davey4270
Western Thunderer
40. Rear Lamp Irons.
Yet another fiddling task trying to get all the fittings straight and level.
I’m not impressed with the fold up etches for the GWR style cranked lamp irons which are designed to fit in the side of the lamp as even with solder fillets in the folds they are very fragile. They either collapse when you solder them onto the bodywork or break after painting. As I’d used up all my spares from previous Agenoria kits I purchased a few sets from Laurie Griffin. I have a rear 3/4 L/H view of a sister loco so was able to estimate their position and drill holes for the spigots. Soldering the spigot through the bunker gives a positive location and extra strength to the fitting. I tinned the irons and with plenty of flux soldered them from the inside of the bunker. As this locomotive had a narrow footplate, the crank of the L/H lamp iron is hard up against the very edge of the bunker.
I didn’t have 3 cast fire iron rack hooks so had to go with the fold up etches supplied with the kit. These are a straight strip with a half etched fold slightly off centre. I formed the curve around a 2.0mm drill bit using the longer section and then bent the end out slightly hopefully giving them the correct shape. The remaining straight piece was then curved slightly to follow the shape of the bunker this is not too difficult but getting 3 the same is another matter! A spot of flux in the fold and a dab of solder strengthen them significantly. I tinned the back of the hooks, removed the odd rivet for them to sit flush and with more flux where they were to go, sweated them into position with a hot iron. Be quick here as you don’t want to undo any of the bunker seams. On the sister locomotive I could just make out that the top lamp iron which was situated on top of the bunker was of the normal “L” shape. I filed off one side of the spigot which allowed the remaining half to fit inside the bunker while the base of the iron sat on top. It was tricky holding it in position but once again soldered from the inside.
The final addition today was the tramway bell support which was folded up from the etch, corners strengthened with solder and then soldered in position on the footplate.
The primed frames are visible in this view and it looks like the upper left rear corner of the cab needs some attention.
Yet another fiddling task trying to get all the fittings straight and level.
I’m not impressed with the fold up etches for the GWR style cranked lamp irons which are designed to fit in the side of the lamp as even with solder fillets in the folds they are very fragile. They either collapse when you solder them onto the bodywork or break after painting. As I’d used up all my spares from previous Agenoria kits I purchased a few sets from Laurie Griffin. I have a rear 3/4 L/H view of a sister loco so was able to estimate their position and drill holes for the spigots. Soldering the spigot through the bunker gives a positive location and extra strength to the fitting. I tinned the irons and with plenty of flux soldered them from the inside of the bunker. As this locomotive had a narrow footplate, the crank of the L/H lamp iron is hard up against the very edge of the bunker.
I didn’t have 3 cast fire iron rack hooks so had to go with the fold up etches supplied with the kit. These are a straight strip with a half etched fold slightly off centre. I formed the curve around a 2.0mm drill bit using the longer section and then bent the end out slightly hopefully giving them the correct shape. The remaining straight piece was then curved slightly to follow the shape of the bunker this is not too difficult but getting 3 the same is another matter! A spot of flux in the fold and a dab of solder strengthen them significantly. I tinned the back of the hooks, removed the odd rivet for them to sit flush and with more flux where they were to go, sweated them into position with a hot iron. Be quick here as you don’t want to undo any of the bunker seams. On the sister locomotive I could just make out that the top lamp iron which was situated on top of the bunker was of the normal “L” shape. I filed off one side of the spigot which allowed the remaining half to fit inside the bunker while the base of the iron sat on top. It was tricky holding it in position but once again soldered from the inside.
The final addition today was the tramway bell support which was folded up from the etch, corners strengthened with solder and then soldered in position on the footplate.
The primed frames are visible in this view and it looks like the upper left rear corner of the cab needs some attention.