Jon Nazareth
Western Thunderer
Thanks, Steve. I was thinking that I could use him for G3 but at 135mm he would be 10ft tall! Do you know anyone else who sells figures that would suit G3, even at a pinch?
Jon
Jon
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Cookie's Workbench - 7/8ths Alan Keef K40
- Thread starter Steve Cook
- Start date
Jon Nazareth
Western Thunderer
I am looking for two guards C1880.
Jon
Jon
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
Steve Cook
Flying Squad
Fair play to Accucraft, they supplied a new gas tank and burner (complete with instructions) within a week of sending out the original letter 
Having spent the last few weeks preparing to hand over the role of Treasurer to someone else in the G3 Society I've not had much time to do anything, however as the good day (for me anyway) was on Saturday, I've suddenly found some extra hobby time. First job on the Decauville was to remove the cab, just four bolts hold it in place.
Undoing one nut on the gas feed pipe allows the gas jet to be removed, a single screw holds the rest of the burner body into the boiler. The new burner is significantly longer than the old, I hope its quieter too. The last slot is partially blocked by the end plug which makes me wonder if there may be some whistling through the resulting narrow gaps - its an easy job just to run a saw through the slot if needed.
Getting the fuel tank out of the right hand side tank is a bit of a game. The gas control valve (disguised as the brake stand) needs removing, then the whole assembly with pipework can be manipulated to get the fuel tank into a position where the joining pipework can be split.
The difference in fuel tanks is rather marked...
The new tank is 2.5 times the volume of the old one so I'm hoping that firing up and a decent run time can be squeezed out of a single fill of the larger tank. I've kept all the insulation material that was in the side tank in case I can come up with a method to fit RC gear and a servo in there. The gas inlet valve was transferred from the old tank to the new tank.
The engine ID plate needs removing from under the cab floor - its just held on with double sided tape so flips off quite easily with a chisel blade
The hole positions are marked out to the dimensions in the instructions (one new hole, two existing) and then with a deep breath, they were drilled out. I used a cone cutter as its much easier for sheet material and doesn't give the same grief a conventional drill bit does.
The tank is then bolted into place and the burner fitted. View from the top
View from the bottom
Alas, if you look at the top view photo, you can see the burner was hard up against the cosmetic backhead which caused it to be tilted up when in the flue tube. This necessitated some selective filing and grinding of both the cosmetic backhead and the burner mounting bush in the flue tube. The end result is a burner parallel to the tube - no photo as its a b*gger to try and get a clear shot.
With the burner and tank now fixed in place, the brake stand was refitted after annealing the copper pipework. Its all bent into a rough position for testing, but could do with another annealing to get it to sit a bit better.
With the back end sorted, its was time to do a little work on the chimney. The aluminium heat shield needs removing
Which then gives access to the chimney fixing nut.
A pair of pliers to grip the nut means the chimney can be unscrewed.
The chimney was mounted in the lathe using a suitable collet over the threaded portion, then drilled out to 19/32, the largest size I felt it could cope with. It has resulted in an increase of 50% in the cross sectional area of the chimney which should help with expelling gases and keeping the smoke box substantially cooler.
Having spent the last few weeks preparing to hand over the role of Treasurer to someone else in the G3 Society I've not had much time to do anything, however as the good day (for me anyway) was on Saturday, I've suddenly found some extra hobby time. First job on the Decauville was to remove the cab, just four bolts hold it in place.
Undoing one nut on the gas feed pipe allows the gas jet to be removed, a single screw holds the rest of the burner body into the boiler. The new burner is significantly longer than the old, I hope its quieter too. The last slot is partially blocked by the end plug which makes me wonder if there may be some whistling through the resulting narrow gaps - its an easy job just to run a saw through the slot if needed.
Getting the fuel tank out of the right hand side tank is a bit of a game. The gas control valve (disguised as the brake stand) needs removing, then the whole assembly with pipework can be manipulated to get the fuel tank into a position where the joining pipework can be split.
The difference in fuel tanks is rather marked...
The new tank is 2.5 times the volume of the old one so I'm hoping that firing up and a decent run time can be squeezed out of a single fill of the larger tank. I've kept all the insulation material that was in the side tank in case I can come up with a method to fit RC gear and a servo in there. The gas inlet valve was transferred from the old tank to the new tank.
The engine ID plate needs removing from under the cab floor - its just held on with double sided tape so flips off quite easily with a chisel blade
The hole positions are marked out to the dimensions in the instructions (one new hole, two existing) and then with a deep breath, they were drilled out. I used a cone cutter as its much easier for sheet material and doesn't give the same grief a conventional drill bit does.
