Giles

Finally got round to tweaking the CV's to match, so the engines perform together..... Wonderful! And it sounds lovely. She's also now got her crew on board, so she's all dressed up and no place to go! She's a loco I'm now really happy with, And I've tried a few new techniques on (for me), and she goes to the top of my list of my favourite loco....

Hi Chris, You may find these pages interesting http://tilleryonline.myfreeforum.org/ftopic3157-0-asc-30.php I finished my schooling in the Abertillery area, and I found these - which should be right up your street.....

A cleaned-up version of the Ivatt (learning new skills in the 'removing-background' department....!)

Hi Matt - thank you! It's exercising restraint that doesn't come easy - targeting the ingrained dirt and staining, without going over the top. It helps having cleaned locos, and knowing the bits that gather the dirt, and the bits that so often get a quick wipe-over! But I have to say, half the trick is starting off with a 'real' paint surface (for me, at any rate) Regarding the running plates. Once the black has dried ( and I've cut it back and polished it a bit) I then paint dabs of matt black and Metalcote gunmetal, and give it a wash of thinners, -not a lot of paint - mostly thinners - it's a wash..... And then put a reasonable amount of talc on. Once it's dry, I then buff it up with kitchen towel, which removes most of the talc (but not all) leaving you with a move metallic surface. I try NOT to be too even about it - and let the paint for pools and go into corners a little... And then the talc will work with the paint - but because it's all thinned with the thinners, it won't take too much talc. Have a play....... All the best Giles

An Industrial Garratt I've finally finished..... again, the aerosol paint rubbed down with 2000 grit wet and dry, and then polished back up before weathering. No varnish.

Finally finished! (apart from crew). Also still to do is to tweak CV's, as it is behaving as a 'Push-me-pull-you' - insofar as the hind engine accelerates much faster that the front engine at present. A joy to watch, though.... Would I build another one? not if my life depended on it.

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Addendum to the last - the kind folk at SouthWestDigital will kindly replace the unit. There is an outside chance that the Gaugemaster Prodigy2 occasionally sends a 'spike' when programming, which proves destructive to the v4. In any event, we'll get it sorted...... Weathering now!

Thank you Nigel! Those little sash cramps are extremely useful, it must be said...... I had a slight problem on Wednesday (I was in bed all day yesterday unwell) as the new sound decoder burnt out after re-addressing (no short-circuits, or wiring issues....) which is a pity.....

Now ready for decoders and weathering....... Details of the adventure will eventually follow! I've already fitted a bass reflex speaker into the firebox (which has an open bottom for this very purpose) and I shall put a 23mm dia. speaker into the front tank. SWD Sound decoder will be fitted to the front engine, and a SWD standard decoder to the hind engine. The dangling wires that are visible will connect the pickups from bock engines for continuity.

Front engine just requiring front valve cover, front steps and buffers (and pick-ups) Hind engine is in identical condition

All valve-gear now finished and working!...... A few more superficial bits and pieces, then painting.

This one, however, is being finished as a 'fifth' one (together with a consecutive builders number on the plate). The earlier ones were of course slightly different in details..... This one is very nearly finished - just finishing off the valve gear now,and then buffers, and front step to do before painting the engine chassis. The boiler unit looks a bit 'bright' at the moment, but it will tone down nicely with weathering.

Whilst I remember, here's Cwmtillery colliery in 1976 - it was still in use, although by this time they were bringing the coal up at Rose Heyworth, a mile away - and only the men were going down here (and equipment) It's a lousy photo - but that's what we had then! There was some narrow gauge on the surface, but the standard guage up the valley had been lifted a couple of years before. The line was still intact and in use to Blaena, if I recall. The Rector of Aberbeeg ('60's and '70s) was a chap called Dai Pritchard - a right b*****r he was!

Allan - your buildings (and productivity!) and quite superb.....! I really don't know how you do it. Brilliant!

Excellent- thank you Brian - the running is still not perfect, I so I was suspecting the replacement gears.... So that's a relief.

Can any of the better informed tell me if the Heljan replacement gears are of a modified design that will not split - or are they more of the same?

here's a Heljan 37 weathered in water soluble oils....

One 'polished' roof panel beside a factory finished panel Paint applied Paint worked in In situ

CME - the water-based oils I've used are Windsor and Newton Artisan, and I find them excellent. I've only used two colours on the body - raw umber and lamp black, applied separately, bushed on, into all the nooks and crannies, and then wiped off (always in the direction of rain and gravity). The only down-side is that it takes two day to harden, which leaves plenty of time to work, but means you can't rush the job! Over the whole lot goes a way of dirty black/brown water (with a dash of washing up liquid) which ties it all together. Dave - bless you! You try to avoid the details - but if you do catch a rivit, a touch of paint on that rivit will cure it.... After rubbing down, I'll often give a single wipe over with duraglit, and then buff, and that cures the 'unpolished' situation that you're talking about - but when you get to the weathering, your paint will also gather round that detail, which is what you want - so it's not too much of a problem....

Thank you! That's because most people think in terms of varnish for creating the finish. Nowadays I always approach it the other way round, and cut the paint back really smooth with the 2000 wet and dry, and then polish it back a bit. That makes all the difference in the world, as you see when you put two pieces side-by-side - one normally painted, and one cut back. This gives a genuine 'scale' finish, which you can then weather to your hearts content. No prep is needed for the transfers (as you are working on a near perfect surface) and I do not varnish afterwards either.

As a bit of a 'holiday' I pulled out a Heljan 37 I bought more than four years ago, and stashed away untouched. I bought a South West Digital sound card for it, and wired it up to the original Heljan PCB, (which works fine) and found that in the intervening four years, all four main gears had cracked..... So much for it being a 'rare' problem.... Fortunately I had already bought spares just in case...... The body got the rub down treatment with 2000 grit wet and dry, followed by a light buffing, and then weathering with water based oils - which I love for this job.... It's not quite finished yet, but nearly there.

Hi Craig, I see you have a '37' - I've just got mine out of its box after four years (bought new, and sat there ever since) to find that in the intervening period all four of its main drive gears have split in the bogies...... This was supposed to be a 'rare problem' but is obviously fairly generic. Fortunately some time ago I had bought spares just in case, so I was able to fit them and sort it without much fuss. May I suggest it might be prudent to buy some from Howes (£2.50 each) to stock against such a rainy day? Good luck, and moving up is a decision that you're not likely to regret.....

..... Now, where to buy 7mm scale crayons........ :-)

On the Rx45-5, One positive is an input from the battery - the one one the bottom right - also labeled 'lipo', and the other one on the left is a positive 'out-put', used in conjunction with the F1 (and F2, presumably) for a single direction motor. (Instead of the H1 terminals) I must say that I'm such a coward as far as soldering onto these teeny receivers, that I pay the two quiz extra for the wired versions to save me the trouble!!