Scattergun Distractions - Gadzooks, I appear to have gone normal
- Thread starter Neil
- Start date
Neil
Western Thunderer
No you're not and yes it does. The prototype does have a cartoonish air about it, perhaps I've amped it up by attempting to capture the character rather than the dimensional exactitude of the real thing.
Thank you, I will.
In the spirit of just getting on with stuff here's where I'm now at with the little blighter.
Still looks a bit Mr Men, doesn't it.
Steve Cook
Flying Squad
Looks grand, in a teeny tiny sort of way 
Are you going to paint it with Adidas stripes instead of chevrons?
Steve
Are you going to paint it with Adidas stripes instead of chevrons?
Steve
Neil
Western Thunderer
Over the past week progress has been somewhat slowed by the dreaded lurgi, massive unpleasantness for the past few days, I shall say no more for fear of putting the timid reader off their tea. However in potter/recuperate mode I've managed to take a few photos of where I had got up to before being so rudely interrupted. To cut a long story short, a mould was made for the body shell and a test casting undertaken and fettled, here's the result.
It's still a long way off a finished kit, the body being held to the mechanism with blu-tack, but I'm happy that it shows promise. The full casting tutorial is available over here at Narrow Gauge Modelling Online, you'll have to sign up to see it but the forum is well worth the visit for the breadth of the other contributions.
It's still a long way off a finished kit, the body being held to the mechanism with blu-tack, but I'm happy that it shows promise. The full casting tutorial is available over here at Narrow Gauge Modelling Online, you'll have to sign up to see it but the forum is well worth the visit for the breadth of the other contributions.
Neil
Western Thunderer
Progress on the self propelled footwear has been slowed whilst I recuperate from the dreaded lurgi. In between nurse mopping my fevered parts and administering grapes and other tasty titbits, I have cobbled up chassis mounting block and coupler masters, ready for the rubber tomorrow.
Neil
Western Thunderer
It's taken a while but I've finished the masters and moulds. Yesterday was spent pouring resin at hourly intervals and finishing of my test build. Here's the wee beastie posed on my Welsh pizza.
You might have noticed from the earlier shot that I had problems getting all four axle box covers to cast cleanly. It took five goes before I worked out what to do, since then every cast has come out cleanly. The secret turned out to be pouring a small amount of resin into the mould before tilting the mould to each side and coaxing the resin into the depressions of the axle boxes with a sharpened coffee stirrer. Once done the remainder of the resin was poured in and the process continued as normal. Yesterday was a good and productive day as I finished the packaging artwork and am two thirds of the way through the instructions.
You might have noticed from the earlier shot that I had problems getting all four axle box covers to cast cleanly. It took five goes before I worked out what to do, since then every cast has come out cleanly. The secret turned out to be pouring a small amount of resin into the mould before tilting the mould to each side and coaxing the resin into the depressions of the axle boxes with a sharpened coffee stirrer. Once done the remainder of the resin was poured in and the process continued as normal. Yesterday was a good and productive day as I finished the packaging artwork and am two thirds of the way through the instructions.
Neil
Western Thunderer
The latest random deployment of the scatter gun has caused a shift eastwards in my model making. For some time I've been squireling away Belgian HO wagons bargain bought via e-bay. I thought that I'd like a small shunter to shove them about as a notion of an industrial city scene has been forming in the bit of my brain dedicated train set production. To my mind there is nothing more iconically Belgian than one of these quirky beauties.
Not having stumbled across anything to buy, it's the making route to a Cockerill for me. Also as my thoughts have been turning away from scale exactitude over the past year I find myself happy to cobble together something of correct-ish proportion rather than a bang on reproduction. Being observant you will have spotted that the Cockerill vertical boilered locos come in many varieties, though with strong familial characteristics. I'm hoping that my take on one of these will have enough to pass muster as a long lost relative, a sort of steam critter.
The starting point is one of a pair of Model Power 0-4-0 tank engines that came as part of a ten quid train set from that well known tax avoiding international internet retailer.
At the top is the original Model Power mechanism sans body but unaltered. Below is the result of my hacking so far. Much cutting and filling has brought the cylinders back by 4mm to reduce the gap between them and the front drivers. This has enabled me to cut a good chunk of the front of the chassis block. I've also unclipped the motor and turned it 180 degrees which has brough the resistors and other electrical gubbins to the inside of the chassis, allowing me to trim the rear overhang down by a a good deal too. There's still a little tidying up to do once the last lot of plasticard patches has set firm, then the chassis will get a base coat of grime and have it's wheels refitted.
Edit: I believe there may be/have been a Gecomodel kit, but the price quoted is over 500 euros, I think I'll stick with the ten quid option.
