Drowning in projects

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. Too much work. The last thing I want to do sometimes is stare at a screen in the evening. Besides, I haven’t really done any model making either.

This is a pity because I am knee deep in projects crying out for my attentions. Getting half built model railway locomotives ready for a demonstration hasn’t helped this !

On the bench at present there is:
“Little Miss Minty” model boat.
Y7, one of the half finished locos.
An O gauge Midland 0-4-4 also half finished. More on this in later posts.
0-16.5 Armstrong Whitworth – This now has castings and can be finished, or at least it will be when all the casting are in my hand.
A 4mm scale mineral tank engine for the Hospital layout. This is going to show next month so I’d like the tank to be ready at least for testing. I’ve said that before though.
Pigeon Pie is nearly finished, just a few castings and a bit of detail to add.

And then there is a GWR tender loco in EM in the queue which I’d really like to get stuck into.

I wonder if I could retire 30 years early to do all this stuff ? 

Wrong

Ignore part of that last post. If you stick the clear plastic into the window with plastic glue, once it dries it falls out again. User superglue like any sensible person trying to afix plastic to painted plastic and resin.

On a positive note, the clear plastic from the collars on Burton's shirts is wonderful glazing material and so much more ecological than throwing it away !

Glazing

Model boats mean water and that means it’s not a clever idea to sail without some glazing in the windows. With windows the size of the ones in my new launch it’s a job I have to do. Now it’s painted I can’t put the job off.
When the windows went in I cut the holes big enough to allow me to stick the clear plastic to the back of the resin frames. It’s not that accurate but good enough for my dodgy workmanship. To get the size the material was placed over the whole and marked with new favourite tool, the CD marker pen.
A quick trim with a pair of scissors and I could stick it in place. Superglue seemed the best bet applied on the end of a small screwdriver but plastic glue worked as well.

Workbench on tour

The workbench spent today at an exhibition. Literally this time, as I was demonstrating and had a to a work area with me !

The show was the Heathcote Modeller exhibition just off the M1 (the oppose way to Loughborough) at Shepshed. This is a really an O gauge model railway event, but others are catered for. On the Saturday there is a lot of trade. On Sunday some of these don’t come in and are replaced by demonstrators. I’d been invited to attend by Mercian Models and ended up next to Trevor’s stand.

As it turns out this was very convenient. The first couple of jobs I did were building saddle tanks for locomotives in the range. A bit fiddly for me but quite worrying to the novice builder, hence they took the chance to get me to do the hard work. The first, a Peckett went pretty well and was assembled quickly. I managed to crease the metal in an ill advised attempt to put one of the bends in sharper than it needed but I was able to smooth this out enough not to show under paint. The owner was happy anyway.

The second tank was for a Barclay. These are a pig of a job as there are several fairly sharp bends and a tuck under at the bottom. The former that the tank top bends around has a fault as well – it’s about 1mm too long. I moved this and then gingerly tacked the metal in place. All looked OK except for the bottom. At the front and back it bulged. Normally I am confident I can bodge this away and cover the result with paint. It’s not quite so much fun doing this with people watching and knowing that you will hand it over in the brass. However there was no choice so I proceeded to fill with solder and file away while pretending that this is normal kitbuilding activity. I suppose it is really but don’t tell anyone.

The result was good and another happy punter. A bit nerve wracking as I didn’t really want to wreck someone else’s kit !

Body beautiful

Y7 Body
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

More soldering and I have a locomotive body. Thanks to tab and slot construction assembly is quick and reasonably easy. Even the boiler was a cinch as it’s pre-rolled. With the side tanks in place it sits on fold out ledges. All the parts are the right size and shape – not a given with many kits.

Purists will note that the front buffer beam is in the wrong place. It should overlap the footplate by the height of the valve covers. I fixed this after the picture was taken. Perhaps a little less haste would have been a good idea.

No singed fingers so far though.

Fast work

Y7 Chassis
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

I need a half built model railway locomotive in a hurry.

The reason ? I’m demonstrating somewhere on Sunday and it helps the demo if you have a few part built kits on the modelling board. Of course I don’t actually have anything suitable kicking around, especially in 7mm scale so half a day last weekend was devoted to sticking some bits together.

Out of the maturing cupboard came an etched brass kit for an LNER Y7 from Conneseiur (Sorry, can’t spell it and the box is upstairs) Models. A nice simple locomotive that I bought years ago when I fancied building an O gauge layout. I’ve built 3 & 4mm scale versions, so why not get the set ?

The chassis is a simple fold up affair, which took very little time to reach the stage I photographed. The 50W soldering iron was a help here as there is a pretty large mass of metal to soak the heat away from the joins. Powerflow Flux was useful too. It’s nasty stuff that takes a lot of scrubbing to remove but it makes that solder flow. I even managed to get it around the axle bearings properly, not my usual blobby effect.

All soldering was carried out with the chassis upside down on a sheet of glass to keep things flat. It sort of worked but I still had to twist it a little with my fingers. That’s not a trick that you see in proper modelling instructions but it works. Just a gentle twist though, or you end up with a brass corkscrew.

Name that boat

Little Miss Minty
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Every boat needs a name. I’ve used vinyl letters before but on this launch I fancied something with a scripty font. Even if I could get this in pre-cut letters, I wouldn’t fancy applying them to a hull as getting nice level text would be a nightmare. It’s one of those jobs that even if it’s slightly wrong, will stand out like a sore thumb.

Since I have used a system that allows production of waterslide transfers from a computer printer for adverts on model building walls, I thought this would be worth a whirl here.

Printing the sheet took a bit of work. The first go went all blotchy but my second attempt was good even if I did print the wrong side of the sheet first. Not sure how this happened as I’m sure I put it in the right way up. The text was laid out in a DTP package (PagePlus) and took only a few minutes.

The hull needed to be painted with gloss so the transfers would sit properly. There was going to be a lot of transfer film showing and this was my best bet of hiding it. Unfortunately even this didn’t really help as you can still see the edges. I think the ink ran a little as well and highlighted the edges.

The effect is pleasing with nothing untoward visible from normal viewing distances. If you can see any problem you have got wet feet !

A few coats of gloss varnish will hopefully keep everything in place. I don’t want them washing off the first time I sail !

Fixing Richard's bracket

Bracket
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

The guy who sits next to me at work said, “You’ve got a welder haven’t you ? Could you fix a bracket on my bicycle lights ?”. I said I had (can’t hide it, I’d talked about the welding classes I took ages ago to the people in the office) and would be happy to look at the bit of bike to see what I could do. I pointed out that there were no promises, as I’d not actually used the machine yet.

