Bouch's workbench - 7mm Jinty

[Mike Boucher]

Well, this weekend was way above normal temps again (Saturday was 60+, today was 55, normal is low 40s) so I fired up the airbrush and went on another weathering blitz.  Each day I did 11 N scale cars.  As before, most of them were reefers assembled from Intermountain kits, and there was 1 Microtrains UP caboose.  The one "outlier" reefer was a white MDT/NYC reefer, the rest were yellow from western roads: PFE (UP/SP and WP) , NP, and GN.  Weathering ranged from "pretty clean" to "completely filthy" with most in the middle...

 

 

Yes, this car is weathered!  Little "Earth" from a low angle, and then a very light overspray of diluted grimy black.  

 

 

This one is "as  bad as it gets"...

And as promised, here's the current state of the Slaters 3 plank.  The old pressfix transfers were very curled up and are damn close to shot, but I treated them as methfix and they seem to be staying on.  I'll shoot the side with dullcote before I weather the wagon, and it'll probably be weathered closer to the "completely filthy" side...

 

 

I also had to re-weather one of the Atlas hoppers from last time.  I was at a train show last weekend, and the cars were running in a train.  My daughter wanted a snack, so I peeled a clementine for her.  About 2-3 minutes later, one of the hoppers derailed.  I rerailed it, and much to my chagrin there was still a little citric acid on my fingertips, which promptly took off the weathering, leaving two "clean" fingerprints on an otherwise "dirty" car!  Well, I re-weathered it, its now dirtier, and from normal viewing distances you can't see the fingerprints anymore.  (no pix, though...) 

[Mike Boucher]

Not much going on lately, with the holidays and all going on.  But, I have finished the MR 3 plank, and started turning those weathered Intermountain reefers into a "unit train..."

First the 3 plank.  Transfers on both sides, awaiting some warmer weather so I can airbrush outside...

 

The reefers are pretty much used together, running around N-Trak layouts behind a Con-Cor/Rivarossi "Big Boy".  A friend built a train of shorty ore hoppers by using drawbars between them, and I decided to do that.  The drawbars were made from unused Intermountain couplers.  When I first built the cars, I used Micro-Trains couplers, but I saved all the IM ones.  I took a pair of couplers and fused them together using my 30 watt soldering iron.  Then remove the MT couplers and screw the fused ones on.  I needed to buy some 00-90 x 1/4" screws as the MT screws were too short for the IM coupler boxes.

 

Easier seen than described...

 

One "drawbar" attached to a single car:

 

 

Repeat as needed.  The most I want to join together are 4 cars, I can hold 2 in each hand as I move them from the carrying case to the yard while setting up the train.  I've made 2 sets of 4 car "blocks", semi-randomly picking a mix of reefers.  I'll also make some 3 car blocks (as my carrying cases can hold 7 cars in a row) and also leave a few cars as singles in case I ever build a small switching plank and want to use the reefers.

 

Here's a picture of one of those "blocks".  One car is sitting on the newel post of my stairs, I'm holding the car at the other end, and the middle two are being held up by the "drawbars"

 

 

I've done work on the C&O caboose, but I need to re-do everything I've done.  The next step is to attach sunshades over the side windows on both the main body and the cupola.  Some decent white-metal castings were provided for the 4 on the body.  Looking at prototype photos, on the ends and tops, there are small "flaps" which are used to attach the shades.  The castings didn't have these.  So, I cut some .010 thick styrene and used 5 minute epoxy to attach them to the castings.  After that was all done, I went to test fit them, and they don't fit.  The window frames are longer than the castings by about 1/16".  (if you look at the photos in my last post, you can see the frames).

 

OK, I looked at the plans, and I made the frames the right size, so its the castings that are too small.  Holding the castings against the plans confirmed this.  So, I have to either a) cut the castings and add a strip of 1/16" wide styrene; b ) make entirely new sunshades or c) re-do the frames.

 

I've chosen B, as I have to make sunshades for the cupola windows anyway.  I'll probably make these out of styrene, as I really don't feel like cutting/bending/soldering brass for all 6, but I'm hesitant because I'm not sure how sturdy they will be.  Still pondering this...  One advantage of brass is I can solder some pins on them to help secure them to the body.  I could do that with the styrene ones as well, but..  

 

And I didn't get any "toy trains" for Christmas, but I did get a few cheques.  Pondering if I should pay medical bills, or if I should just put it towards paying for the upcoming David Andrews LMS Stanier 2-6-4T that I have on reservation...

[Mike Boucher]

After Christmas, I lost a bit of my "modeling mojo", but a visit to the Big Amherst Railway Society show in Springfield, MA, at the end of January helped me a bit.  (If you've never heard of this show, it’s a 2 day show that averages 20,000 attendees, and the floor space is about 5 acres spread over 4 buildings, and almost all of the major manufacturers have a presence and display new stuff.)

