Sydney Area Group

Modelling Trees

2011-09-11T18:46:00.002+10:00

Modelling Trees - Part one - Broadleaf trees.
By Gordon Gravett.
Published by Wild Swan Publications.
Price 19.95 GBP

Not so many years ago trees on a model railway consisted of twigs covered with lichen or sponge. Thankfully, we have moved on a bit from that although it must be said that a truly good model of a tree still tends to be the exception rather than the rule. There have been several books published on modelling trees, and the latest rather fittingly titled "Modelling Trees"is from the Wild Swan stable.

Wild Swan have been releasing modelling related books since the 1980s and while some may "hit" a little more than others the range has built into a truly impressive range with a strong emphasis on the so called "fine scale" approach.

Who could have imagined a multi volume title covering modelling trees?

This first part covers broad leaf trees and opens with an overview of trees in the landscape. It is only by looking at photos that one realises how much the line side landscape has changed. Certainly things were far less overgrown in the era when the use of steam was predominant.

The modelling kicks off with the making of wire armatures and this is followed by sections on bark, painting, foliage, correct colouring and placement. Thankfully, the use of colour is widespread which was a noticeable absence from many of the older Wild Swan titles.

The balance of the book is devoted to modelled examples of different species of tree including English elms, Oaks, Ash and Beeches. Additional topics include Ivy and hedgerows amongst other things.

While the emphasis is on trees modelled to larger scales (as one would expect from the author), the bulk of the techniques discussed are relevant across most scales.

In summary, this is an excellent book. Written in a light, very readable style, it both informs and inspires.

There has been very little comment written about this book, which prompted me to write a review.

Regardless of wether you have an interest in modelling trees in the British landscape or simply to build better trees this is a valuable and recommended reference.

A Sentinel down under.

2011-08-05T17:49:00.000+10:00

I have a bit of a weakness for Industrial locomotives, indeed it is the one area where I like both steam and diesel. To be honest, most of the model railway media passes me by lately. I receive MRJ, Narrow Gauge and Industrial review and the snooze, but otherwise tend to browse the magazines in the local newsagents. Most of the time the "mainstream" magazines have little of interest to me and I find the presentation of most of them to be more a visual assault than an enjoyable read. each to their own of course. It was only via RM Web that I noted that Model Rail had commissioned Dapol to produce a Sentinel shunter. Take note of the comment about weakness for industrial locos at this point.

One other thing I have is a bit of an ambivalent attitude towards RTR . My period of interest is the mid 1920s and the reality is that very little is actually of use for me so for the most part it passes me by. Having said that, I do have Hornby Grange and 28XX in my cupboard to convert to P4. Although too late for me, the Grange is a very nice model and a beautiful prototype. They, along with the straight framed Saints are probably my favourite of the GWR 4-6-0s. So, these two are to convert and tart up so I can see how they compare with the the Finney and Mitchell kits that are overflowing from said cupboard. While the RTR does look very nice indeed, I have issues with the motion and a few other bits that are hard for me to live with comfortably. We shall see how I feel after converting them.

When photographs started to appear of the Sentinel it did look rather nice, however conversion to P4 looked interesting due to the stub axles used so this was used as a do not proceed excuse - until I found that Ultrascale were producing a conversion. Drats!

An order was placed for a Sentinel which Kernow Model Centre despatched on the same day. The Ultrascale conversion was ordered the following Monday and despatched the same day too! Ultrascale produce lovely wheels but one places and order and waits for them to arrive. They are produced to order and hand checked and such things take time, but the results are worth it in my opinion.
To cut my meandering short, the Sentinel arrived yesterday and the Ultrascale conversion arrived in the post today. Ten minutes later the Sentinel was pulled apart and another ten minutes after that the conversion was fitted. The OO stub axles were not too hard to pull out and I fitted one then held that end in some pliers to remove the other. The back to back was spot on when assembled again, although one axle was a little too loose in the stub section for my liking - a spot of Loctite solved that.

Following reassembly the model was tried on a short length of track and ran beautifully which was good because in my excitement I forgot to check it in OO form. So, in a little over half an hour I have a working P4 loco. Not at all bad in my books!

Progress on the A26

2011-01-11T10:16:00.003+11:00

It’s been a while since I’ve had a clean run at the modelling desk but over the Xmas break managed to get a day to play. I’ve put in the steps on the other side of the A26 and spend some considerable time detailing the driver’s end.

These enlarged photos are brutal to what seems like a good job in 4mm but also a good way of picking up problems to sort out next time I get near the soldering iron. The stand-out blunder is the step on the left hand side of centre where the support bracket is a smudge too high. A lot of time was spent adding the extra ends to the handles, a very fiddly job best executed by filing some brass wire flat then soldering on very short lengths before cutting the wire free. This has lead to these details being a variety of different lengths – something else to be revisited next time I get to sit down at the bench.

I’ve opted for David Geens’ buffers, steam and vacuum pipes and gong and the two lamp brackets are from Frogmore Confederacy (I think!). These were finer options than those supplied with the kit but that did require me fabricating a small plate for behind the gong from a length of scrap fret. The tap handle for the vacuum pipe also has to be fabricated, this time from a linkage etch of unknown origin.

As you can see I’ve tackled the train control apparatus under the driver’s compartment – something I was not looking forward to because it looks really awkward and complicated but which turned out to be quite straight forward when approached carefully. I’ve used a couple of angled linkages from a fret of point rodding by Brass Masters as the centre piece for this construction. One connects to the through rodding at the rear and a thick wire representing the linkage at the front. The other is trimmed to a single arm with a wire representing the link up through the carriage to the regulator control lever. I made a pin and socket arrangement on the drivers end of the through rodding, the other end of which is attached to a cross shaft behind the lead bogie via a scrap piece of brass with a hole in it. Thus the rodding can be detached from the front and swung back allowing access to the bogie for maintenance.

This unkind enlargement also reveals the I still have a lot of cleaning up to do here before I can consider it finished!

Heytesbury Station Building

2010-10-11T16:33:00.003+11:00

This is one of a series of drawings done recently by Alex for a proposed model of Heytesbury, being planned by Sean. The drawings will be used as the basis for laser cut model of the station building, with other structures likely to follow. We anticipate further developments with this technique with other projects underway within the group.

David

GWR Saint project - boiler detail

2010-07-19T19:30:00.007+10:00

Some more drawings to hand for the proposed casting - detail added since Alex's first draft, with space now for a large Mashima extending into the boiler. This should be able to accomodate a 1628 and Highlevel HiFlier 40:1 gearbox with space for a decoder as well.

