Class 104 dmu kit build

Problem there Andy is the underfloor chassis has to be able to seperate from the body... I thought that too. I would need to have the ability to seperate the body in the event some of the window glazing worked loose, the kit recomends fixing with diluted Glue n Glaze which is basically just a fine PVA. its easier to put a connector plug in the corridor bellows as opposed to modifying castings in a very restricted confined space.

 

Taking a short rest from the Leek station project I have taken up pushing the Easybuild 104 dmu forward a bit. The DMCL Driving Motor Lavatory Composite car is getting closer to looking externally complete... photo taken earlier this week. Since this photo was taken the short gutter extentsion on the drivers side cab end has been repositioned lower in line with the main gutter run... the camera always picks up faults. The drivers door still needs hinges and a short grab rail along with a length of vertical draft beading behind the cab door hinges... I'll probably do that tomorrow.

 

The cab front has yet to have jumper cables added and the high and low vacuum pipes along with the air pipe, currently this car is sitting a tad low on the rails and I shall shim the bolster pivots out to reach the centre of buffer to rail top height of 24.5mm.

 

I will Gormo as this one hasn't got brakes.

 

On the good advice of Gormo I won't leave myself open to being run over ... so I stood to one side for this pic The white plastic putty infill on the two centre screen bars is where I dropped the unit the other week... with luck it will be ok under paint and the moral of the story is take care with easybuild kits as they don't like to meet with hard ceramic tile floors.

 

Quite a bit of added detail upgrading has been fitted to this class 104 dmu kit,the high and low vacuum pipes were replaced with lost wax ones from Ragstone and in the previous picture I added the extensions of the bulkhead frame onto the buffer beam. A beading edge has been added to the drivers door against the cab side and the grab rail position has been altered ... I will have to do this bit again as the wire gauge is too thick... I've already pulled the wire out and redrilled for a thinner gauge one which I'll fit tomorrow. I also made the screenwash cover from a tiny piece of 1mm plastic and scratch made an air pipe and connector bracket... these items are not included in the Easybuild kit.

 

Now this is where attention turned to the corridor bellows, in the kit the usual paper ones are provided but these don't cut the mustard for me so chatting with a fellow modeller who is building a 101 dmu MetCamm kit he provided a solution which I modified to suit my needs.

Basically the modification involved using heatshrink piping glued together onto a plastic corridor end which was made from the card end of the paper bellows as a former... the etch scissors were added from the kit and I fitted a corridor floor too... this assembly will compress on curves.

Other scratch items are the thin top foot shelf over the corridor bellows, the bottom footstep over the left side buffer and the water tank filler pipes which follow the exact same shape as a Driving Trailer Compositr Lavatory coach recently restored on the North Norfolk Railway.





Compare the both types of corridor conections, on the left is the original paper version which I did modify and on the right is the new version which I think is the better example. The paper ones fitted to the Trailer Composite Lavatory will be replaced with the new heatshrink version soon.

 

So the best way I have always found to achieve "super real" detail is to go find the original items and measure them or to work from photos where known datum points are available. This photo shows the step arrangement on a Class 104 bogie which I shall scratch make from scrap etch brass... an easy fix for me and one which will make the model stand out... I think this was one of the bogies which I helped recover from a condemned NSE liveried Driving Motor Brake Second in Margam scrap yard back around 1996.

 

For the first time ever the three cars of the class 104 DMU kit have been placed together, I needed to get them all up to the same level of build beforehand and now the only outstanding jobs include completing the remaining exhaust pipework, scratch making the cab footsteps, replacing the corridor bellows of the Trailer Composite car and adding footboards to the Driving Motor Brake Second. Once this is done then I shall stri the cars down again ready to prime paint and the full top coat.




This is the DMBS car with mainly all under gear fitted in place.




And the centre car just needs its corridor bellows changing now.

 

Ah but my money goes on the Oz sunshine being better... glazing comes in the pack and I will document the results once I get to that part of the build... right now I want to complete the super detailing on the underframe but basically once the body is painted and finished in a flat varnish the window glazing is inserted into each bodyside opening and sealed with dilute Glue and Glaze. The fun bit is adding the sliding vent top lights.