St Albans was the show where my newly built Jinty was due to get its first proper testing. It doesn’t matter how many miles are put in on the rolling road, plonk it on the track in front of an audience and you see a whole new side to the model.
Anyway, on Friday once we’d set up I ran the locomotive around the entire layout to test we had power in all the track. This went OK so I decided to try it again on Saturday morning. The very slight occasional stutter I put down to needing running in. There was plenty of time before the public swarmed in so another run and things looked good – right up until the con rod fell off one of the front wheels.
Finding a tiny nut on a layout covered in nylon grass. It’s effective both as a representation of ground cover and hiding small bits of metal. 5 minutes later we got lucky and I replaced the offending item. A smear of superglue across the top fixed it in place and glued the rod up.
With the glue not fully hardened I removed the nut with pliers and desperation, cleaned it all up and smeared WD40 everywhere I didn’t want glue. The rod, nut & washer went back on and the model was tested. Great, the wheels rotated 4/5th of the way round and then jammed with the compensation at a funny angle. I gave up at this point as we were nearly open.
Later that day with the locomotive upside down in a cradle I spotted the problem – the front steps had bent and hit the rods, stopping them rotating all the way. Bending it back cured the problem.
The Jinty ran around the railway nicely now but still had the occasional stutter and trip off the track. Looking at ground level the problem was obvious. A bright spark told me that the guard irons were fractionally too long and clipped the rails on crossovers.
What I should have done was bent them out of the way, what I did was clip them back half a millimetre or so. Result, a nice running railway loco. A morning spent on the passenger train (my running in turn) was followed by full service shunting goods.
Now it’s in the box and I’m looking for my next project.
Showing posts with label Jinty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jinty. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Friday, November 09, 2007
3mm Scale Jinty
I thought I’d finished the working week with my favourite sort of post – a picture of a successful model completely finished.
The Jinty has been a nice kit to build. OK, some alignment tabs would have been nice, as would wider chassis spacers. Apart from that it’s no problem and I enjoyed it.
I’ve finished my model as a reasonably clean example. A few different shades of brown were misted on with the airbrush to take the edge of the colour but it’s not one of my really filthy examples.
At the end of the day, if you want a 3mm scale Jinty, this kit comes highly recommended.
The Jinty has been a nice kit to build. OK, some alignment tabs would have been nice, as would wider chassis spacers. Apart from that it’s no problem and I enjoyed it.
I’ve finished my model as a reasonably clean example. A few different shades of brown were misted on with the airbrush to take the edge of the colour but it’s not one of my really filthy examples.
At the end of the day, if you want a 3mm scale Jinty, this kit comes highly recommended.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Putting a brake on it
I’ll be honest, chassis work isn’t my favourite part of building a locomotive and doing the brake gear is my least favourite part of this.
Brakes have to go on after the chassis has been painted which makes the soldering difficult – you can’t clean flux off the metal any more without dunking the motor in water. Even I know that's a bad idea.
So, I made up the brakes and hangers and attach them with the smallest amount of solder possible. I had to use a little flux and in this case, solder paste. But lingered with the iron to boil as much off as possible.
Fitting the pull rods strengthened everything up a lot and certainly makes the whole thing look better. Perhaps it’s because RTR when I was a newer modeller didn’t have them but I find pull rod appearing in front of the wheels looks really “finescale”.
Sandboxes are glued in place. I ignored the pipes fearing they would just get in the way. It’s tough enough to keep the cross wires on the pull rods out of the pickups without any other fiddly, but difficult to spot, bits near electricity.
Brakes have to go on after the chassis has been painted which makes the soldering difficult – you can’t clean flux off the metal any more without dunking the motor in water. Even I know that's a bad idea.
So, I made up the brakes and hangers and attach them with the smallest amount of solder possible. I had to use a little flux and in this case, solder paste. But lingered with the iron to boil as much off as possible.
Fitting the pull rods strengthened everything up a lot and certainly makes the whole thing look better. Perhaps it’s because RTR when I was a newer modeller didn’t have them but I find pull rod appearing in front of the wheels looks really “finescale”.
