luke_stevens

What are the axle lengths like? I'd assume a 3mmgauge axle would be longer than a TT120 axle? Luke

Undercoat! I'm going to be using the Lifecolour BR blue (new version?) and whilst I like Lifecolour I'm happier with Vallejo. So thsi is the first undercoat coat using Vallejo 71.090 Dark Sky Blue https://acrylicosvallejo.com/en/product/model-air-en/deep-sky-71090/. It's a tone or two darker than BR blue so will work as a "shadow" layer. There will be more coats of this before I move onto the Lifecolour.

Having picked up a cheap 00 Mainline/Dapol outside framed Siphon G I thought some comparison photos would be interesting. TT120 really is much smaller. Thus I really shouldn't try to include too much detail! The Osborn's Models kit underframe is more accurate. The 00 model has 2 gas cylinders and 2 brake cylinders?!? It also doesn't have the American bogies.

Time for some roof work. The putty is Humbrol Model Filler, but my tube is going off so I've been adding Liquid Polly to the filler to make it smooth (even runny) https://uk.humbrol.com/products/31ml-model-filler-tube-ae3016 The purple stuff is Humbrol Maskol which I am using just as if I was painting, to prevent the filler sticking where I don't want it to. tps://uk.humbrol.com/products/maskol-28ml-bottle-ac5217 Sanded down wit a medium grit sanding stick First coat of pant (applied by brush) The need for me to do this isn't anything to do with the kit, but my carelessness in assembly!

Thanks for the encouragement to return to my 33 :) I got distracted, initially by a Bulgarian 06 and then a TT120 Siphon G, both of which are now almost finished... Luke

Buffers chemically blackened and glued in place. Body given a light grey primer coat (Vallejo: https://acrylicosvallejo.com/en/product/hobby/surface-primer-en/grey-70601/) to show up mistakes. Yes I got the roof slightly twisted. It's down on the right on both sides. I also seem to have over pressed the roof down at the right ends, so I've started to gently sand them down to make things less obvious. I need to give the roof another primer coat but the body seem ready for BR blue (Lifecolour: https://airbrushes.com/product_info.php?products_id=20602). The underframe is Underframe dirt (Lifecolour: https://airbrushes.com/product_info.php?products_id=20712) Maybe I should "patch" the roof corner as if it is a repair? Luke

Some of my previous shots were a bit too enlarged! The striations are very minor, even at a normal modelling distance let alone to 3ft / 1m usual viewing distance. 1) The major parts ready to be assembled. The black cylinder is the brake cylinder, and I think I may have made a mistake. When I go the kit the circle in the underframe was still present so I glued to 3 parts to make the cylinder. It then fell out... I think it shouldn't have been there and then I could have glued the brake cylinder to the floor of the body, giving it the right height and acting as a registration point. I may modify as the build progresses... 2) Sides attached with Deluxe Material Aliphatic Resin Glue https://deluxematerials.co.uk/collections/all-products/products/aliphatic-resin-112g and held in place with Tamiya masking tape As a note, the two parts of the sides were glued together with the same aliphatic Resin Glue but the bottle I have is getting a bit stodgy so I thinned it 1:1 and then applied with a wide soft foam brush to the back of the outer framing. I then clamped them together between 2 steel rulers and the provided clamping plates (wrapped in clingfilm so they didn't stick) and a piece of card in the middle of the sandwich.

One aspect that was worrying me at the start of the build is that the roof was just a piece of laminated card. I've tried sticking flat card to a curved surface in the past and things haven't gone well as the flat surface wants to "unpeel" from the curved supports. Previously i had tried bending with my fingers but getting a constant curve proved "difficult", so this time I decided to bend the card with round formers. The 3 tubes are large brass, medium aluminium and small brass. no particular measurements but they need to be smaller than the radius you want as the card will not curve to the size. In the pics I'm using the back of a nail sanding blocks but the back of a mouse mat would do fine. 1) the roof has had a general roll but now I'm working on the edges which are the most difficult to get right. 2) Unlike with brass the technique is more of pressing the tub / bar into the surface than rolling it. 3) Close enough for the moment! Luke

With a coat of black acrylic primer things look much smoother! I will need to do a second coat as I've missed a couple of deep parts and have finally fitted the second coupling.

