Downendian details

[John Tomlinson]

Neil,

 

In your picture of the split headcode 45 above, you say it is placed on the 44 chassis for the photo. If this is the 44 chassis you might think about removing the horizontal cylinder under the battery boxes, which is for air brakes, and not carried by 44's. As you are using a TOPS number I suspect the water tank that was carried here by the class when new would have been long removed. Just thought I'd mention it before you paint.

 

The 44 body with revised grilles is looking great and an incentive for those of us with a set in a cupboard to get off our behinds and use them!

 

John.

[Downendian]

Yes the 44 chassis has tanks added, it was bought secondhand and will be used for one of the 45s, and the bufferbeams painted black. I don't know why the previous owner had added them.

Thanks for looking in John.

Neil

[Downendian]

Some progress on the D1065 project this week. I've taken a hard look at the Heljan chassis for adding the brake rodding and other bits and pieces. Having bought some brass rodding from Albion alloys, I was gearing up to butchering some spare Heljan brake rods and attach to the existing chassis. Problem is, the Heljan chassis has misaligned brake shoes attached to the suspension unit of each bogie and unhelpfully cannot be removed as they form part of the mounting lug to the chassis. I've now come to the conclusion that the rodding and representation of the brakes is the weakest part of the Heljan model. The most famous criticism of the Heljan Western is the peaked cab roof - but I think this can be rectified adequately. The Dapol model also has of course an excellent representation of the scavenger fans - absent from the Heljan version. Mine has the first Shawplan grille etch - Which is adequate but not as fine as the grilles on the class 37/40 from the same supplier. Brian has told me that updated Western grilles are on the to do list, and these will be replaced when/if these become available.

 

So what to do? The representation of the brakes and rodding on the Dapol chassis is superb, and do align perfectly for OO. Whilst the wheels are slightly undersized, I decided to purchase a spare Dapol Western chassis from DCC supplies. So this isn't a cheap option- but this project was never about economy. So I've set about what I think is a first - a Hybrid Heljan/Dapol Western. Sure the Dapol Western body is a better starting point, but I've done a lot of work on my Heljan body. So Dapol chassis obtained, how does the Heljan body fit? It won't without modification to the bufferbeams - I had intended using the excellent Dapol valances, but with these in place (the valances slot into the chassis unit) the Heljan body does not fit. So I cut the Dapol bufferbeams off, and fitted the admittedly inferior Heljan valances and bufferbeams to the underside of the Heljan body. These assemblies are setting at the moment (epoxy/filler used to attach), and will probably need to fettle to fit to the Dapol chassis. I will then fashion some cross beams in the Heljan body to allow fixing to the Dapol chassis. Photos to follow.

Neil

Edited July 5, 2015 by Downendian

[Downendian]

Some quick iPad photos of this weekend and last's work.

The Dapol chassis is modified so that the bufferbeams are removed. The plastic under both cabs was cut, releasing the bufferbeam unit at both ends.

 

The Heljan Valances were added to the body, with blobs of milliput placed in each corner and mounted in place, and bufferbeams and lower valance epoxied in place. There is still a small amount of filling to be done to fill gaps on the valances. The body needs to be fettled (excess milliput filed back with Dremel) to get the chassis to fit, will do that this evening or later in the week when all has gone rock hard. I find the Heljan valances fiddly to work with. The holes in the side valances, to accept the bufferbeams are pigs. Once you fit the first time and remove to cement, the interference fit is broken - the holes in the valance seem to enlarge irreversibly. Lugs were cut off and cemented, and a good hour spent making sure all was square before the milliput hardened off.

 

I've painstakingly added filler to bring the grilles for the scavenger fans to be flush with the roof. Once the body fits the chassis there needs to be patch painting of the scavenger grilles, cab roofs and the Dapol chassis battery box covers.

 

Neil

Edited July 5, 2015 by Downendian

[jonny777]

I like that Western body photo, it reminds me of the ones I used to see on visits to Swindon Works, before they went to the paint shop.

[Fat Controller]

I like that Western body photo, it reminds me of the ones I used to see on visits to Swindon Works, before they went to the paint shop.

Agreed; apart from the over-large patches of grey on the cab roof and around the fans, it looks like quite a few Laira locos looked in service..

[Downendian]

D1065 is an extreme weathering project. Most of the faded blue/white will stay, I'm aiming for summer 1976 condition Jonny. Note the different horn cowl on the end closest to the camera! The other end has the headboard clips removed, about as specific as it gets for a Western. Apols for the photo resolution- a quick iPad job, will capture better ones with my SLR.

I have a couple of slides of D1065 still to scan will post when I'm close to getting towards the prototype. All I need is a rake of freightliners and I will have my June 1976 Danygraig-Stratford memories rekindled.

