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

[Horsetan]

3 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

I would certainly consider doing an E421......I think an E421 may have greater appeal, but I'm aware that it's also a more likely target for an IRM RTR model.....

I'm in the market if you ever decide to do it. 

[flange lubricator]

2 hours ago, Horsetan said:

I'm in the market if you ever decide to do it. 

Me too . 
 

[jhb171achill]

3 hours ago, Horsetan said:

I'm in the market if you ever decide to do it. 

And me!

[leslie10646]

The original for me.

Just get the kit made - I'll find a friend who likes building things!

[David Holman]

1

New school scratchbuilding? Certainly very impressive. A model like this would be an absolute pig to build from sheet metal alone and while a 3D print might work, this is a more elegant solution, keeping all the fine edges, open louvres and so on.

 I wonder how the CAD/etch/assembly route compares to making everything by hand? Both are genuine skills that need to be learned and practiced, as well as the ability to visualise how to turn a 2D drawing into a 3D structure. 

 Either way, technology opens up more options and if I was starting again, learning CAD would be right up there with metal work and electrics.

[Mol_PMB]

Thanks David!

There are pros and cons of doing it this way, and as ever it comes down to a money/time/abilities balance. Getting the etches done isn't cheap, but once you have them it's enormously quicker than scratchbuilding from sheet metal (which I have done in the past, and a piercing saw is still one of the tools closest to hand!).

I find that I have a fair bit of spare time when I can sit in front of a computer, sometimes more so than actual 'modelling' time. Also, on the screen I can zoom right in and design the model while viewing it many times larger than real life. So doing the time-consuming bit on the computer lets me make the most of my modelling time, and also means that I can do things more accurately with gradually deteriorating close-up vision. 

I learnt CAD back in the 1990s when it was only 2D, and therefore all my design work tends to be in 2D format - etches, laser-cuts etc. I've got pretty good at visualising how the shapes come together, have learnt the good and bad points of different materials and thicknesses, and have rule-of-thumb allowances for etch cusps, hold sizes etc to make sure it's a good fit.

On the other hand, I've never mastered 3D CAD, and hence the world of 3D printing isn't for me. I admire those who produce excellent 3D printed designs, like John. Equally I admire the 'old-school' scratchbuilders like yourself who achieve such beautiful results hewn from raw metal.

One other benefit of the CAD-based approach is if you want more than one of anything! But then if your preference is for something unique, that may not be a benefit.

 

Railway modelling can make use of such a broad spread of skills, we can't all be good at everything and a good approach is to focus our efforts on the things we get most satisfaction from.

 

[Tullygrainey]

21 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

I'm getting there, and thought it was time for a trial assembly and photoshoot. It presently works on DC power and runs smoothly.

Things still to resolve:

• A few more details to paint
• Numbering (I've asked Railtec for some decals)
• Weathering
• Fit buffers, cosmetic coupling hooks and Kadees
• Fit LEDs for marker lights (now ordered)
• Fit DCC decoder, stay-alive and wiring (now ordered)
• Put some thin black platicard behind the bonnet grilles to block the view
• Fit the radiator fan and cab control console
• Fit glazing to the cab windows, and a driver

It's riding about 0.5mm too low at present; I need to fit a couple of thin packers between the chassis and the footplate.

 

What a little beauty. Wonderful work!

[DB JOE]

3 minutes ago, DB JOE said:

What a beauty!!!

[Flying Snail]

Wow - that's a fine looking loco!

[Mol_PMB]

Life has quiet and busy patches and this week is a busier one, but I have got round to fitting the buffers and painting the bufferbeams, and it's a sunny morning today so another couple of pics.

The electronics parts have arrived (DCC decoder, stay-alive, LEDs etc) so that's probably my next job.

[flange lubricator]

Fabulous and love the weathering on the wagons . 

[Mol_PMB]

27 minutes ago, flange lubricator said:

Fabulous and love the weathering on the wagons . 

Thanks! The loco will be weathered too in due course. 

[Westcorkrailway]

On 20/3/2025 at 9:20 AM, Mol_PMB said:

Life has quiet and busy patches and this week is a busier one, but I have got round to fitting the buffers and painting the bufferbeams, and it's a sunny morning today so another couple of pics.

The electronics parts have arrived (DCC decoder, stay-alive, LEDs etc) so that's probably my next job.

Only seen this now. Sublime work….it looks perfect! (Other then said weathering in due course, cause Christ these got dirty) 

 

[jhb171achill]

43 minutes ago, Westcorkrailway said:

Only seen this now. Sublime work….it looks perfect! (Other then said weathering in due course, cause Christ these got dirty) 

 

Everything silver got utterly filthy, and quickly.

In an environment still surrounded by many steam engines, hot oil, coal smoke, coal dust and steam (and leaking oil on Crossleys) it was inevitable.

[Mol_PMB]

Colour photos of the E class in silver livery aren't numerous, but I've found half a dozen in various states of grime that I will be using to guide my weathering.

