Making an ‘E’ – the Maybach Diesel Model Assembly thread

[exciecoachbuilder]

3 hours ago, Signal Post said:

I should clarify that my "funny" emoji reaction to your last post solely relates to the last line!

The rest of that post and indeed this thread is wonderfully informative and interesting, I never had a huge interest in the E401 class...until now. Now they are definitely on my bucket list.

Your work on building this model is truly amazing, from doing the artwork for the etches through to obtaining the etches and then onto construction has been wonderful to observe and all done at a pace that even @Darius43 of this parish (who appears to be the record holder for rapid and wonderful construction of models) would , I am sure, be proud of.

Thanks for all of this and keep it coming!

Have to agree, it really is wonderful to observe. Also, like you I never had an interest in E class shunters, but now I want one. It looks so good that it's almost a shame to paint it. 

[exciecoachbuilder]

1 hour ago, Mol_PMB said:

Many thanks, you're too kind!

I decided to ask Colour-Rail for a better copy of the view of E402 in 1961 shown in Irish Railways Traction and Travel, 1994 edition, page 70, and they are going to scan it for me.

In the process we have also identified two other nice colour views in their collection, reference numbers IR637 and FIE02925. I'm ordering good copies of those for my personal use, but for info if you put those numbers into the 'reference' search box here:

https://colourrail.co.uk/nonuk

You will find that IR637 is mainly a colour view of D class 1000 in original dark green, plus the cab of silver E417. Dark green loco, eau-de-nil snail and E number in one shot, for the shades of green...

FIE02925 is a panoramic colour view of the goods yard at Albert Quay, with E403 shunting. The top of the footplate looks very dark, but then so does the roof!

 

Slightly tangential:

• FIE04522 is E413 in black, a very nice view shunting a green carriage
• FIE05083 and FIE05084 are at Fenit, with a silver shunter at work, but it's G602 rather than an E.

Top class info as usual. Now we have the three amigos, you, Jonathan and Mayner. Cheers. Paul

[Mol_PMB]

I'm just adding all the tabs to the chassis etch artwork. There is provision for rigid chassis, 1 axle rigid and the other two compensated (with hornguides), or all 3 axles with hornguides and CSB suspension. Also 16.5mm gauge or 21mm gauge.

This sheet will be 0.45mm brass rather than the 0.25mm nickel silver used for the body.

To fill some gaps, a couple of bonus items for the body on here: a radiator fan and mount, and a handrail bending jig for the sizes required. Neither really necessary but why not?

I have a little bit of space left over even on a small A5 sheet, no doubt I've forgotten something, but you never realise until it's too late!

If I don't think of anything else by tomorrow then I will fill it with various widths of strip - you can never have too many bits of brass strip!

[David Holman]

Impressive stuff!

[BSGSV]

I'm more familiar with mainline locos, but pipe colours would be blue for water and green for fuel oil, as you say. Air is yellow, electrical is brown. Hence the yellow air receivers. Exposed pipes might well lose their paint.

[Mol_PMB]

16 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

Slightly tangential:

• FIE05083 and FIE05084 are at Fenit, with a silver shunter at work, but it's G602 rather than an E.

So, I mentioned a silver G and look what appeared!

https://flic.kr/p/2qMapPe

Lovely - thank you! 

The footplate on this appears to be silver, definitely not black. 

Edited February 17 by Mol_PMB
Added last line.

[Mol_PMB]

I think this is the final version of the chassis etch. I've added an extra geartrain option and a few spacer washers, also a mix of strips, angles and channels with no particular purpose in mind. As a scratchbuilder I know it's always more useful to have bits like this rather than blank bits of fret!

[Galteemore]

Wow. Fab work. The difference in size between 16.5mm and 21mm spacers is striking. And as a scratch builder too, spare strips and channels are always useful! 

[David Holman]

Agreed. It is one thing to make a drawing, because that only involves thinking in two dimensions. Kit design means thinking in three, which is a whole extra level of visualisation and ramps up the number of variables considerably!

[Mol_PMB]

4DModelshop sent me a free spare etch of the bonnet when I had the first body etch done. It looked like there had been some production issue that had damaged the rest of the sheet, but the top third of it was OK.

So today I thought I'd build another bonnet using the later radiator grille options, and also to illustrate a couple of minor modifications that I applied retrospectively on the first build.

This shows the later radiator grilles fitted. These are an option on the fret:

I'm waiting for a quote from Iain on the chassis etches, and my intention is to order 2 chassis etches and 1 more body etch, which ought to allow me to complete 2 locos and have a small stash of spare bits.

The first one I've built will be silver, representing E410 as it ran at Fenit.