 

Been working on the sunshades for the C&O caboose.  As stated in a previous post, I couldn't use the provided castings (and there aren't any for the ones on the cupola anyways).  I had initially tried making one from styrene, but the thin styrene was too easily bent for my liking.  Without having access to brass etchers, nor experience in making drawings to have etches made, it was time to attempt scratchbuilding.  After a few mistakes, I think I've come up with an approach to building them from .015 thick brass sheet.

 

First, here's a photo of a prototype caboose, so you can see what I'm working on.  As you can see, the ones on the cupola are different, in length, angle from vertical, and height (they do appear to be the same horizontal distance from the wall…).  But the technique to build them should be the same.

 

 

First was to make 4 parts.  The main shade, the two triangular ends, and the "backing" (the part that attaches to the caboose sides).

 

 

The "shorter but wider" piece is the "main shade"

 

I first soldered the hypotenuse of the triangular ends to each end of the main shade.  They are noticably oversize, intentionally so I don't have to be too precise with locating before soldering.  I then filed to the correct dimension, making sure they stay as 45 degree right triangles.  A few are a bit too oversize, which meant a lot of filing...

 

 

Then I drilled a hole in the middle of the "backing" part.  I soldered that to the shade and ends, being careful not to overheat everything and melt the existing joints.  Once again, this is oversize, so I filed it down to the finish dimension.  (It’s sitting on the paint brushes so the hole in the backing plate is obvious…)

 

 

Then I threaded the blade for a jeweler’s saw through the hole, re-tightened the saw up, and cut along the “top edge”.  Remove the saw, and cut the “verticals” to remove the un-needed metal.  Once cutting was done, I filed the insides clean.

 

And voila - a sunshade.  Each sunshade takes WAY longer than it looks.  Between cutting and filing the brass pieces, soldering, and cleaning up, each one is probably a couple hours of work...

 

 

Here's what it looks like resting in position on the caboose.

 

 

I still need to file the corners so they look like the prototype, and drill holes for mounting pins, and then use rivet decals to simulate the rest of the rivets.  Then its to make the two for the cupola.

 

When the weather gets warmer, I'll have some painting to do before I glue them to the caboose body.  At the same time, I'll probably paint the caboose roof and underframe.  If I finish the sunshades before it's warm enough, I'll build the framework that holds the rerailer under the floor (which I need to do before I paint the underframe anyways)  

 

(edited to fix broken pic link)

[Mike Boucher]

Been a while since updating this.  Few reasons.  1) Summer is a time to be outside! 2) Trying to make the sunshades for the cupola turned out a LOT harder than the ones for the windows.  Different length, different angles, and no matter how many times I did the math, drew it out, cut, filed, soldered and sanded, they kept coming out wrong somehow.  (extended from caboose side too much, too "tall",  too "short", etc.  After 3 failed attempts, it was time to put things down and just stop.  Kinda killed my "modelling mojo", but I was working on other, non-railroad projects.

But, recently I've gotten back to working on the caboose.  Here's where I am...

I built the cupola sunshades with the same technique as the window ones, but the triangular pieces were a 30-60 triangle instead of a 45 degree triangle,  This made things a lot more difficult for some reason.  But I've finally got two I'm happy with...  Here they are, two different views:

 

 

You can see the attachment pins, to help keep it from getting knocked off the cupola.  Here's a picture of one being test-fit.  (note I still need to file the corners so they look like the prototype photos a few posts above)

 

 

And here's a photo of the caboose with the sunshades test fit.

 

 

As you can see, I've filed the notches in the corners and primed the window sunshades already.

Next up:  Paint the sunshades and roof black and attach the windows and the sunshades.  And work on the end railings.

 

As for other stuff, I've been doing some "metal origami".  My kids gave me a "metal earth" kit for Christmas, and I've bought and built a few.  They're getting popular here in the states, you get 1 or 2 3" square pieces of etched steel, you bend, fold, twist, etc to assemble them.  All "bendover tabs", no soldering/glue required.  Here are three recent builds.

 

That's a US quarter in the picture, about 23mm diameter.

[Mike Boucher]

Watching various sporting events over the past few days, I've started work on the end railings/ladders.  (Chelsea v Man U, Boston Bruins, New England Patriots, and World Series game 1, if you're interested! )  First step was to figure out a way to attach the cast white-metal ladders to the end platform such that they could be reasonably handled.  I filed away a small flat at the lower rear of the castings.  Then I flattened the end of a piece of .020" dia brass wire, and used 70 degree solder to attach these studs to the ladder.

 

 

Two holes drilled in the platform in the right place, and the ladder is much more securely attached. The next step was to add some "jogs" in the top of the ladder.  These are obvious in prototype photos, but the ladder casting doesn't have them (I'm guessing its a frieght car ladder from other Quality Craft kits, not specific to this kit)  Here's the prototype:

 

 

So I carefully cut away the two top rungs of the ladder (its too tall anyway) and bent the white metal.  They, of course, cracked, but I used the 70 degree solder to solidify them.  (and I had to do this repeatedly as I tweaked the ladders over the course of the next steps, you may notice one or both getting shorter in other photos...)

