Andy Siddall

Hi George, I just stopped by to have a look as the title sounded interesting. Having now looked through the thread I will be popping back regularly to see this progress. Your skill and eye for producing the buildings is amazing. This really does capture the architecture of the area very well. Cheers Andy

Hi all, A quick update as to progress on the Buckjumper. The chassis is now chipped and fully assembled and has had a nice couple of hours running in on the rolling road. The body has had it's coat of black paint, but I am still waiting for the GER buffers to arrive before completing the paint job. Anyhoo, here's a pic..... Cheers Andy P.S. Yes, I have noticed that I have three sets of Front/Rear drivers on this side and that the other side has two centre wheels on it. This has now been corrected.

Hello, Not posted in a while so I thought that it was about time that I pulled my finger out and got something done. I have been very busy at work for the last few months working nice long 6 day weeks, however I am having a little respite at the moment so some progress has been made at my Workbench. The J69 has finally been finished and is currently in the paint shop, the chassis has been painted ready for a light weathering before the wheels go back on, and the Loco itself has been primed ready for painting later this week. Sadly the pictures were taken in poor light and then enhanced so are not the greatest of quality I am afraid. I finished the main build of the Loco last Thursday and since then I have started building a DJH Class 03 shunter, I should hopefully have pics of the near completed loco to post tomorrow. However I am in 2 minds whether to post them here on this thread or should I keep the topics of LNER steam and BR Diesels in separate threads. Any thoughts welcome. Cheers Andy

Hi Brian, 'Tis a very nice looking coach you're building there mate. Just reading through the thread and seeing that you are also having thoughts as to how the moquette patterning can be achieved. When I built my easibuild's I had exactly the same thoughts. In the end I went for a plain colour as you suggested above and to be honest once they are populated and inside a relatively dark coach interior, you cannot really tell that they are just one shade. The blue used on the above seats was Halfords Ford Baliol? Blue, but I am sure that rail blue would be a pretty good match too. easybuild seats are plaster casting and so the primer used can make a big difference to the colour, the BSK seats were primed with white primer and the 2nd photo with grey primer. However a friend of mine had a technique of spraying a base colour ie. the blue quite heavily and while it was still wet, spraying the second colour up over the top of the seats so that a dust of that colour fell onto the seats giving a dappled effect, this worked quite well but does require some practice and I am going to give it a try on my next coach. Cheers Andy

Hello, As I have not posted on here for a long tome so I though it was high time that I do something about it. Since posting last not a great deal has happened as I have been very busy at work and also with the great weather that we have been having, live steam in 5" gauge and 1:1 have taken priority. All has not been quiet though, the K1 progresses albeit at a very slow pace. I have however managed to find the time to build a couple more of Connoisseurs lovely van kits and one of Jim's 6 wheel coaches, I have also managed to make a start on an old Connoisseur J69 kit that I picked up a couple of weeks ago. Connoisseur S&D Brake 3rd Composite, a very nice and enjoyable kit to build, now awaiting painting and then an interior needs to be fitted. This coach will hopefully be the start of a short rake destined for a small layout that is currently sitting in the forefront of my mind. It will probably be painted in LNER coach brown, although wrong for this design I think it will look the part. A Connoisseur GER 10 Ton ventilated van, as with all of Jims kits, this one was as expected a joy to build in a couple of evenings. LNER 12 Ton Fruit Van, another nice kit to build, I now have all of the vans in the connoisseur range so will have to start looking elsewhere. I still need a dozen or so more for a reasonable van train for the J39 when built. Progress with the K1 has been slow, I still have the pickups, chassis detail and Motion to do, as well as detail parts to add to the loco body. I will crack on with this kit as soon as the inspiration hits again. A couple of photo's of the J69, Jim produced the etches for this kit as a special rerun a few years ago, I failed to purchase one at the time but my look was in when I found one on a trade stand a few weeks ago. As he no longer had the moulds for the castings he included those from the J68 kit, I shall however have to order some casting from Laurie Griffin for this as I wish to model a loco with the early stovepipe chimney as fitted to this class. I should really have waited until I had finished the K1 before starting this kit, however I like small tank loco's and I really like the running quality of the J68 and can see no reason why this should be any different. I intend to use the same motor and gearbox combination, Mashima 1833 Roxey 40:1 and Lenz silver decoder. Happy Modelling Andy

