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SRman

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  1. SRman
    More on the 2 HAL: I have now started painting the interiors. I know they started with a reddish-brown for second class (ex-third class) but I have no idea what colour the first class seats should be. I chose a French blue on the strength of Hornby using blue for their Maunsell coaches but this is a tenuous guess at best! I will also paint the antimacassars white or cream for first class only.
     
    The roofs were still in undercoat before and have now had a coat of a darker grey.
     
    The interior shots also show how I have run the wires for the extra pickups rigged in the trailing bogie, plus the lead weight over the leading end (hidden in the van section) and the NCE decoder.
     

     

     

     

     
     
    I have left the extra wires at full length on the decoder because I may fit lights at a later date, and possibly a third rail flash over the leading bogie shoe.
  2. SRman
    Only a little more progress to report on both the ex-LSWR G16 tank and on the Ayjay Models 'Tin' 2 HAL kit.
     
    I have painted the bogie wheels to better match the rest (i.e. got rid of those shiny silver tyre rims!) and given the whole locomotive a second coat of black. It is now too black as this really hides any detail (an also any inaccuracies!!). The chassis needs a small adjustment as the mounting gives the body a very slight lean to one side.
     

     
    I have finally got around to glazing the Ayjay Models 'Tin' HAL Which features in some earlier blog entries. I use Micro Krystal Klear glazing liquid as a glue to stick clear plastic/acetate in. If any gets on the glazing itself, it can be washed off with water while wet and dries clear so any that does get missed on the glazing barely shows anyway. The first photo shows the unit in service with its newly added windscreens - the glue is still wet on the left-hand one. The other photos are more general views. I have not yet painted the seats, so that's the next job on the agenda.
     

     

     

  3. SRman
    My 14mm 10-spoke bogie wheels arrived today from Mainly Trains in England, so I wasted no time in fitting them and testing again. Before I show the pic of it with the new wheels, though, I took a photo the other day before decoder fitting but after adding the motor and works back in and temporarily hooking up the wires for testing on analogue (12V DC). This also shows the various mods and add-on bits.
     

     
    And now, with the body on, decoder fitted and the new bogie wheels. The capuchon has now been filed off the chimney and a small amount of filler added to the ridge on the cab roof where there was a slight gap in the casting.
     

     
    I did intend taking a pic of the bogie springing arrangement but forgot to do that before screwing the bogie back on. Haulage power is good but I reckon it'll be even better when I add some lead sheet to the insides of the side tanks!
  4. SRman
    After three days of ice packs on my face and pain killers I have had to have a root canal job on a tooth. Now that I'm recovering and feeling human again, I have pushed the G16 project a little further.
     
    I have put a temporary wheelset on the bogie and given the body a preliminary coat of black.
     
    On reading the potted history of the class in the instructions, I have realised that I need to remove the capuchon from the chimney - a few strokes of a file will fix this. I am almost ready to fit some of the small parts like the steps at the front of the footplate and te cab roof ventilator. Also before the final coats of paint go on, I need to add the wires/pipes that go diagonally from the fronts of the tanks to a position just behind those bulges over the cylinders, and add some lamp irons. The sprung LSWR buffers I have for it will go on after spray painting has been completed.
     
    At this point it seems to be moving freely so I can consider putting the motor and intermediate gear back in.
     

  6. SRman
    The first group of photos shows the hook and loop coupling system I devised, bent up from stiff brass wire. The hook is a simple 'Z' (or 'N' if you prefer!) shape with one end stuck into the floor and the other projecting downwards. There is a small groove cut into the headstock to locate the hook and stop it from swivelling. The loop is also sitting in the floor and a slot in the headstock but is made quite wide to allow for the end throws of the coaches on curves - by sheer luck I got this right first time.
     

