David Andrews 7mm Stanier 2 6 4 tank.

Peter Cross

Western Thunderer
Looks great Peter. I like watching your attention to detail.
I'm hoping it's the camera but the smoke box door hinge seems to be out of true.
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Many thanks Larry.

I'm not sure if I ever saw one in the flesh at Bradford Exchange. I think it was all Fairburns and maybe 80 thous.
It a shame one of the 2 cylinder versions wasn't preserved. Super locos.

Cheers,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Looks great Peter. I like watching your attention to detail.
I'm hoping it's the camera but the smoke box door hinge seems to be out of true.

Hi Peter,
Looking at it in the flesh, it is OK. Thanks again for querying it, as it's better to know now than when it's painted.

I only had a short spell at the bench due to family commitments, and was also distracted playing with my new lathe (see my other thread).

Anyway, here's an underside view of the pony truck showing the added details. I did in fact use the lathe to turn some brass rod for the spring mounting, but overlooked to take a photo before it was all soldered in place. To be honest, if wasn't the best bit of turning you'll ever see but it was a start.
20190524_190456.jpg

This is an earlier view showing the "basic" pony truck as provided by the kit parts plus the added axle boxes and keeps, but before replacing the springs and hangers and adding the stretchers and dummy side control spring.20190227_121015.jpg

At the rear end I made and added the missing rear tank support brackets to the frames above the bogie.
20190524_190541.jpg
20190524_190611.jpg

With the body on, they are not so obvious but can be seen.
20190524_190211.jpg
20190524_190330.jpg

20190524_190424.jpg

By rights, there should be two buffer beam support brackets between the frames and the beam, but adding them will foul the nut securing the buffer head and prevent its compression. I'll think about that.

And a confession. The bend in the cab step back plate is incorrect. I've got the vertical bend too high up as it should be just above the upper step. However, with the balance pipe and injector and pipes in place, if will be a mare to correct so I'm leaving it. Just a few more bits and Bob's to finish it off externally.
20190524_190244.jpg

In the cab, I'm thinking of plagiarising some of Nick Dunhill's work with cab floor boards and gauge glasses, but they may be wasted on such an enclosed cab. We'll see.

To possibly distract me further, my two Maxon motors and ABC gearboxes for the Finney A3 and Finney 7 A4 arrived today, so I may go off on a tangent and get them fitted, at least to the A4 so I can bring it to Doncaster for a buzz around the test track.
20190523_170613.jpg
Cheers,
Peter
 
Last edited:

P A D

Western Thunderer
Getting on to the backhead, I thought I'd have a crack at adding the gauge glasses, a la Nick Dunhill, as I have some 2mm square perspex rod sourced from Rob Pulham. Having tried previously to drill it with the Proxxon bench drill on the slowest speed and melted the rod, I decided to have a go on the lathe. The square rod was mounted in a collet which was fitted in place of the three jaw chuck. It centered quite nicely, not precisely, but fine for this application. With the bit in the drill chuck mounted in the tailstock, I carefully advanced the chuck while turning the collet by hand, having removed the drive belt from the pulley. It worked quite well. I did it first with a 0.7mm drill, but looking at Nick's W1 post, he appears to have used a smaller drill which gave a better appearance, so I did another length of perspex with an 0.5mm bit. Here they are laid on the backing paper lined with diagonal lines using a ruling pen. On the left is the 0.7 drilled example with the 0.5 on the right. The castings are also shown before I cut out the cast "glass".

20190527_222024.jpg

Here's a closer view of the perspex. The 0.5 drilled piece shows more of the lines so I'll go with that one. I reckon that if a short length of NS rod was put in the hole part way, it would show as the water level being half way up the glass. I'm going to pass on that though.
20190527_222105.jpg

Here the cab seats and inner window frames have been added. These would be better added in the flat before the side is in place as it's a bit of a faff cleaning up at this stage.
20190527_221519.jpg


T'other side with the reverse mounting frame. The frame is a two part etching which has a slot underneath to locate in the slot in the inner flank top. However, the slot is on the wrong side so I snipped off the tab and mounted the frame on the outer edge where it should be.20190527_221553.jpg

I made a start on adding the backhead details, but most of these are just loose for the photo as I need to drill the fittings for the pipework and cut out the brass gauge glass.
20190527_221429.jpg

A quick look with the back plate and reverse placed in the cab.
20190527_221404.jpg

Cheers,
Peter
 

Dan Randall

Western Thunderer
I reckon that if a short length of NS rod was put in the hole part way, it would show as the water level being half way up the glass. I'm going to pass on that though.

You'll probably want to pass on this too, but a short length of fibre optic cable of appropriate diameter might be better still - it would hopefully cause the light to refract, thus making the lines change direction, just as water does on the real thing.

(Nice work, by the way). :thumbs:


Regards

Dan
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Hi Dan,
Many thanks.

That's an interesting option, but yes I'll pass on that as well. Maybe Nick will consider it. ;)

To be honest, I think this detail is wasted in an enclosed cab but hey ho. I may even copy Nick wood floorboards as well but only if I can find my stock of veneer.