Hi John, I have just opened the box and I have used a 2k7 resistor for this one, running off of a 9v battery at the moment. I will probably have to increase that value as I intend to use a 12v supply for the final installation. Cheers Andy

Looking very good there Brian. It also seems to be coming along at your usual high speed put the rest of us to shame pace aswell . Can't wait to see it at Reading tomorrow. Cheers Andy

Hi John, Thanks for the kind words, I'm going to try a 2 doll balanced bracket next for my platform starters, it's quite addictive this signalling bug. Interesting comparison of the 2 LEDs there, I use the ones from rapid too. I found that by increasing the value of the resistor for the warm white LED I got a more convincing looking signal lamp, less of the searchlight if you know what I mean. Cheers Andy

Hi All, Thanks for the kind comments. JB, as richard says above it's just a case of building the standard servo4 board and then reprogramming the PIC to upgrade it to the SEMA4 software, bounce is then programmed into the servo movement using a pc to set the amount. I hope to have the servo 4 kit here next week so will start building it when it arrives and obviously post my progress on here , I have the signal mounted on a plastic box that will take all of the electronics as a demonstration unit. Cheers Andy

As I have not had a lot of free time for modeling lately, progress on the K1 has been virtually non existent, however I did get a morning to myself about a week ago. I decided that a quick project was required so spurred on by the John Fitness signalling thread over on the layouts forum, I decided to have a go at an MSE kit for an LNER Upper Quadrant Home signal that would be required for my test layout should it ever get built. All I can say about this kit is that with a little bit of care and a lot of patience, they are a nice mornings work when you fancy a rest from other projects. Here are a couple of pics of the finished item, the lamp uses a warm white LED to try and get that flame colour. It will ultimately be powered by servos using the MERG Servo 4 control board ( more later). Next signaling project will be a GWR home for a friend and possibly a pair of platform starters on a bracket for the test track. Cheers Andy

Hello, Very nice looking signals there John, also a big thanks as this thread has made me get off my back end and finally make an ER home signal that I have had waiting for months. I also intend to make the arm operate using the MERG servo 4 kit so have found this thread very interesting indeed. As to the debate of what light source to use I went for a warm white 'tungsten' LED as I thought that this was a reasonable match for a gas lamp, therefore I have used a turquoise colour for the lens, although I think it may still be a little on the blue side, so I shall experiment with other colours for the next one. Anyway thanks for all the inspiration for this project, and keep up the good work. Cheers Andy

Another couple of hours free to do a bit of work this morning has meant that the Boiler and smokebox saddle have now been built and fixed together. The cab has also been attached to the footplate. Here are a couple of pictures taken before I give it all quick wash and start cleaning up all the excess solder. Cheers for now Andy

Yes I agree, I never really planned one as it does not fit into either of my Periods, LNER mid to late 30's and Br Blue Grey Late early TOPS period. Then before you know it Parkside release the 21T Coal Hopper, you have 20 of these kits in all stages from unbuilt to complete, thoughts turn to the North East at the end of steam and you find yourself just having to build a loco to haul them. That's my excuse anyway , and they are a very nice looking engine after all even if E. Th****n did have an awful lot to do with them. Cheers Andy

Hello All, The B1 has finally been lined and is currently in the airing cupboard while the varnish dries, so pictures to follow. Work has started afresh on the Meteor K1, I finally took the plunge and got the fretsaw on the frames this morning and by lunchtime I had a nice sprung chassis waiting for the rest to be built. An afternoon spent repairing other peoples models meant that no further work was done until this evening. I have made a start on the body rather than completing the chassis as I find that this helps to see how it all goes together. I am out and about for the rest of the week so progress may be slow, however tomorrow afternoon I may just try and get the boiler on. Anyway enough waffle, here are a few pics of todays progress. Frames With Wheels Running Boards Cab This does appear to be a very well thought out kit, lots of spacers in the chassis for added strength and all slot and tab construction. The cab was a bit of a pain as the basic shape is a folded U etch with overlays for the front and sides. I shall leave the strengtheners on the valances for now as this does give some protection to the footplate assembly, until I have the boiler on to hold it all together. Cheers for now Andy

