Class 27 From kit to completion.

All I am going to do is snip away the excess which means I loose the outside set of five bolts on one side of the keeps, otherwise what would the time frame be for you to get me a set of modified etches ? Considering that we now have a Class 26 build on the books too I shall need double quantities. Shall I sent you a shopping list of all etch amendments needed ?

 

I very much appreciate your dedication to design but if I may say without causing issue you are always better with a proof reader and right now this test build is doing just that, my concern is that these issues are in the public domain for all to read. However having said that what we as a team are doing is showing just what effort and input is involved in getting a kit to market, if I may be so bold as to say currently the spotlight of attention is focused on me now to deliver a great end result. Even authors of books have proof readers to debug because very often an independent pair of eyes is what is needed. So onwards and upwards we go eliminating the niggles because ultimately this road test is an integral stage of the process. As for snipping Part 53 I think that won't work too good... I'm going to use my 4mm scale anvil embosser and press five new rivet heads in fine scale, but as I suggested the wirework needs altering to suit for production batches.

 

So onwards with the bogie outer side frames, as usual I fabricate the first one of any new design to familiarise myself with process and once satisfied I set up a production line to do the others. Here the first frame has had wraps fitted except for the axle keep ones which need a little more thought to get right but now the lifting lugs. There is a choice of two sorts, Part 61 a single eyelet and Part 60 which is a double eyelet, I'm using the former as 27005 had and still has the single type, however as bogies were interchangeable at overhaul it is entirely possible some locos ran with both sorts. My advice is to consult photos of your loco depicted in the time period of your choosing.

Now here is a little tip I'm sharing, Part 60 pieces are located in pairs set 1mm apart and there are two pairs to each side, so there is every chance it can go wrong as I discovered the first time... this is what I did once I'd refined the technique. Locate the first one remembering to place the strengthening ring faces outwards, hold this piece in place with a piece of spring wire... I used an old broach reamer minus its plastic grip to hold the tiny Part 60 in position, once soldered it was a matter of treating the second one the same once satisfied everything aligned properly, see Fig 7.6 of Part 7 in the kit instructions.

The next step will be to add in the back frame face Part 51 thus closing this section up once the axle keep wraps are fitted. Remember you saw this technique first here on Platform 1.

 

Oops I missed that... I'll have to solder some brass rod in from behind now.

 

Pretty much one outer side frame is now finished bar for the irons protecting the primary springs and the axle keep guides which I'll deal with when fitting in the new resin 3D printed items, all these bits will go together once the whole outer frame is fabricated and tested to the inner frame. So having soldered the faux imitation stretchers to the back of the outer frame I ensured that the underside which is handed (Part 27 Part 27a) was formed at the end to meet the profile of Parts 33 side pieces before soldering. That concludes the first fix on the outer bogie side frame for now and focus will turn to the fabricating headstocks and the other three side frames, hopefully by somewhere next week we should have a couple of bogies ready in their raw form.

 

Nah I've worn me fibre pencil out on all these other loco builds.

Great stuff and thanks Dundee and Toto, I'll let you know when the package arrives and put up a few pictures too, with any luck I should have got one bogie complete by mid week and so we can all share an inaugural peek at how these new bits look on the brass frame. Things can all be taken from there once the shinnies arrive.

 

Superb pics thanks for posting them Andy... oh bugger looks like we have to get a set of standard oval buffers for this build. Those large head Oleo ones in the kit just won't do this time... looks like I'm going to have to start building Class 20's