Monthly Archives: October 2017

Going, going, gone to the painter. The B16/1 is complete at last.

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The last few days working on the B16 have been spent on making up the rather prominent cylinder crain cocks and their operating mechanism from the ends of JLRT coach vacuum or some such pipes of which I had four in my spares box and scrap etch. I also made up and fitted the rear sand pipes.

Gladiator B16-1 – Cylinder Drain Cocks and operating levers

Gladiator B16-1 – Rear Sand Pipes

Tonight I reassembled it and took the following photos before dropping it off at Warren’s for painting.

Gladiator B16-1 – Ready for painting

Gladiator B16-1 – Ready for painting

Gladiator B16-1 – Ready for painting

Plus a few arty shots to finish

Gladiator B16-1 – Ready for painting

Gladiator B16-1 – Ready for painting

Gladiator B16-1 – Ready for painting

Gladiator B16-1 – Ready for painting

Gladiator B16-1 – Ready for painting

Ian Kirk All 3rd almost ready to rock

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A concerted effort this weekend has seen the All 3rd nearing completion. Still to do are fitting the roof and having seen the photos sticking part of one of the rain strips down.
Having chosen to ultimately glue the roof on last I had, had some debate about how windows that became dislodged through handling would be replaced. After a bit of head scratching I cam up with a cunning plan.
Each window is an individual pane which is glued into the rebate inside the coach but I have also added a strip of secondary glazing which rests on the strip that strengthens the sides and runs the full length of the coach. It’s is held in place by the edges of the compartments which I filed down to allow the glazing strip to fit. This will prevent the individual panes from being dislodged.

Ian Kirk 7mm Scale LNER All 3rd Suburban – Double Glazing

Ian Kirk 7mm Scale LNER All 3rd Suburban

Ian Kirk 7mm Scale LNER All 3rd Suburban

Ian Kirk 7mm Scale LNER All 3rd Suburban

To fit the no smoking transfers I made up a little jig from a piece of 20thou styrene which was the width of the window from the outside. I measured half way up the window and marked the styrene. I then added 1mm and marked it again. After measuring the with of the transfer I subtracted this from the total width and divided the remainder by two. I measured the result from each edge and marked a vertical line from the high line to the middle line at each side and then cut the styrene out leaving me with a rectangle of styrene with a notch cut out that centres the transfer in the middle of the window both vertically and horizontally

Ian Kirk 7mm Scale LNER All 3rd Suburban

Ian Kirk 7mm Scale LNER All 3rd Suburban

Ian Kirk 7mm Scale LNER All 3rd Suburban

Ian Kirk 7mm Scale LNER All 3rd Suburban

Ian Kirk 7mm Scale LNER All 3rd Suburban

The All 3rd end is near…

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Although I have only one photo, the All 3rd is nearing completion. The transfers are on, it’s glazed and the roo vents have been re-fitted – right number in the right place….
I left it on Sunday night with the glue in the glazing drying so unless I discover anything that I have missed I should have it all put together next weekend.

Ian Kirk 7mm All 3rd Roof

Gladiator B16-1 First Test Run

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After my mistake with the wheels on Saturday, I sorted them out and with the weather being not too bad we cleaned up part of the circuit on the garden line and gave it a try.

Sadly, the rigid chassis doesn’t take well to my less than generous curves but it is alive and now just needs final detailing.

Here’s a video of it running up and down the straight section.

https://youtu.be/GS0lEnoHSXs

Chris also took a few photos of it in the sunshine. Just a few more details to add before it goes of to Warren for painting.

Gladiator B16-1 First test run

Gladiator B16-1 First test run

Gladiator B16-1 First test run

Gladiator B16-1 First test run

Gladiator B16-1 First test run

Gladiator B16-1 First test run

Gladiator B16-1 First test run

Gladiator B16-1 First test run

Gladiator B16-1 First test run

Ian Kirk 7mm scale All 3rd, a few more details completed

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Although I have been concentrating on the B16 I have done a little on the All 3rd by picking out the handles in brass.
I popped all the bits together to see how it looked – it’s still just plonked on the bogies with the roof just resting in place.

Kirk 7mm scale LNER All 3rd Grab and T Handles

Kirk 7mm scale LNER All 3rd Grab and T Handles

Kirk 7mm scale LNER All 3rd Grab and T Handles

I hope that I might get the transfers on this weekend.

Gladiator B16/1 Bodywork Complete, Chassis final details next.

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In between popping along to Keighley show where I had a great time chatting to many people I have made much progress on the B16.
Unless something else jumps out at me while working on the chassis, the body is finished. Now it’s onto the electrics plus the final details on the chassis. At this rate I may have to change plans and take it for a run on the test track at Shildon On Saturday afternoon.
While studying the one photo that I have of 61450, I noted that I had missed an oiler on the right rear  splasher. I had made it but can’t recall why I didn’t fit it when I fitted the others but it’s corrected now.