David M

GWR Saint project - first drawings

2010-07-12T09:40:00.007+10:00

For some time now, Craig and I have been thinking about the best way to build an accurate model of a GWR Saint - the possibility of a hybrid using etches from available Martin Finney kits being probably the best (though expensive and wasteful) way. A while ago I obtained the Proscale kit to see what could be done with it, but after looking at the pre-rolled boiler sections felt little enthusiasm to proceed. Along came Alex, our newest member, who showed us his considerable draughting skills, having already commissioned a model of a railcar using 3D modelling with SolidWorks. I gave Alex a copy of the Saint GA, he sourced some photographs and a few weeks later he has turned up with his impressive first draft for the boiler/firebox unit. There is still more work to be done - details such as mudhole covers and washout plugs etc - but the basic drawing looks superb.

Alex and the group are keen to proceed with this project - he is looking into Rapid Prototyping a master to do a batch of resin castings. If this proves feasible then we may go on with some etches for the rest of the body and possibly side frames to provide the basis for a chassis. Current specs will be for P4, based around CSB suspension with Mashima motor / Highlevel transmission, although we would retain the ability to do a rigid chassis with spacers for EM and OO as well. The production version of the resin casting will probably be done with boiler and separate firebox, and the boiler cast with a "plug" to provide room for one of the larger Mashimas. More details as we progress, but if anyone is interested in either the resin casting or getting a more complete set of etches then please let us know. We're not at the stage yet of seeking firm expressions of interest but it would be helpful to know what the likely market for such a kit might be.

David M

A26 Steps

2010-06-17T22:02:00.003+10:00

This is perhaps the most fiddly and frustrating bit of modelling I've ever attempted! The steps on the A26 autocoach are those sorts of features that you want to get right but getting them right is time-consuming and annoying!

Detailing the underside needs to be thought through before starting because it all gets a bit crowded down there. I started by marking out where the train control rod ought to go and soldering in the supports for it. Then I put in the truss rods. Originally I thought that I could improve on the white metal casting provided for the queenposts by buying in some H-section brass from Eileens Emporium to form the base and then cutting off the posts and gluing them onto the cross member. The closest fit I could get for the H-section was slightly undersize and, to be honest, it was a waste of time; a bit of attention with a set of fine files and the white metal casting are more than good enough for the job. Then attaching the truss rods across the top worked out well, holding the queenposts in position and there was still a bit of fiddling around making sure that the truss rods lined up with each other and joined the chassis at the right points. Add to this that one end of the two outside truss rods has a twist in it and the whole process became quite involved. It all looked pretty good until I accidentally dropped the whole unit and, trying to catch it, crushed a couple of hours work which had to be straightened out!

I thought it important to get the truss rods in place before attempting the steps because the steps are laced through the outside truss rods. But that leaves bugger all room to move trying to assemble the components of the steps. My first attempt was to loosely assemble the steps off kit then move them across. Don’t bother! There is nothing for it but to loose assemble (ie no solder or glue) the steps onto the carriage, get it all right then delicately attack the joins with a hot soldering iron and plenty of flux. This approach means using up lots of good brass rod (I used a whole length of 0.4mm rod from Eileen’s) threaded through the various joints as the assembly came together. I won't attempt to recreate the language I created when I realised that on the first attempt I had the bottom step where the top step ought to be and vice versa! But once all was roughly in the right place then it was time to bring in the iron and fix the joints. Despite my best efforts the whole shebang is still a bit wonky, as can be seen from the pics, but considering the time spent getting to this stage, I can live with a slight misalignement! Then it was a matter of running around with a fine pair of side cutters and removing the excess rod used during construction. After all that, I'm pretty happy!

So I have one side sorted. Now to find an evening free to do the steps on the other side!

A few extra pics

2010-06-08T23:16:00.002+10:00

A26 progress

2010-06-08T23:01:00.004+10:00

Progress on the A26 largely consists of adding and detailing the roof; all brass and white metal fittings. I think this bit is important to get right because it's the part people see the most and, on these gas-fitted vehicles, it's relatively complicated. To that end I ordered some long lengths of brass strip to make the gutters and thin brass strip to make the gas pipe supports from Eileen's Emporium. Always a wonderful service from those guys - something particularly valued when modelling P4 in Australia. Also, working brass and lots of white metal fittings so close to each other took some planning to avoid accidentally melting some of the white metal. To this end, the gutters and end strips were added first while the roof was taped in place to help maintain the best fit possible between the roof and body. Then the rain strips were soldered on followed by the tiny bits of brass representing the gas pipe supports. To position these I drew out the placement of the gas pipes in texta. Then I added the gas lamp tops before soldering in the gas pipes. Last was the vents, glued in place with 5 minute epoxy. The whole roof connects to the body with a couple of bespoke brass clips I made up - nothing too fancy and not the final arrangement. When all is complete the roof will be glued on.

You can also see that I've started detailing the underside with some bits from the Dart Castings Autocoach Detailing Kit and other details from David Geen; another treasured supplier. OK, so the drain tap on the waterpipe is upside down but only temporarily for safe keeping!

Never too young

2010-06-08T22:56:00.003+10:00

The Jesuits reckon that, if they have a boy by the age of 7, they have a man for life. Not one to take a lesson from such a mob lightly, I've started the indoctrination process early with my son Chester. Here he is, aged 4 1/2, carefully operating the Metro.

Starting the A26

2010-03-28T23:32:00.006+11:00

I finished the last blog with (what I thought was) the rhetorical question; should I finish the A 27 or put it aside and get started on an A26 for the small Metro to play with. I couldn't believe two responses that I got to that puzzler. Firstly a friend from work emailed me and she said that the Metro definately needed something to play with. Then, seemingly out of the blue, I get an email from Bryan Johnson who I've never been in contact with before. He picked up that I was contemplating building the Blacksmith's A26 and explained that he had made the same kit for his layout Thurstaston. I've seen Thurstaston in his website and really admire it as a layout so getting a letter of encouragement from Bryan really tripped me into action. He was also kind enough to forward some pics of both his model and of A26 212 in a derelict state at Didcot some years back. Subsequently 212 has been rebuilt into the original steam motor rail so pics of the original layout, particularly the underside, were a real bonus to me contemplating building class mate 157.

So I cranked up the soldering iron and here is my progress so far. I feel mixed about this kit. It is a bit old and lacking some more modern refinements but the basic kit is a good one requiring some patience and forethought. The fold-up body is a good idea but I'm not happy with the lack of locating tabs for the interior walls and ends. That has meant running fillets of fine brass wire to fill the joints at the corners then filing back to profile. I've also installed a floor throughout cut from 0.015 brass sheet which covers the holes in the etch and adds some weight to the vehicle. While doing this I've cut a big hole in the floor of the Guard's compartment in preparation of (one day) installing a speaker for DCC sound.

