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SRman

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Blog Entries posted by SRman

  1. SRman
    This should be the last entry on my two Western diesel-hydraulics for a while. The Heljan one, D1007 Western Talisman, now goes around my tightest curves, so it was time to patch up any damaged paintwork and weather the bogies, brake gear and skirts. The result is shown below. The leading brake blocks still need a little bit of wire or plastic rodding to anchor them more securely but it runs well as it stands.
     
    The weathering used the now usual mixture of black, leather and metallic gunmetal in varying proportions.
     


    In the meantime, I decided to try adding headcodes to the insides of the Kernow/Dapol Western, D1037 Western Musketeer, instead of the supplied externally applied self-adhesive labels. The spare Heljan ones would have been my ideal but they were a fraction large for the aperture, allowing for the thickness of the moulded clear plastic rims on the insides of the headcode 'glasses'. A bit of digging around showed that the Heljan class 53 (D0280, Falcon) printed headcodes would fit when suitably cut down to suit the split apertures of the Western. They are not perfect but look better to me than externally stuck on labels. See what you think.
     

     
    I deliberately chose class 6 and class 8 headcodes to suit freight workings. As with everything else, compromise is needed as only two headcodes can be displayed while ten, or more, fitting trains are available for it to haul!
  2. SRman
    A few months ago, I bought a Hornby BR early green N15, 30737 King Uther, at a very reasonable price, with the knowledge that it had a little damage on the tender rear, including missing a buffer and the lower corner of the buffer beam, plus a bit of the upper fairing being broken.
     
    I have slowly been repairing this damage using plasticard and filler and a pair of Bachmann sprung buffers. Repairing the damage was relatively easy but touching up the pre-weathered paintwork took a little bit of fiddling, particularly as my BR locomotive green was a slightly yellower shade than Hornby's original paint work. I have used washes of dark earth and one of the Humbol black wash enamels to try to match the effects as closely as possible. I think I have managed to get pretty close to a realistic effect while closely matching the original.
     
    A touch of red paint on the buffer shanks blended them in.
     
    I topped it off with a layer of real coal to complete the job.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    Sorry about the poor quality of the photos: all were rattled off quickly on the mobile phone between jobs.
  3. SRman
    School holiday jobs: I have re-chassised my green Hornby Brush type 2 (class 30), D5513, as the original was one of those with the dreaded metal "cancer". That was all right, except I got the bogies at the wrong ends, initially; the difference is in the wire lengths! I had carefully noted the wiring before disconnecting all the wires from the pcb but, on reassembly, I found that the lights weren't working properly on DC or DCC (I started with the decoder removed and the original Hornby blanking plug inserted, to ensure I didn't blow up the expensive sound decoder!).
     
    After several attempts, where I had tail lights at the no 1 end and either all, or no lights at the other, I pulled it apart and started again. This time only the tail lights at the number 1 end didn't work, which is probably due to the cab contacts not sitting quite right. I'm not too worried about that, to the point that I might even disconnect the over bright tail lights from the other end as well, next time I take the body off!
     
    It ran perfectly every time, it was just the lights that defeated me! Anyway, once it was OK on DC, I inserted a cheap Hattons decoder and tested with that on board, then refitted the LokSound decoder and speaker.
     
    Then I repaired the small cracks in the body from the original chassis expansion.
     

     
    Then I moved on to the Lima class 31 004 that I had previously detailed up and shown here. I was not happy with its Lima motor's running characteristics on DCC and managed to score a cheap Hornby RailRoad class 31 (R3067). The chassis swap is straight forward as both bodies fit either chassis. However, the Hornby model is a little bit of a hybrid of characteristics from earlier and later days of the type, and the chassis lacks the fairings around the buffer beams and below the cab ends. I filed the detail on the Hornby chassis smooth and cut and shaped some fairings from plasticard, using the D5513 and the Lima chassis as guides. While these are not quite exact, once painted blue they will give the right character to the model.
     
    At the stage shown in the photo, I am leaving the solvent to set properly before filing the lower parts of the buffer beams to match the sides. I also forgot to file those little pointy extensions back a bit so the outer surfaces are inboard of the main fairing, which should continue the straight line angled up towards the cab doors. That will be corrected when I remove the body later.
     
