Life get’s in the way….

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Rob Pulham

Life has got in the way of any modelling for the last couple of weeks or so but a little progress has been made on the brakes and water scoop gear.

Starting with the brakes.

Doh Moment

I had a proper DOH! moment with these when fitting the crank I read the instructions and worked out where it all went but for some reason I didn’t start on it for a couple of days and foolishly didn’t re-read the instructions… As I was fitting it the crank should have fitted as it is in the red square but initially I worked on fitting the end of the shaft through the etched holes which I had enlarged before realizing (red curved line).

The next bit of the instructions says words to the effect of assemble the water scoop gear using the 1/32 brass pins provided. Which at the outset doesn’t seem very helpful, however there are a couple of isometric drawings, and a couple of prototype photos in the main instructions and a supplement to the instructions which has a useful photo of a made up model and another drawing. Careful study of these allows you to work out what goes where. Thankfully I was also able to confirm my workings out were correct by asking Tony Geary who built one recently.

In the last photo once I had worked out that the two long operating rods (part 16 for anyone building one) needed to be soldered together I also decided to beef up the two end links that were half etched. I soldered them to a bit of scrap nickel fret, drilled them out and filed them to shape. The prototype photos show balance weights for parts 14 but the photo of the made up kit didn’t have them. I couldn’t find any castings for them so I made them up from some brass rod that I had in stock. I drilled through the middle and soldered a brass pin in to give some end definition (Tony suggested that I ask Dave Sharp for castings but by the time I saw his note I was well on with making them).

All I need to do now is put it all together…….

A bit of head scratching and a rolling chassis

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Rob Pulham

I managed to crack on and get a smoothly rolling inner chassis yesterday.

I bought this kit in 2010 and the instructions are dated much older than that, however the last revision of the etches is dated 2007.

This makes for an interesting time in places. – For example, on the section of the instructions dealing with the assembly of the compensation beams it mentions using alternate parts from a 15 “thou” supplementary etch which is now one of the main etches – quite easy to work out as the parts are quite distinctive and are clearly duplicated (I just ran the digital caliper over them to find out which ones were 15 “thou”).

The next little bit that could trap the unwary is the next page which covers the assembly of the inner chassis is text wrapped around a drawing so it takes a bit of following but the key is that the drawing is in fact of a different bit entirely that isn’t mentioned in the text and I almost moved onto the next section without assembling it. I was just double checking and ticking off what I had done when I noticed it. Hopefully this might help someone else when they come to build one.

This last photo highlights one of the rare bits where a couple of the tabs don’t align. Again this is highlighted to assist future builders rather than being a criticism of the kit. As I understand it Dave Sharpe (MOK) withdrew it for a while to correct the few minor errors but there wasn’t enough interest to warrant the time so he re-released it unchanged. The fact that these two tabs don’t align makes no difference to the accuracy or ease of going together of this section because all the other bits that interlock with this (whose tabs do align), mean that once you snip these two off it goes together nicely.

From the depth’s of the cupboard!

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Rob Pulham

The next project from the depths of the shelf queen cupboard is the 06.

Over the last couple of weeks in between tinkering with Papyrus and weathering cattle wagons I have remade a start on this. In an effort to get back into the thinking without having to pick my way through where on the loco I have got to at this stage, I decided to start on the tender.

So far I have made up the outer frames and the compensation beams for the inner frames.

The 4 year project is complete!

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Rob Pulham

Papyrus is officially finished Yeay!

Last night I fitted the buffers that arrived true to their word earlier in the week. I don’t plan on any photos since nothing much has changed until I get the opportunity to give her a run in the garden.

More cattle wagons

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Rob Pulham

Sometime back on the workbench 3 Slaters Midland cattle wagons made an appearance. Since painting and transfers were added they have languished in the cupboard awaiting weathering, buffers and couplings to be added. in the intervening time I have either lost or used the couplings that came with the kits – one set I think was binned because the kit was so old the coupling hook was pressed steel. I replaced these with some Premier components couplings and got around to weathering them. One of the biggest jobs was loading them with cattle which in 7mm scale can work out quite expensive. Slaters do some nice cast ones that you have to solder together and I had managed to collect a few of these but the cheapest that I managed was £9 for three -Ouch! In the meantime I was reading one of the threads on RMWeb and someone commented that they had used Britain 1/32 scale calves to good effect as cattle in 7mm scale. A quick look on eBay found some at £6 for six much better to my tight fisted Yorkshire mind 😆 so I ordered a couple of packs to see what could be made of them. Having painted them and added them to the wagons they make a reasonable representation of heifers so they will do for me. I have added one of Slaters in each wagon to add a bit of weight and I am quite please with the overall effect. If I am totally honest each wagon could have used at least another one or two to fill them but I can live with them as they are. I had a go at making it look as if some of the canvas had come off showing the roof laths underneath but I am not entirely convinced that I have made convincing job of it….