Hudswell Clarke - done

Time to get up to date with the Hudswell Clarke diesel. As I've mentioned before, this blog doesn't always operate in real time. I'm often juggling several projects, some of which have deadlines. Also there are many occasions where one job stops and I have to go and do something else to prevent me fiddling and ruining things. Waiting for paint to harden properly or filler to set are classic examples of this.



Anyway, the Hudswell Clarke loco is finished. The body required the front bonnet to be made up - the same as the back although slightly trickier to get the sides parallel. On top four holes are drilled, wire fitted through these and then through the top vent to give the proper stand off. This is the first time I've needed to do this in a 4mm scale kit and it's not difficult and the result looks excellent.

The radiator is folded up and tacked in place. I re-did this several times to try and get it square. Sometimes you thing that the part has moved overnight or in the time you've been away from it. Perhaps the modelling fairies have been attacking my work and moving things around !

The boxes on the sides are simple fold-ups put in place with the minimum amount of solder. With no access from the back all the fixing has to be carried out on visible areas. Lots of flux, hardly any solder and then a good strong run with the fibreglass pencil. On the one side there is a second small cabinet in front of the large one. As far as I can tell there are no photos (apart from the one of the 7mm model on the Mercian web site which I didn't spot !)of this side which is why I stared at the etched part wondering what it was for a long time...

The final large part is the cab roof which unusually for me is solder in place. The cab itself has no floor making this possible. If you want to build some detail up then make something out of plasiticard and insert it from underneath.

Detail start with handrails including the odd ones on the side of the cab steps. At the same time I stuck the pipework along the bottom of the valance using fat brass wire. Then the lamp irons fold up and the RSU spots them into place. Whitemetal parts attach with C&L 100 degree solder although superglue would have done OK for this - it worked very nicely for the bonnet doors.

And that is that. The model was to be supplied in the brass so I didn't need to get the airbrush out. The end result is a very nice looking locomotive. It's very similar to the BR 07 diesel and make me wonder if I ought to have this version for the Dock instead of the older rear cab one I have always coveted.

Hudswell body part one

Blimey the is more complicated than I thought. That idiot locomotive designer really didn't think about us modellers when he designed the 12inch to the foot original.

First the footplate is folded up. Then the buffer beams (3 layers) are riveted and laminated before fitting to the footplate. Next comes the valance. Not a nice simple continuous thing but something in several pieces to allow for the steps. I put off doing these as they look a bit fiddly...

The cab is easy enough as long as you check it for squareness. Being nickel fingers stay unsinged even when you hold the corners close to the iron. The rear bonnet is brass though as it's easier to form the top bends - I didn't even anneal the metal. Nickel cracks of gives you a bend with the profile of a 20p piece when trying this sort of trick. Only one end is provided so the builder needs to be careful that both ends of the bonnet are the same - a second one would be lovely but probably mean another etch to pay for.

Once pleasant feature is the access to the insides for soldering. So far even the 40W iron has reached every joint with ease.

More brakegear squeezing

Hudswell Chassis
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

What is it with brake gear ? This is the second model locomotive I've built in a row where the clearance between the wheels has been measured in atoms. Thing is, this time the brake angers and shoes are pretty spindly. Squeezing them in meant some simple but careful filing. using a half-moon needle file to reduce the width of the shoes bought me enough gap and if you need justification, replicated the look of well used brakes.

Apart from this the only deviation from a simple path with this chassis was hacking some triangular clearance holes in the top to let the motor sit down properly. Obviously the model needs to be supplied with a smaller motor or two stage gearbox. The later would be nice as there is loads of space in the bonnet. On a shunter trading top speed for extra grunt isn't a bad idea.

Hudswell Clarke chassis

Hudswell Clarke chassis
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Nice simple job this. Set the chassis jig (how I love this tool) using the coupling rods, slide the bearings on followed by the frames, having reamed each out as required, then solder the spacers in.

Result: a nice square chassis. In P4. Oops.

This is the sort of thing you learn building the test etch. Shrinking a model locomotive kit down from 7mm means the spacers are too wide for us OO chaps and our underscale axle lengths.

A quick call found the supplementary etch of correct spacers in the post the next day. Removing the wide ones and re-jigging the chassis allowed me to get this far painlessly. I'm dubious about the rear axle as my jig only has three axles but as it only carries the jackshaft I'm hoping to get away with it. I can ream the hole out a bit more than the others and let the shaft slop around a bit more if required.

Hudswell Clarke 204hp DM

Hudswell Clarke kit
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Introduced in 1961 the Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0's were an odd choice by the LMR as they arrived after the standard 03 and 08 shunters were commonplace. Only 10 were built, based on an earlier design which had the cab at the back as shown in the photo, and they lasted 6 years in BR service.

My task is to build the BR version of this Mercian etched brass model locomotive kit. Shot down from a 7mm version I'm to check that everything still goes together after this conversion.

As supplied to me the kit includes a Mashima motor, Markits gearbox and Romford wheels. The model is etched in nickel silver with some supplementary brass parts where bending is required. Whitemetal parts and Gibson handrail knobs completed the package.