Adam

You had better believe it! Lousy pictures though, not enough light... Adam

And, for Arthur's benefit, since he very kindly provided some suitable transfers, the current state of play. I couldn't persuade the Pressfix transfers round the tightest corner but I think the effort at touching in has done the job reasonably tidily. These daft Scottish builders and their swanky paintjobs... Adam

Yes, but a different designer/pattern originator (who has since sold the range to whoever it was that designed this kit). It's a lovely model though. Adam

And, taking a closer look at the cylinders, the bits of the casting (on the real thing) that space the cylinders clear of the frames is also well out. and too deep as well. Adam

Ah, so the frames appear to be much deeper than they should be? At least at the front end... Adam

Apologies if I've missed this earlier in the thread, but what the blazes are those cylinder covers doing between the frames? Did someone think they were making a Castle? Or, given the difference in apparent size, some sort of compound? They must be massively too big for valve heads. Aside from that, even a cursory look at online pictures suggests that the front spacers are shallower in depth than the cylinders and, er... have holes in. Talking of holes, presumably the one in the buffer beam is meant for the vac' pipe? This was only clipped to the buffer beam; the pipe itself came up from under the loco. https://www.flickr.com/photos/93456400@N04/14384289833 https://www.flickr.com/photos/96859208@N07/9550295416 Adam

One little job that I've been meaning to do for a while is to do something about the 'see-through' nature of etched diesels. This used to be a standard feature of etched diesel models (and quite a few steam ones) and was most spectacularly evident on things like 7mm scale EE Type 3s/class 37s. I have seen more that several models where looking over the roof fan or at the side grills where one was rewarded with a nice view of the drive system or the track. Such things happened in 4mm as well but bigger models offer more visible problems. On the NBL this is simple enough: behind that big grill at the front there should be a radiator rather than the back end of a Mashima with a flywheel hanging from it. I could just have plonked a lump of plastic sheet in there but well, how hard can a dummy radiator be? A few scraps of 40 thou' with a 15 thou' overlay and here we are. I made no effort whatsoever to seek out a shot of a real NBL radiator. The 'detail' is pure speculation. There's a baseplate with a hole that locates over the fixing nut and in time it will be painted and epoxied in place. Job mostly done. Adam

And a bit more paint, nothing hugely exciting. The red looks quite loud here and should really be edged in black with a white line between since that's how NB painted the things (Barclay did something similar). Has anyone got a couple of spare lengths of LNER white/black/white lining? The red, btw, is three thin coats of Humbrol matt scarlet, #60 over white. Over pink, i.e., doing it properly, I could probably have got away with only two. Couplings and bufferheads done. Once the chassis works properly (the wheels are quartered, but needs testing under power which I can't do here; next time I'm in Somerset in a few weeks), I can go on and finish it. Adam

Not to worry Arthur: the green is Humbrol 30, treated with several coats of Klear. I had quite a clear idea of the sort of green I was after, goodness knows why, and had this in hand from the mix I used on my Sentinel (1 part of this to 1 of grass green if you're interested: matched to some colour pictures of green steam Sentinels). As for choosing the NB - I wanted something boxy and 'ordinary' that wasn't a Ruston or a Hunslet. Adam

Carry on drifting - it's all of interest. Too much paid work to get on with modelling for the rest of this week anyhow! Adam

Carry on drifting - it's all of interest. Too much paid work to get on with modelling for the rest of this week anyhow! Adam

Well it's gone green. I wonder if it's mouldy? As you can see, there's a reasonable amount of detail painting under way; the off white undercoat is for red (probably) buffer beams. The next job I suppose is to make it run. Adam

I think the differences you see in the cylinders are because the 76xxx shows its LMS heritage rather more clearly than most of the larger standards. If you compare the chassis of the loco at the Mid-Hants with 43106 (the preserved Ivatt 4) then the similarities are striking. I like the Branchlines slidebars and crossheads very much; nice and chunky. Adam

Thanks Robin! Well, that's what I'm after, and what I copied: I know the smaller levers you mean but dismissed them as a bit too small as the cab windows really aren't big enough to make it worth going any further. This is 4mm after all and there will be a driver in the way too, of course. The other cupboard is in hand, though it seems not to have been a universal fitting - see the prototype shots of the 225hp version on the previous page (the 225 above does have one, of course...): http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/86099-building-a-north-britishman-330hp-0-4-0dh-now-with-added-prototype-pics/?p=1471501 And the larger 0-6-0 here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/62973-ncb-north-british-shunter/?p=855496 Adam