 

 

And when I test-fit it, I found that it was too tall.  The top rung of the ladder was level with the bottom of the roof, so those "jogs" were above the roof.  So, I cut a few mm off the bottom of the ladder casting until it looked reasonable, and then re-attached the two pegs.  If you know to look for it, you can see it, but it isn't terribly obvious, and the distance from bottom rung to end platform is about the same from the top rung to the roof  (if you're counting, that's twice I had to re-do something already!)

 

Now to make the heavy vertical railing at the corner.  Not exactly straight, as you can see in the prototype photo.  Made out of .032 dia brass wire.  I annealed it, and made a U bend at the bottom, and three "jogs" at the top (in from corner, in towards body, and then up through the roofing)  the 3rd isn't prototype, but seems more sturdy to me than gluing it to the underside of the roof.

 

 

There are horizontal bars from the corner railing to the ladder.  After measuring where this needed to be, I flattened the end of some .020 wire, and bent it around the .032 railing, and soldered in place.   A hole carefully drilled in the ladder (which isn't much thicker than the wire) and cut to length.  Here's a test fitting.  (you can see the corner railing protruding through the roof.  That will be trimmed and filed so its invisible eventually.

 

Then, for the inner vertical railing and the horizontal bar which attaches to the inner side of the ladder.  Another hole in the ladder, some .032 for the vertical, .020 for the horizontal, and some two different solders, and its attached to the ladder.

 

 

And some test fitting, and trimming the top of the ladder and corner railing, and here's what it looks like now...

 

 

Next is to make the curved railings which protrude above the roof and the brake valve.  Then make the other side railing, including the brake wheel.  And one end of the caboose will be ready.  Have to repeat the whole thing for the opposite end!  But I'm in the home stretch of this longer-than-expected project!

Still pondering the next O scale project, heavily leaning towards tackling my Connoisseur "Jinty" kit over the winter...

[Mike Boucher]

World Series, Game 2...  

 

 

The horizontal bar isn't attached the the corner railing.  There's quite a bit that'll have to be soldered in place once painting is done.

And it looks like I have a step to straighten...  ;

[Mike Boucher]

The weekend weather was above 60 degrees (from Friday through Monday).  I took the opportunity to get some painting done on the caboose, and another project.

 

Here's where we are now.  I need to do some touch up, where paint either leaked under the tape, or the tape pulled off some of the red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's getting close...  The underframe needs some more paint in corners.  I also need to make the end railings for the 2nd end, put the grabs on the sides, install the windows/glazing, finish up the brake wheel/air valve, smokejack, and roofing "tarpaper", and construction will be done.  (wow, the "punch list" is bigger than I thought.  Maybe its not close  )

At least now its to the point where I can pull it behind a train and it will look reasonable, last time I test-ran it it was in white

 

The other project was two brass C&O hopper cars, from Rich Yoder models.  (pretty hard to find now, they were the first models he produced, so most people that bought them aren't selling them).   Back in the spring, I painted them with primer, and it was time to give them their black paint.

 

While I only have a photo of one hopper, notice there are two distinct ends on each car.  One is a smooth side with a notch, the other is a "dreadnaught" end.

 

 

 

 

BTW - the first 2 photos, I took with the hopper upside down on my fingers, and then flipped them "right side up" using MS Paint.

[Mike Boucher]

I've done a little more work on the caboose.  With the painting being "done", I decided to install the glazing and "tarpaper" the roof.  The glazing is simple, .015 clear styrene, attached with Microscale "Krystal Klear".  The tarpaper treatment is a technique I use a lot.  Start with white tissue paper (as in wrapping presents, not blowing your nose!)  Cut it reasonably to size...

 

 

Next, mix some white glue (or carpenters glue) with water to a 1:1 ratio.  Paint that on the roof, and carefully place the tissue paper on it.  Then put another layer of water/glue over the tissue paper.  Make sure its down completely.  You'll get a few wrinkles, but as long as they're not too large, they actually give more of a feeling of texture from a distance.  They're too large, scale wise, but if there's no texture you can't see it from normal viewing distances.  If you get a slight tear, just fill it in with a small square.  It'll almost disappear when dry and painted.

 

 

And repeat on the other side...  When its dry, it looks like this
 

 

Note that I just laid the tissue paper is laid over the gap for the cupola,and overhangs the edge.  Take a SHARP blade and trim to size.  (I always take out a new #11 blade for this.  The tissue paper is easy to cut, as the glue stiffens up the edges.

 

For the cupola, its a little different approach.  You'll never get the tissue paper under the grabs if you get the roof wet/glued first.  So, I cut the paper to fit around the eyerings and position the tissue paper first.  This is pretty much "cut and fit" with a lot of "trial and error", and it can be really frustrating, but...

