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Pugsley

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Blog Entries posted by Pugsley

  1. Pugsley
    As per the title, really. The 'third time lucky' parts are in the process of assembly, and I've now got to the stage where I'm testing that it all works before I get too far in the process. It all fits where it should, although I have made a bit of a mis-calculation with the positioning of the cross-members, in relation to the traction motor gears. Nothing that cutting a bit out can't cure!
     
    The cosmetic sideframe is loosely attached to the assembly, just to check everything is as it should be:
     

     
    I'm also checking the relative positioning of the equalising beams in comparison to the spring mounts on the sideframe. I think I'll need to extend the faces of the axleboxes to mount the stirrups on, but I have factored that into the design, and included parts for it.
     

     
    The method of assembly, the cross members are secured to the main frames with 10BA screws and bolts, seems to have worked well in getting the assembly square - the axles have fitted into the axleboxes without any trouble. I'll probably solder the parts together once I'm satisfied that everything is square and true. It's pretty much there now - it was screwed together on a polished, square, slab of marble.
     

     

     
    A trial axle assembly in place, just to check that the clearances have turned out as designed, which they have (thankfully!). It's all a bit tight, but again, I'm fairly sure it's going to work, which is a bit of a relief. In the pictures the wheels are set roughly to the correct back-to-back measurements, but the traction motor is not in the final position. That will be located by retainers on top of the cross members.
     
    I now need to dismantle the assembly, before making up all of the secondary spring mount parts and soldering them to the cross-members.
     
    It's nice that it's all coming together, at last! There's been times when I've questioned the sanity of what I was trying to do and I have been worried that I was trying to do something that I wasn't capable of. It seems that I'm scraping through OK!
  2. Pugsley
    It feels like I'm finally getting somewhere with this project now. The revised parts are back, and I've assembled the first of the bogie frames.
     

     
    The guides are now separate pieces that are soldered to the main frame etch on top of a 0.25mm spacer. Of course, I did the usual and didn't put quite as many spacers on the etch fret so had to make a few myself. The picture above shows how the parts are assembled (it needs tidying up yet!). A 0.7mm hole is drilled through all of the parts and 0.7mm wire used both as a guide to ensure everything is lined up, but is left in place as a pin to provide additional support.
     

     

     
    A couple of shots of the axleboxes in place give an idea of how the whole thing will sit together. One down, three to go!
  3. Pugsley
    Links for the next chapters of the saga:
    26 - Getting somewhere at last!
    27 - OMG, I think it's going to work!
    28 - Getting there slowly
    29 - Quick bogie update
    30 - More bogie progress
    31 - Spring bounce
    32 - A milestone moment!
    33 - Doing a jig
    34 - Back to life...
    35 - Mocking....
    36 - I dont believe it!
     
     
     
    I decided to finish another 'quick win' task before starting on the bogies - fitting armrests to the seats included in the kit.
     

     
    The armrests are filed from 1x2mm Evergreen styrene strip, to more or less the shape and size in this picture:
    http://briandaniels.fotopic.net/p61285107.html
     
    Next up, bogie assembly!
  4. Pugsley

    Tanked Up (and Boxing)

    By Pugsley,

    Whilst waiting for the final bogie parts, I've decided to start on all the little detail jobs that need doing on the 37 - 8 sandboxes for the sanding gear to fit on and the pipework between the fuel tanks. You will remember my attempt at sanding gear on an earlier entry - I've subsequently discovered that MMP do a class 37 sanding gear set, so I bought one of those instead. The thought of making another 4 assemblies filled me with dread!
     
    The main parts of the sandboxes were cut from 0.33mm brass, cut into a strip 3mm wide, by 11mm long. The edges of the cut strips were coloured with permanent marker to help see the marks for forming. The parts at the top of the picture are the strips bent to shape.
     

     
    Lines were scribed at 4mm and 7mm, working from one edge. These were used as guides for pressure to be applied using a Stanley knife blade, which marked where the bend should be and scored to make folding easier.
     

     
    Once folded up, sides cut from 0.127mm brass, to the approximate shape, were soldered onto the formed strips. These were then trimmed to shape as closely as possible using sharp scissors, then filed to the exact shape. In this pic, the three stages of the process can be seen, working right to left.
     

