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RedgateModels

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Blog Entries posted by RedgateModels

  1. RedgateModels
    I said I wasn't going to do this, the plan WAS to hide the lack of wheels/cranks/wires and rodding exiting the signal box with a wooden walkway so why have I made this over the last few nights?
     

     
    the crank leading to lever 8 is even shown as pulled to match the lever for pete's sake. Have I any idea of the September deadline to get the layout finished!
     
    I need counselling.
  2. RedgateModels
    So seeing as folks will be getting their new Hornby versions in their 7 car packs next week I thought it high time I made one to go with my 1980 set
     
     
    looking at the tgs it seemed that with a few cuts the under frame could be fabricated from two examples, kinda like this
     
     

     
    so out came the razor saw
     

     
     
    and they go together like this
     

     
     
    The body shell was used to hold the under frame in place and glue applied to the one join needed
     

     
     
    the visible join should touch up really well, probably won’t have to respray the whole underframe. Slots need to be cut to allow for the end clips. The side clips have been cut off and will be re glued in the right place. I’ll have to use power car/pacer coupling bars rather than the ones from the tgs’ as the tgs ones are too long. Good job I have some in stock

  3. RedgateModels
    Things have moved on a bit since the last update. The body fabrication has been completed and the base coat of satin black applied. Buffer beams repainted (which are Hornby class 31 for info) and the body fittings replaced. Nothing left now other than tackle the lining 
     
    The chassis has also had black paint applied to the fabricated bits and so I could do an (almost) final assembly the cylinders had their red lining applied and satin varnished. Just need to get a Zimo sound decoder and 9F sounds before hard wring it all in.

     
    Last thing I indulged myself in a pretty pointless exercise of detailing up the cab a bit. Most will never be seen, but I'll know it's there
     

     
    The crew came with the donor 9F and were good enough to drop in without any further work.
     
    Hours of painstaking work with the Pressfix awaits .....................
     
     
  4. RedgateModels
    I know it's been a while, but the weather has been good so gardening and mucking about with my car took priority. 
     
    Finally I have made the extended tank tops and filed them down to fit.  First photo shows the tops glued together and a card template I made to help with the fitting to the much wider 9F boiler.
     
     

     
    A large file was used to knock them down to size - not one of those tiny little things that we modellers mostly prefer. Here's a shot of the body with tank tops bonded on
     
     

     
    So, just a bit of filler to tidy up and I'll be redy for some primer to see how flat the joins are etc. Then more black paint!
  5. RedgateModels

    9MT - Underpinnings

    By RedgateModels,


    General
    Once the bunker was fixed in place the underside of the loco needed to be sorted. Main problem is that the main body fixing on the 9F is through the bottom of the chassis into a boss under the cab floor. A floor that is no longer there as we are using the 4MT cab.
     
    After a lot of thought the following pic shows what I came up with
     
     

     
    A section of 4MT floor under the cab area with the 9F boss turned down in height and bonded on, with extra sections from the other 4MT grafted on to take account of the bunker and tank extensions. The front section left solid and screwed to the 9F boiler lower. As the chassis now screws to both the boiler lower and the cab floor it all ends up being a solid unit. I'll use the under bunker screw fixings and the original 9F front slot arrangement to secure the body on.
     
    The boiler lower needed to be filed down a bit as you can just see so that the section of 4MT floor fitted properly. Much cleaning up and a lick of paint needed, but that's one more engineering problem off the list. A representation of the rear frames above the rear bogie are needed too. Will probably be in plasticard bonded to the floor.
     
    Time for an assembly and track test before moving on to the details and finish.
     
    Do I butcher what's left of the 9F cab to get the backhead or just keep the smaller 4MT one, hmmmmmmmm
  6. RedgateModels

    Hardstanding Take 2

    By RedgateModels,


    General
    A bit out of sequence this, back in lockdown #1 I realised that the cardboard Scalescenes hardstanding/inset track was just not going to work in the long term. It was uneven and was already starting to get damaged by track cleaning etc. So there was nothing else to do but rip it up and get the DAS clay out. Chris Nevard eat your heart out LOL
     
     

     
    Top surface cut back, I kept most of the surrounding card as it was just the running surfaces that I needed to replace.
     
     

     
    DAS mostly applied
     
     

     
    First go with some grey emulsion. Still got a way to go to finish this to my satisfaction and those wagon turntables will take some cleaning!
  7. RedgateModels

    Templot Time

    By RedgateModels,


    General
    So after some playing around with flexitrack and standard turnouts I have come to the conclusion that fully handbuilt is the way to go at least for the points! It's been a while to say the least since I used Templot, but managed a first go at roughing out a plan last night.
     

     
    As you can see all I've done is overlay some OO track over the N (for 00-9) so far. need some help I think from @martin_wynne to create some turnout templates with a small enough radius and large enough crossing angle for my purposes. That will come later. The section of dual gauge is far too tight, I'll need to break it up into sections so I can ease that curve. Will mean that the rest of the loop will be tighter but the NG stock can take it!.
     
