DJH Britannia

[warren haywood]

I know how much you all like photos on here, so I thought I might show you how far I have got with the Brit.
It's going to be Flying Dutchman in late crest livery with the Western Region alterations although if this soddin iPad flips the pictures again it might be Anzac
I have done a few of these but not for 5 or 6 years and forgot how good they are. There are one or two minor errors, buffer beam to front footplate fit is not brilliant as it is a but joint with no footplate overhang. The fire box to cab is also awkward to get an exact fit but there is a cladding band and rivet strip to hide any gaps. The combination lever also catches the slide bar support and needs filing flush with the sidebars as on the real thing.
There is also no lubricator linkage but this is easily fixed.
The 1/1A tender is excellent if lacking a bit underneath.












Apologies if any or all of these are upside down, but not sure how to correct

Warren

 

[john lewsey]

These really are good looking engines

 

[Heather Kay]

Slightly off topic, but the solution to the flipped iDevice piccies for me seems to be to open them in iPhoto and either do a quick adjustment, like colour or exposure, or do a crop or rotate. I choose the edited image when making my post.

 

[dibateg]

The nice thing about the DJH kits is that generally they go together well - looking good Warren.

 

[warren haywood]

Thanks Heather I will give that a try

 

[oldravendale]

Yes, I've been impressed with DJH kits too, although I find that their suggested process for making the joints in the valve gear a bit suspect so always use my own method (developed from that proposed by Bob Alderman). My DJH A3 (nearly complete) went together well (pictures will follow although it's rather less well cleaned up than Warren's Brit) and has just turned it's wheels under power, without lubrication, for the first time. I also found the brake gear rather fat and clunky such that it shorts out on the wheels so am now considering the Heather method of using nuts through the frames, although I'll have to bush the holes in the frames so that they fit.

My Finney version of the same loco is just started and it will be interesting to see how the two compare - I'm advised by some wot knows that the Finney kit is somewhat more refined and a more enoyable build.

The club's 9F (also nearly complete) has gone together equally well although I've had a problem with the valve gear on the right hand side (left hand side is fine) where the eccentric rod seems to be a millimetre or two too long such that when the return crank is correctly orientated vis a vis the centre of the wheel the expnsion link clouts the top of the motion bracket. I've dealt with it by reducing the throw on the return crank - everything still thrashes around OK but perhaps to a slightly smaller extent than it would have otherwise. Interestingly I questioned this recently with a professional loco builder who had an identical problem and it was he who showed me one of the locos running and thus convinced me that the fiddle of reducing the length of the eccentric rod was only an option and not an absolute necessity.

The Brit certainly looks the business though, Warren. It will. no doubt, be magnificent with one of your paint jobs.....

Brian

 

[alcazar]

Nice enough kits, my only quarrel is the price...a little high for the standard of the kit.

 

[warren haywood]

Fancied an afternoon away from painting so have done a bit of knitting. There is a little bit more to go on but I think it gives a fairly good representation of the plumbing









Warren

 

[warren haywood]

Had a few hours on the Brit this weekend, a little bit more detail added to the loco body. I also painted the chassis and fitted motor and pickups then fitted most of the valve gear with just the lifting links to go on ( I think that's what they are called). A quick test and everything went silky smooth straight away which is always a relief













Warren

 

[alcazar]

Looks pretty impressive....the second shot shows the size of the thing.