RMweb Gold Popular Post queensquare Posted December 22, 2020 RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted December 22, 2020 1 hour ago, Barry Ten said: The DJH 7F I showed a week or two back has now been numbered, weathered, lamped and crewed: I don't think it sits too badly next to the Bachmann one: Incidentally the DJH has a live chassis but it's been converted to DCC without any difficulty, just making sure the chip, wiring and motor contacts are nicely insulated. Al Lovely Al, my favourite class of loco. I currently hàve just over a third of the class on my bench in 3mm scale. Jerry 19 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Popular Post 31A Posted December 22, 2020 RMweb Premium Popular Post Share Posted December 22, 2020 Talking of Ivatt 4MT Moguls and Peterborough, here is my late father's picture of one at Tempsford, between St. Neots and Sandy. Apologies for the quality of the picture, we didn't have a very good camera in this days! I don't know the date but it was the last steam loco in normal service that I saw on the ECML, after steam had officially been banned south of Peterborough. As you can see, it was running tender first on the Down Fast with a train of mineral wagons! Although they are not Engineer's Department wagons, I can't help thinking it was something to do with engineering work as I believe this picture of a Deltic on an express on the Down Slow was taken on the same visit. As an aside, the pictures show how the separate sets of level crossing gates worked, with only the outer ones being operated for a train on the slow line. 17 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Barry Ten Posted December 22, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 22, 2020 44 minutes ago, queensquare said: Lovely Al, my favourite class of loco. I currently hàve just over a third of the class on my bench in 3mm scale. Jerry Thanks, Jerry. I bet those 3mm ones will be lovely. I think I saw a 2mm 7F of yours at the Cardiff show a year or two back? Al 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrg1 Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 The M&GNR Ivatt class 4s were cascaded to Lincolnshire when the line shut down, enabling the withdrawal of the Gresley K2s. They were an everyday sight, with the remaining engines transferred away on the closure of Lincoln and Boston sheds. 1 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold queensquare Posted December 23, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 23, 2020 9 hours ago, Barry Ten said: Thanks, Jerry. I bet those 3mm ones will be lovely. I think I saw a 2mm 7F of yours at the Cardiff show a year or two back? Al You did Al - I currently have three. One I built, one by the late Denys Brownlee and a third by John Greenwood. I have all the bits to build a couple more using chassis etches done by Nigel Hunt when I get time - sometime in 2021 I hope. Merry Christmas one and all. Jerry NSLR No 3, Holly, at Tucking Mill in sunnier times. 18 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechnut Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 13 hours ago, Tony Wright said: So do I Brendan, I think between us we've made a decent enough, workaday loco. Let's look at the story again. According to the stickers on the box, you bought it at the Derby Exhibition on the 23rd of April 1994 for £49.99 (quite a price then). Did it include wheels and motor? I assume you built it not long after, and for over two decades it's been in the same box, incomplete. This was before the advent of the Bachmann equivalent or the PDK kit. At the time, for an Ivatt 4MT it was either Millholme or scratch-build. Then, in a moment of splendid altruism, you sent it to me, asking me to get what I could for it for CRUK. I finished it (though 99% is your work), painted and weathered it and it's now destined for Retford. I won't mention the amount I sent to the charity, but it's considerably more (as it should be) than £49.99! So, the finished loco is a product of its origins (Roy Jackson's description of Millholme kits would make Roger Mellie blush!). The 'critical' observations made are, no doubt, true (this is Wright writes after all), but, please, let's have a heart. It is a 'success' story. You're happy that it's been completed, I'm happy to have been able to do it, CRUK is happy with a donation and Sandra's happy for it (eventually) to be on Retford. It has no brakes, the cab roof and tender don't quite match in height, but, in a way, so what? I say, well done to you. And, many thanks again................. Regards, Tony. It would have been built in 1996, we moved house December ‘95 and I remember working on it at the new address. The mention of the Falcon Brass kit of the same loco is interesting as they had a trade stand at the very same show. I’d already purchased the Millholme kit from the Sherwood Models stand and then saw a made up 4MT on the Falcon stand. At that point I regretted buying the Millholme until I was told the Falcon display kits had been built by a very experienced pro builder and I wouldn’t be able to build to the same standard, I have some charming friends! As to the