    Next steps? I want a stub siding where the "a" is on the plan, will be fun fitting that in but I need somewhere to park a standard gauge loco for shunting purposes.
     

  8. RedgateModels
    This week I have been looking at a NRM Limited Edition Schools class 925 Cheltenham. It was sent to me along with several other DCC locos as a non-runner and the body fixing screw was loose. Problem being it had been packed inside its box without the inner tray, wrapped in a small amount of bubble wrap. Clearly it had moved around in the box quite a bit during postman's playtime (sent Special Delivery) and this is what I found when I unwrapped it ...
     
     
     

     
    After an hour's forensic reconstruction it's starting to look a bit more like it should
     

     
    Still got a few bits left to sort and I need to get that sellotape glue off the smoke deflector.
     
    Oh, the reason for the non running? someone previously had bodged repaired one of the motor wires in the 4 way tender to loco wiring. New plug and wires on the way which will sort that too!
     
    I think the owner is deeply regretting entrusting his stock to a chap in the West Country. Oh well, his loss is my gain 🙂
     
     
     
  9. RedgateModels
    Progress over Christmas
    The main body is painted, just need to add handrails and buffers etc. Cab roofs are stripped of details and are waiting for new roof vents and air horns.
     

     
    Main progress has been the bogies, pickups added and wired up so it now moves under its own power!
     
    Wheelslip is a big issue but once I've added a couple of pounds of lead it should be fine
     

     

  10. RedgateModels
    Quick update from yesterday's progress:
     
    Bogies have met the razor saw and the front section that carries the coupling have been removed. A strip of plastikard replicating the rib at the other end for strength.
     

     

     
    Pickups next and a 10mm hole for access to the new roof fixings in the undriven one.
     
    I've also cemented in small sections to the body sides where the switches used to be and cleaned, lubed and test run the original power bogie - noisy by modern standards but at the speeds it will be running on Fourgig it should be fine.
     
    Hope to get the body ready for a first coat of primer over the weekend
  11. RedgateModels
    Been a while but here's the start of another budget loco build for Fourgig East - A Triang Big Big Hymek.
     
    I bought a pretty good example for £39 from eBay and the process of converting it to a running O gauge loco has started.
     

     
    First off the raised lettering on the side has been scraped off and the moulded handrails removed. I've also filled in the fixing holes on the roof and fixed a crack. The switch assembly has been removed ahead of filling in the body sides.
     
    The plan is to retain all of the below solebar items, including the bogies and motor. Thanks to Lord Flasheart I have a spare drive bogie on the way too which should help traction, although on my little layout pulling heavy loads will not be needed with this loco!
     
    I have replaced the wheels with Slaters 7125 ones - at 3'7" they are technically too small, but are bigger than the original Triang plastic ones - a good compromise. I may even drill the four holes as per prototype, but they are not that noticeable on the real thing.
     

     
    You will see that I have used the Slaters bearings on the undriven wheels - I drilled through 2.5mm from the outside and then pressed the bearings in from the inside. It's a tight fit to get the axles in, but with care it is possible. A bit of filler sorted the holes. Next step is to remove the front parts of the bogies where the coupling attached and add some bracing at the new front edge and then pickups.
  12. RedgateModels
    Took a snap last night of the S9 with it's sister T34 brake coach.
     

     
    it's 95% complete and ready for RMweb Live!
     
    I've still got to make and fit the step end handrails and the couplings are just hooks at the moment, I will complete the JLTRT screw links before Wycrail, honest .......
  13. RedgateModels
    As promised, the GWR coach brown was applied by my trusty 6 quid airbrush - which is now stripped down and it's vital parts soaking in thinners
     

     
    That's all for a few days whilst the paint hardens, next step will be to flood the cream into the panels
  14. RedgateModels
    I am Christmas crackered but the woodworking is all done for the new lighting rig. I moved on from the last posting by adding the pelmet that for Fourgig East sits to the left of the public
     

     
    You will see that the support is set in 9" from the edge so that the bottom of the legs will not stick out beyond the nominal footprint of the layout - I have had them kicked too many times by neighboring operators to leave it as it was!
    I will have to add some packers to the key points on the underside of the layout to ensure all is level.
     
    Moving swiftly on to the shorter fiddle yard/shed road pelmet for Fourgig, to the right of the "centre" board as the public see it
     

     
    You can see my drive is not exactly level! Again the supports are set in 9" from the edge (nice car ....) The next pic shows the back of the pelmets and the method of dowelling the end ones onto the centre one.
     

     
    Finally I took the time to put further work into the left pelmet to make it so it fits on the right for Summat Collery
     

     
    The photo shows the rig in full "Summat" mode with the support on the left removed as the fiddle yard is non-scenic.
     
    So, just need to get the lights. I'm planning on led as they will be light (ho ho) and very low profile. I also need to have a mammoth painting session and get a sign made for Fourgig and Summat to velcro to the centre section.
     
