4mm An EM Workbench: Tank tribulations - miniature plumbing

[AJC]

Mind, having some Bradwell Etches about does give me options.

Well yes - and having built a couple of wagons with Bradwell chassis I know what you mean. What I would observe is that the Hornby model is rather chunky in places in a way which detracts from the finesse of the brake gear and levers so the Bradwell etch is significantly superior in terms of appearance especially if placed under a Parkside body - if not in cost and speed. The next big mineral I do will have a flat bottom, however; it'll be a 21 tonner of the 1951 welded type with a modified Parkside body on one of Justin's chassis. Just don't ask when!

Adam

 

[AJC]

...The next big mineral I do will have a flat bottom, however; it'll be a 21 tonner of the 1951 welded type with a modified Parkside body on one of Justin's chassis.

Ok, so waiting for today's rain to stop got the better of me:



But not for long. When it stopped, I got the blazes out of London and went to Alton for a trip on the Mid-Hants. Mostly for the fresh air and a bit of peace (well, as much of the latter as a Hampshire unit will allow):





Today's steam engine though was well worth the admission. 9F.



Adam

 

[AJC]

These 21 tonners had lots of variation around the handrails at the ends - and Dave Bradwell's etches provide most of the bits required (except the wire and patience to execute them!). This is probably the most involved and, mechanically, the way in which they were done is quite interesting since they all jig and bolt together - I'll put up a sketch of how they work in a bit for the benefit of the 7mm chaps with another of how I did it. Meanwhile, here's the 4mm version using 5 bits of wire for each set. Fiddly.





I must take the moulding parting line off the top flange...

Adam

 

[AJC]

Here's a rough sketch (and an even rougher scan), showing the trick bit as modelled. The key element is the handrail that forms the 'L', a right angle between the end and side. On the model this is one piece of wire - an 'L' with a slight joggle in it as the sketch shows. On the real thing this was clearly two pieces, with eyes formed on the outer ends which were secured to the top of the little drop link with a bolt. The transverse rail seems to have been threaded at the ends and a nut mounted inside the drop link and the last piece of the handrail that comes up from the deck.



Basically, what I did was to do the top 'L's first, solder the drop links - simply a tiny etched piece with a couple of holes in (Dave Bradwell supplies these with his chassis and detailing etch) in place at a slight inward angle per the real thing. Then I added the transverse rod, with the brackets threaded on loose. Once I'd soldered the wire in place I superglued the brackets to the hopper. When the glue had set, I then soldered the brackets to the transverse wire. The last bit of the puzzle, the rails up from the deck, were glued to the deck first and then trimmed so as they sit behind the drop link. These were then - extremely carefully - soldered in place.

This was much less of a fiddle than it sounds. I promise!

Adam

 

[iak63]

Cunningly sensible Adam.
Mind, anything envolving solder usually means toasted pinkies for me... WIBBLE.

 

[AJC]

Cunningly sensible Adam.
Mind, anything envolving solder usually means toasted pinkies for me... WIBBLE.

Thank you. Happily this is all self-jigging and what holding does need doing (the final joints for the deck-drop link handrails) is confined to a component anchored at one end and needing tweezer-work at the other. Otherwise, it's just about being methodical, though being in the right mood is essential for that, of course.

A selection of worksplates, and buffers, (on back order from Parkside) now and it's ready for paint.

Adam

 

[iak63]

Works plates?
Interesting, are these new?

 

[AJC]

Works plates?
Interesting, are these new?

In that the real thing seems to have LNER number plates, builder's plates (oval) and a couple of other plates on the solebars which I can't identify (round). Not that this matters, as I have simply cut a few representative pieces of plastic sheet to shape. In 4mm that's quite sufficient, or it is for me.

Adam

 

[iak63]

Ah... Apologies for me being silly.

 

[AJC]

Ah... Apologies for me being silly.