The grey on the cab roofs are primer ready for the re spray, and the scavenger grilles are still surrounded in milliput. Spray shops await.

Neil

Edited July 5, 2015 by Downendian

[Downendian]

Here's the look I'm after - it got much worse after this, eventually withdrawn 4/11/76 my 15th birthday.

A few 1976 shots of D1065 are on Flickr

 

https://flic.kr/p/9tL4te

D1065 at Aller Junction

David Hayes 22nd July 1976

 

https://flic.kr/p/74BVqD

https://flic.kr/p/74BVF2

https://flic.kr/p/74FPt3

D1065 Reading

Ian Allcroft 23rd October 1976

Edited July 5, 2015 by Downendian

[leopardml2341]

Here's the look I'm after - it got much worse after this, eventually withdrawn 4/11/76 my 15th birthday.

A few 1976 shots of D1065 are on Flickr https://flic.kr/p/9tL4te

D1065 at Aller Junction

David Hayes 22nd July 1976https://flic.kr/p/9tL4te https://flic.kr/p/74BVF2https://flic.kr/p/74FPt3

D1065 Reading

Ian Allcroft 23rd October 1976

Just how I remember it

[Downendian]

A very brief update - trying to get back in the old routine of Saturday morning modelling. All my spare time at the moment seems to be taken up with writing - I'm currently writing four chapters of an academic book, and I've just successfully got a paper from the research group in the excellent journal Clinical Chemistry.

 

For those that have bought the railroad TTS class 47 with the intention of fitting to Lima 47 bodies, I found this a very simple task requiring just a couple of cuts to the Lima body side glazing so that there is sufficient clearance for the railroad gear tower. A couple of brief pics - disassemble, glazing unit out, junior hacksaw cuts x2 and reassemble. Less than 30 minutes work. Don't forget you need to remove the buffers before removing both Lima and Hornby bodies from their chassis!

 

Glazing unit cuts on the left

 

 

 

Reassembled Lima body

 

The railroad chassis is very lightweight and will certainly need more weight, I will try and do this over the coming long winter as I have several railroad/Lima jobs on the horizon.

[Downendian]

Tree building

As part of my "more doing less buying" New Years resolution I've resumed my Saturday railway modelling sessions. At present my layout is being worked on - Patchton Gifford, a representation of Bristol in the early/mid 1970s with ocassional throw back to the early 1960s so I can run my steam roster. I hope to start a separate thread on that soon.

Meanwhile I'm adding to my South Gloucestershire forest that borders all of my running lines to represent the countryside around the Mangotsfield/Winterbourne/Westerleigh areas, North East of Bristol. I've built approximately 30 trees using a variety of methods, but all based around wire formers, a hot glue gun, sea foam sprigs and scatter foliage all held in place by hairspray (not telling the wife of course about that bit.

Although I appreciate that this will be old hat to some, my method is shown here with photos of a couple I've made today.

Stage 1 building the tree former.

Twisted florist wire of various thicknesses are twined together to form the trunk and major branches. By observing winter trees (and trying to make representations of different species by using the Collins field guide to British trees), the positions of branches (I.e. Mostly pointing upwards at 45 degrees) is obtained. I try to get an equal spread of branches so that the canopy is "umbrella like" and prototypical as possible.

 

Next I cover the former with hot glue from a gun. This can be done quite crudely and especially for oak trees are quite gnarled in nature. All is left to set hard, and then given a coat of red oxide primer, and in my cases here a topcoat of railmatch sleeper grime. Complete coverage is not critical and other shades maybe added and more spraying will come later anyway.

 

Next sprigs of sea foam are removed from the supplied plant - I obtained mine from DCC supplies, forest in a box, but have also grown my own. Some sea foam plants are almost good enough to use for trees, but I feel they look like nothing in our natural deciduous forests so tend to build all my own. The sea foam sprigs are then hot glued to the individual wire branches, and with care the glue is moulded to join the sprig to the glued wire former. Care it's hot - I know this rather well. Build the tree gradually attempting to get good symmetric shape and cover. I always have a well developed root system and ensure the trees stand perpendicular, this significantly helps getting things symmetrical.

 

Once you're happy with the general shape then spray the sea moss with the same colour as the trunk and branches. I spend a fair bit of time getting the wire bent to get a good shape and removing blobs and "cobwebs" of hot glue which form very fine strands if the glue is very hot. Then leave to dry thoroughly as mine are now doing overnight.

 

The next stage is to cover the sea foam with foliage, first I add brown static grass to represent twigs, sprinkled over the sea foam which are given a liberal hair spray. Then I follow with a mix of light, medium and dark greens from various suppliers including green scenes, woodland scenics and gauge master. I'll post the completed pair I've done today after they get this treatment.

