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

Thanks Pete... I'm actually buzzin on this loco now. It is a very intense kit with heaps of etches from the start and now I'm down to two nickel silver frames with only a few more bits to laminate together. I'm going to have a crack at riveting the combination lever radius rods and links as per instructions. This may not end well and could all be disaster in the making yet.

 

Last bit of plumbing fitted with the Laurie Griffin lost wax casting of the live steam feed, so that is all the pipework and fittings all done so that means after a jolly good clean up the body can go into grey etch primer... but something was still not right according to original photos of 70010 Owen Glendower on shed at Carlisle.





So being a glutton for punishment I realised some scratchwork was still required before this loco can see paint as the protective AWS magneto plate and coupling pocket was needed, checking against other locos of the day such as Iron Duke and Shooting Star I worked out the design and shape which I made from pieces of scrap etch. On the preserved 70013 this front plate appears to be a different type being a lot wide and offset to the right, so I'm following the original design as preserved stuff is great to follow if you are making a model of a preserved engine which I am not.

So here it is the front coupling pocket incorporated into the AWS protective plate... now after a thorough wash down using Bar Keepers Friend my 70010 really will be ready for primer paint and stoppering.

 

I'll get it scrubbed up tomorrow and then send a pic... on another point I've completed most of the motion assemblies and used the brass rivets... so I'm keeping fingers crossed for those little combination links still to be done. Painted the nameplates up in readiness as well.

 

A good few scrub and wash downs in hot water then after four rises all the little dirt specks and crud had gone, then a final rinse and the body was left to dry... so just a pose photo shot with body back on the chassis.





Then it was onto the turntable and a few thin all over build up coats of etch primer and this is where we are currently. I'll leave the prime coat to settle a few days and in the mean time complete the motion assembly components... I'll check the motor I have fits before the final motion build up and if needed I'll order a different motor and gearbox... the instructions recommend a Cannon with gear assembly fitted.

 

Nameplates at the ready but for now back in their packet they go before they become lost.

 

Its Bar Keepers Friend Andy and is a cleaning fluid which works incredibly well on brass removing flux residue and general crud, you can use proprietary cleaners such as Jif or Flash but they contain scented additives which leave a fine film coating on the scrubbed up brass which could affect the painting process.

https://www.barkeepersfriend.com/

 

This last few days has seen the various sub assemblies of the valve motion put together for both sides of the loco, once the various bits were cleaned up and the holes drilled I used the small brass rivets make the joints... thankfully I didn't manage to get anything seized up solid, so everything works freely as it should. The return crank still needs to be reamed to 12 BA and have a nut soldered to its back and i've still to make up the crossbead drop links and the other reversing arm with servo.







A dry fit just to test if the assembly fitted, the valve rods on each side slide freely in and out and I even managed to get the combination lever to pass the slide bars without having to crank it out a little. The union link to drop arm and the expansion link to motion bracket will be fixed using 12 BA screws and nutage so I can remove the assembly if needed. Next job after fitting both assemblies and doing a manual rotation test to check all clearances will be to fit a motor... now that's a different story as the two stage Ron Chaplin gearbox I was going to use doesn't fit between the inner bush faces on the compensation beam, I am going to ring ABC tomorrow and see if one of their helical boxes with a Maxon motor will do the trick.

 

Thanks Kimbo and the valve gear build wasn't so scary as I'd imagined in fact taking my time it all went together rather well. I've just ordered an ABC two stage gearbox with Cannon EN22 for it as the Ron Chaplin job I have don't fit ... its too wide for the space in the comp beam. Anyway once that's fitted I can wire up and as they say we are cooking on gas.

 

Oh dear... alarm bells and amber warning light flashing... at least our villlage pub still has plentiful supplies of Izal... no wonder visitor numbers are down this year

 

order now and you will get in a couple or three days time


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Original...325762&hash=item5b0d7b68f3:g:awsAAOSw89pboLCh