Sandboxes are glued in place. I ignored the pipes fearing they would just get in the way. It’s tough enough to keep the cross wires on the pull rods out of the pickups without any other fiddly, but difficult to spot, bits near electricity.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Sloppy chassis
Returning to the Jinty chassis, all I had to do was dismantle it, paint and then reassemble.
This was fine but during the rebuilding I took the opportunity to get some spacers in between the wheels and the frames on the drive axle. I had about 3mm of side-play !
I think some wider chassis spacers would have been a good idea here. I used the widest ones in the kit but they were still too narrow, even on the compensated axles which have thicker bearings. Strange though as the kit chassis was designed for 14.2 gauge. Perhaps the designer assumed we all use Romford wheels (I wish).
Having said this, under test the chassis ran around the layout so I can’t complain too much. I still sorted the powered end though just to be sure.
This was fine but during the rebuilding I took the opportunity to get some spacers in between the wheels and the frames on the drive axle. I had about 3mm of side-play !
I think some wider chassis spacers would have been a good idea here. I used the widest ones in the kit but they were still too narrow, even on the compensated axles which have thicker bearings. Strange though as the kit chassis was designed for 14.2 gauge. Perhaps the designer assumed we all use Romford wheels (I wish).
Having said this, under test the chassis ran around the layout so I can’t complain too much. I still sorted the powered end though just to be sure.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Numbers up
Transfers don’t half improve a model. The trouble is they can ruin it as well. Wonky numbers do nothing for the look of a locomotive no mater how good the metalwork is.
I get around this by making a guide from scrap plasticard - only a rectangle but it works.
For the Jinty I made it deep enough to sit in the footplate with the top reaching the bottom of the numbers. Suprisingly this works well and is easy to use. Even doing the spacing by eye doesn’t cause me too much grief.
The process is quicker, even allowing for making the guide, than fiddling around doing everything by eye. Much less swearing too !
The numbers on the front are hand painted ‘cos I don’t think I have anything small enough and even if I did, putting them on would be a real pain. As long as there is something on the front plate the eye seems happy, or at least mine is.
The totem is harder. I have only two sizes on the 3mm special sheet from Fox Transfers. One was much too small and the other slightly too big. I went for the later as I felt it looked better on the model. BR seemed a bit haphazard when they picked the transfer from some locos too so I won’t be losing sleep of this.
After transfering, the body was given a quick spray of satin varnish. Once those numbers are on I want them to stay there !
Final touch is the smokebox being hand painted (can’t be bothered to do the masking) with mat black. This contrasts nicely with the rest of the body and looks very authentic.
I get around this by making a guide from scrap plasticard - only a rectangle but it works.
For the Jinty I made it deep enough to sit in the footplate with the top reaching the bottom of the numbers. Suprisingly this works well and is easy to use. Even doing the spacing by eye doesn’t cause me too much grief.
The process is quicker, even allowing for making the guide, than fiddling around doing everything by eye. Much less swearing too !
The numbers on the front are hand painted ‘cos I don’t think I have anything small enough and even if I did, putting them on would be a real pain. As long as there is something on the front plate the eye seems happy, or at least mine is.
The totem is harder. I have only two sizes on the 3mm special sheet from Fox Transfers. One was much too small and the other slightly too big. I went for the later as I felt it looked better on the model. BR seemed a bit haphazard when they picked the transfer from some locos too so I won’t be losing sleep of this.
After transfering, the body was given a quick spray of satin varnish. Once those numbers are on I want them to stay there !
Final touch is the smokebox being hand painted (can’t be bothered to do the masking) with mat black. This contrasts nicely with the rest of the body and looks very authentic.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Black
Now in black, the Jinty looks strange sat on top of it’s chassis. Without any brake detail and with those shiny wheels and coupling rods, the whole thing looks toylike.
I hope it looks better once the transfers and underframe detail go on.
I hope it looks better once the transfers and underframe detail go on.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Jinty in primer
Now it’s in primer I have a little more work to do.