What I got was a bent bracket with two cracks in the metal on the corner nearest you in the photograph. It looks like someone has tried to grab the light and twisted and split the metal. I fancied my chances so took the job on.

This morning I unearthed the welder from the depths of the garage and had a go.

My first mistake was setting the temperature too low. This resulted is hissing and spitting with lumpy weld left behind. It would probably do though so I cleaned the job up with a grinder. I wasn’t really happy with the result so I had another go. This was better but my lack of finesse with that most delicate of tools, the angle grinder had removed some good metal.

This time I upped the amperage a bit to the lowest medium setting and managed a much better result. Quite a good weld pool formed and the resulting lump was pretty smooth. I ground it down and then finished with hand tools to get the final result. Not perfect but definitely stronger than it was.

What I re-discovered was the joy of welding. I’d forgotten how much fun I had when I did my course. I also reminded myself how annoying welding masks are. Mine gradually lowers itself while you are getting ready to work and of course the window is so dark you can’t see where the torch is until you are welding. Them’s the breaks though – and if they are breaks in steel I can probably fix them !

Reflections

Reflection
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

How glossy is my boat desk ?

Several coats of varnish sprayed on the wooden deck really brings it alive. Someone has obviously been swabbing this properly !

Pain free varnish (nearly)

Glossed boat
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Just for a change I have managed to spray something without a tale of woe.

By learning from my mistakes, the launch is gloss varnished with no runs and a pretty good finish. All I did was air brush paint on and then go in with a hair drier set to half speed. Thin coat. Hair drier. Thin coat. Hair drier. Repeat until the tinlet of varnish is empty.

Then put it out on the garden table to harden and fail to notice the rain.

No damage done but next time I’ll remember to but the ‘brolly up !

Who put that there ?

Windows go here
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

There is a railway modelling truism that when you are fitting point motors to a baseboard, the cross supports underneath will always be in the way of at least one motor. Don’t worry about planning to avoid this, the track plan will magically adjust itself to make your life difficult.

This isn’t supposed to happen with model boats. OK, the fish in the pond will get in the way and can even divert a small fast boat from its path, but generally they are mobile enough to move.

Get inside a boat though and the same problems start. On my launch I had to cut holes in the side for the windows. With that done I want to tidy up the inside a bit where it can be seen. There is a raised area inside to hold the superstructure in place and keep water out – there is probably a technical name for this but I don’t know what it is. This gets in the way of a clear view in.

My plan was to lower it where the windows are. To this end I drew around the inside of each window with my CD marker pen so I knew where to cut. Then I discovered that the crosspiece would have to be cut away as well. Who put that there ?!

So I’ve painted the bits next to the window black. No-one will notice them really…

Decking

Decking
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

My boat is white and green and silver. Nicely painted colours but they don’t really grab you. What I need is to paint it red.

This would look stupid however so what I have done is incorporated some redish wood in the construction which is nearly as eye catching, but looks like a proper boat would.

The deck is covered with 1mm thick plywood bought some time ago, probably from a model aircraft shop (they use a lot of that sort of thing) on spec. I made a paper template first as it’s a pretty weird shape and I doubted my chances of getting it right first time. Using the template a deck was cut out of the ply in a single piece.

Plywood doesn’t look much like planks though. Even though most of the model boats fraternity seems to think that drawing some lines on it will make things better, I like to think (stand back, my ego is growing) that I can do things better.

My solutions, developed after several attempts on a bit of scrap wood, involved scribing the plank lines with the back of a scalpel. Then the same blade was dragged sideways down the grove to open it out.

A bit of light sanding made the wood ready for coloured (mahogany) varnish. The first coat looked a bit rubbish so I re-scribed and used a sharp pencil down each line to highlight the line. Another gentle sand in line with the grain and another coat of varnish did the job. You have to be careful that there isn’t dust or air bubbles in the varnish but I managed this by using modelling brush (size 4) to paint the varnish on instead of the proper decorating brush from the first attempt.

Why is my boat upside down ?

Underneath my boat
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

It’s the last round of the Tomkat challenge. My model boat is ready and working. Batteries are charged. I can’t win, but at least I can have a race.

At the lake I do a single lap just to practise. Only one though as I don’t want to run the battery down – need to save all those amps for the race itself.

Heat 1: After a bit of messing around with the wind blowing boats about on the start line, we are off !

The Tomkat surges forward. Half way through the first lap I’m in the lead and running really well. At the end of the lap I’m ahead of everyone else and it looks like nothing can catch me.

Heading for the second corner I clip one of the other boats which is struggling and at right angles to the flow of traffic. This flips my boat over and the view is the one in the photo.

A quick-ish rescue with the rake and I return to the bench. The good news is the driver is still attached and not swimming with the fishes at the bottom of the pond. I play around with the controls, pour as much water out of the hull as I can and with a change of battery we seem to be working again. Not quick enough to get back in the race but I should be OK for the second heat.

The numbers are called for heat 2 so I check the boat again. Everything is fine. So I wander over to the water and launch gently. Then I try the controls. Nothing. Zitch. Zip. Dead as a Dodo that has been hit by a very large lorry and then run over by a steamroller.

So that is the story of my attempt at the Knightcote Model Boat club Tomkat challenge. About 70 quid spent, 15-20 hours painting and working on the boat. Several sessions fixing drive shafts and motors. All this for one-and-a-bit laps.

Somehow I don’t think I’m cut out for racing.

Spray away

Painted boat
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

So here is the plan. Instead of using stickers to put the name on the boat, I will print some waterslide transfers using a transfer making kit. This means I can have a fancy scripty font and possibly some clever graphics as well. Obviously I will have to gloss varnish the hull but this isn’t a problem.

Transfers sit best on gloss paint as it’s smoother than matt. So I need to paint the hull with gloss white. This needs to be sprayed to get the quality of finish.

So today and yesterday evening I have mostly been hating trying to get a good finish with the airbrush. I have learned several things:

• Do not use old paint. Even stirring it doesn’t get rid of the skin. This then finds its way into the innards of the airbrush and blocks it up. The stuff is a pig to remove as well.


• Dry the paint as soon as it is on the model. Otherwise you get runs. I have learned this before but keep forgetting.


• Tidying up runs is a nightmare. Lots of sanding and hoping.


• I do not have enough patience to paint with gloss. It takes far too long to dry. Stupid paint.

Sometimes I wonder why I do this.

We are sailing

Proper sail
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

At last – a proper sail !

Yes my new model boat has been on the water and moved around under its own steam (OK, electricity) for more than 10 feet without breaking down. It sailed away from the launch area, circled a few buoys and then came back.

