The boiler fittings were nice and easy to fit and finish. Those Salter Safety valves are supplied as brass turnings which are very nice and delecate. the builder has to provide the arms at the top but that's painless enough using a bit of the supplied brass wire.
Three smokebox doors were included and all I had to do was work out which one was most appropriate. Since I didn't have a clear photo of the front of an early loco I used a process of deduction to work out which ones I couldn't use from pictures of rebuilt machines, and then used the one left over. I think it looks right.
All in all, this is a lovely looking model locomotive. The kits is fairly pain free and most of those problems are caused by the prototypes convoluted history. If you know your S&D locos (I don't) then the process becomes even easier. Of course I didn't have to do the painting, this model was to be delivered in primer. Perhaps then I really wood be cursing !
Showing posts with label Fox Walker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fox Walker. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Handrails and fittings
Steam engine designers really don't think of modellers enough. The main handrail is a nightmare on this locomotive. While I've never enjoyed this part of any build, this one was definitely worse than most.
On the smokebox front we have a curve. Nothing special about this except it is flatter than normal. Starting in the middle of a length of 0.45mm brass wire from Gibson, I bent it around a suitable pen. Next the corners go in to get the wire heading toward the cab. This is where the "fun" starts as the tank now gets in the way so the builder can't just hold the handrail in place to check the forming is proceeding well.
Three goes later and we are heading along the front of the tank and then back towards the cab. Of course I have been remembering to put handrail knobs on as I go. Well, except for one but I was getting good at re-bending the wire by then even if I was worried about the brass work hardening and snapping.
Even fitting the thing isn't easy as you can only see the inside of the body in the smokebox and at the back of the tank. Elsewhere it was a case of lots of flux and tiny amounts of solder to work from the outside. Where I formed a blob this was smoothed out across the flatter bits of tank and then cleaned off with the fibre pen,
With this trail complete, sticking some whitemetal boiler fittings on was much more fun. Only one, the tank filler, has a stalk sticking through the body but some careful work with the 100 degree solder followed by lots of cleaning up, and this model is really coming alive.
On the smokebox front we have a curve. Nothing special about this except it is flatter than normal. Starting in the middle of a length of 0.45mm brass wire from Gibson, I bent it around a suitable pen. Next the corners go in to get the wire heading toward the cab. This is where the "fun" starts as the tank now gets in the way so the builder can't just hold the handrail in place to check the forming is proceeding well.
Three goes later and we are heading along the front of the tank and then back towards the cab. Of course I have been remembering to put handrail knobs on as I go. Well, except for one but I was getting good at re-bending the wire by then even if I was worried about the brass work hardening and snapping.
Even fitting the thing isn't easy as you can only see the inside of the body in the smokebox and at the back of the tank. Elsewhere it was a case of lots of flux and tiny amounts of solder to work from the outside. Where I formed a blob this was smoothed out across the flatter bits of tank and then cleaned off with the fibre pen,
With this trail complete, sticking some whitemetal boiler fittings on was much more fun. Only one, the tank filler, has a stalk sticking through the body but some careful work with the 100 degree solder followed by lots of cleaning up, and this model is really coming alive.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Tank on footplate
OK, so this is looking a bit scruffy but a lot more complete. Before going any further than the last photo the tank received a coat of cheap primer. As I've mentioned before, this allows me to see the model as it is and not be deceived by the nice shiny brass. I'll be honest and say I was a little surprised to fine it had gone pretty well. Not perfect if I'm being picky, but good enough to continue.
The footplate has to be shortened before use. Two of the prototypes were involved in accidents and rebuilt slightly longer, and the kit allows for this. 4mm needs to be knocked off the back end for an early engine like this. The buffer beams are hefty fold ups as the real things were chunks of wood. Some of the photos appear to show them faced with a steel plate and I'd have replicated this if I'd spotted it before riveting the beams. Of course the pictures available tend to be of the locos later in life so that might not be accurate anyway.
