luke the train spotter Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 Micro connecters work really well. Might try it on my own stock some time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted November 25, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 25, 2017 Back to Mentor Wired up some led strips Attached to some pcb with connections to another pcb The other pcb has the opposite connections on Added tabs to it Then wired a decoder to the other side (complete with stay alive) Can’t do anything more with the decoder until I fit pickups to the wheels so I moved on to some tiny LEDs Fit through tiny holes in the roof I will then glue them to some u channel pushed into the holes And quickly wired to the track And the internal lights wired to it too Got to tidy the wires up, also paint the insides grey and add glazing When the decoder is wired up I will have one function for internal lights, one for the roof spotlights and when fitted another function for the milepost lights 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted November 27, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 27, 2017 ive ordered a set of dcc concepts wheels with spring pickups for mentor instead of using the wiper method as i have on the NMT as there is a heck of a lot of friction/resistance on the NMT while it trundles round, if i have more success with those i may well replace the pick up wheels only on the NMT for the same product there are 12 wheels in a pack, enough to do mentor, plp and tru Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted December 7, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 7, 2017 Started a quick ‘in the house’ project earlier, 37423 from 37405 using ‘rainbow railways’ nose ends Donor loco, 37405 picked up from Topp trains a few months back for £65 Coloured the wipacs and jumpers using sharpie pens Nose ends off The nose ends come complete with a pcb for the working wipacs which I glued in place To be honest I’m not that impressed with them for what they cost, marketed as a direct replacement for the existing nose ends but they took some fettling to get to fit and the bottoms are quite a way out from the body When I glued the top of the nose to the body (which Really I shouldn’t need to do if they fitted as promised) the bottom ended up well away from the body And width wise was out too Anyway a bead of superglue applied with a brush and low tack masking tape to hold the ends in place and I got them to fit ok, one end is better than the other but still not perfect I found some DRS class 20 decals in my stock box which quite handily only had the 2 and 3 left as individual numbers so I can use them to renumber it, ordered the nameplates from railtech Got more to do to it like fold and fit the supplied brass top headlight mount, refit the multi jumper cable sockets to the nose, OHLE flashes on the nose, fit the lenses to the wipacs 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted December 15, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 15, 2017 Couldn’t be bothered in the shed tonight so I decided to finish off 37423 Fitted the extra light on the roof, wired through the cab light tabs, I’ll have to adjust the decoder CVs so the cab light comes on with the headlight After I fitted them up using the supplied LEDs and fibre optics I found a pair of Bachmann class 66 top light assemblies in my stock box which I could have used instead! Added the last of the decals, Fox 2 and 3 and railtech 3D nameplates which are very very good indeed, also added OHLE flashes and multi working sockets to the ends, I was going to add all the pipes and couplings too but they kept fouling on the ploughs I’m gonna have a go at weathering this one at some point 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWT442 Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 Liking the 37 conversion Jim (and pretty much everything else you've done!), have one on the go at the mo to do the same loco. Surprised you had issues with the noses not fitting properly, my 37423 is being done exactly the same as yours, including donor loco! Had no issues with the noses, fit like a glove. Wonder if it was a dodgy print? It'll be the second one I've done. First time round, the noses were changed on the Cheltenham Models Ltd Ed of 37038. Went on fine then as well. (Must remember to put the top light on at some point!) Andy. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted January 13, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 13, 2018 (edited) Finally got in the shed for a few hours tonight Inspired by philMCs workbench I decided to give Layouts 4U anti flicker lighting units a go, fitted the first one to one of the coaches that Just had the lights wired to the pick ups (cross wired between coaches) and it worked beautifully so I went on and tree them to the rest of the coaches, I even removed the decoders for 2 of them and replaced them with the units, it’s also eliminated the need to cross wire the coaches All completed And a quick video https://youtu.be/zCC9NyMLGi0 I then went onto mentor, I’d already wired this up internally, just needed to add pickups to it, I got some DCC concepts sprung pickups on 10mm wheels, I didn’t realise that the wheels on it were actually 14mm Which are far too big So switching to the 10mm wheels makes the buffers line up nicely To fit the