     

     

     
     
    ... and coupled together it looks like this:
     
     

     
    The second group of photos shows the unit as running at present, still with no glazing, no transfers and some detailing still to go but operational. At the DTC end only I have fitted some Roxey Models etched brass headcode stencils, although they have picked up some of the resin filings from my work on the unit, something I hadn't noticed until I took the photo! Sorry the depth of field is not very good on these - the shot I took from the other end of the unit was unusable. The stencils needed quite a bit of trimming to fit and even now are still a little oversized for the aperture - not sure if the model is undersize or the etchings are oversize.
     
    I am seriously considering drilling out the headcode at the other end and fitting a directional LED to light it up in the forward direction.
     

     

  7. SRman
    Returning to the 'Tin' HAL unit, I decided that the separate jumper cables I fitted a while back were too thick so I have now fitted finer wire jumpers and repainted the affected areas. The new jumpers may now be a fraction too spindly but a layer or two of paint will thicken them up a bit.
     
    While I had the wire, the cutters and the pliers out, I decided to spend an hour or two and do all the front end handrails and the windscreen wipers, plus the front lamp irons. The result is shown here.
     

     
    Next major jobs are to do the glazing and lower the power bogie mounting a little (the earlier SPUD motor sat at the correct height but the replacement Black Beetle needs a cut-out in the floor.
     
    Then, there are all those door handles to fit!
  8. SRman
    I have now fully glazed the windows, after earlier drilling and filing out the solid engine room side window apertures. I flush-glazed the windscreens a couple of years ago but I think I will have to redo one of them. I also painted the body at that time but have now finished off most of the details. An added refinement was to fit Bachmann sprung buffers. I still need to tidy a couple of rough patches on the light stripe along one side, and then give it a good coat of varnish, followed by a decent weathering.
     
    The major operation was to fit the resin sideframes to the bogies. The kit was designed to fit the Lima Class 20 chassis but the Bachmann side frame attachments are slightly further apart lengthways which meant that the bogies became rather flimsy and delicate after the operation. One in particular broke off one end, which meant the clip-fitting mechanism didn't hold the frame assembly to the main structure of the bogie - because the coupling is attached to the frame, put a load behind it and it would fall off! I overcame this with a sort of cat's cradle of wire reinforcements and araldite which have proved quite successful, as the locomotive can now haul a train of wagons facing either way without dropping a bogie frame onto the track and derailing or just stopping dead!
     
    I then added some 60 thou plasticard ends and bottom to the fuel tanks to give a more solid appearance, then coated the lot with matt black.
     
    The photos show the result to date, although the camera flash has highlighted all the plastic filings still lodged in the side radiator grilles - I'll have to brush those out later!
     

     

     
     
    The red thing in one of the engine room windows is the TCS MC2 decoder..
  10. SRman
    More progress on the buses. I finished off the Southdown Tiger Cub and London 5Q5 for the annual modelling competition of the Model Bus Association of Australia, held today. The Southdown bus took first place in the 4mm kit built section, in spite of a few faults.
     
    The first photo shows both of the buses near completion. The 5Q5 has just had its windscreens glued in so the glue is still white but dries clear. The Little Bus Company kit comes with pre-printed windscreens but i put them somewhere safe, which means I still haven't found them and had to make up my own!
     

     
    The Southdown Tiger Cub has its fleetnames in place but I ran out of medium sized Mackenzie scipt fleetnames so had to use some oversized versions. Also, I discovered a paint run on the nearside of the roof, too late to do anything about fixing it. The windscreens are now clear on the 5Q5 and I have (rather crudely) painted the red bars across them. The 5Q5 now has its fleetnames, registration numbers and badge in place.
     

     
    I printed suitable destinations for both plus the Southdown registration numbers up and glued them in place. Unfortunately, the photos I took of the Tiger Cub are too blurred but the 5Q5 has come out OK. I'll post a final shot of the Tiger Cub later. You can see the slight roughness in the finish of the white areas.
     

