A Ffestiniog Experiment: part 2 Merddin Emrys gets a makeover
- Thread starter David B
- Start date
Thanks for the kind words JB - let’s just say that I’d gained the impression from other forums that scratch-building modern(ish) NG models in 16mm scale was a niche within a niche within a niche. The interest shown by WT-ers has been a very pleasant surprise.
So how about giving some substance to the superstructure? This part was relatively straightforward, because the four tanks are all basically identical and angular - none of those lovely curves you get on more traditional Fairlies:
Doing my best here to use Mick’s invisible solder - I still have no idea how he does it…..
The fit between the bottom of the tanks and the sunken cab footplate was important - I wanted the joints between the main parts of the superstructure to be completely hidden from view. To help with this, the first length of half-round beading has appeared below the cab footplate. Bending 90 degree angles in half-round brass was a real challenge - I ended up pre- soldering a length to separate scrap panels with a measured gap for the bend between each panel, then clamping those pieces while I annealed the beading in the gaps and then carefully rotating one end in the same plane to create the curve (if that makes any sense at all!). I then unsoldered the beading from the scrap panels and sweated it onto the model. I’m sure there’s a simpler way…..
I’ve made the cutout for access to the charging jack and on/off switch for the r/c - this will be covered by a toolbox with a hinged lid. On the other side of the loco, I’ve drilled holes for topping up the gas tanks - these will be covered by removable coal loads:
The next stage was to create the panelling over the top of the boiler which (on the model) joins each pair of tanks into a single structural unit. It needed to be strong enough and rigid enough to hold everything together, but with enough flex to let me remove the side tanks over the maximum width of the smokebox without scraping the paint off each time I did it. Time for some brass origami, which called for another card template:
So how about giving some substance to the superstructure? This part was relatively straightforward, because the four tanks are all basically identical and angular - none of those lovely curves you get on more traditional Fairlies:
Doing my best here to use Mick’s invisible solder - I still have no idea how he does it…..
The fit between the bottom of the tanks and the sunken cab footplate was important - I wanted the joints between the main parts of the superstructure to be completely hidden from view. To help with this, the first length of half-round beading has appeared below the cab footplate. Bending 90 degree angles in half-round brass was a real challenge - I ended up pre- soldering a length to separate scrap panels with a measured gap for the bend between each panel, then clamping those pieces while I annealed the beading in the gaps and then carefully rotating one end in the same plane to create the curve (if that makes any sense at all!). I then unsoldered the beading from the scrap panels and sweated it onto the model. I’m sure there’s a simpler way…..
I’ve made the cutout for access to the charging jack and on/off switch for the r/c - this will be covered by a toolbox with a hinged lid. On the other side of the loco, I’ve drilled holes for topping up the gas tanks - these will be covered by removable coal loads:
The next stage was to create the panelling over the top of the boiler which (on the model) joins each pair of tanks into a single structural unit. It needed to be strong enough and rigid enough to hold everything together, but with enough flex to let me remove the side tanks over the maximum width of the smokebox without scraping the paint off each time I did it. Time for some brass origami, which called for another card template:
And here is the brass version of the template, scored and filed in the angle of each fold in order to give nice crisp 90 degree bends, per tips helpfully posted elsewhere on (from memory) Mickoo’s thread:
Soldering this in place between the tanks (and then doing it all over again with its mirror image counterpart at the other end) was one of those jobs where nothing seemed to go right - and I had to have multiple attempts before it all came together successfully:
I’ve also started to add more beading in various sizes to the edges of the tanks. The main structure of the loco was now basically complete, so I could start working out how to fabricate the many details I needed to add.
I also needed to stop putting off a task I really didn’t want to tackle…..Diane Carney had done her usual fabulous job with the nameplates, but The Earl’s plates didn’t simply need cutting out. They also needed their edges chamfering at 45 degrees. I’d never had to tackle anything like them before and didn’t want to ruin the plates with a clumsy stroke of the file. So it was a case of taking it very, very slowly. Here they are when I finally finished and was able to paint them:
Soldering this in place between the tanks (and then doing it all over again with its mirror image counterpart at the other end) was one of those jobs where nothing seemed to go right - and I had to have multiple attempts before it all came together successfully:
I’ve also started to add more beading in various sizes to the edges of the tanks. The main structure of the loco was now basically complete, so I could start working out how to fabricate the many details I needed to add.