I've been a bit concerned about the lack of access to the drivers compartment in particular because of fold-down parts of the etch that stiffen the upper edges of the sides. There are also wide supports for the tops of the ends that further restict access. So I soldered up the sides and then cut away as much as possible with a cutting disk in the dremel. The end supports were sweated to some scrap brass (and there is plenty of that in the Blacksmith's kit) to increase their rigidity then cut as much as I could off the back of them. A time consuming fiddle that may pay dividens when it comes time to glaze and detail the end compartments. The lower etch line on each side also had to be filled and filed to cover up some irregular holes.

So what do you think?

2010-03-17T12:42:00.002+11:00

Lastly, something for the Metro to pull. I will, eventually, build an A26 Autocoach which will match up with this metro as in a picture in one of the volumes on GWR Autocoaches. I have the Blacksmiths A26 kit ready and waiting. But, from previous attempts at building autocoaches, I baulk at getting all the gubbins under the vehicle right so I thought I would have a practice run with a kit I started many years ago.

This is the Southern Pride A27 kit and I’ve been playing with the Dart Castings Autocoach detailing kit meant for A28 and A30 RTR models. So there has been some interpolation and much investigation of photos, drawings and plans to get things looking right. A big help in this process has been the idea gleaned from the one of the Wild Swan 4mm Coach volumes of building all the underframe detail on a false floor of brass that remains detachable from the rest of the model. The truss rods, queen posts and cross members is fabricated from angle brass from Eileen’s Emporium. I also replaced all the rod levers and cross shafts with bits made from scrap brass – I don’t trust the white metal bits as supplied by Dart.

Still some details to add, particularly on the body, but over all I’m happy with the appearance and my newly found appreciation of where all the various rods and pipes go under an autocoach.

I am, however, now in a quandary: do I complete this coach now and not have a loco for it for sometime (I’m planning a large metro which will have to be at least part scratch built) or do I put it aside and get cracking sorting out the A26 so that the small Metro has something to play with.

What would you do?

Catch up: A new chassis

2010-03-17T12:28:00.002+11:00

A long-overdue project is the construction of a new chassis for the Small Metro. The original was sprung and poorly constructed so I started again with a Perseverance Chassis kit and a High Level gear box. The leading wheels and front drivers are compensated against each other, the rear axle fixed and it is driven off the middle axle. I’ve also kept some of the original Roxey Chassis details such as the representation of the inside piston slides.

It runs beautifully, my first successful P4 loco! Which leads to my last catch-up project; something for it to pull.

Catch up: 45xx

2010-03-17T12:22:00.002+11:00

Then there is something to pull the B Set, a 45xx. This is the Mitchell Kit slowly taking shape over several years. The chassis is almost running sweetly but I’ve dropped a piston rod and have some touching of the front crank pins on the inside of the crosshead to sort out. I’ve also been adding some details to the body but have a long way to go.

Catch up: The B Set

2010-03-17T12:17:00.002+11:00

Next in the catch up is the B Set. I’ve only shown one here which has had a coat of paint and an interior fitted with passengers. Still awaiting some details, transfers and glazing but definitely taking shape!

Catching up: the Toad

2010-03-17T12:07:00.002+11:00

We were talking at the meeting last Sunday about how we have dropped the ball with this blog and how we all ought to make an effort to post some stuff up pronto. This lead me to review what I’ve been up to over the last 6 months or so and lead me to a startling conclusion: although my modelling seems to advance at a glacial speed, over time I get a fair bit done! So I’m about to post a string of catch-up posts starting with this one.

When we last saw the Frogmore AA13 Toad it had been undercoated. Since then I’ve painted it, added transfers and grottied it up a bit. My first attempt at weathering this vehicle was a bit over the top and I’ve knocked it back a few dozen shades to this reasonable representation of a hard working Toad circa 1928-9.

517 ramblings

2009-11-15T19:41:00.005+11:00

I have been working on this 517 for a period I shall define as "a while". Progress has been at a rather slow pace, sometimes due to the realities of life other times due to my ability to get distracted.

The model is a Malcolm Mitchell kit - as sold by David Geen. A High Level gearbox, Mashima motor and Ultrascale wheels round out the technical details.

The kit is not hard to build, but what I would term "fiddly" in parts. This is not due to the quality of parts but rather more due to the size of the 517 which means that clearances are tight in some areas so care is needed.

The model is based on number 832 as shown on page 10 of "Locomotives Illustrated". I am modelling the loco as she was in 1924, reference to the approriate RCTS volume suggests that she retained this appearance until rebuilt with wide side tanks in 1925.

The mechanism is up and running, and the firebox has been fitted. Now comes the fettling of the boiler to ensure a good fit and to ensure everything is straight.

I recently purchased a Nikon D90 and have been having a lot of fun taking photographs so you can expect a few more to appear in due course.

In the meantime, why not get the stool out and climb up to grab a Finney or Mitchell kit from your own stash?

They may take a while to build, but the fun is in the journey isnt it?

A Northern Visitor

2009-10-25T21:19:00.003+11:00

The majority of our group are Great Western modellers, but occasionally we have a visitor from other areas. The visitor in this case is a NER B class 0-6-2, built from a London Road Models kit by John James.

As can be seen from the photos this model is something special, the split axle chassis construction ensuring that running is as good as the loco looks.

There are probably many more things to say about this model, but I think that a few photographs can show things so much better.

B Set in detail

2009-06-15T21:48:00.002+10:00

It's been a while since I did any work on the B Set but a recent spurt has seen me detailing the ends and roof and getting some primer on the whole lot - all the easier to pick problems not readily apparent to the eye when everything is brass. The end-steps are from Slaters and the lamp irons are from Frogmore but the roof vents are the whitemetal jobbies that came with the original kit. The roof seams are picked out in HO 1" x 2" Evergreen Plastic sweated on with lots of MEK. The roof corners on the ends are Milliput putty filed to shape and most of the rest of the detail is brass wire and bits of plastic. I did rebuild the gutters with HO 2" x 4" Evergreen Plastic which I think look better for being a bit beerier than what the kit provides and are able to over hang at the ends just a little bit - just like the real thing.

As you can see from the video posted elsewhere - they ran nicely on their maiden voyage but I want to tweak the running a bit before proceeding with the paint job.

The B-Set running

2009-06-15T17:20:00.004+10:00

Not sure if I can post videos or how it will work out but here is a short clip I generated on my phone yesterday of the inaugral running of the B-set behind Sean's 87xx. If you run it backwards, it looks much better! I'll try to get some good close-up stills tonight to post here.