  11. SRman
    I thought I had a workbench thread somewhere but cannot find it, so maybe I simply added these things to my layout thread before ... or maybe I am going completely loopy!!!
     
    Anyway, I have been fiddling with a few more projects lately.
     
    On the railway side, I have an Ayjay models resin kit for a post-war 2HAL unit, also known as a 'Tin HAL'. Some of the detailing is a little on the heavy side but it looks like a 2HAL should. I have removed the moulded jumper cables from the DTC end and will do the same at the DMBS end soon, with separate wire cables to be added. I also filed down the over-thick secondman's window surrounds. Both coaches have been primed but I still have to remove some flash from the bogies.
     
    Sorry about the blurry driving ends - I must stand back a little further to improve the depth of field in the future.
     

     

     

     
    With a view to the upcoming Model Bus Association of Australia's modelling competition in December, I have been pushing a few bus kits up the production line. I can only enter two models in each category so 4mm kit-built items for this year will be the Southdown Leyland Tiger Cub with Marshall BET style body, made from a Westward Models/ABS Streetscene white metal kit with a few minor modifications. I am flush-glazing the windscreens and rear window (not happy with the driver's screen right now as I got some glue on it) but I have yet to do the side windows and doors in these photos. I am also not yet happy with the shape of the cream 'V' at the front. The other entry is the Little Bus Company resin 5Q5 of London Transport, as it appeared in the pre-war period. I haven't glazed any part of this model yet.
     

     

     

     
    For future entries, I have started on further bus kits. The next four are all Little Bus Company resin kits. In order of the pics:
     
    1. An all-Leyland Titan PD2/12 'Farington' as run by Southdown in the early 1950s with an open rear platform. Thos one is partly painted but still needs tidying up before glazing.
     
    2. A Southdown 1957 Commer TS3 coach with Beadle Rochester body.
     
    3. A southdown Leyland Leopard coach with Duple Commander body from the mid-1960s.
     
    4. A Southdown pre-war Leyland Titan TD5 with post-war East Lancs body.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    Also shown with the Leyland TD is a Royal Blue Bristol LL from Weico Models. This is also a resin kit but comes locally from Melbourne.
     

     

     
     
    04/11/2011
     
    I have been doing a little more work on the 2HAL. I fitted the wire replacement jumper cables to both driving ends.
     

     

     
    Next, a few thin coats of my specially mixed BR(S) green. It is not quite a match for the Bachmann 2EPB green (seen in the third pic of this sequence) but it is close enough for me. I have not picked out the jumpers in black, yet, nor added the handrails. Underframe and headstocks and buffers also yet to be painted.
     

     

     
     

     

     
     
    There is also an interesting contrast with the pre-nationalisation malachite green on the Lord Nelson in the foreground of a few of these pics.
     
    Now to the buses and coaches. I have now painted the first coat of Southdown light green on the Beadle and Duple coaches while tidying up the 'V' on the Marshall bus. The BR(S) green mentioned earlier also works well as Southdown's darker green! The first coats have been applied to the Duple coach skirts but, of course, there is a lot more tidying up to do before these will look presentable.
     

     

  12. SRman
    Coming back to the class 455/9, the unit will be numbered (45)5907.
     
    I have made a little further progress on adding the vinyls, this time to the Motor Brake Standard Open (MBSO), and in matching the blue on the Driving Trailer. There is some work involved in finishing these off and correcting a few errors in the vinyls, but overall the vinyl overlays take a lot of the hard work out of adding the livery elements and details.
     
    Note that the DTS is not sitting correctly on its chassis in the pics, hence the slight lean to starboard.
     

    url=https://flic.kr/p/MmJm76]P_20180916_135806_vHDR_On[/url] by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     

    P_20180916_135758_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
  13. SRman
    After a long wait, the Electra Railway Graphics (ERG) vinyls have arrived for the Bratchell class 455/9 kit I was building in South West Trains livery.
     
