not etched all the way through and so must be opened out. Not an easy task, but one that has been described here: https://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=87&t=5879 The ‘brace’. Note the curvature for the turn-under begins just above the middle hinge, so we will need to form the shape in both the upper and lower side pieces. Just to be a bore, I begin with a vehement instruction; please do not remove anything from the fret just yet. The door hinges should all line up and if we are going to use the pillar drill approach to opening them out, it makes life much easier when keeping them in line on the table as well as addressing a couple of other things. It also gives us a little more 'landscape' to attach to the underlying sticky tape (no idea what I am talking about? Go off and read this https://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=87&t=5879 then we can get going. Above we see the three witness marks in a vertical line that need to be opened out. So what of the ‘missing’ witness marks? I found the best way to approach these was to mark them using a scribe with reference to the ones that are there (hence keeping everything on the fret). Alas in a couple of cases they were missing in places where such reference was difficult. In this event I suggest drilling holes to fit the MJT door hinge etched parts (you’ll need to buy these – if you are building coaches you really should have a set or two in your ‘box of bits’). Where the brace would have been at the rear, remove the hinge extensions then fit the MJT hinges, clean up and add the 'brace' behind while trying not to dislodge the hinge, or fit the brace first, then drill the hinge hole deeper, into the brace, and fit the hinge. Using a very hot iron (I use a variable temperature Antex setup at 450') you should be able to isolate soldering points and not dislodge nearby attachments. If the process of opening out these holes fills you with dread, this may be another way of approaching the ‘hinge’ issue. Taking this approach you will also be able to assemble the sides ‘in the flat’, including the ‘braces’ and then drill and fit the hinges. At least with soldering the individual hinge in place you will be able to use some of the solder applied to the ‘brace’ on installation, letting it run into the hinge from behind and, using a hot enough iron, not dislodge the brace anywhere but at the hinge point, if you see what I mean. I haven’t tried that, so make no promises! I did contemplate drilling out the hinge slots, drilling at each end and slitting them with a fretsaw, but I felt that since I had a pillar drill the ‘engraving bit’ solution was for me. If you are going to go down the former route, good luck! By now we should have a fret with all the hinge slots opened out – somehow! They might look a bit random, but when we consider their size this is not a major variation in dimensions. Coupled with the possibility of filling out the hole around the hinge when soldering it in, it all comes out well in the end. Just make a note of the technique in the linked article and you will have a valuable skill that applies to more or less any metal coach kit where needed. The next installment deals with assembling the sides.

I think I am getting the hang of this - it certainly seemed a strighforward technique. The brushes I used are simple make-up brushes from the dollar store. Being quite short and having a 'springiness' made the maninpulation of the paint very easy. The coaches are a couple of beaten up Kirk kits bought to test my abilities. Now to the brass kits in progress... best, Marcus

If it is of any help I use a fume extractor (https://www.amazon.com/Xytronic-0608426DLX-426DLX-Fume-Extractor/dp/B0007ZLH4Q/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=Fume+extractor&qid=1555112226&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1) on my bench placed as close to the work as possible to draw fumes away from my face. It works rather well as I find at the end of a session I have no ‘taste’ of the flux. I hope that is useful. best, Marcus

And this too... This is a set of hinges set in threes on a backing piece that sets the curvature of the sides plus droplights, grab handles, door handles and ventilators to make up the numbers - there are some ventilators on each diagram etch - for the whole set.

Opening it reveals the following: This is the brake end and comprises a set of sides with separate lower panel and a set of underframe etches, including battery boxes and articulation mechanism, v hangers, queen posts, steps and brackets, solebar overlays, body mounting bracket and bogie mounting bracket. The other three sets look more or less the same, but if you'd like to see them, please ask.

