Rebuilt Patriot

yes I will be which is why I've left off the two frame stretcher beams for now as they will get in the way if fitted... I normally make a frame for the beams to fix to which is carried on the inner chassis and aligns with the outer chassis on the tender body when fitted. I'll fit wipes against the tender wheels as sprung pick ups are more trouble than they are worth IMHO.

 

Thank you for the kind comment Brian... agree with you about smoke generators... they are pure awful expensive rubbish.

 

Thank you Rob... yes the tender side bends drew a few sharp breaths when in the making... I marked the curve ratio on the inside of the wraps and with a metal rod set against the central point between the marks held everything together with wood packers in the vice and gently applied pressure to get the radius.

 

current thoughts are to fit a four pin plug inline and have a good length of wiring tucked inside the boiler to avoid straining when the sledge is moved forward for inspection.

 

forgot to say my next build is another Stanier and not far different from your own current build but mine will not make the high standards of craftsmanship you set... more news once I've sent the money and collected the goodies from a gent in Cawood. Now there is a clue in the making Rob.

 

Quite a lot of fettling with files and much dismantling and putting together again and I finally got a good fit for the boiler/firebox assembly into the footplate frame,currently this is all just a dry fit but I can now solder the boiler to the firebox then remove that assembly from the footplate frame to add the final three boiler wrapper strap bands in place. Phosphor Bronze wiper strip was used for the forward band between smokebox and boiler as it is a finer fit and looks better than the kit offerings. Once that job is complete the final add on detail bits can go on which include shaping the smoke deflectors and adding in the oil pipes on the lubricators along with a pile of other stuff on the to do list.



Its still all a dry fit right now but it does show that everything will fit in place correctly once soldered together.

 

It needs a bit of fillering in the gaps Andy, as the radius of the smokebox is a correct circle due to the round forms supplied in the kit the whitemetal casts would appear to be a tad irregular. Having said that the boiler unit is still on a dry fit and the final fix should see a better surface to surface contact around the smokebox saddle casting with just a bit of filler around the upper back of the steam pipes. Remember the smoke deflectors and mechanical lubricators should mask things too.

 

Thanks Rob... I really appreciate all your support and helpfulness given in these kit builds... my next kit is going to be a cracker... I know for a fact you are going to just love my next loco to be build.

 

I thought I'd share with the forum a simple hack to locate boiler band straps around brass rolled boilers, as you probably know this is a Gladiator kit and the boiler bands are thin strips of etch... previously I'd opted to use a phosphor bronze strip between smokebox and boiler as the band in the kit looked a bit too chunky for my liking.

So having already fitted the rear band between firebox and boiler which was a simple job since the band just followed the back edge of the boiler at 0.75mm forward of the firebox, the two middle bands called for a different approach.

First was to lightly score fine marks with a scapal at quarter radius points around the boiler barrel marking the location of the first middle band, the back to back measurement being 26.5mm, for this I used small slivers of black vinyl lining (I'd a role of this purchased years ago from a motor factors shop). Once the first band had been tinned and flux added I set the band to the edge of the first vinyl lining piece at the top of the boiler and gently worked my way around using a hot solder iron. The heat didn't affect the lining pieces nor did the flux destroy the tack on the vinyl.




Once the solder over-spill had been cleaned away and flux removed the first middle band looked like this, now with the same process repeated the second middle band can be added this time at 25mm distance... care taken at the stage in the work will ensure a neat and parallel alignment.




Now I could then dress the boiler with a few whitemetal castings and add the handrails





I now need to mark the centre line of the chimney on the top face if the smokebox and enlarge the two tiny datum holes before fixing the chimney in position, this will make the model look much better and also allow for a crisper audio sound from the speaker inside. Once I've soldered the nameplate carriers onto the forward driving wheel splasher the whole body can be permanently fitted onto the footplate and the detailing of tiny parts can commence.

 

Thanks Paul, this is the first Gladiator kit I've purchased and had experience with and won't be the last I doubt. This one is a good uncomplex kit where etches fold together neatly and fit properly... not withstanding the normal fettling and filing. I found the instructions to be good but always best to cross reference from photos as a back up, the book series LMS Locomotive Profiles contains a wealth of data. As yet I still have all the valve motion to put together and an initial thought is some modification work may be needed to strengthen the combination levers and links along with radius rods since they look a bit on the weak side... we will see however the side rods and con rods (now dressed) have super good strength. More photos as this part of the build happens.