     
    These now need to be drilled in the centre, for the sandpipe assemblies to be soldered in, before mounting them on the chassis of the loco. I'll wait until the bogies are in before mounting them.
     
    I've also knocked up a representation of the pipework between the fuel tanks, out of 1.2mm brass and 0.7mm nickel silver wire, with the larger pipe being 1.8mm dia microbore tube. The pipe fittings, such as flanges and unions, are made from styrene sections.
     

     

     
    I've been assured that I should receive the new design of bogie parts tomorrow, so the next update should be the first completed bogie, with any luck!
  5. Pugsley

    37/7 Progress

    By Pugsley,

    An even greater lack of imagination with the title for tonights update, on the plus side it is a little more descriptive of what's actually occuring!
     
    Since last time Hornby class 50 buffers have been substituted for the Bachmann ones, which are too spindly IMO. To do this, twist the heads slightly to the right and pull, the head should come out with the spring. Drill down the Bachmann buffer housing with a 2.3mm drill, which will loosen the bond of the adhesive holding them in place. A little tug with a pair of pliers should bring the housing away - the Hornby buffers are glued in the holes left.
     

     
    The bogies have also been narrowed and the sideframes moved up slightly. Cut both sideframes off with a razor saw, inboard of the brake shoes, then file 0.3mm off each side of the keeper plate moulding. When reassembling, glue the sidframes back on so that the bottom of the brake shoe assembly is level with where they attach to the keeper plate. This moves the sideframes up about 1mm, and narrows the bogies by 1mm, improving the appearance.
     
    Next up - the paint shop!
  6. Pugsley

    You stud!

    By Pugsley,

    I've continued with the various outstanding jobs whilst waiting for the final design of parts to be returned from the etchers. The artwork was sent off on Wednesday, so the parts should be in my possession at some point next week.
     
    In the same manner as Chris Pendleton with his 4mm Deltic, I've used the springs on the JLTRT sideframes as the studs for mounting the parts for the primary springs. Here the modified sideframes can be seen:
     

     
    The mounts need a certain amount of cleaning up, but this can be done quite easily with the judicious use of files.
     
    The frames have all been cut to the same depth and diameter using a home made cutter, again shamelessly cribbed from the MRJ article. It's made from a length of 3/16 inch silver steel, drilled 3.3mm. The brass stud is turned to 3.3mm OD, with a 1.5mm tail, to fit into a 1.5mm hole drilled into the centre of each spring moulding.
     

     
    I also made the revised axles, again from 3/16 silver steel. They are each 45mm, turned to 75 degrees at the end, which will hopefully assist with centering them when the wheels are pressed on.
     

     
    The sideframes have been cleaned up where the moulded axleboxes have been sawn out and I've also removed the moulded securing hooks and lifting lugs - these will be replaced with etched parts, which are included on the bogie frets.
     

     
    Work this afternoon will concentrate on making up the rest of the traction motor units, and getting everything ready for the mark 3 bogie parts. The equalising beams need to be cut in half, and then filed down to fit in the stirrups, which will be soldered to the axleboxes.
  7. Pugsley

    Monkey in the well

    By Pugsley,

    It feels a bit like the old maths question at the minute - there are three steps forward, and two steps back again. The bogie artwork is currently undergoing another tweaking, but I'm hopeful that the mark 3 version will be the final version, as I've just about discovered everything that could be improved upon, I think..
     
    It's mostly little things, like adding a couple of extra positioning holes on the parts that are soldered on to the mounting plate, but the frames have required a complete redesign. In this version, the axlebox guides will be soldered on to the main frame, with a spacer between to pack them to the right distance inside of the frame.
     
    As a part of the final redesign, I've been assembling the various parts, to check that everything works as it should. The following photos show the secondary suspension mount, with the original trial spring in place.
     

     

     
    Since taking these pictures, I've realised that the prototype spring is too powerful - it needed a force of 500g to compress about halfway, which I think means that the 37 would need to weigh 4kg for it to work as intended! I've since cut the prototype spring down to 7 coils, which reduces the spring force greatly (I'm not sure how much by yet, I haven't measured it). I've got some thicker copper wire on order, so will see what that's like, as I think that the brass might still be a bit too springy.
     

