murrayec

@Westcorkrailway As George says if they are waterslide type use warm water only- if printed on a transparent carrier sheet cut each decal out of the sheet in a square or around the decal, if they are printed on the paper carrier sheet only, cut them out on a square of the paper carrier. Immerse in water for 30-60 secs or until you can slide them on the paper carrier, leave them on the paper carrier slightly slid off and holding the paper carrier with a tweezers to transfer it to the model and slide the decal off the paper carrier onto the model. As Galteemore suggests you can also use Microsol solution- but be careful the solution can soften the decal if left for to long and it may go out of shape! Use a cotton bud to squeeze the water out from under the decal, dabbing or rolling the bud on edge, working out from centre of the decal to its edge, this removes water and air from underneath- do not rub the bud across the decal cause the decal will move or tare. Some waterslide decals benefit from a coat of varnish or lacquer (not water based) to protect the ink before you immerse them in water- nothing worse than the decal ink coming off on the bud! Use Microsol later after the decal has dried on the model, this will help it to stick down better, and again using a bud as described above. If the decals are not lacquered this process can destroy them. One other thing to consider- they may be rub off decals?? like the way Letraset works! Eoin

Hi Colin, Arceurotrade do a mill but it's quite expensive! I have an Optimum BF 20 Vario mill/drill, which is perfect for model stuff and small fabrication jobs. Again all the main tool suppliers do this machine and it's a lot more economical than Arc. I'm sure there is an agent for Optimum in the UK? Here is a link to a comparable machine and others to select from on this site, these guys do a mini lathe also;- https://www.warco.co.uk/milling-machines/303103-wm-12-small-engineering-metalworking-milling-machine.html Eoin

It's a 'Mini Lathe' CL300M 180mm swing, 300mm between centres, by Clarke, this type/size of lathe is available from all the main machine tool suppliers. Arceurotrade.co.uk do a version SC3 which comes with a number of upgrades, like I have done to mine, as standard if your thinking of investing;- https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machines-Accessories/Lathes/SIEG-C3-SC2-SC3-Mini-Lathes/SIEG-SC2-SC3-HiTorque-Mini-Lathe-Belt-Drive-with-Brushless-Motor A standard Mini Lathe costs less than the SC3 but will not have modifications done- which you can do yourself. I have done; Taper bearing headstock upgrade. Pinned and added lock screws to all gibs. Carriage lock. Added oilers to the leadscrew. Added a cover to protect the leadscrew from swarf. Changed the standard tool post to a quick change post. Changed the plastic handwheels to cast iron type. Added and made a huge amount of tooling, too numerous to list here- the best accessory for the model building we do is a set of collet chucks- ER25 has collets from 1mm to 16mm if you buy a full set, there are also imperial collets. Hope that helps Eoin

Motor, gearbox, brakes and pickup boards being made & installed;- Gearbox holes being sized for the axle bearings. Unit soldered with motor attached. Brake shoes being cut from 1.3mm pcb board, the copper cladding was first milled off and then the shoes cut. Pickup boards being cut from .7mm pcb board. Brake rods & hangers cut from .3mm brass sheet. Brake shoes being fixed to hangers with .5mm brass rivets. .5mm brass wire spiggots to hang the brake hangers from are soldered into the frames with a 2mm long brass tube to hold the hangers in position out from the frames. Brake rodding being soldered up. Soldered. Finally shoes on, the assembly is set up so that it can be removed for painting. There is not much free space to get the pickup wires out to the wheels with the rods in the way.... but I think I have a plan! Pickup boards screwed onto the frame spacers with 10BA bolts. More later..... Eoin

This is sort of applicable again!! Eoin

More running plate, boiler and cab assembly;- Running plate, boiler bands, splasher parts removed from the fret and cusp removed. Marking out the centre boiler band position (in the middle) on the boiler using the height gauge to scribe lines to aid soldering the band on vertically. Bending up the splasher tops and test fitting to the running plate, the tops are handed- the left side has etched marks for fixing the brake rod mount, and the outer edge of the tops have an etch rebate to fit over the splasher face. I set about fixing the rear body captive nut- as mentioned above the bolt in the chassis is not in line with this nut and the running plate would not sit down on the chassis. The scribed mark is where the nut n hole should be, so the nut was de-soldered, the hole dragged back to centre on the line with a file and the nut soldered on again in the correct position. It sits down now. Just about ready to solder the cab to the running plate but decided to check the fitting of the cab footplate and backhead first to make sure all is OK, as if adjustments are needed it would be easier to work on it separate from the running plate. The parts are cut from the fret, cusp removed and the footplate folded up. For 16mm gauge the backhead needs adjustment to fit into the footplate well, this is marked out on the part and the bits are cut off with a craft knife by scribing along the edge of a steel ruler a few times. Trimmed. That bit out front is a support bracket that will be soldered onto the rear of the backhead above the coal hole, it's ends just sit on the cab splasher tops so that this assembly can be removed. It's held in with a 10BA captive nut and bolt through the running plate- that's what the second hole is for on the running plate beside the chassis mounting, see photo above. Test fitted in cab after some adjustment. The cab and the splashers were then soldered onto the running plate, all soldering is done on the inside, but needs a bit of a clean up because the solder wicked through to the outside- later! Setting up to sweat solder the parts which make up the front chassis frames on the running plate, each frame has 3 parts to them, they are lightly face soldered first, then clamped in position and soldered up. After a clean up they are test fitted to the running plate with the boiler fixed on- just a tad to tight on the smoke box so they will need a bit of filing before fixing on. All the boiler holes have been sized to take the white metal castings, handrail knobs and other bits. The castings have also been cleaned of flash and moulding lines and are about ready to go on after the boiler bands are done. More later........ Eoin

I switched the lights on in photoshop! - a few selection marques with level adjustments for the headlamp beams, and some render 'lens flare' for the light glare and the flashing blue light....... Eoin

Some light;-

If only I had space like that, my house is bursting at the seams....... Eoin

Next months Fair date;-

Yes, I have that kind of feeling to. When looking for photos on line of 85 I found a lot of H&W restoration photos to..... Eoin

After a lot of fettling and trial fitting on the firebox cab end, then the boiler, smokebox and firebox were ready to be soldered together;- First soldered in was the front plate to the fire box, soldered on the inside and then the construction piece at the base was removed. The smokebox was fitted to the running plate with a 10ba screw then the boiler fitted by tabs into the back of the firebox, and then the firebox & cab. The whole assembly was then clamped from back to front and adjusted to get it all to line up square- some paper shims were used between the firebox and cab join on the right side to aid alignment. The join at boiler and firebox has to be soldered on the outside, tack soldered first and then soldered throughout. The other end is soldered through the smokebox- soldering the tabs on the inside. After the soldering was complete its now time to check fit the parts to the chassis and over the motor!! - after removing the fret in the middle of the running plate. The running plate rear nut fixing is a good 1.5mm out of line with the captive screw in the chassis! So the plate does not sit down properly at the rear- this will need a bit of attention!! The firebox slides over the motor OK but a bit of jiggery-poke is required to thread it over the flywheel as the firebox front plate is a tight squeeze on the weight- though it fits. The boiler assembly needs a bit of a clean up and then the body detailing bits start. Very satisfying to see it at this stage....... Eoin

That looks like a Morris Cowley to me Eoin

Smokebox;- All the parts removed from fret and cleaned up. Main structure folded and ready to solder the captive nut on- this is the body to chassis mounting nut. The structure is partly folded as a stretcher part slots in after the nut is soldered, the stretcher has tabs front n back hence 'partly folded'. Nut soldered and stretcher in I soldered the sides first, if one was to force the front & back closed to solder first the base bows and the smokebox will not sit level on the footplate- so sides first. Then front and back, ensuring they are perpendicular to the base. The reverse curves on the wrapper are bent over a 6mm rod to the rough shape. The wrapper was then curved over a 16mm rod and then bolted to the main structure with 10BA bolts- the bolts pull the wrapper in at the bottom, the shape can be assessed while doing this and adjustments can be made by removing the bolts- I like this idea. The base of the smokebox front needs a 2mm dia curve outwards which slots into a half etched recess in the running plate, this was a bit tricky getting things to line up- the curve starts just under the holes for the front grab rail. Just a test fit before I start soldering. The unit will be soldered on the inside through the holes front and back, the front cover will go on at the same time while soldering on the inside so the front has solder applied to the back face in readiness. Some pushing and clamping was required to get the return curves up tight to the structure, working on short sections at a time, moving to the other end alternately until the unit was soldered up- reward! = burnt fingers! Needs a bit of a cleanup and maybe a few soldering touch ups at front bottom sides! Joy rigged on the running plate to assess fit. A bit of fettling to the firebox junction with the cab is required and then I reckon the smokebox, boiler and firebox can be soldered into one unit!! Eoin

Hi JB, Expo tools;- https://www.expotools.com/index.html All manner of tools, clamps n vices, and materials The website has the whole catalogue but it can be hard to find specific items so if you order from them buy the printed catalogue which makes things easier. Eoin

I believe Robert is correct here ''less is definitely more'' I also trialled with this and after several goes came up with .7mm packing under the outside rail and the points, worked best.... Eoin

Boiler & Belpaire Firebox;- Clean up of the parts, drilling holes for ejector piping in boiler and to mark the location of the firebox stay covers- Merlin has 3 on both sides. After measuring up the firebox plate I found the half etch relieving lines for the folds were bang on! So I set about folding the lower curves first using 4mm and 6mm here. Top curves were done with the 6mm bar. Folded. Checking the fit on the front plate and the back template- the template is only for construction. I started the rolling of the boiler on a 16mm bar in the bench vice, taping the sheet down square on the bar first. Both ends done. Then rolled the sheet to size. This was far enough. Binding with rusty binding wire- solder wont take to rust, so I keep roll of rusty wire for this! The clamps held the join in position while tightening the wire. The soldering is done on the inside of the join with the part held in the fingers to put pressure on the tube to ensure a good join- using wood between the part and the fingers. Soldered up on the inside. A bit of fettling is required to fit the firebox square to the cab. Next will be the stay covers onto the firebox and I will assemble the smokebox parts before soldering all up- just in case some adjustments are required. Eoin

Continuing on with the cab;- The holes for the cab side wind deflectors are drilled 3.5mm and broached to take 3.7mm pins to imitate bolt heads, all other holes in the cab parts are also broached to this size. The deflectors will be soldered on at a later stage as they will be in the way while clamping and soldering the cab structure. The inner cab part is folded up to form the splasher tops and backs. The cab sides are jigged up for folding the roof curve. Once in the correct position the top portion is folded with a flat piece of metal up to about 45 Deg. Checking for fit on the cab front, the tape is there to hold the part in position just in case it needs to be re-jigged and folded a bit more. This is fine, a bit of pressure on the roof portion will push it home when soldering. Both sides done. The front cab overlay forms the front of the wheel splashers so I decided to get rough folds in it to make the soldering job a bit easier. After setting the correct location the part was clamped, a 2mm bar to create the turn out was held on top, then a 12mm bar was slid in under, and the part was folded over to give the rough shape. The inner cab and overlay parts are prepared to sweat solder them together. A light coat of solder was applied as these parts form a rebate on the edges for the cab sides and roof to sit into- to much solder would fill the rebate! This was the clamping arrangement after lining up the parts through some of the 3.7mm holes with pins, as the soldering progresses the clamps are removed while applying pressure with a stick to ensure the parts fit snug together. Sides tack soldered on and all is checked with a square. Then the roof rib is soldered in and the whole assembly is soldered up. The wheel splasher fronts are adjusted slightly and held down with a stick while soldering to the cab side that forms the splasher sides. The pre-folding was pretty close but a lot of pressure was needed to get a good fit. Testing on the footplate..... it fits! Eoin

That's most likely what I will do, with the new mounting plate and a new hole as you suggest keeps the coupler away from hitting the bogie. Eoin

Yes, the coach in the photos was the first attempt on positioning the couplers. I have now cnc'd out a revised brass mounting bracket to pull the couplers back in closer to the buffer line- though the Dapol assembly conflicts with the bogie frames now! so the second coach at this stage of the build is the test bed to come up with a solution...... Eoin

Chassis & body brass work coming to completion;- Setting up to install Dapol NEM pocket fittings, the chassis mounting part is folded up and a 3.15mm styrene mounting spigot prepared to joy rig the pocket to access the correct level and decide what mods are needed. The drag beam overlay parts, buffers, vac pipes and hooks are prepared for soldering. After assessing the coupler height this is the mod done to the mounting plate- 3.4mm cut off the upstands to set the correct coupler level. After the drag beam detail overlay, the buffers, the hook, and the modified plate are soldered on, a brass 3.15mm spigot tapped 10BA to mount the coupler and a 1mm wire stop to hold the Dapol spring plate on centre were made up. Parts soldered on and a 10BA screw prepared for the fixing. Mounted. Verified. The gas light roof pipe was next- to keep the roof removable the pipe needs to separate from the end down pipe so I decided to use a .4mm bore pipe to do this. The pipe is held with two .3mm split pins soldered on the coach end, so I made up a batch of pins by half filing .3mm brass wire n folding over to create the pins. Pins fitted to the down pipe, which will thread through .4mm holes drilled in the end plate and soldered on the inside. Gas down pipe and end handrails ready to be soldered on. Done. The solder wicked through the split pins and soldered the pipe in the pin heads. Next is the coach air vents, these parts are folded and stuck in place with epoxy glue. After folding, the parts need a rub with a file to remove the fret part which helps the folding process but leaves tabs on the top edge. Stuck on. Emergency brake parts are stuck on with epoxy glue also. The vac pipes are now soldered on with 70deg solder to the side of the coupler chassis bracket. The upstand pipe is supposed to lean over like that! And finally the last parts to the chassis- the lower side step/running boards. That completes the chassis and roof which are now ready to start painting. The body requires the internal partitions and then its ready for painting also. Two of the four coaches are at this stage..... another two to go!! Eoin

Footplate, buffer beam and steps being folded up and getting ready to solder. The footplate cab end drag beam is folded down, then the curve is folded over a 3.15mm dia brass rod. Then the 90 deg bend is folded down. Checking the folds with the cab side and making adjustments. The folded up steps are sweat soldered onto the valances, the front buffer beam structure is also soldered and all is ready to tack solder together! But the jig part 38 (top far left in the photo), is supplied in the kit to hold the valances at the front while soldering them to the underside of the footplate, doesn't fit! So have to do it by eye. All tacked in place with some minor adjustments at the drag beam end. Next is the detail etch cover to the buffer beam, but before soldering it on I decided to look at the buffers to see if any adjustments are needed. The fact that the buffer beam structure is a box type affair the buffer bushes at the back are not long enough to support the spring and keep the buffers out where they should be! Easily remedied with a brass tube spacer behind the spring on final assembly. The buffer shanks have a rib on the end which needs to be filed down, one is done in the photo. So after checking the buffer fit and making adjustments the whole footplate was soldered up. Then the buffer detail was sweat soldered on. The buffer bushes soldered into the rear of the beam structure. The rear chassis fixing captive nut was soldered on. And the front steps grab handles soldered in. Now a bit of turning- a 16mm dia brass flywheel for the motor, flywheels like all their weight on the outside of rotation for maximum torque, so a grove needs to be cut in the front face. This is done on the lathe which is called 'trapanning' - cutting a recess in the end of a bar. A tool 3mm wide was ground to shape for doing this which is on the right of the bar stock. Stock cleaned up in the lathe, drilled 1.9mm for the 2mm motor shaft which will be reamed 2mm after the part is parted off as this is not a through hole and cant be reamed here. The trapanning was done leaving a 1mm collar at the motor shaft, very slow speed, loads of lube, and slow feed into the work does the job. Parted off at a depth of 6mm, cleaned up and reamed 2mm...... and test fitted, which will be Locktited on final assembly. Next up are some cab parts, cut from the fret, de-cusped and ready......... ........that will be later. Eoin

Next months Fair date is the 5th September;-