Crymlyn A Shop Techniques. Barry Railway F Class.

davey4270

Western Thunderer
140. The Cab Handrails.


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The holes for the handrails either side of the cab doors were etched to well over 1mm and, from prototype pictures, the handrails look the same size as the tank handrails which are 0.7mm. I was concerned that this could cause problems but I needn’t have worried. I made up 4 staple shaped handrails of identical size and placed them in position with coffee stirrers at the top and the bottom to pack them out. Some flux was applied to the tails inside the cab and pressing the handrails against the cab with another piece of wood I soldered the 2 tops in position with a dab of solder carried to the job on my hot iron. I checked the bottoms were straight and parallel and soldered them in place. I removed the wood packing pieces and rechecked the alignment before filing the inside tails flush with the inside of the cab. A small amount of the solder has filled the over large holes and gives the impression of the handrails being welded in place similar to prototype pictures.
Some of the class didn’t have the cab side handrails just in front of the cab opening and no holes or marks are provided. However, my prototype 726 did so I estimated their position which continued in a straight line continuing from the tank handrails. Two suitable holes were drilled either side of the cab and they were soldered in place then cleaned up in exactly the same way as the handrails either side of the doorways.
I have seen only one member of the class with a handrail on the bunker rear and this locomotive didn’t have filled in coal rails but what looks like an extension welded on top so I’m presuming this was a different arrangement. I don’t have a rear view of 726 but as it has sheeted in coal rails, I will treat it like other class members which had this style of bunker and was not fitted with rear handrails.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
141. Injectors and Steps.


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Most views that I have of these locomotives show the early pattern of injector or rather don’t show them as they are mounted on the firebox back head in the cab. But 726, my chosen prototype, was fitted with replacement GWR injectors at the sides of the firebox. I was fortunate in having a suitable pair of cast brass injectors which I could use to replicate this. I had to drill location holes to solder the brass rod and copper pipe runs but, thankfully as cast brass is extremely hard, this only needed to be about 1mm deep. The spigot on the injector casting was trimmed to fit in the previously prepared hole underneath the rear of the saddle tank and a small hole was drilled to take a length of 0.7mm brass wire with a similar hole in the front of the cab. This represents the rod which opens the water valve from the cab and will be painted body colour (green). The boiler feed water emerges from the top right of the injector, passing through another hole in the cab front, to the clack (non return) valve mounted on the firebox back head in the cab and a thick piece of copper wire represents this. The next pipe down is a smaller diameter copper pipe (wire) bringing live steam from the boiler through yet another hole in the cab front to enter at the top of the injector just beneath the water valve. For some reason the live steam pipes always seem to take a rather convoluted route and can be seen here curving underneath, behind , then up and over the top into the injector just like on the prototype. Finally, the overflow (drain) pipe is another piece of copper wire emerging from bottom right and passing through the footplate. Each of these wires were shaped and the end to be soldered into the injector was filed to a point to match the drilled hole in the injector casting. This may sound trivial but it makes a firm fit in a hole that is only 1mm deep.


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The right hand injector which is made up as a mirror image of the previous picture. Also visible behind the injector assembly is the reverser reach rod. This also passes through a slot in the cab front. The “pipes” are soldered to the injector bodies but they are not soldered to the bodywork. This will allow the tank/boiler/firebox assembly to be lifted off for painting and, as now, the injectors will be trapped in place on reassembly. A couple of rubber bands hold the boiler in position while the pipework is constructed as this makes it easier to remove when drilling the holes in the cab front.


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I assembled the steps, the front pair only having a single step. The top of the step support bracket bends outward instead of in the usual inwards direction and I guess this is to locate it away from the valance. The centre step underneath the cab appears to be central between the top of the footplate and the lower step. It appears a bit odd here but the bracket will be soldered underneath the footplate lowering the bracket which will even up the spacing. I soldered a small triangle of scrap brass at the top of the bracket to strengthen the assembly.
The lower step appears to be vertically inline with the edge of the footplate in pictures I have so I will adjust its position to suit. Was this a fairly standard arrangement?
Also shown is the reverser reach rod. This is another sub assembly which will be painted red and refitted at the final assembly stage.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
142. Steps and sand pipes.


