7mm On Heather's Workbench - the only one left

[farnetti]

A slight hiatus. I needed some replacement castings, and the courage to pick this beggar up again!

Rather than have fun trying to work out how the valve gear goes together, information for which is still pending from just north-west of Glasgow, I thought I would be better served making some superstructure headway. At least it looks like the build is moving on when I report to the client!

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As with many kits, the loco running plate is formed of a cradle and half-etched overlay. Forming the rivets under way. The GW Models press is a bit of overkill for is job, but it is consistent.

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As ever, careful attention to filing down etch cusps takes a time. I tinned round all the edges on both parts of the running plate, and after some careful fettling to ensure the etched lamp brackets fitted through their slots, I set about things with the RSU. The end result is a lot tidier than I've managed in the past.

Surprisingly, the SDK doesn't include cast lamp brackets. I have noticed that 3205 has the front lower brackets aligned along the buffer plank, where the kit has the centre one slightly offset. As I'm trying to match the real thing, I guess I shall have to acquire some cast brackets to do the job properly. In fact, I'll have to rummage in the box again to check I haven't missed them.

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The cab floor needed a little attention with a slitting disc to let it sit neatly over the rear splasher fronts. I may yet need to trim some material away. I have cast whitemetal splashers, but you can probably guess they don't fit by a country mile. Happily, the frets include etched parts which I need to form up and solder on. It may be prudent to leave them for a time, until the frames are motorised. I can then check clearances and sideplay more easily.

And we're back in the room. Finger trouble meant I hit the submit button before I was ready. Apologies if you've read this while I'm editing it!

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The buffer plank and rear drawbar are fitted. The drawbar has been etched wrongly, with rivet holes the wrong side of the tender buffer plates. I cut them off, formed the rivets and soldered them back in the right order. This is noted in what pass for the instructions. I've used some milled brass angle to help with fitting, because apart from the running plate there is precious little to hold things in place. On the real thing, there's are cab steps, injector brackets and sandboxes which all help to hold things together. I have taken into consideration the loco frames, so the angle is only fairly short.

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The buffer plank is a two-part etch affair. Slots on the rear align with the hanging bars, while the other fixing is along the inside edge of the top of the running plate. Again, brass angle has been used to add reinforcement at the rear of the hanging bar front drop.

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Where things had got to earlier today. The cylinder block cover was formed up, again with little help from the instructions, and clips neatly into slots on the running plate. Both this and the cab floor are posed for effect.

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I finished the day by sweating in the cab overlays to the folded up carcass. Alternate sides etches are provided, as there were very subtle differences during the prototype production run. Provision is made for sides with no windows, with plated over windows, and with the final form of windows. The kit has etched roof parts, as well as a resin cast roof. I shall make my mind up on which to use in due course, though I'm tending towards the metal parts.

That's enough for today. A different build tomorrow!

Heather,

I am about to buy a GW Models rivet press as it has several different size rivets included. I currently have one bought one from Tony Reynalds which has been fine up till now but only one size. I was wondering, why, from the photo in this thread why is there plastic and a rubber band around the hinge, and a piece of paper underneath.

Ken

 

[Heather Kay]

I was wondering, why, from the photo in this thread why is there plastic and a rubber band around the hinge, and a piece of paper underneath.

It's quite simple really. It's a convenient way to keep the tool and anvil set and instruction sheet in a safe place! If such things were not with the riveting tool, they would definitely be lost in my somewhat Byzantine filing system.

 

[daifly]

It's quite simple really. It's a convenient way to keep the tool and anvil set and instruction sheet in a safe place! If such things were not with the riveting tool, they would definitely be lost in my somewhat Byzantine filing system.

Ah yes. I mislaid my alternative anvil sets a couple of years ago and George was happy enough to sell me a complete replacement set. I was determined that I would not lose them again so decided on a very safe and obvious place to store them. Within the safe place, of course, I promptly located the missing originals!

 

[Dan Randall]

Ah yes. I mislaid my alternative anvil sets a couple of years ago and George was happy enough to sell me a complete replacement set. I was determined that I would not lose them again so decided on a very safe and obvious place to store them. Within the safe place, of course, I promptly located the missing originals!

Sorry Dave, but that did make me chuckle!


Regards

Dan

 

[Heather Kay]

After what seems like many, many months, 3205 finds itself back in the workbench.

Readers may recall we left this saga pondering how to replicate the cab spectacle frames. Samples from other kits from JLTRT proved unhelpful, so some kind of scratch building seemed the order of the day.



This is what I started with. The double-skin cab front leaves a recess, into which presumably a simple sheet of glazing material is meant to fit. For a closed cab loco, I could get away with that, but for something open to the rear I felt it needed proper frames. I set the brain cell to work.



Here's what I decided to do. Taking some 0.7mm brass wire, I formed frames to fit the recesses. Doing this, I also discovered that both openings are slightly different sizes. Whether by design or accident, I cannot say. The formed frames were filed to give a flattened front and rear.



