Elmham Market in EM

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James Spooner

James Spooner

Western Thunderer
This afternoon I have been working on a replacement smokebox front and door. The real things had quite a domed smokebox door but the kit comes with a smokebox front that has an almost flat door. I know we all have our own pet likes and dislikes and what one person would be happy with is an anathema to another. One of my pet dislikes is a poorly formed smokebox door; perhaps it goes back to my childhood and the Thomas the tank engine stories but the smokebox door is the ‘face’ of an engine. I have gouged another one out of different thicknesses of plasticard and trial fitted it to the loco. The spinning process caused a black ring to form (where I had a dirty sanding stick) so I think, belt and braces, I will give it a waft of primer in the morning to make sure I am happy with it, before gluing into place.

I have also formed the fireman’s side handrail wire and I think that is the above footplate stuff done on the fireman’s side.

Still to do on this side is the brake blocks and rigging, the lubricator, cylinder drain pipes and the non moving bits of the valve gear. I am planning to finish the pipe work on the driver’s side before going back down below and finishing the chassis. Photo attached.

Nigel

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James Spooner

James Spooner

Western Thunderer
The wet weather hereabouts meant I spent most of the day indoors, with a lump of the afternoon and evening being taken up with watching the Six Nations matches (the second one, in my humble opinion, being an absolute cracker of a match!). In between I continued plumbing up the Ivatt as well as giving the smokebox front a quick spray with primer. I think I am happy with the new door; it is a much better shape than the one supplied with the kit.

I think I have now done the body assembly apart from sticking on some 3M tape for the boiler bands. It will be back to the chassis detailing tomorrow.

Nigel

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James Spooner

James Spooner

Western Thunderer
Today I took a look at the remaining etches and castings in the box and, as is the way of these things, found that I was over optimistic yesterday. I had left off the sliding hatch on the cab roof, reverser, some more pipe work and the boiler backhead detail. All has now been added and I gave the boiler/cab assembly a waft of primer principally to get it to one uniform tone and see better what more, if anything, needs doing. Whilst I mull that over I’ll crack on with the chassis detailing. A photo of the primed body is attached.

Nigel

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James Spooner

James Spooner

Western Thunderer
A first coat of paint was sprayed on the body yesterday evening. It will need a second coat. I also started the final detailing of the chassis but my pin vice suffered, what seems to be known in the space industry as a rapid unscheduled disassembly, resulting in my calling a halt to work last night and a quick trip to see Paul at Alton Models this morning. The three jaw chuck threw a spring out and I couldn’t work out a way of getting the chuck reassembled without a few extra hands…

Nigel

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James Spooner

James Spooner

Western Thunderer
So it has been a case of a step forward and several steps backwards, followed by a fallow period for modelling. The Thursday before last I looked at the motion bracket and was unhappy with it as it should be vertical, but had a rather jaunty angle to it. I then resoldered it in, what appeared to be, a better position. I then got diverted into other jobs around the house…

In the evening was the monthly NW Surrey EMGS meeting and I decided to take the part completed Ivatt along. Unfortunately, when quickly testing it before leaving, moving the motion bracket caused other parts of the valve gear to get tangled up with each other. Teaching the poor dog a few new choice words, followed by a quick soldering session seemed to put things right so I packed it up and off we went. The loco disgraced itself by shedding its valve gear on Dominic’s test track so was placed back in its box for further attention.

On the Friday the memsahib and I drove up to Porthmadog for just over a week of Mutual Improvement Classes, volunteering and meetings. In that time her car’s transmission completely collapsed, so yesterday the RAC took us home on a low loader (that’s a completely different ball game and will probably result in new wheels for her).

At the same time, WT went and came back again (many thanks Adrian for all your sterling efforts in keeping us all in touch!)…

Back home this evening I have turned my attention again to the Ivatt’s valve gear and I think (hope!) I have sorted the different elements that were fouling each other after moving the motion bracket as well as loosened the solder joint between the return crank and the return crank rod on the driver’s side valve gear, which was too stiff and causing disassembly… I was so relieved I took a video of it on the rolling road!