Cheers ,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
The backhead is now completed apart from adding the gauge glasses, which I will do after painting.
20190528_170833.jpg

Here a some views with the backhead in the cab along with the reversing mechanisms which is now glued to the base.
20190528_184248.jpg

And from the other side.
20190528_184705.jpg

And a head on view.
20190528_184938.jpg

Peeping through the cab lookout.
20190528_184215.jpg

The whistle is now soldered in place and will be masked off during painting. The feed pipe from the cab just slots through the hole so the boiler can still be removed.
20190528_184115.jpg

Underneath, I've made the inner balance weights from 20 thou plastic card. So far only the left rear one has been fitted. The middle one being larger may be more obvious. This photo reminds me that I need to make the brackets for the sandpipes.
20190528_184631.jpg

I'm still pondering if it is possible to add the rear buffer beam support brackers without hindering the compression of the buffers, but cosmetically, the model is now complete. The couplings are miss cast so I'll get some better ones at Doncaster, all being well. Further bits and pieces could be made for the cab floor but won't be visible, so I'll probably pass on them. Oh, and I still need to sort the roof out so it sits on squarely with the magnets.
20190528_183940.jpg

Pick ups and motor next.

Cheers,
Peter
 
Last edited:

P A D

Western Thunderer
Some additional details made and fitted. These are the rear buffer beam brackets.
20190529_210013.jpg

I made the mounting flanges separately by riveting the tank beading from the kit that I did not use. You can't rivet a strip on it's own using the clamp, so I left it on the etch until it was done. First time I've used this "compound" slide and it works a treat. One rev of the dial advances the table by 1mm.
20190529_210944.jpg

The right hand side. To gain clearance between the webs I replaced the 10 BA nut on the buffer with a 12 BA nut tapped out to 10 BA.
20190529_210806.jpg

And with the body on.
20190529_210358.jpg

T'other side.
20190529_210436.jpg


At the front I have cut back the drain pipes and added the support bracket.
20190529_210213.jpg

On the sandpipes, I made the support brackets from spare beading. The front two were anchored to the relevant spring hangers and the rear ones to the bottom of the ash pan for simplicity.
20190529_210642.jpg

I have also redone the coupling rod joints adding a washer behind the nut as per the prototype.
20190529_210516.jpg


Getting there.
20190529_210109.jpg

20190529_210046.jpg

Cheers,
Peter
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Larry has a good point. In the USA many people buy Japanese and Korean Brass in the bare metal state and refuse to paint the models. They may be "collectors" but I think they are also "admirers" of quality workmanship.
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Larry,
Many thanks for the kind words. That's much appreciated considering that as a pro painter, you must have handled many superb models over the years. This forum has quite a few top builders and I like to think I can more or less hold my own with them. However, there are also several, who with a desire to get everything just right take things to another level, so there is always something to aim for.
Will you be at the Doncaster show by any chance?

Paul, thanks to you also. As to leaving the model unpainted, that would require lacquering as minutes after cleaning brass begins to tarnish. In fact you can see marks appearing already from handling during reassembly after washing so it actually looks cleaner than it is.
What about you Paul? Will you be coming back to Blighty for the Doncaster show, or staying in France?

Cheers,
Peter
 

dibateg

Western Thunderer
I'm looking forward to seeing this loco at Doncaster Peter, please bring it to the Tech Committee stand!

Tony
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
As to leaving the model unpainted, that would require lacquering as minutes after cleaning brass begins to tarnish. In fact you can see marks appearing already from handling during reassembly after washing so it actually looks cleaner than it is.
What about you Paul? Will you be coming back to Blighty for the Doncaster show, or staying in France?

Cheers,
Peter
Peter, I know all about brass tarnishing. When at school I joined the cadet force and back then we had to polish our brass belt buckles. So I had an idea, seeing as the family business was in the Jewellery Quarter. I bought a set of new pieces from an ex-army store and had them chemically polished and then lacquered. Unfortunately the R.A. Bombardier who paraded us lot noticed and I had to get the Brasso out!

Incidentally, does anyone use Brasso these days?

Doncaster is a miss for me I am afraid. I was last there when 12 years old which is a long time ago. But I do plan to be at Telford for the Saturday. I already have a little list.

Paul
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Hi Paul,
Shame you can't make it as it's always nice to meet fellow Western Thunderers.

By the way "long" is not spelt that way. Or maybe it's the French word for it. :thumbs:

Cheers,
Peter
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Sorry, won't be a Doncaster, whenever it is. I stopped 'doing' shows, probably around 1973. I went to the Manchester Shows to meet friends of George Mellor's generation, as it was a good way of getting my name across the trade and building up business. The train journey home from Manchester had been god-awful in a DMU for some years, so I eventually threw the towel in. I have only been on a "BR" train about 4 times since then apart from freebies in connection with publishing.

As for Brasso, its one of my tools in the painting & lining game. It removed lining I'd cocked-up, polished over-spray off plastic glazing and at one time polished brass patterns ready for going in the mold.
 
Top