Of course things weren’t perfect. If you going to go for a sail it’s a good idea to charge the battery in the boat properly first instead of relying on the charge that has been in it for a couple of months and made a couple of abortive trips around the boating lake. The speed control spots the lack of charge and stops everything. It restarts a few seconds later to give the eager boater the change to get it within sight of the shore but of course I ignored several warnings like this. Still managed to sail back with no assistance from the various retrieval poles stacked against the clubhouse though.

The thing that really pleased me was how the model looked on the water. Previous sailing’s have taken place with just the basic superstructure. Now I’ve knocked holes in the sides for windows it’s looking pretty good. For a kit I was assembling quickly to give an easy-to-carry model, I think I’m now going to own a very handsome boat.

Windows

Windows
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

While I wait for the next trip to the lake for testing I might as well get on with the rest of the model boat kit. Next task on the list is to fit the windows.

These come as a series of resin castings. They suffer a little from flash but this is very easily removed with a sharp knife. The sort of job that I’d rather do myself than pay the manufacturer to do for me. This is after all a kit that requires modelling skills, not a plastic kit that can be stuck together by a three-year-old. Not that it is difficult, just that you need to engage your brain before grasping the sharp end of the knife. Always grab the blunt bit kids ! (That was a public service announcement for the terminally dim).

Anyway, the window frames are fitted on the outside of the superstructure. First though you have to cut away the plastic so the windows are open. I marked the holes to cut by holding the frame in place and then running a fine CD marker pen round the inside. These pens came from a pound shop in a CD marking kit – 3 colours, two of each, What a bargain. A special pen is needed because pencils and normal pens won’t mark the very shiny surface of the vac-formed plastic.

The holes were then cut oversize to allow for glazing to be glued in to the back of the frames and flush with the plastic superstructure. Superglue attached the frames and coated my finger tips but it seems to have held.

Only ones I had the funny shaped side windows in place did I notice the nearly imperceptible mark on the surface where I am supposed to put them. I’m not worried, they look OK to me.

Drive shaft

Drive shaft
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Every time I take my latest boat down to the lake there is a problem with the drive. The model travels about 20 feet and then the neopropaline tube that accts as the coupling between motor and drive shaft slips off. This is annoying and more importantly, embarrassing when it happens in front of other people.

I think that the drive shaft is too thin for the tube. If it were fatter presumably the tube would be stretched and grip properly.

My solution (I hope) was to take a bit of brass tube and ream the inside so the shaft would go inside. Needless to say this wasn’t easy (the simple looking jobs never are) as holding a tube is difficult. I tired pin vices and clamps with varying degrees of success. I don’t own a 1.6mm diameter drill bit either, hence the reaming.

After nearly an hour I had a short tube that would slip over the drive shaft and with the aid of some superglue, stay put.

The neoprop tube seems to fit nice and snugly and certainly looks like it will stay put. I suppose I’ll have to take it out on the water to be sure.

The curse of the camera strikes again by the way. The shaft and motor are lined up a whole lot better than they appear in the picture, although I admit they aren’t perfect.

Tomkat's ninth life

Tomkat's ninth life
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Hooray – The Tomkat is working again !

Since I still feel rubbish for not making Shipley, I thought I ‘d do one of those jobs I didn’t want to do in way of atonement. Stupid really but I digress. The job was removing all the useful bits from the boat before it made a voyage into the bin.

Pulling it apart I found a loose bolt stuck to the motor but this didn’t look like the problem. Removing it and connecting the terminals to a battery still gave short – or that spark and crack that indicates there is one. I twisted the shaft by hand and tried again. This time there was life.

Sooooo, I reassembled everything and still had no luck. Then I tested to see if there was life from the speed control. According to the meter I connected up the power coming out was reversing even though the voltage didn’t. Good news so far. Still nothing when the motor was connected.

Next I removed the speed control from my new boat and wired it up with the aid of crocodile clips and bits of wire (very useful things croc clips). Everything seemed fine.

The Tomkat control was wired into the new boat (are you following this) and worked. Intermittently. A little experimentation and waggling of wires indicated a loose connection in the plug. At last – a problem I could fix !

So the Tomakt now works with the motor to speed control plug & socket replaced with a chocolate block. A trip to the lake had the boat whizzing around as much as two nearly flat batteries allowed. Enough to show that we might be back in action though.

Fingers crossed, the last round of the competition is next weekend and it would be nice to take part in one leg.

Shipley no show

After all that effort, thanks to transport problems (which aren't even old VW related) Flockburgh won't now be appaering at Shipley because we can't get there.

I feel terrible about this as this leaves the manager with a hole in his show and public who see one less layout than they have paid to see.

Exhibition Box

Exhibition Box
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Flockburgh is due to attend the Shipley show this weekend. Previous postings have covered setting the layout up to make sure everything works. Now it’s time to get the thing packed up and ready for the journey.

Actually, that’s not true. Traditionally I manage to leave most of the packing until the night before and then wish I’d done it earlier. Not this time – because we had the photos taken at the club, which meant moving the model, packing was carried out nearly a week ago.

The last jobs to be done are usually assembling the toolbox and exhibition box.

Toolbox is easy. Open box, chuck the tools I think I might need in and close it again. Re-open, put the forgotten tools in and then close. Repeat three or four time. Ideally the box sits on the bench for a couple of days as I gradually fill it with items that make sense but hopefully will stay inside for the whole show. I don’t like fixing stuff if I can help it, but should the need arise I don’t want the tool two hundred miles away !

The exhibition box is special. For a start it is a wooden “Hatching Eggs” box I acquired from MAFF when I worked there twelve years ago. Into this I our all the leads, bolts, transformers, controllers, spare tools too big for the toolbox, cloths for cleaning, spare light bulbs and other stuff I think I will need for setting up. It’s a tight squeeze in there but I’ve packed it often enough to know roughly how to fit everything inside.

After the show the packing re-commences. One trick is to leave out the roll up extension lead. This frees enough space for a tired exhibitor to get the contents back in without making too much effort. This lead only goes in on the outward journey so I don’t forget it. I’ve not left it out of the jumble in the car on the way home – yet.

This is the end of exhibitions most model railway modellers never see. It’s not all about playing trains, you have to be a one (OK, two) man band and take everything with you. No one wants to go hunting for a four-way block in a strange town when the shop opens only an hour before the show. So next time you give a layout at a show less than thirty seconds of your time, think of the poor, bleary eyed owner who is wondering quite why he does this…

Troubled waters part 2

2 Props
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

OK, so I have replaced the propeller on my model boat with a much bigger one. It looks like it should shift much more water and therefore to my simple mind the boat should go faster.

