4mm An EM Workbench: Scratch and Slide - return of the Dübs

[AJC]

After something of a hiatus, one evening last week I got back to grips with my Clayliner tank. Aside from actually doing other things this was partly because I'd reached the difficult bit - mounting the tank on the chassis. On the prototype the tank was let into the frame but the thing that stopped the tank parting company with the wagon - and this was true of all monobloc designs, including the 4-wheel tanks known to modellers as the TTA - was length of angle iron welded or riveted to the tank and in turn mounted to a fabrication built onto the chassis forming a sort of pedestal. Now there was one moulded as part of the tank but was far too shallow and left the tank too close to the solebar so it had to go; there's not a lot of the original wagon left now...



Anyhow, first I built up the 'tray' inside the top to the chassis with plastic sheet and then with a bit of Milliput to match the height of the solebar and giving a nice flat surface to bond the pedestal onto. The angled sides and ends of the pedestal are challenging to do in plastic (they'd be a fiddle in metal too) so, not being sure whether plan A would work, I assembled it away from the wagon. Basically, I made up a sort of picture frame from layers of plastic sheet - the number of layers and the approximate thickness were gauged from the height of the solebar; this game of modelling without drawings is all about proportions - which was crudely shaped using files and the edge of a knife followed up with a bit of wet and dry paper. This seemed promising and, compared to photos, looked about right so I offered it up to the tank and then blu-tacked the whole to the chassis. This looked fine so the pedestal was popped on with some medium thickness cyano'. Amazingly, it still looked right so I returned to the tank and gave it another flash of primer to see how the filling was getting on before assembling it to the chassis and pedestal. It became very clear that the filler needed another go and a dose of Halford's filler primer to get everything nice and smooth (but only on the tank, I masked everything else off). Anyway, here it is. I think it looks about right so the detailing can proceed when I'm in the mood.







You would be well advised not to hold your breath, there are lots of simpler projects to get on with and while this is good fun you have to know when to take a break.

Adam

 

[AJC]

Well, in which case Jeff, you might like this:



Nothing very complicated - copies of spare Heljan headcode letters and yellow and red paint over white undercoat) as appropriate. The white diamonds seem to have been somewhat unusual on green liveried Warships but Highflyer acquired a pair some time in late '67 and besides, I like the appearance of them. I've replaced the overhead warning flashes and will get around to touching up the noses and skirts just as soon as my jar of Railmatch has seperated out sufficiently to drain some of the oil off; currently it is too thin to be of any use for brush painting. Give it a week or two... The aim is that it will come out something like this so the quality of finish isn't vital (and the yellow doesn't look so ragged in reality), but it would be useful if the green wasn't actually translucent:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertcwp/2410751563/in/set-72157603648348394

Another quick project comes from the stock items drawer. This Parkside 16 tonner body will end up atop one of Justin Newitt's new sprung chassis - http://www.rumneymodels.co.uk/12.html. The result will mirror one of my early (now recycled) kitbashed efforts, a minfit with 8 shoe AVB. Hopefully this one should be reasonably
quick - the body took about 25 minutes of non-continuous work so watch this space.



Adam

 

[AJC]

It's a nice shot isn't it? I can't tell whether the second loco is under power in the picture. Anyhow, I've been doing other things too and here is my clayliner tank which is now complete below the solebar (the label clip needs finishing) which is a relief because all that remains to be done can be seen relatively easily in photographs or, failing that guestimated from known details of similar wagon types.





The air pipes are spares for a Hornby class 50; time will tell how long they last...

Adam

 

[AJC]

Thanks for that Pugs - having scribed some panel lines onto the tank and tidied those up, I've given the wagon a flash of primer and will put it to one side until the mesh I've ordered for the catwalks turns up; there is more detailing to do on the hatch and the valve that sits on top of the tank alongside it. For the moment, however, I've decided to make a start (and the rate it's going, possibly a finish) on the Rumney Models chassis for my Minfit. First impressions are very favourable, the instructions (downloadable from the website - needless to say, I've deviated from the order of action suggested) are good and the parts fit well. They'll be more flannel later, but here are some photos:





The brakeshoes, which are quite ingenious, have gone on now in order that I can set up the springing - not that springing a 9' wheelbase wagon in 4mm makes a lot of difference - and I can report that there is enough clearance that I can proceed though I've only progressessed as far as the axle keeps since I took these pictures which represent perhaps an hour and a bit of effort; the next one will be quicker.