A little step forward. Paint! The purpose of the small cupboard underneath what seems to have been a cab heater is something I am not sure about. Still, since the tiny thing will be visible through the open door I had to give it a go. The console comes alive with a bit of paint. You also now know what the body colour will be... Adam

I've learnt the hard way, unfortunately and have a Kirk Maunsell in a box awaiting the consequent repair! These days I try to ensure that any plastic/metal join is mechanically fixed, preferably in a different plane, as well as glued. I'd rather do something new once than renew existing work. I look forward to seeing how this one develops. Adam

Coo, that's bright. Balance weights? I still think your should go for red wheels... Adam

Fixings of this sort always seem a bit of a lottery, especially on this particular type, it's hard to see where else the fixing screw could actually go. I would have dones much the same, but instead of trapping the nut in this way with plastic, I would probably have fixed a piece of brass in there pinned and epoxied into the smokebox. I have had similar plastic fixings fail through either the nut coming loose or the plastic coming apart. Adam PS - I will always fit a flywheel if I can find - or make - space but to date, the best running chassis I've built, for an Ex-LSW O2, is lacking one. I am suitably baffled...

ZG - so far as I am aware, it was only lot 3117 that had the springs inside the solebars and my model is, indeed, meant to be one of those. The 'boxes came in c. 1964 with the new 'boxed' lettering style and seem to have been applied in a haphazard fashion over the top of the stripes which were sometimes painted out, sometimes not. The position of the stripes seems to have varied even within the same lot. Here are a few from 3117 from Paul Bartlett's galleries just to demonstrate that point: http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brshocvanvsv/h659ebfe#h659ebfe Centre stripe just to the right of the door catch. http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brshocvanvsv/h659ebfe#hb858873 Centre stripe under the door catch. http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brshocvanvsv/h659ebfe#h1548b1a6 Centre stripe where I painted mine (markedly off centre though this appears to have been a repaint; the original stripe was under the catch) http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brshocvanvsv/h659ebfe#h1548b1a6 I may yet weather and over-paint the stripes with boxes, I haven't decided. To be honest, Mike, it's the raggedness of the stripes that are already there that annoys me as much as their positioning. Some metal metal brake levers would be handy as well. Adam

Well I would give it a go, but I'm a bit of an obsessive. Of course, in this particular instance it's all visible from the inside. Adam

Here's the new one. The stripes on the first one, it seems, aren't quite right; though there were plenty of variations, none seem to have been quite like this! That will need to be recalled for a minor refit. Oh, and I've missed painting a chalkboard... Adam PS - the main body colour, in this case, is Humbrol matt 100 rather than my usual Halfords red oxide primer. The colour variation is nice, but it's taken three coats to get sufficient coverage.

I was just going through some pictures and unearthed this, a model that I had completely forgotten about. This is my first attempt at a Red Panda Shocvan with the original chassis with a few added bits of wire. I don't suppose that there is too much to choose between them for the casual observer, but if it were anything like my other efforts at upgrading plastic brakegear there probably isn't a huge difference in construction time. Adam

I've just read post 1 and would like to revise my opinion, but I'm not sure the bad language filter would let me... Adam

A note of caution here: most of the industrial and Welsh constituent types were designed by the previous owner of Agenoria, Pete Stamper. These have a well-deserved reputation as being good kits correctly detailed and proportioned. The 4mm versions are marketed by Roger Slade/CSP models and are fine, I think. I've seen quite a few built around the place and they all look like miniature versions of the real thing. Kits AM41 - or thereabouts - onwards seem to have been designed by someone else, whether Mike Williams or a third party, I wouldn't like to say, and appear to be, erm, different. The 08, for example looks a decidedly funny shape, especially around the cab... I have been following the build - sporadically - with a mixture of admiration, for Chris's persistence, and concern for how this actually got to market. It's a poor kit. Adam

Here, in fact: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/69583-post-war-type-100hp-sentinel/ The less said about the chassis, cab and particularly the grills etched thereon, the better. The resin element and metal castings seem ok though! Adam