Connoisseur Models LNER J79 Tank Loco

Hi Tom,
They are listed on Eileens site as Aluminium Clips I bought mine from there about ten years ago and I really ought to replace them as over time, flux has corroded them a bit.

Plus I have bent them to different shapes to hold specific things and most of them are worn out (polite forum speak - insert invective of choice)

 

A session last night saw further details added to the body.

The coal rails were fitted and a plated infill added. My reading on the subject has revealed that they were plated over right from being built. Jim supplies them as open rails. A piece of scrap etch provided the infill.



Handrails both sides were fitted but they needed bushing with a bit of tube over the base of the handrail knob to fill the slightly oversized holes - of course I then had to enlarge the holes again to get them to fit with the tube in place.

In the instructions (like many of his kits) Jim suggests the use of split pins instead of handrail knobs. For the J79, looking at the photos I have, it seems that handrail knobs are a better fit to the real thing than split pins would be.


Finally the piano front was fitted after filing a piece of rod in the Dremel to make the quite visible knob for it.

 

As a bit of a distraction while painting other bit's and pieces, I primed and topcoated the Backhead. Over the weekend I picked out the details and added a bit of weathering.

Although I am not sure that the photos do the quality of Jim's little backhead for this loco, justice - what you see is all cast on the backhead with no additional pipework or castings. I was so impressed that I thought it would pass muster inside a closed cab without resorting to removing and re-adding details as I might have done with other backhead castings.

 

Steady progress this week has seen more details added to the body.

The buffers all needed drilling out for the bolt heads - because I had them I used some of the rather nice Scale Hardware items



I also added the front lamp irons (Laurie Griffin castings) and the bracket on the front buffer plank which is visible in the photos that I have and Yeadon speculates that it was used for shunting locos/tenders when separated from each other.

This was made from scrap nickel etch soldered together with 295 degree solder so it stayed together when I used 145 to add it to the buffer plank. - again a few more Scale Hardware items to finish it. - The eagle eyed amongst you will note that one went missing while washing it too...




The hand rail on the fireman's side has a fitting that incorporates the support for the end of the handrail on the smokebox this was made up using some small bore tube, a disk of scrap etch and a 14BA nut. The tube sealed with the scrap etch was slid onto a stub of handrail protruding forward of the hand rail knob with the nut at the other side and all soldered in place. It's not strictly accurate but it will pass muster once painted and is better than just a plain handrail knob.



It was discretely pointed out that the coal rails were plated right to the bottom and it for me it was a wood and trees moment because all my photos show it but it hadn't sunk in.
Remedying it involved taking the rails off again because try as I might I couldn't get the extra strip to stay in place while I soldered it while it was in situ.

The same discussion concluded that being vacuum fitted it probably had an upper rear lamp iron too. Scrap etch to the rescue. This was the second attempt because having made a lovely job of the first which was made from conveniently shaped bit of etch I realised that I had the slope rising up above the horizontal rather than below it as it should be.

 

A weekend at home in Wakefield for a family event has mean't extra time to crack on with the J71 which is almost there now.

Like most classes of locomotive, the J79's had a wealth of details over their life. a couple were Westinghouse fitted but 1662 was vacuum fitted in later life (it retained the steam brake for the loco braking) and the vacuum pipes were the under buffer plank hanging type rather than the more common upright variety.

The pipe ran down the bottom of the valance on the right had side of the engine and the mounting brackets looked quite substantial. Initially I made my usual mounts from scrap etch folded in 'P' shape but they just didn't look right. After a rummage in the box that I keep all my rod and strip sections in I came up at a loss and it wasn't until looking in a drawer for something else that I chanced upon some short lengths of bullhead rail.
They seemed perfect from an edge on view so a couple of attempts to get the right length later and I had 4 mounting brackets. To make them I drilled a hole through the web and then cut the from the back through the web like this



I also drilled a hole in the roof and filed it square for the roof ventilator then cut a scrap of etch for the cover. To get it to sit at such a jaunty angle I popped a bit of thich scrap etch under it at one end then gripped the other with a pair of self locking tweezers. turn it over and touch the soldering iron inside the hole for the ventilator and its firmly held in place at an angle.



The remaining whitemetal body details were then fixed in place with epoxy and thoughts returned to the chassis.



Not included in the kit but very visible on the sides of the chassis are a couple of injectors. A search through Laurie Griffins site didn't reveal any that looked remotely suitable so I decided to make my own from brass tube, rod and some 14BA nuts with copper wire for the pipes.




And of course the photo has revealed that I need to nudge one of the nuts to close the gap...
Finally a shot with a 5p coin to show how big they aren't

 

Many thanks Gents.
This afternoon saw the injectors fitted and all the bits assembled.


















Finally a couple of the injectors in place although not 100 percent accurate they look the part.

 

Hi Pete,
I agree it does but it would be the very devil to keep so shiny for long.

 

Warren Haywood kindly dropped off my J79 on Tuesday evening having weaved his magic on the paint job. I need to glaze it add the backhead etc.
Having checked my reference books I also need to add the loco number the the front buffer beam - neither of us were certain it had one when Warren was doing it and I only checked after the event.

 

jakesdad13 wrote:

Oh yes, I plan to make sure all is sorted before I do but that will be the final bit of the puzzle.

I planned to do some test running before taking it to Warren but because I was going to see him for something else he told me to bring it along.

 

It does, although I am not sure what happened to the middle photo....