Adam

 

[AJC]

So here's the result of half an hour's noodling. Spring stops have been added as have the apparently fiddly brake yokes. These are modelled like the real thing, fabricated from rod and strip but because they're assembled in situ with four fixed points (the two brakeshoes, and each end of the transverse brake linkage), it's simply a case of bending the strip into a 'v' - there's a small notch in the centre which clips over the link - and threading the wire through the relevant holes. A drop of flux, four touches of the iron, clip the excess wire and, er, it's done. Good design, well executed.





There's not all that much left on the fret now...

Adam

 

[AJC]

While I was in the mood for soldering, I embarked upon another Rumney Models production, a BR 1/403 Strip Coil:

http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brstripcoil/h3d61539a#h294aa921

As was typical of the early BR coil fleet, only a small number were built - in the case of this particular diagram, only 15 - though there were another 35 broadly similar vehicles (dia. 1/401) but these had different bogies and were built unfitted and later converted to vacuum brake (as dia. 1/407). The kit will do both the fitted versions but not the unfitted (the reasons are in Justin's instructions if you're interested), but only the BR plate bogies for the 1/403 are available at the moment; these can be had from Cambrian. Because I was enjoying myself, I've got to the point of assembling almost all the etched bits before taking any pictures but, in all honesty, this is a reasonably straightforward kit of a relatively simple prototype. You get two sheets of etchBeing riveted there are quite a few of the things to emboss, but roaundabout half are represented by the etching process which means overlays and all the associated fun and games they represent; RSU owners would doubtless snigger.



Note that the bogie mounting haven't yet gone in because I haven't got my hands on a set of bogies. Other things on the to do list are acquiring and fitting the castings and vacuum pipes. I have a etch worth of Masokits screw couplings to do as well. Really the dummies supplied for the vacuum pipes are too short but since they're properly modelled I shall lose no sleep over this! The distinctive interior, shown in this Paul Bartlett picture - http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brstripcoil/h3d61539a#h2b070267 (note the colouring, muck and scale off the coils) - will be assembled on a false floor from plastic sheet and section. The etches give you the strip with the holes.



Adam

 

[AJC]

A bit of a leap and some rather dodgy pictures (I shall have another go in the morning), but I've galloped ahead and all soldering is now complete prior to the solid details - vacuum cylinders, label clips (included, but I shall glue these), axleboxes and springs - being added. The safety loops are formed around a shape that is part of the etch fret which is quite neat; they could, perhaps, be more securely located, but I think that's being picky.





The underside view shows off the rather indifferent quality of my soldering! The coupling hooks are Masokits - I have yet to assemble the screw couplings that will hang from them, while the vac' pipes are from copper electrical wire wound round with some very fine stuff from a defunct pair of headphones - since the dummy is modelled in proper detail I left it hanging. A dose of metal black next, I think...

Adam

 

[AJC]

After what was a longer pause than I thought it might be, the Strip Coil now sits on its wheels. The bogies are a set of BR plate types derived from GWR practise from Cambrian. Now these aren't blessed with absolute dimensional fidelity but this is only really obvious when shown next to a picture of the real thing so I am not too concerned about this. From a practical perspective, they come as a one-piece moulding with seperate axleboxes which is a great improvement on the last set of Cambrian plate bogies I built the better part of twenty years ago. I had to countersink the bearing holes a smidge to get the wheels to run properly but that is no big deal.

The designer's preference is for compensated or sprung bogies so he only provides a location hole for a bolt. Cambrian provide a suitable bolt (c.3mm diameter) with the bogies and a moulded mounting plate; I used both. I opened the etched plate out sufficient to clear the bolt and soldered that in, cut the collar out of the moulded mounting plate and epoxied that around the bolt. There isn't much thread protruding above that but there's enough - a bit of thread lock after painting will fix it.



