Steadfast

So here we go, unusually for me I can call a project finished!

66170 has had some additional weathering work, air pipes and mirrors fitted. The air pipes are staples, with some 0.2mm wire wrapped round and soldered on. As well as representing the isolating cocks, they act as a stopper when fitting the air pipe to the model. The mirrors are from the TPM detailing set.

I must say I'm happy with how this one has come out, and it's nice to finally finish it off!

Another long term project has been a Colas 47. In it's time this shell has been 47404 'Hadrian', went part way to becoming 47501 'Craftsman' before eventually settling on 47739. The first stage was to strip  the BR blue paint from the shell, using Superstrip. Once done, the boiler exhaust was filled and holes drilled for the DRS multiple working socket and high intensity headlight fitted. The location of this can be seen in this photo of ex-DRS 47237, next to the headlight.

 

So, with my previous hacking filled and the decision I didn't need a DRS Duff progress began with the Colas specific modifications. When the locos were overhauled they had the bodyside steps filled in and were fitted with green circle multiple sockets on the nose. Treadplate was added over the lower door areas, but this will be added after painting. All the handrails were scraped off the ends, replaced with 0.2mm wire, secured using Railmatch enamel varnish. The lamp iron is 0.3mm wire, bent to an L shape and soldered to the horizontal handrail.

Please ignore any saggy buffers, it's due to the fact the bufferbeams are only masking taped in place at the moment. The bufferbeams are TPM etches, soldered up with TPM etched couplings and an air control pipe for the multiple working from 0.2mm wire. The reservoir air pipes and ETH fittings are Farish parts superglued on, the train brake pipe will be made up from a staple to allow magnetic coupling. All I plan the 47 to haul is a tamper at present, but that's for another day.

The chassis is from 47612 'Titan', as it saves lowering the chassis from the first run of models, giving me a quick result here, and it's also easier to add the long range tanks to the battery boxes on this chassis than to cut away those on the 'as built' chassis, primarily due to the fact that on these later chassis the metal lumps inside the tanks are smaller to allow more daylight to show around the battery boxes. Cutting the excess metal away when I did 47635 took absolutely ages...

So, here's a couple of comparisons showing the starting point alongside where I am this evening with 47739.

For anyone not familiar with the underframe of class 47s, this shows the long range tanks fitted, showing what I need to add when compared to photos of the model.

 

Shortly after I dug this model back out to resume work on it, I heard the news that Robin Gould, the former S&D driver whose name is carried on 47739, had passed away. Last Friday saw his funeral, with 47739 heading to Westbury, carrying an additional plate with the years of his life, and the nameplates repainted red. A nice touch by Colas, and a wee bit spooky on the timing.

All the best

 

jo

 

Go for a lower ASA then

 

I have all 100 60s captured on film and/or pixel

Shhhhhhh! That made me chuckle as I read it, cheers Dave. That area isn't bad for hearing trains coming, it's uphill and through a cutting

Not sure how many I've photographed, but its a shame the Corus pair went too early for me to snap.

 

jo

Is there such a thing as The RMWeb Photographic Awards ?

 

There should be. Jo's pic of 60074 would get my vote, an epic photo.

Thanks, I shouldn't go so far though, lol. The shot I aimed for didn't work due to the camera struggling to focus in the mist, this was a last minute grab and is a bit close to the edge of the shot! The noise was epic though, that's for sure...:-)

 

jo

A recent trio from me, summing up the recent weather rather well...

