Scale7JB

SWill try and get a few more bits done tomorrow before its big debut. It'll have a big clean before then with glass fibres all over the shop and fingers! Although 5 laminations per brake hanger/shoe, im very pleased with how they've come out. I've spent the last couple of hours trying to justify the boiler dimensions, but I can't quite... Strange thing being that the boiler can't go down any further and the top of the firebox is the correct distance from the top of the cab. A chimney casting from LG on Sunday may change the look of things. Unfortunately he has run out of dome's, if you make it down I'll tell you why that may be a good thing. I still need to do a V2.0 etch for the body, and the first thing will be to make the smokebox rivets a whole lot bigger. I was erring on the side of caution when I first drew it, a bit too much. Ejector elbow is a work of pure fiction in terms of design just to have something to put in there other than bent wire. Is anyone coming to Bristol on Sunday?

Take a look on the D16 thread in this area of the forum. JB.

Bit early maybe but gave it a casting from the scrap box.

Thanks Ade, really happy with it so far. There will be a mk3 chassis etch and mk2 body etch, but for a first full test build I really can't complain. JB.

Bogie progressed far enough for a test build.

Magnificent! Cant wait to have the space to and tools to try something similar. JB.

Progress..

Looking great, Nick! JB.

Welcome back Andy.. I may have a kit for you soon.. JB.

You're mad! (in a good way) JB.

Been concentrating on the bogie which should be finished tomorrow, but tonight thought inwouldnlooknat something different. Possibly the most difficult part of the kit - Cab side and front sheets. Over the moon with how it worked out. The splasher is not soldered on to the footplate just yet.

My favourite part of the kit. Bogie Mk2.

I've just been searching through my thread on a different forum for some example photos. This is how the etches came in the kit.. quite tarnished and a noticeable lack of shine. Brass tarnishes very quickly so regularly needs cleaning. And this is the nearly completed wagon as cleaned with Barkeepers friend. It really ought to be this clean before soldering commences. You'll find that the flux works better and the solder will just flow really nicely. You can also see the difference between the freshly cleaned wagon and the tarnished coach. It's a completely different colour. JB.

Hi Colin, Only just found this thread, and it's definitely coming along. May I say the etches are absolutely filthy, and I'm surprised that anything is sticking to the brass at all. Can I recommend you get a bottle of a product called Barkeepers Friend. It's sold at large Sainsburys, and probably Amazon as well. Its a powder product. Mix some with a little water so its almost a runny paste consistency, and use with a toothbrush to really scrub it or for more delicate areas a 1" paint brush. This will clean the brass beautifully, and give you a much cleaner surface for the flux to work on. You would also do well to use the 145 solder that you have as your main solder. Carrs products Do a 100 degree flux that can be used for the details if necessary, but I never never used anything other than 145 for all of my previous builds except where soldering white metal castings of course. If you would i'd be more than happy to take some pictures and show you the difference between badly tarnished brass and clean enough to solder with. JB.

As of last night.

Plenty of progress today..

Thanks!! so far this morning..

Well thankfully the footplate is now the correct length. As mentioned previously this was bad housekeeping whilst I was still working in TurboCad Mac Pro, a hateful program. Found some of that Finney7 solder. Think it may run out tomorrow though.. I tried to find a way to make curving the footplate easier, mostly by putting half etch markings on the underside of the footplate to tell the builder where to start and stop the curves in relation to the curves on the valance. I think it certainly helped a bit but not sure how much in relation to the dimples that have resulted in the top edge of the footplate. I'll find out if they're still visible after painting.

Etch V2.0 has arrived and looking much better. Building starts in earnest to get it together before the Bristol O Gauge show in a weeks time. Just need to find my work bench underneath all the bits of Etch V1.0.. JB.

Can you find a piece of tube the same size as the boiler and wrap a piece of grit paper around the tube, then gently slide the castings back and forth. This will take down the thickness of the flange but preserve the shape at the same time. JB.

Fair play for going 'in at the deep end'. I recall a distant relative once built his first 3.5" gauge loco, what did he build? a 9F! One tip if I may before you get to the valve gear. A lot of people are going to suggest that you use bits of oily paper to stop the valve gear soldering solid. Might I suggest looking at the chemical blackening method. Chemical black will prevent metal from getting soldered, and so its perfect for getting tight but movable valve gear. JB.

Hi, if you're coming to Bristol, pop in to the Love Lane layout to say hi. I'll either be on the layout or near to the Scale7 test track... not that its much of a test track, its just a few loops. JB.

Well its been a while, and an awful lot longer than i'd hoped, but i really wanted to make sure version 2.0 is as correct as I can make it. I hope there isn't a need for a version 3.0! Probably 60-70 adjustments/modifications/improvements in all. It will be a much better kit now. Artwork sent off today, and so I hope to have a built, though not necessarily running loco for placement on the Love Lane layout at the Bristol O Gauge Group show in a couple of weeks time. I have decided I will need to draw up the tender for the D16 as no one has yet designed the particular version required. JB.

Hi Richard, looking good. Purely fyi, you would be able to tell left or right have drive by which side the large ejector exhaust pipe is, that travels the length of the boiler into the smokebox. JB.

Just found a very old photo of mine if it helps with any details. Great pic shot by Heather Kavanagh. JB.