Both bits of the boiler I bodged in when I cut too much out need filling. I expected this but wasn’t sure how much would be required until the primer went on.
The other problem is easier to solve, a bit of excess solder below the beading at top of a tank side. A few seconds work with a needle file will fix this.
Apart from this, I’m happy.
Both bits of the boiler I bodged in when I cut too much out need filling. I expected this but wasn’t sure how much would be required until the primer went on.
The other problem is easier to solve, a bit of excess solder below the beading at top of a tank side. A few seconds work with a needle file will fix this.
Apart from this, I’m happy.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Plastic fantastic
I’m a lazy model maker really. When it comes to the little fiddly bits on a locomotive I quickly give up on solder and proceed to superglue.
The Jinty includes various bits of brass that a better man than I, would carefully form and then solder in place. Stuff that, I replace them with bits of microstrip. Far easier and quicker and they look nearly as good.
Mind you the photo makes it look like the rainstrips snake across the cab roof whereas they look straight in real life, honest.
The Jinty includes various bits of brass that a better man than I, would carefully form and then solder in place. Stuff that, I replace them with bits of microstrip. Far easier and quicker and they look nearly as good.
Mind you the photo makes it look like the rainstrips snake across the cab roof whereas they look straight in real life, honest.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Handrails
It’s always a good idea to take a proper look at the prototype of any model you are building. If I had, then I wouldn’t have put off adding the handrails to the Jinty for so long.
The trouble is on most steam locos, handrails are a right royal pain. Get them even slightly wonky and you ruin the model. Just to help the designers include a curved rail that wraps around the front of the smokebox and down the sides of the boiler. Of course this has to go on as a single item which means odd shapes to bend – and if you get them wrong too many times the wire is kinkier than a fetish club convention.
So, hooray for the Jinty ! The handrails go nowhere near the front. Instead they are nice simple straight lines in the sides, tanks fronts and in the cab door. The later went in as part of the beading process as the tops are soldered to this. The others fixed in place pretty quickly with hot iron and lots of flux.
Unusually for 3mm scale, none of the holes in the handrail knobs needed enlarging. If the has proper formed bases to space the rail from the bodywork, things would have been perfect. I only dropped one and lot it too so I have a single spare left. Now I wonder where I can put this so it’s found next time I build a kit…
The trouble is on most steam locos, handrails are a right royal pain. Get them even slightly wonky and you ruin the model. Just to help the designers include a curved rail that wraps around the front of the smokebox and down the sides of the boiler. Of course this has to go on as a single item which means odd shapes to bend – and if you get them wrong too many times the wire is kinkier than a fetish club convention.
So, hooray for the Jinty ! The handrails go nowhere near the front. Instead they are nice simple straight lines in the sides, tanks fronts and in the cab door. The later went in as part of the beading process as the tops are soldered to this. The others fixed in place pretty quickly with hot iron and lots of flux.
Unusually for 3mm scale, none of the holes in the handrail knobs needed enlarging. If the has proper formed bases to space the rail from the bodywork, things would have been perfect. I only dropped one and lot it too so I have a single spare left. Now I wonder where I can put this so it’s found next time I build a kit…
Monday, October 22, 2007
Beading
I um’ed and ah’ed about the beading on the Jinty for quite a white. It’s really tiny and yet if you get it wrong the error will stand out a mile. In this case leaving it off might have been the better option.
The kit provides some etched stuff to do the job but it looked hopelessly over scale. Instead I decided to jump in and have a go with fusewire.
Fusewire is an old fashioned material. I doubt there are many houses where a blown fuse is cause for extracting something Bakelite from the electric cupboard and winding new wire around pins to restore power. Fortunately my local hardware shop still stocks it on cards containing 3 thicknesses. For 3mm I use the thinnest.
For this purpose it is ideal. Copper wire tinned evenly with solder, it could have been designed for the job. Simply clean all the brass and then attach one end of the wire to the start of the run. Pull the rest tight to straighten it and run an iron along the join. Plenty of flux and not too much solder makes for a neat job.