The bogies need packing to the correct height and the easiest way to do that is a bit of 60 thou' plastic. Using an old dodge, I've placed packing as shown in the picture below to keep the body more or less level at one end and to allow rocking at the other; simple three point compensation really.



Brake cylinders and buffers still to do...

Adam

 

[AJC]

I know that it's all gone quiet, but now the strip coil is all but finished (in construction terms). Curiously, the packet of buffers I had contained one pair each with different sized heads, so it's not quite ready for painting until I get that sorted. Anyhow, the interesting bit is the interior fabricated from plastic sheet and section with etched strips full of holes; on the real thing, these were used for stuffing locating pins (of indeterminate nature) in to stop the coils which were loaded 'eye-to-sky' from shifting. On the model, these strips have been superglued to some Evergreen 30 thou x 60 thou strip glued to a dummy floor of 10 thou'. The interior of a real one is shown in this Paul Bartlett picture:
http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brstripcoil/h3577f06d#h3577f06d

My interpretation is below; yes, I did drill out all those holes and yes, a couple of drills bit the dust. It'll show up better under a coat of paint, hopefully.









Adam

 

[AJC]

And now, with added primer, almost none of which got to the bottom of the holes. Since I took these pictures, I've given the interior a first pass with a weathering mix of thinned Humbrol Metalcote gunmetal and matt chocolate. While this has reached the bottom of most holes, I daresay that another pass or two will be needed yet but the underframe will come first.





Adam

 

[AJC]

Following this wagon's brief excursion into the outside world (and into P4!), my Clayliner tank is slowly heading towards completion. Actually, all it wants is a suitable length of ladder and a few bits and bobs on top of the tank before it can head off for painting.







You should note that fitting the walkway has caused a certain amount of damage and thus dreaded green putty has made an appearance just to tidy up the holes. More prosaically, one Bachmann Covhop mid way through detailing (new couplings, vac' pipes: that's it). TOPS numbers have come off and re-lettering beckons.



Adam

 

[AJC]

A pair of post-completion portraits of my Parkside/Rumney Models hybrid minfit. Despite a near disaster with the first pass of weathering, I'm pleased with this. It's much, much better than my first attempt at one a decade and more ago.

The Presflos now look like this. One more weathering pass needed I think, but the overall impression is what I was after.



Adam

 

[AJC]

After the diversion into parcels stock and with a desire to get some more projects at least physically complete, the last couple of jobs on the Clayliner tank were done last night. Nothing very exciting, just some bits of tank-top-ephemera, but the addition of hinges, screw clamps on the inspection hatch and whatever that valve arrangement is meant to do next to the filler adds to the sense of busyness up there and prompted a blast of primer while waiting for the cooker engineer this morning. I have now straightened that wonky ladder rung by the way.





Now it awaits its turn in the paintshop when it warms up again...

Adam

 

[AJC]

And back to wagons, and in time since this one was completed a month or so ago. Details of the conversion of this Bobol D from the Bachmann BDA begin earlier in this thread and was featured in my post, 'an afternoon shunt' but here it is, fully lettered by means of an ancient sheet of just-about-usable Woodhead transfers and numbering from CCT (usual disclaimer). Paint is my usual combination of Halfords' rattlecan and Humbrols and I'm quite pleased with it though I'm in no enormous hurry to do another.









The decks of these bolsters seems to have been darker than was usual for other varieties of open wagons - and this has been accentuated by the bright sunshine these pictures were taken in - I guess that the mix of 'hammerscale' and rust these wagons were subject to from their usual loads were responsible so I'm reasonably pleased with the finish but would be interested to know what others think.

Adam

 

[AJC]

So, about 3 times life size. Doesn't look too bad does it? and, contrary to what I thought when I started, it seems the London Midland (Region) really did paint these boards in black and white. In this case, Halfords' satin black a coat of Klear and Humbrol white enamel (satin) floated around the letters and cleaned up with a thinners-moistened brush and a cocktail stick.

The other ongoing work concerns the Cambrian-based SR open which has not received those fiddly little details which had been put off. Specifically, these include capping strips and clips - 5 thou' plastic - door bags, stays for the lever guides, safety loops for the brake push rods and a few bolt heads. Nothing very exciting but it all adds to the overall impression and it's now ready for painting.



