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RedgateModels

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  1. RedgateModels
    As the title says, a quick update on this weekend's progress. Chassis has been modified so it sits inside the Dapol body. I intend to keep as much of the original fuel tanks and weight as possible so more shaping etc is required to get the body sides fitting correctly.
     

     
    Once the chassis frames are done I'll sort out some fixing lugs inside the body so that the original screw fixings can be used. After that I need to find some way of holding the body sides to the chassis as they tend to bow out at the moment. Superglue will be a last resort
  2. RedgateModels
    Well folks, I've made a start in reality rather than just buying bits and planning. The 2-8-2 is under way
     
    Comet tender frame soldered up and fits the Triang tender body like a dream
     

     
    Keen eyes will notice the tender body has had all the moulded handrails removed and also I've removed the (damaged) lip from the top of the coal space. I'll glue 20 thou' brass strip on the top surface to sort this once the body has been stripped of all paint.
     
    Next steps is the tender chassis which will have all wheel pickup
  3. RedgateModels
    Over the last few days I have been putting together this for my "Missing" Standard 8F:
     

     
    Basically the chinese built 5 pole tender drive was incompatible with Peco code 75 turnouts, the 3 way especially. I tried removing the centre wobbly wheels and set the b2bs to 14.4mm (which then needed the wheels shimming to maintain gear mesh!) but then I looked at the way the Crosti 9F just ran at shows without fuss and I remembered the old drive that originally came with the 9F.
     
    It's basically the drive unit that I DCC converted here that got discarded when I converted the 9F to all wheel pickup from the loco. It was in bits with the diecast motor case in 3 pieces (don't ask) but I had since aquired a spare tender chassis. It all went back together with no fuss and run in. A quick Lenz Gold later (again lying around spare) gives me a drive unit that I am 100% certain will not cause me any grief on Summat Colliery.
     
    The 5 pole unit has been put back to stock (apart from the decoder) and will be for sale at the Mansfield Show, complete with Lokpilot Basic decoder for £25 .....
  4. RedgateModels
    Thanks to Ramrig for the loan of a tender drive brit (so the frames I make will fit the Hornby body) I now have a "comic" for the 2-8-2 frames.
     

     
    It's a hybrid of 3 different sources, the Hornby Brit chassis, the original cox drawing of the 2-8-2 and Comet's Brit frames for the better front end and cylinder mountings.
     
    Plan is to tidy it up and glue a copy to some PCB material and cut out 3 sets, drilling the pilot holes for the axles in one go to provide a jig (the 3rd copy) for the coupling rods. Spacers should be interesting as my calculations say they need to be 8.5mm wide.
     
    Looks like I'm actually going to make something soon
  5. RedgateModels
    Well, the first exhibition of the season went really well. Thanks to Mark and crew for an excellent show which raised a good sum for the school so I'm told.
     
    Summat behaved itself really well considering it hadn't come out from under the desk since Wycrail last year. Had the odd electrical gremlin (interboard jumper wire loose in choclate block connector) and one point microswitch was a bit reluctant to throw fully resulting in a couple of shorts in running.
     
    Harry and #49 performed really well, the same cannot be said for my WD Austerity which despite being tested at home following an excellent weathering job by Roomey persisted in provising a dead short to the track on the day
     
    Here's a quick pic of the new wagon doing it's job on the day
     

     
    Roll on Nottingham!
  6. RedgateModels
    I thought I'd get a quick update in before the server goes down ...
     
    Both bodies are now blue, the Lima one is well on the way to getting it's Fox transfers applied. I'll post pics once we are on the new server.
     
    Airbrushed the Dapol body today and I'm pretty pleased. Think it might do with another quick waft. My proper airbrush arrived today, don't think I'll be able to use it until my birthday in June though
     

     
    Might get this loco done for the Nottingham Show yet
  7. RedgateModels
    Something about the Dapol/Bachmann DP1 did not look right. Only when I put the Lima body back on it's chassis did I realise that the Dapol body was far too high, buffers were a good 2mm up on what they should be Easy job to file off the ridges on top of the Bachmann chassis.
     
    Then I looked at the bogies, they overhung the front and the steps were 2.5mm out of line with the doors. Ideally I would have liked to have moved the bogie pivots back but this would have been an almightly job not withstanding shortening the driveshafts!
     
