Atlantic's works: Portable layout - Scenic details next

[jwealleans]

That's the wonder of the Interweb.

[Atlantic 3279]

First cut to adapt the A2/3 front running plate, back through the "upstand":

Planning further cuts:

Base of central "spine" of running plate cleaned back to a flat surface, with epoxy applied ready for adding packing layers, also filling the original screw-hole:

Two squares of 40thou plastikard added and clamped while epoxy sets:

Running plate positioned tightly against raised step at front of chassis block, and drilled to allow screwing in place using existing hole in chassis. Height to top of running plate now 24.5 mm from rail level, as per drawing:

In readiness for making new running plate sections, two lenghths 1mm sq brass bar formed up to match drawing by much patient bending and adjustment. Initial fit on body looks promising. Sharp corner to top of front curve will be formed by the top plating, and the lower edge filed to a better curve if necessary. I reckoned a bend rather than a soldered right-angle joint in the valance bar here should give better strength, and no risk of coming un-done as the plating is soldered on!

[Atlantic 3279]

No dazzling progress just yet, although I have taken away all of the old running plate now save for the flat section beneath the firebox, also removing the smokebox saddle, pictures later. This has allowed me to lash things together in something approaching true final positions, prompting me to pause for some very careful further thought and scrupulous measurement. In consequence, I've re-manipulated the new valances for the running plate slightly, to get half a mil of extra lift over the driving wheels, so as to facilitate coverage and clearance of the flanges. I think I may also reduce the packing under the front running plate by half a mil to get correct buffer height. Whilst these may all be "pifflingly small adjustments" they can make a difference to a convincing final appearance, and are all the more important if I am making "master" parts for possible duplication by resin casting, where tiny errors may begin to creep back in. I don't want errors to multiply in magnitude.

[2002EarlMarischal]

It's become a daily ritual to check on the next fascinating instalment of your conversions - my wife thinks I'm rather sad! I often find in my "world of figures" that you can spend a lot of time on the detail, but still need to take time to stand back and see if it looks right. Good luck with the build!

[S.A.C. Martin]

Looking and sounding good Graeme. I take it 60113 will keep the dark green when complete?

[Atlantic 3279]

you can spend a lot of time on the detail, but still need to take time to stand back and see if it looks right.

Very true. As has been pointed out more than once, for those of us working in OO no loco can ever be completely accurate.

60113 will keep the dark green when complete?

Definitely.

Now that I've got enough height to the running plate, despite matching the valance shape carefully to the Isinglass drawing I'm expecting difficulty in both getting the front curve far enough forward to enclose the leading coupled wheel fully, and the S-curve far enough back to cut into the firebox shape sufficiently, although I've not yet found an error in the Hornby body dimensions to account for this conundrum. I may just succeed without having to further cheat with the shape of the valance, but it's going to be a close fit!

[Atlantic 3279]

I already suspected that the rear two pairs of splashers would part from the running plate moulding quite easily, as it was plain to see on looking within the boiler that the rear two-thirds of this is a separate moulding, glued in place. It was no surprise that the lubricators were add-ons to the running plate either. As this image shows, it turns out that the raised valve gear covers around the main cylinder steam pipes are separate fittings too, as are the steam pipes themselves - all done I suppose to allow the basic body to take on either A1 or A3 guise. The smokebox door just knocks out from within, once the superglue cracks, and as Mick B told me the chimney does likewise. The bulk of the running plate was removed with strategic razor-saw cuts:

This is how the whole thing looked when first thrown together:

After a deal of thought, measurement, and filing of my excessive packing pieces to get the front to sit perfectly evenly at a better height, I added a 14.5mm smokebox extension ring, slung on a spare chimney and reattached the skeleton valances to get this:

The bogie and cylinders of course are still in the wrong places, but alteration of those doesn't look too daunting. I've also been contemplating the matter of how wide the strips of running plate either side of the main boiler barrel ought to be, and wondering whether I can create some suggestion of the presence of the recessed splashers, inboard. That is why I haven't hastily hacked off the existing splashers......

Time for some bangers now, both edible and pyrotechnic varieties, plus a ceremonial burning of a traitor's effigy.

[S.A.C. Martin]

Looks good to me Graeme. Watching and noting it all down.

[earlswood nob]

Its looking good and I'm following your methods with great interest. It's amazing how many locos a RTR body can lead to. I remember your A3 to P1 conversion, which is something I must attempt, but I'll miss out on the A1/1 for reasons which you may guess.

