Making the beam engine go

All the way from Denmark, Torben asks:

This Airfix beam engine kit, is it with electric powered. I think not ? I have this kit when I was a boy and that was with a batt. driven motor so it will work.

You are correct, my model isn't powered. When the kit was first released it was possible to buy the parts to make it work. Inside the base there are still mouldings that look like they should hold a battery but the instructions don't mention them.

To make the kit work would require some modelling skills but I don't think this ought to be that difficult. As you can see from the photo, the axle that runs though the flywheel has pulleys on the end. An elastic band around these and a similar (but much smaller) pulley on a motor, would drive the model very nicely.

The motor could be hidden in a plinth along with the battery and switch. The result would look lovely. Good luck if you decide to try it.

Assembled beam engine

OK, were are nearly there now with the beam engine. I've finished putting the model together and it's looking good. All the joints work OK and the valve gear looks very nice when you rotate the flywheel.

Some of the pivots and little bits of "metalwork" had to be touched in but the greeny plastic Airfix moulded the kit in doesn't stand out against the metalcote paintwork.

Overall though I think I'm still missing an indefinable "something". If an identical model made from metal painted exactly the same way stood next to this plastic kit I think you would be able to tell the difference. I'm not expecting the paint to perform miracles but even if metal was painted in the same way I think it would look more like metal.

The next stage is some serious pondering. The metalcote will take polishing, which will help to bring the ungreen areas alive a little. Perhaps some washes of black to heighten the shadows as well ? Maybe even a touch of rust ? Dunno yet, I'll think on it and let you know.

Grease is the word

Slip eccentric
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

When I were a lad several Airfix steam engines passed across my modelling board. Penniless as I was, I hoped to increase my stud of model locomotives on the cheap by building then so they could be pushed around by one of the motorised ones. This meant the wheels would have to rotate and this is where it all went wrong.

Building plastic valve hear isn't easy. On one hand it all had to fit and stay together. On the other the joints have to remain mobile. For a cack-handed youth and a tube of plastic glue this wasn't a likely outcome. I could make strong joints that were immobile as easily as I could fog the cockpit glazing on a Spitfire.

I particularly remember a Schools Class. All the joints were lubricated with petroleum jelly before assembly and still the things wouldn't move. So I approached the waggly bits on the beam engine with trepidation. A static model wasn't of any interest, they had to move.

Luckily I also approached the job with a plastic glue that was controllable. Revel Contacta comes with a nice long, thin metal spout. This allows precision placement of tiny quantities of adhesive. In this instance, liquid glue wouldn't be the right stuff as capillary action gets it into all the wrong places. The pivots were also greased, this time with molybdenum grease which is a much better colour for this job being dark grey.

Result - I managed to make the joins and apart from one they all work and even that one was quickly released and re-made properly. Obviously patience helps - the young Phil would consider speed to be of the essence and not let things dry and harden as he should. It just shows that even for stupid people, age does bring with it some wisdom !

Making plastic look like metal

Flywheel primed and metalcote'd
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

I don't think anyone has ever been fooled that anything painted with a metal look paint is really metal (have you ever seen convincing "chrome" paint), but I though I'd do what I could. To this end the beam engine flywheel has been sprayed with Humbrol Metalcote. This is a well regarded paint which, once dry, can be polished to a sheen.

Spraying it worked very well and the resulting finish is very smooth. Over the primer the result is slightly rough - just like a casting. Sadly what I want for this part is machined steel but it's not bad I suppose.

Polishing the paint makes a difference too. I'm still not convinced that you get something that looks like real metal but it's certainly not bad from a distance.

With the "metal" dry I spent ages masking off the rim of the wheel and then dug out some gloss dark green (Humbrol No.2). Spraying this was a nightmare. It wouldn't flow and when I tipped out the paint cup the pigment had broken up into congealed blobs.

In desperation I tried again eshewing my favoured cellulose thinners in preference for cheap white spirit. The results were instantly better with the paint flowing properly. I think this is due to the low temperatures in the garage I spray in. I don't understand why this should be but it's not the first time I've experienced it.

Part number - why ?

Part number
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

If I'm going to fool anyone that this beam engine is a metal model then life would be a lot easier if Airfix wouldn't mould part numbers in the face of the parts.

I'm sure that most modellers could work out which part this is without the numerical assistance.

Airfix Beam Engine Kit

Beam Engine Kit
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

A big tick on the kits I've always wanted to build list with this one. Somewhere on a bookshelf is a 1970's Airfix catalogue which lists all sorts of delights including the science range of models. This comprised a beam engine, Trevithic locomotive and later a paddle steamer engine. All moulded in plastic and all intended to move, especially if motorised.

Finally the beam engine and locomotive have been re-released. I order the former from my local model shop (they get Airfix stuff from the Hornby rep) and £11.45 later I had the kit in my hand. A few hours later it had hit the modelling board.

My plan is to try and built it well enough that the model could pass, from a distance, as a Stuart Models engine. Much as I'd love to build and own one of these fantastic models they are well out of my skill and price range. That means the plastic has got to look like metal. Hmmmm.

You can buy the plastic kit here.