Wagon ho!

2009-01-06T20:01:00.003+11:00

Nothing out of the ordinary here, in fact it is a common Gloucester 6 plank side and end door wagon. Having said that, I have a soft spot for PO wagons and have several on the go with this being the closest to completion.

The body is by Slaters with a little detail inside - mostly following the advice offered by John Hayes in his wonderful book on coal wagons. Brake gear is by Bill Bedford with Masokits V hangers. The w - irons are the 1907 RCH type supplied by Bill Bedford as these give some chance of springing the buffers and actually fit the shorter wagons.

Bearings have been a source of amusement of late and I have used Markits ones. The nice looking Exactoscale ones will splay the irons outwards, which is hardly suprising when the waisted version measure at about an average of 1.23mm deep (on the batch I purchased several years ago). Use the Markits bearings but double check things to minimise sideplay.

Wheels are by Ultrascale. They may cost more but it is money well spent.

I still need to fit bolts to the V hanger and a nut on the end of the rod.

Painting... this wagon is going to be lettered for A Early, a coal merchant based in Winchester (DN & S). I have only seen one photo of their wagons and dont know if they had a 6 planker or indeed the numbers of their wagons, so I have to take a guess here. The alternative is not having any of their wagons... and I need some so it isnt really a choice.

Thats it for me for a little while as tomorrow I head down the South Coast for 10 days of camping. The beach..... sand.. waves... a Coopers Ale. What could be better?

Craig W

Another Toad

2008-12-29T18:32:00.006+11:00

This is an initial item from the stores of Craig, transferred at mate's rates - a Connoisseur Models Pocket Money Toad brake van dia AA3 kit, suitable for a beginner, or more correctly a re-starter after 57 years.

In preparation I sourced from Dick Smiths an own brand variable temperature soldering iron with a few bits. These were prepared according to the C & L advice, for long life. Then came the tedious business of impressing the many rivets using a sort of scribe in a handle fashioned from a cut-off section of a hexagonal split cane rod. The main body parts were then detached using an Exacto-style knife and snips, trimmed/filed in a small rubber jawed vice, folded with the aid of an Etch Mate 3C and prepared for soldering in the Carr product. Initial soldering was with Carrs 145 solder and green flux. After labouring mightily, the first end was splendidly attached to the sides. The problem was that this was the balcony end, but on the other end of the cabin - so unsoldering was added to the skill base. After two sessions the main body, balcony side doors were all in place, and amazingly, all sat square. What became evident was that if the cabin side opening onto the balcony were to be fitted sitting all the way down, there would be about a 1 mm gap below the roof line. But who will notice that? Next things get a bit more fiddly such as fitting the side and end stanchions, switching now to Carr's paste solder and working on the inside. For good stiction some flux was added, but with the outcome that some solder spread to the outside. Craig said remove it with the fibre glass brush that has largely worked, but this van will end up heavily weathered to deceive the viewer. Attaching the coupling plates required the use of fly tying magnifiers and seeing them (plates) jump in the air as the flux crackled. Eventually with paste alone they are on, but with somewhat shiny surrounds. The lamp irons made me acquire a new set of magnifiers with an LED for perfect illumination. Now I think they are not genuine GWR type irons as they have no crank, or is that only on locos? .Anyway set aside for later.

Next came folding up the solebars and small and long steps and trying them for fit, particularly as I plan to Use Bill Bedford sprung W-irons. All good. So then fitted and of course now that all is in place, there is need for a little heavy hand work as the BB items no longer fit, despite there being no gaps solebars/end of side stanchions. This also requires the ends of the long steps' attaching wires to be filed flat to the back of the solebars, resulting in two coming loose. Ah well.

By now the outside handrails were supposed to be attached but this is proposed as wire in body holes, quite unlike the prominent handrail knobs seen in various illustrations. I await some small knobs in the coming mail.

Cosmetically this is not as complete as Craig's kit, so I have added a cabin door handle, and a rough imitation of the gear linking the handle to the visible sandboxes. I don't have the dinky (dog bowl?) item on Craig's floor.

There is a looming issue of the competition for space between the W-irons, solebars, setting of the brass bearings, hopefully no spreading of the W-irons using Ultrascale 12 mm wheels and pinpoint axles, fiddling with the original possibly 4 foot springs for glue-on and the brake frets. Going to be interesting.

Sorry about the crude composition. I really found the adding of pictures like going to the Kimberly and back. Maybe I will find out how to place the pix sometime. But enough for today!

Making tracks...take two

2008-12-07T12:20:00.003+11:00

I have been contemplating making some pointwork for a considerable period of time. But with so many things on the go (sound familiar anyone?) I have shied away from making an attempt. For the past few weeks I have been in a situation where I have not been able to seriously concentrate on something and decided that now was as good a time as any to start.

A while ago I brought a copy of Templot, a truly wonderful program that has all the makings of a hobby in itself. The end result was that I printed out a copy of the drawing of a GWR 12' heel number 10 LH regular V crossing (what a mouthful).

The accepted wisdom seems to be to start with something like an A5 or a B6 size but I am rather enthralled by the rather larger points. This one is a little over 350mm long. In the context of an actual layout, this is a serious space hog but I think that with my scatter gun approach to things less is more is a very good concept!

The timbers are all from ply and were stained with a heavily diluted mix of Japan oil. The result is a mid brown with just a hint of grey. It isnt intended to be the final finish, more of a starting point. The rail is nickle silver. There is no doubt that steel looks nicer. Unfortunately, in my part of Sydney it also rusts and I am not prepared to run the risk of building trackwork that winds up being damaged. If my track having a yellow tint is the worse thing I can be picked up for I will be pleased!

The crossing was filed up using a Portsdown models jig and assembled in situ. Still not sure which approach is better, I might try a different approach next time. Chairs are 2 bolt C & L, threaded onto the rail and then glued in place. Sometimes this needs a few attempts, but once they are fixed there will be no moving in a hurry.

Several wagons have been tried through the crossing and I had problems with one. After checking the wagon, I went back to the crossing and found a slight alignment problem. Adjusted that and all was well.

The photographs are a second attempt, taken outdoors on a lovely Sunday morning. One of them shows my partly completed Mitchell 517 and gives an idea of the size of close to scale crossings. Once I get this done I need to get back to the 517 and the Finney 3232.

But they are stories for another day.

Finally, for anyone contemplating building a point from scratch rather than buying a kit of one...give it a go it really isnt that bad.

