wiggoforgold

John What I do is to model as much of the dangling hoses etc as I can without getting in the way of the couplings. The couplings are quite narrow at the bufferbeam so detail can go either side, with the proviso that if it gets in the way of the operation of the coupling, or if it restricts movement on corners,it is cut back to allow operation, or left off completely. One thing that always has to be left off is the scale coupling hook itself,as leaving this in place restricts the operation of the delayed action latch on the DG coupling. On locos, I just fit a DG hook with the delayed action latch, and leave off the lifting loop and dropper. Alex

I actually use DG couplings, which aren't mentioned in your list. Theres a bit about them here:http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/westford/dgcouplings.htm The reasons I chose them over the Brigewood type were: 1. Theres no commercial support fo9r the Bringewood type-you have to make them yourself. You can buy an etch for DGs. 2. Ease of fitting: I mount them about 2mm below the bufferbeam, either on a square of plasticard stuck to the underside of the floor of 4w wagons, or on a wire bracket for bogie vehicles and locomitives with bogies 3. I found it easier to manouvre themover the uncoupler magnets. The DGs are pretty unobtrusive. Have a look at the wagon shots in my gallery eg:http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/gallery/image/23376-d6723-approaches-diddington/

Iain reckoned they would workdown to 2' radius. I think the minimum I had at that time was probably about 3' so I never tested the minimum. IAR suggested a mod to the Bringewood design which was simply a short vertical bar fixed to the loop of the coupler which would allow "buffers free" propelling of stock.

There's a description of making and setting them upon p27 of "Detailing and improving Readt to run wagons " (Irwell 1993) He called them the "Bringewood" coupling after the layout they were created for. Quick and cheap to make and install. I used them and found them reliable and unobtrusive, although when they first appeared the current generation of slimmed down tension locks were unheard of on rtr stock.

James Following this with interest as my Detail Associates brake cylinders arrived from MG Sharp last week as well - looks like they got a back order in! I am planning to redo the steps on my 37 as well - this is what I'm planning to use: http://www.phd-design.co.uk/Products/Class37steps/Class37steps.htm Alex

I've been doing some more work on D6723 and have got the painting and weathering to a point where I thought a further update was appropriate. I painted the ends first with Railmatch yellow, and when this was dry masked it off and sprayed the body with Railmatch BR green, followed by grey for the roof. The areas for the markings were painted with Klear,and Fox transfers applied. The body was then sprayed with a couple of coats of Humbrol varnish, the second with a drop of Humbrol dark grey in itto start the toningdown of the body. I would have used satin varnish,but I didn't have any to hand, so I used gloss. I gave this a couple of days to dry hard. To tell if the paint is dry, sniff the model. If you can still smell paint, the paint beneath the surface has not completely dried. When it has dried through, the paint smell will have gone. When the model is dry weathering can commence. Get a good picture, preferably colour, of the locomotive you are modelling (or if that is not possible, something similar in the same area) . I found a suitable picture on Brush Veteran's site. This site has hundreds of useful pictures,and I have spent hours studying them. Comparison of various photographs of the item being modelled indicates typical weathering patterns, for example the build up of grime below the valance and the layersof dirt on the top surfaces of the noses on the class 37, or the characteristic coolant spillages on the class 24, or the oil leaks from the engine bay floor on the class 31. http://grahame910.fotopic.net/p62337762.html The green areas were then polished with T cut and weathering commenced with various toning down washes. D6793 had a wash of Games Workshop "Devlan mud", most of which is immediately wiped of with a cotton bud. When this was dry,parts of the roof and lower bdyreceived further washes of well thinned Tamiya NATO black and dark earth. Again, alotofthis was wipedoffwith a cotton bud before it had time to dry. The object of the exercise is to leave a residue of dirt in the various bodyside crannies, and around the edges of raised items such as grille surrounds and window frames. The roof was brushed with Carrs black weathering powder. Referring to the photographs, various areas were then picked out with Tamiya Acrylics, mainly matt black, NATO black, dark earth and IJN medium deck brown. Semi matt black was used for oil spills. The roof was then sprayed with various shades of black, and a mix of dark earth and grey was sprayed on the body sides. The results so far look like this: Looking at the photographs reminded me I havent fitted the grilles over the horns in the nose. I've used A1 railmatch etchings and they are painted ready. Buffer beam detail needs to be added, as well as cab interiors and a crew. I also want to add some mere detail to the bogies. I'm waiting for some new brake cylinders,and these will be fitted together with the handbrake operating chains. Finally I've just found a source for some etched bogiesteps,and I'm going to try a set of these.

Seconded

David You are right - D6723 did still have frost grilles in 1967. Don't worry, I've got some etched grilles to go on. They are not fitted yet as I wanted to make sure the radiator louvres are painted before I stick them in place. They'll go on when the body painting is done (but before weathering).

46444's Ivatts have been visiting Diddington recently,so here are some photographs I took. I wasn't happy enough with them to put them in my gallery, which is why they are here,as I thought the event was worth recording 46444 is a Bachmann Ivatt fitted with sound 46495 is a detailed Bachmann Ivatt by 46444. More details can be found in his blog. I built 46496 from the Comet kit before the Bachmann model was available. In 1959 46495 0n a typicalKettering-Cambridge passenger rake approaches Diddington box. Locomotive is Bachmann,coaches are Hornby. More about the coaches in an earlier blog entry by me.