wheels I had to drill a hole in the bogie Wheel with spring pickup, you can see one side is insulated Both wheels fitted, opposite sides insulated on each axle Bit hard to see but the wire then poked through the holes And wired up Same the other end and wired up to the circuit board in the coach And powered up And as I’ve used a decoder I can control the lights Just roof lights Just internal lights Still more to do, tidy up the internal wiring, add tinted glazing and general bits of small detail such as the grille over the roof windows and decals Ran it round the layout and I must say the spring pick ups are also brilliant, very little friction compared to the DCC concepts wiper pick ups, I’ve got 8 left so am going to add them to a few other items of IM stock that I’m planning on adding decoders to, May well also added a set of larger wheels to add pick ups and lighting to my mark 1 charter rake Edited January 13, 2018 by big jim 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eddie reffin Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 (edited) Nice work Jim. I'm in the middle of doing 423 myself and found that the nose ends wouldn't sit flush but I discovered the problem was still some glue left from removing the original ends. Quick clean up with a small file did the trick. Quite like those axles with the contacts on them. Might have to investigate them a bit more. Edited January 17, 2018 by eddie reffin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke the train spotter Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Looks great and the complete lack of flicker is amazing! Convenient that leds dont draw much current so you dont need massive capacitors. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted February 10, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 10, 2018 Despite having a load of unfinished projects on the go and bits lay around to start other jobs I have decided to start something new! Got this from Stafford show from modellers Mecca for £75 And stripped a couple of days in dilute IPA and a quick scrub down ready to be turned into a GBRf 73/9, I was going to have a go at the RVEL ‘minion’ 73 but that involves a lot lot more work Marked up roughly what needs doing and it’s not too much really Basically reduce the size of one grille, increase the size of another and one extra grille and add a fan and exhaust to the roof as well as half a dozen grilles which are similar to EWS class 56 cant line grilles, one of the biggest (but also the most subtle) changes I spotted is the raised guttering along the bodyside is totally removed on the real thing between the cabs The end needs wipac lights adding and moving round the multi cables a bit 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted February 11, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 11, 2018 Couple of hours on the 73 earlier, the main area of work is actually the roof as you need to add an exhaust and new fan as well as blocking off the old ones The exhaust is a cut down Bachmann class 66 one mounted on a piece of plasticard and the fannis actually a shawplan etch, don’t know what it’s off but it fits nice The fan is also sat on plasticard with a recessed shaped piece over the top but slightly below the roofline as there is then a piece of etch grille over the top of that too! Need to blank off the old exhaust, going to do that with a thin piece of plasticard over the whole roof panel between the exhaust and fan I’ve also made the grille holes bigger on both sides, ready for the replacement panel to sit over, thankfully on the real thing it’s not flush so it’s just a case of another piece of plasticard over the top with the holes cut into it Then it’s onto the front for the wipac and roof lights which I’m hoping to get working 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
virginhst539 Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Watching this one with interest! Would look every nice in cally blue..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted February 12, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 12, 2018 Sorry it’s gonna be ‘normal’ GBRF livery, thing is like most things test trainy I really need 2 of them! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke the train spotter Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Looks like another great project. Look forward to see how this progresses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted February 13, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 13, 2018 Did the side grille (on one side) And attached New grille Blanked off 1/2 a bodyside grille and added the cant rail grilles Filled the old fan void with smart putty as well as the old exhaust and around the edge of the 1/2 grille which I’m hoping will run down to a nice smooth finish Drilled a hole for the 3rd light I happen to have a few Bachmann class 66 light assemblies that fit in nicely Light guide poking through And inside Then before I came back indoors I sculpted a wipac light assembly, I’ll check it size wise against some shawplan ones I have (somewhere!) Another grille to do the other side then rub down the putty before a coat of primer i recon 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted February 25, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25, 2018 So back to the 73, cut out holes for the