    I have also removed the BR arrows and cab numbers so I can repaint (patch painting) those areas and renumber and decal to represent an early blue example from the later batch, which means BR arrows on each cabside and pre-TOPS numbers on the bodysides behind the cab doors. It will most likely become 5539 or 5555, both of which are from the later blue star series, both with the green livery style number typeface, and both without the 'D' prefix, in or around 1969 and 1970.
     

  4. SRman
    Well, I have now done 14 of the door springs, so one side done! It is extremely fiddly fitting the small, semi-circular bits of plastic! I was using my Opti-visor with its built in light to see what I was doing, and two thirds of the way through this process, we had a power cut! I just carried on while the ladies in the house squealed and muttered something about finding some candles. Fortunately for everyone else, the power came back on after a few minutes!
     

     
    Next jobs are to do the other side, add the bangers to the solebar sides, fill any minor gaps in the floor of the wagon, then glue the sides on and lastly paint it all ... after repeating all the previous steps for the second wagon! I'll probably do one in early black and the other in the slightly later olive livery, then weather it all down again.
  5. SRman
    Another project started and a little further progress on existing projects: I have started on the first of two Cambrian Kits Sturgeon A wagons, their kit C82 (the ones with the side doors still in place). Progress will be slow because each wagon has seven doors per side, with two handrails, two door springs and two door bangers per door! Thats 28 of each item per wagon!.
     

     

     
     
    Work is also continuing slowly on finishing the buses and coaches. The green Little Bus Company Hants & Dorset Bristol MW/ECW now has the main painting completed and windscreens fitted. It is also shown with the red Wilts & Dorset one I completed a couple of years ago.
     
     

     
     
    Putting the sides together for the sturgeon A wagon. Each side is made up from four pieces (three double doors and one single), which are supposed to go together in a particular order (marked with tine pips on each part). I put these together using a steel rule to keep them straight.
     
    Next, I have started adding the handrails. I have done 14 (not yet glued in) with another 14 to go for this wagon, and another 28 to do for the second wagon! Also in the photo is the bending jig I used, using the 7mm setting to bend all of these, although the Cambrian instructions also include a template intended for a piece of wood and some pins.
     

     
     
    After this, there are 28 door springs and 28 door bangers to add to each wagon, again, 14 per side.
     
    At this rate, it might take a little while but I'll have a whole heap of models all completed at the same time.
  6. SRman
    Further to the last post, I have painted the tyres on the coach wheels for the Duple Commander bodied Southdown Leyland Leopard. I think they work in this new installation, in spite of the extra diameter.
     

     
     
    I have also started on another Little Bus Company resin kit, this time a Bristol MW bus with ECW body from 1958 or so, to go into Hants & Dorset livery.
     

     

     

     
     
    All work done at this stage has been achjeved using an optivisor type magnifier because I can't yet focus on closer objects. I am typing this using a 60" TV set and an HDMI cable from my laptop, so apologies for any typos or other errors.
  7. SRman
    I am reporting a little further progress with the three coaches I have been working on. The Southdown ones have had a little further tidying of the paintwork (no photos as you cannot tell the differences!) while the H & D Bristol LS has had a coat of Tilling cream and some initial touches of Tilling green, plus the seats painted.
     
    The Tilling green was used on the mudguards, wheels and thin strips between the chrome 'bumper' strips. It still needs another coat of cream and all of the chrome trim picked out.
     

     
     
    Also on the workbench were two pristine Corgi Trackside Ruston industrial machines, a crane and a back shovel. They are not pristine any more!!! I have weathered them both down a bit. There may be a few more touches to do but overall I think they are coming up well and don't look too glossy and toy-like. See what you think.
     

  8. SRman
    After a longish spell of not doing anything with the buses, concentrating more on the trains and layout building, I have resumed work on the Southdown pair I started a couple of years ago.
     
    I painted the seat units today and touched up some of the body paint work. There is more to do but they are looking somewhat more complete, nearly ready for glazing. I find painting the seats rather tedious, particularly doing the antimacassars on coaches or the seat back handrails on buses.
     
    The First two photos show the Little Bus Company (LBC) Southdown Commer TS3 with Beadle body.
     

