Marchford Creek
- Thread starter Bullhead
- Start date
Bullhead
Western Thunderer
Hello All,
Again, there has been a very long gap between reports from Marchford Creek. Many good things have been going on that have kept me from the workbench. Not the least of these was a trip to Switzerland with a significant rail related content. It was so good to get there at last after more than 2 years Covid delay.
We have had a great many weekends booked up this year for theatre trips and meet ups with family and friends. This has been great but has kept me from some of the exhibitions I would otherwise have attended. By chance, the 2FS exhibition fell on a free Saturday and was easily accessible so I decided to go along.
I’ve always been impressed by the achievements of 2mm modellers in making such tiny mechanisms work so smoothly. There are enough difficulties for me in 4mm. The exhibition was very enjoyable and it was good to see layouts in the flesh after reading about them.
Inevitably, I found myself in the well-stocked sales area. On offer was a very tempting starter kit including a 16T mineral wagon kit (plastic body and etched underframe) with a length of 2FS rail and track bases. At £7 it was too good an offer to resist.
The etching is very fine and is supplied with exquisite turned buffers and vac cylinder as well as wheels.
Starting with the body, the few components went together very well with minimal flash removal. The etched underframe was fiddly to complete because of its tiny proportions. It is well designed and being NS took solder very well. I used my 25w Antex with a 1mm tip and red flux. Once completed the underframe was blackened to give a base for painting.
The track sections went together easily and look very good when completed. I used a bit of card for a base and added some fine ballast, finishing with sleeper grime, dark rust and an overall light wash of sleeper grime.
The wagon was painted with enamels, adding rusty patches by stippling on matt black followed by dark rust and a hint of brake dust. The underframe detail was highlighted using dry brushed rust and brake dust.
Will I be deserting EM for 2FS? No! But it was a very enjoyable interlude. I had always thought of 2mm as half the size of 4mm but in 3d it is one eighth! Hats off to the 2FS fraternity for a great show and such a high standard of work. Hopefully there will be some Marchford Creek news before too long!
Again, there has been a very long gap between reports from Marchford Creek. Many good things have been going on that have kept me from the workbench. Not the least of these was a trip to Switzerland with a significant rail related content. It was so good to get there at last after more than 2 years Covid delay.
We have had a great many weekends booked up this year for theatre trips and meet ups with family and friends. This has been great but has kept me from some of the exhibitions I would otherwise have attended. By chance, the 2FS exhibition fell on a free Saturday and was easily accessible so I decided to go along.
I’ve always been impressed by the achievements of 2mm modellers in making such tiny mechanisms work so smoothly. There are enough difficulties for me in 4mm. The exhibition was very enjoyable and it was good to see layouts in the flesh after reading about them.
Inevitably, I found myself in the well-stocked sales area. On offer was a very tempting starter kit including a 16T mineral wagon kit (plastic body and etched underframe) with a length of 2FS rail and track bases. At £7 it was too good an offer to resist.
The etching is very fine and is supplied with exquisite turned buffers and vac cylinder as well as wheels.
Starting with the body, the few components went together very well with minimal flash removal. The etched underframe was fiddly to complete because of its tiny proportions. It is well designed and being NS took solder very well. I used my 25w Antex with a 1mm tip and red flux. Once completed the underframe was blackened to give a base for painting.
The track sections went together easily and look very good when completed. I used a bit of card for a base and added some fine ballast, finishing with sleeper grime, dark rust and an overall light wash of sleeper grime.
The wagon was painted with enamels, adding rusty patches by stippling on matt black followed by dark rust and a hint of brake dust. The underframe detail was highlighted using dry brushed rust and brake dust.
Will I be deserting EM for 2FS? No! But it was a very enjoyable interlude. I had always thought of 2mm as half the size of 4mm but in 3d it is one eighth! Hats off to the 2FS fraternity for a great show and such a high standard of work. Hopefully there will be some Marchford Creek news before too long!
Bullhead
Western Thunderer
Hello All,
It has been a very long time since my last post - time flies by! Modelling time has been short but things are still moving and I have kept up my inspiration by reading WT, visiting ExpoEM in May and last week a visit to the NRM.
Here is a quick round up of my activity in the last few months.
First, a classic kit that has been in my collection for many years. The dia 1410 van will serve on Marchford Creek as an ageing internal user van for moving stores and equipment around the complex.
While the quality of etching is great, the suspension and brakes are somewhat basic so I chose to use Bill Bedford sprung suspension and some etched brake equipment to update the model.
There are plenty of etches to laminate in building up the framing for the doors and van sides.
The van now awaits a roof, some buffers and paint.
Next under the iron were these Brassmasters coupling rods for an 08 shunter. This is a side project that I was not supposed to start until something was finished but I just fancied a bit more laminating of metal! It is quite fiddly to keep all the components lined up and there is a lot of reaming to get the crankpin holes to size. The result justifies the effort expended.