 

 

After its in position, start at the middle with the glue/water mixture, and work your way out to the edges.   The small gaps around the eyerings isn't noticeable once painted.  Note that this picture isn't the C&O caboose.  (I thought it was until I looked closer!)  its a Boston and Maine brass import caboose I painted at the same time as the C&O caboose that I was also "tar papering" at the same time.  but it shows what's involved better as there are more eyerings.

 

After everything is dry and trimmed to the edges, Take your paint and give it another coat.  You don't need to use an airbrush/spray can, a brush works fine.  I paint before and after the treatment, as if you accidentally tear the tissue paper later, there is still black underneath.  And once the cupola is on, the roof looks like this.  Needs a coat of dullcote and some weathering, but it looks pretty decent right now.

 

Yesterday and today, the HUB division of the NMRA (Boston area) had its annual show.  My club had the modular layout there, so I put my Allegheny (the reason I'm building this caboose) on the layout with a short coal train.  (7 cars are mine, all the weathered onces, and the two un-lettered ones you see in my above post.  The others belong to fellow members.  I really need to build the 5 more Intermountain kits I have in my queue!).  And the caboose brings up the rear.  No sunshades, corner grabs, or end railings, but it looks the part.

Here's a short video:

 

Next up is to build the corner grabs and attach the sunshades.  Then back to work on the end railings.

[Mike Boucher]

Working on the grabs for the caboose sides.  Make a couple fixtures to make them consistent.  I took scrap styrene, and glued photocopies of the drawing in the instruction to them, and then cut/filed/sanded the curve (one left handed, one right).  I glued those to a 2nd scrap of styrene, such that it would fit against the corner of the caboose, and the grabs would be in the correct place.  I made a 3rd scrap peice of styrene to the same size, and then then cut away where the bends are at the end.  I cut away the corners of the "bending jig" so I could make the 90 degree bends.  With the bending jig finished, I used it to drill holes in the drilling jig where the bends would be.

 

 

I then split these into two pieces.  The drilling jig was placed on the appropriate corners of the caboose, and holes drilled.

 

 

How the bending jig is used should be obvious...

 

 

And then installed.

 

 

Then I added the Grandt Line NBW washers like on the ends.

 

 

After this was done, I thought the brass wire I used looked too heavy, they overwhelmed the NBW's.  I had used .032 wire.  I removed the heavier ones, and bent new ones from .020 wire.  I glued them in place, but there were obvious gaps between the .020 wire and the .032 holes.  I broke a wooden coffee stirrer in half, took some of the splinters, and glued them into those gaps.  Little sanding of those filler pieces, and some touch-up paint and the finer wire looks much better.

 

I re-added the Grandt Line NBW washers (they had been trimmed off), and painted the grabs yellow.

 

 

Getting closer...

[Mike Boucher]

Well, I had been hoping to get the caboose finished over the holiday, but I wasn't feeling well before, and after got crazy with events with my kids, but I did make some progress.  Unfortunately, some of that progress consisted of making parts I didn't know I needed to make, so if feels like one step back before taking three steps forward...

 

I planned on attaching the sunshades and the marker lamps at the same time, to minimize the chance of damage to one or the other.  Looking at prototype photos, on the ends there are metal brackets where the lamp would be hung.  Hidden when the lamp is there, but very obvious on the opposite end.

 

 

So, out came some scrap etch...  I soldered 4 pieces together, and then filed to an oval shape, so all 4 would be consistently sized.  After separating them, I soldered some lengths of .020 brass wire to them.  Then I filed the "top" of the wire so it looks flat, with a slot between them.

 

>

 

Then I drilled a hole through and soldered a wire to the back to help attach to the sides.  The idea was that this would then make it look like the bottom is closed, a "U" shape.  Under magnification, they look a little ugly, but at normal viewing distances they'll look reasonably like the bracket.

 

 

On two of them, I left the wire extending about a 1/4". If I use the supplied white metal lamp castings, I'll drill a corresponding hole in the lamp to attach the lamps to the sides.  But I'm still considering buying lighted makers from Tomar Industries.  They make markers with 3V LED's installed for a reasonable price, and also provide a battery holder and slide switch.  If I do get the lighted ones, I'll need to remove the "attaching wire" and leave the hole for the electric wires.

 

Next piece of scratchbuilding was the end ladders.  I thought I had these done, by bending the white metal parts which came with the kit.  However, I taped them to a painting stick to paint them black, but when I removed them, they broke right at the bend.  Bending the white metal made them way too fragile, so they probably would have broken under normal handling anyways.

 

So, no choice but to make some ladders as well.  Once again, scrap etch, 4 layers soldered together.  The etch was oversize, so I wouldn't have to drill so close to the edge.  I then laid out 5 equally spaced holes, and drilled with my Foredom tool.  Then filed to final size, and separate them.  After cleaning up the excess solder, I had 4 matched ladder sides.

 

 

I made the bends at the top, trying to make them consistent.  I pinned those on my soldering mat, and soldered 3 of the rungs in.