     
    This shows the revised spring length for the secondary suspension, alongside the first prototype primary spring, made from copper wire. I'm not sure if this is final length for this one, the revised frame etches need to be constructed first, so I can work out the height of spring required.
     

     
    The remains of the moulded springs on the kit sideframe, will be turned into locating studs for the primary springs. i had originally planned to replace the equalising beam mounts with an etched part that would actually pivot, but have abandoned that plan for now. I will give it a go at a later date, but with a suitable casting, the etched parts don't look as good as what's there at the moment.
     
    This funny looking part:

    Rests on the secondary springs, whilst also locating the bogie on the pivot. There will be some form of screw adjustment incorporated either into the supports that rest on the slide plates (see next pic), or from the secondary springs to the bolster to give the ability to adjust the ride height.
     

     
    The slide plates and the bolster bearing surface can be seen in the picture above. The plan to stack etched washer-like parts isn't quite working - I need more than I've planned for in the etch, so this will be replaced by a turned brass part of the required diameter, once the next version of the main etches are back, as I don't know what length the part needs to be to maintain the correct ride height at present.
     
    The final picture shows the mounting plate in place on the bogie, but it is too close, as mentioned above.
     

     
    There's a few more parts to test this week, then hopefully everything that needs it will be amended by mid-week, so the revised file can be sent to the etchers.
     
    More soon, with any luck
  8. Pugsley
    The first of the traction motor units is substantially complete! There's been a bit of trial and error whilst determining what diameter shafts to use for the 1st stage gear. 2mm was too hard to get into the gears square, despite being designed for that diameter shaft.
     

     
    I've used 1.9mm diamter tubing for the first, with the intermediate gears glued onto the shaft with industrial adhesive, which is supposed to withstand pressures of 3,500psi It's glued everything nice and solid - I've tried turning the gears on their shafts and I can't shift them. The final drive gears will be cross drilled and pinned to the axles to make sure they're totally secure.
     

     
    The pictures give a good idea of how the finished assembly is going to look - the wheels are set roughly to the correct back to back measurement (31.30mm).
     

     
    1 down, 5 to go!
  9. Pugsley

    (Traction) motoring on

    By Pugsley,

    The first of the traction motor assemblies is approaching completion, just the fitting of the motor gear to go now (I'm not counting the axle assembly as part of the motor unit - I've still got to thread all 12 parts of those!)
     
    Side view of the motor assembly:

     
    The first one has been close to disaster a couple of times, due to me not really having a clue how best to put them together I've now worked out the best sequence for doing it, which should make the next 5 go together a lot quicker.
     
    End view of the motor asembly:

     
    I've also discovered another design fault - I've made the bracket fit the motor extremely accurately, however I hadn't taken into account that the shaft bearing of the motor protudes from the casing by about 0.5mm, which meant that the bracket wouldn't fold square. I've now had to drill the hole for the motor shaft out to 4mm, so it sits nicely in the support frame.
     
    View of the motor with wheel, giving an idea of what is visible behind the wheel. With the gears painted black, it shouldn't be too bad :

    It's all a (fairly steep at times) learning curve, I guess
  10. Pugsley

    Lining up ducks.

    By Pugsley,

    The lack of updates has not meant lack of progress, in fact far from it! The revised etches have arrived - on two sheets this time, 0.7 nickel silver for the larger structural parts, 0.5mm brass for the rest. Some of the parts were too tricky to fold in the initial design.
     

     
    There's still something immensely satisfying about send off a computer file, handing over some dosh and getting a shiny sheet of metal parts in return!
     
    Work has also been continuing on other aspects of the project, and the last of the parts required to start assembling the bogies should arrive this week.
     

     
    The wheels have now been reprofiled to S7 standards, which proved a little trickier than the theory suggested, but having said that, I did only manage to bu**er up one wheel! It was one wheel more than I was hoping to, but these things happen.... The wheels have also been reamed to 4.74mm, so they will be an interference fit on the 3/16in axles. One thing I discovered today is that Slaters axles are not 3/16 - they're slightly under (4.72 mm) - as I've had to drill out the hornblocks/axleboxes to fit the 3/16in rod that I have - which is spot on at 4.76mm.
     
    I've also milled down the central boss of the wheels so it is now only about 0.5mm proud of the tread of the wheel.
     
