On SRman's Workbench

Discussion in 'Workshop Benches' started by SRman, Feb 27, 2016.

  1. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    I have been playing around a little more with the sounds in 10001. I have settled for the moment on the class 37 sounds and horns, with the 37 engine sounds being a little more 'raw' than the more controlled class 31 sounds. The low tones of the 37 horns semm suitable, until I can locate something online that shows what the real single-tone horns actually sounded like.

    CV123 can be set with values from 0 to 5 to get the six separate sets of engine sounds.

    CV120 and 121 set the forward and reverse horn sounds.

    I had a little problem with 10001 surging at low speeds, so have tweaked CV211 for the BEMF settings - currently set to its highest value of 255 until I can work out a better combination of values in all of the related CVs that also influence and control the BEMF. I must check to see if I removed the capacitors too, as they can affect the operation of the BEMF on some decoders, whereas some other decoders seem unaffected by these.
     
  2. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    With the annual Model Bus Association of Australia's modelling competition looming in December, I decided I had better divert a little of my railway modelling energy to finishing some of the bus kits I started some years ago. I also finished off the London Country RLH uniform store started last week; you know how it is, with some modelling projects overtaking others. :D

    A quick scout of the Internet found a rear shot of 581 J (ex-RLH 44), revealing the rear number plate is wrong in the photo, and should have been a straight 1-line version rather than a 2-line one. I have replaced it now.

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    P_20181112_152929_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    [​IMG]

    P_20181112_153004_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


    The two Southdown buses have been sitting on the workbench for a lot longer, but I have now got around to tidying up the paintwork (still a little bit to do) before adding glazing as the next step.

    [​IMG]

    P_20181112_153052_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     
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  3. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Work continues on the Little Bus Company Southdown Duple Coronation Ambassador kit. All that remains to be done now is to paint on the tail lights, print and fix some registration numbers (probably MCD 46), fix up the poorly fitted corner windscreens (the close-up photo cruelly shows them as looking really bad!), and give the model a good coat of varnish.

    [​IMG]
    P_20181126_124704_vHDR_On cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

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    P_20181126_124720_vHDR_On cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


    Sorry about the stray cat hair on the rear end in the photo. :D
     
  4. Toto

    Toto I'm best ignored Staff Member Founder Administrator

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    Excellent. Makes for a nice change of subject. :thumbs:
     
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  5. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    You can really knock those kits up nicely Jeff. Great work and I like the liveries of your buses. The liveries had some class to them back then, unlike today ! :(

    Cheers, Gary.
     
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  6. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Yes, and Southdown was particularly renowned for its smartness - they actually looked after their buses and coaches then.

    I'm just working on another unfinished project, a Bristol RELL that I have been doing as a Thames Valley vehicle. Unfortunately for me, the TV REs had tall destination boxes at both ends, although when I started this model, I hadn't realised the back end had this feature as well. Anyway, thanks to some very helpful modellers in the Model Bus Federation Facebook group, I have a couple of photos and a set of blueprints to work from now, so work commenced wit some thick plastic sheet, laminated for the main body and heavily filed to blend into the roof curves. The next stage will be to use some filler, then a lot more filing, before painting it to match back in.

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    P_20181126_165637_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

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    P_20181126_165628_vHDR_On cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     
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  7. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    The Southdown Leyland/Duple coach and the ex-RLH uniform store got first prizes in their categories last week.

    The finished RLH was shown before, but I never posted the photos of the finished Southdown coach or the Bristol RELL, so here they are. The Bristol was never quite right and needed a tad more work done on it, but I ran out of time.

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    P_20181208_190015_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

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    P_20181208_190027_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

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    P_20181208_190044_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    [​IMG][/urlP_20181208_190105_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


    Continuing on with non-railway items, I have picked up on another bus kit started over a year ago but languishing on the workbench; another Little Bus Company resin kit, this time an AEC Regal IV with Harrington Wayfarer II bodywork, as used by Maidstone & District. It is getting close to the glazing stage, but I am still to-ing and fro-ing a bit with fine paintbrushes and the cream and green paints, as well as the silver and black fine lining on the raised trim. I have used BR multi-unit stock green for the green on this bus, and Humbrol #41, ivory for the cream. I think it should be slightly more yellow in tint, but they did tend to fade a bit.