 

 

Once this done, pull some of the pins and solder in the remaining two rungs.  Trim the wire, and clean up.  Compared to the casting, I think this looks much better.

 

 

I attached small pins to the bottom (like with the white metal ones) and then soldered the other part of the end railings, and test fitted.

 

 

Still to do:  trim the top and put the curved "roof railings" on each ladder.  Then paint and attach.  I've found a few prototype photos where all the end railing was yellow, and others where all are black except the outermost railing, which are yellow.  Thinking I'm going to go "all yellow" as 1) I have a photo showing its accurate and 2) it'll make them stand out more on the model.

 

The third step forward was a part I knew I needed to make.  Under the caboose is a rack to hold a rerailing frog.  Pretty obvious in prototype photos, and Walthers made a plastic HO model which included it.

 

 

There's nothing in the kit to do this, nor is it mentioned in the instructions.  A quick search found that Scale City Designs (formerly Keil Line) makes white metal rerailing frogs.  I ordered direct from them, and it arrived a few days later.

 

 

I then took yet more scrap etch and cobbled together a representative rack.  I soldered it while still flat, and then bent it to it was a snug fit on the frog.  Still need to trim to right height, and add pins at the top to attach to the floor.

 

 

The "punch list" is slowly getting shorter...

[Mike Boucher]

More progress...  First, one more part I didn't realize I needed..  Each end has a vertical brake wheel.  The shaft for that wheel goes through the end platform and a chain wraps around it.  That chain pulls on the brake rodding.  Underneath the platform, there's a bracket to support the shaft.  Once again, scrap etch to the rescue...

 

I also used .020 wire, to match the shaft above the platform.

 

The next thing was to make the brake wheel shaft, and solder it to the railing, which I've previously made.  This was pretty simple, just had to make sure I didn't melt the whitemetal brake wheel.

 

 

I drilled another hole in the platform for the shaft.

 

On the platform, at the bottom of the brake wheel shaft is a ratchet wheel, and there's a pawl on the platform.  This allows the brakes to be applied, and not loosen up.  There's no part included in the kit.  After an online search I found that Foothill Model Works sells a casting which includes a brake wheel and the ratchet/pawl for $1.50.  Shipping was a bit much, but if I ordered one of their kits, the shipping didn't change.  So now I have a 2nd On3 kit for a 26' log car.  (already had 1, now I have 2...)  Here's what the casting looks like, after painting the ratchet/pawl.

 

 

On the other side of the railing, there's a vertical pipe which attaches to the air brake line.  This is so the conductor can apply/release the air brakes.  There was also usually a small whistle on top, so the conductor could signal the engine before radios.  I needed to mock this up.  It far from perfect, but it gets the point across.  I noticed in the prototype photos there was a "jog" at the bottom, which I also replicated.

 

 

So I wouldn't get the parts for each end mixed up, I decided to paint and attach one end before constructing the opposite end.

 

 

If you notice, I've started attaching the sunshades, and also attached the aforementioned rerailing frog rack and marker mounts

 

Getting closer and closer, at least now I have visible progress...   Left to do is the other end railing, wrap chain around the brake shaft and attach it to the brake system, and put the smokejack on the roof.  Then paint touchup and decaling.

[Mike Boucher]

Stuck in the house this afternoon, 2nd blizzard hitting MA in 5 days.  Last one (Thursday) I got 10" of snow in about 12 hours.  Today, they're forecasting 12-18 by the time it ends tomorrow.  So, I built the 2nd set of end railings and worked on the smokejack.  Just put a coat of primer on those pieces.  I've also finished gluing on the sunshades.

 

 

Those guy wires on the smokejack look awfully close to me, but that's how close they are in the prototype photo on the instructions...

 

 

As you can see, the wires are basically touching the flare at the base.

 

Once the paint is on the these pieces have been glued on, the only thing left is the marker lamps.  I've decided I'm going to install battery operated lights, instead of the white metal ones provided by the kit.  Tomar Industries makes lamps with lenses. Evan Designs makes a kit with 2 LEDs, powered by a 2032 size watch battery.  After that, we're done

So, next up is either finish some of the N scale projects I've started (of which there are many) or start building the Connoisseur "Jinty".  I'll probably work on both in parallel.

[Mike Boucher]

As mentioned last update, I’ve decided to try to light the marker lamps.  I’ve gotten the battery operated lighting kit, but the marker lamps haven’t arrived yet.  But, here’s where I am…

The light kit I ordered from Evans Designs.  It takes a 3V “button” battery (2032 size, possibly the most common size), and has 2 “nano” sized chip LEDs.  http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/single-light-kit.html.  The lead from the battery holder to the switch is pretty short, so I took some wire and added a few inches to the length, so the battery holder can be fully outside the body of the caboose when I have to change a battery.

 

 

I then made a small bracket out of styrene scrap to fit around the switch.  The mounting holes are tapped 2-56.  The block is about 3/16” thick, so there’s plenty of thread.  I don’t expect to have to unscrew this (ever), so I’m not too worried about the thread stripping.  If it does, its trivial to make a new one.

