My new layout
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On30 - again
Hi Max,Smooth. It will be better with a decent sound decoder. Lots of spares available, plus Bachmann's outstanding warranty. Ordered the steel cab version. Inside frame. Same price. That will make 2 steam and 2 diesels on the roster, enough to get going.
Nigel
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Cut the whole for the radiator mesh. "Strong and flexible nylon". Took be the better part of an hour, 5 minutes drilling and 55 minutes filing. I'll remember that when I'm tempted to order another body shell. Mocked up with some screen repair mesh, white stuff that looks like cobwebs is hot melt adhesive. I'm waiting for some brass mesh to come. With that thick body shell it will be a fit inside the hole, not attached on the inside. Need to think about a protective bar frame on the outside as well. Given the working conditions they'll face, the crew will need a ventilation hatch in the roof of the cab. Job for tomorrow. Maybe.
Nigel
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John
John
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Thanks - one can only hope. Removed the buffer beam details tonight, resorted to the Surform planer and the big box cutter, along with some #80 grit paper, followed by some #100, Lots of key for the CA.. New buffer plates in brass tomorrow. Still looking for pin and link couplers in brass, so far only white metal (must be cosmetic) and "tough, flexible nylon". I may have to go with the later for the buffer mounts in the same material. At least it's tough enough for probably 100 wagons.
Nigel
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You do have photos etc., don't you?
John
John
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A fun session last night and this afternoon - lots of butchery and hackery with the "big knife", aka the box cutter with the heavy-duty scalpel-sharp blades (as my thumb will attest to). This blade is about the only thing that cuts through the nylon ("hard, flexible", keep remembering that lad, next time you get tempted into another one). I tried the Dremel and a cut-off disc, that just melted its way through. Not enough precision.
So, this what got done:
Buffer beam detail gone front and back. Nice and fluffy after a going over with #100 grit, ideal for gluing on the new buffer beams (which will be in brass).
Hole in the cab roof to allow some sunshine in and heat out. Mocked up with a hatch from another kit to see how things will look.
Both doors removed. I will have to do something about the chassis that juts into the cab. I will be raiding the Lego box to make a cosmetic control box.
I like the look of it with the doors gone or simply opened into the cab - more dynamic. Needs some crew. Waiting on the grills and louvers.
Nigel
And we're away! Doors off and the precision surgical instrument.
Door posed half open.
'Ole in the roof. The nylon was half the thickness of the body and frame, the drill bits just kept melting the nylon and not going anywhere. The blade did 95% of the work, touched up with the big file.
Hopefully this is what it will look like when I'm done. The slding hatch is from a center cab On30 diesel shell in brass that I'll be using for the next build.A bit of rivet (as opposed to bolt) detail wouldn't come amiss either.
Trim on the front with what could be some more barnacles. Ready for the new plate in brass. "Hard, flexible, nylon". Rremember that lad,…
And a trim on the back. More barnacles in the making.
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So this morning I was looking at the body shell with the chassis in place, and thinking to myself "how on earth am I going to get my fingers inside the cab to do some detailing with the chassis in place, or from the underneath without it in place?". Hmm. Out with the big blade, off with the roof, problem solved. Need to move the light to the roof (headlight pointing back), but plenty of space to work with for the control cabinet. The floor even has a non-slip surface for the crew! (So do the walls, window frames and the underside of the roof. Ah well). H&S must have been around.
Designers of these shells need to keep access in mind. A few do, most don't. Windows are big in O scale, interiors need detailing as they're highly visible. It's a scratch building aid ("hard, flexible, nylon"), lad, remember that.
Drilling holes for the door handrails is going to be fun as well.