The second one will be black, but I haven't quite decided on my preferred prototype. The logical one is E410 because it lasted the longest and didn't lose its exhaust cowl, and therefore the model can represent the mid 1960s to 1979 time period. But then I'll end up with two models of the same loco!

All the other locos still in traffic into the late 1970s had lost their exhaust cowls around 1975, so I'd be forced into a decision on pre- or post-1975 condition.

[Mol_PMB]

Last bit of progress today, I've had the quote from 4DModelshop for the next batch of etches, and paid for it. Should be ready next week.

Here's the new bonnet and the existing complete body:

Once the H vans arrive I can mock up a Bulleid train with the E class.

 

 

 

[jhb171achill]

That is absolutely top class. Love the scenic background too.

[Mol_PMB]

while there is a pause in construction as I await the next etch order, IRRS Flickr have uploaded a super photo of E418 brand new in July 1957:
https://flic.kr/p/2qNj1Yx

Thank you! 
 

Having done the green numbers for the silver livery, I have also been working on the decal artwork for the black livery - both the numbers and the white vees at each end. I’ve done artwork for two different shapes of vee as they weren’t all the same. 

[Mol_PMB]

My package of etches arrived yesterday from 4DModelshop, a week after placing the order. Work is very busy at present but I hope to have a chance to build a chassis this weekend. Here's the chassis etch:

[Mol_PMB]

I'm pleased to say that I have managed to make time for a good few hours of modelling today, and I've been focusing on the chassis for the E class.

Making up the High Level hornblocks and hornguides and getting them all to be a smooth fit was a time-consuming task, lots of fettling required as the parts supplied had some dimensional variations. I got there in the end though.

Main frame components ready for assembly:

Hornguides fitted and fettled (again) so the blocks all slide freely:

Once that was done, progress was much faster. Here are the main parts soldered together and checked for fit. I had to file a little off the ends as they clashed with my messy soldering of the vacuum pipes inside the bufferbeams, but otherwise it fits well:

CSB pivots and brake hanger rods fitted, nuts added to coupler mounting plates. Geartrain case completed and the hornblocks ready to fit:

Rough positioning of the QuaDriver motor and gearbox which drives the two closely-spaced axles at the front. The geartrain in the foreground connects to the third axle:

And finally for today, the gubbins tray which bolts in place above the motor. My intention is that this can be used to carry extra weight, and/or to mount decoder, stay-alives etc. There's plenty of room above it in the bonnet:

Hopefully at the weekend I can try fitting this all together with axles, gears, wheels, suspension and pickups. 

If that goes well it will be ready for a test-run, so I was delighted to hear that my 21mm gauge flexitrack bases went in the post today!

[MD220]

Lovely job!

[Horsetan]

44 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

... I was delighted to hear that my 21mm gauge flexitrack bases went in the post today!

Likewise. Need to acquire some FB Code 75 rail now....

[Tullygrainey]

17 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

I'm pleased to say that I have managed to make time for a good few hours of modelling today, and I've been focusing on the chassis for the E class.

Making up the High Level hornblocks and hornguides and getting them all to be a smooth fit was a time-consuming task, lots of fettling required as the parts supplied had some dimensional variations. I got there in the end though.

Main frame components ready for assembly:

Hornguides fitted and fettled (again) so the blocks all slide freely:

Once that was done, progress was much faster. Here are the main parts soldered together and checked for fit. I had to file a little off the ends as they clashed with my messy soldering of the vacuum pipes inside the bufferbeams, but otherwise it fits well:

CSB pivots and brake hanger rods fitted, nuts added to coupler mounting plates. Geartrain case completed and the hornblocks ready to fit:

Rough positioning of the QuaDriver motor and gearbox which drives the two closely-spaced axles at the front. The geartrain in the foreground connects to the third axle:

And finally for today, the gubbins tray which bolts in place above the motor. My intention is that this can be used to carry extra weight, and/or to mount decoder, stay-alives etc. There's plenty of room above it in the bonnet:

Hopefully at the weekend I can try fitting this all together with axles, gears, wheels, suspension and pickups. 

If that goes well it will be ready for a test-run, so I was delighted to hear that my 21mm gauge flexitrack bases went in the post today!

A really fine bit of work. You've built a chassis in less time than it usually takes me to identify all the bits on an etch! From the pics, you've clearly designed this one really well and it seems to have gone together without any drama.  That's no mean achievement. I like the gubbins tray - brilliant idea! That one's gone in the notebook for future deployment.

Good luck with the track tests. My guess is that this one will run as wells it looks.

Alan

[jhb171achill]

This just keeps getting better!