The tank is then bolted into place and the burner fitted. View from the top
View from the bottom
Alas, if you look at the top view photo, you can see the burner was hard up against the cosmetic backhead which caused it to be tilted up when in the flue tube. This necessitated some selective filing and grinding of both the cosmetic backhead and the burner mounting bush in the flue tube. The end result is a burner parallel to the tube - no photo as its a b*gger to try and get a clear shot.
With the burner and tank now fixed in place, the brake stand was refitted after annealing the copper pipework. Its all bent into a rough position for testing, but could do with another annealing to get it to sit a bit better.
With the back end sorted, its was time to do a little work on the chimney. The aluminium heat shield needs removing
Which then gives access to the chimney fixing nut.
A pair of pliers to grip the nut means the chimney can be unscrewed.
The chimney was mounted in the lathe using a suitable collet over the threaded portion, then drilled out to 19/32, the largest size I felt it could cope with. It has resulted in an increase of 50% in the cross sectional area of the chimney which should help with expelling gases and keeping the smoke box substantially cooler.
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Steve Cook
Flying Squad
With the cab back on, the big question was whether the drivers would still fit given the extra things on the cab floor. The chimney first driver was OK, his feet neatly sitting either side of the fixing nut on the floor
Driver number 2 wasn't so fortunate, so he was partially submerged in boiling water to try and soften the resin - I'd figured a spot of leg tweaking around the knees would sort him out.
Unfortunately the resin used didn't soften, but the glue did, so we have another episode of the Black Knight to content with
Glued back together in a slightly different position, I machined a chunk out of his feet to sit over the fixing nut
whereupon he stood nicely in the cab
Overall, not too bad a job, say three hours including all the mucking about. The next job is to test everything on the track, then I'll take things apart to redo the gas tank pipework and paint all of the bare metal areas. One of the steps broke during handling so that will need pinning, soldering and painting at the same time. The second driver can have a spot of filling before heading into the paint shop too, it would be nice to get it all sorted in time for spring running
Steve
Driver number 2 wasn't so fortunate, so he was partially submerged in boiling water to try and soften the resin - I'd figured a spot of leg tweaking around the knees would sort him out.
Unfortunately the resin used didn't soften, but the glue did, so we have another episode of the Black Knight to content with
Glued back together in a slightly different position, I machined a chunk out of his feet to sit over the fixing nut
whereupon he stood nicely in the cab
Overall, not too bad a job, say three hours including all the mucking about. The next job is to test everything on the track, then I'll take things apart to redo the gas tank pipework and paint all of the bare metal areas. One of the steps broke during handling so that will need pinning, soldering and painting at the same time. The second driver can have a spot of filling before heading into the paint shop too, it would be nice to get it all sorted in time for spring running
Steve
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Steve Cook
Flying Squad
Driver number 2 was in dire need of some butt reshaping after the removal and refit of his legs.
A bit of work with a scalpel and a screwdriver got something approaching a conventional shape
For filling the gaps, I've been experimenting with a UV cured resin. Its sold as '5 Second Fix' and you can pick it up on eBay for a couple of quid including postage. About half the pen contains the resin, whilst the top contains a small battery and a UV light. Where it scores highly is the speed at which it dries and how quickly you can fill in gaps and recesses. The nominal spec is a pea shaped ball of resin takes 5 seconds to cure. When playing around with 2mm gaps, 5 seconds is more than adequate. As an example, there is a gap to fill on the drivers hip
The resin is applied with the pen
I smoothed over the joint with an old knife blade, then shone the UV light over the top.
A few seconds later and its cured
It does shrink a fraction as you can see in the above photo, you can add another layer (which is what I did) or revert to a skim of filler.
Because the resin has a certain viscosity, its very good at providing fillets where the surfaces are at an angle to each other. A good case in point is the drivers head / neck interface - the neck is a ball with a recess in the head. This allows a variety of positions on assembly, but leaves an annoying gap to smooth. Simply dropping some resin in place and then curing leaves a gentle radius in place.
I'll let everything go off overnight, then sand and see what the final outcome is. As a finish it feels ever so slightly tacky in the same way that two pack epoxy does, but I'm expecting it to be OK with the sanding sticks.
So, another possible tool to add to your armoury - the fact that it will act as a glue is a bonus, although what its durability is I have no idea.