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First ok all, a big thank you to everyone who noticed yesterday’s “deliberate” mistake and were too courteous and diplomatic to mention it. . On the front steps I had soldered the little reinforcing triangle to the step and not the top part of the bracket where it was needed. The incorrect work can be seen on the right with a repaired step on the left. Doh!


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The rear steps were soldered in position centrally below the cab openings. The rear corners of the copper clad for the pickups were cut away to give extra clearance. I’m guessing the fold over brackets at the top of the steps would have given the correct inwards spacing against the valances, but as these were inset too much, by correcting their positions this made the spacers useless and I had to do this by judgement. The rear sand pipes were soldered into the rear copper clad allowing sufficient material to mount the wire wipers. A small square was cut through the copper surface to insulate the 0.8mm brass wire used for the sand pipes. A hole was drilled either side of the frames to take a small brass split pin which was soldered in place to hold the sand pipes rigidly in position.
I’d like to thank Derek Mundy for this tip and if this isn’t what he meant take credit for devising something different, although I’m sure it’s been used before.


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A view showing the front steps which still require a small grab handle to be fitted. Interestingly, I have a picture of an F class in what appears to be photographic grey and there are no front steps fitted, they are also absent on a few other members of the class. It has been suggested that these were a later addition to help the driver oil round. The split pin supporting the rear sand pipes can just be seen underneath the cab. The injectors have been removed for fitting later on reassembly after painting.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
143. Cleaning the Frames.


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With the fitting of the rear sand pipes yesterday the frames are complete, hopefully. The rear wheel sets had been left in place to align the sand pipes so these were removed along with the remaining axle boxes. The frames were given a good scrub with “Shiny Sinks” and an old toothbrush then scrubbed with HOT water using the same toothbrush. Hopefully this will remove most of any remaining grease and flux. The frames will be soaked in a baking soda solution for 24 hours to neutralise any acidic flux before being given another scrub with Shiny Sinks etc. They will then be handed over to Dai the Paint.
Onto the body and the front foot step grab rails were folded up from some 0.7mm brass wire and soldered in place using a coffee stirrer to space it out from the footplate. A pair of Laurie Griffin cast brass lamp irons were also soldered in front of the L/H leading splasher for any spare lamp irons. Not all locomotives in this class were fitted with these and I don’t have a L/H view of 726, my chosen prototype, but like the look of them on a rather barren footplate. All these were soldered from underneath to reduce any cleaning up. The body was given a good scrub at the same time as the frames.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
144. Priming the Frames.


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After soaking the frames in a baking soda solution for 24 hours to neutralise any residual acidic flux, they were given another scrub with “Shiny Sinks”, hot water and a toothbrush. Another scrub with hot water and literally 1/2 a drop of washing up liquid allows the frames to dry without any water marks. I know people advise against this but the frames are well rinsed and I’ve had no problems over the years that I’ve been doing this. Over to Dai the Paint.
The copper clad surfaces were covered with masking tape cut to shape but the insulation cuts in the copper surfaces were not covered. This will allow the paint to seal the gaps making doubly sure of electrical insulation. The rear bearing outside surfaces were covered with masking tape and the insides filled with Blutac which acts as a masking material. The centre and front sets of horn blocks were also filled with Blutac.
The frames were given a coat of “Upol 8” which is available from Halfords and allowed to dry for 20 minutes. Perhaps I should say “harden” as the paint is almost dry in minutes. The Upol 8 is an acid based primer that chemically attaches itself to the brass. I used ordinary primer on my first brass locomotive build and I am regularly touching up chipped paint on edges. Since using etch primer I’ve never had this problem. The frames were then inverted and gives second coat to cover the unpainted bits that were underneath. Unfortunately the masking cannot readily be seen as it is now the same colour as the primed frames. It will be left in place until the frames are given a coat of matt black in a few days time. As long as I can smell paint I’m not happy that it’s fully dried although what can be smelled is probably the thinners drying out. If this is sealed underneath the Halfords cellulose matt black paint I don’t see how it can evaporate.