 

 

Drilled holes in the floor of the caboose…

 

 

And the switch mounted.  The thickness of the floor means the switch is still recessed, so I’ll need a pen or small screwdriver to push the button.  No big deal there.

 

 

I’ve painted the 2^nd set of end railings and the smokejack, and those are now installed.   I've also added the plastic brake hoses, and the last piece in the brake system, the rod/chain from the brake shaft to the rest of the brake system (or, in this case, ending at the bolster where the “continuation” of the rod is already in place)

 

 

The brake hoses were added after that photo was taken...  So, all that’s left is the marker lights and construction will be competed

 

Next up:

 

 

note the price on the box, Jim’s starter “Nellie/Polly” kit is almost that much now.  I’ve had this kit in the “to do” pile for at least 15 years!  Finally made it to the top!

[Mike Boucher]

And, away we go on my first attempt at building a 7mm loco.  Required photos of contents of the box:

 

The etches.

 

 

Interesting to note the tarnishing on the body/footplate etches, but not on the chassis etch.  When I first bought the kit, I unwrapped the body/footplate etches to look at them, but never took the chassis etch out of the tissue paper it came wrapped in.  So only those etches which I opened tarnished.  Before construction, I gave the tarnished etches a scrub with a old toothbrush and "bar keepers friend".

Another thing that gave me a momentary scare was that huge, gaping, "T" shaped hole in one of the etches.  I was wondering where the piece that belonged there went.  Nothing loose in the box, and I was going crazy to figure out what I might have done with it.  Then I looked at the instructions, and realized that that etch is for the boiler shell.  Jim rolls that for you, so he removes it from the etch, rolls it, and includes it wrapped up separately (which I neglected to take a photo of).  Explains the "missing" part, but there were a few minutes of panic, thinking I lost something.

 

The castings/other components that came with the kit:

 

 

And components sources elsewhere.  People seem to either love or hate the plunger pickups.  Since Jim designed the kit to use them, I figure I'll give them a shot.  If I don't like them, it should be easy enough to remove and try traditional wire pickups.

 

 

As the instructions say, start with the footplate.  First step is to attach the valences.  I like taking photos of the "first piece" actually attached as a way to record "here's when I officially started work".  Here's the first valence attached to the footplate, after pushing out the rivets on both.

 

 

And then a little more work.  Here we're done with step 4.  Both valences attached, both buffer beams attached, small pieces under the cab opening, the chassis mounting nuts, and splasher sides folded up 90 degrees..  Cleaned up and scrubbed with a fiberglass brush.

 

 

Next step is work on the cab front and outer tank sides.  We'll see if I get time some night this week to tackle those.

[Mike Boucher]

Little more work on the Jinty...

 

The bunker is soldered together, but its not soldered on the footplate yet.  I also have to add the beading at the top.  The coal door handle needs to be added as well, but Jim says to solder that after the cab floor is in.

So, few things to ponder here:

1) Most of the other soldering has been from the "inside", where the solder isn't visible except where it flows through the joint.  (cab front windows and tank steps the exception, but those I tinned to solder in place...).  I think i'll be able to solder the front (i.e. inside the cab) from underneath, as there are locating tabs that I can use there.  But I'm not sure I can do the same with the locating tabs for the sides and rear, as the valences and rear buffer beam are almost overlapping.  Might have to solder from the "outside", so there's going to be a lot of cleanup.  

2) Wondering if it makes sense to fit and install the cab floor before I solder the bunker in place.  Seems to me that it would make more sense, as then I can fiddle with the fit of both parts, rather than worry about folding the cab floor so it fits "just right".

Anyone out there with experience on building this kit?  Anyone have thoughts here?

BTW - just for fun, I'm keeping track of how much time is being spent building the kit (to 1/2 hour increments).  So far, I'm at about 5 hours...

[MarkNJ]

Little more work on the Jinty...

 

Jinty 2 - tanks and bunker.jpg

The bunker is soldered together, but its not soldered on the footplate yet.  I also have to add the beading at the top.  The coal door handle needs to be added as well, but Jim says to solder that after the cab floor is in.

 

So, few things to ponder here:

1) Most of the other soldering has been from the "inside", where the solder isn't visible except where it flows through the joint.  (cab front windows and tank steps the exception, but those I tinned to solder in place...).  I think i'll be able to solder the front (i.e. inside the cab) from underneath, as there are locating tabs that I can use there.  But I'm not sure I can do the same with the locating tabs for the sides and rear, as the valences and rear buffer beam are almost overlapping.  Might have to solder from the "outside", so there's going to be a lot of cleanup.  

2) Wondering if it makes sense to fit and install the cab floor before I solder the bunker in place.  Seems to me that it would make more sense, as then I can fiddle with the fit of both parts, rather than worry about folding the cab floor so it fits "just right".