Next on the agenda, a High level 04 shunter chassis. Ultimately, this will support a body built from the classic Airfix/Dapol kit with added detail. I carried out a similar build some years ago but was not happy with the outcome. The (Branchlines) chassis would not run correctly (my build, not the product!) and the standard of finish on the body was not what I had wanted to achieve. Hopefully, my skills have developed enough to give a better result this time round.
The step units completed. Beautifully designed and etched in common with all the High Level products I have worked on.
Coupling rods complete apart from the knuckle joints. Note the dummy crankpin for the “Illusodrive” system, which simplifies setting up the chassis.
This is my first attempt at a CSB chassis. Using the High Level CSB jig it was surprisingly easy to set up the spring beam. A little planning was required to add cut-outs to the front and rear spacers for the wires to pass through. The image shows the chassis set up with (temporary) Romford wheels from my previous attempt at this build.
During this build, I have used the excellent Poppy’s Loco builder box for the first time. This is a brilliant piece of kit and was very helpful in getting everything lined up correctly.
The bespoke gearbox is an integral part of the etch. I filed the motor plate “ears” down a little to allow the box to drop out of the frames complete so that wheels can be set up away from the chassis. In spite of using narrow hornblocks on the driven axle, it was necessary to thin the gearbox frames slightly to get sufficient clearance.
On a recent trip to Sicily, it was interesting to see the number of rail lines covering the island including both standard and 950mm gauge. These two shots of Taormina-Giardini were grabbed from a moving vehicle. I am told the station was used for some scenes in The Godfather so there is a good excuse to watch it again.
It has been a very long time since my last post - time flies by! Modelling time has been short but things are still moving and I have kept up my inspiration by reading WT, visiting ExpoEM in May and last week a visit to the NRM.
Here is a quick round up of my activity in the last few months.
First, a classic kit that has been in my collection for many years. The dia 1410 van will serve on Marchford Creek as an ageing internal user van for moving stores and equipment around the complex.
While the quality of etching is great, the suspension and brakes are somewhat basic so I chose to use Bill Bedford sprung suspension and some etched brake equipment to update the model.
There are plenty of etches to laminate in building up the framing for the doors and van sides.
The van now awaits a roof, some buffers and paint.
Next under the iron were these Brassmasters coupling rods for an 08 shunter. This is a side project that I was not supposed to start until something was finished but I just fancied a bit more laminating of metal! It is quite fiddly to keep all the components lined up and there is a lot of reaming to get the crankpin holes to size. The result justifies the effort expended.
Next on the agenda, a High level 04 shunter chassis. Ultimately, this will support a body built from the classic Airfix/Dapol kit with added detail. I carried out a similar build some years ago but was not happy with the outcome. The (Branchlines) chassis would not run correctly (my build, not the product!) and the standard of finish on the body was not what I had wanted to achieve. Hopefully, my skills have developed enough to give a better result this time round.
The step units completed. Beautifully designed and etched in common with all the High Level products I have worked on.
Coupling rods complete apart from the knuckle joints. Note the dummy crankpin for the “Illusodrive” system, which simplifies setting up the chassis.
This is my first attempt at a CSB chassis. Using the High Level CSB jig it was surprisingly easy to set up the spring beam. A little planning was required to add cut-outs to the front and rear spacers for the wires to pass through. The image shows the chassis set up with (temporary) Romford wheels from my previous attempt at this build.
During this build, I have used the excellent Poppy’s Loco builder box for the first time. This is a brilliant piece of kit and was very helpful in getting everything lined up correctly.
The bespoke gearbox is an integral part of the etch. I filed the motor plate “ears” down a little to allow the box to drop out of the frames complete so that wheels can be set up away from the chassis. In spite of using narrow hornblocks on the driven axle, it was necessary to thin the gearbox frames slightly to get sufficient clearance.
On a recent trip to Sicily, it was interesting to see the number of rail lines covering the island including both standard and 950mm gauge. These two shots of Taormina-Giardini were grabbed from a moving vehicle. I am told the station was used for some scenes in The Godfather so there is a good excuse to watch it again.
Bullhead
Western Thunderer
Hi all,
A brief update on the 04 diesel chassis.
Side play has been set up in accordance with the suggested 0.5 mm max each side on the centre axle (for EM). A quick push round the layout with some temporary weight on board suggests that all is well curve-wise in both directions and through all the point work.
Next step is to work on the body. The venerable Airfix/Dapol kit needs a lot of intervention to get to the level needed. Some of this will be a repeat of the previous effort and some definitely not. Notably glazing, which was a disaster last time.
That's all for now.
Cheers,
Peter
A brief update on the 04 diesel chassis.
Side play has been set up in accordance with the suggested 0.5 mm max each side on the centre axle (for EM). A quick push round the layout with some temporary weight on board suggests that all is well curve-wise in both directions and through all the point work.
Next step is to work on the body. The venerable Airfix/Dapol kit needs a lot of intervention to get to the level needed. Some of this will be a repeat of the previous effort and some definitely not. Notably glazing, which was a disaster last time.
That's all for now.
Cheers,
Peter