7mm On Heather's Workbench - Aintree Iron: an Austerity adventure

[warren haywood]

Hi Heather,
When I hear rattle can I just have to have my two pennarthworth hope you don't mind

It's gotta be two part etch primer every time, the thing with acrylic, cellulose, call them what you like, are only protectors agains rust designed for ferrous metals, at least with etch primer it will etch into the materials we use including resin. The last thing you want as a professional builder is models coming back with paint chipping off.
As for cleaning equipment after spraying on primer, a blow thru with thinner is ample, it won't etch into your airbrush.
Precision 2 part primer is fantastic stuff, sticks like the proverbial and dries in seconds without grittiness, orange peel or any other nasty finish. Remember that your topcoat is only as good as what's underneath.

As for only black!!, treat em like you would a green loco, with glossy boiler and valance edge and a matter smokebox footplate top ect. You can then tone them down with weathering
Just on with this Finney V2 for Nick, you will see what I mean.

There rant over, feel better now





Cheers Warren

 

[7mmMick]

A big thumbs up for the V2 Warren. I know wish lists are band but I will one day be the proud owner of a Finney V2 and there's a good chance it will be black. Any chance of a finished picture on your thread please

ATB Mick

 

[warren haywood]

A big thumbs up for the V2 Warren. I know wish lists are band but I will one day be the proud owner of a Finney V2 and there's a good chance it will be black. Any chance of a finished picture on your thread please

ATB Mick

Will do, although Nick has the tender chasis

 

[Heather Kay]

Almost two months to the day since I last touched this build in anger. Doesn't time fly?



A fair morning's work saw the main loco running plate folded, riveted and laminated, and the frame extensions likewise.

Aside from cleaning up the etch cusps, things have pinged together neatly. I even managed to keep the running plate reasonably flat! The only folds that worried me were those right along the edge of the plate, where you have to fold down a strip barely a couple of millimetres wide - owning the largest available hold'n'fold helped.

My aim is to complete the basic running plate construction today. I'm trying to do a day's work each week on every build currently on and around the bench, so we'll see how I get on!

 

[alcazar]

That sounds like a good idea..so long as you can remember where you are on each one. I once tried reading three books at once, it gave me weird dreams......

A big thumbs up for the V2 Warren. I know wish lists are band but I will one day be the proud owner of a Finney V2 and there's a good chance it will be black.

did you ever get one Mick? Or are you. like me, waiting with crossed fingers for the sale of the range to be announced? I hope Mr Waterman doesn't buy it....I'd like to be able to afford one.....

 

[Heather Kay]

I think I achieved everything I set out to do. I have more or less completed section 3 of the instruction sheet.

The oils boxes exercised the brain cell. Seven nice brass castings, with five unions that needed drilling out to accept suitable wire for the pipework. I tried drilling manually, but either the drill was blunt or the brass too hard. Perhaps I didn't want to break the drill, as it was a 0.5mm one…

Then I wondered if I could clamp a casting so I could use the pillar drill…

Then I thought perhaps it would be a good idea to solder each casting to a sheet of brass.



Which is what I did. I still couldn't get the drill to follow the centre of the unions properly. It was almost possible to centre pop the unions, but even then the drill wanted to wander. In desperation - realising the boxes sit with the unions downwards - I filed them all back and marked out for drilling on the flattened casting.

That worked, more or less. A quick play with the gas torch released things from the baseplate, a quick cleanup and each box soldered to the lubricator bracket ready for fitting to the running plate.

Meanwhile, the sandbox fillers were folded up from the etches. The whitemetal filler lids have quite long location tails, but the location on the etch is sans hole. I think the kit has been upgraded, so there are representations of the filler neck behind the casting. I drilled out the centres of each etch.



This is where I got to at close of play. I think the oil pipework may be glued to the boxes, or possibly low temp soldered. I haven't made up my mind yet. There's still a way to go before it looks like an engine, but it's getting there.

 

[alcazar]

I'm very interested in this one, a WD 2-8-0 is on my list, and I've seen the Snowhill ones which look quite good, but the illustration on the JLTRT website has theirs' valvegear looking somehow "odd" to me.....maybe the combination lever is too long?

So I'm following this with interest.

 

[Eastsidepilot]

The oils boxes exercised the brain cell. Seven nice brass castings, with five unions that needed drilling out to accept suitable wire for the pipework. I tried drilling manually, but either the drill was blunt or the brass too hard.............

They can be buggers Heather, I now don't bother trying to drill them, just clean them off, as you say and drill/mill out to take some micro bore tube as oil pipe unions.

Col.

 

[alcazar]

Tried one of those drills made for drilling PCB, high carbide content?

I think brass castings get a sort of hard skin on them. Can they be annealed?

 

[Heather Kay]

I managed in the end, using the Proxxon pillar drill. I think I'm beginning to push the limits of what I can fit in 7mm scale as far as detailing is concerned!

All oil boxes now have a set of pipes fitted. It nearly ended up with me throwing them, lock, stock and barrel, across the workshop. Happily, after a short spell chilling and letting the blood pressure return to normal, all was completed to more or less my satisfaction.

The next stage is to make bends to fit things in the brackets. I may be some time.

 

[Heather Kay]

I fitted all the oil pipes, from brass, then tried to form the bends to fit them into the brackets.

