warren haywood
Western Thunderer
Stupid boy
dibateg
Western Thunderer
I'm now on to a project of my own for a while another WD, this time a JLTRT one to join my Oakville and Snow Hill ones.. You can't have too many WDS...
The frames are well on the way, with the cylinders just plonked on for the moment.
The motion bracket had an unsightly hole for the expansion pivot, so that was plugged with a disk cut from 1.6mm wire and the stub shortened:-
The frames are well on the way, with the cylinders just plonked on for the moment.
The motion bracket had an unsightly hole for the expansion pivot, so that was plugged with a disk cut from 1.6mm wire and the stub shortened:-
FiftyFourA
Western Thunderer
I suppose this WD will be completed by the time you read this post based on your normal speed 
Anyway, nice to bump into you at York - hope the missus was not too bored.
Peter
BTW, the Q1 looks really good, just CRYING out for grotification (is that a word - "it is now"!)
Anyway, nice to bump into you at York - hope the missus was not too bored.
Peter
BTW, the Q1 looks really good, just CRYING out for grotification (is that a word - "it is now"!)
dibateg
Western Thunderer
This is a background job at the moment, with client work taking a priority at the moment. I'm waiting for stuff to come in the post so I spent today sorting out the hornblocks. There was no way of retaining them in the guides, so I hit on sleeving the axle some brass tube to keep them apart. It seems to work. The frames are set quite wide and with the wheels being so close together I decided to make my own picks ups. Essentially brass tube soldered in double sided pcb projecting through a small hole in the frames. One disadvantage of having the wheels so close, is that the brake hangers have to be partially ground away to prevent shorts.
The etched cab goes together nicely, but the boiler seems to be resting on the weighshaft, but it's taking shape...
The etched cab goes together nicely, but the boiler seems to be resting on the weighshaft, but it's taking shape...
dibateg
Western Thunderer
Warren di an excellent job on the paintwork..
I must admit I'm getting frustrated now, I seem to have to be modifying every part. The relationship between the slidebars and the motion bracket seemed to be all over the place. So firstly I thinned the bars down in height, as they seemed far too chunky. I then had to re-instate the two oilers on the top bar. The support for the slidebars on the motion bracket appears to be too deep and so forces the bars down at too much of an angle, so I cut off the flange to shorten it and soldered up a representation of it on the top of the slidebar - which still appear to be too short, the end should be in front of that brake hanger. So I might remove the two nuts on top and make an extended end which will represent the filler piece as well. Not only that, but the motion bracket flanges to the frames interfere with the wheel so corners have been filed off for clearance.. The valve guides seem to be sitting a little low, the one on the other side has been put higher, this one needs to be adjusted too.. There is so much slop in the axle boxes I'm not sure it will work.. ah well, time for a break from it...
I must admit I'm getting frustrated now, I seem to have to be modifying every part. The relationship between the slidebars and the motion bracket seemed to be all over the place. So firstly I thinned the bars down in height, as they seemed far too chunky. I then had to re-instate the two oilers on the top bar. The support for the slidebars on the motion bracket appears to be too deep and so forces the bars down at too much of an angle, so I cut off the flange to shorten it and soldered up a representation of it on the top of the slidebar - which still appear to be too short, the end should be in front of that brake hanger. So I might remove the two nuts on top and make an extended end which will represent the filler piece as well. Not only that, but the motion bracket flanges to the frames interfere with the wheel so corners have been filed off for clearance.. The valve guides seem to be sitting a little low, the one on the other side has been put higher, this one needs to be adjusted too.. There is so much slop in the axle boxes I'm not sure it will work.. ah well, time for a break from it...
dibateg
Western Thunderer
After a week in Germany, A sign of the times, I'm weathering more RTR stuff, which is great for 7mm scale. This Dapol 350 just needs a bit more oil residue on the body I think:-
The very nice Lionheart 'B' sets. Just some toning down brings out the detail, a before and after:-
The very nice Lionheart 'B' sets. Just some toning down brings out the detail, a before and after:-
AJC
Western Thunderer
Nice - perhaps the 350 might also benefit from cleaning the muck off the buffer beams leaving a nice residue in the nooks and crannies? At present, there seems to be a coating on top of the buffers - where it might wear off by shunters' boots, shunters' poles and so on - and not on the bottom, where it would be rather less likely. Certainly more oil on and around the fuel tanks, a very distinctive feature of weathering on these locos and their derivatives.