Finally clean up with a fibreglass pencil and needle files. Even in cruel close-up I don’t think it looks bad.
Which reminds me, I need to stock up in for the future.
The kit provides some etched stuff to do the job but it looked hopelessly over scale. Instead I decided to jump in and have a go with fusewire.
Fusewire is an old fashioned material. I doubt there are many houses where a blown fuse is cause for extracting something Bakelite from the electric cupboard and winding new wire around pins to restore power. Fortunately my local hardware shop still stocks it on cards containing 3 thicknesses. For 3mm I use the thinnest.
For this purpose it is ideal. Copper wire tinned evenly with solder, it could have been designed for the job. Simply clean all the brass and then attach one end of the wire to the start of the run. Pull the rest tight to straighten it and run an iron along the join. Plenty of flux and not too much solder makes for a neat job.
Finally clean up with a fibreglass pencil and needle files. Even in cruel close-up I don’t think it looks bad.
Which reminds me, I need to stock up in for the future.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Squeezing things in
The Jinty build is a bit ahead of the blog so I’ll bring things up to date.
Firstly the tanks have been soldered to the footplate. Once in place I removed all the cross pieces as these were going to get in the way of the motor.
The boiler was then prepared from the supplied brass tube. This has to have a chunk cut out of it. Needless to say I cut too much and once I’d fitted the smokebox wrapper, which gives me the height, had to restore some bits of tube so there wasn’t a gap on the top of the tanks. This was achieved with a combination of bits of brass and gobs of solder. Smoothed down this isn’t bad but I suspect the first coat of primer will show I need to do more work here.
The cab was assembled next. Getting the bends right is a matter of trail and error. I didn’t anneal the roof and got away with it. If I had there would be doubtless be a load of extra, unwanted bends as the flexible brass took every teak of my fingers .
To position the cab I fitted the firebox. This comes as a whitemetal casting, which I found about a millimetre too low. A shim of brass cured this and everything was attached using to melt solder.
Then I tried the motor and discovered it wouldn’t fit. The smokebox is hollow as supplied but my shim filled the bottom in. Off it came for alteration (low melt makes this easy, just heat near the area with a big iron) by removing the middle section.
Even then I had to chop a bit off the gearbox to reduce the height. I think it will all fit now.
Firstly the tanks have been soldered to the footplate. Once in place I removed all the cross pieces as these were going to get in the way of the motor.
The boiler was then prepared from the supplied brass tube. This has to have a chunk cut out of it. Needless to say I cut too much and once I’d fitted the smokebox wrapper, which gives me the height, had to restore some bits of tube so there wasn’t a gap on the top of the tanks. This was achieved with a combination of bits of brass and gobs of solder. Smoothed down this isn’t bad but I suspect the first coat of primer will show I need to do more work here.
The cab was assembled next. Getting the bends right is a matter of trail and error. I didn’t anneal the roof and got away with it. If I had there would be doubtless be a load of extra, unwanted bends as the flexible brass took every teak of my fingers .
To position the cab I fitted the firebox. This comes as a whitemetal casting, which I found about a millimetre too low. A shim of brass cured this and everything was attached using to melt solder.
Then I tried the motor and discovered it wouldn’t fit. The smokebox is hollow as supplied but my shim filled the bottom in. Off it came for alteration (low melt makes this easy, just heat near the area with a big iron) by removing the middle section.
Even then I had to chop a bit off the gearbox to reduce the height. I think it will all fit now.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Jinty body
Back to the Jinty for a while.
The body is interesting and fairly simple so far. Interesting because most of it isn’t assembled on the footplate as normal kits are. Instead you make up the tanks and bunker as a separate brass box. This is then soldered to the footplate.
The only notable bit of this job is opening out the “key holes”, in reality access for the sandboxes, in the tank sides. On the back of the side there is an etched line showing the outline and a dot in the centre of the circle. I drilled this and the opened the hole with a tapered reamer. Finally the bottom of the hole was created with a square needle file.