    While there is still work to do and some adjustments to make with paint, I am happy with the effect on the first Driving Trailer Standard (DTS). Putting these on and trimming slightly to compensate for the odd discrepancy is time consuming, with the use of a hair dryer set on hot to help settle the vinyls over raised detail and form it around corners, so the other three coaches are going to be done over the next couple of months (because of other commitments I have in the next few weeks).
     
    Anyway, here are photos of the work so far, with, as I said, more blending in and touching up to do. The first couple are a little blurred because they were taken rather hastily.
     

    P_20180913_121926_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    P_20180913_121935_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    P_20180913_191324_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    P_20180913_191332_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
  14. SRman
    Continuing with the Bratchell class 455/9, I have built all of the unpowered bogies now, but will need to adjust the ride heights of these upwards slightly, and the powered coach downwards slightly.

    The Powered bogies will have to be cut and shut to lose 1mm from the wheelbase but, as with the previous class 455/8 and 319, the blank sideframes on the Replica Railways motor bogies can be used to reinforce these, using the Bratchell sideframes as cosmetic items only.



    Bratchell Class 455-9 Under Construction - 7 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


    Bratchell Class 455-9 Under Construction - 8 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
    Once again I have had a little difficulty with poor light and the black ABS plastic Bratchell used for the driving trailer sides.
     
    I have used local manufacturer Steam Era Wheels (10.5mm dia., catalogue ref WH6) for this build, as Bratchell had run out of wheels when I ordered this kit.
  15. SRman
    Another new project, but one that will take a little while to complete: I have an unpainted Bratchell Models kit for a class 455/9 unit, which will eventually be in South West Trains red inner suburban livery.
     
    The unpainted shells are very dark and my lighting was poor, so these first two shots are only just sufficient to show the initial construction. The clear plastic driving ends will need a little modification to the lights to match the later, refurbished condition, and are not glued in at this stage. They will also be easier to mask off for painting while not installed.
     
    The instructions advise to remove all of the moulded-on door gutters and add new continuous gutters from microstrip. A quick look at some photos online of 455/9 units proved this correct and also showed at what height the new gutters should be mounted - I found that the height suggested in the instructions looked too low, so mounted mine at what looked correct to me, based on the photos of the real things. The ends of the gutter strips at the driving cab ends need to be cut back slightly, but I thought it better, and easier to correct, to have them too long rather than too short.
     
    The MSO (Motor Second Open) coach has already been test fitted to the Replica Railways chassis that will power the whole unit. This had to have the continuous footstep moulding cut off, and a minimal amount filed off the width, then slotted securely straight into the assembled body shell.
     
    Bratchell Class 455-9 Under Construction - 1 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     
    Bratchell Class 455-9 Under Construction - 3 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     

    Before I paint anything, there are also roof vents to make and fit. Four per coach, except for the MSO, which only has two. These were unique to the 455/9 construction.
  16. SRman
    I have been working on an original form Merchant Navy locomotive sporadically over the last few years, but am making an effort to complete it before the new Hornby model of 35023, Holland Afrika Line, arrives, probably in June.
     
    The chassis was adapted from a Hornby rebuilt MN, with Hornby's air smoothed West Country/Battle of Britain connecting rods and cylinder assemblies. I hard-wired a DCC Concepts Z218 decoder to it with its 8-pin plug cut off.
     
    The Golden Arrow Productions MN tender body was a bit flat-sided so I had to file and sand it to a better profile.
     

     

     

    This was followed by some final fettling and adjustments to the locomotive body. When I removed the front fairings from ahead of the cylinders, I took a little too much material off, so have added a strip of plastic micro-strip to each side, then a bit of filler, followed by filing and sanding back once the filler had set. there were a couple of other places on the body and at the cab/firebox joint that needed filling, too.
     
    Once all that set, I filed it all smooth again, then repainted. The body and tender still require a little more finishing as the paint surface is just a little rougher than I would like. The photos take us to the current status. Once I have finalised the finishes, I can add lining and names and numbers. My current thinking is for 35027, Port Line, but I could still change my mind.
     

