AJC
Western Thunderer
Already got that - but the want of decent crossheads isn't addressed in those etches. The body is the bit I'm looking forward to!
Adam
Mike G's Workspace.
- Thread starter Mike Garwood
- Start date
Already got that - but the want of decent crossheads isn't addressed in those etches. The body is the bit I'm looking forward to!
Adam
Mike Garwood
Western Thunderer
Still battling the man flu, I've managed to get a satin varnish onto the 51xx and start the new kit required for the County.
Finished the coupling rods, there are an awful lot of pieces to fit. And my goodness the finished articles are really thin. Disappointingly I had to open out every single etched hole. This made the build really tedious. But, the finished article looks great and the centers match. Admitedly these coupling rods are for a Hall, but they are the same measurements as a County (seven ft by seven ft nine). But once they're spinning are you really going to know the difference - if I hadn't told you?
Another dreadful photo from my iPhone!
Currently building the cross heads & slide bars for the County, so far everything fits without fuss. The nice thing about the slide bar construction is that Brassmasters provide a jig to build the slides and fit the pistons, very impressed with that. I'm going to order a few more of these - I have a number of built GWR engines that could do with this up grade.
Stay safe
Mike
Finished the coupling rods, there are an awful lot of pieces to fit. And my goodness the finished articles are really thin. Disappointingly I had to open out every single etched hole. This made the build really tedious. But, the finished article looks great and the centers match. Admitedly these coupling rods are for a Hall, but they are the same measurements as a County (seven ft by seven ft nine). But once they're spinning are you really going to know the difference - if I hadn't told you?
Another dreadful photo from my iPhone!
Currently building the cross heads & slide bars for the County, so far everything fits without fuss. The nice thing about the slide bar construction is that Brassmasters provide a jig to build the slides and fit the pistons, very impressed with that. I'm going to order a few more of these - I have a number of built GWR engines that could do with this up grade.
Stay safe
Mike
Mike Garwood
Western Thunderer
Thanks to Simon I now have a decent photo of what I've been up to.
Top are the coupling rods, middle is one of the slide bars and cross heads - Just finished the second one before I started this. Bottom is the jig that's provided. To be honest I didn't use it as intended, but it is handy to fold up and get the registration between the piston head and the receiving piston valve absolutely spot on. Once everything was fitted in place it was just a case of removing the cusps on the slide bars and it all travels smoothly. Lovely little up grade kit, well worth the money and effort.
Back to the 51xx sometime this week, but most probably next week as my daughter has some surgery this Thursday and there will be quite a recuperation period. Here's hoping it goes as smoothly as this did. I've already placed an order for 2 more sets of this stuff.
Stay safe
Mike
Top are the coupling rods, middle is one of the slide bars and cross heads - Just finished the second one before I started this. Bottom is the jig that's provided. To be honest I didn't use it as intended, but it is handy to fold up and get the registration between the piston head and the receiving piston valve absolutely spot on. Once everything was fitted in place it was just a case of removing the cusps on the slide bars and it all travels smoothly. Lovely little up grade kit, well worth the money and effort.
Back to the 51xx sometime this week, but most probably next week as my daughter has some surgery this Thursday and there will be quite a recuperation period. Here's hoping it goes as smoothly as this did. I've already placed an order for 2 more sets of this stuff.
Stay safe
Mike
Mike Garwood
Western Thunderer
Daughters surgery went according to plan, now recovering slowly. My man flu is still hanging around which makes it 4 weeks since it started!
Back with the 51xx...
Wheels and springing sorted on the radial truck and pony. It all runs thru my plank when pushed - which was a bit of a surprise - it'll be a different story once the body goes on and power is applied.
I've also put the brakes in, this makes a huge difference to the look of the chassis. The surprising thing with the brakes was that I had to file down some of the brake linings to get them to fit comfortably. Nothing major, just another annoyance.
The good thing about the radial truck is that the springing is fairly unobtrusive.
And finally a bit of a topping out ceremony as the polished top hat went on, and if I'm not mistaken needs some more of an adjustment for a better fit to the boiler. At least I feel as though I'm coming towards the end with this project. This Friday will see a trip to Barrow Road and there will be some more rolling stock to test. Can't wait!
Stay safe
Mike
Back with the 51xx...
Wheels and springing sorted on the radial truck and pony. It all runs thru my plank when pushed - which was a bit of a surprise - it'll be a different story once the body goes on and power is applied.
I've also put the brakes in, this makes a huge difference to the look of the chassis. The surprising thing with the brakes was that I had to file down some of the brake linings to get them to fit comfortably. Nothing major, just another annoyance.
The good thing about the radial truck is that the springing is fairly unobtrusive.
And finally a bit of a topping out ceremony as the polished top hat went on, and if I'm not mistaken needs some more of an adjustment for a better fit to the boiler. At least I feel as though I'm coming towards the end with this project. This Friday will see a trip to Barrow Road and there will be some more rolling stock to test. Can't wait!
Stay safe
Mike
Mike Garwood
Western Thunderer
What a month...
Having recovered from a dose of the flu and then having to contend with 3 complete weeks of Grand parenting duties equals one very frustrated modeller. But today, today was a catch up day with no children. Sooo, after the chores had been completed, I wandered into the study. First thing to do : re-acquaint myself with how far I'd got.
First thing was to clean up stuff that I'd left flux on, then clean the wheels - stop the rust getting any worse.
Next I added whippers / pick ups and then install the chip. Took a bit of time but no dramas. Onto the coupling rods next and it's only a temporary fix on until I've proven that the chassis runs.
One of the remaining jobs left to do was to attach the G hangers to the slide bars. Needless to say, they didn't fit. Not only did I have to widen them, I also had to thin them down to fit. After a lot of fuss and filling everything ran smoothly. I've had to thin the slide bars, this isn't a surprise. If you've ever built a steam loco kit, then you'll know that this is the norm. I've yet to build a kit where I haven't had to do this.
Too many jobs to list to get to the end of this. But I've wiped off a few from the blackboard today.
Tomorrow sees a first visit to Cheltenham, for a first fitting of my suit for my daughters wedding. I hate shopping at the best of times, having people fuss about me could call for some cold tea.
Stay safe
Mike
Having recovered from a dose of the flu and then having to contend with 3 complete weeks of Grand parenting duties equals one very frustrated modeller. But today, today was a catch up day with no children. Sooo, after the chores had been completed, I wandered into the study. First thing to do : re-acquaint myself with how far I'd got.
First thing was to clean up stuff that I'd left flux on, then clean the wheels - stop the rust getting any worse.
Next I added whippers / pick ups and then install the chip. Took a bit of time but no dramas. Onto the coupling rods next and it's only a temporary fix on until I've proven that the chassis runs.
One of the remaining jobs left to do was to attach the G hangers to the slide bars. Needless to say, they didn't fit. Not only did I have to widen them, I also had to thin them down to fit. After a lot of fuss and filling everything ran smoothly. I've had to thin the slide bars, this isn't a surprise. If you've ever built a steam loco kit, then you'll know that this is the norm. I've yet to build a kit where I haven't had to do this.
Too many jobs to list to get to the end of this. But I've wiped off a few from the blackboard today.
Tomorrow sees a first visit to Cheltenham, for a first fitting of my suit for my daughters wedding. I hate shopping at the best of times, having people fuss about me could call for some cold tea.
Stay safe
Mike