York Paul's Britannia loco 2020 Shelf Queen competition entry.

Thanks Pete, there sure is a lot of detail still to come... much is still all in little transparent plastic bags right now. I've just completed re straightening the rear cab rails this evening so tomorrow on go the rain strips and roof vents which I've now curved to shape ready, still a bit of stoppering to complete around the firebox to boiler joint and once done I shall dress the body with a whole pile of castings which I haven't even looked at properly.

 

Yesterday I mentioned that it would be a nice touch if the draft curtain on the Britannia could be made somehow, my initial thought was tissue paper sprayed with car paint might just do, so last night I sprayed some in satin black... oh dear the paint oozed through and the paper quickly turned soggy. However disaster was averted as I folded the wet tissue over on itself, maybe this was a happy accident because the paper dried both layers together and today I'd got a strong and flexible medium to work with. What's more the tissue looked the part as well.

 

So now I needed a fixing system, I'd already thought a wire framework might do the trick but I needed something discrete to hold the curtain frame in place... well to the rescue and the very thing I needed came Mr ACME's rubbish etches... no use as a combination link on the motion of a certain kit but superb for using as a curtain hook.

A little link with a 1mm hole cranked at an angle was soldered inside the cab below the roof framework.... winner

 

A 1 mm wire was curved to the cab profile shape and a piece of scrap nickel silver etch soldered on top, a 1 mm hole was drilled just behind the wire frame and a thinner piece of 0.7mm wire soldered into place. This will now fit into Mr ACME's curtain hook supporting the wire frame at the correct height... two short side pieces were soldered in to clip inside the cab out of sight just below the doors.

 

The frame now clips neatly onto the cab and is totally removable... the two side wires end about 2.5 mm behind the tender so as to allow for curvature clearance.

 

The important thing to remember with this type of engine is that there is an apron which fits over the curtains at the top, this apron slopes down towards the cab from the tender bulkhead and channels rainwater away down the folds in the side curtains.

 

Its now a matter of gluing the side curtains around the wire frame and trimming to shape, I used cyano for this and recalling a past thread from Gormo about using superglue on paper to achieve a plastic strength... it certainly works... cheers Gormo... your hints and tips work is always remembered.

 

And tested in position on the loco... we now need to make the top apron.

 

So cutting a piece of the spray painted tissue to size having folded it over double to give four layers I added in a .45 mm wire former which would sit over the tender bulkhead, the curve in the wire follows the tender bulkhead contour.

 

We can see the side view and the sloping profile of the apron as it runs down from the tender.

 

And the overhead view which shows the crease folds nicely... I have yet to play around arranging the curtain folds into shape.

 

The proof the loco can navigate around curves, Owen Glendower sits nicely on a B8 / B8 crossover with plenty of free movement between loco and tender.

 

Oh dear what a lot of shelf queens I seem to have amassed, once the brit and the 4F are finished I think it will be the turn of the Riddles Class 3 tank.

 

Well the folds need grooming yet Rob, its still a lot on the rough side as yet. I took the pictures as the glue was still curing.

 

I'll do a picture write up when the motor is installed showing how to anchor it and set it onto the driven axle, to be honest I have reservations about how ell this will fit into the firebox as space is tight and this motor is big. I know someone on Western Thunder did a 9F and had to order a special gearbox arrangement from ABC... but that used a Cannon 5 pole. It may be I have to do the same.

 

Rightie Ho Sir... will do. My pleasure if you take the curtain idea and use it for your own needs or even modify it. Since I wrote that report I notice the cyano does make the paper tissue somewhat brittle, it could be a case of just going with PVA or using a thicker but still flexible material such as those sanitized hand wipes... when dry of course. Maybe glue them in position then spray the whole unit afterwards. I crack on with the build first tho... more pictures later this evening.