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I soldered the scratch built floor in position hard against the cab rear. I had thought about packing the floor in the centre to prevent any sagging but the chassis rear fixing nut is under the floor just in front of the coal door and is the smallest fraction beneath it so will do that job nicely. I tinned about 5mm of the folded down floor sides at the front and as these were resting on the solder on the floor inside the cab sides, a dab of flux and a hot iron secured it. Once again my 25W iron wasn’t man enough for the job but a 2 second dab with my 40W iron easily sorted it.
The firebox back head just sits between the rear splashers in the cab with the base of the white metal casting resting on the floor. I drilled a 1mm hole through the cab front just below the top of the firebox and soldered a short piece of 1mm wire inside the top of the firebox protruding about 2mm. The picture shows the wire just outside the hole and when “clipped” into the hole secures the back head in place. This allows another component to be removed for painting.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
145. Fire Iron Brackets and Cab Shutters


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A job I’ve been putting off was making a set of fire iron brackets for the bunker. These are visible in every rear view of locomotives in this class but there are none supplied or mentioned in the instructions so I bent up 3 from some scrap nickel silver etch that seemed to be about the right size. I folded a piece back on itself and then curved it around a 2.2mm drill bit. This happened to look about the right diameter but more importantly was long enough to go completely across the rear of the bunker. A further 2 were made matching the first as closely as possible and the 3 were then trimmed to the same size. The backs of the brackets were tinned and then aligned across the bunker rear with the drill bit and blutac. A blob of flux then a touch for a second with my 40W iron made them a permanent fixture.
There seem to be various arrangements for the top lamp iron across the class but I copied one I’ve previously used. I filed a notch in the bunker top beading where the Laurie Griffin cast brass lamp iron’s spigot would be and reduced the spigot to half thickness. This allows it so sit neatly on top of the bunker where it was soldered in place.
The cab sliding shutters were soldered in position, the driver’s side almost fully open as I guess he’d want to be able to lean out of the cab to see where he’s going and the fireman’s side about a third open. I reckon he’d want a good flow of cool air!
Following my suspicion that this class was cobbled together from spare parts, I made up a pair of coupling hooks from left over etches and spare wagon coupling links. These won’t be sprung but I’ve drilled a hole through them just behind the buffer plank for a retaining pin.
In the picture the cab/footplate sits on the primed frames with Percy the Pipe’s injectors.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
146. Black Frames.


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After 2 days for the etch primer to harden, Dai the Paint took advantage of the fine morning to paint the frames. They were given a coat of Halfords matt black cellulose and when dry the masking tape and Blutac, now blacktak, was removed. This can be seen in the picture. Where the black goes to in the blutak I haven’t a clue, it just disappears.
Body wise, I wasn’t completely happy with the cobbled together couplings as the chain wouldn’t clear the coupling hook when swung up. I thought that I could live with this by using the adjacent wagon’s chain but decided to make a pair of longer links to replace the top links. An internal measurement of the original links was 5mm and the new ones are 6mm which allows them to now clear the hook without looking ridiculously long. The two short handrails either side of the water filler cap on top of the tank were also added being secured with a dot of Loktite. I also carved the front sandbox filler caps to more of an oval shape to match the prototype.
I remember when working as a shunter in BP Llandarcy that the locomotives had an extended central link with a brace across its centre. Even with this there was a problem coupling up to 100 ton bogie railcars on the slightest curve unless the locomotive could compress the buffers.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
146a. Red and Rusty Frames.

