4mm An EM Workbench: Tank tribulations - miniture plumbing

[AJC]

Late night line up:



It doesn’t look a lot, but advances have been made. I’m going to try to keep the pair of LNER vehicles going in parallel so both have all the ABS bits in place and now buffers. Meanwhile the SECR brake has had its handrails straightened and the chassis painted. Handrails will be whitened before bed.

Adam

 

[AJC]

One of the intractable projects noted above is this PMK LNER tube, first seen here: 4mm - An EM Workbench: NE Moderns. One of the problems with buying part-built models is the bits that are missing. For this one it was 2/3 of the vee hangers and half the brake shoes, so I’ve had to improvise. The brake shoes are simply cut up ABS castings soldered in place (a very deep breath needed there), while the vees were fretted out of scrap etch.





I’ve been putting both of these off for months, but it took an evening. NB, @Yorkshire Dave, this one does have a rocking axle with an internal bearing. The downside is that traps one of the wheels, but for the length of wheelbase it's a sensible precaution.

Adam

 

[AJC]

Another long(ish) term wrestle. This Geen tank is made of very soft alloy and turned out to have a lot of epoxy holding it together. But it has brakes, is now broadly square, and is well on the way to becoming a tar tank. Additions since we last saw it include buffers, obviously, proper mechanical fixings from tank to chassis and retensioning of the retaining straps. There’s a new discharge pipe underneath for good measure.

Less obvious, but more significant, is the reprofiling of the ends which were very flat. I added a disc of 40 thou’ stuck on with some JB Weld, took a big file to the result and tidied up with Milliput. It’s ugly (and parallax makes it look worse than it is).



I’m going to add heating inlets on one end and new end bracing, as well as solebar detail before thinking about a suitably anonymous small fleet owner eking out its last days. I have a kit for an Air Ministry tank in the drawer (from Rumney Models); I fear this is one instance where it might be better if they didn't appear in the same train...

Adam

 

[Herb Garden]

Another long(ish) term wrestle. This Geen tank is made of very soft alloy and turned out to have a lot of epoxy holding it together. But it has brakes, is now broadly square, and is well on the way to becoming a tar tank. Additions since we last saw it include buffers, obviously, proper mechanical fixings from tank to chassis and retensioning of the retaining straps. There’s a new discharge pipe underneath for good measure.

Less obvious, but more significant, is the reprofiling of the ends which were very flat. I added a disc of 40 thou’ stuck on with some JB weld, took a big file to the result and tidied up with Milliput. It’s ugly (and parallax makes it look worse than it is).

View attachment 217748

I’m going to add heating inlets on one end and new end bracing, as well as solebar detail before thinking about a suitably anonymous small fleet owner eking out its last days. I have a kit for an Air Ministry tank in the drawer (from Rumney Models); I fear this is one instance where it might be better if they didn't appear in the same train...

Adam

Wow that's a restoration challenge. Looking forward to seeing the results.

 

[AJC]

A little less parallax, and the start of the end stays added. The real thing (on 1911 spec’ wagons, which going on the drawings in Tourret seems to be what this is) had chunky square section ones, I can’t remember what happened to the ones from the kit, but they’re easy enough to make.



A bit of 10 thou’ represents the steel channel and I’ve pinned it to the tank with brass wire dowels. I’ll need to buy some T section for the uprights, but I have some suitable etches from Rumney Models - meant for detailing Bachmann tanks - that will resolve the problem of the diagonal stays.

Adam

 

[AJC]

So, I’m intending the lettering to be fairly minimal, but I have made ‘cast’ plates before (for other tar tanks), from 10 thou’ with ‘letters’ fretted from 5 thou’ strip. The aim is the illusion of legibility. I’ll add a rim from fuse wire later. This is the sort of madness talking to Geoff Kent leads to.



To save your eyes, I’ve invented a subsidiary of the Bishops Lydyeard quarry owners, W.J. King - they of half the preserved steam waggons in the realm it seems - who, in my parallel reality, operated an asphalt division from Exeter.

Still haven’t added the steam inlet fittings…

Adam

 

[AJC]

It looks a little more complete with the stays on, doesn’t it?



The heating coil inlets are in place and I have found just enough T section that will connect the headstocks to the stretchers that support the stays. There’s half a chance it will make a reasonable model, I think.



Adam