I also needed to stop putting off a task I really didn’t want to tackle…..Diane Carney had done her usual fabulous job with the nameplates, but The Earl’s plates didn’t simply need cutting out. They also needed their edges chamfering at 45 degrees. I’d never had to tackle anything like them before and didn’t want to ruin the plates with a clumsy stroke of the file. So it was a case of taking it very, very slowly. Here they are when I finally finished and was able to paint them:
Great photo Larry! It also shows how many changes were made between the original 1979 loco and the 2017 version - the different smokeboxes and chimneys, the panelling under the cab, the replacement of the oil tanks with coal bunkers, the position of the nameplates…..if The Earl ever returns, it’ll be interesting to see what form the FR chooses…..
Last edited:
Lots of details going onto the loco now, starting with the cab handrails, the previously-mentioned removable chimney covers made from Hornby OO diesel wheels, the tank filler covers and the angled ‘greedy boards’ above and behind the coal bunkers:
…..followed by the steps at the front of each tank. Making 8 identical triangular supports for the lower steps was challenging enough….then soldering them into place so that each step was square, level and at the same height as its neighbour on the opposite tank taxed my skills, patience and Anglo-Saxon to the limit:
Also visible in the last 3 photos are the toolboxes on the top of the tanks on the driver’s side. One of these needed to open for access to the charging jack and on/off switch for the electrics, so I needed to make a couple of hinges and a latch so that the lid closed firmly and stayed shut until I wanted to open it again:
…..followed by the steps at the front of each tank. Making 8 identical triangular supports for the lower steps was challenging enough….then soldering them into place so that each step was square, level and at the same height as its neighbour on the opposite tank taxed my skills, patience and Anglo-Saxon to the limit:
Also visible in the last 3 photos are the toolboxes on the top of the tanks on the driver’s side. One of these needed to open for access to the charging jack and on/off switch for the electrics, so I needed to make a couple of hinges and a latch so that the lid closed firmly and stayed shut until I wanted to open it again:
AJC
Western Thunderer
Don’t know about the Ffestiniog, but it’s quite a common name for that sort of thing - in lorries carrying bulky low density loads, for example.
Adam
Last edited:
That’s a good question - I took it from David Payling’s book on the Fairlies, but I don’t know whether it’s an official FR term. EoM’s boards appear to have changed shape over the years - when the loco was first converted to burn coal, the boards looked basically rectangular with a curved top at the smokebox ends, but later photos show an angled end which matches the angle of the side tanks, per the model. I don’t know whether this was for aesthetic or operational reasons. I do know, however, that coaling the engine by hand at Harbour station, with a large and filthy piece of old carpet draped over the tank side to protect the paintwork, was some of the hardest work that this middle-aged office worker has had to do in a long time!
Chris Veitch
Western Thunderer
Not sure about “official” but it’s certainly the term I’ve always heard used by crews and works staff all the time I’ve been there.
Thanks for all the likes and comments - Happy New Year to one and all.
Up to this point, making a model of The Square was made much easier by its angular, er, squareness. All of those sharp edges and flat surfaces are so much easier than the traditional Double Fairlie shape. But now I had to tackle the cab, with its various curves, including some tricky openings to cut out. I also needed to make it removable, so that I could access the lubricators before every run. As always, I prepared a series of card templates, tweaking and refining them until the template itself sat happily on the loco and looked right from all angles. I’ve already shown this earlier in the thread, but here is the final version, complete with all my scribblings:
After all that preparation, cutting out the piece in brass would be a doddle. Right? Wrong. As shown earlier, I managed to put the cantrail curves in the wrong place on my first attempt. Measure twice, bend once anyone? The second attempt went a bit better and matched the drawing closely:
I then cut out the cabside openings and added the beading, leaving the flared bottom edges over length to begin with:
The next stage was to cut out and fit the ends of the cab, which meant creating yet another template….