     

     
    The next two pics show the LBC Southdown Duple Commander bodied Leyland Leopard. The white wheel trims form a light undercoat for the silver that is to follow.
     

     

     
    And now, the latest arrival from LBC, a 1951 Bristol LS6G coach with ECW's early style of wrap-around windscreens. I was planning to convert this to a Royal Blue version with rear roof luggage rack but I have decided that this is a little too difficult to do. There is the possibility that LBC may produce the Royal Blue variant later, if there is sufficient demand. These pics show it with the castings cleaned up and primed: grey primer for the chassis and seats, white primer for the body as it will end up in Tilling cream with green mudguards as Hants & Dorset ran them.
     

     

     

  9. SRman
    Remember the 'Tin' 2 HAL I started and had running some time back? Up until now it hasn't had any markings or insignia on it at all. I have now added the first class yellow stripes above the relevant windows and numeral 1s on the doors, plus small yellow warning panels on the cab fronts.
     
    I will have to hand paint some of the fiddly bits on those front yellow panels before adding the black triangle on the one at the van end (the driving motor coach). The coach and unit numbers in yellow will follow and later, I will add the first class and no smoking stickers on the relevant windows.
     

  10. SRman
    I have started on the motor bogie sideframe modifications to suit the Replica Railways motorised chassis. Because there is a 1mm difference between the motor bogie wheelbase on the chassis compared to the kit sideframes (accurately modelled), I have removed approximately 0.5mm from the sideframes on either side of the central airbag and spring plank.
     
    I file down the Replica blank sideframes to match the profile of the kit versions then glue the lot together with solvent. The Replica frames support the kit ones so there is no problem with weak joints.
     
    Photo 1 shows the first one with the ends of the sideframes glued in place, lined up carefully to the correct axle centres. The centre section could then be trimmed carefully to fit neatly between the outer bits.
     

     
    Photo 2 shows the first frame done and the second one in bits with the Replica frame behind partially filed down.
     

  12. SRman
    I have made good progress on this project.
     
    I wired the chassis back up, initially for a quick test on DC power, which involved tack soldering the feed wires to the brush wires. It ran perfectly, so the next step was to wire in a decoder. I chose a TCS M4 that I happened to have lying around. While I am only using two functions at the moment (for the headlights), it leaves the way open to improving the lighting later with separately worked tail lights or cab lights, if I so choose. One correction from the last post: the PCB I referred to did not, in fact have a resistor; it had two diodes and the actual lighting is provided by incandescent grain of rice bulbs. This meant I could discard the PCB completely from this project and wire the lights directly to the decoder.
     
    The presently unused purple and green wires were left intact and secured out of the way. The blue, yellow and white wires were also tacked temporarily out of the way and the red and black wires were shortened and connected to the track pickups and the orange and grey wires were similarly shortened and connected to the brush feeds. I removed the capacitor at the same time. The decoder was secured to the top of the can motor with a piece of double-sided thick tape that also acts as an insulator. I tested again on the programming track, and it all read properly. Address 9222 was allocated (for 92 022).
     
    A quick track test proved it ran very sweetly indeed. You can also see the shiny bits where I ground the height down a little.
     

     
    After that test, the lights were wired, noting which way the locomotive had run, so the white wire was connected to the forward bulb and yellow to the rear, with the blue common return connected to both.
     
    Photo with lights on at the forward end:
     

     
    ... and photo with the light off so you can see the wiring a bit better.
     

    The body was clipped back on and it had its first run around the layout, minus couplings.
     

     
     

     
     

     
    The lighting is fairly crude and is crying out to be improved ... later! The whole cab is illuminated at the moment when the headlights are turned on, as are the tail lights in white. It works as well as I had hoped, though and that's the main thing.
     
    There are still a few minor things to do. I did fit couplings immediately after the last photo. It could do with some handrails on the ends. The cab interiors need painting, which would also reduce the lighting effect. The body is still sitting about 0.5mm too high on the chassis.
     