And now, the kit: Not much to see so far, but it does arrive in a neat box. Your needs for storage will expand, so 'you're gonna need a bigger box'

After making one or two comments elsewhere I have been prompted to write up the build of the Hertford Quad set I bought from Bill some time ago. This will probably degenerate into a number of diversions associated with the skills I needed to use or learn, but otherwise, given the quality of the etches, should be a vindication of just how good his kits are. 'Watch this space', as they say... In the mean time, what is a 'Hertford Quad'? The best answer comes, not surprisingly, from Steve Banks: https://steve-banks.org/prototype-and-traffic/355-lner-quadarts In summary they were built for the Hertford East service to run in single sets, so you don't have to build two or more kits! So what's in the box? Opening it reveals four sets of etches for the bodies (Diags 102/3/4/5) and four separate etches for the matching underframes, plus a separate set of droplights and door hinges. No instructions are supplied but these can be downloaded from Bill's site: http://www.mousa.biz/downloads/instructions.html - scroll down to the appropriate section. There are no castings, nor are any roofs supplied (see below). I'll add images in a minute, but first you need to consider some preparation and get a few things organised. 1. A drawing. Isinglass covers the GNR/LNER Quads but these are not the Hertford sets. Good enough for a general reference point, but Michael Harris' LNER Standard Gresley carriages covers the specific diagrams. 2. Bogies. MJT, Comet or ABS 8'6" Heavy Duty https://www.lner.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12054 3. Sheet nickel silver - no roofs are supplied and need to be fabricated. I avoid plasticard roofs so roll my own from .010" NS. GW supply a roller that makes this a lot easier, otherwise you will need to rely on rolling by hand. The premise of the construction is that the body sits on the chassis and is screwed on - more later. I have yet to do so, but it may be possible to use the extruded aluminium roofs MJT supplies. 4. A pillar drill and engraving bits. I'll cover that as we go but a key part of the construction process is to open out the slots for the hinges which also form part of the reinforcing method that helps keep the sides in shape. It's a technique that may be a challenge but its not to hard to practice and learn - I can do it! 5. Roof ventilators, buffers and so on from MJT/Comet (or even Shapeways nowadays - they make nice ventilators) - as required. 6. Photographs. Lots of photographs. 7. Source your interiors - probably from the Comet or Southern Pride ranges, though I haven't decided which yet. There is precious little space between compartments so the partitions will have to be thought out carefully to accommodate glazing. 8. Wait until I have made a fool of myself first before trying it out yourself if you prefer! Finally, these are fine etches with a lot of very fine detail, so get to know your soldering iron and your favourite technique - foul up a few bits of brass and so on first until you feel you know what you are doing. I know that sounds a bit patronising, but you will have spent a good few quid on this kit and to be frustrated or disappointed would be a shame for the sake of diving in and making messes you can avoid by making them somewhere else until you don't, if you see what I mean. Next is the pleasurable bit you can take your time over. Sit down with your favourite adult beverage - though tea is probably best for focusing - and get to know these coaches. Know how they look, sit and make a presence from the photographs (Google will help a lot - and use the preserved quint sets to get a feel of 'clean' coaches with visible detail) as well as checking out details on the ends, how the hinges protrude, how far out the door handles are and so on. Then get a good grip on Bill's instructions - they don't quite match the latest version of his etches, but the principles are still there. Look over the etches and get a feel for what bits look like and how they fit together. At the very least, I feel it would be unwise to start anything without Harris' book, Steve banks web site, the kit and a confidence in your soldering. The rest can develop as we go...

I'd be happy to show off!

All And so I have come to building the Hertford Quad from Bill (I ordered a Quint some time ago but alas the USPS gremlins seem to have eaten it). You really should buy one - its etches are beautiful! Anyway in consideration of the Quad and the next Quint (for there will be one), can someone point me to a reliable source for the under-gubbins of each. Photos only go so far and drawings, not at all, so I am a little lost as to what is under which one in each set. Does the Isinglass set show the under floor arrangements? How about that article quoted aforehand? Battery boxes and bogies I can spot, but deep in the shadows lie...vacuum cylinders, dynamos, reservoirs, gas cylinders - or not. Your guidance much appreciated, with thanks. Best, Marcus

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

Do know of any LNER livery transfers for the Diag 5 horsebox?

A lovely looking coach - I’ve just started out on building a Bedford/Mousa Quad set. Any tips on how the sides/chassisroof go together best. It looks like the body is bolted to the chassis... best, Marcus

Ok, onwards. I set up and tried the approach outlined in my post and that of preceding entries; a table arrangement on the x-y table of my pillar drill. Oh, boy, that was easy! It worked perfectly - so much so that an old kit I tried it out on has gone back into the box as, now, being much easier to fit hinges to an otherwise blank side. I didn’t even trash it while ‘practicing’. I did try clamping the work, but simply could not find a good purchase along the length of the coach side. I resorted to using double sided tape - use a longer piece and lift the tape, not the work, as the latter will bend - to hold the work in place. Mill towards the backstop (Parliament please note) to stop the work moving. Otherwise that’s it. Full credit to Jol Wilkinson and ‘Richard M’ for inspiring this idea - I deserve absolutley no credit for this at all!

