simond
Western Thunderer
The workbench ends 2024 with some bits on the milk (brake) van.
Sliding doors assembled, just need filing to fit, end steps fitted, wheels & wheel bearings installed.
there aren’t any bracing angles in the kit, hopefully I have some bits from Metalsmith that are the right size. There doesn’t seem to be any provision for brakes either. Never mind, we have the technology…. What did I say about an ”out of the box build”?
I wish all WT’s a Happy & Healthy 2025, may all your models turn out just right!
atb
Simon
Sliding doors assembled, just need filing to fit, end steps fitted, wheels & wheel bearings installed.
there aren’t any bracing angles in the kit, hopefully I have some bits from Metalsmith that are the right size. There doesn’t seem to be any provision for brakes either. Never mind, we have the technology…. What did I say about an ”out of the box build”?
I wish all WT’s a Happy & Healthy 2025, may all your models turn out just right!
atb
Simon
paulc
Western Thunderer
AAAHHHHHHRead it again…
Ms & MrsD, daughter is in town!
simond
Western Thunderer
Ok, so ”out of the box build”?
er, no,
Well, I guess you could, but…
Firstly, my mistake, the ends are part of the floor, but are half etched for the panelling. There are slots cut through on the bend line, but they’re not sufficient, and bending, even with bending bars, distorts the panelling. If you have one to build, cut the end off the floor, solder a bit of angle to the floor and attach that the the sides, fit the ends after. You’ll need three hands, burn your fingers, and swear a bit but you’ll make a nicer job of it than I have. Cross with myself. It didn’t look so bad til I fitted the buffer beams, or I might have taken it all to bits, but by the time it was obvious, I’d done a lot more.
The other end is a little better.
ok, now the kit. I’ve built a fair few Blacksmith kits and I’m been quite happy with them, but this one, I don’t know, not quite as good, I guess.
Dimensionally, it checks out ok, might be marginally too high, less than a millimetre, spot on for length, wheelbase, width.
I was wrong to say there was no provision for the truss rods. There is, but it’s Plastruct. I used some Metalsmith 2x2 angle.
There’s a bit of paucity in the brake gear. There’s a cylinder, and some cranks, and some vac pipes, but no shoes, no hangers, no spreader beams. Ironic, given it’s a brake van. Fire up the CAD…
The lower steps should clearly have an upstand along the back, with cutouts to clear the axleboxes. The provided etch has no upstand, and no cutouts. Not a problem, but a surprise, and a disappointment.
The tumblehome was a pain to achieve, took much patience and gentle manipulation. The fold-back door reveals were similarly tedious, and required some cleaning up.
I shall have to make the window bars, no biggie. The castings for the springs & buffer stocks are reasonably nice but the axleboxes would take longer to clean than to print new.
The most annoying issue is also easily solved, but the roof. The roof is a sheet of pre-rolled 0.3 brass and at first sight dropped nicely into place. At second sight, it’s about 3mm too long, which is a tedious fix, and at third sight, it’s nothing like the correct profile, which means that gluing it on is a fool’s errand, so an alternative will be found.
I could 3DP a roof on my resin printer, but a much quicker solution will be to print a former on the FDM printer at work, and cover it with cartridge paper. Fire up the CAD. If I get my finger out, I can print it tomorrow and I’ll have the roof to play with during the forecast horrid weather on Sunday.
So far, I think it’s fair to call this one a curate’s egg!
er, no,
Well, I guess you could, but…
Firstly, my mistake, the ends are part of the floor, but are half etched for the panelling. There are slots cut through on the bend line, but they’re not sufficient, and bending, even with bending bars, distorts the panelling. If you have one to build, cut the end off the floor, solder a bit of angle to the floor and attach that the the sides, fit the ends after. You’ll need three hands, burn your fingers, and swear a bit but you’ll make a nicer job of it than I have. Cross with myself. It didn’t look so bad til I fitted the buffer beams, or I might have taken it all to bits, but by the time it was obvious, I’d done a lot more.
The other end is a little better.
ok, now the kit. I’ve built a fair few Blacksmith kits and I’m been quite happy with them, but this one, I don’t know, not quite as good, I guess.
Dimensionally, it checks out ok, might be marginally too high, less than a millimetre, spot on for length, wheelbase, width.
I was wrong to say there was no provision for the truss rods. There is, but it’s Plastruct. I used some Metalsmith 2x2 angle.
There’s a bit of paucity in the brake gear. There’s a cylinder, and some cranks, and some vac pipes, but no shoes, no hangers, no spreader beams. Ironic, given it’s a brake van. Fire up the CAD…
The lower steps should clearly have an upstand along the back, with cutouts to clear the axleboxes. The provided etch has no upstand, and no cutouts. Not a problem, but a surprise, and a disappointment.