Nigel
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Back to the slaughter again. The louvers, ventilation grills and frames arrived yesterday, mix of 1:35 military (close enuff and nice detail) and 7mm diesel etches. Should be able to piece together something reasonable. More hackery and downright butchery with the big blade to the body today, and it's now nearly where I want it to be. I also extended the hood to the front buffer plate (bit more Hunslet-like) with some styrene sheet using the CA with activator from Loctite, that gives me some space for a decent sized speaker when this goes DCC sound. I now need to fabricate a radiator cover to go on the front, as well as a slightly deeper and thicker buffer plate. And something to go in front of those holes along the sides (brass and soldering up next). The intent is to have the innards visible. Along with a 6 cylinder diesel engine, torque converter, and gearbox.* I have a plan…(and next time I'll build the shell myself, less aggro all round). And I need to get to the Lego store (No.4 granddaughter was shocked when she overheard me say I needed some Lego bits for the trains. "Not mine!, not mine!" at 100 db can be quite persuasive. Not sure the mermaid princess set has what I want anyway).
Nigel
*Most narrow gauge diesel or petrol locomotives had either mechanical or hydraulic/mechanical transmissions for cost, maintenance and power output reasons. This one has a Bachmann 5 pole electric motor and not much else. Ah well, Bodgit and Fudgit will improvise as usual. I can already see the engine block and gearbox).
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I fabricated the side screens for the hood today, brass strip and diamond mesh, soldered-up, long piano-type hinge on top (brass rod). Just needs some lines scribed on the rods and some small plates and rivets on the frames for the hinges, plus a couple of handles at the bottom. I propped one on the side for the photo. This is what I was looking for, that could be a diesel engine lurking inside after an on-site addition of mesh doors to keep things cool. I'm tempted to fabricate an exhaust manifold and air cleaner. Or find an O-scale engine and strip it for parts.
The grills will get blacked before fixing to the hood. I have some rivet decals (transfers) for detailing that will be added after painting. Radiator cowling and grills tomorrow, as well as the louver panels and doors to go on the hood in front of the grills.
Nigel
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John
John
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Thanks. I'd forgotten how much fun narrow gauge in O scale can be, lots of improvisation and make-do.
Nigel
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More progress on the body shell. The shell was extended almost to the front buffer beam, the front steps removed, a radiator box and grill fabricated from styrene strip, the buffer beams were beefed-up with styrene strip and lowered by around 2mm, and the louver doors soldered up. Just positioned for the moment, I'm waiting on some pin and rod coupler mounts for the buffer beams.
Nigel
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I decided on a break (well needed sez I) from the 3D diesel body shell bash while I wait for the pin and bar coupler pockets to arrive. A1 Models do some nice looking body shells for center and end cab On16.5 diesels, not expensive, and near enough in scale to On30 not to really make any noticeable difference. I got the center cab one, looks like a cross between a Whitcomb and a Hudswell. It's a brass etch, fold and glue or solder, the intended donor mechanism is a Bachmann GE 70 tonner to which the brass is glued. I decided to scratch build a chassis/platform/buffer plates for the body, the left-over body shell can go on eebygum (where they seem to go for quite interesting prices) and solder the shell together. The 70 tonner models come with basic DCC now (the new model cost me $54), which for my purposes (forwards, backwards, lights) is sufficient until I get a sound decoder.
This was a straightforward construction, solder the front grille and radiator mesh to the front ends of the 2 hoods, fold the hoods and solder brass mesh over the hood side openings rather than the supplied doors, and fold and solder the cab together. The hand rains were made from from brass rod. The only thing of interest construction-wide is that most parts were tinned with the small iron, and then soldered in place using the big 'un. Nothing really exciting here (move along, move along), so 'nuff said.The chassis/footplate was scratch built using styrene sheet and bar after I did some measurements of the donor and brass body and drew up a template in CorelDraw, Again, a straightforward cut and glue. This model has taken a total of 2 evenings work so far, I need to do some exhaust stacks, and attach some air tanks from the spares (white metal, bit of weight). I am thinking about attaching the cab roof with neodymium magnets and steel bar to make access to the cab easier. Plus lights.
