On SRman's Workbench

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

  1. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    I tried fitting the lifting lugs to E5003 experimentally and they cleared all of the tight spots on my layout, including all of the platform edges. However, I didn't think they looked right, because they stuck out too far even when pushed in as far as I could get them without damaging the bogies with too much force.

    After looking carefully at close-up photos of the real ones, I decided that I could trim the fittings a bit and slot them in at a more realistic angle with a spot of glue, while still allowing sufficient bogie swing. The result is below.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    The etched name and number plates from Narrow Planet for the industrial locomotives arrived today, and very nice they are too. The Pecketts have also received etched works plates.

    I have fitted them to the three Pecketts and Private Owner pannier tank, with a few more (mainly numbers) left to go on some of the other locos. You'll notice I have gone with a theme of female names starting with "A".

    Starting with Huntley & Palmers Peckett, that has become no. 4, Amelia, with a slightly different treatment to the others (mainly because I still haven't been able to bring myself to remove the lovely H & P signwriting yet). The number plate hides the letter D which acted as its fleet "number".

    [​IMG]

    The 'generic' Peckett green one, ex-Dodo, has now become no. 5, Alice.

    [​IMG]

    MSC green Peckett, ex-no. 11, is now no. 6, Alexandria (based on its real name at one time in the past).

    [​IMG]

    The pannier tank has become no. 9 (with transfers for numbers), Ashleigh (with full-sized plates), named after my good friend Doug's daughter. Besides the fact my wife and I have a fair bit to do with Doug's children, the significance is that Ashleigh owns a GWR pannier tank on Doug's layout. I also ordered Peckett plates with the same name for Doug to use on his Peckett.

    [​IMG]

    And here's one of the three Pecketts all lined up.

    [​IMG]

    I will order a few more plates to add to the collection, particularly for the J94 which arrived after the original order was sent to Narrow Planet. Currently, that bears the number 10 and the name Harry. I am thinking that should become Agnes, after my wife.
     
  3. Ron

    Ron Full Member

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    And very fine they all look too!(No wonder no nobody has any of these in stock, they all seem to be here!!):scratchchin::avatar:
     
  4. Gary

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

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    They all look good Jeff, including the Pannier. :thumbs::thumbs:

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  5. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Ron wrote:
    I'm pretty sure I got the last Pecketts in Australia.
    :avatar:
     
  6. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Gary wrote:
    Thanks Gary. I wasn't quite sure where to mount the nameplate; centred on the length of the tanks, centred under the dome, centred over the middle driving wheel, or centred over that small handrail on the lower side of the tanks. In the end, it was none of those, with it being roughly ahead of the dome centre line and the aft of the middle of the side tanks.

    :scratchchin:
     
  7. Retired operator

    Retired operator Full Member

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    Hi Jeff. I haven't got my class 71 out of the box yet. And today the Decoder and Speakers arrived. I have just been trying to get my " Head around the Instalation Instructions". And it all seems
    OTT to me, being a novice, Airtight package? "PVA Glue"?
    Please tell me is this the same with all Decoders and speakers?
    All the best. Kevin
     
  8. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    In trying to get smoother and quieter (no chattering!) low speed running on E5003 (my non-sound fitted 71) I have played around with the settings on the Lenz Silver+ 21 decoder through Decoder Pro on the computer. I turned off the BEMF completely, then tweaked the start voltage to a value of 14 (after several experimental values ranging from 1 to 15). There is a bit of a delay on moving off when the throttle is opened but the slow running is absolutely dead silent now, as it should be.

    After all of this, though, having temporarily tried a TCS EU621 decoder which gave beautifully smooth running through the whole speed range but messed up the lighting functions completely, I have ordered a Zimo MX634D, and when that arrives I'll pop that in to see whether I can improve things further.

    Now, to the other problem with E5003's lighting; I had worked out that by remapping a function to work aux 3, the headcode lights could work even with the four function ESU decoder. It seems that Dave Jones designed the PCB so that it allows for logical outputs too (it has an amplifier circuit to allow power to be fed to anything attached to the aux 3 output). However, when I set it up, the headcode lights went out when I selected the cab lights at one end. I solved that by rereading the function mapping sheet in JMRI, and worked out that I must have gone a bit cross-eyed when I ticked the box for F20 on line 28 ... what I had actually ticked was the 'off' part of F19. Having now corrected that, the headcode lights work as they should when F20 is selected for the ESU LokSound decoder. JMRI Decoder Pro makes it so easy to do these things without ever having to know which CVs you are changing or the values needed.

    The lights were a bit bright so I dimmed all of them a bit while setting up the profiles in Decoder Pro, but after the photos were taken I dimmed the lights even further.

    [​IMG][​IMG]

    ​[​IMG]
     
  9. Gary

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

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    I'm glad you know what you are doing ! :D

    Do you have the computer hooked up to the layout or just a programming track ??

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  10. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Gary wrote:
    Who says I know what I'm doing??? ;)

    The computer is hooked up to the Power Pro system so can work the whole layout or just the programming track. It is also hooked up via the LokProgrammer to just the programming track.
     
  11. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    And now for something completely different. I have been preparing a John Day kit of an LNER 1931 Bedford Parcels lorry for Doug, a good friend who did the initial carpentry on my baseboards way back in 2009. It was intended for his birthday but I'm running a little late for that.

