7mm Finney7 West Country - 34023 Blackmore Vale

P A D

Western Thunderer
Superb Mick!

Lots more overlays to go on the resin casting than on the A4. I'm getting tempted but I really should stick to smaller locos that can run on my brother's railway.

Cheers,
Peter
 

7mmMick

Western Thunderer
What adhesive are you using Mick to join the brass and resin parts?

Hi Chris,

Loctite 480 came well recommended. If you've not used it before it comes out as a black liquid, drys like a hard rubber and allows you time to mess around with the final position. When discussing it's use I was told you can overcome the bond by heating, great I thought, hope I never need to call on that. Well guess what........... I now know that it can be overcome by heating and once heated to break the bond the remaining residue can be cleaned with little stress by fibre stick.

So in short it's brilliant, as long as you don't put too much on. The following picture is not for the faint hearted so viewer discretion is advised;
IMG_1668.jpg

I took toooooooo long getting the self tappers in and it was just ever so slightly out, so it had to come off:eek: No harm done in the end. A lesson learnt the hard way:rant:

Here's where I bought mine but it's available elsewhere;
Loctite 480 Instant Adhesive Super Glue Black Toughened 20g for sale online | eBay

Cheers

Mick
 

7mmMick

Western Thunderer
Superb Mick!

Lots more overlays to go on the resin casting than on the A4. I'm getting tempted but I really should stick to smaller locos that can run on my brother's railway.

Cheers,
Peter

Cheers Peter,

You know you want one. Come and have a look at the weekend, although I'm biased it is a cracking kit and i'm loving the build,

Mick
 

Pencarrow

Western Thunderer
Hi Chris,

Loctite 480 came well recommended. If you've not used it before it comes out as a black liquid, drys like a hard rubber and allows you time to mess around with the final position. When discussing it's use I was told you can overcome the bond by heating, great I thought, hope I never need to call on that. Well guess what........... I now know that it can be overcome by heating and once heated to break the bond the remaining residue can be cleaned with little stress by fibre stick.

So in short it's brilliant, as long as you don't put too much on. The following picture is not for the faint hearted so viewer discretion is advised;
View attachment 103290

I took toooooooo long getting the self tappers in and it was just ever so slightly out, so it had to come off:eek: No harm done in the end. A lesson learnt the hard way:rant:

Here's where I bought mine but it's available elsewhere;
Loctite 480 Instant Adhesive Super Glue Black Toughened 20g for sale online | eBay

Cheers

Mick

Thanks Mick, very helpful as usual.
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
It's not cheap and has a reasonably short shelf life (a year I think) so make sure you buy it from somewhere where you trust....if one ever can on the web...the best before date or else you'll end up with a bottle shaped eraser!
 
Pipework

7mmMick

Western Thunderer
So enough on the body work for now, i've also been working on the frames. I've opted for the removable brake gear as per the kit instructions, my only slight deviation is that I've soldered a 12Ba nut on the inside of the frame as I wasn't confident that the taped frame would last regular stripping of brake gear, it may not be needed but i'd rather have it than the headache of a stripped thread once painted!
DSCF4789.jpg
Like @dibateg I've opted to replace some of the punched rivet detail with brass rod as it really does alter the look of the brake gear. @Rob Pulham has some excellent photos of Winston Churchill on Filckr and they've been invaluable for the bottom end build detail. he has kindly allowed me to use them here. The front stretched has etched ends and replacing them with rod makes it look a lot better and much more like this;30458636768_b294e8ecf3_o.jpg
Once the brake gear was sorted I went onto fit the motor and gearbox which is a Maxon and ABC combined unit. I then found that there was no room for the width of the gearbox between the hornblocks and compensation arms. Cutting down the gear box is not an option so I followed the advice of @Dikitriki and cut down the hornblocks and guides to allow room for the gear box and side play. I soldered on some .64mm square brass bar to ensure the compensation arms would not slip off;
DSCF4790.jpg
A large void to accept the gearbox and everything still works as planned. You can also see the 12Ba nuts for the brake gear. Once inside the frames I found that if I set up the gearbox at 90 degrees the motor can was a tight fit in the frames, stopping side play! So I modified the spare motion bracket and with some brass wire mounted the motor at an angle that would fit inside the body well and allow side play;
DSCF4817.jpg
DSCF4805.jpg
So the frames are at the stage where they only need a few jobs to finish, Sand pipes, speedo and those iconic pipe runs! Again i've used Rob's photos to start running in the pipe work. I'm going for the untidy BR used effect:D
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I need to separate the smaller pipes a little more but you get the idea. Crosshead lubrication is finished, as are the cylinder covers. The kit suggests scribing in the inspection panel in the cylinder casing so I thought i'd have a go as looking at 34051 it is an obvious detail;
30458634278_4c42972fc6_z.jpg
DSCF4808.jpg
Cylinder taps are all drilled to accept the copper pipe and once they're fitted that completes the scene here. Smoke deflector fitted with blue tack for effect only at the minute, it WON'T be wonky when finished :))