wipacs, instead of sculpting plastistrip to the contour of the body I thought it would be a better option to glue/weld the rectangular blocks into the front of the loco as they will be more secure when I drill them for lights and it’s a lot simpler than trying to get the profile right And did the 2nd grille Then gave it a coat of grey primer The roof is so so where I’ve filled in the old fan and exhaust, I may revisit them and fill and smooth a bit more 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke the train spotter Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 So back to the 73, cut out holes for the wipacs, instead of sculpting plastistrip to the contour of the body I thought it would be a better option to glue/weld the rectangular blocks into the front of the loco as they will be more secure when I drill them for lights and it’s a lot simpler than trying to get the profile right And did the 2nd grille Then gave it a coat of grey primer The roof is so so where I’ve filled in the old fan and exhaust, I may revisit them and fill and smooth a bit more Looks good. It's coming along very nicely. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted March 24, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 24, 2018 Bit of orange (and yellow) on the 73 Hand painted it on, another coat to add then mask off for the blue which I will see if I can get as a spray can 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted March 28, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 28, 2018 2nd coat of orange painted and masked up Roof panels and exhaust painted, I may paint the exhaust black yet though Refitted the etched grilles to one side of the body, this one was one of the old ones from the lower body side which luckily by pure chance fitted in the big grille hole I had reduced in size with plasticard 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted May 21, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 21, 2018 Another quick job, Hatton beilhack snowplough, fitting working headlights Dapol tail light from the freightliner hopper wagons, drilled out the ‘lens’ I know headlights are larger but I have plenty of these to hand! Tiny led Attached to the rear of the lamp with glue ‘n’ glaze with another blob added to the front as a new lens Front of the plough pulls off easily Next job strip down 2 wheels, only one side is insulated which makes the job so easy DCC concepts pick up springs Over the axle Gauge checked And back in the clips Making sure the opposite end is the other way round so opposite wheels are insulated at each end of the plough Length of pcb stuck to the underside of the chassis with the pick up wire from the axle/wheels soldered to it Back to the plough, headlights glued in place Wires run down the rear I then spliced the wires together so only a single wire for each side ran back from the plough to the body, then reattached the plough Soldered those to the pcb and hey presto! Going to give the lamps a coat of primer and black paint before redoing them white as the led also shines out of the back of the lamp as well as the front May well even add a decoder to it at some point, next up is the flashing tail lamp fitted one 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangoman69 Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Jim, What is the source of your LEDs? They look superb on the Beilhack! Regards, Karl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted May 28, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 28, 2018 They were off eBay, I’ll have to find the link to them but I think if you search 12v SMD led’s You should find them Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted June 3, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted June 3, 2018 And back to the 73, sprayed the blue, the airbrush was playing up and I couldn’t get it to work so I bought the big guns out, literally, i poured the paint into my full size car spraying gun, turned the pressure down and used that, 2 passes and it was sprayed! Starting to look like a 73/9 now Roof grille added Next job, tidy up the orange round the cabs, maybe thin the can’t rail stripe as I used 1mm masking tape to do it and it’s a bit thick Then put it all back together 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
86902 Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 Superb work Jim Was good to meet you at demu Kind regards Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted June 11, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted June 11, 2018 Had a look at the 73 last night with a view to the working wipacs, didn’t take any pics but after 4 hours tinkering I’ve managed to come up with a solution to get them to work but I won’t be able to turn the reds off (I think) the problem I have is the donor loco doesn’t have any rear lights (tail or headcode marker), just need to refine the finished item before posting pics as I’m on version ‘about 6’ so far It doesn’t help that Dapol use some weird roof mounted PCB plate to get power to the lights so I’ve had to work from that I’ve used the nano LEDs like on the ploughs which fit lovely in the drilled holes for the wipacs (when I work out how to secure them) then of course there is the extra roof light too! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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