    As with most of the other buses I build, painting the black inside the window rebates to disguise the depth a bit is a right royal pain to do, but well worth the effort for the improvement in the appearance of the finished result.

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    P_20181208_155336_vHDR_On cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    [​IMG]
    P_20181208_155347_vHDR_On cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     
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  8. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    For those of you who are Maidstone & District fans, here is the latest progress on the Little Bus Company AEC/Harrington Wayfarer II I have been working on. The paintwork is all but done, with just a couple of minor fixes needed. It is still awaiting number plates, destination screens, and the AEC badge (for which I have a few transfers).

    [​IMG]
    P_20181219_145545_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

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    P_20181219_145600_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

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    P_20181219_145636_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     
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  9. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    While my back has been limiting the amount of time I can spend leaning over the layout to do further work on that, I have been working through some of the bus kits I have languishing partly done on the workbench, or still in their boxes.

    Yet another 'delayed' bus kit is this original Aubrey white metal kit for a Bedford VAL with Duple Viceroy bodywork. It has been languishing in the 'to do' pile for a good few years. I had glued the body shell together, and started the painting, but that was as far as I had gone.

    I am doing it as a Shamrock & Rambler vehicle. It has now had another coat of paint, although there is much tidying up to do. One of the beauties of the white metal is it is much easier to 'polish' up the trim, which is also very convenient in tidying up the paint lines where they join.

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    P_20181221_182522_vHDR_On cropped
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

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    P_20181221_182538_vHDR_On cropped
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     
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  10. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Not a new model as such, but new to me as I purchased it second-hand a couple of months ago. This Fleischmann DB BR 120 is actually quite an old model, but ran smoothly on test in the shop (on analogue DC) and it was reasonably priced, so I took a risk on it being either DCC-ready or easy to convert. On examination on the workbench, I found it was not going to be as straightforward as I had hoped, but after languishing on the workbench for a while, while I thought about what needed to be done to isolate the brushes, I bit the bullet, dismantled it and took a closer look. I had planned to drill around the screw holding the motor faceplate that grounded the left brush to the motor bogie frame, but closer inspection revealed a small tag of metal on the faceplate linking the screw part to the brush part of the circuits on the faceplate. A small drill made short work of that link!

    After desoldering and removing all of the other wires, I tested the brushes and pickups to make sure they were not connected electrically in any way. All was going to plan now. The original PCB was discarded.

    The next stage was to wire in a decoder. I chose a Lenz Standard+ decoder as being entirely suited to this job. Wiring the red and black wires to the trailing bogie pickups and the black to the small metal plate with that previously mentioned screw on the motor bogie, red to the pickups on the right-hand side (with the motor bogie trailing), completed the first bit. Orange and grey wires were connected to the brush plates on the faceplate circuit board. Another test on the programming track proved it all worked perfectly.

    I have left the wires to the directional lights unconnected at present, because I am seriously contemplating replacing them with some bicoloured LEDs. The Lenz decoder has four functions, so can be wired to power the tail lights independently of the headlights.

    Anyway, here she is: DB 120-160-7 ready for active service, although she won't meet the lighting standards for safety yet!

    [​IMG]
    P_20190525_164041_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

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    P_20190525_164522_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     
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  11. ianvolvo46

    ianvolvo46 Staff Member Moderator

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    I used to drive VAL's for a little known firm of Butlers in Loughborough, before moving to Howletts at Quorn very smooth riding vehicles
     
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  12. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    My most memorable ride in a VAL was as a child on a school excursion from Crawley to Arundel Castle. The coach was a Duple bodied example in Crawley Luxury's fleet.
     
  13. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    My recently purchased experimental blue class 30 D5578 has found its way onto the workbench again.

    I bought it knowing that one of the side windows was missing (it was accurately portrayed in the photos on eBay), and that the buffer beam cowlings were missing as well. I got it at a bargain price, considering it was sound-fitted, being a code 3 repaint of a factory-fitted Railfreight model. This is the super-detailed model with central can motor and flywheels driving all six axles (which is actually two more driven axles than the real locomotives have!).