Work on D6723 continues. As construction of the body proceeded, I repeatedly offered it up to the Bachmann chassis to make sure everything fitted. I removed the moulded ends from the Bachmann chassis,and also the circuit board from the top of the chassis. I had discarded the lights, and I don't use DCC so the circuit board was superfluous, and its removal gave me more space at the top of the chassis for fitting the body. The trial fits of the body with modified tumblehomes empasised the fact that the moulded sideframes on the Bachmann chassis were too wide. I narrowed these by removing the sideframes with a razor saw, cleanig up the parts,and reassembling them. The width of the saw cut gives sufficient narrowing. The brake cylinders on the Bachmann bogies looked a bit underfed,though I think Bachmann may have addressed this on later models. I intend to replace mine. The best option appears to be cylinders from the Hornbyclass 50, if you can get them, but unfortunalely I don't think these are available as spares. I have decided to use Roundhouse ones, and am currently awaiting delivery of these. The plan is eventally to fit new brake cylinders, together with the actuating chains for the hand brakes. At the same time, I will improve the bogie steps, and fit a speedometer. For the moment I have just narrowed the sideframes, and painted them. After priming, the sideframes were sprayed with a mixture of matt black and dark earth Tamiya acrylics. The springs were picked out in semi-gloss black, and dry brushed with a mixture of NATO black and dark earth to highlight the coils. The sideframes were then sprayed with Modelmates weathering dye (mud brown), most of which was immediately wiiped off with a damp cotton bud, which emphasised the detail. (Thanks to Ian at Antics in Plymouth for showing me this) I spent a lot of time studying the fuel tanks before deciding how to tackle them. The tanks on the Bachmann chassis are a one piece moulding. On the prototype,there are seperate tanks, linked by pipes, and suspended from brackets. I found these photographs helpful while considering what to do: http://www.brianhans...t/c1481786.html http://eastmoor.blog...37-details.html After taking a deep breath, and making myself feelparticularly brave I cut the tank moulding from the pastic part of the chassis (there wasn't a lot left of it by then) I separated them into separate tanks, and filled the resultant gaps in the tanks with 40 thou black plasticard. I then cut a rectangle of 40 thou black plasticard to form a base for the tanks and reassembled the tanks on these. The brackets between the tanks and at either end were made from plasticard and plastic strip. Apologies for the first photograph being slightly out of focus, but I wanted to show the resultant daylight round the tanks, and I couldn't get the focussing on the camera to improve. The tanks were agian sprayed with a mixture of Tamiya matt black and dark earth,with a spray of Modelmates dye. The steps were picked out in NATO black,and then drybrushed with Humbrol polished steel, and a Tamiya black/earth mix. Fuel spillage on the smaller tank was done by painting a patch matt black, and then overpainting part of that patch with semi gloss black,before lightly spraying the whole thing with dark earth.

Pete I use DGs and really like them(satisfied user only) I like the controller. Is it suitable for 4mm?

I started making models of the green diesel era about 12 months ago. Having done classes 24, 31 and 15 my friend Mark kept telling me I needed a class 37. Initially I resisted, on the grounds that a 37 was a bit big for the current layout. Then two things happened; I found a picture of a class 37 from the appropriate area and time which I really liked and I decided to build a layout based on a through station for which the class 37 would be entirely appropriate. Finally, James started a thread on this forum entitled "Brush type 2 rebirth" in which he puts a Hornby mech in a Lima body, and in that thread he made some comments about his class 37 which got me thinking. (It also gave me some ideas for another class 31, but that's a different story). I had a Lima class 37/4 body, and I aquired a Bachmann class 37 chassis sans body, and decided to merge the two. My model was to be D6723 in GSYP as running in March 1967. The basic Lima body is dimensionally correct, but mine was finished as a 37/4, and I found a considerable number of detail differences between a 37/4 and an original EE type 3 with split headcodes, so the inapropriate detailing was removed and the body redetailed. For me, the main weaknesses in the Lima body are: -The tumblehome, which isn't pronounced enough -The cab front windows -The ride height, which is too high. Putting the Lima body on the Bachmann chassis allowed me to correct the ride height and tumblehome. I discarded the entire Lima mechanism, including the moulded floor, except the bufferbeams, which were cut off the floor an reattached to the body, New bulkheads were fitted at the backs of the cabs, which allow the body to sit at the correct height on the Bachmann chassis. The chassis was modified by removing the extensions at each end, and removing the circuit board on top of the chassis and rewiring it conventionally (I don't use DCC). I reworked the tumblehome on the Lima body by scoring along the insides of the body at the point where the tumblehome starts to curve in, and gently bending the bottom of the sides to make a more pronounced tumblehome. (I got this idea from James) I made up a card former with the correct angle to check the bend, Once I was satisfied with the revised tumblehome, I reinforced the bend by running solvent down the score line inside the body, and reinforcing it with strips of 40thou plastic card. The Bachmann chassis is narrower than the old Lima one, so the modified body fits to the chassis without further change to the chassis. This does however reveal that the Bachmann bogies are too wide across the sideframes, so I need to narrow these. I reworked the cab front windows by cutting out the moulded frames, using the resultant aperture as a template to make up new glazing, and fitted new A1 etched windscreens. The new glazing has been put aside until after painting. The redetailed body has been sprayed in grey primer, and put aside to allow the paint to harden and to give me time to study it to see if it requires any further detailing, or if any work already done requires further attention. Finally, a couple of pictures of work so far: The next stages are the narrowing of the bogies, rebuilding the fuel tanks, and painting the model.