Not a great deal of progress to show but at this stage of the build I like to rebuild the chassis and think about any detail that needs to be added to the body before priming.
The frames have had 2 thin coats of flesh as undercoat and the first coat of red. I’ve also picked out the visible bits of the ash pan in a rusty colour.
On the body, I’ve added some Milliput to the rear corners of the footsteps where there were gaps in the fold up etches and also attempted to extend the rear splashers towards the firebox. These couldn’t be attached to the firebox as it is a removable component to help painting. I superglued a strip of plasticard inside the arch of the rear splashers wide enough to fill the gap and spread Milliput on top. I trapped a piece of paper between the firebox and the splashers to create a gap and prevent the Milliput sticking. Time will tell if it works. A similar method was employed at the front to close up the gap between the valve chest cover and the front of the removable smoke box component.
I had a problem with the cab roof in that the brass roof had an etched groove about 5mm in from the edges, presumably, to solder a straight rain strip although there is no clue to this in the instructions. It could not be a fold mark to bend up the edges as they would be inside the line of the cab sides and about 10 inches high! Just visible in some prototype pictures is a folded up lip about 1 inch high. It was not possible to bend this as the etched groove weakened the brass causing it to fold there so I soldered some fine brass wire to fill the groove and filled it flush. I scored new grooves with my Olfa cutter and surprisingly small spirals of brass were removed like with plastic. I think I need a new blade now though! Anyway I managed to hold the main part of the roof in my vice and persuade the edge to bend to the desired profile with a “blunt metal object”, the lip being too small to grip in the vice. It’s a bit wiggly but so were the prototypes. Unfortunately this never looks right on a model so some more attention is required there. I still can’t find any information on cab roof ventilators, can anyone help please?

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davey4270

Western Thunderer
147. Axle Boxes and a Cab Roof Shutter.


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Having finished painting the insides of the frames, although taking this picture in bright light has revealed a dab of undercoat on one of the rear sand pipes, I made a start on fitting the axle boxes. I had previously identified each axle box with the relevant horn block by a series of small drilled dots i.e. 1,2,3 or 4 dots to match them correctly. So it was just a matter of clearing any residual paint from the inside of the horn blocks, placing one of the small coil springs over the locating spigot/axle box stop and sliding in the axle boxes. The tricky part is to compress the spring, fit the keeps and thread the 5mm wire through the holes to retain it. I used a small sprung tweezers, the type that you squeeze to open, to hold the bearing against its stop fully compressing the spring, this left both hands free to fit the keep. I also put a spot of Thread lock on the keep to ensure it stayed in place. Even with the bent over wires I have had one work loose on a previous model. When the finished model is on its wheels, no contact will be made with the keeps unless it is lifted when they will live up to their name and “keep” the axle boxes in place, hopefully.
I was unable to find a picture showing the cab roof on these locomotives but decided they must have some kind of a sliding roof ventilator. I measured one on a pannier model and decided a square of 8mm looks right. I marked it out underneath the roof, central but forward of the centre line. This appears to be the most popular position on other models and the forward position is over the firebox where most heat would be and also allow smoke out when lighting up (yeah right). I drilled a series of small holes about 2mm inside the square, gradually increasing the drill size until they joined up breaking out the centre piece. My Stanley knife dealt with the odd stubborn one. I then carefully filed the perforations back to the scribed lines.
Visible on the roof at bottom right is part of the original etched line where my filling broke away showing this inaccuracy. The brass wires retaining the keeps and the compressed springs can be seen on the frames. I prefer to fit the axle boxes this way, with the bearing extension facing out and file it back to give suitable side play, than with it facing inside the frames and using shims to adjust the side play.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
148. Assembling the chassis.


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I reassembled the wheels, axles, motor & gearbox with any relevant spacers having previously identified each component so that it could be refitted in the original position. Unfortunately one of the axle screw's Allen key hole rounded but I’m certain it was faulty as no others had a trace of this problem. I had a spare in a black metal but it protrudes about 0.5mm so will ask for a replacement when I order my next set of wheels. There should be no difference between the components but as some had minor tweaks to give smooth running, I didn’t want to take any chances. All axle bearings were given a spot of oil and the worm/gear wheel were treated to a smear of molybdenum grease. I packed up the sprung axle boxes to nearer their running positions with a few scraps from a coffee stirrer as in the bottom position (they won’t come this low in operation) one of them just made contact with one of the brake shoes. I connected the motor terminals to my controller and it still ran sweetly.
I investigated the clearance under the rear splashers where I had added a strip of plasticard as packing to fill a gap with Milliput and there was plenty of room above the wheels.
I soldered 4 “L” shaped legs/springs in the corners underneath the roof and spent half an hour or so tweaking them so that it sat evenly and without any gaps underneath. I’ll probably make the representation of the open sliding roof shutter out of plasticard as I don’t want to risk disturbing these locating springs.
With the boiler clipped in place the model felt “weighty” so I placed it on the chassis and it already has sufficient mass to compress the sprung horn blocks. A quick check on my scales indicated 481 grams and my other 0-6-0’s vary between 560 and 623 so as it’s quite a large locomotive with a powerful motor I think I’ll weigh it to around 675/700 grams.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
149. Handrails and Lamp Irons.