 

Anyone out there with experience on building this kit?  Anyone have thoughts here?

 

BTW - just for fun, I'm keeping track of how much time is being spent building the kit (to 1/2 hour increments).  So far, I'm at about 5 hours...

 

Hi Mike,

 

Nice work with all your models. I am at present building an O scale Jinty from an Agenoria kit. I had to put the cab floor in place before the cab front was fixed due to the shape of the cab sides and roof. From what I can see from the parts in your kit that should not be a problem.

 

Also I have noticed that the tank top details in your kit do not match any prototype that I have seen, i.e. the water fillers should be circular instead of oval even though they are shown oval on the GA in the Wild Swan profile book. All photographic evidence I can find shows them to be circular. Also the lifting rings are of an incorrect style, they should be welded or bolted tabs not actual rings. This shows on the GA and photos.

 

The biggest issue with both our kits is the bunker profile, they both have sharp bends instead of curves were the top flares out.

 

Cab interior photos are very rare on the net and that is were I am stuck at the moment. Drawn details conflict with the sparse photo evidence. I may have to wait until I make a trip to the UK to sort it out.

 

Anyhow I hope this is of some help. Keep up the great work.

 

Mark

[georgeT]

Hello Mark, l have a Jinty on my to do pile as well....

[Dan Randall]

Anyone out there with experience on building this kit?  Anyone have thoughts here?

Hi Mike

 

Adrian Cherry has built one of these in S7 and made a few mods along the way....

 

http://www.cherryclan.com/2015/08/detail-modifications/

 

(The rest of his stuff is well worth checking out too).

 

Hope that helps.

 

 

Regards

 

Dan

[Marshall5]

Mark, there are several images of Jinty cab interiors on the net - just Google "jinty cab images".   Remember that Jinties were manufactured by several different builders and so details varied considerably, for instance the Hunslet built ones didn't have the sandbox cut out in the tankside and did'nt have the same tank top water gauge.  Apart from 47383 which came straight from B.R. all the others have been restored from Barry condition so there are even more variations.  The one I was involved with restoring, 47298, had, for cost reasons, many Austerity and other parts on it when first restored.  As regards the tank fillers, they were certainly oval on that loco as I had the 'pleasure', being skinny, to use them to access the inside of the tanks. There were also round access plates on the tank tops.  As always, the advice is to find photos of your chosen loco taken in your modelling period.  Failing that preservation era photos of 47383 will be the next best.

Cheers,

Ray.

[MarkNJ]

Mark, there are several images of Jinty cab interiors on the net - just Google "jinty cab images".   Remember that Jinties were manufactured by several different builders and so details varied considerably, for instance the Hunslet built ones didn't have the sandbox cut out in the tankside and did'nt have the same tank top water gauge.  Apart from 47383 which came straight from B.R. all the others have been restored from Barry condition so there are even more variations.  The one I was involved with restoring, 47298, had, for cost reasons, many Austerity and other parts on it when first restored.  As regards the tank fillers, they were certainly oval on that loco as I had the 'pleasure', being skinny, to use them to access the inside of the tanks. There were also round access plates on the tank tops.  As always, the advice is to find photos of your chosen loco taken in your modelling period.  Failing that preservation era photos of 47383 will be the next best.

Cheers,

Ray.

Hi Ray,

 

Thanks for the Google lead. I had searched for "Jinty cab interior" and only got 2 relevant pics. Is there any information on which locos had round fillers and which had oval? I agree with you about using photos for accuracy, though getting a full set of the same loco is challenging when you live here in the Yukon. Can't just pop down to nearest preserved loco and snap away. The selection of photos in the Wild Swan book certainly shows the wide range of detail differences and changes over the years.

Best wishes

Mark

[Marshall5]

Hi Mark,

I can see where you're coming from, there can't be many 0 scalers in the Yukon and even less who model British prototypes. I've actually been to the Yukon flying into Whitehorse on my way to the WP&YR - spectacular scenery IIRC.. I live on a rock in the Irish sea and there is only one other 0 scale modeller here so getting to check on an actual loco involves a flight or ferry trip.

Getting back to your Jinty kit.  If the illustration in the Agenoria catalogue I have is anything to go by it isn't one of the early batches from Vulcan or Hunslet - no cut out in the side tank for the sandbox filler.  Is there anything in the instructions?

Cheers,

Ray.

[MarkNJ]

Hi Mark,

I can see where you're coming from, there can't be many 0 scalers in the Yukon and even less who model British prototypes. I've actually been to the Yukon flying into Whitehorse on my way to the WP&YR - spectacular scenery IIRC.. I live on a rock in the Irish sea and there is only one other 0 scale modeller here so getting to check on an actual loco involves a flight or ferry trip.

Getting back to your Jinty kit.  If the illustration in the Agenoria catalogue I have is anything to go by it isn't one of the early batches from Vulcan or Hunslet - no cut out in the side tank for the sandbox filler.  Is there anything in the instructions?

Cheers,

Ray.