You should just be able to see that I had to fit a channel in the hull as the blades needed a bit of clearance. Filing away with a round file gave me the space and the thickness of the plastic hull meant that I had plenty of “meat” to stick some plasticard to. Once the joint hardened a bit of carefully sanding and trimming with a sharp knife made for a neat job. The paint is just to show how effective I’ve been as it’s difficult to see in the raw plasticard.

Back on the water, the boat accelerates a bit more effectively and then stops. The motor still turns but there is no propulsion. Thanks to the other model sailors making waves the boat eventually made its way to the most awkward and muddy part of the back for recovery.

The problem is with the coupling between motor and drive shaft. A bit of neopropaline tube has been used which is fine for small propellers but doesn’t look like it has enough grip on the drive shaft with this much torque.

Merchant Navy - Finished

Bibby Line
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

The title says it all. You are looking at a finished model railway locomotive.

I’m very pleased with it.

Lights, Camera, Action !

Cameras on the layout
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Ray Lightfoot from British Railway Modelling spent a couple of hours taking shots from all angles. He admitted afterwards that this had taken longer than he thought as although it looks like a simple little layout when you first see it, look closer and there is a lot more to see than you expect.

All the pictures were taken digitally and then checked on a laptop when the card in the camera was full. For techies the main camera was a 9mp Fuji 9500 and the smaller one a Nikon Coolpix with 5mp. Apparently both will produce an A4 shot suitable for publication but the Fuji with its higher resolution is also suitable for cover pictures. No idea what the difference is but then he is the expert.

My role was to make put locomotives and trains in the appropriate places and suggest some of the shots. And to hold the “sky” (a £4 roll of sky blue cloth from the market) when required. Although the pictures can be digitally manipulated to remove bookshelves and other background, we used the railway club as it gave more working space, a plain blue background makes the job quicker. We also diffused the strong sunlight with the sheet to avid annoying dark shadows.

All this electronic stuff contrasts with the first time I had a layout shot for a mag. That involved a medium format camera and resulted in 10 or 12 photos. All first class and beautifully framed but the photographer must always have been worrying what would happen if none of them came out !

I have no idea when the pictures will appear. Proofs will be supplied in due course and then there is the little matter of some words to accompany them.

Axle Box

Axle Box
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Just when I thought I might be finished I remember that the Merchant Navy is missing an axlebox.

Early in the project I had noticed that the rear pony wheels were more exposed than they should be. At the time I hoped to get a replacement casting from the kit manufacturer so the missing part would be easy to replace. No sign of it though so I had to improvise.

Luckily there was only one missing box and I could use that to base my replacement on. If I had the stuff available a mould would have been taken and a new part cast in polyester resin. As it wasn’t a crude plasticard facsimile was knocked up instead.

As the model is destined to be a layout locomotive and not a glass case example my version will look fine. It’s not far off the quality of the real casting and will certainly past muster as the model rushes past at the head of a train. Even standing still the eye won’t see it – just the whole model. If the wheel was still naked then you’d spot it though !

Tail lights

Tail lights
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Last job – paint the lights on the back of the Merchant Navy. Despite the model being in 7mm scale, they don’t work (Steam loco people are less keen on this sort of thing than their diesel comrades) being whitemetal castings. A touch of colour on the lens makes them look more like they could work.

Ideally a dark but imperceptibly red paint is required. I find gunmetal looks OK once it has a bit of gloss varnish on it as well. Mind you the camera makes them look matt which is most annoying. Never mind, at least this is another project finished and ready for the rails.

Troubled waters

Maiden voayage
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

All model boats have to sail sometime and my new launch is no exception. I decided that I’d get the bare minimum of work done before she hit the water. Hence the propeller and rudder were installed along with the radio control bits – then we headed to the lake.

Actually I did check that she wasn’t going to sink using the bath but this was the proper maiden voyage.

With the transmitter switched on, everything appeared to be working. After placing it in the water a gentle nudge of the throttle sent her on her way. Steering worked OK and I tootled around the lake.

While all appeared well, the top speed was too low for a boat of this type. Not much but enough to mean I need to do something about it. The prop is quite small so a bigger one (if it will fit) seems the obvious move to me. You may gather that I know next to nothing about the complicated maths and mechanics that govern the movement of a boat. Like most people I reason that the biggest prop going round as fast as possible gives the best top speed. To be honest that’s probably all I will ever need to know as I don’t foresee any proper fast electrics or IC boats in my future.

Of course the voyage didn’t entirely go as planned. Once it made it around three quarters of the way to the other side of the pond the steering gave up and the boat just spun around in a small circle.

The only other boat on the water was tiny and not able to shove me to the side. 20 minutes later the wind did the job although a climb down the slippery muddy bank was required to recover it.

The problem was that I hadn’t tightened the linkage to the rudder properly. Next time my muddy shoes will remind me to do this !

Locomotive crew

Locomotive crew
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

All model railway locomotives must have a crew on the footplate. I don’t care whether there are any people on the rest of the model, bare footplates are wrong. Actually bare footplates, bridges and cockpits are wrong but I’m only concerned with railways here.

After a bit (OK, a lot) of digging in the maturing cupboard I extracted this Nu-cast whitemetal crew from a box of O gauge stuff. Just the job to man the Merchant Navy. The cab will cover their shortcomings as neither is exactly the greatest example of the figure sculptors art !

Handily, both figures have pegs on one foot so they can be supported in a big blob of Blu-Tack for painting. I use a mix of greys and grey-blues with off white (Humbrol 147) for the shirts. The flesh colour is Revell as it looks (to me) more natural than the Humbrol equivalent.

Once the basic painting is properly dry, the figure is washed with matt black to highlight the crevasses. This is a really weak mix to give a subtle effect. Since the crew would be pretty grimy from coal dust and general footplate grime the models mustn’t be pristine. All except their boots which are properly shiny thanks to some satin paint.

Little things please little minds

Servo Link
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Allow me to let you into a secret dear reader. This blog isn’t exactly written in real time. That is to say I tend to store up pictures, and therefore postings, so that I have a backlog to work through. Sometimes you get exactly what I’m working on, sometimes it’s a bit out of date. This way you get a reasonably steady supply of posts and I get to have a life without thinking, “If I don’t build something this evening the blog doesn’t get updated”.

So, while I am fixing the damage on Flockburgh, here is something I did a few days ago. In case you are interested, the replacement bargeboards are fixed to the building and I’m fiddling with the computer while I let them dry. A bit of sanding is required and it’s never clever to sand plastic that has Mek-Pak on the surface since it’s not solid enough. There is a better chance of sticking the sandpaper to the plastic than smoothing anything.

But I digress. The subject of this post is a tiny little thing. To be precise a micro servo.

