Building a part work Mallard.

As some of you may remember from YMRC I am building an O Gauge Mallard from one of Hatchette's part works. Over the past few months it has been pushed to one side whilst I went out chasing feathered and furry things. Well the weather hasn't been to kind on that front recently so I decided to do some catching up. Not before time I can almost hear some of you saying. I'll take some pics and put them up later today showing progress (or lack of) on the project.

The main body section (work so far) lots still to be done.









Notes to the unwary: The main body castings are made from Mazack and is a pig to drill, especially the smaller holes as the bits tend to snag and break. The castings also suffer a little from distortion during the casting process so a lot of fettling is needed. The brass bits are stuck on with superglue and so far all seems to remain in place. It is best to leave small bits until later in the build (lamp brackets etc.) as they will be prone to breaking as you build it otherwise. The etchings for the cab are a pig to fold up neatly without kinking and the holes in the back of the cab need careful drilling. They supply self-tapping screws for the job but I think it is better to use some nuts and bolts.

More later

 

Thanks Matt. The next episode will be the loco chassis as far as I've got.

 

Here's some chassis pics.










This section, as can be imagined is a pig to put together. For a start the main side frames come in two parts which have to be fastened together somehow. Also both side frames on each side have to be bent to suit the area around the rear carrying wheels. There are still a lot of brackets and things to go on and the wheels at the moment are only temporarily? in place to show how it stands. The wheels are painted with BR maroon, which looks about right for colour. Still once the body is on there isn't a lot of them showing anyhow. Be very careful when drilling out for the crankpins. There isn't a lot of material left afterwards.
Tender chassis next but that will be in a day or two.

 

Chris, we are on part 75 this week. The replacement wheels have been issued over here and I have had to return them to the Flying Scotsman kit as the ones shown in the pics are from one of those kits. I have three of those to build as well, when I get round to it. There are plenty of pitfalls as the build progresses. I had a piece missing from the cab roof but I don't seem to be able to find anywhere to contact to get a replacement. It is the part that holds the safety valves in place but I think I can manufacture something to hold them as when built it is out of view anyway. An important tip though if the kit is being soldered. All the brass parts are covered in a lacquer and it solders a lot easier if this is removed. Cellulose thinners seem to do the job, and so I would image will Nail Varnish remover. Over this week I will be doing some more on the tender chassis so hope to be able to show some progress there. This is definitely not a kit for the beginner, or for that matter an experienced builder with bad eyes and arthritic fingers.

 

Hope to do a bit more of it this coming week so will keep you posted

 

Well, it's been a while since I did anything else on the Mallard build so today having a couple of hours to spare I have started to get the front bogie sorted now that I have almost all the parts apart from three of the wheels. There are no real problems building this although some of the detail parts are a bit fiddly. I decided to solder most of the folds to make it stronger, if you decide to as well then remember to sand all the lacquer off the brass first otherwise the solder won't work.







More tomorrow if all goes well.

 

Here is today's progress on the front bogie. Detail parts added along with axle bushes and springs.







More over the weekend and also on the tender chassis.