Does anyone know if it will be available to stream over here in the USA?

Tony et al In the interests of an 'economical' project on which to 'run trains' I have often contemplated Highgate High Level (N. London). Its form is that of a deep cutting with tunnels at each end (no silly sharp curves visible), no points or sidings (easy track laying) and operations at both local (Alexandra Palace branch) and main line (relief running from Finsbury Park). A good place to get going if you space and ambition also lend themselves to a later addition of the Alexandra Palace branch and the sidings at the other end of the northern tunnel - then you get really ambitious and build the low-level link into the underground... A 'pipe dream', of course. Best, Marcus

All Thank you for your replies! Oddly enough I had been messing about with seeking a solution when I put down the tools and decided to catch up here over a cup of tea. So far I had tried strips of wet and dry to open out the slots. Fine if there actually is a slot, which is not always the case. OK, but boring, tedious and repetitive in the number of times one had to cut a new strip. Next it was a case of drilling holes at each end of the slot and then running the drill 'sideways' between the holes (#77), which did seem quite effective, reliable and none too tedious. My mind was left at how to 'mechanise' the process instead of wrestling with floppy coach sides... Then I read the bit about the Proxxon milling machine (on my shopping list) and the light dawned. Lacking such a machine, my thoughts wandered off to my pillar drill that does have an X-Y table, albeit a small one. No backlash, though! So, fabricate a larger surface as described above, bolt to X-Y table and use said cutters from China (no tea this time - oh, sorry, that would have been a clipper, not a cutter. The cutters are on the clipper, I suppose...). The Dart hinge/Comet door handle is a sound idea too, but for the construction of this particular coach. The hinges are part of a 'brace' that gives the side its profile and strength and so must be installed through the three slots in one go, hence the need for some precision. More anon, but my thanks in the mean time. Best, Marcus

All Can anyone offer some guidance on opening out the holes for the door hinge etches common to MJT/Bill Bedford and so on. In the latter case Bill's etch seems too thick for the holes. Certainly I would expect there to be some fettling, but the sheer quantity involved in one of his LNER Quad sets leads me to wonder if there is a tool or technique I have missed beyond an abundance of patience. My current approach is to open the holes with an Exacto blade and to rub the etch down to a corresponding thickness, but what a fag! Best, Marcus

Alas there is no separate pages for ‘what have you done with your Wills kit?’ so, while I make excuses for not getting anywhere near a recognisable form in building the K’s Pannier, I presume to share with you my latest effort. Keeping as closely to my philosophy in building these old kits I have kept to the ‘straight out of the box’ approach with this one. No details, no scale anything extra and so on and running on an old Triang-Hornby ‘Jinty’ chassis. I even used the split pins and wire from the kit. I am quite pleased at how well it has turned out. Best, Marcus

Hence my uncertainty...oh, well...

My apologies if I missed this in earlier posts; I think I have read them all! My question concerns the pre-orders for Gresley 61’ teak coaches. The teak seems to look OK, but I cannot fathom whether the bodyside moulding issue has been ‘fixed’. Guidance/wisdom would be welcome. Best, Marcus

It is saddening to think of the loss of another of those inspirational model makers that shaped our own ambitions - I know mine began in June 1970 with Stan Roberts' 'Blewcote to Bakewell' (I think) layout featured in that month's RM, reinforced by a visit to the Model Engineer exhibition that year/early '71 at which I bought a copy of the December RM in which Mike's layout was featured. Getting out that original copy (now a bit tatty, but then, so am I) is a regular Christmas 'treat for me. But what of the layout(s)? Scrapped? Stored? Fell to bits? Revered in a hallowed place?

Try Bill Bedford/Mousa Models - he supplied a beautiful kit for the Hertford Quads. He also does a variety of quads/quints to order.

Wonderful work - well done! Best, Marcus

Thank you for the reference to my work - I am flattered! Best, Marcus