exile wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2017 9:54 am
Bending of half etch lines should only be done once. Continued bending leads to the metal becoming work hardened and brittle - as you have found out sadly. Ideally the bend is also reinforced with a run of solder along the bend. This helps prevent the unintentional bending of such bits leading again to brittle failure. Hopefully you can still solder the W iron back on with sufficient accuracy. It might be worth making up a jig to help with that
Something worthwhile thinking about, thanks for the info. I've not yet made my mind up how to proceed. On the one hand, being left as a four-wheeler it is still quite close to a GCR diagram so would still suit my purposes admirably.
However; attempting to repair the damaged centre W irons would be a useful practice exercise, and if it could be achieved then would open up the way again to a trio of 6-wheelers. Decisions, decisions....
Thanks! Ultimately this is one of four- two J10s and two J11s- that will see layout service (I also have the Bachmann limited edition GCR pom pom but that's going to be staying in its box).
Continuing on the goods loco theme, my next project is backdating a Dean Sidings L1 to as-built condition. I had to fabricate a feedwater heater as at some point in the last four years (since I originally built the kit) I had discarded that casting. A short length of 2mm square section plastic strip and a couple of short lengths of brass wire did the job well.
The reason the Ashbury stock has been waiting for so long to be built has mostly been because of a lack of running gear. They had 7' wheelbase bogies, and I didn't want to use RTR bogies under them as the shortest I could find were 8' types. Eventually I settled on using some Parkside Dundas diamond frame bogies, which will need cosmetic work, but are at least if anything a little too short!
I was then able to build the carriage floor, which I have braced with a sheet of 0.5mm plastic sheet and 2mm square plastic strip- I would anticipate that the carriage body, when fitted, will provide further strength, not least because I am planning fitting internal partitions.
I had decided quite some time ago that the plain printed flat finish was not going to be quite satisfactory for me, so I bought a second kit, which I have butchered for the panelling and beading. This was quite a tedious process, cutting it out, but I think it was worthwhile. Of course, after it had been fitted there were so many white edes that it was just as much work to completely repaint the sides as it would have been just to touch in the exposed card.
Whilst the kit was still flat I added wire handrails. Then I scored the roof into 1/16'' strips and foldedup the body. I scored the roof asI have had previous experience of folded card or paper roofs trying to flatten themselves after a while, and generally taking the rest of the model along for the ride. Scoring the roof before rolling results in a smoother curve and makes it less likely to try to flatten later.
The arc length of the roof was slightly too long, so I had to remove a 1/16'' strip of it.
I fitted all of the internal bulkheads and spare carriage ends to provide bracing to the bodywork and as a starting point for the interior.
I've built and fitted an interior, glazed the windows and fitted the body to the chassis.
I still have the roof to finish off, the underframe to detail, the bufferbeams to even start and there are a number of rough edges to the body to sort out. But we're getting there.
I have now added whitemetal ventilators and plastic rainstripsto the roof, which is now sporting a first coat of paint. Coming down to underframe level, I've added footbards to the carriage floor and built up an impression of the turnbuckle bracing to the underframe- all of this out of plastic strip and sheet. I've ordered some whitemetal buffers too. Realistically, to complete the carriage now works run to
-painting and fitting buffers
-painting the footboards
-painting the roof
-transfers and varnishing