    The hornblocks have been milled down so they are now rectangular, as per the real thing, and the bearings are in place on the traction motor assemblies. I'm hoping that the 2mm tubing that will form the shafts for the intermediate gears will be here in the next couple of days.
     
    Hopefully, further updates during the week will show the first bogie taking shape!
  11. Pugsley

    BOGIES!

    By Pugsley,

    No, I've not been shouting that word in libraries in homage to Dick and Dom, but I've actually started work on the springy bogies of 415.
     
    Quite a productive weekend has seen me prepare the 42 teeth gears for fitting onto the axles and make a start on the axles themselves.
     

     
    The gears originally had a 2mm hole in the centre. I enlarged these by drilling 3.5mm, 4.3mm and then reaming to 4.74mm for an interference fit on the 3/16ths axles. Which brings me, neatly, to the axles themselves.
     
    The original plan was to have solid, one piece, axles, but further thoughts turned to how I was going to set the back-to back measurements effectively, with all of the traction motor gubbins in the way. The solution is to have the axles in two halves, which will screw into one another, allowing for adjustment.
     
    One half is 23mm long, drilled 2.5mm and will be tapped M3. The other half is 28mm long, but has 5mm turned down to 3mm, ready for threading M3. Once the axles are assembled, I'll see how the threadlock holds, if it's not sufficient I'll drill through the two halves and taper pin them.
     
    Next jobs are to thread the spigots and tap the holes in the other halves, before drilling and reaming the wheels to 4.74mm.
  12. Pugsley
    Lack of progress on here doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything, far from it, I've spent hours and hours (what feels like an eternity!) soldering bits of brass together, and ended up with these:
     

     
    It hasn't been going very well - these are the best of the ones I've made, I've scrapped at least two, and the ones that remain have been re-soldered many times to reach this point.
     
    Each one is made from 1mm brass wire, a small chunk of 2mm hex brass and 0.8 wire, also brass.
     
    Unfortunately, I've got the 4 front ones to make now
  13. Pugsley

    Oh bu**er!

    By Pugsley,

    Early indications are that there is a fundamental design flaw in the etched parts for this conversion
     
    To be honest, I'm a bit annoyed with myself for not spotting and thinking about it earlier. The problem is that the cranked design of inner frame, designed to bring the axlebox into the right place, without having to mill down the bogie sideframes, doesn't allow the axlebox to travel high enough up the guide.
     
    I've now got to decide whether I press on with what I've got, milling the sideframes to suit, or go for a redesign.
     
    Whatever I decide, I have to make this work, not only because I'll be fed up with myself if I don't, I've now chopped up the sideframes into two parts - the main frame and the axleboxes still attached to the equalising beams.....
     
    I guess that it was asking a bit too much that it would be a success first time.
  14. Pugsley
    Following on from the post the other day, I've managed to get a better picture with the help of a little Klear, water just wasn't working properly. I've also spent another couple of hours on this effect this evening (in the same place) and I think it's pretty much there now. (apologies for the slightly blurry photo)
     

     
    Other things are moving with the project as well, the artwork for the bogies was finalised over the weekend and the etching company think that they will have it done towards the end of next week. Body works will probably take a back seat once the etch arrives.
     
    Only another three quarters of the loco to set about with the burr.....
  15. Pugsley
    After yesterdays trials and tribulations, one of the first things I did this evening, once home, was to turn the boards around to see how it would look viewed from the opposite side to the original plan.
     

     
    I think it works better - I'm much happier with the appearance of the layout now, it just works better IMO.
     
    The mugs and herb jars are the storage tanks, the CDs are the loading canopy and the coasters are a small office building. The Bachmann boxes by the far wall are a low-ish relief building for an industry that shares part of the oil terminal yard.
     
    I've taken the opportunity to check out the photographic angles as well, and it's going to work much better this way round. Here's a rough idea of how the layout will look from a distance:

     
    And some of the possible angles:



     
    I'm happy now that it's showing a bit more potential
  16. Pugsley
    It's been one of those days. One of those days when most things don't go the way you want them to. In fact, I've had the Sadim touch all day (the opposite of the Midas touch - everything you touch turns to sh*t) so it came as no real surprise that the start on the layout didn't quite go to plan.
     
