jonte
Western Thunderer
Good morning fellow Westerners, and welcome to my new thread in which I hope to chronicle the highs, lows and pit-falls-a-plenty of the novice facing the uphill challenge of building their first metal kit.
That said, I’m not as anxious at the prospect as I thought I would be.
As the existence of this wonderful forum will bear testament to, I feel I shall be far from alone in my task with the wealth of knowledge and generosity-of-spirit to hand, and so in this vein -or indeed any other - you’re most welcome to pop in whenever you feel like, either to lend a hand or just to catch up with the latest cock-up.
A note of caution:
Now all things being equal and on current form, fellow Westerners, there should be even less likelihood of a Bullingdon Boy reaching the ever dizzy heights of a senior ministerial position than of me completing this kit-build. However, as many of us have come to realise: they ain’t. Thankfully. In my case, anyway. Which rather gives me a(n) (outside) fighting chance.
To that end therefore, and in an effort to reduce the odds, I’ve really pushed the boat out on this occasion by identifying and purchasing essential tools required for successful completion of the task, with helpful advice from my fellow Westerners (a final order is currently en route from Squires’ as I write) and - for once - bothering to read and assimilate Iain Rice’s book on the subject, that’s lain gathering dust in my possession for donkey’s, for when this day eventually dawned.
As you can also see from the photo attached, I also took the liberty of purchasing the GWR volume as recommended by the original kit designer/manufacturer, Martin Finney, a boon to the buffoon that doesn’t really know one end of the cart from t’other.
Whilst I wait for my impending order to arrive, I intend to get in some practise with a few bits of old brass sheet, and familiarise myself with some of Iain’s techniques. I’m especially a little concerned about the forming of the tender flare, so a suitable jig will be constructed from odds n ends before I subject aforementioned offcuts to distortion. Once I feel I’m getting the hang of it, I’ll carry out a final trial run on the sacrificial etch you see in the photo.
Oh, I think I should mention at this point that it’s the earlier flush sided tank I’ll be plumping for, as the scenario I have in mind will be ‘loosely’ set in the late ‘20s’.....’ish.....or thereabouts, which is why I’ve chosen to practice on the later riveted etch that you see in the photo.
I shall also be starting with the construction of the body in contrast to the instructions which starts logically with the chassis. This is because the lead time for supply of my chosen wheelset is for several months hence, so won’t be with me until mid-July(?) at the earliest. My fault completely as I should have ordered them when I first thought about the build.
So there we are. A start - well a thread at least - has been made and I plan to be back in the not too distant to apprise anyone who’s remotely interested in how my experiments fared or failed.
Nevertheless, for reasons outlined, I feel buoyed in my task, although how long that will last is anyone’s guess, and I suppose of it all gets too much I can always reacquaint myself with Fourier and that excellent (Netflix?) series of his, or perhaps try my hand at solving an inhomogeneous ODE or two - something, anything, that might prove relatively easier than brass kit building.
So, as she did for Messrs Boris, George-y and ‘Call-me-Dave’, here’s hoping that Lady Luck is still able to raise a smile or two for me.
Jonte
That said, I’m not as anxious at the prospect as I thought I would be.
As the existence of this wonderful forum will bear testament to, I feel I shall be far from alone in my task with the wealth of knowledge and generosity-of-spirit to hand, and so in this vein -or indeed any other - you’re most welcome to pop in whenever you feel like, either to lend a hand or just to catch up with the latest cock-up.
A note of caution:
Now all things being equal and on current form, fellow Westerners, there should be even less likelihood of a Bullingdon Boy reaching the ever dizzy heights of a senior ministerial position than of me completing this kit-build. However, as many of us have come to realise: they ain’t. Thankfully. In my case, anyway. Which rather gives me a(n) (outside) fighting chance.
To that end therefore, and in an effort to reduce the odds, I’ve really pushed the boat out on this occasion by identifying and purchasing essential tools required for successful completion of the task, with helpful advice from my fellow Westerners (a final order is currently en route from Squires’ as I write) and - for once - bothering to read and assimilate Iain Rice’s book on the subject, that’s lain gathering dust in my possession for donkey’s, for when this day eventually dawned.
As you can also see from the photo attached, I also took the liberty of purchasing the GWR volume as recommended by the original kit designer/manufacturer, Martin Finney, a boon to the buffoon that doesn’t really know one end of the cart from t’other.
Whilst I wait for my impending order to arrive, I intend to get in some practise with a few bits of old brass sheet, and familiarise myself with some of Iain’s techniques. I’m especially a little concerned about the forming of the tender flare, so a suitable jig will be constructed from odds n ends before I subject aforementioned offcuts to distortion. Once I feel I’m getting the hang of it, I’ll carry out a final trial run on the sacrificial etch you see in the photo.
Oh, I think I should mention at this point that it’s the earlier flush sided tank I’ll be plumping for, as the scenario I have in mind will be ‘loosely’ set in the late ‘20s’.....’ish.....or thereabouts, which is why I’ve chosen to practice on the later riveted etch that you see in the photo.
I shall also be starting with the construction of the body in contrast to the instructions which starts logically with the chassis. This is because the lead time for supply of my chosen wheelset is for several months hence, so won’t be with me until mid-July(?) at the earliest. My fault completely as I should have ordered them when I first thought about the build.
So there we are. A start - well a thread at least - has been made and I plan to be back in the not too distant to apprise anyone who’s remotely interested in how my experiments fared or failed.
Nevertheless, for reasons outlined, I feel buoyed in my task, although how long that will last is anyone’s guess, and I suppose of it all gets too much I can always reacquaint myself with Fourier and that excellent (Netflix?) series of his, or perhaps try my hand at solving an inhomogeneous ODE or two - something, anything, that might prove relatively easier than brass kit building.
So, as she did for Messrs Boris, George-y and ‘Call-me-Dave’, here’s hoping that Lady Luck is still able to raise a smile or two for me.
Jonte