Well, that filled the recess, which would allow me to sandwich the glazing, but it still didn't look right. More brain cell activity, while studying photos of the real thing.



The answer eventually arrived. If I were to solder the inner frame to a sheet of thin brass, messily, I could practice my piercing saw work and cut out a larger frame. That's why there's a crater in the middle of the frame, which will be drilled to let me pass the saw blade through. I've already done the first frame, and was so pleased with the outcome I forgot to record the process!

I only broke two blades, albeit one was fairly well used to start with. Practice makes perfect, they tell me.



Here's a frame, hacked out and tidied up. I found the outer (shorter) edge actually needed to be filed back so the frame would fit the window aperture. This won't show in the finished model.



Of course, some kind of hinge affair was needed. I annealed some more 0.7mm brass wire, then belted the heck out of it to give me a crude strip. More heating so it was workable again, and I could crimp it around some 0.5mm wire. Some deft soldering was needed so the spectacle assembly can still be removed in one unit, since glazing won't happen until after painting. All that remains is for some fabrication to represent the latch handle, and I can call that a job well done.

 

[Heather Kay]

Pleased with yesterday's efforts, I sat at the bench for an early start today. The problem was I felt weary, and didn't feel like tackling anything much. I familiarised myself with what was in the box and the photos of the real thing again, and decided to spend the first part of the day building up to something bigger by assembling the wash down tap and pipework.



Yes, I know the real hose would have been wire-wound and unlikely to coil so tightly. I may revisit that. Anyway, I was pleased to find that the feed pipes, for which I had drilled holes in the floor, are sufficient to hold the assembly without having to fix it to the side sheet. This is a bonus, because I am not ready to fit the floor unit yet, but it means I can fit the pipework to the floor now. At least, "now" after I've revisited the hose!

I think my morning coffee is kicking in. Time to crack on.

 

[Heather Kay]

Backhead fittings today. Well, 90 per cent of them. Laurie at JLTRT was really on the ball because what I requested yesterday arrived this morning. Too quick for me, because I've since discovered one or two other bits that would be handy from the other kit list!



I started off with the vacuum brake gear, using the brilliant photos that Mr D took as a guide. I was also lucky to come across a useful works image in photographic grey - of the original lever reverse builds - but handy nonetheless. Items on the fireman's side will have to wait for the correct gauge glass to appear. What I think is the blower valve sits just to the right of the brake. Although it will look busy when finished, the backhead is surprisingly tidy on the 2251s.

The works image also led me to a useful detail regarding the ATC equipment. On the model, and the preserved loco, the reverser sits on a cabinet. There's no obvious clue what the cabinet is for. The lever reverse version image, though, showed the same sort of cabinet, rotated 90 degrees and up against the side sheet under the ATC battery box and bell. So, presumably, the cabinet is part of the ATC fittings, though I'm not sure what or how. Anyway, while studying that, I was trying to work out how the bell unit was fixed, and it turned out there's a socking great bracket holding it all in place, slap bang over the centre of the cab side window!

(Forgive me if you knew this already, but this was a moment of epiphany for me.)

I'll have to fabricate the bracket, and allow for it to be fitted after painting the side of the cab and fitting of glazing. Meanwhile, it was fairly obvious the JLTRT bell casting was a bit blobby, so I've ordered suitable replacement parts from Hobbyhorse. The question remains, and one which will give me endless hours of innocent joy as I peer at numerous photos of Collett Goods, is what kind of pickup apparatus was fitted to these locos? I got the giant bracket in the kit, which fits behind the leading buffer plank. Should be interesting trying to work out what was actually fitted.

 

[Heather Kay]

With things posed in place, here's backhead progress so far. I shall stop at this point while I wait for the correct pattern gauge glass from Bonnie Scotland. Most of the main fittings are sub-assemblies, so they can be left off for painting. So far, the W-valve, part of the regulator mech and the Mason's valve are the only parts attached.

It's taken some time, fiddling about with small details, but I think the cab fittings are mostly there now, barring a couple of parts.. I shall consider remaining pipework that could be fitted, but I might elect to leave lesser bits out. It's more a case of not knowing what some of the connections are attached to!

 

[OzzyO]

Is this any help?

OzzyO.

 

[Heather Kay]

My version! One or two details have since been added, and a start made on the painting. Now to fabricate something that resembles the ATC bell and box bracket.

 

[Dave Bowden]

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My version! One or two details have since been added, and a start made on the painting. Now to fabricate something that resembles the ATC bell and box bracket.

Hi Heather
Isn't the regulator missing?

Dave

 

[Heather Kay]

Hi Heather
Isn't the regulator missing?

It isn't fitted, but lurking on the bench. Most of the pipework and gubbins is removable at this point to make it easier to paint properly. I've fallen into that trap before!

 

[Dave Bowden]

It isn't fitted, but lurking on the bench. Most of the pipework and gubbins is removable at this point to make it easier to paint properly. I've fallen into that trap before!