    So, compromise. Out came the razor saw and the front of the bogie was cut off including the protuding NEM pocket and the bogie front cemented back on. The photo below shows a before and after. I've removed the steps and will cement them back on inline with the doors. These mods I think will remove the visual jar of them being out of line and not draw attention to the other innacuracies in the bogies.
     

     
    I've fabricated some mounting points in the roof to take the original fixing screws, lets hope they are in the right place
     
    UPDATE 20100126:
     
    I had a play with fitting the chassis last night and one of the mountings was a bit out, so it had to come off and be re-cemented in (hopefully) the right place. I'll be glad when all this is done and I can get on with making them look pretty
     
    UPDATE 20100129:
     
    Dapol body is all primed and ready for painting too. A1 Grilles applied to the body side and mighty fine they look too. I will sort out some photos over the weekend. Now, who do I know with an airbrush .........
  9. RedgateModels
    Quick before and after, I've started removing the detail from the nose ends of a much played with (by me!) Lima Deltic ready for application of the Craftsman DP1 conversion kit. Note poorly applied white window surrounds that will have to be stripped back before painting and holes drilled in the headcode boxes for some long since gone home made directional lighting ....
     
    Before
     

     
    After
     

     
    Anyone want a spare "Meld" nameplate, only got the one, send an SAE and I'll pop it in the post
  10. RedgateModels
    Chassis matched up to the Dapol body at last
     

     
    needed to nip a little bit out of the chassis sides to clear the angular webs that link the Dapol tanks to the body sides and then used a bit of Hornby handrail wire bent in a long C section inserted into two 0.6mm holes in the Dapol tanks to hold the sides in place. I will add a keeper plate over this wire secured with screws to the underside to stop the wire from dropping out in service. The fit is so good that I am minded to not bother with any other form of chassis/body fitting screws, lets see what it looks like with the bogies on
     
    Time to start detailing the body next, side grilles etc then it's ready for paint
  11. RedgateModels
    The following image shows the plastic chassis frame from the Donor Bachmann deltic following an attack with razor saw, large file and 120 grit wet or dry
     

     
    I started by razor sawing off a section from the ends of each tank end to reduce the overall length of the tanks so that they fit within the "lip" on the inside of the Dapol sides. The tank side faces were then sawn off as close to flush with the frame sides as I dared. These sides were then filed flush and the bottom edges of the tanks were filed down so that the raised detail was removed. Again this is so that the Dapol sides fit over and around the remaining original assembly. Hopefully you can see the areas that have been sawn/filed against the untouched standard finish.
     
    The weight will be trimmed accordingly once body and chassis have been re-united and fit confirmed.
     
    EDIT:
     
    here's a picture with the frame assembled to the chassis, you can see how much of the weight needs trimming at each end. I will paint the ends of the weight the same colour as the frame to disguise it once it all fits together
     

     
     
     
     
  12. RedgateModels

    Two Years on ...

    By RedgateModels,

    Two years ago I started Summat Colliery - my first real attempt at a scenic layout and a portable exhibitable one at that
     
    If you want to follow the path I took over the last two years, it's here on the old forum, but this blog will show what happens next and give details of shows etc that it is booked to attend.
     
    I've added a Exhibition Diary block which will detail shows that Summat Colliery will be attending
  13. RedgateModels
    Roof is now done and glued in place so now my attention has turned to the next challenge - the bogies. I'd decided to use the Dapol bogie sides as the original Bachmann ones on the donor chassis were the wrong type. So armed with my mighty Swann Morton #10 the BM bogies were reduced to this
     

     
    the brake gear etc actually just pops out being secured to the frame by pins etc. Then these bits were removed from the DP1 bogie sides
     

     
    and the bogie cemented up using the correct ends. The NEM pocket on the remains of the BM bogie frame needed trimming back a bit and the hole opening out in the front of the DP1 frame and hey presto
     

     
    One hybrid bogie with functioning NEM pocket ready for painting. Only issue is that the wheels don't line up correctly with the bearing locations on the sideframes, but I think the prototypical appearance of the bogie is more important and once painted up I hope this will not be too noticable.
     