This work is necessary because not all Jinties featured the holes. On early ones the fillers must have been on top of the tanks I suppose. I wanted somewhere for the winding up key to go…
The body is interesting and fairly simple so far. Interesting because most of it isn’t assembled on the footplate as normal kits are. Instead you make up the tanks and bunker as a separate brass box. This is then soldered to the footplate.
The only notable bit of this job is opening out the “key holes”, in reality access for the sandboxes, in the tank sides. On the back of the side there is an etched line showing the outline and a dot in the centre of the circle. I drilled this and the opened the hole with a tapered reamer. Finally the bottom of the hole was created with a square needle file.
This work is necessary because not all Jinties featured the holes. On early ones the fillers must have been on top of the tanks I suppose. I wanted somewhere for the winding up key to go…
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Chassis testing
The reason I was so keen the build the Jinty was that Flockborough was going to be available to act as a test track. Only a little midnight oil was needed to allow this photo to be taken.
Once the layout was assembled and the chassis was in one piece I was able to bring the two together.
A lump of lead bent around the motor give the “model” some much needed weight and temporary pickups on four wheels supply the electric juice.
And off the chassis went. Straight up the layout traversing a couple of crossovers and some facing points as it went. All without problems. I was so pleased.
The way back was similar except for a derailment on the final crossover.
We explored sidings and straight running lines. There were odd problems but nothing major. Even in a rough state with not enough pickups the flexi-chassis worked well.
Now all I have to do is take it to bits, paint it and put it back together properly without breaking anything.
Once the layout was assembled and the chassis was in one piece I was able to bring the two together.
A lump of lead bent around the motor give the “model” some much needed weight and temporary pickups on four wheels supply the electric juice.
And off the chassis went. Straight up the layout traversing a couple of crossovers and some facing points as it went. All without problems. I was so pleased.
The way back was similar except for a derailment on the final crossover.
We explored sidings and straight running lines. There were odd problems but nothing major. Even in a rough state with not enough pickups the flexi-chassis worked well.
Now all I have to do is take it to bits, paint it and put it back together properly without breaking anything.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Jinty footplate
While the wheels dry I moved on to the gearbox and footplate.
The former went together as well as any High Level Models box ever does – i.e. very well as long as you follow the instructions. I left the final stage swinging until the body is built and I can work out how much to bend it so the mechanicals fit inside.
I’ve also made up the footplate. It makes sense to sort out the fixings between this and the chassis early. I’ve played the game of trying to enlarge chassis holes with all the gubbins in place. Never cleaver.
Before assembly the valances had to be bent to right angles. This took bending bars as the hold-n-fold wasn’t man enough. The brass is hard and took a bit of whacking with the little hammer to give a true right angle. Then it was turned in the vice so I could whack out the curve they had formed as the hammered metal had stretched.
Buffer beams needed loads of bolts embossing in the faces. Luckily I noticed that they were different and after checking the plans got the right one each end (I think) so as not to upset the purists.
The former went together as well as any High Level Models box ever does – i.e. very well as long as you follow the instructions. I left the final stage swinging until the body is built and I can work out how much to bend it so the mechanicals fit inside.
I’ve also made up the footplate. It makes sense to sort out the fixings between this and the chassis early. I’ve played the game of trying to enlarge chassis holes with all the gubbins in place. Never cleaver.
Before assembly the valances had to be bent to right angles. This took bending bars as the hold-n-fold wasn’t man enough. The brass is hard and took a bit of whacking with the little hammer to give a true right angle. Then it was turned in the vice so I could whack out the curve they had formed as the hammered metal had stretched.
Buffer beams needed loads of bolts embossing in the faces. Luckily I noticed that they were different and after checking the plans got the right one each end (I think) so as not to upset the purists.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Preparing the wheels
I’ve never got on with the 3mm Society Wheels. They look very nice, have integral crank pins and self-gauging axles. When I first bought a set I was well chuffed with them and expected good things.
Since then however, I have discovered a problem. The axle ends are under size by a very tiny amount. This means that the wheels don’t grip them as well as they should giving the wheelsets a tendency to lose their quartering.