    I made a small error with the undergear and stuck one small bit on the wrong side so will fix that later too. I suppose my only other problem with it is that I cannot tell which is the front (for DCC operation purposes)!
  13. SRman
    As a quickie project, I bought a Hornby class 60 on eBay for a quite reasonable sum with the intention of updating the old class 92. I made a previous attempt to improve it with a 5-pole armature and DCC decoder but it still didn't run as well as I would really like. In some ways it is almost a shame to lose the EWS 60 as the only fault with it was the windscreens were broken (easily replaced if I wanted to).
     
    The real class 92s used a very similar body shell to the 60s and after examining the 92 shell and 60 chassis, I decided that it would fit, provided I removed the PCB. I also found after test fitting that I needed to grind a little metal off the two metal 'towers' along the edges f the chassis block - only about 1 millimetre was removed.
     
    The body shell, cab interiors and lighting blocks fitted very neatly , with a small amount filed off the mounting spigots and spacer moulded on to the clear plastic lighting blocks..
     
    Next I have had to remove the class 60 fuel tanks, compressors and battery box mouldings, then cut off the class 92 electric equivalents file down those to fit the 60 chassis. I fitted one of the choke mouldings (I think that's what it represents) to fit over the metal ridge on the chassis (also ground down a bit). The other bits still await filing and fitting but I have made good progress, considering I only started this on Christmas Day and it is now Boxing Day!
     
    I have to rewire the beast but that's not difficult. I intend reusing the small PCB with resistor and diode from the class 92 but if that doesn't work, I have plenty of resistors suitable to wire each end's lights separately to the decoder white and yellow wires.
     
    Here is a photo posed on the temporary workbench. I'll post one of the chassis separately next time and of the finished product when it is done.
     
    I have already added the etched tunnel rings and will shortly be ordering the Shawplan BR arrows and Charles Dickens nameplates.
     
    I'm looking forward to having a class 92 model that will actually run very smoothly and haul trains that suggest the 5,000-odd horsepower available on third rail!
     

     
    Edit: I have to reglue that missing shoebeam - it can be just seen at the left, in front of the locomotive. I have glued them on several times with a superglue but obviously the plastic is resistant to that particular glue!
  14. SRman
    Two more pics of the LCDR brake van going into SECR livery - the second coat of Humbrol 79 has been applied. I have posed it with the as yet crewless Bachmann 'C' 0-6-0 in magnificent full SECR lined green.
     

     

     
    Also visible in the upper photo is the recently repainted Dapol track cleaner which was in Hatton's dark grey and white livery but is now in simplified BR blue and grey livery.
  15. SRman
    Inspired by the newly arrived Kernow/Dapol Western locomotive, I decided to try to upgrade the brake gear on my Heljan example, D1007 Western Talisman. This involved cutting the plastic pull rods off and substituting wire, inserted into drilled holes in the end brake shoes, as well as shortening the mounting lugs behind the shoes to narrow the fittings down. More work is still needed as it doesn't quite go around the sharper curves yet. I need to fiddle around more to get the clearances right but the improvement in appearance will be worth the effort, I think.
     

  16. SRman
    I have been working on the Golden Arrow Productions Z class 0-8-0T, the body kit for which arrived last week. Rather than duplicating everything so far, I have hijacked Norwenglish's thread that deals specifically with this model, here http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/74548-gap-z-class-kit/page-1. This uses a Hornby motor-driven Stanier 8F chassis but involves a lot less modification than the one in the G16 kit.
     
    While most of the previous posts about the Z could equally well belong here, I have duplicated only the most recent post, in part because it also shows further work on the G16 and on a Triang 'Nellie' 0-4-0T that I have been detailing up as a 'quickie' project. This was prompted by the sudden availability of some Romford wheels and axles of a suitable size, cascaded from re-wheeling my Craftsman class 07 diesel shunter with newer and truer Markits wheels. The 'Nellie' has received separately fitted handrails as well, and now has some etched brass spectacle frames (the front ones have been filled and filed to match the rear ones)..This loco will eventually be finished in lined black.
     
    The finer detailing continues on the Z. I mixed a bit of Milliput to repair the holes and gaps in the resin castings and used that to make some crude clack valves. Once painted these shouldn't look too bad. After some digging through photographs, I have worked out that the rather delicate lifting links for the valve gear were covered by boxes on the footplate after nationalisation (or possibly even just before!). I have made boxes of approximately the right size from two pieces of 60 thou plasticard laminated together.
    There was also one more little wire handrail/handle on the smokebox door to do and that can also be seen in this latest photo.
     