     
    Now for the underframe ........
  14. RedgateModels
    Still gathering parts for the Mikado so I'm trying to get a push on with the DP1s. To that effect the roof of the Dapol kit is receiving attention thanks to the A1 models etched grilles and a set of photos supplied by macgeordie (cheers mate ) so I know where to place them.
     

     
    I've not added the fans yet, they will be painted and glued in place once the body has been sprayed, so they can be seen!
     
    The plan is to get both bodies to the point of spraying then get both done in one hit. To this end the Craftsman kit will come out soon to go onto a Lima body.
  16. RedgateModels
    Had time for a quick dusting with grey primer, sorry Chris, they really show up the porosity in places. It really does not look this bad to the naked eye
     

     

     

     
    looks like more fettling is needed before the black goes on but that's why we do the grey primer thing, it not only keys the top coat but it's great for showing those minor little imperfections.
  17. RedgateModels
    More pipework, a part of a build that I actually really enjoy and always end up doing more detail than I intended at the start. So here's the steam pipes to injectors with the control valves made out of fine wire and some old electical insulation. Note new Hornby pipework below the cab.
     

     
    I've also fitted the safety valves from the donor bodyshell and some nice Bachmann sprung buffers. The reverser rod is some mains wiring cable I found lying around that was the right diameter.
     

     
    The body fixing under the cab has been done, I gently prised out the threaded insert from the donor body and drilled the boss out on the resin kit 4mm. The insert was then very carefully pressed into place. I would have just drilled and tapped the casting but couldn't find my 6 BA tap
  18. RedgateModels
    More pipework and handrails today. I'm still waiting for some guitar strings to do the main boiler feed pipes. These need to be done before handrails and the smoke deflector can't be fitted before the handrail ....
     

     
    Fitted the blastpipe etc to the underside of the side chimney though - starting to look like a Crosti now
  19. RedgateModels
    On a roll today, got busy with some copper wire (reclaimed from some figure of eight "bell wire") and started the pipework on the left firebox side.
     

     
    For those not familiar with the Crosti variant the two pipes running to the footplate from the valve on the side of the firebox run down to the "blower" that is mounted on the preheater boiler below the footplate.
     
    Must find some thick wire to do the reverser shaft ......
  20. RedgateModels
    progressing nicely with this build but thought a quick update would be in order to show you all the blastpipe/steam pipe casting that fits under the side exhaust pipe. here's a before photo just after cutting it from the sprue
     

     
    and here's another after 15 mins carving with a sharp knife with a good photo of the real thing to compare with
     

     
    Probably the part that needed the most work, maybe would be better in whitemetal. Note a small amount of filler where there were air bubbles.
     
     
    Apart from this I have been getting on with handrails and pipwork etc, still need some guitar string to do the insulated pipework (the customer does have a guitar ...) Should be ready for a coat of paint by the end of the week
  21. RedgateModels
    I've set the tender aside for now, fall plate might need adjusting once connected to the loco, but that is to come ...
     
    Bodyshell was fettled and filed, this took much longer than the tender, but then it is a much more complicated casting. It cleans up really easily and what initially looks like a bit of a dogs breakfast very quickly looks the business.
     
    The blower and duct/tunnel cover was scraped off with my trusty Swann Morton #10 and smoothed off. The cab backhead etc was epoxied in place and secured with a free Royal Mail elastic band then left overnight.
     
    Today I've fitted the lower door and some of the other fittings. The front of the chassis needs filing back a bit to clear the lower door - only about 1mm and the standard body fixings still work after this mod.
     

     

     
    Must say, all the bits once trimmed up fit really well together, no hassles at all so far
  22. RedgateModels
    I bought a load of long leaded 6v bulbs at the Derby Show this year and last night I started to add a few to the layout. I made some 3mm holes in the back panels of the "Bus Garage" and poked the bulbs through. Then followed a good hour playing around with combinations of series/parallel wiring to get the level of illumination right.
    I ended up with using 5 in series which with the 18-19v laptop PSU voltage available gives a nice warm glow to the building.
    Not permanently wired up yet, will have another go tonight and take some piccies. Won't be too good though as my cameraphone does not do low lighting very well must get SWMBO to buy a new camera
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