    Once all the Templot plans had been put on the boards, I started putting stock in the relevant places just to check the visual appearance of the plan. I don't make detailed plans, as such, I have a 'vision' that I work towards, and due to my inability to draw sketches are out of the question, unless you're trying to visualise a layout through the eyes of a four year old. Is that mummy there?!? No, it's supposed to be a tree.
     

     
    So, all stock was put in various locations - tanks in the oil terminal, the 455 in the platform and two Mk1's in the bay platform, pretending to be a 2-HAP. I didn't like it, which wasn't totally unexpected with the way that the day had gone up until that point. In the pic above, the fiddle yard is off to the bottom of the picture and the viewing side is off to the left. The Bachmann wagon boxes liberally spread around are to assist with building the picture - I decided I needed some help once I decided I didn't like it the way it was.
     

    Looking from the front of the layout, over the other end of the oil terminal sidings, towards the station. The 455 is in the main platform, the '2-HAP' (if you squint, a lot, it might look like one) is in the bay.
     

    Looking across the oil terminal sidings, across the headshunt beyond towards the houses behind the railway - recently built and looking suspiciously like Bachmann TTA boxes.
     
    So, after the initial disappointment and irritation of it not working in the way I had envisaged, getting to the stage of thinking 'bu**er, I'm going to have to start again', I walked away for 10 minutes. On coming back to the layout, I hit upon the solution - just reverse the viewing side.
     

     
    I now understand why I've never seen a layout that slopes down at the back, it just doesn't work visually. Sure, in real life there are probably many stations that are flat at the front but slope away at the rear, but as a model it just doesn't work.
     

     
    The last change of plan is the large industrial building that was supposed to be to the right at the front of the layout, where the vans are sat in the pictures above. This isn't going to work, so I'm going to have to contrive another off scene industry to get the vans in and out. I think that the industry will now be a low-ish relief building coming out of the backscene enough to make the exit to the fiddle yard slightly less visible, providing just enough of a hint to justify the occasional train of vans entering and then reversing in to the off-stage siding.
     
    Jobs for the near future will involve turning the boards around and testing my theory - whatever happens next really hinges upon the results of that. Hopefully the change of viewing angle will do the trick, or it really is back to the drawing board.
  17. Pugsley

    Motoring on

    By Pugsley,

    Progress on the 455 has also reached a bit of a milestone, in as much as the MS is now substantially complete and I've fixed the first of my own design 'etchy bits' to a model B)
     


     
    It's still looking quite bare under there, but I'm expecting the underframe box masters from my co-conspirator in the next couple of weeks so a bit of resin casting after that should see the undergubbins of the MS attached.
     
    The trailer vehicles are coming on, but I've yet to decide exactly what bogies I'm going to use, I don't fancy removing the damper from all of the trailing bogies in the same way that I have with the motor bogies. I have some Dapol Sprinter sideframes that look reasonable, so will probably end up using those in the end.
     
    It's a bit chicken and egg at the moment - I feel I should be getting on with the layout, but on the other hand I need some stock to run on it...
  18. Pugsley

    He ain't heavy....

    By Pugsley,

    A somewhat obtuse title, I suppose, but what the heck, I'm suffering from lack of imagination due to the heat
     
    Work continues on the heavyweight conversion, with the bogie mods done and the headlights replaced. These are Replica items, drilled through with a 2mm drill and stuck to the shell with Plastic Weld once the original moulded lights were shaved off carefully.
     

     
    It makes a massive difference to the appearance of the loco IMO, especially as the 'face' is one of the first things looked at and it's often really noticeable, although not always - it took me a while to work out why the Heljan Kestrel didn't look quite right, but that's something for another time....
  19. Pugsley
    With the oil terminal on the forthcoming layout, I decided it would be a good idea to have a Railfreight Petroleum 37 or two on the roster for bringing the oil trains in. A search of fotopic found this photo of 37890 at Guildford in 1991:
    http://crumb.fotopic.net/p49489748.html
     
    Given that it's not a million miles from where the layout is set and the year is spot on, 37890 was decided upon. Research indicated that the Bachmann model of 37672, one of the first releases of the all-new refurb 37, was the ideal starting point as the grilles are the same (37891 was another possible candidate).
     
