4mm An EM Workbench - Any Old Oil
- Thread starter AJC
- Start date
AJC
Western Thunderer
True, but it would be a joy to use.
I was going to recommend the Ersa RDS80, but I see that it has gone up a bit in price in the UK (I won't mention the 'B'-word).
David
All noted (I promise!). And yes, that B word doesn’t help. Mind you, neither do two children under six...
Adam
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AJC
Western Thunderer
No, they’re the ones that come with the wagons and I don’t much like them. For one thing, they’re obviously all the same, for another, they’re far too neat, lacking the seams, wrinkles and so on that ought to be there. I have thoughts about tackling this, but need to make sure all the chassis bits are firmly stuck on first.
The big advantage is that they come off the wagon to be worked on, which the other fixed hood vehicles I’ve done did not.
Adam
PS - For Hywel Thomas' take on these, see: EM Gauge Layouts, Models & Projects
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A Dübs called Clio
AJC
Western Thunderer
After a little while - 4mm - An EM Workbench: plastic steels - almost exactly a year, in fact, I’ve picked up my Dübs again. The slidebars turned out to be too short so I started again, with a new and better motion bracket, a dip into my stocks of scrap etch.
Now, I know that the chassis does roll with the test set of Romfords, the Gibsons it’s getting are thinner, and measuring suggests that the clearance ought to be there, so subject to paint, it ought to assemble ok, might even run.
Adam
Now, I know that the chassis does roll with the test set of Romfords, the Gibsons it’s getting are thinner, and measuring suggests that the clearance ought to be there, so subject to paint, it ought to assemble ok, might even run.
Adam
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AJC
Western Thunderer
A bit quiet, because I’ve been playing with loco chassis for various things, not unlike @Herb Garden I now seem to have a selection rolling around. Here’s another, a High Level chassis for Podimore’s second pannier, 8745, a long-time servant at Yeovil. There's a Mainline body for it which needs rivets and the remarkable assembly of lamp irons this loco acquired, as quite a few Western engines did. The second pannier? Yes, here's details of the first one:
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Not much to say here, it all works and fits as intended. Let’s see if the GW jig has set the quartering right. The wheels are mostly second hand - they started life under a jinty. They're now under the correct species of tank engine (for the wheel type, if not @Pencarrow).
Adam
4mm - Podimore: landscaping.
Wasn't me. T'was MarkR (no relation as far as I know)
www.westernthunder.co.uk
Not much to say here, it all works and fits as intended. Let’s see if the GW jig has set the quartering right. The wheels are mostly second hand - they started life under a jinty. They're now under the correct species of tank engine (for the wheel type, if not @Pencarrow).
Adam
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Herb Garden
Western Thunderer
AJC
Western Thunderer
That seems to work. I’ll take another look in the morning just to make sure it hasn’t magically seized overnight (it has happened!). One crankpin out of true gave grief, the rear axle quartering tweaked ever so slightly and off it went.
Assuming it plays ball, then I’ll assemble the brake gear, and do the same for the other works in progress before doing a round of pick ups and powered testing.
Adam
Assuming it plays ball, then I’ll assemble the brake gear, and do the same for the other works in progress before doing a round of pick ups and powered testing.
Adam
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73080 - Merlin
AJC
Western Thunderer
This has come back to the surface over the last week or so. Merlin’s tender - which we last saw a year and more ago: 4mm - An EM Workbench: pannier pondering - is now ready for paint. It's mostly as DJH intended - though I've rigged up a sprung centre axle and made the brake rigging a little closer to the prototype, it scrubs up pretty well, I think. Now, about the front end...
Adam
Adam
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73080 - Merlin
AJC
Western Thunderer
So what does the front end look like? It's a bit of a mess, to be honest, and I struggle to believe that it ever ran, not least because the connecting rod catches the expansion link bracket on one side and thus the wheels won't go round. Obviously, the chassis also suffers from DJH design principles with incredibly thick frames and very narrow spacers. That said, crossheads on one side apart, I've got all the bits - the crosshead, being whitemetal, is no loss!
You can see the offending rod/bracket clash here:
Stripping has already begun - I think I'll reuse the Romfords, the profile is fine for EM and replacement Gibsons are north of 30 quid. The pick ups were on one side only so either one side is live or American pick up was intended - I don't remember any sign of that on the tender, but given the state it was in, who knows? Anyway, stripping has begun:
Replacement parts are already underway: new rods, a new front bogie (below), and a strip of brass sheet cut for new spacers.
Onward!
Adam
James Spooner
Western Thunderer
Adam
Before you go too far with the Romford wheels, I would recommend you check the clearances of the front axle crankpins behind the cross head and slide bars. I have found them to be too challenging in EM and now only use AG wheels (they have a slimmer profile and the crankpins can be filed down to fit).
best
Nigel
AJC
Western Thunderer
Nigel - we'll have to see: I do have a Westcountry (rewheeled Hornby) with Markits wheels which are the same width and clearance wasn't a problem there - EDIT: looking at pictures, both above and - more importantly, of the real thing - the crankpin doesn't actually pass behind the crosshead on either class which is promising. It might be here, but worth trying, if only to get the chassis set up for test running - there's resale value to the things, but the value in having a set of larger wheels for fault finding in new chassis is significant. The Romford crankpins are a decent solution in some cases (Mike Edge uses them routinely on Gibson wheels, including in EM and I have a stock), and I find the Gibson crankpins a fiddle: I do not enjoy behind crossheads. I'm pragmatic about these things!
Adam
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73080 - Merlin
AJC
Western Thunderer
After trying IPA, which at least softened the paint and showed up a lot of superglue doing inappropriate things (holding bearings in place, for instance: American pick-up must have been the idea, because that doesn't conduct!), a plunge into hot water has taken it to bits: the whole thing seems to have been assembled with whitemetal solder. Only a couple of minor casualties resulted from this process and both are repairable, I think. The crossheads were slated for replacement and I have suitable spares in hand so that at least is no issue. More when I've found the cellulose thinners and the big file.