The body shell still awaits a final scrub and polish before painting. Plus some wivets on the body and NBW's on the end gussets and end buffers.The last picture shows the effect I'm looking for with the innards clearly visible through the mesh. I'll probably use a couple of Lego pieces and wire to give the impression of machinery and hoses. Photo's are useful, I can see a couple of places that need a bit more solder or filler before priming. I also need to take the small hammer to the body shell - this is a hard-working locomotive at the end of it's life that has received it's fair share of dents and knocks over the years. Found some nameplates in O scale - "Joan" it is.
I might get another kit from A1 Models, the smaller end cab one looks tasty.
Nigel
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Next steps were the "dinging and denting", "paint bubbling" and a couple of repairs where cab plates had rusted through. Whatever was handy for the first, the second was done using some solder applied in the likely places for bubbling and rust formation, the 2 repair plates with bubbling were soldered on each side of the cab. Bit of judicious bending of the hand rails also using a large pair of pliers. The idea is to give the "bubbling" a couple of coats of red oxide primer at the edges, and cover with peelable film when applying the final color.
I also redid the base plate, bit longer (to give 12" walkways at either end). Too windy to apply the red oxide at the moment, one of the joys of living 140 feet high. Waiting on the NBWs at the moment.
First time I've gone for a dented and rust bubble look on a model, the brass in this kit is thin, and easily dented and marked. Difficult to do with styrene sheet, that requires careful use of the heat gun or the tip of the soldering iron (I did a bit of experimenting this morning).
Ladders next plus some rudimentary handrails for the ends. And some internal radiators.
Nigel
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Well done. I particularly like the use of solder to create rust blisters on the brasswork shell, besides lots of distressed thinware.
Bill
At 6'4'', Bill is a tall chap, then again, when horizontal he is rather long and people often used to trip over him! . . . and so a nickname was born :)
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Marty
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Thanks. First effort at bashing (literally) a brass locomotive. Tough decision when you've spent a few hours building it. Good excuse for poor soldering and not keeping things square in the build though (as if :roll:).. Authenticity is the aim, hopefully we'll get something closer than an "as built". This one has been in a derailment, hence the bent hoods.Gave up on bending the frame though. Put a slight curve in the body shell though.
One thing I've noticed looking at an awful lot of photo's of steam and diesel locomotives that are worked hard in industrial settings far from the manufacturer is they don't get the "major overhaul and repaint" of mainline locomotives every 5-odd years. More like 10-20 years, if ever (although that said, BR WR ran some interesting peel jobs on their Warships and Westerns in the 1960's). Paint blisters, quick welds to repair rust holes with bits of plate, dents left alone as they still ran, paintwork well faded and always grimy (they still ran), bent frames (they still ran)). The large flat surfaces found in diesels IMO cry out for a few dents and hollows. Preservation societies and model manufacturers have a lot to answer for.
Nigel
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Spent an hour thinking about the coupling requirements. Where these diesels will be working there will be stock with different coupler heights, so some sort of coupler block with adjustable levels on the beams will be required. Hmm. Time for a think and a cuppa or two along with some digestives for the neurons.
So: Four KD coupler gear boxes suitably trimmed and glued together vertically (I have a box full of the gear boxes left over from installing whisker couplers on stock already equipped with boxes), 2 of, a suitable hole made in the end beams using fine saws, and the coupler block glued in place after a bit of fettling. Hole drilled through the footplate locating with the hole in the gear boxes for a 2-56 nylon or SS steel screw, job done! SS screws allow for easy removal with a magnet.
The work hasn't been tidied up yet, this is just to show the idea in practice. This buffer block will allow me to use pins and bars or pins and chain links (lower 2 or 3 holes, prototypical for the layout when I'm playing at home), as well as good 'ole KDs for shows and the like (highest hole if my measurements are correct).
I'll clean-up after the glue has completely set and out-gassed.
Nigel
One end.
T'other end.
Highest level
And…Next to highest level
©Nigel C. Phillips
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reg
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Thanks. Case of necessity, commercial offerings were either out of scale or costa gotta. The KD gearboxes are essentially freebies.
Nigel
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