    The side window was reglazed with a suitable piece of clear plastic, but I will have to restore the handrail bars at some stage.

    Initially it refused to run - something was sticking in the motor or transmission, but I got that cleared. Then there was a slight clicking as it ran, but it ran smoothly enough. Subsequently, it would stop occasionally with the driven wheels slipping but two of the axles not being driven. On investigation, I found that the two inner axles (one on each bogie) had so much side-play they were going out of engagement with the rest of the drive train gears. Removing the base plates of each bogie (each has six clips retaining it) showed that for some reason, Hornby have the axle gears near on the centreline, while all of the drive train gears are off-set to one side. When the axles were moving sideways, the gears were moving just enough out of line to lose engagement. The side frames of the bogies help to locate the axles and limit the side-play, but have a tendency to bow outwards slightly towards the ends. The sideframes have spigots that go into hollow posts projecting horizontally out from the inner bogie frame.

    After some head scratching, I came up with the idea of trimming the ends off the hollow posts on one side only (the side opposite the sde the gears are on) of the main bogie frame, clipping off approximately 1mm or less from the outer ends to just close up the amount of side-play and forcing the axles over towards the gear train. I used a sprue cutter to do this.

    Pushing the sideframes back into the spigots then clipping the base plates back on also locks the sideframes into place. The slight reduction in the width between sideframes has also limited the amount of side-play in the axles and means the loco now behaves properly with no loss of drive to any of the axles.

    [​IMG]
    P_20190522_200045_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    Edit: I should add that the buffer beam cowlings were never fitted to this model in the first place, being a modern Railfreight example. I will have to make some up, rather like I did for the Hornby RailRoad example I fitted an earlier Lima body to.
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2019
  14. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    I have been fixing up what has long been a minor annoyance: Hornby's otherwise superb model of the Maunsell S15 4-6-0 no. 30830 had the cabside number on one side on a slight downward slope. This was common to the whole production batch. I got out the cotton buds and T-cut and polished off the numbers on either side of the central '8' - a slightly harder job for me as I had weathered and varnished the loco previously. I chose to retain the '8' as a reference point for the rest.

    I dug out the HMRS pressfix transfers, which were an exact match for the size of numerals. I carefully applied a strip of Tamiya masking tape below the remaining numeral and aligned it very carefully so it was parallel to the footplate. Then, to make sure there were no slight colour differences, started with the '8' from the HMRS sheet, then worked on the numbers on either side.

    I am aware that the spacing has gone slightly adrift, but I will fix that before varnishing the cabside again and blending the weathering back in.

    The first pic shows the 'before' with the slightly sloping number, the next two show it as it is before I do further fixing up.

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    S15 edited
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

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    P_20190628_210003_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

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    P_20190628_210019_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     
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  15. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Earlier this year I purchased a green Heljan Western diesel-hydraulic, D1002 Western Explorer, off an eBay seller. I got it at a good price, and it came with etched plates fitted and a bit of nicely done weathering. I like the Heljan Westerns, but they do have the error in the cab roof shape that results in a large peak over the windscreens. With my previous Heljan model, D1007 Western Talisman in maroon, I filed the roof shape down until I had it much closer to the correct profile. I couldn't match the maroon precisely, so weathered the whole roof to disguise the colour mismatch. I have now spent an hour or so filing down the peak on the green one, although the shape is not quite right yet, looking slightly too domed. I was able to closely match the green, and once I get the final shape right and can weather the newly painted cab roofs, I should be able to blend the new back into the old. While I was at it, I also fixed a loose lamp iron, which the previous owner had fitted, then painted all four of the lamp irons.

    Here is the 'before' for the cab roof shape:

    [​IMG]
    P_20190309_121728_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


    And the 'after', as it stands now. Western Talisman is posed beside Western Explorer to show what I think it should look like once I refine the shape a little further.

    [​IMG]
    P_20190707_162431_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    [​IMG]
    P_20190707_162443_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


    Western Talisman also features some home made wire brake rigging and adapted (hacked!) Heljan mouldings for the brake blocks. I'll also add the piece across the front, below the couplings on the green one, as that really does improve the appearance too.
     