The tumblehome was a pain to achieve, took much patience and gentle manipulation. The fold-back door reveals were similarly tedious, and required some cleaning up.
I shall have to make the window bars, no biggie. The castings for the springs & buffer stocks are reasonably nice but the axleboxes would take longer to clean than to print new.
The most annoying issue is also easily solved, but the roof. The roof is a sheet of pre-rolled 0.3 brass and at first sight dropped nicely into place. At second sight, it’s about 3mm too long, which is a tedious fix, and at third sight, it’s nothing like the correct profile, which means that gluing it on is a fool’s errand, so an alternative will be found.
I could 3DP a roof on my resin printer, but a much quicker solution will be to print a former on the FDM printer at work, and cover it with cartridge paper. Fire up the CAD. If I get my finger out, I can print it tomorrow and I’ll have the roof to play with during the forecast horrid weather on Sunday.
So far, I think it’s fair to call this one a curate’s egg!
timbowales
Western Thunderer
Simon, given all that is "wrong" with this kit, do we know if Blacksmith designed this or acquired it from another, now-defunct producer?
simond
Western Thunderer
Tim,
Blacksmith were right at the forefront of etched brass - I recall the obituary some years back which described their contribution to our hobby, iirc, there were two chaps involved, Jim(?) Smith being one. From what I remember, they started it all off, though I think maybe etched zinc predated the brass. SEE CORRECTION BELOW.
This kit is probably well over 20 years old, possibly much older, as one of the instruction sheets is dated November 1984. It’s all hand drawn, and it’s much better than some locos I could think of, my Garratt for example wasn’t even symmetrical. So, it’s a product of its time, and one has to accept that. As I said, it’s not quite up there with others I’ve made, but maybe I’m being picky. I know Dave @daifly has one, so if I can give him, and anyone else, a heads-up to make their builds better/easier/more satisfying, tant mieux.
its been a few years since I built my brass toplights, I didn’t use the brass roofs for them either, when I think back. There was a chap lived in Rhyl or Prestatyn whom David Jenkinson recommended, and I purchased spindle-moulded wooden roofs from him, which I covered in cartridge paper. I guess time moves on, the 3DP former is drawn and I’ll print it at the office in the morning. Brakes, etc, can follow over the weekend.
atb
Simon
Blacksmith were right at the forefront of etched brass - I recall the obituary some years back which described their contribution to our hobby, iirc, there were two chaps involved, Jim(?) Smith being one. From what I remember, they started it all off, though I think maybe etched zinc predated the brass. SEE CORRECTION BELOW.
This kit is probably well over 20 years old, possibly much older, as one of the instruction sheets is dated November 1984. It’s all hand drawn, and it’s much better than some locos I could think of, my Garratt for example wasn’t even symmetrical. So, it’s a product of its time, and one has to accept that. As I said, it’s not quite up there with others I’ve made, but maybe I’m being picky. I know Dave @daifly has one, so if I can give him, and anyone else, a heads-up to make their builds better/easier/more satisfying, tant mieux.
its been a few years since I built my brass toplights, I didn’t use the brass roofs for them either, when I think back. There was a chap lived in Rhyl or Prestatyn whom David Jenkinson recommended, and I purchased spindle-moulded wooden roofs from him, which I covered in cartridge paper. I guess time moves on, the 3DP former is drawn and I’ll print it at the office in the morning. Brakes, etc, can follow over the weekend.
atb
Simon
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Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
Rosé?
simond
Western Thunderer
Thanks Phil, the end profile looks pretty good to me, it’s a “three arc elliptical” which isn’t either three arcs or elliptical, but anyway…
The drawings I have are vague on useful stuff like radius dimensions!
excerpt from JH Russell, A pictorial record of GW Coaches including the Brown Vehicles, pg 102 for info
The printer generated this, this morning. Actually, several.
after some surgery to the vehicle, I was able to install it thus
I will glue a layer of cartridge paper over this former, which will provide the right overhangs, and meet the body sides at the cantrails. I’ll stiffen the cartridge paper with cyano. Obviously there are ventilators and twin rain-strips to add too.
next job is some brakes.
atb
Simon
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Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
Just a thought but... Could you 3D print the roof a little smaller and then overlay with some 20thou plasticard to get the smooth profile and overhangs??? Would that enable printing coarser and quicker?
simond
Western Thunderer
Pretty much what I did. I didn’t use the resin printer, the work Bambu FDM produced three roofs in less than two hours, maybe two quid‘s worth of plastic.
Cartridge paper has some texture, which looks (to me) more reminiscent of a canvas than pk. Once stiffened with cyano, it’s pretty rigid.
Cartridge paper has some texture, which looks (to me) more reminiscent of a canvas than pk. Once stiffened with cyano, it’s pretty rigid.
Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
I do the same with paper roof tiles. Soaking exposed edge tiles in super glue. Stops them curling and getting damaged.