Tullygrainey

That's a real shame David. It's always worth trying to rescue a project that's gone awry but sometimes a new start is the better option. Recognising that we've reached that point and accepting it is the hard bit. The new chassis will be all the better for the lessons learned, I'm sure. Good to hear that NPQ will feature in a future RM. Look forward to that. In the meantime, the only way is up Alan PS I like the quartering jig. I think I can see how it works.

Agree David. Sticking to the same manufacturer makes sense and is probably the safest option. Mix and match can be uncharted territory, especially if it includes using both enamel and acrylic as well as different brands! Some of us court disaster. I'm learning from my mistakes, but very slowly I tend towards enamels for weathering too. I find the longer drying time works to advantage, allowing more time to get the effects I want, such as when using the common technique of applying a thin wash and wiping most of it off to leave 'dirt' in the crevices and panel lines. I've had the odd disaster doing this with acrylics, when the paint dried before I could wipe it off properly, leaving a very patchy, totally unrealistic result. I know it can be done but I haven't cracked it yet.

Thanks for this David. Much useful advice here. I'd never have thought of gun blue or marker pen to deal with that perennial problem of paint chipping or wearing off sharp metal edges. I seem to be forever touching in those little bits of glinting brass! I'll remember that one. I'm more able now to take the setbacks in my stride than I might've been a few years back. It's not the end of the world, most things are fixable and I have a range of vocabulary for taking the edge off the frustration

Thanks Patrick. We're definitely going by the scenic route.

If you've looked at any of my posts about previous builds in this thread, you'll know that I usually mess up the painting stage, and in a different way each time. Well, in keeping with tradition... I wasn't entirely happy with the finish of my air-brushing efforts but was prepared to settle for it. However, a coat of satin varnish, intended to give a smooth surface for the lining transfers, reacted with the paint and produced whitish 'bloom', for want of a better description, over most of the panel work. I thought this only happened when acrylic was sprayed over enamel but this was acrylic on acrylic! I suspect I sprayed the varnish too soon, before the paint was well and truly cured. This is what you get for proceeding without a ready supply of patience. So... hello cellulose thinners, hello again brass, hello again etch primer. Writing this whilst taking a break from riveting. Again. Forwards and backwards, in no particular order. Alan

I think we should start a 'Tool of the Week' thread. Anoraks optional.

I enjoy The Repair Shop too and am in awe of the skills on display but all too often I find myself saying to the screen "Wait, wait! Where did you get that tool?, What sort of glue is that?, Show me that again, slowly"

Do those pesky gulls never sleep?

Ah David, what a nightmare. I sympathise entirely. That's very demoralising. Why is it always the case that one reasonably small change has a major knock-on effect and causes a catalogue of other problems? There must be a rule somewhere governing it. You did well narrowing the chassis without losing alignment. I hope you don't have to remake it. Probably the right, but also the hardest, thing to do now is to put the whole lot in a drawer for a week and then go back to it with a fresh eye. Hang in there Alan

Construction work on BCDR 2-4-2T is more or less done now so the metalwork was given a final scrub with scouring powder under a hot tap followed by a waft of Halfords grey etch primer and some gloss varnish before the brass got a chance to start tarnishing again. The next three days were riveting. These are 3D resin waterslide rivet transfers from Railtec. They're available in a wide range of sizes and spacings and in my experience are a viable alternative to using a rivet embosser. Deserve to be better known. Like all waterslide transfers, they need careful handling and I'm getting quite good at stopping breathing whilst applying them but the end result is well worth the effort. I found that wetting the area with Humbrol Decalfix helped the transfers to slide into place and reduced the chance of the longer lines breaking apart in the process. It also helps bed them in. It can be tricky to get long lines straight - witness some of the wobbles in the pics below - but once overpainted, this isn't quite so obvious. The transfers were given a few days to dry before being overpainted. I think I've used a different colour for each my BCDR locomotives - BCDR green is a shade of some conjecture and seems to have varied throughout the life of the company. That's my excuse anyway. I've used acrylic paint this time - a base coat of Tamiya XF1 Flat Black followed by a topcoat of Tamiya XF70 Dark Green, both applied with an airbrush. It's not that obvious in the photo below but the end result is a bit more orange-peely than I'd have liked. I'm still at the determined bodger stage with airbrushes - airbrush in one hand, fingers crossed on the other. One day I'll figure out how to work this contraption properly. These bits need a coat of gloss varnish before I start on the lining (more interrupted breathing). I'm waiting for a delivery from Humbrol. We have the makings of a green machine. Alan

I think Fr. Codd was well within his rites. (I didn't bring a coat)

Absolute gem!

That is surely a labour of love but it will be worth it. Looks terrific! And totally convincing. I like the small irregularities and the sagging ridge.

Nice bit of heavy corrosion on that cab roof

That last pic is a charmer! The bridge sits nicely in the landscape and I love the track curving away out of sight

A week spent sweating the small stuff. The chassis got some sandboxes left over from an RT Models kit. Then brake gear with brake pads in plastic to avoid issues with shorting (Alan Gibson 4M103, GWR Tender Brake Gear). Back with the superstructure, some whitemetal wagon springs (MJT 2284) and brass rod epoxied into place made a reasonable representation of the front springs which are visible just ahead of the tanks. The smokebox door is another whitemetal casting (Mainly Trains MT329 from Wizard Models). Chimney was made as before from brass tube, solder and a washer, shaped with files and emery paper in the electric drill. The dome was made the same way but with wooden dowel, plasticard and filler. I usually use a central bolt and captive nut to attach the cab roof but this time I tried this method which I learned from the late Ken McElhinney's (KMCE) workbench thread. The phosphor bronze wire slots down into the cab corners and holds the roof tight. It works a treat. Thank you Ken. The handrails, pipes and sundry cables are variously 0.33, 0.45 and 0.7mm brass rod. Most of the bits are just set on to see how it looks. Don't breathe on it or they'll all fall off. Getting close to the painting stage Alan

Bachmann are selling sound equipped versions of their O-16.5 Quarry Hunslets John. I've just taken delivery of one and very good it sounds too! IMG_0334.MOV

I think you'll find that Count Zborowsky was killed at the 1924 Italian Grand Prix at Monza driving for the works Mercedes team in a Mercedes M72/94 single seater with a 1990cc supercharged engine rather than in one of his own aero-engined creations.

BCDR 2-4-2T got a bunker this week. Bending the outer panel work was a bit hit and miss. I needed two goes to get the width right. It's made in 15 thou brass. Tank filler is brass tube with a conveniently sized washer soldered on. The coal rails on this one have a solid backing with no airspace between individual rails. Made here in 10 thou brass with rails from 1.0x0.5mm half round brass. The bunker has a floor which will be bolted to the running plate like everything else. Having made cab steps from scratch in the past, I was keen to avoid doing THAT again. This fine Mainly Trains etch from Wizard Models had exactly what I needed. What took about 3 or 4 hours before took about 20 minutes this time. Result! I noticed whilst working that it's an Iain Rice design. From some angles, the boiler looks to be going downhill but I've already wrestled with it a number of times and I'm done doing that. Galloping horses and all that. We're getting into the smaller details now. Chimney, dome, smokebox door, buffers, vacuum pipes, safety valves, handrails, whistle, brakes, sand boxes... (continued, page 94). And here's me thinking it was nearly done Alan

John Gareth Brennan, whose scratch-built models in plastic are amongst the best I've ever seen, tells me that Plastruct TFS 1 is the stuff you need for this job. Good luck with your build. Alan

Water tanks taking shape. 15 thou brass with 0.7mm brass rod for the beading. I find matching handrails to their holes a bit of a challenge. This handy little Bill Bedford jig helps. The tanks bolt down to the running plate at the front and will be soldered to the cab sides and front. Alan

On my Hornby Railroad Jinty, which admittedly is pretty old, the large couplers are held to the chassis at each end with a single screw and easily removed, leaving a space for the coupler of your choice, either screwed or glued in place. Assuming nothing has changed, the Mark's Jinty should also be easy to modify. Getting hold of NEM sockets is harder in my experience. Sources, anyone? Alan

I may follow your lead on that John. The smaller ones get harder and harder to see as time goes on!

A bit more progress with the 2-4-2T. A front plate for the smokebox required a lot of solder, a lot of filing and significant amounts of unseemly language. The finished job conceals a multitude of sins. Next, the beginnings of a pair of water tanks. There's a lot of 14BA bolts and captive nuts holding this one together - founder members of the Little Things Sent To Try Us club - but having separate sub-sections makes painting and lining a lot easier. Alan

Time for some superstructure for BCDR 2-4-2T. A boiler was rolled from 10 thou brass with 15 thou used for the smokebox. A twist of brass wire held both together tightly while solder was run in at the edges. The smokebox will get a wrapper in due course. Much cutting, drilling, filing and under-the-breath muttering produced a flatpack set of parts for the cab. 15 thou brass again with 5 thou shim for the cab side beading. The raised rims round the front spectacle windows were a happy side effect of reaming the holes to size and just needed filing back a bit and tidying up to make an acceptable representation of the window frames. Saved having to solder bits of tubing into the holes. Then the tricky job of soldering it all together reasonably straight and square. Always a challenge and requiring a fair bit of adjusting and doing again. Not to mention asbestos fingers. The cab floor will bolt to the running plate using 14BA bolts with captive nuts. Holes were drilled and nuts soldered in place before the floor was soldered to the cab. Getting all the bits in the right place relative to one another is, for me anyway, a process of trial and error with plenty of the latter before it comes good. I find making and fitting the saddle which supports the smokebox a real trial. Luckily, the smokebox wrapper, which will blend smokebox to saddle, will hide most of the bodgery. A length of 0.7mm brass rod soldered inside the boiler slots into a hole in the cab front to hold the boiler straight and level. I think it's teatime. Alan