    The work required is minimal, two bodyside windows need their frames shaving off and the apertures filling. Other, smaller, apertures also need to be filled. I'm adding the new Shawplan/Extreme Etchings parts to mine to change the cooler group fan grille and windscreen surrounds. I'll also be swapping the buffers for Hornby parts as the Bachmann ones are too spindly and I'll also be putting a Replica high-intensity headlight on the front to replace the undernourished Bachmann one. Horns from NNK complete the body modifications.
     
    The chassis requires minimal work, the bogie sideframes need to be cut away and remounted slightly higher, the ride height seems OK. The loco will also be converted to EM with Black Beetle wheels.
     
    A repaint will follow, although it's pretty straightforward as the model was already in Transrail grey.
     
    Progress so far:

    The windsceen etch is attached by with cyano adhesive. The etch is very thin, so doesn't need to be recessed into the shell - the windcreen panel is obviously a separate panel on the real thing as well. The next job here is to file the plastic back to the same profile as the etch for the flushglazing, which will be fitted after painting.
     

    The fan grille comes in two parts, the mesh surround and the securing ring, much as the real thing. The Bachmann etched grille needs to be removed, and the moulded outer surround carefully removed. I gently shaved it off with a scalpel and finished off with a fine file.
     
    The area where the ring was will need to be painted to match the roof - Railmatch acrylic Exec Dark Grey is a good enough match for this. Carefully line the mesh up with the hole - it goes to the edge of where the moulded surround used to be, taking care to get the mesh square.
     
    Once in the correct position, put a small drop of cyano on one of the four 'corners' and wait for it to dry. Once this is secure, small drops can be placed in the three remaining 'corners' to secure the mesh fully.
     
    The securing ring is very fragile and is best pre-rolled to the roof profile before fitting. I did this with a bit of 8mm tube on a pad of folded kitchen roll. As before, I ran a thin film of cyano along the central rib of the ring and put it in position, making sure it was square. Once this has dried, a thin film of glue an be run along the outer edges of the sides, with an old scalpel blade, and the grille pressed into place.
     

    This shows the apertures that need to be filled, the window is the biggest and all of the remaining footsteps around the engine room access door. This is the same both sides.
     
    I've got a day off today, so hopefully more updates later!
  21. Pugsley

    Tampering

    By Pugsley,

    I've put the bogie work on the 37 to one side for a minute as I wanted to do some actual modelling instead of sitting at a computer drawing things. After a gentle prod by another member, I've remembered that there has been a little progress on my tamper since the last update on RMweb 3, here:
    http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=653897#p653897
     
    It's made a visit to the paintshop:

     

     
    I've replaced the etched handrails in the kit with some formed from 0.33mm wire - they look more convincing than the square etched ones. There is plenty more to do on this, but I wanted to get the main body colour on first, as some of the parts that need to be added are very fine, particularly the pipes up the sides, and I thought it best to get the main coat on first. Buffers (Hornby Class 50 buffers) are just poked into their holes temporarily at the moment.
     

    It's pleasing to view it from the side, as it shows the real difference between my model and the standard kit. The biggest difference being in this area:

     
    Structurally, it's complete, most of the parts to be added now is all the plumbing and there is a lot of it to do! I won't be making terribly rapid progress with this, more picking it up from time to time and doing bits when I get fed up with drawing.
  22. Pugsley
    Links for the next parts of the saga:
    14 - Done it! (well sort of)
    14A - Done it 2! (well sort of)
    15 - Stepping up a notch
    16 - Oh bu**er!
    17 - Paying the (sand)piper
    18 - BOGIES!
    19 - Lining up ducks
    20 - (Traction) motoring on
    21 - Getting closer but a long way to go
    22 - Monkey in the well
    23 - You stud!
    24 - Tanked Up (and Boxing)
     
     
     
    The focus for the next stage of this project is going to move from the blog section, to the normal forum bit as the additional interaction is going to prove useful, I think. I'll still put the occasional post in here for construction that isn't related to the bogies and certain progress milestones, probably.
     
    This is the drawing I've used to prove that the concept is sound, using the dimensions of the parts that I've found so far. It all fits in the space I've got available, which is a good start!
     