I have plenty of spare standard size servos. More than I thought actually as I found some more in a box of parts intended for another model recently. Therefore when buying the bits for the new boat I didn’t think I needed to buy any more. Then test fitting one in the hull it hit me that I was wrong. The task was like trying to park a caravan in a telephone box. No linkage imaginable however crazy, was going to get control anywhere a standard size servo would fit.

The instructions point out this and suggest a micro servo. I hadn’t actually bothered to read this bit.

Howes supplied a micro device and a speed control (my spare one of these was too big as well) in a couple of days allowing me to build a little plasticard box from 2mm thick sheet. I had my doubts that something so small, and it really is tiny, would do the job but it does. Just like it’s big brother in fact. For around a quid over the cost of the normal version I can see a few more of these appearing on my bench – well worth the money.

Incidentally, don’t those bits making up the linkage look good. My first boats suffered from bent bits of wire until the discovery that a few quid bought the parts for a proper adjustable engineering job. Just like real model makers would do !

Awaking a layout from its summer slumber

flockshed
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Flockburgh is due out at an exhibition in a couple of weeks. On top of this, next week it will be under the lens of the British Railway Modelling photographer. This weekend is therefore the time to get the layout out and make sure everything is up to scratch.

I hate turning up at a show and trying to fix a fault. Too many people seem to consider sorting out electrical glitches or major track problems to be part of the process of arriving at a show. I prefer to get set up and then clear off to the accommodation or pub. On the day itself people have paid to see trains move and that’s what I want to provide. There will always be occasions when something fails in service but if you start with a working model then some crossed fingers and touched wood ought to mean a trouble free weekend.

First, the good news. After being set up, apart from one sticky point motor that quickly got better, everything worked. No dead spots, or dodgy points. All the locomotives were fine except the Y7 which has always played up. Even that improved after a few minutes pickup tweaking.

The only problem was some slight damage to the top of the engine shed. A couple of people and the water crane had come loose - nothing a touch of glue won’t solve. If it weren’t for the photographs I’d probably just bodge the shed top with a bit of paint, but the evil eye of the camera means a better repair is called for so this board is sat on the workbench for attention. I’ve already tried to remove the barge board but when the shed was built it was stuck in place properly so a bit of care and a nice sharp blade are called for.

Matt Black Day

The BBC reports that Humbrol has gone into administration. This is VERY bad news and not just because it means another delay to the promised Severn Lifeboat kit.

While the media have focused on the plight of Airfix – mostly by banging on about kids making Lancaster bombers – I suspect that another manufacturer will quickly snap up this part of the brand. Let’s face it, you don’t get a more iconic name in the world of plastic kits than Airfix. Everyone remembers having a go at something they produced at one time. Even the BBC 6 o’clock news managed to find itself with three presenters on screen at the same time (including the female lead – shock horror, girls can make plastic kits) after veering toward the anorak stereotype in the report.

My worry is Humbrol’s excellent range of paint. No-one makes better enamel colour. Revell’s is thin and watery. Other makes tend to lack pigment and come in annoying screw top jars that jam is you forget to wipe the lips before putting the cap back on. They also cost more and are harder to get your hands on.

This calls for panic buying and stockpiling of supplies. I want to give the market time to get the product back on the shelf without having to hunt for a different makers product. Tinlets will be laid down in the manner of fine wines immediately. One day we might be saying, “It’s a cheeky Midland Maroon. 2006 vintage – a very good year.”

All this is the fault of the French. When Heller, another Humbrol company, went bust it refused to hand back the moulds which caused cash flow problems for the parent group. I think that this alone should cause the government to explain to the French Ambassador why we are breaking of diplomatic relations. All French markets, bread and stripy T-shirts must be made illegal at once. Sinking a great British company (Humbrol is a contraction of the full company name Humber Oil) is about as close to an act of war as you get without actually shelling the white cliffs of Dover.

Stand by your boat

Boat stand
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

OK, my last post wasn’t really accurate. Before you start drilling holes in the hull of a new model boat, you are supposed to make a stand for it. This stops it wobbling around and makes fitting out so much easier.

My Dad makes the boat stands. He fiddles around with card templates and then, in this case thin MDF found in the garage, to produce a nice support for my model.

I might try and argue that you can’t finish the stand until the propeller tube is in place because this will affect the shape of the cut-out but the instructions neglect to mention this.

Anyway, the boat in the air and stable you can see the prop tube in all it’s glory. Once I had tacked it into place with superglue, loads of car filler was gobbed around to restore water-tightness. This was a real mess but once dry a big file and some emery paper made for a nice neat job. And a load of dust.

As one box closes, another box opens

Misty Part 1
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Time for another project. I know I have several on the go at present but this is a hobby and so I get to work on the things I like when I like and if you have any complaints about this I’ll see you outside. You have to let things dry and the only way I can do this at times is to go away and do something else. Manys the model I have made a less than perfect job of because I wouldn’t leave it alone to dry.

Anyway, the new entry onto the workbench is a George Turner Models launch. In theory this is a quick kit to build thanks to the construction being a series of vac-formed mouldings. Many model boat kits are like this, which means I have had to deal with a plastic kit format not seen in the model railway world.

The resulting model boat ought to be a very pleasant size to take to the lake. At a eighteen inches long I can tuck it under my arm but it is large enough to look sensible on the water. How builders of huge boats manage with their monsters is beyond me. Pigeon Pie is quite big enough and the magazines describe it as a “small boat”. This must make my new model a miniature !

First job on any boat (OK, boat kit with a plastic or GRP tub) is to take the nice waterproof hull and drill holes in it. Obviously this isn’t a good thing for its buoyancy so these have to be plugged with a drive shaft and rudder tube.

Lining up the drive shaft and motor was fun. I glued the shaft in, first with superglue and then with car body filler. The motor was then attached with a bit of plastic tube drilled to take propshaft and motor shaft. This placed the motor (in its mounting cradle) in the right position. Gobs of car filler then fixed this.

Then I left it alone to dry.

Cruel Camera

VW
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

The camera lens can be unforgiving as many modellers have found to their cost. Those wonky lines and iffy paintwork you see, and probably laugh at, in the magazines often aren’t apparent to the naked eye.

So it is with my finished VW. Until I looked at the photo I hadn’t spotted the thin layer of dust covering the paint. The dust is there because the model was sat on the workbench while I was vigorously sanding some filler on another project (watch this space for more details). The bits are really tiny and of course I hadn’t looked properly.

The model has turned out OK. Not a showpiece job in any sense but fun to do. The Polish mouldings aren’t as crisp as we’d expect from a UK or US plastic car kit. Some of the part fitting was a bit iffy too but nothing that a little filler can’t sure. Fortunately the prototype would have been a bit rough so the end result is reasonably realistic.

