Giles

A video of the Steam Crane and the Mechancal Horse on Denton Brook

I've found a slightly different version of exactly the same photo, and it hints that the boiler is the same coulour as the rest - which of course is entirely logical and in keeping with normal practise - I'll post a section of it when Flickr is up and running!

You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

There will be an article in the MRJ on the build of the Mechanical Horse in due course...

<p>John, that is really interesting! - yes - it would be a very neat solution for a smaller vehicle, such as a car or a smaller van..... Very interesting!</p> <p>That is the same size servo as I have used in all my later vehicles (actually a 1.7g version, byt the same size) including the Mechanical Horse. I buy tem for about 5GBP from Ebay, and they work well!</p> <p> </p> <p>All the best, and thank you!</p> <p> </p> <p>Giles</p>

Your usual extraordinary stuff!!!!! Your workmanship tend to be so much better than my bodging - I do like it! I've just completed a Mechanical Horse in 7mm ( old type, not the Scrab), and that uses the 6mm x 8mm gearmotor which I find excellent in performance.

As an adjunct to my railway modelling, I build and convert model vehicles to radio control (in 7mm scale). Various trucks and lorries which get loaded and unloaded on the layouts The latest is this little Mechanical Horse, which is now completed and finished, apart from a new false load bed that needs to be cut and painted to cover the battery in the trailer. It is full RC, and the whole thing works very nicely... 1:43 radio controlled Mechanical Horse by giles favell, on Flickr 1:43 radio controlled Mechanical Horse by giles favell, on Flickr

The Mechanical Horse is now completed and finished, apart from a new false load bed that needs to be cut and painted to cover the battery in the trailer. The whole thing works very nicely... 1:43 radio controlled Mechanical Horse by giles favell, on Flickr 1:43 radio controlled Mechanical Horse by giles favell, on Flickr

This Hymek was built by my brother Aidan in about 1999, and completed in 2000. I built much of the body in the old workshops at RADA, welded up from ERW steel tube and bright steel sheet, which we had in abundance, having been donated from sonewhere or other..... Less successful were the cab roof ends, which I laminated up from many layers of MDF to form the shape, and given lots of coats of paint. Over the years, damp got in to the MDF and it delaminated, and has now finally been replaced (not by me!) with something much better (I believe it might be glass-fibred now). The loco is driven on one bogie via a full hydraulic system (not to be confused with hydrostatic), powered by a diesel 'Power-pack'. Hydraulic disc brakes provide stopping power. The loco currently resides at the privately owned Ingfield Light Railway in west Sussex. 2018-12-31_08-03-08 by giles favell, on Flickr

You will need (someone with) a CO2 laser for the job, as the diode lasers that many of us have won't cut such things, due to the inappropriate light frequency (or something...!). i.e., you need red light and not blue light for the job.... (hope that's of some use!) Giles

well, that has come on a lot! And looking good!

This appears to have one of each, conveniently.... .....I don't know what you're talking about......... surely not me........ anyway, it was a Christmas present.... it would be rude to refuse it....... The very best to you and yours!

Hi John - Happy Christmas! I'll try and dig out where I got it from later, but I use a nice 4-way charger, that charges 4 batteries simultaniously, all independently variable up to 1000mAh. I wired in mini-jack cables to every channel to suit my vehicles, but that was to suit my needs! Meanwhile, my dear lady got me this for Christmas!!!! 2018-12-25_10-27-58 by giles favell, on Flickr

Hi Martin, Yes, I'll be using the 650mAh very flat battery.....!!! Happy Christmas to all, when we get that far!

Nice surprise today, The new transmitter arrived much earlier than expected! It took a while to work out how to bind the receiver to it, as there are no instructions for this particular pairing, but I worked it out eventually. The servo is now nicely reversed and the steering is correct! I've located the receiver and packed the wiring away as best I can in the fo'c'sle, to leave the view clear.... (and I've checked it all still works...) 2018-12-22_04-09-48 by giles favell, on Flickr

I Asked Di - 'Red or green?' And she said 'green' so it will certainly be private owner, but I've not quite made up my mind whether it will be DENTON or someone else..... I should have hated to do it in 4mm!!!

It's ok, I probably have lost the plot.........

2018-12-21_09-10-06 by giles favell, on Flickr Well, electrics on the tractor are wired up, though not fixed, servo is in, font wheel fitted with its steering arm, and linked up, and it all works extremely well (apart from the servo operating 'backwards'). As I've said, the gearmotor performs even better than the larger ones I've used previously, with incredible slow speed control (I've just ordered another 4 from Ebay for stock....) The turning circle is lovely and tight, though slightly tighter in one direction than 'tother. It will all do very nicely. Got to finish it now though, which will take time, and I've bought a programmable transmitter which will allow me to reverse the servo control (arriving after Christmas)

Just got the thing running under radio control...... nice (quite low) top speed - just what I was hoping/planning for, but LOVELY slow speed control! Much better than the larger motors I've used so far. Just about to buy a stock of these from Ebay.....

Hi Dave, yes - the usual Ebay sources.... nominal 5v about 120rpm £3.60 ish.... It's got an odd bush on the end, but with care one can epoxy a gear on to it!

Thank you Robin. No - but I'd rather have the two-day endurance!!!!

I'm using a smaller motor than usual on this one. It's only 6mm x 8mm in section, but still has lots of guts. Output is approx 90rpm at 3.7v. Gears are printed ones off Ebay. They are smaller than the ones I normally use (which is why I'm using them!). They are a little fussier to mesh, but made of an extremely hard plastic, and the smaller size is certainly beneficial. We'll see how they go..... 2018-12-18_04-52-34 by giles favell, on Flickr EDITED to correct motor size..... They're smaller!

2018-12-17_05-05-02 by giles favell, on Flickr Because the Mechanical horse is renowned (indeed designed!) for its manoevrability, the trailer has to be capable of spinning on its own axis. This means the trailer wheels need to be capable of turning in opposite directions - unlike all my previous vehicles, which have fixed axles. This I have done by splitting the axle, and sleeving it, which seems to work well. I also fitted simple tube bearings to the trailer, rather than rely on the small amount of white metal. The battery will go in the cut out, and a false floor laid over the top.

Next up is a Mechical Horse. Not the Scarab, but the earlier 3 Ton predecessor. I picked up a kit from Ebay a couple of years ago, made by SuperScale, just on the off-chance I could do somethinng with it, and I'm having a bash...... I haven't solved all the issues yet.....