halfwit

As Mike says, un-solder and start again. We've all made mistakes building etched kits - its how we learn! You can and will produce a competent result, it just takes time and patience. Not sure about the 60w iron though, I use a 25w which seems powerfull enough.

Fibreglass brushes are very good at removing solder without affecting detail or finish although you might end up using several replacement brush heads doing it. And wear gloves!

As for the kit itself, I feel its better to start on a modern well designed kit like one of Judith Edge's which has the advantage of being drawn on CAD rather than an older kit which might not be as well designed or drawn.

Keep at it and post some pictures please.

Paul.

I should perhaps of mentioned this before - a good way of getting a sweeter running Spud is to strip the thing down, leaving the motor in place but removing the axles. The motor can be lubricated (they seem a little dry as supplied) and run in as you would a new loco but with the axles still removed but with no load on the motor.

Paul.

Nice and subtle, not too grubby at all!

Paul.

Nice job Chris.

As has been mentioned above names of industrial locos were often swapped from scrapped locos to their replacements.

Go easy on the weathering though, breweries usually kept their locos looking smart.

Did you re-wheel the Spud or just paint the wheels?

Here's mine BTW.

Paul.

On the remains of the chimney stack at the end of the terrace are you going to model the remains of the fireplaces?

Thanks for the comments.

Again I'm not sure why I'm bothering with this kit apart from the modelling practice that its giving me.

I think that the point of this entry is to show how easy it can be to make up these little details that the kit manufactorers sometimes leave out.

I suppose that I'd better add some representation of the brake cylinder at the rear of the chassis. However the next job is to add the steps under the running plate.

'Chard, this build is anything but tidy but thanks anyway.

Paul.

Nice work J. Would also look good seriously slammed with an unhealthy dose of rust for the 'rat look' thats in vogue at the moment.

Garden, beer, modelling - sounds like heaven!

Paul.

The moulded pipework can be refined by cutting away the square strengthening piece behind, using a drill to get between the pipes and finishing with a file. The lower pipe can be filed round as well. Nice quick solution, not as nice as seperate components but easier and cheaper.

I must finish mine off...

Paul.

Definetely worth it, and something that should have been designed into the kit.

Paul.

Jan, there is nothing that I do that cannot be done, probably better, by anyone else on this forum!

The drill, a bit of an indulgence I'll fully admit, cost about 80 quid from Machine Mart. Which is less than the cost of an etched kit when you add in the wheels etc. I did have to buy a seperate pin chuck though to hold anything below about 1.5mm.

Paul.

James - I'm not convinced that any extra effort on this kit is worth it but it does give me the opportunity to try these things out and practice chassis building.

John - my other half doesn't mind me setting up the drill on the table as long as I clear up afterwards. She understands that I enjoy a creative hobby. My workbench is an old bureau in the corner of the dining room, when I'm not using it I can fold up the flap and everything is out of sight. We'd both like a bigger house though...

Paul.

Some very neat work on the window surrounds there. Strange how the kit provided seperate surrounds for the sides but not the front.

Paul.

Thanks for the comments, its always nice to hear that people enjoy my odd ramblings.

I hadn't thought of adding a crew, probably because my models live in a display cabinet and rarely see a layout (if ever!) so a crew would, to me, seem a little odd. And I'm not that great at figure painting although like anything its probably just down to a lack of practice.

Paul.

Glad you found it usefull Kenton.

Apparently Peter Smith, who is Nonneminstre, has fitted a Nigel Lawton chassis to one, it might be worth getting hold of him and asking about it.

If you go down the HST chassis route then be aware of the problem with the gears splitting, new ones are available as spares.

Paul.

The first wagon is definetely a Peco Wonderfull Wagon, still available if you know where to look. Its probably been repainted as the origainals where, as far as I know, pre-printed. Now someone prove me wrong...

Paul.

Perhaps yer man's wearing neoprene in case the loco takes a dive into the canal?

One day I shall corner you (at an exhibition when you cannot escape) and explain how neoprene isn't really waterproof and relies on its insulating properties to keep the wearer warm whilst wet.

Because I'm an armchair pedant.

I did wonder if the pressure tank was from a wagon.

Its a shame that no-one has so far produced a kit for a standard gauge fireless (Impetus excepted). They were used quite widely and were long lived.

Airfix/Dapol pug and plasticard, not sure about the water chamber (assuming this to be fireless).

Haven't a clue where your going to run it though...

Looks good Chris.

If they are in the tap room already it must be a well managed brewery!

Probably claiming their allowance...

Paul.

Chris, the more that I think about it the more I feel that a steel baseplate would be better.

What thickness of steel do people use, or is it a case of whatever you can get? I was once in a position where getting hold of steel was easy, now a change of location and career means that I'll probably have to pay for some...

Paul.

Thanks for all the comments. I'll persevere with my brass plate for the time being, hopefully using alluminimum kitchen foil between the work and the baseplate will prevent me from soldering the work to the baseplate...

There is still a lot of playing with the unit to be done, trying different solders for example, however I can allready see lots of uses for it.

Paul.

For solder I use 188 and 145 for brass, 188 for main fabrications like frames and bodywork and 145 for adding detail parts without unsoldering close joints. Although I have used 145 for all joints in the past with care.

Flux is Gaugemaster 'Flux 2' which is phosphoric acid, works fine for me.

My iron is the standard issue (so it seems...) Antex XS25.

You can spend a fortune on tools like Hold and Folds and nice pliers and files and most are worth the investment if your going to spend a lot of time messing with kits, try and buy the best that you can afford as you need it. I glue strips of wet and dry to shaped lengths of 6mm square wood strip to make 'rubbing strips', perfect for a lot of cleaning up jobs. A must have tool for cleaning up joints is a 3-sided scraper, Squires and Eileens both sell them, I use the type where the scraper part is held in a collet.

I can't comment on soldering white metal as I always glue the stuff... well, it works for me!

Paul.

This

This loco is the inspiration for the 48DS's paint job.

Paul.

Don't rush me James! I'll re-start on it after these two are finished.

The 48DS 'trolley' does need a lot more work to achieve the effect that I want, paint flaking off as rust takes over.

Paul.