Craig W

Finishing the AA13 Toad

2008-11-09T17:53:00.003+11:00

Things have progressed well since the last entry but slowly due to other commitments. The handrails were fiddly but acceptable in the final form even if they do appear to sit a little high. The running boards on the other hand were a nice piece of work and, although the individual components appear to be a bit flimsy, the final product is quite robust and looks about right. Look out though for holes appearing in the fold of the running boards. Once again the etch is incomplete along the fold line and requires a lot of solder to bodge up.

The roof was straight forward but I took the time to sweat the rear roof support to a couple of thicknesses of scrap etch and then used this as template to turn up a couple more roof supports to help maintain the correct profile along the length of the roof. The roof remains detachable via pins soldered into the rear uprights and curls of brass wire soldered into the corners of the cabin.
The locating tabs for the rains strips do not match up with the holes in the roof so I cut off the outer ones and then gunged it all together with solder. I also cut a couple of end strips from brass shim.

When I bought the kit Roger from Frogmore’s explained that, because this was a new batch, the brake standards had not been included and he would post it on to me. I know that he did and I’m sure I put it somewhere safe for when I need it and I know it’s still there. I just can’t remember where it is! So I took a leaf out of Iain Rice’s book Etched Loco Construction and had a crack at making my own brake standard our of a piece of tubing, a couple of washers, a handrail knob and a bit of wire. And I’m quite happy with the result. I also knocked up a couple of sprag holders from some spare fret.

The castings for the springs are glued on and so left to last. Beware that holes need to be cut so as not to block off the holes in the solebars. I also had to gently bend the castings to fit around the stop blocks I fabricated which are a bit oversize (buggered if I'm going to change then now!).

That’s about it on the construction side. I’ve given it a light coat of primer which shows up all the imperfections that can be easily sorted out with a fibreglass brush and some fine emery before another light spray of primer then moving on to a top coat.

My assessment is that this kit can be good if you go in with your eyes open and are prepared to do extra work to sort out the short comings. I’d certainly tackle it differently if I were to build a second AA13 from this kit. Getting the veranda right first time and setting the bench for the sanding boxes for the correct height are the two most essential problems to sort out next time around.

Progress on the AA13 Toad

2008-10-10T12:53:00.004+11:00

Picking up from where I left off; first thing was to sort out the wonky veranda. I unpicked some of the soldering and removed one of the veranda doors, which was a bit skew-wiff anyway and needed straightening. Then it was a matter of gently twisting of the whole model and the wonk is mostly eliminated.

I removed the veranda roof supports and intend to attach them to the roof. These had an unsightly gap at the bottom which was going to be tricky to correct in situ, they were in the way of detailing the inside of the veranda and they were too easily broken or distorted if left where they were.

I also added some riveted strip up under the top of the end of the veranda to correct the bits snipped off from the oversized overlay mentioned earlier. I made up a door plate and handle for the cabin door as well as a lintel seal for the cabin door but none of these features are too apparent in these views. Tool boxes were fabricated and located inside the veranda but then a real problem revealed itself when the tops of the sandboxes were fabricated and located at the back of the veranda. The fold up etch (part number 2) that forms the floor of the veranda as well as the front and top of the sandboxes is badly misproportioned such that the upright segment is too tall by 3 or 4mm. Unfortunately this is not readily apparent until you go to put in the sandbox tops and they peep out over the top of the veranda. And by that stage, it’s too late to unpick all the hard work thus far, remove the offending 3 or 4mm and put it all back together again! So this one is going to have to live with its’ sandbox tops looking out at the world in a very unprototypical way!

The solebars were another adventure in fabrication. Firstly, the half-etched fold lines are not continuous and need lots of solder to fill. This also makes keeping them straight very difficult. Once made up, they are supposed to attach to the underside using tabs and slots. If you use these, the solebars are inset much too deeply and leave a huge gap between themselves and the bottom of the uprights. So I snipped off the tabs and moved the solebars closer to the edge. The uprights don’t all line up with their respective positions on the solebars but this is minor and just something to live with.

Axle box stop brackets were fabricated from scrap brass and attached to the underside of the solebars. Fiddly but worth the effort I think.

The wheel sets are actually quite nice with some lovely detailing in the brake set ups. I did solder in the yolks upside down so that wheels can be taken out with a minimum of fuss but they are still there to keep that busy look going on under the body.

The rocking wheel set is poorly designed and, while pivoting nicely over a central axis, they slop around a bit backward and forward. This is corrected by soldering the tie down rods (at least that’s what I would call them on an open wagon!). I have replaced these with .025 brass rod rather than those provided on the etch to give a better profile and some effective springing. But setting this up needs to be done carefully to get good running. How I tackled it was to solder them in as best as I could first to get solder into all the right places. Inevitably, and unless you are incredibly lucky, that means that the rocking set will be misaligned or twisted relative to the rear set which will cause derailments in P4. So I set the van down on a flat surface so that the bottom of the W-irons were in the same horizontal plane. Then, by unsoldering and resoldering each of the ends of each of the tie down bars one at a time, the tension is slowly released from this set up and everything sits squarely. This process may need to be repeated several times to get it just right, but it is straightforward and easy to do.

2008-09-28T15:19:00.003+10:00

Finally, after moving house, I managed to get some time to model. I thought I'd break in gently with what looked like a straight forward kit, the AA13 Toad from Frogmore Confederacy.

I first saw this kit at last year’s Scale Forum and had to have one, it looked so good and a lot simpler than the Southwark Toad (which I purchased as well). But it’s not until I started building it that the kit’s short comings became obvious.

I think that this kit can best be described as having interesting thoughts with some silly oversights. For example, the verticals of the support irons are separate items with tabs to locate them, which is good and straight forward to use. However, the tabs have to protrude through two overlays and, in some cases, the tabs for the holes do not line up, which is bad. The veranda construction is such that it’s almost impossible to fold up squarely (as can be seen from these pics), and the veranda floor is too short leaving an unsightly gap against the cabin that has to be filled somehow (I used an abundance of solder). And the overlay for the riveted strips on the veranda end is too tall. I simply put it on as is, lining up the holes for the buffers, then at a later stage of construction, filed off the top to be flush with the rest of the top of the veranda. In hindsight, a better technique, if more fiddly, would be to cut the top off before putting it on and shorten each of the four verticals by the appropriate amount and then apply the overlay and the separate top individually.

Another problem to look out for is the veranda doors. The kit is supposed to have these as part of the general body fold up but I found they do not fit if you try to do it this way. Best to snip them off and file them to fit once the body and veranda have been folded up.

There are also problems in the written plans. I don’t have any drawings accompanying the kit but there ought to be something. And one overlay for the metal at the cabin end ought to be put on before the overlay with the riveted strip detail and not in the order suggested by the notes.