Back to finishing the remaining non moving parts of the valve gear with my new pin vice…

Nigel
 
James Spooner

James Spooner

Western Thunderer
This evening has been spent adding detail to the ‘chassis’ or lower half of the loco. It’s still fighting me! Lubricators needed to be filed down to fit into the gaps in the footplates, the reversing linkage on the valve gear was clearly designed for a different loco and I couldn’t get the body back on with it in its Mark 1 form, so that needed disassembling and rearranging. I have also added the brake blocks, steps and cylinder drain pipes on the driver’s side…

Nigel

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James Spooner

James Spooner

Western Thunderer
I think I have now finished the construction phase of the Ivatt. All of the brake blocks are now on, the fireman’s side steps, lamp brackets were fettled out of scrap brass etchings and supported by some 0.33mm wire soldered to the back and inserted into holes drilled in the footplate for the purpose, a couple more grab rails have been added on the footplate and all relevant bits now smothered in a coat of primer…

Nigel

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James Spooner

James Spooner

Western Thunderer
The body of the Ivatt has had a second coat of black sprayed on. Whilst I had the airbrush out I took the opportunity to respray the roof of a Comet Gresley corridor composite (previously featured on the first page of this thread). The carriage was finished but I had brush painted the roof and it had dried blotchy, with some matt and some satin, verging on bits of gloss. I masked the sides and ends and wafted the airbrush over the roof with some Precision roof dirt. I’m much happier with it now and it has been released into traffic…

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I’m now kicking my heels a bit (I even tidied up my workbench last night; well a bit anyway!) whilst the paint dries and am looking at the left hand corner of Elmham Market, which is the last bit of that section with a lack of scenic treatment. I need to gird my loins…

Nigel
 
James Spooner

James Spooner

Western Thunderer
A session with the airbrush in the garage attic today has given the Ivatt a bit more of a work worn appearance. Looking at photos of locos in East Anglia in the 1959’s, they generally seemed to look as though they had a covering of soot and ash over them but there was little evidence of the leaks, general neglect and traces of detritus that were characteristic of the last years of steam, so that is how I have tried to represent this.

Nigel

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Herb Garden

Herb Garden

Western Thunderer
James Spooner said:
A session with the airbrush in the garage attic today has given the Ivatt a bit more of a work worn appearance. Looking at photos of locos in East Anglia in the 1959’s, they generally seemed to look as though they had a covering of soot and ash over them but there was little evidence of the leaks, general neglect and traces of detritus that were characteristic of the last years of steam, so that is how I have tried to represent this.

Nigel

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Looks like you've been spray painting in the kitchen.... Brave man!
 
jonte

jonte

Western Thunderer
Liking the worn black look, Nigel.

May I enquire as to the source or perhaps ingredients of a self-mixed hue?

Many thanks.

Jon
 
James Spooner

James Spooner

Western Thunderer
jonte said:
Liking the worn black look, Nigel.

May I enquire as to the source or perhaps ingredients of a self-mixed hue?

Many thanks.

Jon
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Hi Jon,

Many thanks! To be honest, after trying lots of things, I have found that a careful spray of Precision Paints P981 dirty black (which is really a sort of sooty grey colour), gives that careworn look I was seeking.

cheers

Nigel
 
Ian@StEnochs

Ian@StEnochs

Western Thunderer
Herb Garden said:
Looks like you've been spray painting in the kitchen.... Brave man!
Click to expand...

I did that not after I was married and with a new home. I covered all the worksurfaces with newspaper and sprayed a few coaches with my new, Christmas present from wife, airbrush powered by foot pump and spare tyre.

When we sold the house a few years later you could still see the red tinge on the cupboard doors if you looked close! Still married to same lady.

Ian.
 
NHY 581

NHY 581

Western Thunderer
You lot are amateurs...........

Nice new kitchen, no more than six months old, including appliances. At the time, I owned a 1960 BSA 650 Gold Flash, which needed an engine rebuild.........

So, the engine was stripped down, parts ordered, cylinder head and barrels were sent away for work, and I then commenced cleaning everything else up. Then current Mrs. Rob had gone to town for some shopping but arrived home earlier than anticipated. I was in the garage, tinkering away so failed to note she had returned...........but having noted the time, I nipped back to the kitchen to check on the crankcases , only to find Mrs Rob had helpfully opened the dishwasher ready for me.............


Rob
 
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