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Today in Crymlyn A Shop Percy Veerance Is having trouble getting a large hat after yesterday’s glowing tributes. Parry the Pipe has his nose out of joint as he’s had little praise for all his injector pipe work. Not to be outdone he has produced and fitted the tank handrails. This has riled our Percy who has fitted the front lamp irons. There is a rather unusual arrangement with the tank handrails where they extend in a straight line across the firebox and into the cab.


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I started by feeding the 0.7mm brass wire through the tank side handrail knobs and into the cab leaving about 10mm protruding into the cab. I bent the front at right angles around a 2.0mm drill bit. I had previously estimated the tank front handrail knob’s positions and drilled suitable holes. Start with a small drill and work up to the required size, 1.4mm in this case. I then curved the handrail upwards by bending around a 4mm drill bit and then formed the top reverse curve. I guessed this by curving it around a spare aerosol nozzle and luckily it was almost perfect. The trick here is to form it in 2 halves and join it under the front handrail knob. In this case I used the R/H knob as you look at it. Snip the wire off here about 1mm too long and superglue the said knob in position, the handrail aligning the knob to the curve of the wire. Repeat the process with the wire on the other side and trim the ends of the handrail wires until they meet under the handrail knob without distorting the shaped wires. I have not glued any of the wire in place yet as it tends to move a bit and will probably require a few more tweaks. The Laurie Griffin lamp irons were soldered from underneath in previously prepared holes to eliminate the need to clean up any excess solder.
The hole drilled underneath the smoke box door is for the steam cock. Photographic evidence shows it to be fitted on this side on my chosen prototype 726.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
150. The Time and a Roof Vent.


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A few more details have been added to the front. A top lamp iron, the GWR cranked type was added above the smoke box although what use it would have on an unfitted locomotive I don’t know. Perhaps it was a standard railway fitting. Anyway, my decision to leave the front handrail temporarily removable paid dividends as it was pulled out of the permanently fitted handrail knob and swung out of harm’s way to allow a hole to be drilled for attaching the top lamp iron. This was attached by “tinning” the spigot on the Laurie Griffin lamp iron, applying flux to the hole and “sweating” it in place. Unfortunately lamp irons are vulnerable to handling damage so soldering is preferred to gluing to give a more secure attachment. My chosen prototype, 726, in industrial service doesn’t sport a single lamp iron on the front but in railway service others have a full set. I found a spare casting that looks vaguely like a steam cock and this was attached in the same way. Unusually this is to the right of the smoke box door where the more usual position is to the left as you look at it. The smoke box door securing handles tell the time at 5 past 6. The inner handle locks the internal securing spade in position at the 6 o’ clock position and the outer one was tightened to suit so could be any time. The handrails were clipped back in position with the other front handrail knob being secured with a spot of Loktite. The side handrails were also secured in the same manner at the front handrail knobs only and where they meet inside the other front handrail knob. This would give me a sporting chance if they ever need to be removed.
Also attached were the tank side steps towards the rear of the tank.
I had previously cut a hole in the cab roof so I made up a sliding vent, non operational of course, out of some 15thou plasticard which was superglued in place. Slater’s kindly supplied a replacement wheel retaining screw foc with Dai Larfin’s order for the Crymlyn A Shop stores which has been fitted.
726 has been pushed out of Crymlyn A Shop for inspection before final work is arranged. It is seen here alongside “Susie Wong”.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
151. Pickups and Whistles.