But, despite the whinges, I’m reasonably happy so far and think that I ought to end up with a nice looking Toad. The level of detail is reasonably good and should produce a superior model to the clumsy RTR versions available on the market at the moment.

Chassis Jig re-jigged!

2008-09-22T18:00:00.010+10:00

Two years ago I got hold of one of Phil Atkinson's excellent Master Chassis jigs. I've used it a few times now, for new chassis construction and re-building a couple of 20 year old chassis that were due for refurbishment. I've been very impressed with it - it does a great job and saves lots of time and quite a bit of frustration. I wondered if it could be easier to use though - I found it a little difficult to keep everything vertically aligned with the frames only supported indirectly through the hornblocks. This wouldn't matter for a rigid chassis but for sprung or compensated chassis construction it does make it a little harder.
After some thought I set about building a stage or platform on which the chassis frames can be supported whilst the suspension can be set up. The stage is assembled from aluminium U-channel - 2 pieces of 12mm x 12mm x 240mm bolted back to back, in turn being supported on 20mm x 25mm aluminium angle attached to the jigs MDF base. The angle piece has a slot milled in it to allow horizontal adjustment because there is a toggle clamp mounted at one end which can be used, with suitable packing, to secure the frames in place. The platform will need to be removed for initially setting up the jig for the correct coupling rod centres, although a simple milled slot in the channel could be added to allow allen-key access to the locking bolts.

Supergrass!

2008-09-07T11:12:00.014+10:00

I was planning to mow the lawn yesterday but it was raining heavily. So I caught up with a couple of little jobs - one being to assemble an electrostatic grass maker, having just taken delivery of a "negative-ion generator" from a supplier in the US. The rest is easy - a 12v DC power supply, some PVC pipe, a rocker switch and a 2.1mm socket for the power. An alligator clip connected to the negative socket of the supply provides the ground, attached to a nail in contact with PVA glue. It took about an hour to assemble, total cost (excluding power supply) about $35.00 - a lot cheaper than the commercially available ones. Plus $13.00 for a bag of static grass fibre (Heki 3367 static wild grass meadow green 75g) and the actual grass laying took a mere ten minutes! The down side is the odd jolt of static if you inadvertently touch the base (13kV) and now there's even more lawn to mow. Less time for modelling!

I think this technique offers several adavatages over other methods - it looks good, it's surprisingly time effective and offers consistency. If anything, the result is perhaps a little too uniform - but this was just a first attempt so the next effort will involve some variation and of course an airbrush could be used to add some more variety. The techniqe would also be very effective for small clumps of grass at the lineside.

2008-06-23T11:17:00.004+10:00

Thanks to David's superior photographic skills, here's a better shot of the Siphon C complete with transfers.

David also took a photograph of his 44XX coupled to the Siphon, I will pester him to post that as well

A spot of brass watching

2008-04-19T12:29:00.002+10:00

No photographs of anything at the moment, though I will get around to some soon. This quick post is to make a few comments on the new P7 ballast wagon from Southwark Bridge Models. I received the etchings yesterday, the castings will probably arrive on Monday.

My initial impressions are very favourable. The etching is very well done with no apparent registration problems. The sheet is approx B5 in size and includes W- irons, arranged for springing, which ensures that the underframe remains open. The instructions are 21 pages long and it would be a very brave (or stupid) person who would tackle this kit without them. The kit is very complex and would appear to place accuracy above ease of assembly, which is my preference.

One of the more bewildering parts of these hoppers is the brake gear and the kit is intended to cover all variations. These are all represented in the instructions with A4 size isometric drawings. With the talk on various internet groups to try and explain DC brake variations these drawings are superb.

Once I have a few things out the way I intend to get going on this wagon, it is really inspiring to look at!

A few of these in a PW train would look superb. I am really impressed with the Southwark Bridge kits. The Toad and this kit are a huge step forward in the fidelity of goods rolling stock kits. Go and buy one, even if it is only to get the diagrams of the brake gear.

New visitor!

2008-03-18T23:29:00.005+11:00

The Sydney P4 Group had a new visitor recently - Michael brought his NER Class O (LNER G5) 0-4-4 up from Canberra to show the group. Resplendent in it's pre-grouping livery, it was professionally built by John Brighton from a London Road Models kit with Gibson wheels and Mashima motor. Needless to say, running is as superb as the excellent paint job. Makes a change from all the GW green and brass we are more used to seeing!

Michael also brought some assembled P4 trackwork - a panel of turnouts from one end of the hidden sidings for his new layout. The gentle sweep of curved turnouts fanning out, all built with PCB sleepers, looks superb. He also contributed a tree to our layout - the first bit of new scenic development since the layout was acquired.

Meeting and stuff

2008-03-11T22:42:00.002+11:00

Good meeting last Sunday guys, we ought to get together more regularly. I came home inspired to get a number of jobs sorted out!

Firstly, the wheels on the Siphon. Obviously something wrong so I simply swapped them for a new set and problem solved! A gentle push through the points on any setting and she sails through without a hitch. Yes David, an abject lesson in looking after wheel sets!

I've also spent part of the evening putting decals on the siphon. Half way there and she's looking good!

Off to Hobart tomorrow and have packed the 45xx chassis and some tools to give those connecting rods some attention.

Anybody else inspired to new modelling heights?

A better photo

2008-02-19T21:46:00.001+11:00

I've tried to provide a better photo using a better source of light. I think this one shows up more of the detail on the sides and undercarriage.

Siphon C

2008-02-18T22:18:00.002+11:00

No one could accuse me of rushing a model! I've been working on this Siphon C for a couple of years now and I've only just got a coat of paint on it. It's a Shirescene's body on a Mainly Trains underframe designed by Ian Rice. The roof is from Blacksmiths. Still got to put the buffers and hooks on, give it some decals and weathering but what a difference a coat of paint makes! And apologies for the poor quality of the photo - I'm working on that as well!

Stepboards etc

2008-01-12T22:06:00.000+11:00

Hi Craig, sorry to hear about your pussy problems but glad you have some company in those long, lonely modeling hours! I've just spent the day with David sorting out the 45XX chassis which runs nicely now but we have some problems with falling out of quarter. More of that later.

Thought I'd post up some pics showing the progress on the B set. Notably I've got the new improved step boards on both carriages and the step board supports on one.

The step boards are the original Comet articles soldered on to 1mm x 3mm angle brass. This both beefs them up to make them look more business-like and provides a straighter line when attached to the carriage. A small detail for any one contemplating doing this is; once the step board is soldered to the angle brass and before you attach them to the carriage, take a file and round off the upper outside edge along the full length. This gives a more prototypical look. The step boards are wider than the 3mm the angle brass below them so they overhang a little bit. I'm prepared to over look this minor detail but others may wish to match the two somehow.