On the back of these pictures, I've just given the lever guide a tweak and tacked the capping strip back on...



Adam

 

[AJC]

Next up, a birthday present to myself, bought a few months back, is this Judith Edge kit for a diesel hydraulic built by North British. It's not what most people might think! This type of 330hp 0-4-0DH was built for industry, but BR had a handful and a look the JE website will tell you about those but I wanted the industrial version, a pleasantly bulky thing which differed in many, many details from the BR versions. The ScR bought quite a collection of different types of NBL 0-4-0 and Mike and Judith will cheerfully sell you just about all of them.

It assembles in the usual way for Mike Edge's designs with modular elements - bonnet/cab, footplate and chassis - all of which jig together and rely on each other to make assembly reasonably easy. The instructions assume that you know something about basic metal forming (why shouldn't they?) and that you are are capable of finding photographs to address which collection of details suit your chosen prototype. This is essential for this particular type; there seem to have been a collection of different bits which went together in various permutations, almost all of which are in the box with scale printouts from the CAD which answer just about any assembly question you might ask yourself. As such, it has rather flown together and I completely failed to take any pictures along the way so that we reach the point where the body and footplate are complete.





There isn't much more to say except that I couldn't find part number 22 (risers for the inner cab floor). This doesn't matter since there is no shortage of scrap etch; straight, parallel strip, basically, to use instead. You can just make out that I've modelled the LH cab door open and added the large industrial headlights. Only the bezels for these are in the box, there were various styles and would be difficult to cast in resin but easy to make from scrap etch and shim. Basically, you solder the bezel to the scrap, centre pop the resulting sandwich and drill through to lend the resulting lamp a bit of depth. Then cut and file the thing to shape using the bezel as a guide, solder that to the top of the bonnet. Then cut a sort of squat 'T' shape from shim to represent the 'brim' over the top, form and test fit, trim to length and then solder in place. This can be filed up to shape and then the back filled with Miliput for the back of the fairing.

Next for the technical bit.

Adam

 

[AJC]

No change on the NBL, but the weather has been good enough for dad to (very kindly), spray my Clayliner tank. The original colour these were painted was Bowaters' corporate scheme of the time, a pale blue that, so far as I can tell from contemporary lorry pictures and dad's recollection of the rake, was near enough BR Ice Blue, as applied to fish vans and refrigerated containers. So that's what has been used. The two pictures, below, show how different the same colour can appear in two different lights.





I reckon that's come out quite well though I can see a small repair job at the bottom of that ladder. Thanks dad. In the background can be seen the other denizens of the paintshop, a pair of Judith Edge kits. Little and large, these. My brutish Thomas Hill 0-6-0 and dad's 48DS, now a fetching shade of green.



Adam

 

[AJC]

A couple more steps along the way; frames basically assembled, gearbox fitted to the motor and offered up to see that all fits as I'd hoped and, next up, the hornguides and bearings.



Coming on.

Adam

 

[AJC]

My NBL/MAN diesel has progressed to the stage where the first layers of paint have been applied and no major problems have bee identified. OK, so I realised that I'd forgotten to install the rear sand pipes or front sand boxes but that was easily resolved. The footplate assembly was due another coat of primer in any case since I'd also missed a small handle on the battery box and found some stray solder that needed removal. I've also added some lead shot encased in Miliput inside the battery box to give it some bulk and give the loco some extra weight.





The last shot in this update shows my approach to chassis painting. I've never understood why many modellers take endless trouble to make a loco work and then take the whole thing to bits in order to do basic painting and thus start all over again. In 7mm, with all the extra detail I guess that this makes some sort of sense but for something as simple as this there's absolutely no need so I get the basic paint on as soon as practical.



The brake gear is a different colour because this is a removable sub-assembly. I was just testing it for fit post-paint (it was assembled with reference to a wheel). With a CAD-designed kit like this, there should be no real difficulties, but I did check that the rods matched the axle-centres first! Next it's time to assemble the flycranks and to make the thing run.

Adam

 

[AJC]

I've had the paintbrushes out for a change over the last couple of evenings and among the results, here's a fully painted SR high, on the way to being ready for transfers.





Now, back to marking...

Adam