 

Hi Ray,

 

The instructions are somewhat typical "Backhead (70) plus all the castings and pipes can be fitted." There is also a very simplified drawing. Not an issue if you have pictures of the real thing. The cut out in the tank sides can filled in with scrap etch and solder if the earlier style is wanted. I am enjoying this kit in general, I have fitted working inside motion and am correcting various inaccuracies as I spot them.

 

The WP&YR is a great trip. Last Canada Day I took the trip behind their steam loco #78, which gave it a whole new dimension.

 

Apologies to Mike for this hi-jack of his thread.

 

All the best

Mark

[Mike Boucher]

 

Cab interior photos are very rare on the net and that is were I am stuck at the moment. Drawn details conflict with the sparse photo evidence. I may have to wait until I make a trip to the UK to sort it out.

 

Anyhow I hope this is of some help. Keep up the great work.

 

Mark

 

Hi Mark,

 

Have you found this one?

 

[Mike Boucher]

Hi folks,

 

A little more work done over the past week or so...

 

First, I was looking at those side tanks thinking "wow, those would be a great place to hide some weight".  So I did some digging (and asking questions in other online resources) about how much this engine should weigh when finished.

I started by looking at my Dapol terrier, which pulls 8 of my cars on flat track, but only 5 on a 1% grade.  That weighs 450 grams.  Simple extrapolation (which may be wrong) suggests that to pull twice as many cars, I need to have twice as much weight. Looking into the guild manual, I found that part 3, section 1.2.1, states that an "average" tank engine would weigh 1500 grams, and the "average" 2 wheel van should weigh 200 grams empty, and 300 grams loaded. (my cars are about 150 grams).  I also found part 3, section 1.7, estimates that to pull an average 40 car train, the loco would need to weigh 2.5 kg.  That seems a bit heavy.

 

But, if the "average" weighs 1500, and my Terrier weighs just under 500, then seems like 1 kg is a reasonable weight to shoot for.  This corresponded with what others suggested.

 

I put a pile of stuff on the scale. The Jinty, as it sits now, the etches, the bags of castings, the motor, and the 3 packs of Slaters wheelsets. I figure this is a reasonable estimate as to what the finished loco would weigh. That came out at about 700 gm.  OK, Looks like I need to add 300 grams

 

I found that I could put 5 pieces of 1/16" thick lead roof flashing, each piece 2" x 1", into each tank and not interfere with the slots in the footplate to clear the tops of the drivers . I could also put 3 pieces of 1" x 1" flashing under the cab floor, once again avoiding the corresponding slots. That much lead weighs about 175 grams. I was tempted to put some lead in the rear coal bunker, but as that's "outside" the wheelbase, I was afraid it would throw the balance of the loco off. (realizing that the cab floor is directly above the rear set of drivers, that's as far towards the rear as I wanted to go.)  I cut the pieces, and used 5 minute epoxy to glue them in place.

 

 

I might have "leaped" before I was done looking, since after doing this, a few people (including the Bob Alderman, former CTO of the guild) have suggested that I shouldn't have put that much weight in.  His weighs 610 grams and pulls fine, but he also says he added weight to the tanks.  Right now, I'm estimating mine will be in the 850-900 gram range.  So, I'll have to see where this gets me when its all done.  I figure that other people use the same motor for heavier locos, so I don't think I've made a horrible mistake...  When it gets to the point that I have a running chassis, we'll see how much it pulls, if it slips, etc, and re-evaluate if I have to add more or if I'm satisfied with its pulling power. 

 

So, with weight added, I then attached the rear bunker and cab floor to the footplate

 

 

Next was the inner side tank wals.  I followed Jim's directions, folded up the tabs which support the boiler and firebox, added the gland around the balancing pipe, and folded it up.  When I test fit it, I found that the tank top had significant gaps at the front and against the cab front.

 

 

I don't have good luck flooding gaps with solder to fill them, and that's a pretty significant gap.  I took some scrap etch, and soldered onto each end, filing away the excess.  This did a pretty good job of filling the gaps

 

 

Here's how she sits now.  The inner tank sides are just put in place, they're not permanently attached,  Neither is the balancing pipe.

 

 

Note that the balancing pipe is a piece of 1/8" brass rod.  (strangely enough, Jim didn't include this in the kit.  Not an issue, as I had some, but I was suprised he didn't include it)  I am concerned about the heat required to get solder to flow onto such a large piece...

 

Now for the question:  According to this web site: http://www.cherryclan.com/2015/08/detail-modifications/ the boiler/firebox sits a little low.  He shimmed it up .028.  I'm pondering if I should do that as well.  I realize that that means the smokebox will need shimming as well...  If I do the shimming, I was to do it before attaching the inner tank side in place, as it should be easier. 

[PAD]

On the link you mention it says "As built the boiler/firebox height seemed a little low".

 

Before going down that path I would consider what evidence that is based on. Do you have a drawing to check it?

Cheers,

Peter