So, I did them all again with copper wire.



All the oil boxes are glued to their brackets. I shall leave them off the running plate until most of the other fiddling about has been done.



The smokebox saddle is a resin lump. You have to drill out a cavity to fit it over the captive nut soldered to the running plate. Not mentioned in the instructions, but you knew that anyway.



While I was there, I drilled out the holes for the grab handle. You might spot two-and-a-half holes per side. The reason for this is the holes are supposed to be etched through, and there are two overlaid parts for the front deck. You would be correct in guessing the holes don't line up… A spot of filler will be needed later, I guess.

I have a love-hate relationship with buffer housings. It's quite important to get them square and true, and not pointing in different directions like Marty Feldman's eyeballs.



I got there in the end. The headstock is two laminated parts, with a half-etched part displaying all the rivets for the outside. The front of the lower deck needed some filing to square things up, as the headstock has to fit flush against it. As it is, there's a slight lip behind the centre portion, where it's level with the outer parts. I will leave it as there's no point faffing about trying to get it any better.

I used the RSU to fix the the headstock to the frames. I tinned everything first, then applied a little solder paste. This acted as a mild adhesive to hold things in place while the amps did their thing. I then upended the whole assembly and stood it on the buffer housings and applied more amps to the rear. I thought I might need to reinforce the joints with some brass angle, but it seems fairly strong.



The buffers are the MOK LMS/BR self-contained ones. No projections behind the headstock, interfering with the support brackets.

Next, I turned to more upper side detailing. I managed to locate all the brass castings required for the reversing mechanism.



The long fork goes into the front of the cab. The lever connects to the cross rod that runs across the frames. The reach rod itself is a casting, with holes in the ends. There's nothing in the box I could find to make the lever connection bracket, so I repurposed part of the tender's etched brake rigging - which, you may recall, was replaced by castings. I think it'll do.

I now have singed fingers and an aching neck. Time for dinner!

 

[Heather Kay]

Today's adventure took a while to get started. I spent a while checking on broad gauge coach body priming (it's looking good), and investigating interesting methods of holding coach roofs in place.

Then I spent a while studying photos of WDs to work out how the reversing gear was arranged, and an almost equal amount of time hunting down the various castings. Let's just say they're all in the box, but not necessarily in the right order - or resembling the drawings!



First job was to fit the rod brackets. Lovely brass castings, I have to say, so full marks to JLTRT. I found a suitable length of brass wire the right diameter, which helped make sure the brackets were aligned. Then it was a case of fitting the levers. I succeeded in soldering things together so the levers still move. While it's a nice thing to do, it's also helpful to leave things flexible so it's easier to fit stuff together when it comes to the main valve gear.

It seems that almost every image of a WD in action shows the main reversing lever almost vertical. Who am I to argue? I used some blutack to support the curved levers at the same angle while fixing things together.



Next, I discovered the reach rod connecting bracket I spent ages fabricating yesterday. I quickly cleaned things up and attached it to the lever. This will be vulnerable for a while, but it can be secured to the running plate with tape for a spell.

Some more poring over drawings and photos followed, as I couldn't identify any parts that matched the instructions as far as the reverser radius rod links were concerned. This kit seems to have acquired a second set of underframe etches at some point, as well as the super detail kit. Eventually, I found a cast rod that was exactly the thing I needed.

A little cleaning up and filing for fit to ensure things moved freely, and I have a working reversing gear - for now.

In other news, I have been fettling the oil pipes and sanding pipe fixtures. I feel they would be vulnerable to damage at the moment, so they're going to fitted to the running plate at around the same time as the boiler.

What I could really do with now is some clear images showing the pipe runs for the injectors. I have a GA, and the instructions show something half useful. What I woukd like is to know where each pipe goes, so I can decide if I need to model more of it than just the short bits expected! The injector assemblies and front footsteps will be built up later, as they are also likely to be damaged at this stage of the build.

 

[Heather Kay]

Just because I could, and because it's fun…

 

[Dave Bowden]

Heather

I have a few photos of 90733 taken on a photo shoot if you are interested.

Dave

 

[Heather Kay]

I have a photo of 90733 taken on a photo shoot if you are interested.

Ooh, yes please, Dave. Feel free to post it here, as it may help others as well. Thanks!

 

[alcazar]

This is excellent, the build is superb and the castings etc look the part.
Plus we are slowly building up a detailed set of fingerprints for Heather from the Blu-Tack.

Still following with interest.

 

[Dave Bowden]

Ooh, yes please, Dave. Feel free to post it here, as it may help others as well. Thanks!

Two full size one from each side, and a couple of thumbnails.








I've changed these last two to full size, so as to zoom in on them, doesn't seem to work on thumbnails.
I've exchanged the long shot for a closer one, these are on the GCR an case anyone was wondering.
Dave

 

[Scale7JB]

Just because I could, and because it's fun…

Hope you're going to stick a servo on the end of that...

JB.

 

[Heather Kay]

Hope you're going to stick a servo on the end of that...

JB.

Not on this build, sadly. The option's there for those who might want to, though.

 

[Len Cattley]

Hi Heather love your build ,I have some drawings of the engine and tender that came from Mick Nicholson of this parish if he doesn't mind I could email them to you tommorow?
Len