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Small pieces of 0.5mm springy brass wire were shaped and soldered onto the copper clad pickup mounts. This worked out easier than I thought as, with previous models, I normally make the pickup contact on top of the wheel but this locomotive has the tops of its wheels covered by splashers. The pickups make contact at about the 1 o’clock position with a “tick” shape so that the wheel can rub against the wire in either direction without a sharp edge to the wire which could dig in to the wheel. This locomotive has deep valances which cover the pickups and by making the copper clad wider across the frames I was able to connect all the pickups together with wires outside the wheels without them being visible. A pair of wires were taken from the centre copper clads via small holes drilled through the frames at their sides to the motor contacts. Of course it ran the wrong way and I had to reverse the wires.


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For once I think God was on my side and the first item I found in my spares box was a pair of whistles in a small poly bag. A pair of holes were drilled near the front of the cab roof far enough inboard for the stems of the whistles to be inside the cab front. These were soldered from inside to minimise any cleaning up. Most of my prototype pictures either show the locomotives either in Barry Railway condition where no whistles are visible or in industrial service where only a single whistle or none are shown. Fortunately I had one picture showing a pair of whistles with the larger (brake?) whistle on the locomotive’s L/H side.
The picture shows the whistles, wires to the motor, some of the red paint on the insides of the frames and the rusty front of the firebox.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
152. Cleaning up.


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I added a few strips of roofing lead cut to fit inside the boiler tube. This is exactly where it’s needed to balance the locomotive over its centre axle. After scoring the faces of the lead it was secured with plenty of UHU contact adhesive. The bottom strip was narrow and gradually got wider as the level climbed inside the boiler. I shall have to check the weight next time I get my scales out but is around the 650g mark.
On reassembly for a test run there was a horrible rattling noise which was found to be the motor touching the cab front but a piece of foam soon cured this.
All the components were given a good scrub with “Shiny Sinks”, a toothbrush and hot water then left to soak in a baking soda solution for 24 hours. The cab/footplate assembly is too big for my ice cream tub bath so will have to be rotated occasionally.
The picture shows the components from top left: cab roof, tank/boiler assembly, footplate/cab assembly, reverser reach rod, firebox back head, handbrake, a pair of injectors and the pair of back head feed pipes/clack valves.
I replaced the back head mounted injector castings with some cast brass spares from an earlier Agenoria kit. Shallow holes were drilled underneath these and some copper wire was soldered in and shaped to drop down and curve around the bottom of the back head. A spare steam fountain from the same source was also soldered to the top of the firebox. I will have to fit the cast white metal gauge glasses but will paint them brass colour before fitting.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
153a. The Primer.

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Dai the Paint has given the assemblies a coat of Upol 8 acid etch primer, which is available from Halfords, and moved them outside in the sunshine. They dry in 20 minutes but it takes significantly longer for the primer to harden. When I asked Dai where he was going, he sounded a bit sheepish and said “down the pub for a beer or two”.
I masked off the brass whistles before spraying and also placed a small square of masking tape underneath the footplate where the reverser reach rod will be glued. This is just visible in front of the far front footplate.
 

davey4270

Western Thunderer
153c. Start Again.


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DISASTER! Unfortunately the green paint was attacked by small aliens. Little bits were deposited on the wet paint and where I had tried to touch in poorly covered bits it went blotchy. I have been experiencing problems with the green coverage on my last few locomotives and a suggestion from Hugh Bristow reminded me of an earlier respray. A friend of mine, Awisome Evans, finally succumbed to his desire to own a 72xx and purchased a s/h example. He had been unable to source one in GWR livery so purchased a BR black model with the intention of respraying it green. He was going to strip it all off and start from scratch but as the paintwork was in good condition I suggested masking off the black bits and spray the green. There was nothing to lose in attempting this other than saving a lot of extra work for the cost of an aerosol. Anyway, it worked well with a superb finish. This reminded me that the solution to the problem was a dark undercoat!
So, the tank/boiler and cab/footplate were dunked in paint stripper. Two treatments later and 99% of the paint was removed with the remainder being soft enough to pick off with a fingernail.


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A good scrub with “Shiny Sinks” and a toothbrush removed the rest.


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Another coat of Upol 8 acid etch primer and we’re back to stage 153a.
 
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