Not having stumbled across anything to buy, it's the making route to a Cockerill for me. Also as my thoughts have been turning away from scale exactitude over the past year I find myself happy to cobble together something of correct-ish proportion rather than a bang on reproduction. Being observant you will have spotted that the Cockerill vertical boilered locos come in many varieties, though with strong familial characteristics. I'm hoping that my take on one of these will have enough to pass muster as a long lost relative, a sort of steam critter.
The starting point is one of a pair of Model Power 0-4-0 tank engines that came as part of a ten quid train set from that well known tax avoiding international internet retailer.
At the top is the original Model Power mechanism sans body but unaltered. Below is the result of my hacking so far. Much cutting and filling has brought the cylinders back by 4mm to reduce the gap between them and the front drivers. This has enabled me to cut a good chunk of the front of the chassis block. I've also unclipped the motor and turned it 180 degrees which has brough the resistors and other electrical gubbins to the inside of the chassis, allowing me to trim the rear overhang down by a a good deal too. There's still a little tidying up to do once the last lot of plasticard patches has set firm, then the chassis will get a base coat of grime and have it's wheels refitted.
Edit: I believe there may be/have been a Gecomodel kit, but the price quoted is over 500 euros, I think I'll stick with the ten quid option.
Neil
Western Thunderer
Whilst waiting for paint to dry and pondering whether to resin cast the Cockerill body or not, the boffins at the Aberllefenni Laboratories of Corris Rail & Allied Products have been getting to grips with two wire control. Eschewing modern commercial developments is in vogue here in mid-Wales, motivating an alternate approach. Here we see on the left, the compact model whilst to the right is the deluxe version featuring sound.
Steph Dale
Western Thunderer
Marvellous, a sort of Cockerill au Van then...
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Steph
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Steph
Neil
Western Thunderer
I had sort of promised myself that during the festive season I'd celebrate in my own way by trying to finish as many of my half started projects as possible. However it hasn't panned out that way. A spot of pre Christmas bargain hunting on e-bay resulted in me being the proud owner of this.
Which I decide could be turned into one of these; the principle attraction being that I could festoon it with soviet bloc style red stars, front and rear. Fortunately a side elevation was available on the net, so I could work out what would need to be done.
The plastic flew everywhere for the next few hours.
I was amused by the buffers; moulded in rubber they have a satisfying wobble when twanged.
Fairly early on I was able to rebuild the underframe, whilst working out where to chop the cab and bonnet. As I have been fairly fired up with the project I've made better progress than I usually do. Here are the part reconstituted upper works reflecting the state of play this lunchtime.
At the moment I have no inclination to build a Czech layout, but this T 211.0 shunter was built in huge quantities, exported widely and after front line use sold on to industry in good numbers. Mine will find a home when I get round to building a depiction of the inland Belgian port of Ennui/Verveling, where it will find a use shunting the warehouse complex.
Which I decide could be turned into one of these; the principle attraction being that I could festoon it with soviet bloc style red stars, front and rear. Fortunately a side elevation was available on the net, so I could work out what would need to be done.
The plastic flew everywhere for the next few hours.
I was amused by the buffers; moulded in rubber they have a satisfying wobble when twanged.
Fairly early on I was able to rebuild the underframe, whilst working out where to chop the cab and bonnet. As I have been fairly fired up with the project I've made better progress than I usually do. Here are the part reconstituted upper works reflecting the state of play this lunchtime.
At the moment I have no inclination to build a Czech layout, but this T 211.0 shunter was built in huge quantities, exported widely and after front line use sold on to industry in good numbers. Mine will find a home when I get round to building a depiction of the inland Belgian port of Ennui/Verveling, where it will find a use shunting the warehouse complex.
Steve Cook
Flying Squad
Love the trainavan concept Neil, a top piece of whimsy Is it a first? I certainly don't recall seeing one before, I wonder if Castens could be tempted to stick one behind the Spurnhead Railcar 
Top bashing on the T 211.0 - I had to look up the Terminator series just to see if it had been used by Skynet, cue Arnold:
'Its an early prototype, a T 211. Made from cheap crappy plastic and capable of failing with regularity. It can change shape in the hands of a gifted modeller and replicate other small diesel shunters. It dislikes boxes, oval trainsets and mainlines.'
Steve
Is it a first? I certainly don't recall seeing one before, I wonder if Castens could be tempted to stick one behind the Spurnhead Railcar Top bashing on the T 211.0 - I had to look up the Terminator series just to see if it had been used by Skynet, cue Arnold:
'Its an early prototype, a T 211. Made from cheap crappy plastic and capable of failing with regularity. It can change shape in the hands of a gifted modeller and replicate other small diesel shunters. It dislikes boxes, oval trainsets and mainlines.'
Steve
Neil
Western Thunderer
Apparently not, I knew of the two wheeled luggage trailers that were hitched onto the back of French narrow gauge railcars, but thought I was a trailblazer with a passenger version. However a couple of days ago Ted Polet posted this link on the narrow gauge forum; looks like the Dutch beat me too it by almost a hundred years.