I'm going to aim for something like this:

This one has a similar degree of grime:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54255284989/

But there were some much worse examples, like the one on the edge of this photo:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54255052946/

This view shows how the dirt accumulated on the bonnet top:

[jhb171achill]

15 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

 

 

This view shows how the dirt accumulated on the bonnet top:

....leading some to think that silver stuff had grey or black roofs; not so! A bit like domes on steam engines that were any colour other than black, which were always body colour. but the grime made them LOOK dark grey or black.

That colour pic of 402 is about as clean as you'd ever have seen one!

 

[Mol_PMB]

21 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

....leading some to think that silver stuff had grey or black roofs; not so! A bit like domes on steam engines that were any colour other than black, which were always body colour. but the grime made them LOOK dark grey or black.

That colour pic of 402 is about as clean as you'd ever have seen one!

 

The two photos I have of E410 in silver are at Fenit in 1958 and Albert Quay in 1959, and I think it is in similar condition to E402 in the picture posted above, so that's what I'm going with. There's a lot of subtle staining down the sides, with heavier dirt on the horizontal surfaces. Should be an interesting challenge!

Fenit:

Cork:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54323027377

 

[jhb171achill]

3 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

The two photos I have of E410 in silver are at Fenit in 1958 and Albert Quay in 1959, and I think it is in similar condition to E402 in the picture posted above, so that's what I'm going with. There's a lot of subtle staining down the sides, with heavier dirt on the horizontal surfaces. Should be an interesting challenge!

Fenit:

Cork:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/54323027377

 

Given the standard of your work it will look amazing!

[Mol_PMB]

Some progress on the electronics. After seeking advice on RMweb I built a lighting board to allow me to have the required lighting functions.

A connector from the decoder plugs into the multicoloured socket. Blue is the common positive while white, yellow and green are the 3 function outputs. White or Yellow give directional headlights (2 whites) at whichever end is the front. Green gives shunting markers (1 white and 1 red) at both ends simultaneously. The diodes enable one white at each end to be used twice.

The board will be mounted in the top of the bonnet with the LEDs hard-wired.

 

The other side of the equation is the decoder and stay-alive, which are wired to the chassis in the conventional manner. Thanks are due to my friend Matt who is better at very fine soldering and also has a lokprogrammer, for wiring these up and programming the chip:

This shows how they fit within the bonnet. This is the incomplete second bonnet which is proving quite useful for positioning and fitting the internals. Note the plug top left, which connects to the lighting board.

The functions and operation have been tested and the loco given its DCC address 410.

The next thing to do on the electronics is to fit the LEDs into the cab and bonnet ends and route the wiring to the lighting board. The 2mm 'lighthouse' LEDs will need a bit of trimming to fit.

But before that I need to finish any weathering tasks that need the cab and bonnet separated, because once the headlight wiring goes in they'll be joined.

[Tullygrainey]

It's a tricky job finding places to stow all of that but it's looking very neat so far. Despite my best efforts, my DCC installations always end up looking like multicoloured spaghetti.

[David Holman]

Clever stuff and well outside my pay grade!

[Westcorkrailway]

Pretty please bring it to cork in April

[Mol_PMB]

2 hours ago, Westcorkrailway said:

Pretty please bring it to cork in April

It's possible. It would be nice to photograph it on the causeway at Fenit.

But I'm a wary of taking it on the railtour where there is a high risk of damage if it gets handled by trainload of people who all want a close look.

And I'm flying Ryanair so I should have built it in Z gauge to fit the baggage allowance.

I'll have a think about it.

[Westcorkrailway]

35 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

It's possible. It would be nice to photograph it on the causeway at Fenit.

But I'm a wary of taking it on the railtour where there is a high risk of damage if it gets handled by trainload of people who all want a close look.

And I'm flying Ryanair so I should have built it in Z gauge to fit the baggage allowance.

I'll have a think about it.

Fair enough. Picture in fenit would be nice! I took this photo on the 17th of March 2021. Exactly 60 years to the day since the 1961 farewell tour passed through Bandon. 

[Mol_PMB]

I had hoped to use Railtec transfers for the loco, and had created artwork not just for E410 but for the whole class in silver livery. Sadly my repeated emails to Steve at Railtec have gone unanswered. 

So I've reverted to my other option of John at Precision Decals. He has older print technology and there are some limitations, but responds to emails within hours rather than weeks, and is very helpful. 

Hopefully the decals will arrive tomorrow and I can get them applied and then finish the weathering this weekend.

So there's a fair chance I'll have a complete loco by the time I board the flight to Cork on Friday morning. Shall I bring it? Who's on the railtour that would like a closer look?

[Westcorkrailway]

1 hour ago, Mol_PMB said:

.

So there's a fair chance I'll have a complete loco by the time I board the flight to Cork on Friday morning. Shall I bring it? Who's on the railtour that would like a closer look?

You might not be the only person brining a model on board that day for viewing…

 

that being said, the lack of tables on the 2600s are a pain! 

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, Mol_PMB said:

……….So there's a fair chance I'll have a complete by the time I board the flight to Cork on Friday morning. Shall I bring it? Who's on the railtour that would like a closer look?

ME!!!

[Galteemore]

Braver man than me! My Irish locos, crude though they are, will only leave the house under strictly controlled conditions…..