Earlswood Nob
(a signalbox near where I grew up and the nickname for a pub)

[Atlantic 3279]

Yesterday's efforts on the A1/1 involved a lot of pausing and thinking about the spatial relationships in the finished loco. It was easy enough to filed of the remains of the old A3 saddle from the base of the smokebox, and fairly simple to shift the bogie mounting 10.5 mm further forward after drilling and tapping a new screw-hole. Apart from any fancy ideas about portrayal of the concealed splashers, I wanted to evolve a design for the running plate pieces that would, in plan view, boil down to a simple strip with a straight inboard edge. That will make it simple to make suitable moulds and cast accurate, flat-backed resin parts.

The cylinders will have to be moved shortly, and I still have to deal with the splashers fully on one side, but here's what I eventually came up with:
In this first image I've tried to show the way in which I've cut back the lower edges of the existing splashers to creat a bevel that lies parallel to the lower flanks of the boiler, and have then used thin plastikard to plate-over the gaps between the splashers.

From below, you can see that the gaps beteen the splashers also had to be given a flat base, in addition to the bevelled section. The running plate, now more complete, fits at the same height as the splasher tops.

The general view of the loco so far. The S-curve of the running plate, when completed, will cut into the firebox with a new lower front section of firebox built on below. This will allow all but the piece of running plate ahead of the coupled wheels to have a straight inboard edge. That awkward extra inboard section can be a simple add-on piece in the final resin.

[2002EarlMarischal]

Amazing work Graeme! It's certainly looking the part already.

I'm sure your admirers have suggested this before, but you really should publish your conversions in a modelling book!

Your photos are so clear too - do you use a white light? I find normal indoor electric lighting gives a unfortunate yellow tinge to pictures.

Good luck with the next phase!

[Atlantic 3279]

If only I were confident that I could write it all up in suitable book form without going mad in the process, and that the book would then appeal to both publisher and modelling masses alike! I gather that books are a lottery for most writers and many publishers, some go down a storm, others lie unwanted in the publisher's warehouse. I don't know if a DVD option would be any better. Are enough people really interested in my way of doing things, and prepared to pay hard cash to see the details?

Much of my step by step photography has perforce to be done in evenings, although some of it just doesn't work out and has to be done next day in daylight. Mainly, the evening stuff is done under the halogen mini-spots in our kitchen. Maybe their "whiter" light compared to bog-standard tungsten, plus the pale blue walls of the kitchen, and the oh-so-forgiving digital cameras these days help to avoid that horrible yellow cast - although I do at times find that the yellow tries to sneak in I have to play about a bit with angles, lighting and the way I do the pre-shot metering with the camera.

Here's the skeleton A1/1 body upside down, giving an alternative, and possibly more informative view of the way I've bevelled back the original splashers and constructed the "hoppers" between them. A look at this image has also just inspired me with respect to a possible way to handle the problem of the lower front firebox sides and the S-curve of the running plate .

[2002EarlMarischal]

The internet seems to have killed certain categories of books off in a sense. However, I still enjoy a good paperpack when I take a rare holiday. It can go anywhere with you - dodgy to read an e-book on a laptop when you're enjoying a soak in the bath! Equally, books of a reference nature like the RCTS series are just things that you simply want to own. If a modeller was following one of your conversions I'm sure that a hard copy would be preferable too.

Before the alarm bells ring (!), I'm only doing it for my own purposes, but I'm copying each of your posts (not the replies) complete with images into a word document entitled "Graeme King Gresley A3 to Thompson A1/1 conversion!". It's 13 A4 (not the loco) pages long so far! I've spent hours doing the same with your W1 conversions - that runs to no less than 61 pages!!

I'd like to go back and do that for the others you have done, so if my modelling skills ever improve I can go back and have a go. I'll probably bind them up with my work comb-binding machine. I just don't want to think they might drop off the end of the forum with the passage of time!

I suppose I'm suggesting a relatively cheap form of publication that could be reprinted as needed and advertised in the railway press and on forums such as this.... If you would like me to e-mail you the resulting word docs I'd be delighted to do so!

Thanks for the heads up on the lighting for your photos. I'll have to try our kitchen when my better half isn't looking!

Enthralled with the A1/1! As you leave no stone unturned can I assume you will also do the original high cab version?

Jim

[mick b]

Not in BR green I think

[52D]

Re The Book. I bought Hooles list of NER locos at 1920 this was produced cheaply by type writing and duplicating with a thicker cover page so it shouldnt be to hard to produce a similar type of book with more modern methods.
Comb binding is easy and cheap enough, factor in editing and material costs plus labour and profit margin small runs could be achieved and Atlantics efforts should be able to make him a small profit.