Up to this point, making a model of The Square was made much easier by its angular, er, squareness. All of those sharp edges and flat surfaces are so much easier than the traditional Double Fairlie shape. But now I had to tackle the cab, with its various curves, including some tricky openings to cut out. I also needed to make it removable, so that I could access the lubricators before every run. As always, I prepared a series of card templates, tweaking and refining them until the template itself sat happily on the loco and looked right from all angles. I’ve already shown this earlier in the thread, but here is the final version, complete with all my scribblings:
After all that preparation, cutting out the piece in brass would be a doddle. Right? Wrong. As shown earlier, I managed to put the cantrail curves in the wrong place on my first attempt. Measure twice, bend once anyone? The second attempt went a bit better and matched the drawing closely:
I then cut out the cabside openings and added the beading, leaving the flared bottom edges over length to begin with:
The next stage was to cut out and fit the ends of the cab, which meant creating yet another template….
Thanks Larry - I’ve seen a handful of photos online of EoM in plain black when fresh from overhaul and I agree that some red perimeter lining would have set it off perfectly.
OK - now for the final push to get the loco finished. I needed one last card template for the cab ends. You’ll see that I had quite a lot of difficulty in getting this right and kept adding extra bits of card to the base of the template until I was happy that the fit with the boiler, the gas supply pipe, the steam turret and the tanks was as close as I could get it:
I then cut out the ends in brass and soldered them to the upper cab body. This photo also shows the upper cab side flares now trimmed to shape with the rest of the beading added. I’ve also opened out the cab roof, with the sliding panels modelled in the open position to assist with airflow for the gas jets.
This just left some final detailing to complete, in the form of the steam manifolds between the domes and the cabs, the polished brass cab window frames and the lubricators for the motion brackets on the driver’s side of the bogies. I found it very hard to find any clear photos of the steam manifolds, so these were my best interpretation:
Making 4 identical window frames was a big challenge - I needed them to be removable for when the time came to paint the loco, so they each needed small sections of brass channel soldered to the bottom, to clip over the base of each window opening. They also needed a 12BA nut soldered at the top on the inside, so that I could use a 12BA screw to simulate the rod that the crew use to open and close the windows. This photo shows the frames before I added the 12BA screws through holes which I later drilled just above each window opening:
Lastly I set about soldering up the lubricators. How people like Tim Watson are able to produce miniature components in 2mm scale is beyond me - making these in 16mm was also pretty much beyond me too! The second photo shows the linkage from the driving axle to the (out of focus) lubricators.
Before the loco entered the paint shop, I wanted to give it a test run - so here it is with the window frames, lubricator linkages and steam manifolds all in place, plus the mounting plates for the nameplates on the tanks. There was clearly no problem with making lots and lots of steam, and I’m sure the driver was on the point of having a word with the fireman about wasting fuel, water and effort…..
OK - now for the final push to get the loco finished. I needed one last card template for the cab ends. You’ll see that I had quite a lot of difficulty in getting this right and kept adding extra bits of card to the base of the template until I was happy that the fit with the boiler, the gas supply pipe, the steam turret and the tanks was as close as I could get it:
I then cut out the ends in brass and soldered them to the upper cab body. This photo also shows the upper cab side flares now trimmed to shape with the rest of the beading added. I’ve also opened out the cab roof, with the sliding panels modelled in the open position to assist with airflow for the gas jets.
This just left some final detailing to complete, in the form of the steam manifolds between the domes and the cabs, the polished brass cab window frames and the lubricators for the motion brackets on the driver’s side of the bogies. I found it very hard to find any clear photos of the steam manifolds, so these were my best interpretation:
Making 4 identical window frames was a big challenge - I needed them to be removable for when the time came to paint the loco, so they each needed small sections of brass channel soldered to the bottom, to clip over the base of each window opening. They also needed a 12BA nut soldered at the top on the inside, so that I could use a 12BA screw to simulate the rod that the crew use to open and close the windows. This photo shows the frames before I added the 12BA screws through holes which I later drilled just above each window opening:
Lastly I set about soldering up the lubricators. How people like Tim Watson are able to produce miniature components in 2mm scale is beyond me - making these in 16mm was also pretty much beyond me too! The second photo shows the linkage from the driving axle to the (out of focus) lubricators.
Before the loco entered the paint shop, I wanted to give it a test run - so here it is with the window frames, lubricator linkages and steam manifolds all in place, plus the mounting plates for the nameplates on the tanks. There was clearly no problem with making lots and lots of steam, and I’m sure the driver was on the point of having a word with the fireman about wasting fuel, water and effort…..