    Back to work tomorrow for a rest
  15. RedgateModels

    Signals set

    By RedgateModels,

    Last Friday I met Jon Fitness at Langley Mill railway station and collected the signals he's been building for me. So over the weekend I cut six pretty large holes in the baseboards and fitted all eight aspects.
     

     

     
    Only issue is that I miscalculated with the length of servo wires and didn't order enough extension leads. A quick eBay order was placed last night, so hopefully all should be up and running for Mansfield this weekend!
     
    The bases need blending into the scenery, I hope I've saved enough ballast from the removed areas to be able to cover two ground signal bases, the rest are either in cinders or grassed areas so should be easier to disguise
     
    I've also started the barrow crossings at either end of the platform - more coffee stirrers, this time from Weatherspoons as they are longer and wider than McDonalds!
  16. RedgateModels
    So here it is again, I've just painted the motor and it blends in pretty well. I still might make some fill panels sometime if the small amount of daylight visible bugs me too much ....
     

     
    Here's the underside showing the "gearbox"
     

     
    I've also refreshed the couplings, a few have commented in the past that the 3 links were out of scale so I had a few links left over from the Ivor build which have been put to good use
     

     
    I did a test run yesterday of just the chassis on a bit of peco track and the Lenx Standard seemed to handle the motor pretty well, runs nice and smooth. Time will tell once it gets used in anger on Fourgig East as to whether a capacitor pack is going to be needed. I have one ready in any case
     
    I've just totted up how much this little chap has cost - not including paint/glue/varnish and the transfers (which I got free from a member) it's cost just over £56. The DCC decoder was also "free" having been donated by my OO gauge class 15 when I sound fitted it. A bargain in anyone's book methinks
  18. RedgateModels
    So this build has come to an end (almost) I must say I've enjoyed this trip into GWR land, something I don't normally do. First time with a Bob Moore lining pen too. Anyway, jobs left to do are blacken the buffers and fit them properly and fit some 3-links.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    So, that's it until the next one - an All Third to match, need to order seating from Slaters before I start that one though. Camping Coach next methinks ......
  19. RedgateModels
    Finally drummed up enough courage and with an hour to spare this afternoon I got the backscene on the fiddle yard/engine shed board. A good spray to the ply with soapy water and it floated on with little difficulty.
     

     
    Once it's really dry I will stick the edges round and then trim off the slight excess at the top edge. A coat or two of matt varnish will finish the job
  21. RedgateModels
    So, the Crosti 9F and O1 are finished. The finishing touches are the crew - bog standard Hornby items, painted and weathered with black oil pastel.
     
    I had to cut the driver off his molded seat for the O1 as it comes with it's own very nice item as standard. The less said about the leg and foot surgery to fit them in the better
     
    So here's a couple of pics - I will do a full photoshoot next week as Summat Colliery is being set up for someone special to take better snaps than I, more of that later
     

     

  22. RedgateModels
    So '23 is resplendent in ex-works shiny black
     

     
    Just the plates to fit, then off to Roomey for weathering.
     

     
    Narrow Planet's work, painted with white enamel, left 24 hours, overpainted with matt black acrylic and immediately wiped off with a finger. Note two sets - the ones for '021 are for the similar version I am building for a member of this parish at the same time.
     
    Roomey's going to be busy as that's two Crosti 9Fs and my Hornby O1 to deliver to him at the Doncaster show.
     
    EDIT:
     
    and here's '23 (with '21 in the background on my ELH Bogies paperweight) in grey primer, you can see the detail better
     

  23. RedgateModels
    While I wait for the new year to start the Mikado I am pottering around with the first of two DP1s on the bench. Over the years I have amassed a quantity of conversion kits/bits etc for DELTIC and now find I have enough for TWO!
    The first is for me - Dapol body with A1 grilles etc, Fox transfers and plates, SE Finecast flushglaze and a Bachmann Deltic chassis. The idea is to produce a good loco but 1/3 of the price of an NRM one.
     
    The Second loco will be a Craftsman conversion kit applied to a Lima Deltic which will be destined for the classifieds/eBay once finished.
     
    So, for the Dapol one. The body sides and nose ends have had all their raised detail (chevrons, stripes, representations of plates etc) removed and grills cut out ready to take the A1 etched versions. The bits are now cemented together and ready for the roof to be fettled and fitted.
     

    oh how cruel are these close-ups!
     

     
    Next installment - roof
  25. RedgateModels

    A trip to Maplins

    By RedgateModels,

    Popped in to my local purveyor of all things electronic (been using them for 30 odd years!) and bought a 2.5mm mono plug and matching screened metal cased socket. Soldered the plug to the end of the bulb wires and drilled a 7mm hole in the baseboard. Glued the socket in said hole and connected wires to the 18v DC bus and hey presto
     
     
    Also bought a new right angled speaker plug - I use these to connect the DCC signal from the controller to the baseboard(s) - This one has screw connections and takes nice big flat section flex - so a new hook up cable from Dynamis to layout has been made that can be modified to work with say a PowerCab if Dynamis lets me down .....
     
    I've also planted more flowers and added ivy to the explosives store.
     
     
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