     
    The original copy is to exact scale size, the diagram above is enlarged for clarity.
     
    The dark blue bits at the top of the image are the chassis rails, on the floor moulding, that project downwards. The red box around the bogie is the maximum height allowable to ensure that the buffer centres are a scale 3' 5.5" above rail level (24.21mm), although I could allow myself an extra mm or two if required, there's variation in the real thing, after all
     
    The hornblocks are from Slaters, and the inner frames will be etched from either 0.70mm brass or nickel silver, I haven't decided yet. One thing to note, the wheels haven't come out very well in that picture, the larger floating green things you can see are the axle mounted gears, with the grey rectangle underneath being the rail. I'll upload a better diagram at some point.
     
    Now that I'm satsfied that the concept works, and I've found the right parts for the job, next job will be to finalise the motor and gear positioning before deciding on the design for the frames and motor mounts. What I learned when designing my class 455 etchy bits is going to come in handy here!
     
    The best part is, now that it's public, I'll have to get on with it and make it work!
     
    The adventure of the springy bogies will continue Here
     
    Edit - I've just noticed that this is chapter 13, I do hope that's not some kind of omen...
  23. Pugsley

    Mikkel made me do it ;-)

    By Pugsley,

    I wasn't going to, but here, by popular request , are some pictures of the internally complete No 2 end cab. Everything is pretty much the same as the other end, but with different rear bulkhead detail. The lights highlight the detail nicely, even in daylight! I decided to stick with the 1K2 ohm resistors in the end.
     

     
    The next pic highlights the need to clean the windows!
     

     
    Showing the position of the cab lights, and the sunshades in position.
     

     
    I'm hoping to have the rest of the body assembled by the end of the week, then it'll be on to the bogies
  24. Pugsley

    His name? Number two....

    By Pugsley,

    I've finally finished the other cab (with the exception of touching in the LED wires in rail grey) - here's a quick shot showing the sunshades in position and the position of the cab lights.
     

     
    Other bits visible on the cab roof are the brake position indicator, and the switches/circuit breakers above the cab door.
     
    Next stage is to finish off the filling and filing of the main body sections, before assembly and further filling, but more of that anon...
     
    Edit - To include photo of the cab the right way round
  25. Pugsley

    The real slim Shady

    By Pugsley,

    Whilst not exactly a thrilling example, I thought I'd post a little about how I've made the cab sunshades, as it has useful applications beyond this simple example. In fact, I used the same technique when I made the operator cab for the 07-275 tamper that I've yet to finish.
     
    I found a suitable picture of the sunshades on line, that would do for what I wanted with the minimum of manipulation. It is possible to correct perspective and rotate images within photoshop, or GIMP is a useful, free, alternative.
     
    I cropped the part of the image I wanted out of the picture and pasted it into CorelDraw. Here, I can resize it and lock it as the background. There is a trace program included with the version of CorelDraw that I have, but it isn't much use TBH. Instead, I used the standard drawing tools to trace around the edge myself. This is the result:

     
    The curved part had come out a little flat, so I adjusted that, by eye, to match the curvature of the roof. Measuring the width of the window gave me the width of the shade, so the drawing was adjusted to that dimension. A test piece was printed, cut out, and placed against the window aperture to check the dimensions. This highlighted that the item was too deep, so this was adjusted whilst keeping the width constant. Once happy, the part was duplicated 4 times, and the final template printed.
     
    Here are the tools required for this job (excluding the scissors ):

     
    The pritt-stick secures the template to the glazing curing the cutting process, but peels off quite readily. Even if some should stick, all traces can be removed with water. Once cut out, this is the result:

     
    I had originally planned on using Tamiya Smoke to tint these and have them slightly see-through, like the real thing. However, it just isn't dark enough, so ended up painting them with black acrylic. They will be secured into the cab roof, anyhow, so the fact that they're not see through shouldn't detract from the final effect.
     

     
    I'm going to secure them with the canopy glue shown in the picture - it seems to be a kind of PVA adhesive, originally designed for securing aircraft canopies - it dries perfectly clear. It's a lot more controllable that superglue, and isn't very visible if a little too much is used. I've also used it to secure the glazing into the cab assemblies - it's proved to be a very useful product so far. It's not exactly cheap, but the bottle should last for a very long time!
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