Thanks again for the comments and Likes. Now it’s time to round off the story of the build. I didn’t take a huge number of photos during the painting process, but I tried to follow the tips and best practice shared by WT-ers as far as I could (plus a very helpful article by Ross Pochin in my Dad’s old March 1966 Railway Modeller). After stripping the loco down into the main four body components (the valances under the cab, the two sets of tanks and the upper cab/roof), I thoroughly cleaned everything with Bar Keeper’s Friend and copious amounts of hot water, before spraying when thoroughly dry with a thin coat of Halfords etch primer.
I mulled over whether to treat the loco as a green machine with black panels or as a black machine with green panels. I quickly realised that masking green panels so that I could then overspray them with black would be very tricky in some places, such as around the steps on the ends of the tanks, so I went with the FR’s own approach and painted the whole loco black (I wish I’d taken a photo for Larry!). I used Halfords satin black, before masking up and adding the mid-brunswick green panels. The cream interior for the upper cab went badly wrong the first time (slapdash masking) and I ended up stripping the whole thing back to brass and starting again. D’oh! The red lining was Pressfix as before, while the main straw-black-straw lining was from Fox’s 10mm scale waterslide coach lining range. Everything was then sealed in with Vallejo acrylic satin varnish, which was the only coating I could find which didn’t react badly with the mid-brunswick green paint.
Here are the tanks immediately after the lining was complete:
And then refitted to the loco:
Before adding the completed upper cab:
There was time to take some photos inside the workshop before moving outside for the first steam-up after completion:
And finally it was time for Earl of Merioneth to go into service. The next three photos were taken by my brother on its first day as a (largely) finished locomotive. Here it is just starting to warm through after being fuelled and watered. It’s standing in front what’s best called a Mongrel Fairlie - it’s a Bachmann model which I acquired bearing nameplates for Merddin Emrys, but the cab and smokebox doors are clearly from David Lloyd George, so I’m just about to start the process of turning it into DLG (It’s battery powered r/c and needed some serious remedial work before it could pull a decent load without shaking half of its screws loose):
Here it’s out on the line pulling a WHR rake with ease - so easily, in fact, that even though it was moving when the photo was taken, there is only the barest trace of smoke from the rear chimney and the pressure gauge shows just 25psi:
Lastly, here is EoM coasting into a station showing (to my eyes at least) why decent length FR/WHR trains in the garden are worth the effort:
Thanks again for following this thread and for the comments.
I mulled over whether to treat the loco as a green machine with black panels or as a black machine with green panels. I quickly realised that masking green panels so that I could then overspray them with black would be very tricky in some places, such as around the steps on the ends of the tanks, so I went with the FR’s own approach and painted the whole loco black (I wish I’d taken a photo for Larry!). I used Halfords satin black, before masking up and adding the mid-brunswick green panels. The cream interior for the upper cab went badly wrong the first time (slapdash masking) and I ended up stripping the whole thing back to brass and starting again. D’oh! The red lining was Pressfix as before, while the main straw-black-straw lining was from Fox’s 10mm scale waterslide coach lining range. Everything was then sealed in with Vallejo acrylic satin varnish, which was the only coating I could find which didn’t react badly with the mid-brunswick green paint.
Here are the tanks immediately after the lining was complete:
And then refitted to the loco:
Before adding the completed upper cab:
There was time to take some photos inside the workshop before moving outside for the first steam-up after completion:
And finally it was time for Earl of Merioneth to go into service. The next three photos were taken by my brother on its first day as a (largely) finished locomotive. Here it is just starting to warm through after being fuelled and watered. It’s standing in front what’s best called a Mongrel Fairlie - it’s a Bachmann model which I acquired bearing nameplates for Merddin Emrys, but the cab and smokebox doors are clearly from David Lloyd George, so I’m just about to start the process of turning it into DLG (It’s battery powered r/c and needed some serious remedial work before it could pull a decent load without shaking half of its screws loose):
Here it’s out on the line pulling a WHR rake with ease - so easily, in fact, that even though it was moving when the photo was taken, there is only the barest trace of smoke from the rear chimney and the pressure gauge shows just 25psi:
Lastly, here is EoM coasting into a station showing (to my eyes at least) why decent length FR/WHR trains in the garden are worth the effort:
Thanks again for following this thread and for the comments.
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
They look good, you should start your own thread, lots of NG interest on WT.
The coaches are not one of my interest groups, but the Double Fairlie certainly is.
More to the point, thank you for listening to Mick and I when we asked for words and music.
Last edited: