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Richard EH

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Everything posted by Richard EH

  1. Cheers for the kind comments guys, I'll keep the thread updated as it progresses. The 3d design stuff isn't so tricky these days, more help becoming available all the time as it becomes more popular - give it a go, I'm sure you'll find it a useful addition to your modelling skills! The couplings are what they are at this stage, it's an old chassis so unless I replace the chassis completely they'll be staying - and if I replaced it, I may as well have kept the original GWR toad van..... some might say I should've done that anyway! Cheers for now. Richard
  2. Little bit more work on the WT. I've designed a set of 3d printed window frames, and printed them off in one of the newer more precise materials. I've now attached and painted them - reckon they're looking good! Cheers for now Richard.
  3. The idea for this model sprang from two sources. An article in New Irish Lines Volume 5 No.2, which provided the scale drawing and a photo to work from, and the availability in my ‘things to do one day’ pile – this was actually one I’ve had since my childhood of an old Airfix Great Western Toad brake van which initially looked as though it might be a good quick start for a conversion….In addition I have a cambrian BR ‘shark’ van in stock which looked as though it might provide a ballast plough… Once I’d had a closer look, it became apparent that the bodywork of the GN van, whilst initially similar would need a lot of work to convert, so I resolved to replace the bodywork with a scratchbuilt bodyshell. This has been built from evergreen 2.1mm planked plasticard siding as the basic shell, with 30 thou plasticard for the floor and internal partitions. Once the basic box was built up, I used plastruct 90501 1.2mm ‘L’ section to produce the distinctive ironwork. However, it was apparent that the body was slightly wider than the old airfix toad roof, so I couldn’t use that either and it also had to go…..I’ve replaced that with a 3d printed roof I designed to fit. For the chassis, I took the razor saw to it to take a section of the chassis out and shorten it down to the length of the GN van. Careful reglueing is required here to keep the chassis square, and a section of plasticard was glued across the join. Looking at the photo of the GN van, it’s apparent that the footboards do not extend the length of the vehicle, so more careful razor sawing was required to carefully cut these out. There’s a section over one axle which is difficult to remove, I left that in as it wouldn’t be worth removing it and I don’t think it’s too noticeable. For the ballast plough, I ended up drawing a plough rather than using the Cambrian shark which I resolved to keep for a project to provide a ballast plough for my IFM wagons which are on order… The plough is quite a complex shape which would be a tricky build in plasticard but is simplicity itself for a 3d print. Using the drawing I took a broad look at the shape which has come out well – I also printed a couple of supports to attach it to the chassis as a strong one piece item. I did then cape the plan to keep the Cambrian shark as a complete kit straight away by using the plough wheel in the open section of the GN van, as it’s quite a noticeable feature…. Oh well….! Final detailing is now underway, using various brass wire and offcuts for the handrails and lamp irons. I’ve also plenty of archer transfer rivets left so attaching some of these is the next job followed by painting and transfers from railtec. I’ve no photos of these vans in later life, only the photo in New Irish Lines, therefore I’m not sure how long the GNR(I) shown lasted, I may well finish it off just with GN and the number of the van shown in the photo, that’ll be fine for me in the absence of any other info. So now it looks like I’ve got a GNRi ballast plough van, three CIE ballast hoppers on order, and could’ve kept the toad if I’d sourced a chassis from elsewhere – oh well….!I’ll have to also look at a a few GN hoppers which are also in the NiL article – I suspect Cambrian kit C110 (Herring) may be a good start, or even the recent Cambrian ‘open’ chassis kit C105 with a printed hopper. The Cambrian open is a good development - this will also be useful for the GN cement van/hoppers I think, more on that when I manage to get hold of a couple of these, apparent semi mythical, beasts….. perhaps a CIE van will turn up from other sources in due course……
  4. I thought it was ok, matt le blanc quite funny, Chris Evans is a good presenter so I'm sure he'll settle into it. Sabine Schmitz is hilarious too, more air time for her, and her crazy driving! Cheers for now Richard.
  5. Hi all, Had a family visit to Crich Tramway Museum today. As some may know, this is the home of GNRi Hill of Howth Tram No.10. As you can see from the attached photos, it's in very good condition in their main exhibition space, and kept undercover. I don't know if the finish is authentic GNRi, but it's in very good cosmetic condition. I don't know if it's currently operational - but apparently it has been regauged and did work on the Blackpool Tramway in the late 80's... Hope it's of interest! Richard.
  6. Fair enough, visually similar then, but nothing else.... Kind Regards Richard.
  7. That's an interesting reference to some parts being prepainted before assembly.... clearly there's a lot of cross over between the U and UG so it makes sense given the Great Northern's design approach within classes. I think the U/UG family is a good choice, though as I and others have mentioned, the painting and lining quality will be key. As the tenders seemed to move around a little, you can even use it towards a PPs......! Here's a question, is the tender on a 'W' the same as that on a U/UG? I do think though that Hornby are missing a trick with their fowler tank. As I've been working through my WT project it's really hit me how much material Hornby have to work with there which really is on a plate.... Kind Regards Richard
  8. ooooo that's a nice set of photos for sure! Who'd have thought looking at it's latter incarnations that it was that old!! All those ballast wagons are going to need something to bring up the rear of the train ;') Kind Regards Richard.
  9. I was tempted by that - like the look of that in 'Parting Shot' - but it's about 10 years too late for my era - most of my steam era stuff is pure GN, so 1956 - 57 is ideal for me! Kind Regards Richard.
  10. Thanks all, I hadn't realised SSM did the transfers for No.4 - remiss of me not to have looked as SSM illustrate their transfers with my model of 201! oh well....!! and I see Railtec do some transfers for the UTA Crests as well, so all should be sorted, I hope! Kind Regards Richard.
  11. Hi, yes, that's it - does anyone do it in 4mm do we know? Now it's painted the black covers a lot of the detail, I'll try and get it out in some natural light soon....! Kind Regards Richard.
  12. Hi all, A few photos of more progress with No.4 now that' I've a coat of black paint on it, and a suggestion of red on the connecting rod and valve gear. Think she's it's looking the part now!! Does anyone have an idea of a good source of lining for these? It looks like straw and another colour on some of the photos I've seen, if it was ever straw on it's own, that'll make life a lot simpler....! Kind Regards Richard,
  13. Interesting variant on the end of the van on the right. This would be a good conversion from the parkside kit for a BR plywood sided van. Kind Regards Richard.
  14. Hi all, A few more photos of progress of the WT. I've yet to order the front steps above the buffer beam, but have finished the detail for the rear of the bunker which has a nice 1940's utilitarian feel to it. The bunker steps are made from some L shaped plasticard and with a few more resin rivets added I think they look the part. I've also added the cab steps and injectors below the cab which give it all a nice detailed feel. I've been using it as a test rig for a sound chip for another project, and am tempted to add a suitable sound chip to the engine. Does anyone know of a suitable sound chip which would be suitable? No doubt a fowler tank sound file (if available) would work - but what tone would be correct for the whistle?! Cheers for now. Richard.
  15. 3. The Irish Steam Loco Register has now been sold. Kind Regards Richard.
  16. Hi all, I've been having a clearout of my collection and have the following books for sale: 1. 'The Ballymena Lines, Part Two' by Edward Patterson(1968). Very Good Condition for age. Dust jacket a little worn, but complete. £12 + postage (Tbc). 2. Irish Railways in Colour, a second glance 1947 - 1970, by Tom Ferris (1995). Excellent condition, small mark where a label was on the front cover. £10 + postage(TB) 3. Irish Steam Loco Register, by JWP Rowledge, (1993). Excellent condition soft back book, no marks £10 + Postage (Tbc) First come first served. Paypal preferred for these. For all of these I intend to use 2nd class recorded signed for (or equivalent), and once agreed via PM will confirm price with you, if any of these are of interest. Richard.
  17. Hi all, A bit more progress to report, I've: Looked at the rear bunker and included the cut outs on the sloped section at the side. Does anyone know what's in there? (Tank filler perhaps - but there's a filler on the top of the side tanks, so maybe not....) Shifted the whistle from the top of the firebox to the top of the cab Bought from 51L models, now that they're selling the comet range of detailing parts LS22 Ivatt live and exhaust steam injectors, and LS36 LMS two rung cab steps for the steps into the cab Both of these are great castings and I now need another set of steps for the front footplate above the leading pony truck and to complete the rear bunker steps and it's nearly ready for painting. Will post up a photo when I get the latter two items complete. Cheers for now. Richard.
  18. I am quite, oh ok, very tempted to go for one of these. We've discussed the rivets on the tender - whilst a minor feature, is it ok for a 'layout loco?' can you see them at 2ft away? Probably not, the magazine article illustrates that well - they're practically invisible in the prototype photo.... so that's not a problem for me... I do want to see the lining though.... I've already a U, No.201 and the lining.... well, that's the most difficult bit.... so I may hang back until there's a painted sample before ordering. But it's right in the model of my modelling period, is the right loco for me and... well, you can tell I'm not taking much persuading, it' just the price! Richard.
  19. This is a shame. It's gone from a definite to a see what it looks like thing for me, I think. The rivet detail on the tender tank is quite a distinctive feature of these locomotives - it points to the origin being something other than the worsley works scratch aid parts as the tender rivet details on these is really very good. If the lining and painting is good it still might be good. It might've been easier to have gone for one of the 1915 locos with a more traditional tender.... Richard.
  20. Hi Guys, Many thanks for those kind words, will keep the thread updated with progress. Kind Regards Richard.
  21. Very much looking forward to this one! Richard.
  22. Hi all, Happy New Year to all on the forum! Managed some progress on the WT over Christmas in between all the celebrations and mince pies! Really all I've now done is completed the riveting on the side tanks using the archer resin rivets. As mentioned previously, I've used the sample pack to get the various spacing of rivets. The tricky bit was getting the corners right and I've generally cut each rivet out and applied them individually. Done a few at a time and then applied some matt varnish to make sure the next set didn't lift the previous set... was straightforward but was time consuming...! Next step is to sort the cab steps, cab rainstrip, relocate the whistle, and sort some steps for the back of the bunker. That'll sort the body I think ready for painting and after that it's about looking at some replacement wheels as helpfully set out upthread. All the best for now. Richard.
  23. ooooh yes.That's good, so very good!! Very well done! Kind Regards Richard.
  24. And as a postscript, I hope they can do some good quality lining on the u for the price.... That'll be tricky having tried it myself! Richard
  25. This is a great development, and although pricy, is one I look forward to supporting..... A u/ug cuts down on development time and therefore cost as the tender, cab, boiler and smoke box are the same... So you get two for most of the development costs of one.... Richard
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