Before bringing tank and footplate together there is the little matter of the prominent pipes under the tank which meant fitting some injectors. I'd hoped to make this whole lot removable to ease the painters job but this proved very difficult so I decoded to make something that looks good. I'm not sure you'd squeeze it under the tank anyway as the gap under there is surprisingly small and the splashers get in the way.
The cab is a simple enough construction - 4 sides that just have to be kept square. Sorting out the bunker back is an other matter. It has a very strange flare which points out in all directions and tapers back into the cab side. 3 parts are supplied which have to be bent and bodged into position with a fair bit of solder put in as a filler and then filed away to give a tidy result. The worst part is that the components have very sharp pointed ends and jabbed fingers are inevitable !
The footplate has to be shortened before use. Two of the prototypes were involved in accidents and rebuilt slightly longer, and the kit allows for this. 4mm needs to be knocked off the back end for an early engine like this. The buffer beams are hefty fold ups as the real things were chunks of wood. Some of the photos appear to show them faced with a steel plate and I'd have replicated this if I'd spotted it before riveting the beams. Of course the pictures available tend to be of the locos later in life so that might not be accurate anyway.
Before bringing tank and footplate together there is the little matter of the prominent pipes under the tank which meant fitting some injectors. I'd hoped to make this whole lot removable to ease the painters job but this proved very difficult so I decoded to make something that looks good. I'm not sure you'd squeeze it under the tank anyway as the gap under there is surprisingly small and the splashers get in the way.
The cab is a simple enough construction - 4 sides that just have to be kept square. Sorting out the bunker back is an other matter. It has a very strange flare which points out in all directions and tapers back into the cab side. 3 parts are supplied which have to be bent and bodged into position with a fair bit of solder put in as a filler and then filed away to give a tidy result. The worst part is that the components have very sharp pointed ends and jabbed fingers are inevitable !
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Tanks, smokebox, cab front
Fitting the tank to the cab front is nice and easy - an etched line shows the location. Making sure the tank bottom and front are perpendicular is important but no too difficult. I didn't need to do any tweaking so this means the tank must be reasonably square.
The smokebox is harder. A lamination on the tank front ought to give an idea but if you try and use this to guide attachment, the tank slopes upwards to the front. Not much but enough to be annoying. I think the problem is the reduction from 7mm scale - that and I misread the instructions, the smokebox goes on first and then the lamination.
After a bit of fiddling around I managed to get things square and horizontal. Visual guides don't help what with the smokebox front sloping backward on the prototype so it's out with squares and even a small spirit level.
If you are a fan of unseen detail, this a kit for you. The back smokebox former is ecthed with holes representing the tubes in the boiler. Nice but completely invisible on a finished model.
The smokebox is harder. A lamination on the tank front ought to give an idea but if you try and use this to guide attachment, the tank slopes upwards to the front. Not much but enough to be annoying. I think the problem is the reduction from 7mm scale - that and I misread the instructions, the smokebox goes on first and then the lamination.
After a bit of fiddling around I managed to get things square and horizontal. Visual guides don't help what with the smokebox front sloping backward on the prototype so it's out with squares and even a small spirit level.
If you are a fan of unseen detail, this a kit for you. The back smokebox former is ecthed with holes representing the tubes in the boiler. Nice but completely invisible on a finished model.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Formed tank
Horrid job time. In theory making the tank is easy. The main wrapper is supplied half etched so there is no riveting. It's also formed very nicely with the main curve . All the builder has to do is make up the inner former and solder the wrapper to it.
Which would be fine except that the wrapper has to bend under the former as well. At the bottom edges there are sharp curves.
So I solder one edge to the former and start work. The metal bends nicely around the sharp bit and then over the top. Soldering iron access is pretty good and the former keeps things in place pretty well. OK so I bust off the legs at one end but then they are too thin and not essential anyway. More a vestigial leftover from the 7mm original.
It's the final bend that is the killer. You've got hardly any metal to grab hold of - less than 4mm. And the bend needs to be tidy. A combination of flat ended pliers and bits of wood forced the metal in the end but it was quite a struggle. If I do this again I think I might try and pre form the curve in some way. Trouble is I can't use bending bars as the corner is a curve not a fold.