I didn't think you would have forgotten it and I like the idea of being able to remove the pipe work prior to painting.

I've a 64xx backhead still waiting to have the pipe work fitted so I shall keep your method in mind.

Dave

 

[Heather Kay]

While paint was drying on the backhead, I set my brain cell to the task of making an ATC box mounting plate. This was an exercise in mild frustration. The 2251 class had ATC gear fitted from new, but of course it's all been removed on the preserved loco. Intense peering at photos gave me a hint of how it was supposed to be fitted - slap bang over the driver's side window! To be honest, despite a roomy cab, there's nowhere else that would be convenient.

I was fortunate to have a good clear official photo of either the first of the class, or an early lever reverse loco, which showed the plate and some of the connecting conduit and cable. Out with some scrap brass sheet, some measuring up and some work with the piercing saw. I was quite pleased with the result. Then I discovered my error!



First, here you can see JLTRT's brass sprue for ATC equipment on the right. You can probably see why I have opted for Hobbyhorse Developments' whitemetal offering on the left. In the centre, the MkII mounting plate. I had already butchered the MkI for other uses.

Now, to the error…



Can you see it? I was working from references for a lever reverse loco. The first ten were so fitted, and subsequently converted to screw reverser to match the new builds. A dry run to help me work out the cable runs, with the screw reverser and cabinet in position, and it's blindingly obvious the ATC gear would be no friend to either the reverser handle or the driver's knuckles. Back to the references to see if I could glean a way out of my error.

Once you notice the ATC bracket across the window, you can see it in many published images. I had managed to spot it on every image of a lever reverse loco, so I made a point of picking out driver's side images of screw reverse locos. No very clear images, but in one it appeared the mounting plate was up the other way to the lever reverse version. Perhaps the simple expedient of inverting the plate was all that was needed.



Yes, that would work. My MkII plate still needs some refining, but I think it will do. It's fun, this modelling game, isn't it?

 

[Heather Kay]

I'm pleased with that. Still some retouching to do, and all the parts are still not permanently fitted. I shall debate whether to fix them before installing the backhead in the painted model or to fit them all now.



And the ATC bits. Again, this will be fitted after painting and glazing. Time to move on with the rest of the loco, I suppose.

 

[Heather Kay]

I do hate it when you find the part, lurking in the box after you've just spent some time fabricating a replacement.

My part is better anyway.

Thoughts have turned to the rest of the loco, specifically the cylinder cover and smokebox saddle. I am unhappy with the fit, and despite fettling it still doesn't satisfy me. I am probably going to make new overlays for the cover so it actually meets both the running plate and the front splashers, like it's supposed to.

That will be later. Best Beloved has a medical appointment shortly, so I'm downing tools and switching to my role as taxi driver and chaperone.

 

[Steph Dale]

Erm, shouldn't the backhead cladding be green rather than black?
Steph, who vaguely recalls...

 

[Heather Kay]

Erm, shouldn't the backhead cladding be green rather than black?
Steph, who vaguely recalls...

Quite correct. At least, on 3205 as preserved, the cladding round the sides is green. The actual firebox is black. I shall get to that when I'm happy the base black is nice and dry.

 

[Steph Dale]

Quite correct. At least, on 3295 as preserved, the cladding round the sides is green. The actual firebox is black. I shall get to that when I'm happy the base black is nice and dry.

Aah, sorry, it looked so good in there I assumed the backhead detail was complete. It's not just 3205 of the GWR locos that has a completely green cab interior and I agree that it's worth taking the condition of preserved locos with a pinch of salt!

Steph

 

[Heather Kay]

The fit of the smokebox saddle and cylinder cover had been bothering me. The main cylinder cover assembly is a folded etch, which nestles down into slots in the running plate, fitted with detail overlays. What bothered me was the fact the rear curves didn't quite meet the leading splasher like the real one does.

I spent some time futzing about trying to fit shim material to fill the gaps, to no good purpose. It was obvious I'd have to make new overlays. So that's what I did today. I'm not quick at scratch building and fabricating, though my skills appear to be improving with regards to measurement and laying out. I've also managed to not break a piercing saw blade for ages, so I must be getting the hang of it!



The fit is much better now, and with a coat of paint the tiny gaps ought to disappear. The assembly is just sitting place, and once I'm ready to actually fix it it'll be nice and neat. The angled row of not-quite-rivets is meant as a guideline for me to fit some cosmetic bolts, which will look a lot better than plain bumps. I need to make some suitable knobs for the lifting hatch, and possibly some better looking hinges, and then I can get on with the rest of the loco - at last!

Those lamp brackets will be coming off. I have cast ones now. The centre bracket has to be moved back to line up with the outer pair, because a peep at 3205 shows it to be so. The vac pipe sits in a little cutout in the running plate, and would hit the bracket in its current location.

More fiddling about. It would be nice to just build a kit straight out of the box one day. Actually, no it wouldn't. It wouldn't be any fun at all.