Well here we are once more, another wet and miserable Easter weekend. I have been working of late so not a lot of modelling time for me. Also tomorrow marks the start of my Model Engineering clubs summer season, so I better clean the B1 up and get her ready for steaming, this also sadly eats into the few hours I have for building. Still, this is just a short update regarding the small amount of progress on my workbench. The Y6 is finally finished apart from adding the transfers and numberplate, seen here on it's first run, it is now painted in LNER Stock brown. The J68 is now complete except for weathering, I spent a few hours yesterday adding the window glazing using microscope slide covers. Yes I did end up with a large pile of broken bits of very thin glass, this has got me thinking about modelling a glaziers yard if I ever build a layout. The B12 is well on the way to being painted and Lined, as is the tender for the K1. (photos to follow). Anyway, enough from me for now, must try and clean up the hornblocks ready for the K1. Take care Y'all Andy

Very nice weathering job you've done there Brian. Can't wait to see it in the flesh, as it were. Cheers Andy

Hi JB, I can't really justify the Y6 for any of my planned layouts either, although it has given a boost to my idea of an O gauge micro(ish)having a flavour of the LNER as it's theme. Thanks for the heads up on the cylinder covers for the J39, I will have to make a note for when I start researching. I think that will be a while away as I have still got to finish painting and lining the B12 along with the K1 build to complete. Cheers Andy

HI Everyone, Just getting back to RMWeb after the move and thought it was time for an update. The K1 Tender is now finished and is heading to the paintshop, as for the loco I do not have much time at the moment to get my teeth into a project like this so I decided to clear a few more kits from the to do list. Firstly I finished putting the transfers on this Gladiator Single Bolster, a nice kit to build and very cheap to boot. Secondly, I had a couple of Connoisseur van kits awaiting their turn in the queue. The first is the ex GC 10Tonner followed swiftly by the LNER Perishables van. These are all part of a slowly growing van train for my Connoisseur J39, which will hopefully be built later this year. Today I really did not know what to do, I didn't want to start the K1 as I am away with work next week and I didn't fancy starting another van, the next being a standard LNER fruit van. Instead I found a part built connoisseur kit for a LNER Y6 Tram loco. I had bought this kit many moons ago ( probably 10 years) at a swapmeet as a very cheap part built kit. the quality of build was not too bad, although luckily only the sides, end and floor with skirts had been done. The only problems I had was with some very badly tarnished and flux eaten brasswork. Anyway after a very pleasant day, here are a couple of pics of the Y6. All it needs tomorrow is wiring up and the coupling rods fitting. Hope you like them. Cheers Andy

Not managing much modelling at the moment due to finally getting some (real) work to do.. However all is not completely dead on the modelling front. I have finally started a Meteor ( now with gladiator) LNER Peppercorn K1 class locomotive. I intend to do this as 62005 in Early BR black livery, it should look rather nice dragging my rake of Parkside 21 Ton coal Hoppers around ( now up to 11 out of 18 complete). Anyway here are a couple of photo's of the Tender. Sorry about the quality but they were taken on a mobile phone to text to a friend. Cheers Andy

Nice one Ken. Here for Bill are a couple of pictures of the motor mounting in the Sentinel, I took these yesterday just before I sold the loco so I am afraid I will not be able to take any more pics. This loco was only motorised on one axle as I already had a fold up gearbox and motor spare. The instruction from meteor recommend a narrow gearbox from Roxey, this gives (just) enough room to get a Delrin chain sprocket down the side for two axle drive. The original instruction drawing from when the kit belonged to Janick, shows two plates holding the motor flat along the chassis and a worm on either end driving directly onto a gear on the axle. I purchased another kit for a sentinel yesterday which I intend to use the Delrin method for four wheel drive so watch this space...... Cheers Andy

Hi Bill and Everybody else taking the time to read this thread. A Merry Christmas and hopefully happy and healthy new Year to All. I will try and post a couple of photo's of the motor mounting in the Y3 when I am in a position to take a couple of pictures. For now we have a couple of pics of my J68 finished but not yet weathered, running on Holiday Haunts last weekend, with a nice little rake of LNER vans. Cheers Andy

Hi JB, Will try and do photo's of the J68 and B12 as they are finished. Just putting transfers on the 68 as we speak, the B12 needs a bit of modification to the handrails that I wasn't happy with (my error). I shall try and post photo's of the K1 as and when I continue the build. Having only really built Connoisseur and Agenoria kettles along with numerous diesels this will be an interesting build for me. I intend to spring the chassis using the fourtrack hornblocks now sold by Meteor the first time I have used this method, this will also be my first outside valve gear engine, so watch this space..... Cheers Andy (formerly Gronk619)