I’m quite pleased with the headlights. Many people use jewels or silver paint but looking at real car headlights when they are switched off, they are quite dark. I coloured the back of the lenses with black marker pen and stuck them in place. Still shinny but dark. Possibly a bit too dark – maybe a dark grey rather than back would have been better.

Pretty face

Loco front
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

The Merchant Navy Locomotive is very, very nearly finished with only a couple of minor details to attend to. On the tender the light lenses need painting in and the model has to go through its paces again on the club layout. It certainly looks better than the slightly battered example I started with.

The front coupling is good and strong although I doubt it needs to be as I express locomotives never hauled much in reverse. Behind the buffer beam the hook is held on with a spring and bit of wire through the shank. Since the spring had long since vanished I had to replace it with one from a ballpoint pen suitably shortened. You would get a full locomotive set from one pen, which is probably cheaper than buying them from coupling manufacturers !

Plates

Bibby Line Plates
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Heading toward the finishing post with the MN, I need to refurbish the nameplates.

The plates are etched brass and had tarnished over the years. Rubbing the surface with a very fine jewellers sanding stick – a pink one if this helps – burnished the brass. Using the stick means that I didn’t remove the paint that is a danger if you just use your finger. Also the abrasive is very, very fine, rough paper feels bumpier to the finger.

A quick coat of gloss varnish should seal the shine in for a while now. I touched up the blue centre s as well. These should have a pair of flags in but I haven’t a clue where to source the transfers. If I could find a good clear colour picture I might be tempted to paint them in by hand but for the moment I leave them blank. Sometimes not doing a job is better than doing it badly.

The front numberplates were more fun. They had the wrong background and had to be painted black. Then the numerals were picked out in white. The black was touched up where the white had spilled over. The white was re-done in places where it wasn’t quite right. Then the black was touched up again. I wish they were brass colour – I could “paint” this with sandpaper !

I Am Very, Very, Stupid.

Deco Light
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

This entry was nearly entitled “I Am A Very Dead Person”. Very nearly indeed.

The artfully cropped picture shows a newly fitted lampshade. Bought at a sale today, it appears to be an Art Deco piece. The glass shade attaches to a metal base. It looks good and fulfils a need for an enclosed bulb in the room. All the modern lampshades I’ve seen haven’t appealed as much as this one does and I’ve looked at a lot of them.

Buying lampshades doesn’t kill you though, fitting them can.

The old pendant lamp is interesting in that it has two switches. One on the wall by the door and one hanging from the ceiling on the other side of the room. Remove the old rose and fit the new one - easy.

Since I am by nature a careful person I switched the light on and then off again to make sure there was no power in the wires. Then I unscrewed the cover on the rose. Inside there were lots of wires. Three red ones connected together and three black ones. Two of the later connected to one wire on the bulb and the other went to complete the circuit on the other side. Obviously the electrician had been playing fast and lose with the colours when he wired the house.

This isn’t good but it didn’t seem too difficult to work out. When I replaced the fitting the three red wires get connected together in a chocolate block and the black wires go into the connection for the bulb.

It was when I disconnected the third red wire that it hit me. Literally. A nasty electric shock that made me make a hell of a loud noise. Despite my care I’d not bothered turning off the electricity to the house lights and one of the wires was still live thanks to the weird wiring. I only touched the wire for a fraction of a second and yet felt the tremors in my arm. Despite standing on a 2 foot tall wooden stool in thick rubber soled shoes on a wooden floor I had nearly electrocuted myself.

There is still the chance of brain damage thanks to be beating myself on the head for being so stupid. No more basic a rule for working with electricity exists than - Turn It Off When Fiddling.

Finished and working, my light looks really nice. Pity it was nearly so expensive.

Windows

Windows
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

If you want a detail that says “unfinished model”, try leaving windows unglazed. Even though we are talking about a transparent substance, its absence marks a model down, at least in my eyes.

The Merchant Navy locomotive is nearing completion (I screwed it together properly today) and one of the jobs I had promised to do was fill in the windows.

While I could spend hours cutting out clear bits of plastic or glass, I have got better things to do. The results, when I do it anyway, always look hopeless. The glazing never fits properly and whatever glue I use is always visible at the edges. The first time the model is handled they all get pushed in anyway.

So I cheat and use Krystal Klear. Applied with screwdrivers, a skin is formed in the opening with the liquid (a high quality PVA) and then the model is left to dry with the window as horizontal as possible. Anything else gives a thicker pane at the bottom than the top.

Of course it does dry transparent, slightly flexible and quite reflective – as you can tell from my photo !

Gratification

VW Type 93
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

It helps if the model goes together well. Building a kit that doesn’t fit together has the opposite effect and is likely to result in the parts being thrown in the direction of the nearest wall !

Anyway, I started a plastic kit. Plastic kits fit nicely into the role of quick, satisfying task. In theory all you do is cut out the bits and stick them together. Of course I had to pick a kit that needed a bit more work than this. A Polish model of the rare Volkswagen Type 93.

The prototype was built during the war as an adaptation of the famous Beetle. This hadn’t actually gone into full production when the war started but the factory was responsible for a number of German military vehicles. The logic of building a small van based largely on the bodyshell which the presses already existed for. Strangely the design wasn’t perpetuated after the conflict. When VW produced a small van they made a completely new design based on the Ghia chassis, the Fridolin.

The kit is from “Military Wheels” range and cost £5.99 from Gee Dee models of Nottingham. It’s not expensive but that shows in the quality of the parts. Flash, the like of which I haven’t seen for years is all over the place. It’s not difficult to remove but would be a challenge for a novice. The plastic is a bit softer than we are used to as well.

That said, the kit fits together OK and a couple of hours after I opened the box the model was as you see in the photo. I’d had a relaxing evening and the box isn’t going to make it into the store cupboard.

Satin

MN long shot
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Paint can make or break a model. The Merchant Navy has reached the stage where it needs the paint tidying up. I’ve had to patch a few green bits but the black parts were the worst.

Fortunately black takes patching well and you can’t see all of the joins – Humbrol satin black goes on really nicely with a brush. Once this was done I cleaned the loco up and gave it a quick spray of satin varnish to brighten things up. It was a real transformation with the colour coming alive again.

Time to touch up the chassis matt black and then screw the thing together properly now.

Everyone loves a bargain

Wire
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

While most people visit a car boot sale looking for a bargain that will appear on the antiques roadshow, there are lots of other bargains to be found. Just stop looking at the china.

People clearing out garages are fertile ground for the modeller. The photo shows just such a bargain that I nabbed last week. It’s a big reel of 0.5mm copper wire.

50p

How great is that ? Years worth of electrical droppers or even beading wire in the larger scales.

