My workbench - Experiments in Resin Casting

[2002EarlMarischal]

If you're trying to make us all jealous - it works!

Seriously though, it's a lovely model of a handsome loco. The black scheme with red lining was very tasteful. Would it be fair to say that lined goods engines were kept more pristine than unlined locos I wonder?

[Coboman]

If you're trying to make us all jealous - it works!

Seriously though, it's a lovely model of a handsome loco. The black scheme with red lining was very tasteful. Would it be fair to say that lined goods engines were kept more pristine than unlined locos I wonder?

Its cost us a pretty penny sofar, with new wheels, new chassis, Morgans excelent body rebuild and paintjob. TBH a bad ebay purchase as it was a total wreck.
I think pre WW1 everything was kept clean, but afterwards things started to slip. Dad says even just prior WW2 most freight locos were pretty filthy. After the war started everything was a uniform grime livery! I suppose with the LNER been strapped for cash didn't help matters.....

[kimballthurlow]

All I can say is WOW.
Those GC engines always look the part.
As I said to my wife recently, she still looks pretty tidy, even after all those years.
She has not yet decided whether to roast or toast me.

regards
Kimball

[manna]

G'Day Gents

I was going to say, were you talking about the wife or the A5 !!!!!!

And this Gilbert fellow seems to turn out, some pretty decent loco's, (there's no jealous Smilies )

manna

[45609]

A belated thank you to everyone that has commented on the A5 body restoration job. Jim, the chassis is looking very good. It will be nice to see the finished article in due course.

Cheers....Morgan

[45609]

As I was taking some photos to send to along with an invoice I thought a few pictures of the latest locos out of the works would be good as it is a long time since I've posted anything of note. Lack of time due to work committments have not allowed much other modelling work to take place recently and when this situation arises it has to be the paid modelling that takes priority.

The subject title ought to give a clue as to what is revealed below. In an attempt to pay homage to the style of photo so often seen in books by P.N. Townend the unmistakable lines of two Gresley pacifics hove into view. Simmering quietly on Top Shed yet oozing power and purpose awaiting the next race to the north. But , "hang on a minute" you all say. "They ain't painted yet". Agreed and it is a fair cop. Painting is the next job. I had hoped to get them completed and sent out before the Xmas holiday. However, as my spraying booth and equipment is located in the garage, the chance of getting enough fair dry weather to coincide with when I’m available to paint the locos is looking increasingly unlikely. A re-pose of the photos will certainly be necessary before they leave Severnside Loco Works for their home shed.

The models are pretty much out the box builds of the DJH A3 kit. Once again a few Morganism creep in with my standard style of electrical pick up and tender connection. Also a few spare parts from the recently designed Thompson pacific valve gear etches have been used to improve the back end of the radius rod in particular.

Thanks to David West for letting me try these two around his layout this afternoon for an extended test run. 12 Hornby Gresleys.....no sweat

Cheers.....Morgan

[jwealleans]

You are a tease, Morgan... which two are they going to be? What have you put under the hood? The public demands to know!

Looking forward to another exemplary paint job.

[Atlantic 3279]

Very nice without a doubt. Perhaps we're all supposed to be able to deduce the ID's by observing details such as the number of oil boxes on each side of the smokebox saddle?

The Devil in me wants me to say "Wot! No multi-later expansion links?"

[45609]

;o) thanks Graeme....that's you off my Xmas card list. The honest truth is I didn't have enough spare bits to do 3 layer links on both without having to order more parts. If this cavalier attitude displeases I shall do the honourable thing and commit modelling seppuku (a hot soldering iron through each boiler) forthwith.

Whilst in the workshop the locos have earned the nicknames of Frankel and Scots Rifle. My eccentric logic coming into play. Does that help you guess the names?

For those wishing to look at the ladies underwear. I think it is only you again JW. I have some pictures at an earlier stage of construction which I will post up this evening.

Cheers....Morgan

[earlswood nob]

Afternoon all
Can I guess?
Frankel won all the time, but so did many horses that Pacifics were named after. I'd guess at Ormonde which was unbeatable.
Scots rifle might refer to a Scottish regiment, in which a relation served: Cameronian Rifles. So I'd guess the second is Cameronian.
Earlswood Nob

[45609]

Cameronian is spot on. Frankel is a little more obtuse. Think more along the line of money rather than fame.

[45609]

As promised here are a few photos of the two chassis before most of the detail was put on and the bodies built. The gearbox and motor in both is the DJH AM1 offering. 44:1 ratio IIRC with a Mashima 1626 round can motor. These aren't really my preference, I would normally choose a High Level box, but one was supplied to me and for consistency of build another was purchased. Whilst they seem to be well made and come preassembled I think they are a little bit overpriced at £55 each. The DJH instructions suggest a split pickup "American" system but as I don't like to have loco and tender permenantly couple together I have gone for a more conventional type of wiper pickup system. 2 Extra frame spacers were made for each loco from wide "U" shaped brass channel and soldered at the bottom edge of the frames between the driven axles. The spacers were drilled and tapped centrally to accept a short 12 BA countersunk head screw. These screws retain a pickup plate made from gapped copper clad circuit board. The coil pickups are wound from 30 SWG phosphor bronze wire and soldered to the plate.

Cheers.....Morgan

[45609]

My antidote to the Xmas excess of food and drink has been to spend some time working towards completing the two A3s. Shown in the raw above the last 2 to 3 weeks has seen both locos primed and painted. This has been a bit of a game with the weather but thankfully enough fair and dry hours have been found to get them done. Using cellulose paint (primers and top coats) gives a major advantage at this time of year as it is feasible to get a loco painted from start to finish in one or two days. The down side is the humidity and cold which can give problems with bloom as the thinner evaporates.

Day one is the etch primer and even though some say that overcoating is possible within a few hours I prefer to leave it 24 hours. Day two is the high build primer and top coat (or coats in this case). I don't always use a high build primer. It depends on the surface finish of the model. This time it was necessary as the whitemetal castings of the DJH kits had a few blemishes and porosity that would have shown through the top coat without it. So starting early one Sunday morning the grey primer was sprayed followed, about an hour later, by the brunswick green top coat. After a decent brunch, whilst the models dried in a warm airing cupboard, it was time to get to work masking off the bits I wanted to stay green. Some pre-prepared masking templates helped speed this laborious task up. Things like splasher and the firebox bottom edge shapes had been made from card a few days before so that duplicates could be cut from masking tape. By far the trickiest job was manipulating a long thin strip of tape along the running plate valance. By about 3pm the masking was done but the bloody weather had changed and the rain was falling. Bugger! It was a full week before the weather was fine enough to get back to the garage and spray the black.

The remaining work has been taken more slowly at the work bench. Hand painting a few areas to tidy up masking errors and application of the lining. This time I have used Fox Transfers A3 lining packs and I'm very pleased with how they have come out. The only area I have lined with the bow pen is the running plate valance. The remaining transfers and plates are Modelmaster/Jackson Evans items. The final stage was to give the whole lot a coat of satin varnish.

So, as you can see in the photos above Flying Scotsman is complete. I now need to finish off Cameronian. She is well on the way.

Cheers....Morgan

[60800]

Lovely What varnish do you use?

[45609]

Lovely What varnish do you use?

Thanks. Vallejo acrylic varnish in 75:25 ratio mix of gloss and satin.