60074 passes a wet and misty Hullavington working 6B33 Theale - Robeston 9/2/13

 

60010 approaches Thingley Junction working 6W97 Totnes - Bescot with a train of welded rail sections. The train was terminated at Oxford Hinksey, with the loco running light to Didcot. 10/2/13

 

60020 shatters the peace as it thunders past Callow Hill working 6B33 Theale - Robeston 19/2/13

 

jo

I've started a topic here http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/69372-first-great-western-loco-hauled-workings/ about the FGW loco hauled stuff if anyone's interested in modelling them

 

jo

Orange cant rail stripes should be a piece of cake to paint

It's the actual gutter that's painted orange on the mk2s, rather than a line on flat metal like the mk3s.

http://ukrailwaypics.smugmug.com/Coaches/Mk2-Coaching-Stock/Mk2F-TSO-5908-6184-AC2F/16392847_88mRrg#!i=1232907922&k=CKxRMQM&lb=1&s=A

Tape above and below, apply orange paint sparingly then remove tape. Voila!

 

jo

Crikey Cav, you work quick! In the time you've done that, I've filled the boiler filler and steps on a 47....top stuff, looking forward to seeing more!

The buffer silver shanks are a lovely touch too. The transfers look good now its weathered, but did you ever get anywhere with Fox? I tend to draw my own up and get them printed by someone with an ALPS printer these days. Not only much cheaper, but they're white, not yellow, I get only what I need, and there's no shuffling of individual numbers on the model. Doing the front end of a Farsih EWS 66 renumber was when I decided I'd had enough of that...

 

jo

Hi Simon,

Thanks for the interest, the weathering is a mix of paints, which type depending on my mood!

The red Murco tank is very thin washes of Railmatch black enamel in white spirits, adding subtle black tints with each layer.

The grey/brown TDA and TTA both use Games Workshop acrylic black, drybrushed on at first, with thicker layers applied on top.

The scabby brown - grey finish on the TDA is sprayed Railmatch sleeper grime enamel. Games Workshop Codex Grey acrylic was then drybrushed on top, with patches being painted in with smaller brushes and blended with drybrushing. The red patches are Railmatch enamel as I could soften the edges with white spirit once to make it look like wiped clean patches, acrylic dries too quick for this.

The bogies on the TDAs are painted with various browns over a base coat of Halfords primer and black. The Halfords sprays were used to help the top coats grip the bogies. Both TDAs then received a light dusting of the sleeper grime over the bogies and undersides to blend it all together.

Hope this helps

 

jo

Thanks for the advice on window stripping, that is for the new farish/Bachmann 47 yes? As I said the glazing is exquisite and I really don't want to break it pushing it out. 4mm stuff comes out pretty easily not sure about 2mm.

 

Cav

Yep that's for the newer Bachmann model. Concept wise all the newer models are the same, just 47 and 60 have more 'below the windows' because of the locating holes for the cab interior are in the glazing. If you haven't got it out already, just spreading the body sides and wiggling should get the interior and light guides out in one unit

 

jo

Interesting see you move to N gauge Cav, this is a layout I'll be keeping my eyes on for sure given your work on Outon Road. I'm vaguely familiar with the area having visited Peak Forest last year and the parents holidayed at Miller's Dale a year or two back.

As for the Farish 47s, the glue is applied to the glazing on the big flat piece below the window level. If you slide a scalpel between this area and the bodywork, parallel to the bodyside, the glue should crack. If the window doesn't fall out, a push in with a finger should knock it in. The door and cab window are one piece and once both sides are out, the windscreen should push in quite easily, both screens as one piece

Hope this helps, and as for the 60s, you know it makes sense... ;-)

 

jo

Fantastic idea with the paper, Mick. I'll have to give that a go at some point.

Nice piece in RE on the JNAs too, getting me in the mood to attack the N gauge ones when they appear!

 

jo

Cheers, gotta get the others weathered to match now, with a clean one or two as well. That and some magnetic couplers so we can shunt them properly at Plymouth!

 

jo

Hi Ben,

I think one of them has, but its not one that sees a lot of use so I'm not 100%, a Stobart 66411. The rest are various EWS and Freightliner locos, all seem ok last time they were run.

 

Fantastic modelling Jo!

Needs an orange helmet on the dashboard though

Now that's an idea! Needs a hi viz on the chair too then!