Some days you wish you were building a whitemetal kit !
Which would be fine except that the wrapper has to bend under the former as well. At the bottom edges there are sharp curves.
So I solder one edge to the former and start work. The metal bends nicely around the sharp bit and then over the top. Soldering iron access is pretty good and the former keeps things in place pretty well. OK so I bust off the legs at one end but then they are too thin and not essential anyway. More a vestigial leftover from the 7mm original.
It's the final bend that is the killer. You've got hardly any metal to grab hold of - less than 4mm. And the bend needs to be tidy. A combination of flat ended pliers and bits of wood forced the metal in the end but it was quite a struggle. If I do this again I think I might try and pre form the curve in some way. Trouble is I can't use bending bars as the corner is a curve not a fold.
Some days you wish you were building a whitemetal kit !
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Moded gearbox
Yesterday I blithely said "and motor/gearbox combo installed " which glossed over the fun involved in this process so today a little more details.
First, a history lesson. In the old days there was no such thing as a model railway gearbox outside the realms of the highest quality model makers with a fully equipped machine shop at their disposal. Normal souls would fit the crown gear to the axle and then fudge some sort of plate to hold the motor and its worm gear in something like the right place. Various suggestions were advanced to achieve a perfect mesh such as wrapping thread around the worm or using a piece of Bronco toilet paper between the two. Most people fiddled and adjusted finally settling on a less than perfect mesh as a better option than flinging the model across the room in frustration.
Sometime in the late 80's along with neon coloured clothing and Kajagoogoo the etched kit business got serious and people started to manufacture gearboxes to help the mesh challenged. Iain Rice's book of the time explains how to deal with both types of motorising as older kits still required you to put a DS10 or even X04 into your cast whitemetal chassis .
Anyway as far as I am concerned a gearbox is A Good Thing. My meshing is always terrible without one. I also like the opportunity to sort it out off the model. When asked how to do the mechanical bits my stock answer usually involves a Branchlines gearbox or for the really keen, something from High Level Models.
In the S&D tank a 'box is supplied on the etch. Sadly it's designed to use Ultrascale gears which are frequently difficult to obtain. Anyway I'd been supplied with a Romford set. This is fine except that the motor is offset to one side and the worm gear has a boss with the grub screw in it which wants to occupy the same space as the gearbox side.
To fix this I loped the offending metal off with a piercing saw. Hopefully this won't affect the structural strength detrimentally. So far I've got away with it.
First, a history lesson. In the old days there was no such thing as a model railway gearbox outside the realms of the highest quality model makers with a fully equipped machine shop at their disposal. Normal souls would fit the crown gear to the axle and then fudge some sort of plate to hold the motor and its worm gear in something like the right place. Various suggestions were advanced to achieve a perfect mesh such as wrapping thread around the worm or using a piece of Bronco toilet paper between the two. Most people fiddled and adjusted finally settling on a less than perfect mesh as a better option than flinging the model across the room in frustration.
Sometime in the late 80's along with neon coloured clothing and Kajagoogoo the etched kit business got serious and people started to manufacture gearboxes to help the mesh challenged. Iain Rice's book of the time explains how to deal with both types of motorising as older kits still required you to put a DS10 or even X04 into your cast whitemetal chassis .
Anyway as far as I am concerned a gearbox is A Good Thing. My meshing is always terrible without one. I also like the opportunity to sort it out off the model. When asked how to do the mechanical bits my stock answer usually involves a Branchlines gearbox or for the really keen, something from High Level Models.
In the S&D tank a 'box is supplied on the etch. Sadly it's designed to use Ultrascale gears which are frequently difficult to obtain. Anyway I'd been supplied with a Romford set. This is fine except that the motor is offset to one side and the worm gear has a boss with the grub screw in it which wants to occupy the same space as the gearbox side.