Yes, I certainly wish I'd prepped the battery boxes before I installed them, but I would have had to remove them from the fret first. In general the surface of the wood didn't fiber-up as I'd expected. It is more that the grain "valleys" were greater than I realised. As always the "second" model will be better! I've been using nail polish blocks, tiny diamond files and, especially, the Albion Alloys 3mm sanding sticks. Before and after priming I've been using the grey sticks, very lightly, usually followed by the finest-but-one of the Gaugemaster Modelling Sanders https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/gaugemaster-gm620-flexible-modelling-sanders-90x19x6mm.html Very thin! For some pieces (axle boxes) they were hardly there at all. For others they were scarcely thicker than a human hair! Luke

The parts have now had a couple of lights coat of Tamiya Deck Tan with a gentle sand after each coat. After the second coat I used some Humbrol Model Filler diluted with Humbrol Liquid Poly to give it a thin almost runny consistency. 1) both bogies. These both needed quite a bit of filler, mainly on the axle boxes which have a sloped front. If the bogies were to be a light colour then I'd do another round of fill, sand and paint, but as they are going to be painted black then underframe dirt I don't need to 2) The tops layer of the side etch. It has amazing detail but as I mentioned before sanding to remove the striations will remove too much detail. I have done some sanding on the diagonal framing as there was room but the doors are just too small for anything more than a scrape. 3) and 4) The ends have been sanded, painted, sanded, filler and rescribed. 5) General view of the underframe from too close up! 6) Horrifically close up of the batter box! Above the truss member you can see the laser etched surface of the battery box. I really should have sanded, filled and sanded before I assembled the underframe. Since I took these photos I have pained the bogies and underframe black but I'll wait for daylight to take photos. I think I will next tackle to roof before assembling and attaching the sides as it will give me better access. Luke

The latest seem to be '81 https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/?q=Fruit d

Rule 1) It's your railway. I'm putting one into BR blue so mine is more anachronistic than yours would be! And just becasue something is "withdrawn" doesn't mean it isn't still working: several Hymeks refused to be withdrawn for months. It could also be that it was withdrawn somewhere on the system and is slowly making its way back to Swindon for scrapping (Or Didcot for preservation), or to departmental service... No, there doesn't seem to be any books specifically on Fruit, Fish or Cattle, but I would expect the Fruit to have survived longer as a useful wagon that didn't smell, unlike the Fish :) Luke

As I have "the book" I may be able to help! Lot 1347 was for 20 Siphon's (the closest to the Osborn's Models kit) Withdrawn 1x 9/58 1x 1/60 1x 9/60 1x 8/61 1x 11/61 1x 4/62 4x 6/62 2x 8/62 2x 11/62 6x 12/62 The book gives no indication on what sort of services these would have been in. For some other batches individual Siphons had dedicated duties. They would have most lily have been in maroon livery but could still be in the earlier crimson. Hope this helps :) Luke

This morning I gave the frets a light coat of Tamiya deck tan to work as a primer coat. I was surprised at the lack of grain showing on the primed surfaces. The "normal" surfaces needed the lightest of polish, but the laser eroded surfaces such as the battery boxes and coach ends needed quite a bit of work. I haven't any photos as I've given the relevant parts another coat, this time hand painted. The ends are fine but I really wish I'd at least pre-sanded the battery boxes before I installed them as they are now difficult to access. The long detail side eroded piece really need sanding but there is so much detail (strapping, hinges, locks, etc) that it is really difficult to make much difference without damaging the detail. Tomorrow will be another sand, another light spray coat and a final sand. I should then be able to assemble to body and start on forming the roof :) And spray the bogies and underframe black. There are a couple of points where I think there are minor errors in the kits design (not it's accuracy) but I'll wait until I've finished to discuss them. Luke