I’ve tried many things to get around this. Loctite never seems to work for me. Cutting a slot across the end of the axle and then pushing a bit of wire into this and the face of the wheel with a soldering iron did the job but doesn’t look nice.
Some people can drill in through the hub into the axle and push a bit of retaining wire in to lock things, but not me. All I do is break drills – effective but pricey. Others replace the axle with 2mm rod or bore the wheels out to 3/32nd. Neither appeals much to me as a method.
So my latest effort involved slow set Araldite. Fortunately I can set the axle up with the quartering jig with it out of the frames. That’s the benefit of a flexi chassis. I’ll let you know if it works.
Since then however, I have discovered a problem. The axle ends are under size by a very tiny amount. This means that the wheels don’t grip them as well as they should giving the wheelsets a tendency to lose their quartering.
I’ve tried many things to get around this. Loctite never seems to work for me. Cutting a slot across the end of the axle and then pushing a bit of wire into this and the face of the wheel with a soldering iron did the job but doesn’t look nice.
Some people can drill in through the hub into the axle and push a bit of retaining wire in to lock things, but not me. All I do is break drills – effective but pricey. Others replace the axle with 2mm rod or bore the wheels out to 3/32nd. Neither appeals much to me as a method.
So my latest effort involved slow set Araldite. Fortunately I can set the axle up with the quartering jig with it out of the frames. That’s the benefit of a flexi chassis. I’ll let you know if it works.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Chassis Jig
The Jinty chassis is calling. After thinking I had all the parts it turns out that I’m missing the coupling rods. Not to worry as I can always make up a new set. In the meantime though I assembled the chassis.
To keep everything square I used my Mastermodels chassis jig again. To get the positions I slipped bearings into all the axle holes and set the rods to these. I then fixed the spacers in, building the chassis on the jig as intended. Apparently this will keep things square – it certainly looks good so far.
The slots for the hornblocks were cut out with a piercing saw.
Next the rear bearings were soldered in. Finally the hornblock assemblies went in one at a time with lots of clips to hold things in place while I wielded the soldering iron.
To keep everything square I used my Mastermodels chassis jig again. To get the positions I slipped bearings into all the axle holes and set the rods to these. I then fixed the spacers in, building the chassis on the jig as intended. Apparently this will keep things square – it certainly looks good so far.
The slots for the hornblocks were cut out with a piercing saw.
Next the rear bearings were soldered in. Finally the hornblock assemblies went in one at a time with lots of clips to hold things in place while I wielded the soldering iron.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Jinty Kit
OK, so it’s another new project. I’ll get around to finishing one soon, promise. At least I’ve got all the bits for this one.
With a couple of weeks top go until Sudbury show I think it’s time to unearth a new 3mm scale model. Yet again my logic is that with the layout up, I can test the chassis. While I have a test track, it’s only a straight length and so not exactly a realistic simulation of the environment the locomotive will be required to operate in.
The kit is an old 3mm Society model. Looking at the etches though it seems a promising prospect. The chassis is designed with 14.2 and 12mm gauges in mind. It even has provision for compensation !
Talking to the guy who runs the Society shop I discover that this is basically a shot down 7mm model and he has built a few which all went together well. Of course he is an engineer but even then…
We all have different reasons for choosing prototypes for our layouts. This one is being built because the first 3mm model we owned was a Triang Jinty. It will be nice to compare the two.
With a couple of weeks top go until Sudbury show I think it’s time to unearth a new 3mm scale model. Yet again my logic is that with the layout up, I can test the chassis. While I have a test track, it’s only a straight length and so not exactly a realistic simulation of the environment the locomotive will be required to operate in.
The kit is an old 3mm Society model. Looking at the etches though it seems a promising prospect. The chassis is designed with 14.2 and 12mm gauges in mind. It even has provision for compensation !
Talking to the guy who runs the Society shop I discover that this is basically a shot down 7mm model and he has built a few which all went together well. Of course he is an engineer but even then…
We all have different reasons for choosing prototypes for our layouts. This one is being built because the first 3mm model we owned was a Triang Jinty. It will be nice to compare the two.
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