To fix this I loped the offending metal off with a piercing saw. Hopefully this won't affect the structural strength detrimentally. So far I've got away with it.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Fox Walker finished chassis
If you were paying attention to yesterdays picture you'll have spotted a nearly completed chassis for the Fox Walker. Since the last update I have dropped the wheels out (you can do this with Romfords which is the main reason I love 'em) primed and painted the frames.
With the wheels restored and motor/gearbox combo installed the whole lot made a few passes along the test track. Some PCB fitted between the frames to give the pick-ups something to hang on. This is a live chassis so I only had to fit these on one side. As usual, 28swg phosphor bronze wire does for these.
Next the brakes went on. Being a Fox Walker there are several options and for this model locomotive I've gone for the earliest wooden (looking) option. The top of the hanger fits the wires with only a little bit of reaming. To solder I use Carrs red label flux and normal solder. Red label is a non corrosive flux and shouldn't give any trouble in the future and won't require the extensive scrubbing the normal stuff needs. It's not as good but works well enough for this task which is why I still have a pot.
Brake rodding is a weird wobbly set of rods that fit very nicely. These are certainly not parts I'd like to make up from scratch !
Finally some sandboxes are made up from plastic. I'd prefer some labour saving whitemetal versions but they weren't to hand and hacking some Evergreen fat strip isn't too difficult and makes me feel I'm making something rather than just assembling a model.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Fox Walker Chassis
No real problems here. After punching the rivets, I jigged the chassis up as usual. The only choice was which set of rods to use. There is a set on the fret with the kit and some Alan Gibson ones as well. I went for the later as they seemed to be a better match for the wheelbase. Apparently the kit set are to be redrawn immanently but this is the very acceptable work around at present.
I did have to ream out the axle holes larger than normal and I think the bearings at one end are out of the centre line of the hole by something approaching 1mm. This is more likely to be my fault as the kits however. The chassis jig I'm using has shouldered ends too fat for the holes in the rods so I had to set things up by measurement rather than just putting them through the rods as intended. One day I will get a set of axle rods with 1mm ends !
The spacers drop in quickly and are followed by ashpan sides. These include holes for wire to aid lining up but I didn't bother with this relying on sprung clips instead. It's only a little thing but I like this extra bit of detail. Once painted I reckon a dusting of rusty weathering powders will look fantastic.
Romford wheels in and rods on (held in place with insulation from thin wire) and the chassis was rolled up and down the test track without any extra fiddling. I think I'm getting better at this thank goodness.
I did have to ream out the axle holes larger than normal and I think the bearings at one end are out of the centre line of the hole by something approaching 1mm. This is more likely to be my fault as the kits however. The chassis jig I'm using has shouldered ends too fat for the holes in the rods so I had to set things up by measurement rather than just putting them through the rods as intended. One day I will get a set of axle rods with 1mm ends !
The spacers drop in quickly and are followed by ashpan sides. These include holes for wire to aid lining up but I didn't bother with this relying on sprung clips instead. It's only a little thing but I like this extra bit of detail. Once painted I reckon a dusting of rusty weathering powders will look fantastic.
Romford wheels in and rods on (held in place with insulation from thin wire) and the chassis was rolled up and down the test track without any extra fiddling. I think I'm getting better at this thank goodness.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Fox Walker
OK. Next on to the workbench is a Mercian kit for a Somerset & Dorset Fox Walker 0-6-0 steam engine. I have built this kit in 7mm scale but this one will be in OO (4mm:1ft). The former wasn't a whole lot of fun, partly because the kit was under development but mostly due to the incredible variety in this tiny class of locos.
If there ever was an occasion for getting a photo of your prototype in the condition you wish to model it, it's this one. Apart from a myriad of tiny details such as cab door and back shapes, even the frame length changes in the class. Two of the locos were damaged and rebuilt with longer frames. The saddle tanks also grew and covered the smokebox.
Of course the kit covers all of the variations making it suitable for those with a modest knowledge of the prototype or at least the patience and concentration to read the instructions properly where you'll find all the information. I've been asked to build Number 9 in her original state. That's sloping firebox, curvy cab door and short frames.
I think.
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