Gladiator 0-4-0 LMS Ramsbotton Industrial Loco in 7mm

and here is where I am at the moment .....

chassis side frames separated from the main fret and ...... lets get the bushes soldered into place ......

I have used some of my own bushes as the one supplied must have had a good full 1mm of slop all the way round the hole ..... not good.... they will be fit for the bin.

and then .... lets get these chassis side frames onto the jig.

and there we are. Next up is to start fixing the central support pieces .....

one at the back .....

and one at the front taking care to get them facing as the destructions described.

a general shot of where I am .....

and one more .... looks ok so far.

Now .... back to the destructions to plod on.

more later .... cheers

toto

 

A little more progress ...... Now

apparently .... this is a motion plate ........ means zero to me ......

the curved section is laminated. you remove the two parts which are tagged together on the fret and simply fold over ..... solder and remove a couple of the original fret tabs. simples.

a dry run in place. the instruction refer to two angled etched lines, one either side of the chassis which the motion plate should follow.

does not say of it goes between or to the rear or front of them. I have presumed between. this may have been pretty obvious to some but my level of thickness has kicked in. .... I did warn you. it would have been so much better if another couple of words " between the " had been added to the statement. Never mind. one good thing is that there are a couple of slight protrusions on the side of the motion plate that aid in determining the height as they sit on top of the chassis sides. I like that.

that is as far as I have got for tonight.

more tomorrow. So far .... another reasonably enjoyable build.

cheers

toto

 

Just dabbling Paul. I am pleased with my own personal progress. I dont know what's happened but it does appear to be coming together a bit. Long may it continue as it does confidence no harm.

Cheers

Toto

 

Thanks Rob,

I may be looking for some advice on the fitting of a markits gearset. There is no mention of fitting this or the motor. It's a bit vague. I will be investigating this tomorrow hopefully.

Any advice welcome.

Cheers

Toto

 

Thanks Rob,

It's all going together quite well so I'm keen to get this first loco build under my belt and for it to run how it should. It will be a nice milestone for me.

Cheers

Toto

 

Now .... my first job today was coupling rods .....

and there they are on the fret.

and cut out waiting to be laminated, two per coupling rod.

so , they were tinned and fixed onto the jig waiting for the soldering iron .....

a shot from above showing both sides waiting their fate.

loads of flux and just the slightest dab of solder does the job on both then they are released awaiting a touch up and a clean up .....

The finished product .... nice and clean waiting a test fit.

more as it comes, cheers

toto

 

and we move on to fitting the couplings rods to the wheels for the first time to check for alignment and free running.

and here is the bag of tricks that we shall be needing for this task and the next.

Driving wheels ( 2 sets ) gear set and mashima motor.

and they are on ......

bushes required a very little clearing and a wee dab of WD40 to assist ....

but done and it runs freely and sweetly.

happy with that. Now I need to get my head around the motor and gearbox ..... my favourite bit ....... not

cheers and more later

toto

 

progressed a dry run of the gear box and fitted the motor ...... after an hour at least looking for the mounting screws that i brushed off the worktop onto the floor with the arm of my fleece.....

Then .... oh yes there is more ...... the worm came missing a grub screw so had to rob one from another set ..... not amused .

anyway ....

the gear box still to be folded and the associated fittings ( minus the grub screw ).

The gear box folded up and the motor fixed in place ( eventually ), the bushes reamed out very slightly and still offering a good fit and the worm fastened to the motor shaft via the grub screw.

I will tke it apart again and solder the bushes into place then get it on to the rear axle of the kit for a test fit.

But ...... that after some serious food has been consumed so I'll catch you guys later. I'd like to get this on the rolling road by tonight if possible but if it dtretches into tomorrow ..... so be it. I dont want progress at the cost of screw ups.

cheers for now

toto

 

One fish supper duly scoffed.

Now whilst I'm letting that go down and before walking Lulu, I'm thinking ahead.

My next task will be getting the gearbox mounted onto the rear axle for a test fit. I can test fit it on the chassis but will need to start on the footplate to be able to offer the two assemblies together to see exactly how and where the motor will fit. I'll also need to work out where / how I will get power to the motor.

The plunger pick ups are out as the chassis wont provide a suitable fixing for the plunger due to the lack if a suitable area to bore and mount them in so .... looks like spring pick ups. More on that later.

So .... on with fitting the gear box assembly to the axle and then the footplate assembly.

More pictures of progress to follow as it happens.

Cheers

Toto

 

I'll consult when I get to that bit .....

meanwhile I started on the footplate and also installing the gearset on to the rear axle.

laminated buffer beams ( two layers ) and a nasty little bend in the valance which you should be able to see from the photo.

and here awe are again ......

and from the underside again .....

there was a slight bend in one of the valances as can just be seen from the above image but that has since been straightened out.

the last one of the footp[late so far ....

now a dry run with the gears and various bushes etc which will be soldered up tomorrow as one of my first tasks.

and a pile of various assemblies so far awaiting their fate for tomorrows shift.

reasonably enjoyable but one or two vague bits in the instructions that could be easily rectified.

never mind ..... until tomorrow

cheers for looking in.

toto

 

Ohhhhh man ...... contemplating a return to the shed. Domestic duties are complete for now. A small shopping for the essentials keeps SWMBO happy. Lulu's walk is later.

It sounds like I speak with an air of dread but to be honest, I am looking forward to moving things on. I will be facing a slight issue shortly as the restrictions say to bore two holes in the footplate, I'm assuming for fixing holes but the location description is a bit on the vague side. I have left it for now but I'm at the point that I really need to get it done before the build progresses much further.

I'll come back on that later.

It's quite an exciting stage of the build as this is the bit where you have to switch back and forth between running gear, footplate and chassis to ensure that it all ties in properly. It slows the build down a bit ( well for me anyway ) but I dont mind that as I am definitely in unchartered territory with this. I have never attempted anything quite like this before with the exception of a nitro powered radio controlled car. Which I may add I comp,eyed comfortably.

Anyway... postie just arrived, better see what goodies he has brought.

Cheers for now

Toto

Postie delivered bar keepers freind for the kit clean ups. Thought it may have been my connoisseur Models delivery .....

 

and here we are .......

back in the shed for some more torture ......

have a nice day all.

toto

 

Hi Kev,

I am using Carr's green Flux and normal 60 / 40 solder. I'll post up a picture of them both in my next post on here and it will give you an idea of what you are looking for.

Carr's green flux is not so easy to get but Precision paints sell it in 50ml bottles. the bottle I have is a 250ml version. 50ml will be good enough so long as you dont knock it over like I did .....

Now .... from where I left off.

soldered the bushes into the holes in the gear box.

took the wheels and gear and fed through the main chassis bushes and gear box .....

to give this .....

Now .... there could be a big issue here as it looks like the motor is too big to fit into the aperture in the resin boiler, no matter which way I try. So a call to gladiator ( Dave or Trish ) to see if this was intended for a smaller motor .... or .... what I am doing wrong. ..... Could be made to look like a muppet here but ....... its for a good cause.

So .... set that aside until I sort that out but meanwhile ....... we march on with the footplate build.

The holding nut is soldered to the footplate. A small amount of thin oil was run through the threads of the nut and bolt to stop any solder from taking to it when soldering up. Some flux added to the footplate around the hole, the nut and bolt fastened up ( finger tight ) then solder applied. All is good.

next, we have to fold up the splasher plates on the footplate ....

and then cut out the front etches which are laminated onto the from of the splashers ......

that me for now .... now ... solder please ....

cheers

toto