     

  17. SRman
    Having previously described modifying the plug and wiring for fitting non-Hornby decoders to the Hornby Huntley & Palmers Peckett W4 and Sentinel diesel shunter, I failed to take a photo of the decoder actually in place to show just how easily the TCS M1 fits inside. Being smaller than the Hornby 4-pin decoder, there is room to spare, so I use a small blob of Blu-Tack to stop the decoder moving around.
     
    Having just received a second Peckett, this time the Peckett pale green Dodo, I went through the same process again, only this time it took half the time to do and came out a little neater as well.
     
    The blue, white and yellow wires are neatly bundles out of the way with a spot of heat-shrink tubing. If I ever want to add lighting or other functions, the wires are still available for use.
     

     

  18. SRman
    I have long held a dislike of Hornby's own DCC decoders (their Sapphire excepted), so when I purchased the Peckett W4 saddle tank loco, I declared at the outset that I would use something different, even if it meant hard-wiring it. Unfortunately, Hornby are the only manufacturer offering a 4-pin decoder. I never took photos of that conversion, so when I received Hornby's Sentinel diesel shunter, I resolved to treat it the same way.
     
    The decoders I favoured for these conversions were TCS M1 (2-function) or M4 (4-function); they cost me the same at the time I bought them and the shop had run out of M1s. I doubt that I'll use the functions in the short-term, but if I ever get brave later I might fit lights, firebox glows ... that sort of thing! These decoders are smaller than the Hornby one, so they actually fit in the places provided with room to spare.
     
    I did have a brainwave, though, and decided to retain the 4-pin socket and use the 'blanking plug' to connect the decoder by the relatively simple expedient of replacing the two looped wires and soldering in the correct decoder wires. Hornby have wired the plugs so that the track feed wires are on the outer pins and the brush feeds on the inner ones, so even if the plug is accidentally (or deliberately) reversed, no harm will come to the decoder.
     
    The metal sockets can be slid out of the plastic shell by lifting the little plastic tags. This allows the Hornby wires to be removed - I just cut mine off flush but you can choose any method you like to get rid of them.
     
    After this, the decoder wires were soldered on, using the end tags on the metal bits to clamp the wires in place as well.
     
    Then the assemblies can be slid back into their respective sockets, ensuring that they are correctly positioned - black - grey - orange - red.
     
    Spare wires on the decoders were cropped short and secured with a bit of heat-shrink tubing.
     
    The idea worked well with the Peckett, making it easy to restore to DC or swap decoders later if desired. However, the Sentinel wasn't as cooperative, and I ended up stripping it completely and rewiring it, including hard-wiring the decoder. The photos show how it all worked for the Peckett, and how it could have been for the Sentinel.
     

     

     

     

     

     

  20. SRman
    I am making progress on glazing my Q Stock train. The latest addition is the Q38 car. I tried Phil Radley's moulded flush glazing but didn't like the effect at all. I pulled the bits I had already done back out, and started again from scratch. The four large windows in the middles of each side were glazed as two pairs, and will have the window pillars painted back on from the outside. Likewise, the angled vent glass will have the dividers painted on by hand.
     
    The Krystal Klear I used as the glue was still wet and milky coloured in places when I took the photo.
     

  21. SRman
    I bought a second Sutton's Locomotive Works class 24, D5016 with sound, and it duly arrived in Melbourne. On test, it worked fine but emitted clicks and pops from the speakers whenever it was placed on powered tracks, programmed, or power was switched on when already on the track. There were a couple of anomalies with the functions but a decoder reset fixed those. Jamie from SLW suggested I swap the decoder into my previous SLW class 24, D5000, and D5000's decoder into D5016 and see what happened. The clicks and pops persisted with the decoder when in D5000, and the other decoder now in D5016 was silent when it should be, thus indicating a fault with the decoder itself. Jamie immediately sent me a replacement decoder, which arrived within a week, and all is now perfectly well with both locomotives.
     