Adam
Adam
dibateg
Western Thunderer
I had a spare afternoon, so I thought I would tackle a few of the issues with the WD. To resolve the short slidebars, I found some scrap nickel silver sprue and was able to create some blocks to extend the slidebars. These were soldered on to the ends ( remembering to put the crossheads in first!) . With some careful filing and scribing they will have to do, they not quite long enough really. A layer of grime will hide any joins I hope. The original nuts holding the end block were filed off, and will be re-instated. The valve guide was also sitting too low, so that was taken off and the hole filed out, so that it could move up a mill or so. The hornblocks have enough slop to drive a bus through, but I've fitted the coupling rods and she seems to roll without any binding. The wheels are close to frames, brackets, brakes, well, in fact everything, so some filing has been required s well as further this washers behind the wheels...
dibateg
Western Thunderer
Thanks Adam - a second opinion helps. In fact the buffer beams have already had that treatment, they can't be seen from the angle of the photo but not the buffer housings, so I've addressed that. The AKA fuel stains were not heavy enough, so I've used a mix of gloss varnish and metalcote. Some more dirt has also been run around the doors and hinges. I think those Dapol 350's are such value for money.
Cheers
Tony
Cheers
Tony
dibateg
Western Thunderer
I decided to have a break from the WD and get on with a couple of client jobs, these being some WEP wagons. Again, the Fruit D has been well documented by Raymond Walley on his own website. There is a lot of small items to surface solder, so for this build, I dug out and dusted off my resistance soldering unit that I obtained from Eric Harrison a few years ago. I've not used one before, but Raymond ably demonstrated the technique to me a Guildex a year or two back.
I soldered the ribs on and soldered the joins with my traditional iron. Hinges and other small items by resistance.
I did find the etched slots a little wide, so it was a juggle to get everything lined up. Initially I just tacked tops of doors and bottoms of sides. I got something wrong and had to take the doors off again on one side.
It is most useful when others have documented their builds, so copying Raymond I used some N/S rail to strengthen the sides - yep I know its not quite horizontal!
The solder paste does leave a bit of residue so my main concern is getting rid of that, but I have enjoyed learning a new skill.
I soldered the ribs on and soldered the joins with my traditional iron. Hinges and other small items by resistance.
I did find the etched slots a little wide, so it was a juggle to get everything lined up. Initially I just tacked tops of doors and bottoms of sides. I got something wrong and had to take the doors off again on one side.
It is most useful when others have documented their builds, so copying Raymond I used some N/S rail to strengthen the sides - yep I know its not quite horizontal!
The solder paste does leave a bit of residue so my main concern is getting rid of that, but I have enjoyed learning a new skill.
dibateg
Western Thunderer
Thanks John - still learning!
More progress on the underframe. Brake shoes and tumblers were soldered using the resistance method. I like the way you can keep the probe in place to keep everything in position as it all cools. I put a back on the battery box , I don't like them hollow from behind.
I've also pressed on with the Beetle. Some more cleaning up is required to remove all that splashed about solder.. It's an untidy vehicle to me... all those movable panels, and it's actually quite heavy with all those brass layers...
More progress on the underframe. Brake shoes and tumblers were soldered using the resistance method. I like the way you can keep the probe in place to keep everything in position as it all cools. I put a back on the battery box , I don't like them hollow from behind.
I've also pressed on with the Beetle. Some more cleaning up is required to remove all that splashed about solder.. It's an untidy vehicle to me... all those movable panels, and it's actually quite heavy with all those brass layers...
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
Just goes to show how a simple black/brown wash can make the difference.
Steph Dale
Western Thunderer
Cool, don't see many of those around these days.
Steph
Steph
oldravendale
Western Thunderer
I've not seen one of those for many years. The stag beetle is a protected species and is now quite rare. We used to see the occasional lesser stag in the garden of our previous home but, despite leaving out logs to rot they were never colonised by the big version.
B.
B.
dibateg
Western Thunderer
More side detail, it's over a hundred separate parts for each side now. The louvres look a lot better now and the whole thing looks a lot more solid. I discounted the white metal detail items for bump stops and hinges and made them up from brass instead. A clean up next and then the roof...