    The G16 has also had my crude Milliput clack valves added.
     
    The sheet of etched brass spectacle frames, the rear ones with coal bars on, are from Mainly Trains and I will use these on the Z. I have also used a set on the Triang 'Nellie' project which can be sen at the rear of the photo.
  17. SRman
    I managed some further work on the brake gear on the ex-LCDR brake van on the weekend. All rigging is now in place - at least, all the rigging I am ever going to do! - but the tops of the brake blocks are not yet anchored. I have threaded the tops through holes in the floor. Where I managed to break off the top strips I have soldered short lengths of wire for the same purpose. The last photo shows these projecting inside the van body and also my stove, made from a resin barrel with a brass tube stuck into it! The tops of these strips or wires will be bent over to locate the blocks at the correct height, then araldite will be used to fix them permanently.
     


     

  18. SRman
    A couple of shots of the Bachmann SECR 'C' class from my phone camera, using only the effects available on the phone. I actually took these to show off the newly painted crew, which actually look a little too glossy still - matt varnish coming up shortly! The full colour originals show the true colours, then the 'sepia' and 'antique' effects on two of the shots show how they might have looked at the turn of the 20th century. I was unsure what colours to use for them so made it up as I went!
     
    My good friend Graham in Brisbane picked up the crew for me on his recent trip to Britain.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    All that's missing are steam and smoke effects (these would not be in the spirit of the 'How realistic are your models' thread if I was to photoshop them in but I may yet do it for my own satisfaction). I will do something about that metal coal load, too!
  19. SRman
    The Cambrian kits have progressed to the paint shop. These photos show the first rough coat of paint. The photos are always one step behind progress and I have now painted the black undergear and buffers. Also in the photos is the newly arrived Heljan class 16 D8404 with Stratford style yellow panels.
     

     

     
    Neither wagon's colour is entirely correct but they are close! More to come soon.
  20. SRman
    Last weekend I went to the Australian Model Railway Association's (AMRA) annual exhibition at Caulfield race course, as a member of the British Railway Modellers of Australia's (BRMA) stand.
     
    I took along a couple of simple Cambrian wagon kits to construct when I needed a break from operating the demonstration layout. However, that didn't happen and I spent most of the time operating, demonstrating or just talking, but not building anything!!
     
    Today I decided to sit down and build both kits. It took me most of the morning but they were pretty straightforward. Both kits were of open wagons so I wouldn't have had to worry about prepainting anything for the exhibition and both are intended to strengthen the train of Private Owner wagons that my pre-grouping locos can pull (most notably the SECR liveried C class 0-6-0).
     
    One was an LBSCR D1369 5-plank wagon of 1912 to 1926 build, with a choice of ends, which I built in its early guise with the curved tops and sheet rail, plus early pattern brake gear. The other was an LSWR 8-plank D1316 open of 1904 to 1925 build, done with its original doors and early brake gear on one side only (optional later pattern doors are supplied), plus the sheet rail.
     
    The only parts of the construction that gave me any pause for thought were that early brake gear (trying to follow the instructions carefully) and fitting the Parkside NEM coupling pockets at the correct height. The latter was done with a bit of trial and error using the Bachmann Firestone wagon as a guide (itself an anachronism in the previously mentioned pre-grouping train as it dates from 1928 at the earliest, which is when the Firestone factory in Brentwood opened!). The coupling mounts were packed using some 40 thou plastic on the LBSC wagon and 60 thou on the LSWR one.
     
    They are yet to be weighted and painted but here are a couple of photos to show the state of play so far.
     

     

     
    Note that I had to use a little filler on the 8 planker and it hasn't been cleaned up yet in the photos.
  21. SRman
    Work continues apace on the class 450 conversion. I have taken a couple of photos showing all four cars, with the first two all but complete, the third prepared to accept the vinyls and the fourth with the first coats of red paint on the roof but otherwise untouched.
     