    I cannot praise Jamie and SLW enough for their excellent, polite and very helpful follow up service.
     
    Having ascertained that I won't have to return the locomotive itself, I have now renumbered D5016 to D5017, which remained on the Southern Region for around three years, as opposed to D5016's stay on the SR which was only for a month. I removed only the 6's, using a wooden toothpick and a little moisture, then added the 7's using HMRS pressfix transfers - the height of the transfer numerals was slightly greater than the SLW ones, so I cut the bottom off the leg of the HMRS numerals to line up (one has a fraction too much lopped off, but I can easily disguise that when it dries properly). However, I may have to redo the other numbers because the HMRS ones are very slightly bolder, but it will suffice for now.
     
    I have reconfigured the headcode discs on both locomotives, but neither is yet sporting the extra SR lamp irons (or headboard brackets as SLW refer to them), although I have the etched components to fit.
     
    Anyway here are a couple of pics, the first showing the newly renumbered D5017, and the second showing the two SLW locomotives, D5000 and D5017 in multiple (i.e. a DCC consist).
     

     

     

    For running in consist, I modified the decoder settings to allow functions 1, 2, 5 and 6 to work with the consist address, thus allowing the sound to be turned on for both at once, the brake function (F2) to work on both (otherwise applying the brake only stopped the front loco, with the rear one pushing it on!), and the engine sounds of both to be returned to idle. Function 5 reduces the inertia/momentum to simulate light engine/light load running.
  22. SRman
    Having played around with my early issue Hornby Hogwarts Castle by converting it to DCC and adding headlamps and flickering firebox glow, plus a crew, I was less than satisfied with the running qualities of the Airfix-derived chassis.
     
    Someone on these forums mentioned that the newest Hornby RailRoad County 4-6-0 chassis would be a good DCC-ready substitute, so I duly ordered one from Rails of Sheffield.
     
    The wheelbase is spot on, but on comparison of the two chassis side by side, I discovered that there are several discrepancies that would make the swap slightly more difficult, with the two major problems being the cylinder positions and the position of the rear combined tender drawbar and body mounting screw, which was slightly further forward on the County.
     
    After much head scratching, I decided that using the cylinders in the position of the County would be better as it more closely resembles that of a Hall, which is what the 'real' Hogwarts Castle is (Hornby didn't have a Hall model at the time, so used the Castle). I had already worked out that the chassis differences would not allow for an easy swap of cylinders and connecting rods. Allowing for the cylinders to fit under the Castle body meant filing down the depth of the footplate towards the front, which means that my Hogwarts Castle now has a shallow valance extending back to where the old cylinders sat. The repositioning of the cylinders also meant the 'S' shaped steam pipes were now leading from the smokebox to empty air, so they had to come off too; fortunately, they are separate mouldings which plug into holes in the smokebox and footplate.
     
    In the meantime, I pulled the TCS M1 decoder back out of the old chassis and resoldered the main track pickup wires (black and red) and the brush feed wires (grey and orange) back onto an 8-pin plug, but left the white, yellow and blue wires from the decoder soldered to the 3-pin connector plug I used to allow separation of the body from the chassis before. A quick test of the chassis showed that this was all successful.
     
    Back to the adaptation, I decided that the tender coupling should remain where it was on the Castle body, which meant that it didn't line up with the hole at the rear of the County chassis; I milled away a crescent shape at the rear of the metal County chassis to clear the screw while allowing it to set the chassis height at the rear, being hard against the rear of the chassis. The front mounting screw actually does most of the work of securing the chassis to the body.
     
    A few minor adjustments to the footplate, mainly involving drilling holes to clear bits of the County cylinders and valve gear, saw everything sitting nicely and running well.
     
