4mm How to be a Good Son in Law - A 57xx for Christmas
James
Western Thunderer
Don't worry, he's well on his way!
We have a skip coming in a couple of weeks so we can clear the garage and take its roof off - once re-roofed we'll be insulating it and making it in to a proper room. Thomas was talking to me about it and asked what was going in there and where. I said my railway would be on one side and work benches on the other; "where will my railway go?" was his reply!
We have a skip coming in a couple of weeks so we can clear the garage and take its roof off - once re-roofed we'll be insulating it and making it in to a proper room. Thomas was talking to me about it and asked what was going in there and where. I said my railway would be on one side and work benches on the other; "where will my railway go?" was his reply!
James
Western Thunderer
AJC
Western Thunderer
Hi James
I appreciate the reason for the inactivity, all power to your elbow to get through it. An impressive model; I've never been too caught up in the minutiae of Derby type 2s but I admire the attention to detail. How did you find the springing part of the exercise? Dad has a set of etches for his EE type 3/class 37 to do and on a 3 axle bogie, this should make a substantial difference.
Adam
I appreciate the reason for the inactivity, all power to your elbow to get through it. An impressive model; I've never been too caught up in the minutiae of Derby type 2s but I admire the attention to detail. How did you find the springing part of the exercise? Dad has a set of etches for his EE type 3/class 37 to do and on a 3 axle bogie, this should make a substantial difference.
Adam
James
Western Thunderer
Thanks Adam 
the Penbits bogies are an absolute joy to build! And anytime the loco's been tested it has glided along; it impressed a few people when in ran on Steve 'Halifax King Cross' Hall's Drighlington layout on a long line of mineral wagons. Not sure what to do with it now as the layout it was originally intended for fell through when a friend pulled out - there's also a part built Bachmann/Lima class 40 -
Now with new bogies - those shown were 'borrowed' from another conversion - it just sits forlornly on a shelf in the workshop... I've got rid of the other items of sotck and ktis I acquired but have kept the class 40 and, or course, the class 25.
For my North Linconshire layout I have a 37/5 next in the queue and this will feature Ian's bogies too. Springing isn't essentail for P4 diesel conversions but it does really enhance models, plus there are other detail benefits with fitting the bogies in terms of bogie end detail and brake gear on most of the kits now.
With parts from Brian Hanson/Shawplan, Ian Penberth's Penbits and Justin Newitt the possibilities with D&E modelling in 4mm are enormous now!
the Penbits bogies are an absolute joy to build! And anytime the loco's been tested it has glided along; it impressed a few people when in ran on Steve 'Halifax King Cross' Hall's Drighlington layout on a long line of mineral wagons. Not sure what to do with it now as the layout it was originally intended for fell through when a friend pulled out - there's also a part built Bachmann/Lima class 40 -
Now with new bogies - those shown were 'borrowed' from another conversion - it just sits forlornly on a shelf in the workshop... I've got rid of the other items of sotck and ktis I acquired but have kept the class 40 and, or course, the class 25.
For my North Linconshire layout I have a 37/5 next in the queue and this will feature Ian's bogies too. Springing isn't essentail for P4 diesel conversions but it does really enhance models, plus there are other detail benefits with fitting the bogies in terms of bogie end detail and brake gear on most of the kits now.
With parts from Brian Hanson/Shawplan, Ian Penberth's Penbits and Justin Newitt the possibilities with D&E modelling in 4mm are enormous now!
AJC
Western Thunderer
My hope is that the sprung bogie wil sort out the relationship between the bodyshell and the bogie side frames - the thing that bugs me most is how wide the bogies are and how awkward this looks going round curves.
The one thing I would say about that 25 is that it isn't the bought in bits, apart from possibly the fuel tanks, that make a huge visual difference. It's the area where the body meets the chassis that shows the real improvement.
Adam
The one thing I would say about that 25 is that it isn't the bought in bits, apart from possibly the fuel tanks, that make a huge visual difference. It's the area where the body meets the chassis that shows the real improvement.
Adam
James
Western Thunderer
I've also extended the lower edge of the cab with a strip of 40 thou all round which when cobined with extending the depth of the middle windscreen and add height to the communication doors radically changes the proportions of the front end, but in a subtle way.... If 'radical' and 'subtle' can be used to describe the same thing! It look right, well it does to me anyway.
The actual bought in components are small in number - the main items are the Shawplann fan grille and lazerglaze pack and the Brassmaster fuel tanks, forgetting about the running gear for the time being. I scratchbuilt the water tank, not hard as it's just a box, but I mis-read my measurements and made it 2mm too narrow!
So I sliced it in two and added a frame of 2mm strip from Evergreen and stuck it back together! The rest of the underframe is simply plastic and brass strip. 2mm 'H' section from Evergreen makes up the back bone of the chassis frame conversion. I used Jim Smith-Wright's method as a basis but I think I have gone a bit further in terms of the number of seperately components. But he has a large number of items to build for New Street so time does come into it!
The Penbits class 37 bogies seem to place the side frame where they should be - I've narrowed all the bogies of any Bachmann class 37s I've since they first appeared ten or so years ago. It makes a big difference! Though I still maintain the best class 37 I've seen was from a 1983 Railway Modeller which had been rebuilt from the old Triang-Hornby model!
The actual bought in components are small in number - the main items are the Shawplann fan grille and lazerglaze pack and the Brassmaster fuel tanks, forgetting about the running gear for the time being. I scratchbuilt the water tank, not hard as it's just a box, but I mis-read my measurements and made it 2mm too narrow!
So I sliced it in two and added a frame of 2mm strip from Evergreen and stuck it back together! The rest of the underframe is simply plastic and brass strip. 2mm 'H' section from Evergreen makes up the back bone of the chassis frame conversion. I used Jim Smith-Wright's method as a basis but I think I have gone a bit further in terms of the number of seperately components. But he has a large number of items to build for New Street so time does come into it!The Penbits class 37 bogies seem to place the side frame where they should be - I've narrowed all the bogies of any Bachmann class 37s I've since they first appeared ten or so years ago. It makes a big difference! Though I still maintain the best class 37 I've seen was from a 1983 Railway Modeller which had been rebuilt from the old Triang-Hornby model!
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James
Western Thunderer
My attempt to ensure I remain the number one son in law!
As both a Christmas present and as a thank you for all the work which my Mother in Law's partner has been doing on our house, this is seemed ideal His layout is Cornish with china clay workings - 8702 was a St Blazey engine and matched the Bachmann varient of the 57xx.
A detailed Bachmann 57XX - new handrails, added lamp irons, improved glazing, etched bars over the rear windows, new buffers by Gibson, RT Models sandbox linkages, Gibson screw couplings. I also removed the moulded coal and this allowed the replacement coal to be set lower in the bunker which looks much more pleasing. Aside from the the replacement handrails, the biggest improvement came from thinning the cab edges. Finally, a full repaint and weathering.
A nice enjoyable project
As both a Christmas present and as a thank you for all the work which my Mother in Law's partner has been doing on our house, this is seemed ideal
His layout is Cornish with china clay workings - 8702 was a St Blazey engine and matched the Bachmann varient of the 57xx. A detailed Bachmann 57XX - new handrails, added lamp irons, improved glazing, etched bars over the rear windows, new buffers by Gibson, RT Models sandbox linkages, Gibson screw couplings. I also removed the moulded coal and this allowed the replacement coal to be set lower in the bunker which looks much more pleasing. Aside from the the replacement handrails, the biggest improvement came from thinning the cab edges. Finally, a full repaint and weathering.
A nice enjoyable project
Locomodels
Western Thunderer
You should get some Brownie points for that then !