On one of the carriages, I've added step board supports made from 1.5 x 1.5mm T-section brass. This is easier than you might think if you approach it carefully. I left the T-section in a relatively long length, tinned the top surface and carefully file the end so that it fits in snug against the solebar under the step board. If you have already put step board supports on the solebar above the step boards as I explained in an earlier post, you need to make sure that he ones added under the solebar line up or the will look crook. This is easy to do by marking the outside edge of the step board with a felt pen so that you can see when the upper step board supports are when you have the whole under frame upside down. Once the end of the T-section is filed up and lined up, it can be soldered in place and a Dremel grinding wheel can be used to cut the T-section off as well as cleaning up the end of the loose cut section in preparation for the next support. Once you've got them all on one side, check that they are all in the right place and lined up with the upper step board supports on the sole bar and adjust any that need tweaking. Then once you're happy with their positioning, file or grind the supports to the right length and file an angle on their underside. It takes some time but I think you'll agree from the photos, it's worth the effort. Those step boards really look like they could do their job now!

Another couple of photos show how the sheathing of the ends of the carriages is working out. Here I've simply glued on sheets of very thin brass cut to size. I've used 5 minute epoxy which I'm also using as a filler but I haven't finished the clean up of this yet and hence the large glue bogie running down the edge of one of the carriages!

Company is important

2008-01-02T23:02:00.000+11:00

Modelling can be a bit solitary at times, but our collection of cats (six of 'em!) is fascinated by what I do. One of them has a thing about Dremel bits an watching trains move up and down a length of track. Others like to (try and) sit in my lap while I build things or sit on the bench. Chilli is far more refined than that sort of thing. She lays at my side (on my short test track) and keeps an eye on things. Makes sure I do the right thing with the tools and chemicals and that sort of thing.

In the mean time, I am working on those handrails still, secure in the knowledge that if I do something wrong it will be noted.

The agonies of handrails.

2007-12-29T18:19:00.000+11:00

I have discovered something I dont enjoy. Making Toad handrails. Frankly, it is a great way to motivate myself to play Call of Duty 4 on X-box live. In all seriousness, this is a tedious process. The main rail is made from 0.33 mm brass wire, held in by split pins made from a strand of wire. I soldered the split pins closed, make sure they are aligned correctly and then solder them to the brass wire to ensure they dont stray from the intended location. The buffers have been drilled out and will have have sprung rams fitted (51L models). After the handrails comes painting. I probably should have painted and then done the handrails, but I was uncertain about being able to do that without damaging the paintwork. In lght of the work involved, I think this is a better process.

So, not too much more to do and then I will get back to the Mitchell 517.

Roxey Metro

2007-12-23T08:07:00.000+11:00

Thought I'd just add a couple of pics of my Metro built from a Roxey kit. This is in response to a discussion on the GWR list. I thought this was a good kit, not too complicated, but I want to build a new compensated chassis to replace the sprung chassis that I originally built.

I've modified the bunker and cab scratch building and using some spare parts from Craig's 517 kit. Metros came in many variants so make sure you choose a specific example and work closely with any photos!

Detailing solebars

2007-12-04T22:34:00.000+11:00

As threatened in my last post, I've removed the running boards supplied with the Comet kit and some angled milled brass is on its' way to make up some replacements. Once off, those solebars looked very empty so I started looking at what detail could be added. There was some riveted strapping at regular spacings that appear to be parts of the supports for the running boards. I figured these were spaced at about 4 feet six inches. There was also some rivet detail inside the angle irons at the coupled end of the coach, more rivet strapping at the guards end, some riveted plates marking where the bogie supports meet the sides and some riveted straps anchoring the queen posts and truss rods. The question now was how to fabricate these.

Searching through my box of goodies I came across frets of wagon strapping from Mainly Trains. Chopped up and, in the case of the bogie support plates, added side by side , these worked out just fine, as you can see. There was the problem of adding such detail without unsoldering other bits and pieces, particularly on the guards end buffer beams, a problem overcome using a lower melt solder. And I know that much of this detail does not extend the full depth of the solebars but remember that the running boards will be covering the lower portion of the solebars when they are added.

Door Stops

2007-11-28T23:28:00.001+11:00

Craig, you asked about the door stops. I hope these couple of pics show how that is proceeding.

Despite making up a template and marking out drill holes with masking tape, the door stops have ended up slightly out of line and somewhat erratically spaced. But this is only the first of four sides so I might get them right by the time I've finished the fourth side!

Perhaps more urgent is to pay some attention to the running boards. They are too thin and look wonky. I might investigate what is available in milled brass to do that job.

A busy day

2007-11-26T21:39:00.000+11:00

Hi Guys,

I had today off work and spent much of it in the modeling room, all spent on the B set. It doesn't sound like much but what I managed to do was get the roofs shaped, build new buffer beams for the connected ends and make the connector. I'll let the photos show how it all turned out. There is still some details to add to the connector but all up I'm pretty happy with the effort. I've included some shots of the connector by itself as well as one of the bogies that I've fitted brakes to. I didn't go overboard on the brakes, if it can't be seen, I haven't added it!

Working from photos

2007-11-14T22:53:00.000+11:00

David kindly sent through a PDF of a pic of the end of two E129s joined as a B-set. One of the things I've been wondering about modelling a B-set is how far apart to set the two carriages at the permanently coupled end. I could see in the PDF that, with a little calculation, I could work this out.

The pic has the two carriages on a slightly oblique angle so there is some perspective to deal with. So I drew a line across the picture that was set on a piece of the horizontal lining of both carriages, although any horizontal line across the carriages would do. I then measured along this line between the hinge line of the last door and the end of the carriage. On the nearest carriage this measurement was 58mm and on the further one 49mm. So, if the gap between the two carriages was the same as from the end of the end of the carriage to the end door hinge line, then along this line it would be an average of these two measurements (ie 53.5mm). But when you take this measurement on the line across the photo it's only 48mm. So divide 48 by 53.5 and you get 0.08972, the conversion factor for the distance between the two carriages.

Now, time to turn to the models. From the last door hinge line to the end of the carriage is 9.1mm so, multiplied by 0.8972 I get 8.16mm. I've set the two carriages this far apart and the gap looks to be perfect.

So now to turn up some kind of connector that will keep the two carriages 8.16mm apart but still let them negotiate a useful curve!

Something else did tonight was to solder some small ring-type door handles onto the ends of some fine wire and then file them back to make up the ends of the train gear (another detail seen on Dave's pic). Fiddly stuff but, taking the time, a worthwhile addition!