 

jo

Hi Ben,

Uncoupling just needs a downward stroke from a non magnetic item, such as a cocktail stick or bamboo skewer. Although the magnets are strong for their size, compared to a fridge magnet for example, they have very little pull, so they stay undone quite easily. Remember they're only 1mm wide! This was one of my initial worries, but as soon as I saw Jack's first hand for the first time, I was convinced

 

jo

Cheers, well it's going to be dual era, so I can run what I fancy. My love of Intercity Swallow livery was the driving force behind that!

 

jo

I've started this thread for work on RTR locos that comes down to tweaks and improvements, rather than full on hack apart and rebuild jobs that warrant a thread of their own.

First up is 66170, despite being a relatively small project, it's been drawn out over about two years, visitors to the DEMU stand at exhibitions may well have seen it part finished, with various strands of wire crudely attached to the underframe.

The work has involved:

- removing, and moving, the lashing eyes on the lower part of the yellow panel

- tinted side windows (Tamiya smoke)

- TPM etched cooler group (and mirrors, awaiting refitting)

- Moulded cab door footsteps replaced with wire

- Wire sandpipes and other piping on the underframe, mostly 0.3mm brass wire

The detail photos section of Brian Daniels' flickr must be mentioned here, its a fantastic resource and helped so much with this project. http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianews/collections/72157627015269016/

The rest of the work was more cosmetic, including:

- individual door handles picked out gold or silver as needed

- steps picked out in yellow and silver

- renumbering

- tail light moulding painted maroon, to look correct when off, and dull them when in use

- yellow 'balanced maintenance' custom made transfers

- patch painting behind the buckeye operating lever

- weathering - still some small details like buffer grease to add

- detail printed and added to the cab rear walls, different at both ends as per prototype. Maybe not worth it to some, but they are more visible than I expected them to be!

And here's the real thing that inspired the work, I haven't modelled the leaves stuck in the clean air grill though!

The air pipes on the front end will be replicated with staples for magnetic coupling- more on that here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/20276-embankment-road-trsmd/?p=959746

 

jo

Sooooo, a bit of progress with some rolling stock for the 1990s. The new Farish Mk1 is a lovely little model, but a few little tweaks can make it better for modelling them in more recent times. Most of the end steps were removed with electrification taking place in the 1960s, leaving just the lower one or two in place. Bright orange ETH sockets were fitted to a large number of them too. Arguably a lot of work isn't visible mid-train, but since the layout is about shunting individual vehicles it was worth the focus on the little details. I'm tempted to looking into having some ETH sockets 3D printed or etched to speed this work up considerably.

First up the Farish Mk1 TPO has had some weathering and the previously mentioned ETH socket, made from plastic strip, with some 0.2 mm wire for the cable. Air pipes and a drop head coupler are fitted. You notice the lack of a Rapido or other coupling, more on that in a bit.

The blue Mk1 has had the same work, but with the addition of the removal of the end steps. The heavier weathering and standard BR blue paint made this a bit less daunting than the TPO, hence that one retaining the steps.

So, the couplings. You've probably noticed that one of the air pipes on each buffer beam looks a bit chunkier than those around it. So, what is it? It's elastic, with a 1x1mm magnet superglued to the end. The idea is a shameless rip off, sorry, designed with compatibility in mind, of the magnetic couplings devised here by Jack. I've developed the idea a little in that both ends of the rolling stock have both magnets, so should have double the strength, as well as allowing stock to be used either way round to improve flexibility when shunting.

Another benefit of this system, is that locos can carry full bufferbeam detailing at both ends, something I'm keen on to improve their appearance. All that's required is to remove one of the plastic air pipes, and replace with part of a steel staple.

The less said about the test coupling of my stock to Jack's the better, as, ummm, guess who managed to fit the magnets so it repels the original conversions...anyway it's not a major problem, I've only done these two Mk1s so far as a test, so it'll be easy to fit new, neater, elastic and rotate the magnets 180 degrees. Also, it means I can fit slightly longer elastic to be on the safe side to prevent derailments. The plan is for all non Microtrains fitted stock to gain the magnetic couplings, so allowing proper shunting of the train of TTAs etc.

