Nu Cast 2021 Pannier - Construction

[micklner]

Have you checked the offside of the Footplate , is that straight ?. 

 

If it is?, that is probably why  you have a gap on the nearside in the above photograph. The off side rear corner actually looks higher than the nearside.

[Jeff Smith]

From experience, getting the footplate straight and flat on white metal kits is a crucial step.  An etched chassis, when only attached by bolts, or a bolt and a flange, can allow the center to bend up.  On the picture from the rear with the bunker removed, is the chassis bolt in place?  They do not look clamped together.

[John Isherwood]

13 minutes ago, Jeff Smith said:

From experience, getting the footplate straight and flat on white metal kits is a crucial step. 

 

Exactly!

 

I'm building an Anbrico cast whitemetal GWR railcar, with a full length cast floor.

 

As it was, the floor drooped and warped all over the place, so I had to solder on lengths of brass angle, in places where it would not be seen, in order to impart some rigidity.

 

CJI.

[Erudhalion]

Thanks for all the helpful advice.

 

I think it is fair to say that either I didn't straighten it properly at the start, or I managed to bend the footplate after i had started building the body.

 

I have managed to mostly straighten it out, and I think that the bunker is mostly ok, it needs a little more fettling so it sits right, it is a little tight at the moment, but the gap between it and the footplate is smaller than it was.

 

The cab concerns me more, because it almost seems like the boiler is sitting too high on the footplate. This would explain why the handrail knob locations on the cab side don't line up properly and why there is so little space between the tank tops and the bottom of the cab windows.

[Captain Kernow]

11 hours ago, Erudhalion said:

This would explain why the handrail knob locations on the cab side don't line up properly and why there is so little space between the tank tops and the bottom of the cab windows.

I seem to recall that the handrail know locations didn't exactly line up on the 16XX kit either. I think I had to mark out new holes in the cab on that one.

 

[Erudhalion]

I have been looking and measuring and wondering what to do.

 

The boiler pitch as stated in the RCTS volumes is 6' 0 3/4", increased to 6' 3 3/4" from 2041 or 2061. These scale to 24.25mm and 25.25mm. Assuming these are measured from the tops of the rails, on my model it is 25mm. Comparing the relative positions of the tank brackets and and springs between my model and the photo on the box, it looks to me like the boiler should sit about 1mm lower, which also matches up with the issues I've got with the cab.

 

At the moment, I'm leaning towards towards separating the whole boiler assembly and starting from scratch.

 

I imagine this could be done by boiling the whole lot in a saucepan of water, but I'll do a test with some scraps first.

[Jeff Smith]

Check the footplate height before taking drastic action. And footplate to boiler c/l.  Wheel diameter will affect height.

[Siberian Snooper]

You will be OK using boiling water, I use a plastic container that a Chinese meal came in and pour the water over the model, a prod or two with a coffee stirrer helps, if necessary. My kits have been through the process several times.

 

 

[Erudhalion]

'Tis done.

 

 

I didn't disassemble everything, the various tank gubbins are still in place, as is the dome and a few other bits, but I can start again from the footplate.

 

Update: Now I look at it, I think I've found the problem. I had soldered the boiler/tank top so it had a bit of a gap between it and the top of the smokebox, because the front edge matched up better, and this lead to the tanks having to be raised at the back to keep them level.

Edited May 12 by Erudhalion

[Erudhalion]

...and we are back to where we were, only with a significantly straighter footplate, a slightly lower top of the boiler and new brass injectors, whistles and smokebox darts (all from Alan Gibson).

 

 

The only casualties are a snapper reverser and a slightly bent left hand tank-top handrail, courtesy of the tank falling off the shelf.

 

 

The footplate is still not perfect, but it is much better, and importantly not twisted along its length as it was before. It even looks like the cab-side dimples for the handrail knobs line up with the ones in the tanks.

 

All in all I am reasonably happy with the results, it is a definite improvement on the previous attempt. There are a few small gaps around the joint between the firebox top and the tanks, so I might need to splash out on some filler, but that can wait for now.

 

Now for fitting the cab and bunker.

[Siberian Snooper]

I have found these kits to be a right pain in the proverbial, to get right, I have three on the go and they have all been dunked into the boiled water at least once. Getting sufficient gap between the bunker and the cab has been one of the biggest problems, that I have encountered.