    In all of this, I managed to dislodge the Hogwarts Express headboard, one of the headlamps, and the fireman I had previously glued in, so a quick session with the superglue saw all of those things restored to their 'correct' positions. I found some plastic tubing that was approximately the right diameter for some new straight steam pipes (maybe a teensy bit anaemic!), so set about trimming and fitting those by trial and error.
     
    I'm not too worried about accuracy: we are talking about a fictional engine on a fictional train, running on a fictional line from a fictional platform at Kings Cross to a fictional destination! With that in mind, a hybrid locomotive with an identity crisis really fits in! Poor old Hogwarts Castle doesn't know whether it is a Castle, a Hall or a County!
     
    Here are a couple of photos of it with the County chassis fitted but minus its headboard and steam pipes, no fireman, and with one headlamp pointing off into the scenery.
     

     

     

    And after the fixes were applied.
     

     

     

     

    The Knight Bus is one I hacked from two EFE models bought cheaply with the conversion in mind.
     
    I think I'm happy with it now, although I may restore the valance depth a little behind the cylinders at a later date ... much, much later.
  23. SRman
    A fairly simple task (albeit requiring steady hands) is to fit etched nameplates to locomotives to replace or cover printed ones.
     
    Two more of my class 73s have now had the printed plates covered with proper etched versions: 73 004, The Bluebell Railway, and 73 129, City of Winchester, both look much better now with their Fox Transfers etched stainless steel plates. Both are on Hornby chassis, but 73 004 has a Lima body. I mix and match bodies on the Hornby chassis - I have eight of the chassis but around 12 bodies of both Lima and Hornby origins.
     

     

     
    A banger blue Heljan class 47 also got the treatment. 47 508, S. S. Great Britain, now sports the Fox plates.
     

     

     
    Another class 73 to receive etched name plates and shields is royal locomotive, 73 142 Broadlands, with Shawplan plates. This locomotive has a Lima body and chassis, with a Modeltorque motor replacing the Lima 'pancake', and the addition of a newer Hornby unpowered bogie with its better wheels, extra pickups and NEM coupling pocket.
     
    I removed the printed Lima name plates and shields using a trick I learnt a long time ago: stick some sticky tape over the printed elements and press it on very, very firmly with a fingernail, then peel it off complete with the Lima transfers.
     
    I roughened the backs of the etched items then used some Krystal Klear glazing medium as a glue - any that squeezes out can be wiped off with a damp cloth.
     
    Not the best photo with limited light available, but here it is.
     

     
    And still on Lima class 73s, E6012 in early blue has a Lima body on a Hornby chassis. It also has legomanbiffo sound fitted. I tidied the roof grilles up, much as I did previously with green E6002. Once again, this emphasises just how fine the original Lima moulding was - pity about the mechanisms!
     

     
    (Edited to remove duplication if the previous blog entry).
  24. SRman
    Now for a simple task (albeit, requiring steady hands): fitting further etched nameplates to a few more locomotives.
     
    Two more of my class 73s have now had the printed plates covered with proper etched versions: 73 004, The Bluebell Railway, and 73 129, City of Winchester, both look much better now with their Fox Transfers etched stainless steel plates. Both are on Hornby chassis, but 73 004 has a Lima body. I mix and match bodies on the Hornby chassis - I have eight of the chassis but around 12 bodies of both Lima and Hornby origins.
     

     

     

    A banger blue Heljan class 47 also got the treatment. 47 508, S. S. Great Britain, now sports the Fox plates.
     

     

  25. SRman
    Footboards and steps added. I have used the ones from the MR 20 ton brake van kit, but shortened the footboards by cutting a short section out of the middle and filing the clearance for the centre axlebox. There is a small amount of filler needed on one side, but the other side seems to have worked quite neatly.
     
     
     
    I also used the plastic hangers from the MR kit, but moved the middle ones outwards slightly to clear the centre spring hangers.
     
     
     

     
     
     

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