     

     
    And another two with the vinyls now applied to the third (composite) coach. I scraped the existing "first class" wording off the windows with a wooden cocktail stick before applying the vinyl sides. I have also altered the line of the red swoop on the existing driving car plus added a bit of red at the bottoms of all the passenger doors.
     

     

     
    One driving coach left to do then I can take a few photos of it in service as a complete four-car unit. I will see about filling and patching the holes in the pantograph well in due course.
  22. SRman
    Work is proceeding slowly on converting the Bachmann class 350/1 into a SouthWest Trains class 450,, with the second coach now pre-painted then having had the Electra overlays added.
     
    My back has been healing slowly so I can spend longer per session at the workbench but I am still only dealing with one coach at a time. I have been painting the whole coach with a thin coat of dark blue as a primer coat (the driving coach used a Revell colour but al subsequent ones are using/will use Humbrol #15. This is followed by a coat of the 'Barbie' blue on the roof and ends and lower solebar panels.
     
    I have now realised that the red of the doors stops a little short of the footboards so I will be painting the door bottoms red before applying the next vinyls and will have to do the existing two coaches as well.
     
    Anyway, here are two hurriedly taken photos of the pair done so far. I do still have to redo the pantograph well and file, patch or fill the holes left over from removing all the 25kV equipment.
     

     
     

  23. SRman
    Last post on this topic for today!
     
    I have added a little of the 'Barbie' blue along the bottom edges of the sides, retouched the 'swoop' stripes around the front and touched up the black on the 'buffers' and gangways. The stripes are sill very rough and the vinyls require trimming around the tail lights but it is taking shape.
     

     
    That isn't a stain or patch on the sofa behind; I doctored the photo to remove a distracting red and blue bag on the sofa!
     
    For anyone wondering, here's what you get in the pack from Electra Railway Graphics (great service from Adam, too!):
     

     
    It includes the one-piece side overlays for four coaches (the missing pair from the photo are the ones I have already used, of course!), the roof red and orange flashes (two but only one in the photo because I have used the other), pantograph well blanks, gangway door covers, unit end numbers and a heap of destinations in dot matrix style. The vinyls are actually clear so the windows go straight over the existing ones on the model and include the interior stickers ('no smoking' and the like), all pre-cut and self-adhesive so they only have to be peeled off the backing sheets.
     
    The second side on this first coach went on more quickly than the first (practice makes perfect!), although I think I may have stretched it ever so slightly so that the windows on the second set of doors didn't quite line up perfectly and the last two side windows had the tiniest amount of the factory colour showing at the lower edges. The discrepancies are very small and won't show when in service on the layout, especially as the underlying colour of the doors and window surrounds was dark blue anyway.
  24. SRman
    To illustrate what I said in the previous post, here is a photo of the front part of the red and orange 'swoops' modified to show nearer where they should be going. I have subsequently trimmed the lower orange bit and reseated it at a slightly better angle. The point of the red should end under the headlight and intersect the tail light while the orange should pass under the taillight with only a very slight overlap of the rim.
     

     
    Fixing this will entail a little hand painting although that's not too bad to do. The ERG vinyls take a lot of the drudgery out of doing this livery. For completeness, I will also have to add some red stripes around the inner ends to continue the lower body stripes.
     
    Edit: I took a quick (rushed! Sorry about the blurriness) photo of the corrected angle and position for those front stripes. There is too much red and orange showing still but it gives a better idea of what should be.
     

     

     
    As can be seen, in daylight the 'Barbie' blue is slightly different but it's as close as I will get to being correct for now. I think it is better than leaving the roof in the dark grey it left the factory with, and likewise at the inner end it is better than leaving the light grey.
  25. SRman
    Just a quick update on the LCDR brake van. I have added the buffers plus several more coats of paint. The white roof in particular needs many light coats to prevent it looking too clean and white (I used a pale grey as a primary coat for that reason).
     

     
    Still to be added are the footboards and brake gear, the latter being particularly frustrating for me as I can't make head or tail of the instructions! In addition, I don't like the etched brass 'wooden' brake shoes so I think I will have to use them as templates to cut them out of 40 or 60 thou plasticard with wire mounts. Even so, if I don't get this spot on, those full-length footboards will hide a few discrepancies (or short cuts!!).
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