Note that the spring detail on one side was sawn off to make way for pick ups - the front pick up, incidentally, was mounted (quite ingeniously) on the motion bracket. Invisible, but likely impossible to clean/adjust!
Adam
Note that the spring detail on one side was sawn off to make way for pick ups - the front pick up, incidentally, was mounted (quite ingeniously) on the motion bracket. Invisible, but likely impossible to clean/adjust!
Adam
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73080 - Merlin
AJC
Western Thunderer
In between other matters, I've cleaned up the frames, cut a slot at the front to accommodate a stretcher that will hold the cylinders and make them demountable to ease set up of the valve gear and I'm now working out where the spacers go, guided by the existing body mounting positions and the need to include a pivot for the bogie. I need one more in front of the foremost drivers, of only to hold the pick up lands.
Yes, being DJH there are enormous cut outs for the antediluvian motor arrangements that were in the '80s design brief and these too will be sorted. This one will be rigid, there's plenty of weight and my Hornby Westcountry goes just fine with no suspension. Of course, that's also quicker and cheaper...
Adam
Yes, being DJH there are enormous cut outs for the antediluvian motor arrangements that were in the '80s design brief and these too will be sorted. This one will be rigid, there's plenty of weight and my Hornby Westcountry goes just fine with no suspension. Of course, that's also quicker and cheaper...
Adam
73080 - Merlin
AJC
Western Thunderer
Frames back in one very solid piece. You can’t see it here, but I’ve roughed out some dummy springs to replace those hacked off first time around.
I’ll have to check that the motor fits where it ought before proceeding, but there’s holes for mounting the body, bogie and cylinder stretcher, so definitely making progress.
Adam
PS - even the six-year-old thought the original spacers were a bit narrow…
I’ll have to check that the motor fits where it ought before proceeding, but there’s holes for mounting the body, bogie and cylinder stretcher, so definitely making progress.
Adam
PS - even the six-year-old thought the original spacers were a bit narrow…
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Looking good Adam. Only comment I would make on the West Country is if that is converted RTR then while it isn't compensated as such, if does have 'slop' which a fully rigid brass chassis won't. That doesnt mean a solid chassis won't work, but it won't have the same dynamics.
AJC
Western Thunderer
There are many, many thousands of uncompensated EM chassis out there, Pete!
Adam
EDIT: that’s not to dismiss your point, of course. Yes, rigid chassis do have a particular quality when running, but I do think we sometimes add complexity where it’s not really needed. This is a big (by my standards), and heavy loco, there’s a limit to how much help it needs to stay on and pick up.
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BR Ferry Open, diagram 1/055
AJC
Western Thunderer
A pair of wagons for the new year, I’ve long fancied having a go at the BR(S) ferry open, and 3D printing means that I can have two in a fraction of the time I could build one.
These were found on eBay, deliberately from two different suppliers. One had separated out the various design elements which made taking the supports away and cleaning up a bit easier, the other more or less as one thing.
For whatever reason, the former was less stable and the body went distinctly wavy - I think the design is scale thickness for planking and perhaps thickening this up a few thou’ could have helped. The design, especially the axleboxes, was very fine indeed so I am happy enough. The chassis seems fairly substantial, so hopefully it will survive storage and a degree of temperature fluctuation, but I think that keeping these away from radiators is probably sensible.
Since one is to be sheeted, the solution is easy: a waft with the hairdryer and a solid box box of 60 thou’ epoxied inside. This comes almost to the top and should help ensure that it survives in traffic. The second one - in a slightly different resin? - seems more durable, but I’m doing something similar, hence the pegs. This one will have a load, probably MoD type crates with lift rings - I confess that I have no real idea what these got used for in ferry traffic but since the transfers from Cambridge Custom Transfers include all the markings it would be a shame to hide them, and such crates seem not to have been covered as a matter of routine. The idea is to do enough to fill another open at the same time, but we shall see!
Lots more on the go, with epoxy and Milliput the common themes, but more of that later.
Adam
These were found on eBay, deliberately from two different suppliers. One had separated out the various design elements which made taking the supports away and cleaning up a bit easier, the other more or less as one thing.
For whatever reason, the former was less stable and the body went distinctly wavy - I think the design is scale thickness for planking and perhaps thickening this up a few thou’ could have helped. The design, especially the axleboxes, was very fine indeed so I am happy enough. The chassis seems fairly substantial, so hopefully it will survive storage and a degree of temperature fluctuation, but I think that keeping these away from radiators is probably sensible.
Since one is to be sheeted, the solution is easy: a waft with the hairdryer and a solid box box of 60 thou’ epoxied inside. This comes almost to the top and should help ensure that it survives in traffic. The second one - in a slightly different resin? - seems more durable, but I’m doing something similar, hence the pegs. This one will have a load, probably MoD type crates with lift rings - I confess that I have no real idea what these got used for in ferry traffic but since the transfers from Cambridge Custom Transfers include all the markings it would be a shame to hide them, and such crates seem not to have been covered as a matter of routine. The idea is to do enough to fill another open at the same time, but we shall see!
Lots more on the go, with epoxy and Milliput the common themes, but more of that later.
Adam
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steve50
Western Thunderer
Interesting to hear about the different suppliers and the stability of the prints. I got some 3D printed plate and Medfit wagons from ebay, great models and nicely printed but they have bowed slightly after painting and adding weights underneath, I'm not sure what part of the process this happened. I used acrylic paints throughout and superglue and epoxy to glue the weights on. I'm not sure how or indeed whether to correct it.