2007-11-09T14:09:00.000+11:00

Hi Guys,

I've been using my evenings more productively than sitting around in front of the telly and I'm surprised just how much I can get through in a good evening's modelling. Last night, having reached a pause in working on the two coach bodies and still waiting for spare parts to arrive for the bogies (I checked; the bits have been paid for late last week so I assume they are on their way and will arrive soon), I decided to turn my attention back on the loco.

It took a little while to get the coupling rods off because previously I have cut the pins down a bit with a pair of side cutters meaning a slight buldge that had to be filed off before the nuts would unscrew. Once the rods were off I worked my way across each axle giving them a bit of a polish with some 2000 emery paper . When re-assembled, it slipped along like silk!

Then I started to assemble the gearbox, a road runner from High Level, and it amazes me that such a precise piece of engineering goes together so easily and quickly. If you follow the instructions, you can't go wrong.

So, by the end of the night, I had a freely-running chassis with a superb gearbox attached. Not bad for a couple of hours work late in the evening!

ABS Models GWR outside framed brake van

2007-11-04T14:00:00.000+11:00

This is the Toad I am currently building using the ex D&S kit which is now available from ABS models. The kit goes together fairly easily using solder although it could be glued. The castings are a little thick around the verandah area, and lack planking on the inside. I became more aware of this after i had assembled the body. Just how visible it will be when the model is completed remains to be seen. The next one may have this area attended to.

I replaced the W-irons with Bill Bedford sprung units and used Ultrascale wheels and Markits waisted bearings. There is some variation in depth between the commercially available bearings. I have found the Markits or Gibson bearings to be the best to use with the Bill Bedford w irons. The model is extremely free running.

I still have a bit of work to do including the handrails and painting. The model will be finshed as a Didcot allocated van in early 1920's condition. Best references are GWR goods wagons and BRJ number 17. There are several areas that require a bit of guessing with the modified sandbox arrangement being the main one. I chose the separate boxes rather than the earlier arrangement, although I am uncertain when this was changed. This van will be fitted with the earlier buffers, another with self contained buffers will follow at a later date.

Comet coach hinges

2007-11-04T12:55:00.000+11:00

Thought I'd jot down a few notes on attaching Comet door hinges to coaches.

I'm building a pair of Comet E129s as a B-set and one of the shortcomings of the kit as it comes is the lack of door hinges. Being sticky-outty bits, door hinges may be small but they are a prominent feature of a carriage so I wanted to include them. A quick web search for such items revealed that Comet does them as part of a coach detailing pack. When I was at S4um this year I had a change to eyeball them and straight away realised they were exactly what I wanted so bought 4 sets, 2 for the B-set and a couple for future projects. These detailing kits also include gangway connectors and a few other bits that I probably won't be needing so I was paying 3 quid a throw just for the hinges. I thought this was a reasonable deal.

It takes about an hour to do one side of an E129, 10 doors, three hinges each so 30 hinges in total. As you might imagine, these are very small parts and it's beyond my imagination as to how to file off the etching cusps without losing the part all together.

The kits comes with a handy template for drilling out the holes at the correct spacings. Extra convenient is that this template folds up in such a way that it favours left-handers like me! If you are a right hander you might want to fold the top guide in the opposite direction to make it easier to use.

Drilling out the holes was straight forward with a 0.5mm drill but this is a little wider than the hinge line leaving a small hole either side of the hinge that needs a bit of extra solder to fill (but not too much!).

I tinned both sides of the shank of the hinges before removing them from the fret. The hinges are essentually a T with the shank attaching them to the fret and becoming the bit that goes in the hole to secure them to the model. Don't be too generous with the solder here or the shank will not fit into the 0.5mm hole.

Handling the hinges is a tweezer job and only take them off one at a time, as you need them. I made the mistake of using fine scissors to cut them from the fret with the result of a couple pinging off across the room! It then dawned on me that a small pair of side cutters was a much better tool for the job. Once in the hole, flood with flux and then hold a clean tip of a soldering iron against the side of the hinge and the side of the carriage for 15 seconds or so. I also held the hinge in place while soldering with a fine file to prevent it from moving.

Once they are all attached the job is not finished! Go over each hinge individually, poke it with the tip of a fine file to ensure that it is securely attached and clean up with a fiberglass brush. While doing this look again to ensure that each hinge in squarely in the slot of the hinge line of the door and that it stands perpendicular to the carriage side. Be prepared to adjust with the soldering iron as required. Then, when all is clean, look along the length of the carriage to ensure that all the hinges are in a line along the length of the side. More tweaking may be required here and there but it's worth the extra frigging around at this stage because nothing looks worse than a single hinge sitting up all by itself out of alignment with all the others.

I suppose that it is possible at this stage to go over the hinges and remove the etching cusp from the outside edge but this would require a little more faith in the strength of ones soldering than I have! And, on close inspection, the cusp is hardly visible anyway.

Now give the whole side a good clean with a toothbrush and a bit of Jif in warm water. Be brutal but not violent; if a hinge is going to come off, better to know about it now than later.

As I said, it's taken me about an hour per side to put the hinges on an E129 and the results are well worth the effort. Now to put hinges on the other half of the B-set!

Signing in

2007-10-30T03:23:00.000+11:00

Just signing in guys. Paul W here, at 3 in the morning not being able to sleep because of so many silly things running through my head!

Just got the news that Gibsons has been sold and that the full range of bits will continue to be available under the AG brand name. They also reckon that loco kits may become available in the future in small batches. I read "expensive" but at least they will be available.

Speaking of AG, when I was at S4um I asked at their stand and elsewhere if anyone made castings of volute springs suitable for a large metro and apparently AG did make a nice set but only as part of their 36XX kit. I didn't know that AG did a 36XX but now suspect that we may have been talking cross-purposes; AG did make a kit of Number 36 rather than 36XX. Anyway, the upshot of my investigations was that it's probably easier and quicker to make my own when I need them rather than hoping that someone eventually produces the appropriate castings!

Welcome

2007-10-17T21:37:00.000+10:00

This blog is intended to provide a public face for the Sydney area group of the Scalefour Society. Our three main members are David, Paul and Craig although we also have several others involved with the group. Once we get things sorted out, it is planned to set up accounts to enable these people to contribute. As this blog has not been discussed with them so far, they shall remain anonymous at present.

We see this blog filling two roles. The first is to enable society members from outside of Sydney to see what we are up to, and secondly for us to show progress to each other. We all feel that email is adequate for the latter, the main advantage of this forum is that it provides an archive that may prove useful to others.

As the three of us are all GWR modellers, it will be obvious what the majority of posts will be about, however other things may appear at some time.