    The John Day kits are relatively simple to assemble; what took time was trying to find suitable colours. I tried several different shades of blue but ended up settling for Humbrol Midnight #15, which is, in my opinion, a little dark.

    I also had problems with the varnish after applying the transfers (which were also supplied in the kit). I gave it a coat of satin varnish, which dried full gloss! I gave it a coat of matt varnish, which dried full gloss! (I swear I mixed both thoroughly before use).

    I tried a coat of acrylic satin varnish, which was a little better, but still glossier than I really wanted. I added a layer of Testor's dull cote lacquer, which usually dries dead matt, but this reacted with the underlying paints, so had to be scraped off again.

    I settled for adding some weathering powders to dull the finish further, and what you see here is the end result.

    Strangely, the supplied transfers did not include registration numbers, and as I have no idea what registrations would apply to this type of vehicle, this aspect remains bare for the moment.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    As Doug doesn't know he's getting this vehicle yet, and he isn't a member of this forum, I have posted only here for the moment (I usually send very similar posts to a couple of other forums I'm on at the same time).
     
  12. ed

    ed Full Member

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    The registration letters used to show where the vehicle was registered (blimey, that was a long time ago), but you might get some ideas from this site Jeff.

    http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/registrations/reg-letters.htm

    Ed
     
  13. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Thanks Ed. I know about the area letters on registration numbers, but I don't have any idea what would be appropriate for this lorry, not just the area (I could probably guess a suitable one) but also timescale and appropriate non-car numbers.

    There was a story a long time ago about a policeman spotting a fake registration on what turned out to be a stolen mini van; the registration the crooks chose belonged to a London bus!
     
  14. ed

    ed Full Member

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    Just 'borrow' one of these numbers Jeff.

    http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Bedford:_Lorries

    Ed
     
  15. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Thanks Ed. Some nice vehicles preserved, as well as some originals.
     
  16. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    I have now presented the LNER Bedford to my friend. After the fiasco with the varnishes all drying glossy, I weathered it with powders to take some of the shine off. It now looks well travelled!

    It is seen here in its new home, complete with number plates.

    [​IMG]
     
  17. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Another new project, but one that will take a little while to complete: I have an unpainted Bratchell Models kit for a class 455/9 unit, which will eventually be in South West Trains red inner suburban livery.

    The unpainted shells are very dark and my lighting was poor, so these first two shots are only just sufficient to show the initial construction. The clear plastic driving ends will need a little modification to the lights to match the later, refurbished condition, and are not glued in at this stage. They will also be easier to mask off for painting while not installed.

    The instructions advise to remove all of the moulded-on door gutters and add new continuous gutters from microstrip. A quick look at some photos online of 455/9 units proved this correct and also showed at what height the new gutters should be mounted - I found that the height suggested in the instructions looked too low, so mounted mine at what looked correct to me, based on the photos of the real things. The ends of the gutter strips at the driving cab ends need to be cut back slightly, but I thought it better, and easier to correct, to have them too long rather than too short.

    The MSO (Motor Second Open) coach has already been test fitted to the Replica Railways chassis that will power the whole unit. This had to have the continuous footstep moulding cut off, and a minimal amount filed off the width, then slotted securely straight into the assembled body shell.

    [​IMG]Bratchell Class 455/9 Under Construction - 1 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    [​IMG]Bratchell Class 455/9 Under Construction - 3 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    Before I paint anything, there are also roof vents to make and fit. Four per coach, except for the MSO, which only has two. These were unique to the 455/9 construction.
     
  18. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Continuing with the Bratchell class 455/9, I have built all of the unpowered bogies now, but will need to adjust the ride heights of these upwards slightly, and the powered coach downwards slightly.

    The Powered bogies will have to be cut and shut to lose 1mm from the wheelbase but, as with the previous class 455/8 and 319, the blank sideframes on the Replica Railways motor bogies can be used to reinforce these, using the Bratchell sideframes as cosmetic items only.

    [​IMG]

    Bratchell Class 455-9 Under Construction - 7 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    [​IMG]

    Bratchell Class 455-9 Under Construction - 8 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    Once again I have had a little difficulty with poor light and the black ABS plastic Bratchell used for the driving trailer sides.
     
  19. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    [font="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"]Continuing progress with the Bratchell Models class 455/9: the body shells have now had a couple of coats of grey primer, then a couple of coats of flame red (all from automotive aerosols) to approximate the final base colour for the South West Trains suburban livery. The driving ends remain unattached (except for a couple of spots of Blu-tack!) and unpainted at this stage.
    [/font][font="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"]
    The bogies have been assembled, although the motor bogie sideframes remain to be cut down and fitted. I have adjusted the ride heights: I found that Hornby's valve gear spacer washers worked well, with one thick and one thin washer added to each of the trailer bogie mounts.
    [/font][font="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"]
    [​IMG]

    Bratchell Class 455-9 Under Construction - 10 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
    [/font]
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    Bratchell Class 455-9 Under Construction - 11 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

    [​IMG]

    Bratchell Class 455-9 Under Construction - 12 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr
     
  20. SRman

    SRman Full Member

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    Some blue bits added to the Bratchell 455/9.

    [​IMG]
     

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