Gladiator B16-1 Body details completed

Gladiator B16-1 Body details completed

Gladiator B16-1 Body details completed

Painting the Kirk’s

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At the beginning of each session on the B16 recently I have sprayed the All 3rd in either Carmine, matt varnish or lastly masked up and sprayed the black.
 

Ian Kirk All 3rd Paint job

Ian Kirk All 3rd Paint job

Ian Kirk All 3rd Paint job

 
The paints were both from the Vallejo Model colour range – Carmine and Black. The varnish used was Ronseal water based let down with Vallejo thinners.
 
I also made a start on adding the teak varnish to my Kirk Parcels van.
 

Ian Kirk 51 ft Parcels van – A start on the teak finish

Ian Kirk 51 ft Parcels van – A start on the teak finish

Ian Kirk 51 ft Parcels van – A start on the teak finish

 
Again the finish is Vallejo Model Colour Orange covered by (so far) 7 coats of Ronseal waterbased Teak varnish applied by brush so not let down.

Gladiator B16/1 More Body Details

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This week work on the B16 has continued to flow.
The lubricators are on and although you get plain castings I drilled them out to add the pipework inside some microbore tube that I picked up earlier in the year from Barry of MetalSmiths fame.

Gladiator B16-1 Lubricator pipework

There was a thread on the Guild site discussing drilling brass castings and one of the suggestions (besides buying proper drill bits) was to heat to a cherry red heat and let the casting cool naturally. I have used this method before and it has to be said without much success.  I decided to try again and I have come to the conclusion that previously I just didn’t get it red enough – this time the cheapo Microbox type drills went through it like butter. I did you my Proxxon Mini Pillar drill though.

Gladiator B16-1 Lubricator pipework

Gladiator B16-1 Lubricator pipework

Ian Kirk All 3rd Paint job

You know when something niggles at you that there’s something not quite right? Well I had the feeling and finally pinned it down to the fact that the chimney was just not quite on square so I heated it up and attempted to nudge it. I must have been a bit vigorous because the next second it was on the floor. The good news is that in knocking it off I had spread the solder a little in the right direction and putting it on square was a simple matter of putting it in place and then heating it with the microflame until it sank down in the solder. A little cleaning up and I was happy

Detailing the loco body

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As mentioned briefly elsewhere the detailing of the B16 is coming along nicely but not without minor frustrations.
This is where I have got to so far –

Gladiator B16-1 Detailing the Loco Body

On to the frustrations, earlier I had made the oil boxes that sit on the front splasher tops, the first one on the right hand splasher too about 10 attempts to solder it on, I would get it positioned and then clamped with self locking tweezers but each time I reached for the soldering iron to solder it from the back the blessed thing either moved or fell off. Finally I got it soldered in place and decided to do the other one. This was even worse, after three failed attempts to solder it on, it flew off into space and despite a good grovel I couldn’t find it. So I set to and made another, blow me if the same thing didn’t happen again. A couple or three failed attempts then twang…..
With the third iteration I filed a slight hollow in the base front to back so that it sat better on the splasher top and I managed to solder it on first go.

Gladiator B16-1 Detailing the Loco Body

Gladiator B16-1 Detailing the Loco Body

Next I made up and fitted the operating rod on the right hand side that was fitted to some locos. The casting was provided in the kit but I scratched the level from some scrap etch. This was all fairly straight forward as was drilling the foot plate and rear splashers and fitting the other oil boxes with the pipes. The boiler furniture again all went smoothly apart from the dome.

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Gladiator B16-1 Detailing the Loco Body

Gladiator B16-1 Detailing the Loco Body

Gladiator B16-1 Detailing the Loco Body

My dome casting was ever so slightly misshapen so that the oval of the dome when viewed from the top was at odds with the curvature of the boiler. As I said it was only marginally out but enough to make the dome sit slightly out of square (if a round object can sit square….) As it turns out it was a blessing in disguise because as designed the kit only caters for the earlier type of boiler. As I understand it the main visible difference between them being the position of the dome either astride a boiler band or between them.
To remedy the misshape I cut of the threaded spigot from the bottom and then using a ball shaped burr I ground out the remnants of it mounting and then I wrapped a strips of sanding belt around the boiler and twisting ever so slightly I rubbed away at the casting  until it sat down ‘squarely’ the added bonus was that I was then able to move it back quite a way so that it only just covered the etched hole in the boiler. While ot 100% in the right place it’s a lot better visually than had I just fitted it through the etched hole and moved on

Gladiator B16