mickoo
Western Thunderer
Okay, time to start a new thread, one with no affiliations elsewhere, there will be no set pattern, region or anything else; basically whatever box (though I am quite selective in the boxes they may present) someone hands me to make.
Telford saw the first of hopefully a steady flow of kits to pass across the bench and first up is a Warren Shephard County class with Hawksworth tender.
A quick look through the box finds some nice castings, very nice in some cases, a set of instructions (that can easily be read in a single retail opportunity broadcast on independent TV) and some etches.
It's quite clear very early on that the kit comes from an older generation, one where you're left to your own devices in some areas, such that I wouldn't consider it a kit for the novice. The etch layout and design is also old school, for example the engine cab is two side sheets and a front, requiring the builder to align and square up a butt joint.....modern kits would be one piece with a half etch fold line inside.
None the less the kit isn't something to be afraid of, so far all the parts measured up do so very well and square, so with a little care and forethought there should be little drama. It's more your honest pint, pie and chips type of affair.
Starting with the tender.
Three simple etches, the upper right being a supplementary sheet for the inner chassis, the instructions are concise and the pictorial etches with part numbers leave no doubt which is require and which is waste.
It didn't take long to split out the basic bits for the tank and clean up and then came the first hurdle really, there are no half etch indents for the rivets, the kit comes with a paper overlay which you attach and use as a guide. Unfortunately mine has been lost which kind of slowed things down a bit, none the less a quick scrummage through my sources revealed the majority of visible rivets that need punching through.
Out came the scribe and rule and the back of the relevant the parts were soon marked up and punched out. There's a couple of areas I need to double check before assembly and hopefully these'll be exposed as I rummage through my mags in storage this evening.
The basic parts laid out, folding the tender rear corners will take some concentration and getting a good seamless joint between the two will take some care.
A couple of banana skins await the intrepid, there's no markings on the inside of the tank side to show where the corner bends should be, a case of careful alignment with the footplate and making your own marks; more modern kits would have half etch bend aids.
I'm also not sure if the tank sides should go in the recess or not, if they do then that leaves a ledge around the base, which I think would be correct for a Hawksworth 4000G fitted to Castles, Halls and Granges but not Counties. The County tender is 6" wider, it does have a ledge but appears much smaller than the 8'-0" variants noted above. Having said that, both bulkheads and well deck do align with the sides if they are fitted into the recess, maybe one tender kit does all ?
There are also no markings to show the height of the rear tank top, though in fairness the instructions state it shall be about 3.8 mm from the top of the rear wall, I shall add some strips inside to help settle the well deck into the right place; the same lack of alignment marks applies to the rear and front bulkheads.
The rear bulkhead needs a beading added to the top on both sides to represent the angle that holds the plate strip across the top, a few other little details may also need adding but we're not out to replicate Lee Marsh or Masterpiece so upgrades will be minimal.
More anon once I've waved the hot stick about a bit
Telford saw the first of hopefully a steady flow of kits to pass across the bench and first up is a Warren Shephard County class with Hawksworth tender.
A quick look through the box finds some nice castings, very nice in some cases, a set of instructions (that can easily be read in a single retail opportunity broadcast on independent TV) and some etches.
It's quite clear very early on that the kit comes from an older generation, one where you're left to your own devices in some areas, such that I wouldn't consider it a kit for the novice. The etch layout and design is also old school, for example the engine cab is two side sheets and a front, requiring the builder to align and square up a butt joint.....modern kits would be one piece with a half etch fold line inside.
None the less the kit isn't something to be afraid of, so far all the parts measured up do so very well and square, so with a little care and forethought there should be little drama. It's more your honest pint, pie and chips type of affair.
Starting with the tender.
Three simple etches, the upper right being a supplementary sheet for the inner chassis, the instructions are concise and the pictorial etches with part numbers leave no doubt which is require and which is waste.
It didn't take long to split out the basic bits for the tank and clean up and then came the first hurdle really, there are no half etch indents for the rivets, the kit comes with a paper overlay which you attach and use as a guide. Unfortunately mine has been lost which kind of slowed things down a bit, none the less a quick scrummage through my sources revealed the majority of visible rivets that need punching through.
Out came the scribe and rule and the back of the relevant the parts were soon marked up and punched out. There's a couple of areas I need to double check before assembly and hopefully these'll be exposed as I rummage through my mags in storage this evening.
The basic parts laid out, folding the tender rear corners will take some concentration and getting a good seamless joint between the two will take some care.
A couple of banana skins await the intrepid, there's no markings on the inside of the tank side to show where the corner bends should be, a case of careful alignment with the footplate and making your own marks; more modern kits would have half etch bend aids.
I'm also not sure if the tank sides should go in the recess or not, if they do then that leaves a ledge around the base, which I think would be correct for a Hawksworth 4000G fitted to Castles, Halls and Granges but not Counties. The County tender is 6" wider, it does have a ledge but appears much smaller than the 8'-0" variants noted above. Having said that, both bulkheads and well deck do align with the sides if they are fitted into the recess, maybe one tender kit does all ?
There are also no markings to show the height of the rear tank top, though in fairness the instructions state it shall be about 3.8 mm from the top of the rear wall, I shall add some strips inside to help settle the well deck into the right place; the same lack of alignment marks applies to the rear and front bulkheads.
The rear bulkhead needs a beading added to the top on both sides to represent the angle that holds the plate strip across the top, a few other little details may also need adding but we're not out to replicate Lee Marsh or Masterpiece so upgrades will be minimal.
More anon once I've waved the hot stick about a bit