Steve
A bit of work with a scalpel and a screwdriver got something approaching a conventional shape
For filling the gaps, I've been experimenting with a UV cured resin. Its sold as '5 Second Fix' and you can pick it up on eBay for a couple of quid including postage. About half the pen contains the resin, whilst the top contains a small battery and a UV light. Where it scores highly is the speed at which it dries and how quickly you can fill in gaps and recesses. The nominal spec is a pea shaped ball of resin takes 5 seconds to cure. When playing around with 2mm gaps, 5 seconds is more than adequate. As an example, there is a gap to fill on the drivers hip
The resin is applied with the pen
I smoothed over the joint with an old knife blade, then shone the UV light over the top.
A few seconds later and its cured
It does shrink a fraction as you can see in the above photo, you can add another layer (which is what I did) or revert to a skim of filler.
Because the resin has a certain viscosity, its very good at providing fillets where the surfaces are at an angle to each other. A good case in point is the drivers head / neck interface - the neck is a ball with a recess in the head. This allows a variety of positions on assembly, but leaves an annoying gap to smooth. Simply dropping some resin in place and then curing leaves a gentle radius in place.
I'll let everything go off overnight, then sand and see what the final outcome is. As a finish it feels ever so slightly tacky in the same way that two pack epoxy does, but I'm expecting it to be OK with the sanding sticks.
So, another possible tool to add to your armoury - the fact that it will act as a glue is a bonus, although what its durability is I have no idea.
Steve
Steve Cook
Flying Squad
Finished fiddling with drivers rear end this morning, so gave him a coat of primer and tidied up a couple of minor things. There are some light witness lines on the back of his trousers, but shadows and paint should render them invisible.
Stood here with his twin in front of a rack of paints. Well, actually, its a 'nail polish rack' because that costs £9.50 on Ebay, if I had bought exactly the same thing as a paint rack for Vallejo, Army Painter, AK paints etc it would have been £25. Go figure...
The twins are going to be painted using Army Painter acrylics. I had no intention of buying a set of 50 paints / washes, but when I added up what colours I needed for the various figures I have in the pipeline I bust through the cost of this set so just bit the bullet and ordered it at a reasonable discount. Each pot ended up costing about £1.60 which is fairly cheap - I have added a glass bead to each bottle to act as an agitator, the paints have separated a bit since they were made and the bead makes mixing all the more quicker when shaking them up. I would have used stainless steel balls, but the first set I ordered went missing in the post so the glass beads got the win.
I've been experimenting with using a wet palette too, basically a few sheets of folded kitchen roll with a square of parchment paper sitting on the top.
The slight dampness of the parchment paper keeps the paints wet for long time, countering the issue with acrylics that they dry too quickly. It means you can mix colours and have them available for a while - with the top back on the container providing an airtight seal, I've been able to keep some paint useful for a month. Its also helpful for wet blending acrylics so well worth the minimal cost to make. You do get a slight dilution of the paint when on the palette, but two thin coats with acrylics is better when painting figures or miniatures so thats another bonus. Here are the twins with the main colours blocked out.
Retrospectively I could have done with thickening up the left arm of the chap on the left but hey, I'll just have to hope its not too noticeable when he's stood in the cab running round the garden. Time to let the paints dry properly (and my eyes to recover from painting their eyes), I can start shading, dry brushing and weathering tomorrow.
Steve
Stood here with his twin in front of a rack of paints. Well, actually, its a 'nail polish rack' because that costs £9.50 on Ebay, if I had bought exactly the same thing as a paint rack for Vallejo, Army Painter, AK paints etc it would have been £25. Go figure...
The twins are going to be painted using Army Painter acrylics. I had no intention of buying a set of 50 paints / washes, but when I added up what colours I needed for the various figures I have in the pipeline I bust through the cost of this set so just bit the bullet and ordered it at a reasonable discount. Each pot ended up costing about £1.60 which is fairly cheap - I have added a glass bead to each bottle to act as an agitator, the paints have separated a bit since they were made and the bead makes mixing all the more quicker when shaking them up. I would have used stainless steel balls, but the first set I ordered went missing in the post so the glass beads got the win.
I've been experimenting with using a wet palette too, basically a few sheets of folded kitchen roll with a square of parchment paper sitting on the top.
The slight dampness of the parchment paper keeps the paints wet for long time, countering the issue with acrylics that they dry too quickly. It means you can mix colours and have them available for a while - with the top back on the container providing an airtight seal, I've been able to keep some paint useful for a month. Its also helpful for wet blending acrylics so well worth the minimal cost to make. You do get a slight dilution of the paint when on the palette, but two thin coats with acrylics is better when painting figures or miniatures so thats another bonus. Here are the twins with the main colours blocked out.