Of course get too much of this stuff and you need to clear out your workshop, which means a trip to the local car boot with your own stuff..

Pipes

Pipes
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

This was an easier job than I expected. The old pipework at the bottom of the cylinders was missing on one side and mangled on the other.

Fortunately it was reasonably easy to pull out with pliers – a level of brut force and ignorance that most people won’t employ for fear of damaging something.

I had to replace one nut and then use 0.7mm wire for the pipes. This was soldered to the nuts and also to the other pipes to strengthen things. These bits are pretty vulnerable on the loco. A good clean up with the fibreglass pen and you can’t really see the joins.

Squires

Squires Catalogue
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

What this country needs is national service, sorry I mean lots more model shops. There should be one on every corner. Each to be fully stocked with a comprehensive range of tools and kits. No one should ever be more than 5 minutes walk from a tool for cutting plasticard.

Until that happy day arrives we have to reply on a few specialist shops and mail order. I’m lucky, there are good shops within 5 miles of my home. Two railway shops, one for radio control cars and another covering aircraft.

Of course, none can compete with a good mail order supplier for the supply of specialist tools. The market simply isn’t big enough locally. Cover the country, or better still the world and your sales might be enough to feed and clothe your children.

This entry is basically a plug for the excellent service provided by Squires Model & Craft Tools of Bognor Regis.

Yet again this week they can through with some clamps I need. A quick ‘phone call to 01243 842424 at lunchtime resulted in a parcel the next morning. I think that over a couple of dozen orders placed there has been only one occasion when the goods didn’t turn up the next day and then they were in my hands the day after. The service is superb, they know their range and can help you out if you aren’t sure what you need.

The stand at exhibitions has to be seen to be believed. A cornucopia of delights. Better still, if you buy anything the question, “Have you got our latest catalogue ? “ is always asked. This is free and yet is a vital resource for any modeller. It can eat your time though – hundreds of pages to tempt you. Simply browsing through out of interest takes several hours.

So if you haven’t got this publication, get on the ‘phone (no website and they don’t need one) and order your free copy. You’ll thank me later !

Buffers

Buffers
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

One of the signs that the Merchant Navy needed a bit of tidying up was that its front buffer beam was a separate item. Not just that, it consists of a flat plate which has two buffers, a wonky vacuum pipe and some mangled strip attached to it.

The mangled mess at the ends was the front steps. On this locomotive they are unusual in that they are attached to the beam and the buffers instead of the more normal footplate. A fair bit of unbending gave me something that looked right. Once the intermediate steps were added from spare etch leftovers everything looked OK.

The very nice vac. pipe was straightened easily enough. All I had to do was re-fit the beam on the body.

A 7mm scale express locomotive is a pretty big beast. This means a large mass of metal. Soldering a thin bufferbeam to this required heat from a small blowtorch. The paint you see in the picture was red before I started burning it. And when I’d raised the temperature enough for the solder to run – the steps unsoldered themselves and the vac. pipe went wonky again.

The moral of this story is – attach the little bits to big bits one at a time. If you must have a subassembly , bolt it or glue it to the other sub assemblies.

Still, at least the buffers etc. were tinned (covered in leftover solder) and the re-attachment wasn’t too bad. With front buffers the loco is now looking a lot better. Since the photo I’ve primed the metal with car touch up paint pots. Once this is dry I’ll dig out the red paint.

On the right track

Wheel
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

One of the benefits of belonging to a model railway club is the chance to test a locomotive on a layout without the effort of building one. OK, you might join in the team but it’s always going to be less work than going alone.

So it was very handy last night to be able to test the Navy chassis in our O gauge layout. While I was happy it worked in a straight line, real layouts have curves and points and even gradients. And this is a real layout.

It worked. There was the occasional spark but nothing that I can’t fix easily. The bogie needs a spring to push it onto the track harder than its weight alone does. But it works. We ran it around without derailments or any embarrassing incidents for me.

The audience approved as well. The downside of club modelling is that you can’t sneak a test like this without someone spotting. Half a dozen people made comments containing varying amounts of useful advice. One person looked at it and commented how he wished he could build a kit. This resulted in a quick run down of how easy kit building is and passing on a few hints and tips. That’s what club life is about, a bit of give and take.

Twelve wheels on my ..er.. loco.

Bogie
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

The biggest problem with the Merchant Navy Locomotive was that the front bogie wasn’t attached to the chassis. What was worse was that it appeared never to have been attached to the chassis.

This has puzzled me for a while. Why finish the model as far as painting and not complete the chassis so it can run on your model railway ? The answer wouldn’t have helped of course. What I needed to do was rectify the problem.

Now there is a hole above the place the bogie should be but it’s very high and too small for anything that you’d want controlling O gauge wheels. After a bit of playing around I worked out that a largish (M4 I think) bolt would fit reasonably well. Since the bogie stretcher has a slot in it I needed to bush this. Digging in the bush pot I found what may be a 7mm scale axle bush. This fitted the bolt and was slightly too large for the slot. Opening out the later with a file cured this.

The plate the nut is attached to came from some leftover brass from the G2. Always hang on to useful bits left over from kits as they are very handy. Just don’t forget to turn those empty frets into strips or you will quickly find your work area taken over by them !

Yet again I couldn’t solder to the frames. They are 2mm thick brass and despite my best efforts with a mini blowtorch, no solder will stick as I couldn’t get the metal hot enough. If the whitemetal cylinders weren’t attached I might have been more courageous but I really didn’t want to have to replace these. Because of this, some nice thick Araldite hold it in place. Unfashionable though this method is – it works.

After letting the glue dry I was able to run the model on the test track – a 6ft straight. The fireworks (sparks caused by short circuits) showed I needed to cut the frames away a bit or the loco wasn’t going around corners. More work with the big file, no good using needle files on this stuff, and the sparks stopped. I might find myself insulating the back of the front brake shoes with superglue just be extra sure.

Bad paper

Failed
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

The MOT went pretty as mush as expected. I now posses a fail sheet listing various deficiencies. While the rear valance wasn’t an issue but the MOT man’s hammer found another area of rot that needs attention.

The main problems are brake related. I could do these, I’m sure of it. If only it were possible for me to get the van in the air to a comfortable height, a few hours work with spanners should see the job done. My rosy view will ignore the skinned knuckles and stuck bolts reality normally throws in the way.

Lifting the van would probably have averted the welding too. Lying on your back crawling around under a vehicle isn’t pleasant and certainly is not conducive to taking a proper look. The nooks and crannies are ignored to punish me for my laziness at this time of year.