 

The last photo is the growing forest on my layout - the lines to the right are steeply graded where trains descend/ascend to the lower deck storage yards via a helix. However this line is my representation of the line to Avonmouth, and Bath road based 25 227 heads a train of empty vans to the Fisons plant there.Those to the left are the main running lines, and one of my three (rare in Bristol) split box 37s, 37 086 heads a motley mix of parcels vans heading north on 3S15, Temple Meads to Sighthill.

Neil

Edited January 9, 2016 by Downendian

[Downendian]

An update, and poor iPad photo with bad light.

Sprayed sea moss with firm hold hairspray and mixes of various "leaves" of multiple shades of green from green scenes and gauge master.

Still some adjusting to do, remove leaves attached to branches and some weathering of the trunk, but you get the general picture.

 

 

Neil

[Phil Bullock]

Superb Neil!

 

Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns grow

 

Or as Ray Thomas had it...

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Mighty_Oaks

 

In the days when you bought an album for the cover artwork as much as the music!

 

Phil

[jessy1692]

Good looking tree that! iv got a load of sea foam to use and i think this florist wire might just be the inspiration i need to get on with forestation!

Cheers Neil

James

[Downendian]

Some more work this weekend on D1065 Western Consort in 1976 condition.

The following has been done

1. Resprayed cab rooves and scavenger fan groups

2. Removed tanks and battery boxes from Dapol chassis and Resprayed

3. fabricated fans from Shawplan and sprayed red, forgot to spray the roof walkways this morning, they were primed last night.

4. Remodelled valances as some had distorted during storage.

5. Painted lamp irons - one will need adjustment as mounted too close to the body.

6. Weathered roof with powders - here humbrol "smoke" and white around the boiler port. This helped blend in the blue with the Heljan factory finish.

Next week the chassis will receive attention and copious weathering.

 

It will now need varnishing to seal everything.

 

 

Neil

Edited January 17, 2016 by Downendian

[jonny777]

That is looking excellent Neil, as are the trees.  Looking forward to see the completed D1065.

[Downendian]

In addition to work on D1065 this weekend, I've sprayed the Golden Arrow resin body for my large-boilered S&DJR 7F project. It is sitting on a "saddle" of filler which will be painted later today. I've acquired a early crest Fowler tender (from another 7F) so will divorce this Deeley tender too. It will become 53807 the last large boilered 7F to be converted to the smaller boilered form modelled by Bachmann.

 

This was the first time I'd sprayed resin - an interesting experience needing multiple thin coats of BR black. I doubt very much Bachmann will ever release this model, so another variant in my steam roster.

 

 

Neil

[Downendian]

I'd lined up my large boiler 7F earlier with one of my DJH small boilered models to do some comparison shots. Something about the front end of the large boiler version jarred with me, it just didn't look right. Comparison with this photo

http://railphotoprints.Zenfolio.com/p932360234/h15B11C3F#h15b11c3f

Revealed the problem. The Golden Arrow smoke box door is too small. Cue a web search for a bigger MR pattern smokebox door to rectify, and I think 247 developments do an appropriate replacement, plus I need some Bath Green park shedplates, so order will be placed soon. If anyone knows of other alternative, please shout. Just a little bit disappointed with the Golden arrow casting.

Neil

Edited January 18, 2016 by Downendian

[jonny777]

I don't want to spoil this project, but the photo of the large boiler loco has a different style to the small boiler with its line of 5 washout plugs.

[Downendian]

Ah yes indeed it has Jonny, a spot of filling and more respraying, but the big one to me is the smokebox.

There's still work to do here, so any other "spots" like that gratefully received.

Neil

[jonny777]

You are right Neil. The smokebox door is the most noticeable. Presumably they just include the same door with either the small or large boiler?

[Downendian]

Golden arrow only do the large boilered 7F as a resin moulding, it's a shame that this big difference wasn't incorporated. I used the golden arrow moulding effectively as a boiler donor, so still have the firebox, which may already be minus the washout plugs, will dig it out an have a look when I resume work this weekend.

Neil

[Pete Harvey]

How is the peak coming on Neil?

[Downendian]

About to prime it Pete, small tweaks to the grilles as one needs fixing in the corner, but the various peak projects are next after these two.

Neil

[Downendian]

End of a hard afternoon's spraying, 44 009 Snowdon taking shape. Pete Harvey's excellent etched grilles for 44009/010 sprayed up very well. Resprayed the Bachmann blue and a touch of roof grime weathering, decals and touch ups to the headcode end tomorrow but I'm pleased with it. Quick iPad photo, I'll get the SLR out to get better pics when finished.

Neil