A couple of final shots to show progress, the finish line is close:thumbs:
DSCF4810.jpg
DSCF4812.jpg
DSCF4814.jpg

Can't keep the brass shinny BTW, sorry:D

Mick
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
Mick,
The left trailing coupled wheel has a hollow (?) crank pin, I do not recall this as being included with Slater's wheels so please tell us what you are doing here.

thank you, Graham
 

7mmMick

Western Thunderer
Mick,
The left trailing coupled wheel has a hollow (?) crank pin, I do not recall this as being included with Slater's wheels so please tell us what you are doing here.

thank you, Graham

Hi Graham,

It’s a Derek Mundy crank pin. The crankpin nuts supplied with the kit use these. As JFS says it will eventually carry the speedo drive return crank, I just haven’t got round to cutting it down yet,

Cheers

Mick
 

2-Bil

Western Thunderer
Hello Mick....You've probably got it on your "still to do""list but don't forget to fill the front sander recess x2.Really fine work and a lasting treasure for your client too..................respects etc BW
 

7mmMick

Western Thunderer
Hello Mick....You've probably got it on your "still to do""list but don't forget to fill the front sander recess x2.Really fine work and a lasting treasure for your client too..................respects etc BW

Thanks for the kind comments 2-Bill, it is on my list of remaining jobs. I'll be picking up some milliput at Leigh show tomorrow and the front sander doors will be no more :thumbs:

Cheers

Mick
 

paulc

Western Thunderer
It's not cheap and has a reasonably short shelf life (a year I think) so make sure you buy it from somewhere where you trust....if one ever can on the web...the best before date or else you'll end up with a bottle shaped eraser!
Hi Mick , just a tip from years of selling Loctite Super glues , store them in the fridge when not in use . Most Loctite distributors will have stock in a fridge apart from display stock , if you buy some ask if they have any from a fridge and if they look at you weird then i wouldnt buy from them as the display stock has probably started going off .
My own glue usually lasts about 3 to 4 years and thats here in Australia .
Cheers Paul
 
Finished...........almost

7mmMick

Western Thunderer
Right, since my last post i've been spending all my spare time getting Blackmore Vale to the finishing post and dare I say I think i'm almost there. @Paul Moore will be treating her to her green overcoat and he asked that I paint the frames first as it makes things much easier. I completely understood where he was coming from as the chassis is a minefield of BA screws and bits that come on and off. So to get to this stage I needed to finish all the pipe runs and finalise those little jobs to ensure that the 6ft radius curve wouldn't cause an issue. I decided to remove some material behind the bogie to save any issues with the aft wheel touching the frame;
IMG_1634.jpeg
Marked out roughly what I needed to remove. It well hidden behind the bogie splasher now!
IMG_1635.jpeg
And finally on the fettling stage I decided for the low budget approach to maintaining downforce in the curves on the delta truck. One piece of 0.5mm phosphor bronze wire each side, seems to do the trick?
IMG_1691.jpeg
The tender frames were painted and the buffer beam left in primer for Mr Moore to turn red;
DSCF4847.jpg
Cab doors and final pipe runs added too;
DSCF4846.jpg
Pick ups are through the tender only with @Steph Dale split axles;
DSCF4848.jpg
And now the loco chassis in paint and motor/gearbox fitted, I used maskol where I could to keep the pipe runs and lubricators clean of paint;
DSCF4843.jpg
DSCF4845.jpg
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And finally some gratuitous shots;
DSCF4835.jpg
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And finally I couldn't resist one with the headboard;
DSCF4837.jpg
It's not quite straight but I've left the brackets a little room for a snug fit when painted. Last job, the back head......
 