It’s a very impotent feeling. I could so nearly do this work. I want to do the work. What I don’t want to do is fix one side and then have to bleed the brakes so I can turn the vehicle around to get at the other side – I have park next to a wall. Actually I don’t want to be working in the blazing sun either. Lying under the axle and welding doesn’t sound too fun either – setting myself on fire is more likely than achieving a proper fix.

I imagine it’s like being a newbie model maker. You look at people like me with a reasonably equipped toolbox and think, “it’s easy for them, they have all the kit.”. Truth is that I acquired tools in dribs and drabs over a long period. Mostly they come as solutions to problems, or at least as ways of making the job easier. A good example is the box of reamers and cutting broaches. You can manage with a needle file but the right tools are so much nicer.

So I look at those with good size garage and some sort of lifting facility and envy them. I know they too have built a workshop up over years – indeed a proper workshop should have some very old but very usable tools, preferably from a long closed garage.

In the meantime I will contract the work out to someone for whom getting a one ton van in the air is easy. Someone who has done the job before and probably won’t bruise his knuckles as badly as I would. He won’t lavish the care I would like to think I would, cleaning and greasing every part, perhaps even painting stuff that has surface rust, but then I do get the chance to spend time doing things I enjoy. Perhaps I am happier with the dream and the reality wouldn’t be as good as I expect. Just like the newbies envying the modelling I do don’t see the burns and frustration when bits don’t fit together on the latest expensive kit.

Of course if anyone HAS got a barn they would like to let me use…

The future is light up light switches

It glows !
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

One of the benefits of all this model making is that I’m not bad at DIY jobs – or at least I’m not scared of them.

The Problem: The garage is dark and it’s difficult to find the light switch.

Solution: Fit a light switch glowing thing. Now I can find the switch easily !

Of course this was partly influenced by finding the glowey thing on a car boot table and thinking, “Wow, how fantastic is that, glowing light switches !”. Best fun I’ve had for 30p for a long while. Perhaps I need to get out more.

Technical note: The glowey thing is a plastic plate that fits behind the switch. It’s got two lamps in it and wires straight into the switch. It comes from MK but I’ve never seen one before. Bit fiddly to fit but worth the effort.

Rotten, just rotten

Rotten metal
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Why is it that car jobs ALWAYS get worse not better when you approach them ?

The photo shows the state of the read valance on my Volkswagen Type 2 air-cooled campervan*

With the MOT approaching I thought I’d better start getting it ready. Two jobs were needed before it went for the first attempt – Adjust the brakes and bodge the rear valance.

Brakes. Oh dear. This is supposed to be an easy job. I’d done it on my Beetle in the past but hate it. I jacked the van up so the wheel was a little off the ground. The adjusters didn’t seem to want to move. Thinking better of crawling under the vehicle with it supported only by a jack I got the axle stands out. They aren’t quite tall enough as they are designed for a normal car, not something fat blokes can crawl under comfortably. Anyway, we have a gravel drive with slabs for driving on. No slab where I needed to put the stand though. Oh, well, I hate it anyway so someone who knows what they are doing can handle this one.

The valance. My idea had been to slap a patch over that little hole in it. I have the replacement part in the garage but reckon I need at least two full days to fit it. Of course when I saw this, the patch idea went out of the window. No chance of any days off work this month for me unfortunately.

Sooooo, my new plan is to take the van for it’s MOT on Monday. It will fail. Then take it around to Malc saying, “Get it through the MOT and take all my money.” And cry at the bill. Sometimes there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything you want to do.

Next year can someone remind the MOT is due earlier than two weeks before it is please ?

*Yes I am writing a lot of keywords in the text. I need to make those Google adverts pay. Please click on them – it costs you nothing and makes me a few pence richer. How else am I to pay for these projects you enjoy reading about ? :-)

Quick change on the workbench

Valve Gear
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

With one project leaving the workbench, the space is quickly filled by another. This time I have a 7mm scale, O Gauge rebuilt Battle of Britain. The locomotive is complete, it just needs a little tidying up.

The first job was to have a good look and see what is needed. The most obvious work is with the chassis. Brake gear is loose, valve gear is bent and the paint needs a fair bit of TLC.

The brakes weren’t too bad. It was only the rear shoes flapping in the wind. Soldering didn’t work so some good strong glue did the job instead. With all the paint and dirt plus the mass of brass I was never going to get enough heat into the joint without damaging something. I did replace some wire which makes for a nice solid job.

The valve gear was straightened and then I took the time to fettle it a bit by removing some excess lumpy solder that was present in a few places. Valve gear is very important to the look of a locomotive. If it’s wobbly it looks wrong. On the prototype those rods are big think lumps of steel. Anything bent represented a Very Bad Thing.

Paining comes next, what’s there is lumpy and flaking off – the model has done some miles but with a bit of work it’s going to be ready for many more.

Of paintpots and teacakes

paintpot
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

The photograph shows a 50ml tin of Humbrol matt black paint just before it went in the bin. As you can see there are lots of dried “tide marks” in it where the paint has formed skin and I’ve poked a stirrer through it to get at the liquid stuff.

50ml pots are a bit like Tunocks teacakes really.

Let me explain. I love a nice Tunnocks teacake. It’s a delicious pudding in a foil wrapper. Ideal - one is sufficient and not too calorific. When I finish chomping I sometimes think, “That was nice, I fancy another.”. Most of the time I resist but just occasionally I go for it. And then I regret it. You see the second teacake is nothing like as good as the first. I don’t know why, it just doesn’t satisfy in the same way.

50ml pots of paint are like this. Normally I realise I will end up throwing most of the pot away but every so often it seems like a good idea. After all I use a lot of matt black paint so surely it’s cheaper to buy in bulk ?

It never is though. Like the second teacake, the bigger pot never works like it supposed to. And I know I’ll never learn. That second teacake still seems like a good idea.

OK, so I'm a big kid.

Doc Hudson
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

All breakfast cereal should be like this. Open the packet and out fall a plastic car. This one even has stickers you can decorate it with.

Those who keep their eyes open will be aware of the Disney film “Cars” is out now – this is “Doc Hudson” from the film, or in this case from a packet of Cherrios.

The makers (of the model not the ever litigious Disney) have pinched a trick from Dinky cars. There are a couple of light tubes from the roof to the headlights so they actually appear to light up. Ingenious. I’m always fascinated by the cost of tooling up for something like this. Someone has designed a set of moulds, made the parts and then assembled them. Somewhere in a factory, probably in China and paying pathetic wages, there are factories full of people making these things up.

Of course the cereal approach to modelling isn’t perfect. I want a “Filmore” but there isn’t one in a packet near me. Still, if all breakfast food included plastic model, surely the problem of people skipping breakfast would be ended. Mind you, the new issue would be people playing when they should be going to work…