Retrospectively I could have done with thickening up the left arm of the chap on the left but hey, I'll just have to hope its not too noticeable when he's stood in the cab running round the garden. Time to let the paints dry properly (and my eyes to recover from painting their eyes), I can start shading, dry brushing and weathering tomorrow.
Steve
Dan Randall
Western Thunderer
I was thinking more Peter Wyngarde....
Regards
Dan
Regards
Dan
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
I thought they were these guys.
Steve Cook
Flying Squad
The first figure is basically done, although a coat of matt varnish will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm sure I'll spot something I wish I had done differently, but I think he's good enough for posing in the cab.
In between painting jobs, I started knocking up one of the IP Engineering 7/8ths coach kits. Its the usual joy of trying to stick thin bits of plywood together without locating tabs, ie a pain in the proverbial. The overlay also doesn't quite match up with the windows in the carcass, its far enough out to make me itch, but its borderline as to whether there is any easy scope to fix it. A single colour paint job may be required...
Steve
In between painting jobs, I started knocking up one of the IP Engineering 7/8ths coach kits. Its the usual joy of trying to stick thin bits of plywood together without locating tabs, ie a pain in the proverbial. The overlay also doesn't quite match up with the windows in the carcass, its far enough out to make me itch, but its borderline as to whether there is any easy scope to fix it. A single colour paint job may be required...
Steve
geoff_nicholls
Western Thunderer
fingernails?
Now you've weathered one, they look like father and son.
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
A good start with the figures Steve 
.
An enhancement to these would be to apply a black/brown wash over the uniform to accentuate the creases and use a light brown wash over the flesh tones.
I would also paint the buttons with brass and lightly drybrush the knees, elbows and cuffs with a lighter shade of blue as these wear first. And hit the top of the creases with the same lighter shade.
.An enhancement to these would be to apply a black/brown wash over the uniform to accentuate the creases and use a light brown wash over the flesh tones.
I would also paint the buttons with brass and lightly drybrush the knees, elbows and cuffs with a lighter shade of blue as these wear first. And hit the top of the creases with the same lighter shade.
Steve Cook
Flying Squad
I'm keen Geoff, not mad
To be honest, even if the casting was clean enough, I'd struggle to paint a fine enough line around the outside of the nail - I think it would look a bit obvious in a way. Soon to be a pair of miserable old buggers A good start with the figures Steve
An enhancement to these would be to apply a black/brown wash over the uniform to accentuate the creases and use a light brown wash over the flesh tones.
I would also paint the buttons with brass and lightly drybrush the knees, elbows and cuffs with a lighter shade of blue as these wear first. And hit the top of the creases with the same lighter shade.
Thanks Dave
There is some very subtle shading going on under the creases on the figure, but I'm loathe to make too much of a contrast because at this scale light creates enough of its own natural shadows. There were a few highlights too, but they seem to have got lost under the grime on the ends of his sleeves, much like I get when running the 7.25" engines
I had put a light brown wash over his face, but took a lot of it off as it looked forced. Of course, having given him a coat of matt varnish and got him outside, he could cope with a bit more! Going to have to disagree on the buttons, I want a late 70's early 80's style preservation / industrial / estate working railway feel, grubby but well loved - driver and engine
Whether I am going to have the b*lls to weather the Decauville remains to be seen though...Speaking of the engine, I did get the chance to test it this afternoon. After filling the new tank with gas and using soapy water to check there were no leaks, the engine took a fill of water and steam oil and I lit the new burner. The burner is much quieter than the old one, and at a fairly low setting I raised pressure to 50psi in about 9 minutes. Running in reverse this time, partly because its only run forwards and partly because your driver just has to face the right way, it ran for another 21 minutes light engine before the gas ran out. It went from 3/4 of a glass down to just over a 1/4, so no need to top up the water either. I think a few more runs are in order, then I can start loading it up - that means I need to finish wagons and ideally, get a chuffer fitted to keep everything a bit clean.
I'm very happy now though, it is the engine it should have been in the first place, but kudos to Accucraft for sorting it all out pain free.
Steve
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
I forgot you're modelling oompa loompa scale
! No worries, I'd paint them a slighter darker shade of satin/gloss blue - as they would not be same shade as the material and slightly shiny.
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
It needs a turntable mechanism in the floor of the cab which swivels the driver to face the right way when the loco changes direction
.
Steve Cook
Flying Squad
That would be the ultimateIt needs a turntable mechanism in the floor of the cab which swivels the driver to face the right way when the loco changes direction
Captain Kernow
Western Thunderer
Surely some small and clever hidden servo might be possible?That would be the ultimate