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Backhead

7mmMick

Western Thunderer
I wanted to post a couple of quick picks on what has been two long days competing the beachhead. The pipe runs are as per the instructions with the addition of the AWS fittings. The light for photography has been rubbish so these are inside which isn't ideal but it will soon be painted and I wanted a couple of pics prior to;
DSCF4850.jpg
DSCF4853.jpg
I've absolutely loved this part of the build and can honestly say it's the most complicated beachhead i've done. The large oil pots were a challenge but I've a good stock of 0.3mm drills, good job really:)):thumbs:

Ok, last jobs are done and she's in the box and going to test run tomorrow.........

Oh one final thing I haven't done is the AWS battery box. Can anyone help with it's location inside the cab please? I can't for the life of me find any photographs or information. Something niggling me says under the driver's seat? I've managed to fit the other fittings for the system but this is the last thing............ help ?????
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Hi Mick
Now that is one complex backhead and a super job you've made of it. You must have a degree in plumbing!

Will you and this beast be a Doncaster af the weekend?

Cheers,
Peter
 

Pencarrow

Western Thunderer
Right, since my last post i've been spending all my spare time getting Blackmore Vale to the finishing post and dare I say I think i'm almost there. @Paul Moore will be treating her to her green overcoat and he asked that I paint the frames first as it makes things much easier. I completely understood where he was coming from as the chassis is a minefield of BA screws and bits that come on and off. So to get to this stage I needed to finish all the pipe runs and finalise those little jobs to ensure that the 6ft radius curve wouldn't cause an issue. I decided to remove some material behind the bogie to save any issues with the aft wheel touching the frame;
View attachment 105797
Marked out roughly what I needed to remove. It well hidden behind the bogie splasher now!
View attachment 105795
And finally on the fettling stage I decided for the low budget approach to maintaining downforce in the curves on the delta truck. One piece of 0.5mm phosphor bronze wire each side, seems to do the trick?
View attachment 105796
The tender frames were painted and the buffer beam left in primer for Mr Moore to turn red;
View attachment 105798
Cab doors and final pipe runs added too;
View attachment 105799
Pick ups are through the tender only with @Steph Dale split axles;
View attachment 105800
And now the loco chassis in paint and motor/gearbox fitted, I used maskol where I could to keep the pipe runs and lubricators clean of paint;
View attachment 105803
View attachment 105804
View attachment 105801
View attachment 105802
And finally some gratuitous shots;
View attachment 105806
View attachment 105805
View attachment 105807
And finally I couldn't resist one with the headboard;
View attachment 105808
It's not quite straight but I've left the brackets a little room for a snug fit when painted. Last job, the back head......

Superb piece of work. Very nice indeed.
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
Oh one final thing I haven't done is the AWS battery box. Can anyone help with it's location inside the cab please? I can't for the life of me find any photographs or information. Something niggling me says under the driver's seat? I've managed to fit the other fittings for the system but this is the last thing............ help ?????
Correct, the fuse holder goes to the rear of the box facing the tender. On the cab interior overlay, there is a horizontal runner under the seat near the floor, the lower fixings on the battery box sit on that.

There are four conduit entries on the bottom, three bend 90° and go forward, the rear one bends 90° and goes rearward to the rear wall and then up the rear wall to the roof.
 

7mmMick

Western Thunderer
Thanks for the kind words everyone:thumbs:

I’ll be at Donny this weekend Peter, looking forward to it. Will you be bringing your LMS tank along. Loved the big tank line up on your thread BTW mate.

Cheers Mick. I’ll pick your brains at the weekend pal, I’m sure I’ve seen a photograph somewhere?

Mick
 
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