tender height, yes it does look low and that’s possibly my fault. Are the tender frames the supplied items or are they home made? The tender pickups were fitted due to problems with the plungers (too much friction), the plan probably being to remove them. Of course I didn’t want to disturb the Sharman wheels so back in it’s box it went. The rest of course is history. As to awful or poor kits, I think every kit I’ve ever built I’ve looked on as a series of problems to be overcome and I’ve yet to build the perfect kit. I still like white metal as a medium for kits, no it’s not got the fine edges like brass or n/s, there’s just something about it. Maybe it reminds me of the die cast locos and cars of the fifties and sixties and I’m stuck in some sort of time warp. Cheers Brendan 5 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Wright Posted December 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 23, 2020 2 hours ago, Beechnut said: It would have been built in 1996, we moved house December ‘95 and I remember working on it at the new address. The mention of the Falcon Brass kit of the same loco is interesting as they had a trade stand at the very same show. I’d already purchased the Millholme kit from the Sherwood Models stand and then saw a made up 4MT on the Falcon stand. At that point I regretted buying the Millholme until I was told the Falcon display kits had been built by a very experienced pro builder and I wouldn’t be able to build to the same standard, I have some charming friends! As to the tender height, yes it does look low and that’s possibly my fault. Are the tender frames the supplied items or are they home made? The tender pickups were fitted due to problems with the plungers (too much friction), the plan probably being to remove them. Of course I didn’t want to disturb the Sharman wheels so back in it’s box it went. The rest of course is history. As to awful or poor kits, I think every kit I’ve ever built I’ve looked on as a series of problems to be overcome and I’ve yet to build the perfect kit. I still like white metal as a medium for kits, no it’s not got the fine edges like brass or n/s, there’s just something about it. Maybe it reminds me of the die cast locos and cars of the fifties and sixties and I’m stuck in some sort of time warp. Cheers Brendan Good morning Brendan, I haven't altered the tender's height at all. The pick-ups you installed are fine, and work very well. The plunger pick-ups on the loco seem to work some of the time, but, with the tender pick-ups there's no stuttering. All I altered was the drawbar arrangement. The original connection seemed too 'intimate'. Other than that, it's basically all your work. Good work, as well. Regards, Tony. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John Isherwood Posted December 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 23, 2020 18 hours ago, Beechnut said: It’s getting worse but then that’s forums. I like it despite its faults. Brendan Brendan, In no way was my post meant to be critical - I was merely trying to analyse why the two cab rooves did not line up. Quite often, when one of my models doesn't look 'quite right', I will leave it on the test track where I look at it whenever I'm at my workbench. That way, I will eventually decide what the problem is - or come to the conclusion that it is fine as it is. John Isherwood. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Wright Posted December 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 23, 2020 This might be of interest, or of particular use if you can't sleep! It was shot about 11 years ago, and I'd quite forgotten about it (an Australian friend has just reminded me). What it does prove is the incredible amount of progress made on LB during the last decade plus........................ 13 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Iain.d Posted December 23, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 23, 2020 15 hours ago, queensquare said: ...my favourite class of loco.. Jerry Mine too! If we're showing S&D 7Fs, I have these six to build and the damaged one to repair. They’re all eBay purchases and I don’t think I overpaid for any of them. The damaged one has a Portescap and gearbox in it. I have also built a DJH 7F, my first ever loco build, and a Bachmann one packed away; so 9 of the 11. I’m keeping my eye out for a large boilered version. All being well I’ll begin building these next year. Kind regards, Iain 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long John Silver Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 17 hours ago, St Enodoc said: Look forward to seeing that - I've had one waiting to be built for over 20 years (so far). If Tony doesn't mind a bit of GWR interloping I'll post updates as it progresses. I might actually get on with it then. I have one I built back in 1990 from the NuCast reissue of the old Cotswold kit. It runs well but has never to my mind quite captured the low look of the small wheeled panniers. Not the fault of the kit , more my inexperience, but the body sits a little high and there is something wrong around the cab area to my eyes. Hopefully I'll make a better job of this one. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PMP Posted December 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 23, 2020 2 hours ago, cctransuk said: (snip) Quite often, when one of my models doesn't look 'quite right', I will leave it on the test track where I look at it whenever I'm at my workbench. (snip) John Isherwood. I use digital images in much the same way, both for layouts and ‘stock’. Having the image to hand on the moby makes the process easier and sometimes faster too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Coach bogie Posted December 23, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 23, 2020 Just finished and delivered these. Every year a friend's wife ask me to make something for Santa to give her husband. This year I took a new approach. He had several boxes of half complete projects. Rather than start something new I took home some of the coach shells and finished them off. Mike Wiltshire 23 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Popular Post t-b-g Posted December 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Popular Post Share Posted December 23, 2020 Inspired by Jerry, I have been playing with the tablet and come up with this! Best wishes and good modelling to everyone, no matter how you follow this great hobby of ours. 36 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
drmditch Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 Re: The Summer of 76 and the Flying Scotsman and the Soup. I got away from the factory early one Friday, and arrived at Newcastle Central in time to catch the (delayed) southbound Flying Scotsman service. There was room in the Dining Car, so I sat down for lunch. The train, I think it was hauled by a 47, was accelerating past Low Fell, when the brakes started to come on. This was just as the staff had started serving soup, and one very sensible attendant went down the aisle shouting 'Stand clear of your soup' (or words to that effect.). With the train juddering to an emergency stop anybody sat facing the direction of travel was likely to get their soup in their lap, and this did indeed happen to several people. There was a general mopping up, and the train managed to set off again. Apparently the problem was on the locomotive and was the reason why the service was delayed in the first instance. However, once the train was again travelling at speed and the soup being served, the same thing happened again. Again the message was passed 'Stand clear of your soup' and again one person was late to react and received a lapful of soup. I think he got a round of applause. I can't really remember what happened after that. I think we stopped for some time at Darlington where presumably the locomotive was changed. Now, I do like facing the direction of travel, but I had opted for the prawn cocktail (it was the 70s after all). Only once since then have i eaten soup on a train, and that was on the NYMR Dining Train a few years ago. I did enquire carefully about the health of the braking system before we set of! 3 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
landscapes Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 4 hours ago, Tony Wright said: This might be of interest, or of particular use if you can't sleep! It was shot about 11 years ago, and I'd quite forgotten about it (an Australian friend has just reminded me). What it does prove is the incredible amount of progress made on LB during the last decade plus........................ Hi Tony I still have my DVD copy and look at it from time to time, very inspirational. Thank you for producing it I did not realise it was produced 11 years ago, surely Tony it's about time for Part 2. Regards David 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Wright Posted December 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 23, 2020 I have succumbed to 'pressure' The Ivatt 4MT now has brakes! They're moulded plastic ones (approximations). One other thing I've not long noticed is the AWS battery box. Yet, the loco has no bang plate behind the coupling, no conduit on this side and it's still got frame-mounted guard irons. It's going back in its box! 14 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium t-b-g Posted December 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 23, 2020 2 hours ago, Tony Wright said: I have succumbed to 'pressure' The Ivatt 4MT now has brakes! They're moulded plastic ones (approximations). One other thing I've not long noticed is the AWS battery box. Yet, the loco has no bang plate behind the coupling, no conduit on this side and it's still got frame-mounted guard irons. It's going back in its box! That looks suitably "busy" underneath now! The balance weights will also make a huge difference when they are fitted. Going back to the tender, it may be an optical illusion but it does look to me as if it is a bit lower at the front than it is at the back. I am wondering if the cab roof heights could be improved without messing up the buffer height by slightly lifting just the front end? If I put a plastic rule along the footplate on my big computer screen, it does appear that the tender slopes but I accept that camera angles and lenses can create illusions like that. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 Tony this kind ribbing you have received has pushed you to improve your modelling and this model. I bet the next time you think " I'll just leave these off no one will say any thing.... oh the last time ummm... alright I'll finish it off properly " Merry Christmas to you and Mo, along with the rest of the readers and contributors. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Wright Posted December 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 23, 2020 1 minute ago, t-b-g said: That looks suitably "busy" underneath now! The balance weights will also make a huge difference when they are fitted. Going back to the tender, it may be an optical illusion but it does look to me as if it is a bit lower at the front than it is at the back. I am wondering if the cab roof heights could be improved without messing up the buffer height by slightly lifting just the front end? If I put a plastic rule along the footplate on my big computer screen, it does appear that the tender slopes but I accept that camera angles and lenses can create illusions like that. Thanks Tony, I think part of the illusion is that the tender is at a different angle to the loco. I should have made them both parallel. Regards, Tony. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post Tony Wright Posted December 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted December 23, 2020 3 hours ago, landscapes said: Hi Tony I still have my DVD copy and look at it from time to time, very inspirational. Thank you for producing it I did not realise it was produced 11 years ago, surely Tony it's about time for Part 2. Regards David Good evening David, Many thanks for your comments. Who was it who said 'If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans'? Well, it's certainly true here. 2011 was to have been a year when the next BRM LB DVD was made, with corresponding articles in the magazine. It was all planned. Then, the dreaded 'black dog' struck me again, and I had to retire from my post as assistant editor/photographer of BRM (I was 65, anyway). Two years in 'the doldrums' followed, where nothing was done on the layout. Anyway, nature abhors a vacuum, and things move on. Of course there have been further (unofficial) LB moving presentations (Tom Foster is editing another at the moment), but perhaps the second 'official' one might be made next year. Who knows? I assume there'd be sufficient interest.............. Regards, Tony 18 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Popular Post Nick Mitchell Posted December 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Popular Post Share Posted December 23, 2020 Good evening, I hope you don't mind me posting something a little off-piste here. I know the frequenters of this thread like seeing things that people have been making, so I thought I'd share a few pictures of a 2mm finescale locomotive I started during the first lockdown, and have just completed (apart from painting) - which is good going for me. The loco in question is a little industrial Hunslet 16" 0-6-0 saddletank. It is going to be a "modern image" model of "Beatrice" as preserved in working order at Embsay railway where I volunteer as a fireman (hence the anomalies such as the steam heat pipes). The basis of the model is a set of etches from Judith Edge, photographically reduced from their 4mm scale kit. Quite a few adaptations have been necessary to make the chassis work as a split-frame 2mm version. This has included extending the main frames to build an integral gearbox, and making the bottom half of the boiler part of the chassis. There were no castings with the 2mm version of the kit, so the chimney, dome, safety valves, whistle, smokebox door and tank and sandbox filler lids are all my own turnings. The buffers have been adapted from some commercially available turned brass offerings. I also needed to scratch-build a some of the other details, like the representation of the weigh-shaft and balance weight, plus the tops of the slide-bars and piston rods / trunk guides between the frames, and also the back-head detail. Parts of the chassis had to be painted at the construction stage so that I could line the frames(!!) before fitting the wheels. The top half of the model will be heading into the paint shop next week. Some general shots: The motor is a Chinese 7mm coreless affair, similar to the ones Graham Farish currently use in their N Gauge locos. Gears and wheels are from the 2mm Scale Association. Most of the mechanism is hidden, though the gears protrude slightly into the bottom of the cab. A tiny CTElektronik DCC decoder (I'll wash my mouth out later, Tony!) fits into the top of the tank, and I even managed to squeeze in a couple of 330uF stay alive capacitors. These stick up into the bunker. This sort of electrickery really helps with the reliability of virtually weightless 2mm tank engines. In this next shot you can see where I've had to cut a slot in the firebox to accommodate the end of the worm. A well-placed driver and fireman should disguise