New sides and ideally new bogies. The first would be easy for Osborn's Models. The second is more difficult. I think the kit would also benefit from an etched brass component sheet with the prominent end lamp irons, the end handrails and, even though they are already in stiff card, the end steps. A piece of wire for the vacuum cylinder actuator and handle, though that may be just too small. Luke

Right, research "wot I 'ave lermt" The Osborn's Models Siphon G is a Diagram O.11 as it is outside framed. There were six batches of O.11 built between 1912 and 1926. The first two batches had different trussing arrangements. Of the 4 remaining batches 3 had gas lighting with a large horizontal gas cylinder obvious on the underframe. The Osborn's Models does not have this cylinder, though the underframe has a cut out above where it would go. The Model comes with battery boxes so is part of batch 4, lot 1347 which had electric lighting. The Siphons were delivered with a variety of bogie types which got changed around. Lot 1347 ran from 1290 to 1309 and the last 7 were withdrawn in Nov/Dec '62. In BR days they were painted as passenger vehicles starting in crimson livery and going into maroon. There are several Siphon G's preserved but most are of later designs that O.11. The O.11 that is preserved is the gas lit 1257, which the Osborn's Models does not portray. But I want mine in BR Blue and so it shall be :) Rail-Tec transfers offer Blue livery Siphon G decals in TT https://www.railtec-models.com/showitem.php?id=5735. None of the numbers on the sheet are correct for the Osborne's Model, but there is a W1310 and a W1048 which, lighting and eyesight permitting with combine to give W1304. All of this is "close enough" :) Luke

Research! Turns out that my original idea of this early style Syphon G being in blue, with the "American" bogies isn't correct but... Rule 1) It's my railway! The later style of Syphon G's did get into BR Blue as Newspapers, Enparts and BR Engineering olive grey. All had later bogie types.

I'll let you know how things go!

I think someone asked about coupling heights... Damned near perfect, even with my building skills! The instructions talk about using superglue or making a covering piece to hold the coupling in place. As you can see from where the black coupler box is visible a cover piece wouldn't work. Using an old bottle of Rocket Superglue Medium I spread a little glue on the top face of the coupler box and then pressed it in place (I'd already test fitted it). I had removed the coupling before I glued the box into place to remove the possibility of gluing the whole thing solid...

Much to my immense amazement the bogie runs! And smoothly too! Pic1 Pic 2 with the springs at the top Pic 3 with the spring at the bottom. You can see the extra pieces I've added for support. Without these there is nothing for the spring to glue to. I think it must be designed for the spring to attach to the bogie frame but I tried that and it just looks wrong. Pic 4 from the side Pic 5 Horrid and unclear enlargement Pic 6 you can see here where I have filed down part of the springs to position them better

There is, of course, a much easier option: cut away that part of the brake shoe frame. In the centre it still supports the sideframes, at the far end attach the brake shoe to the subframe and brace. Result: no rubbing, tight clearance or binding. And no need for delicate filing! Luke

I have aliphatic glue to hand. So planned line of attack: Spray the frets with Tamiya lacquer, via an airbrush to control the spray fineness. Both sides of the side frets. When dry fine sand a respray Repeat the process for the coach ends. Glue the inner sides to the body carcass. Glue the outersides to the body carcass Make sense? Thanks for info. This becomes very clear with parts this small! Luke

Wheel face to wheel face = 14.6mm Inside frame unsmoothed 14.5mm Once I've squared up the edges it closer to 14.3mm. I can work with that though it will require the side frames to be perfectly vertical with little available slop which isn't great. Tillig wheel face to wheel face = 15.0mm Piko wheel face to wheel face = 15.0mm Visually the wheels provided with the kit are finer looking than the Tillig or Piko wheels (I can't find my Roco TT120 wagon at the moment)

Will do when I'm home.