 

jo 

Only three months later, here's another update. Both TDAs are just about finished, it was as I was processing the image in Photoshop that I realised I need to attach Hazchem boards to the grey one, but that should take all of 30 seconds to sort. There's another photo of the red and blue one for comparison between the two. The whole model was first sprayed brown (Railmatch sleeper grime I think), before having the ribs masked to allow grey to be drybrushed on top. Once the tape was removed, more grey could be drybrushed onto the rest of the body. Once this was dry, various brown and black washes were added. The red patches on the solebar are applied over the brown, despite the fact I'd already painted it red before the brown went on, it was easier to do this than to remove the brown in places. Johnson's Klear was used to give a high gloss in the areas to get transfers, before an overall coat of matt varnish, and a dusting of brown from the airbrush to blend everything in. It's nice to have this pair finished now! Here's hoping Bachmann announce the modern VTG TEA tanks in this year's announcements in a few weeks time. Or maybe next years, or the next....

The IIA is progressing slowly forward too, with a painted out Cemex logo and OLE warning flashes. I need to get the transfers I've drawn up printed soon. The KPA is from the N Gauge Society kit, and will drop into the same rake of RMC hoppers as the IIA. Once transfers are on, most of the blue will be lost under brown and stone dust, so it's just quick coat to give a base colour.

Finally a TTA I'm working on, a bit of a test of how easily the Farish weathered models can be made to look more convincing. There's still a bit more to do, and it's come out grubbier looking than I wanted, but as a test bed I'm quite happy so far with how it's going. A black wash around the underframe to add some relief and some Klear over the oily bits should help it come along. The brown spray used in the Chinese factory is a bit of a pain to shift evenly, clinging just where you don't want it to normally, and care is needed to not damage the factory printing in places.

 

jo

Seriously though, the N gauge version I think looks even better. I might do a WR layout after all ;-)

Oh god and there I was drooling over the 4mm one...maybe I'll have to do more than just Champion. Can't wait to see more of the "baby" Western! A blue one is rather tempting too he he

 

jo

Interesting! It was just a flying visit then!

 

I'm intrigued to know why more 60's are getting South. The trains they work don't really warrant one (I reckon), the likes of the engineers trains or the Mossend - Eastleigh could be handled by a 66. Is it just to keep driver knowledge on the class up?

 

Andy.

Andy,

The wagonload network can be used to get locos back to Toton, rather than just trip it light engine, it might as well work a train to do so. The 60s off Warrington seem to do Mossend - Eastleigh (from Warrington), then north to Bescot, then off to Toton on a working from Bescot. The Eastleigh move can also get them to Westbury for Mendip stone work

I'm sure there's someone who can explain it better!

 

jo

A couple of recent ones of 6B33 Theale - Margam/Robeston. 60065 both times, it has now returned to Immingham area after a stint based in South Wales, but has gained a Margam sheep sticker at each end.

60065 'Spirit of Jaguar' passes Shrivenham working 6B33 Theale - Robeston 24/1/13

And now to Margam two days later, a couple of angles taken from the public path across the yard. Sadly it stopped quite far back alongside 66177, so a bit of a zoom up was needed!

 

 

60065 has just arrived at Margam with 6B33 from Theale, seen stabled alongside 66177 26/1/13

 

jo

Fantastic to finally see the modern trucks shrunk to 1:148, and they're doing Scanias first. Fantastic!

 

jo

Nice catch Mick, I'll have to get up there before the snow melts! Snowing again here now, so hopefully will stick around a bit longer

 

jo

I have that many HST bodyshells lying around half an hour with a razor saw and files should do the job. Don't have to mask and spray the yellow panel either lol

 

jo

I've seen that pic before Tom, good to see it again, reminded me it's on my 'to do' list!

Thanks Bob, glad you enjoyed the pictures!

 

jo