it. You can also see that I have lost the guard iron from the back of the frame. This will be replaced before I do the final bits of painting on the chassis. I also need to add sand boxes and delivery pipes, but these will be painted off the model and glued on. I toyed with the idea of using human hair for the whistle cord, but mine isn't long enough. In the end I used 0.15mm phosphor bronze. I think it looks about right, and it certainly solders more easily than hair... Finally, the obligatory coin of the realm, to prove how really tiny this model is. Happy Christmas one and all! Nick. 23 54 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Wright Posted December 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 23, 2020 7 minutes ago, Nick Mitchell said: Good evening, I hope you don't mind me posting something a little off-piste here. I know the frequenters of this thread like seeing things that people have been making, so I thought I'd share a few pictures of a 2mm finescale locomotive I started during the first lockdown, and have just completed (apart from painting) - which is good going for me. The loco in question is a little industrial Hunslet 16" 0-6-0 saddletank. It is going to be a "modern image" model of "Beatrice" as preserved in working order at Embsay railway where I volunteer as a fireman (hence the anomalies such as the steam heat pipes). The basis of the model is a set of etches from Judith Edge, photographically reduced from their 4mm scale kit. Quite a few adaptations have been necessary to make the chassis work as a split-frame 2mm version. This has included extending the main frames to build an integral gearbox, and making the bottom half of the boiler part of the chassis. There were no castings with the 2mm version of the kit, so the chimney, dome, safety valves, whistle, smokebox door and tank and sandbox filler lids are all my own turnings. The buffers have been adapted from some commercially available turned brass offerings. I also needed to scratch-build a some of the other details, like the representation of the weigh-shaft and balance weight, plus the tops of the slide-bars and piston rods / trunk guides between the frames, and also the back-head detail. Parts of the chassis had to be painted at the construction stage so that I could line the frames(!!) before fitting the wheels. The top half of the model will be heading into the paint shop next week. Some general shots: The motor is a Chinese 7mm coreless affair, similar to the ones Graham Farish currently use in their N Gauge locos. Gears and wheels are from the 2mm Scale Association. Most of the mechanism is hidden, though the gears protrude slightly into the bottom of the cab. A tiny CTElektronik DCC decoder (I'll wash my mouth out later, Tony!) fits into the top of the tank, and I even managed to squeeze in a couple of 330uF stay alive capacitors. These stick up into the bunker. This sort of electrickery really helps with the reliability of virtually weightless 2mm tank engines. In this next shot you can see where I've had to cut a slot in the firebox to accommodate the end of the worm. A well-placed driver and fireman should disguise it. You can also see that I have lost the guard iron from the back of the frame. This will be replaced before I do the final bits of painting on the chassis. I also need to add sand boxes and delivery pipes, but these will be painted off the model and glued on. I toyed with the idea of using human hair for the whistle cord, but mine isn't long enough. In the end I used 0.15mm phosphor bronze. I think it looks about right, and it certainly solders more easily than hair... Finally, the obligatory coin of the realm, to prove how really tiny this model is. Happy Christmas one and all! Nick. It's wonderful to have your work grace these pages, Nick. Thanks for showing us. Regards, Tony. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted December 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 23, 2020 6 hours ago, Long John Silver said: NuCast reissue of the old Cotswold kit That's the one I have too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post davidw Posted December 23, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted December 23, 2020 (edited) I've not "churned out" anywhere near the amount that others have. What I have done is sort out the glazing on my Elizabethan. And also reskinned five or so other Thompson's (brass overlays/Retooled donors). I tackled them because I had loads of etched sides. But I also had a couple of 63ft underframes. So over the past couple of weeks I built this. Excuse the poor quality picture. It's my first full comet kit -minus the bogies. Roof is MJT. Couplings will be replaced with hunts. Not as "exciting" as some work on display here. I'm quite pleased with it. And it beats waiting for Bachmann to produce maroon versions! I'll be tackling an open third and another corridor 3rd in the new year. I'll also complete a Marc's models triplet RTS. Thanks to all for the inspirational modeling. Have a great Christmas all. Stay safe. David Edited December 23, 2020 by davidw 26 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now