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  16. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Some of my efforts from the Caulfield exhibition in Melbourne yesterday (Saturday 24th August), where I was on the BRMA stand.

    Of course, much of the time was spent talking to people, seeing as it is really about PR rather than modelling, but I completed the two Metcalfe Models station clocks, seen here upside down or sideways, because one is a roof-mounted clock and the other is wall-mounted, built the Ancorton sleeper-bult hut, and fitted glazing into two Smallbrook Studios LSWR brake vans. I glued the roof onto one, but the other needs a little more fettling before I do so for that one.

    One of my fellow BRMA members on the stand very kindly soldered a white metal bus body together for me. This particular bus kit from RTC Models for an Optare Vecta has been giving me trouble for some considerable time, and resulted in being put back into the 'too hard' basket every time I pulled the kit out again! Anyway, I now have no excuses for not completing the model in due course.

    [​IMG]
    P_20190825_093954_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     
  17. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    See that raw laser-cut wood sleeper-built lineside hut from the previous post that I put together at the exhibition recently? Well, I have been painting and weathering it, although I am still not happy with the result as it stands. There needs to be more variation between individual sleepers, and perhaps a bit more dirty black in there too; the colour is far too even at present. The chimney brickwork also requires a bit more variation.

    Here it is, posed on the layout but definitely nowhere near its final position. That has yet to be decided.

    [​IMG]
    P_20190904_211757_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    [​IMG]
    P_20190904_211724_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     
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  18. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Some items that have been languishing on my workbench for some time:

    I have been doing a little more work on two resin LSWR brake vans from Smallbrook Studios. I have fitted the roofs, although one needed a complete replacement as I wasn't happy with the job I did on the earlier example. The D.1541 road van still has a little too much overhang on the new roof, but that is easily fixed. Aside from fixing up the paintwork, most of what's left to do is fitting handrails and adding transfers. Both vans are quite capable of running on the layout as they stand now.

    [​IMG]
    P_20190926_110437_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    [​IMG]
    P_20190926_110510_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


    An even longer term project has been the detailing and upgrading of an old Triang L1 4-4-0 locomotive. I added separate handrails and pipework many years ago, and put full-sized scale diameter (27mm) wheels on it. However, as Triang locos already tended to sit rather high, this put the buffers a full 2mm too high compared to "normal" stock. So, discouraged by this, I have left it sitting in a corner of the workbench for some time. Anyway, inspired by a couple of other BRMA modellers' efforts using 24mm diameter wheels, I ordered the replacement driving wheels a week or two ago from Scale Link's website, and they turned up today. The appearance suffers a bit from the too-small driving wheels, but it seems a bit more practical as a usable model. Work still needed includes adding numbers, crests and BR mixed traffic lining, a 5-pole motor and DCC decoder once all that works properly.

    [​IMG]
    P_20190926_110616_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    Edit: I added 'shorting' etches across the wheels and axles on one side of the loco to restore the electrical path through the chassis, as per the original Triang set up. A quick test on the test track (the one it is sitting on in the photo) showed it to be quite healthy, albeit slightly hesitant at first. Not bad for a locomotive that has been sitting gathering dust and not run for many years.
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2019
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  19. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Earlier, I bought a green Heljan Western, D1002, and started reshaping the cab roofs as I had done before with a maroon example (D1007). My initial efforts left it a little too domed, although the overhanging peaks over the windscreens were pretty close to the final profile. I have now hit it with the file again and flattened the profile back towards the hatch, and I think this is much closer to how it should look.

    Aside from this error in the Heljan Westerns, I do rather like them. They are less delicate than the Dapol ones (a little less detailed too), but they run more quietly and seem a lot more robust.

    [​IMG]
    P_20190928_182554_vHDR_On
    by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     
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  20. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    After just over a year since I did the first two coaches of my Bratchell class 455/9, I have now added the Electra Railway Graphics South West Trains vinyls to the third car, the remaining Driving Trailer. I still have the last one to do to complete the four-car unit. There are some livery touch-ups and corrections to do yet, so this is still very much a work in progress.

    [​IMG] P_20191003_124418_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     
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