I don't think you were being silly, it was a reasonable conclusion to draw (Narrow Planet do Chas Roberts plates for wagons - I'm not sure it's worth the effort in 4mm, but for 7mm, yes). I've added a comma!

Adam

 

[AJC]

Here's something that would never have been finished, or at least, never have been finished to the standard it has, without this forum. If you are daft enough to produce something obscure on the motive power front, custom finishing is something that is relatively straightforward to achieve, even if you have to contract it out. Lettering for unusual wagons, however, is often a problem and so my SR lowmac languished. Through a plea to the good offices of Fraser (@Overseer) who has been experimenting with white printing I have just had an envelope from Australia. The result can be seen below. Fraser, I can't thank you enough.



For the record, the tiny lettering reads: Buffer height of 3' 4" to be maintained when unladen (there's no way I'd have been able to reproduce this otherwise). Thanks also to @hrmspaul for making the pictures on which the lettering is based available and to Zenfolio's image purchasing facility.

Adam

 

[iak63]

WOW!
Dribbling and wibbling furiously....

 

[Overseer]

Adam,
No problem. The Lowmac does look good with its lettering on. I hadn't tried printing 0.5 mm lettering before and it worked better than I thought it might, being completely legible, if you can see it!

 

[AJC]

Yes, they've come out very well (though as you say, only if you can actually see them). I must return and model the loads for this and the Airfix one.

Adam

 

[AJC]

Back to hoppers now and the modified Hornby version has had some paint - black followed by grey (and the underframe roughly masked). The rather shiny patch for numbers will be attended to shortly. The transfer rivets are a bit less prominent than the moulded ones, but not so much so as to be distracting in my view; under weathering who'll be able to tell?



Note that I've modified the left hand axlebox cover - no handle and the LNE relief shifted down a smidge. Lettering:



Adam

 

[AJC]

These tanks are – inevitably, given the amount of variation in the prototypes – something of a compromise and do not wholly accurately represent most of the prototypes they supposedly depict. This is most evident in the class B tanks such as this ESSO example, clearly derived from this works photograph: Model Junction - Class B 20T Anchor-Mounted Tank Wagon 'ESSO'


The barrel is certainly longer relative to the chassis and also of a greater diameter than that represented by Bachmann’s moulding. To tackle the latter would mean throwing away much of Bachmann’s good work for little visual benefit, but the former can be worked with. Because the barrel smaller in diameter than it might be, lengthening to something wholly accurate would be ill-advised – especially as I wanted to retain the lettering – but something can be done, as Pete Johnson has.

The picture linked to below shows that the barrel should extend to the outer face of the headstocks with the ends protruding beyond them:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/uploads/monthly_10_2012/post-2065-0-86326800-1351459244.jpg

My compromise is to extend the barrel using two discs of black 40 thou’ plastic per what Pete Johnson did (emgauge70s) which gives most of the required length. I lopped the ends off with a combination of razor saw and piercing saw, the two discs being marked out oversize with my compass cutter. These were shaped and then glued in place and the resulting gaps (I really could have done this more tidily) filled with Miliput.





The effect of the undersized barrel will be reduced further by replacing the ladder with something closer to scale later. Other details - fast traffic stars and registration plates - were taken from a Mainly Trains etch as the relief will show better that the neatly printed outline and lettering once weathered.



The tiebars are my usual 0.75mm brass angle. I still have to add the outer vees for the brakes, but it's getting there.

It ain’t perfect, but it’s much better.

Adam

 

[AJC]

Having had a slightly stressful week at work, I required something to take my mind off things a little and @jjnewitt has provided. Progress has been swift - as it should be; the methodology Justin uses is familiar to me now that I've built a few, the instructions are good and the parts fit well. I struggled a little with the fold up brake shoes but this reflects my state of mind, I suspect, and the fact that the outer layers are half-etched and thus vulnerable to fat fingerisms. The end result looks reasonable if not exemplary and you'll note that I am not likely to join the 'no solder brigade' any time soon, a fact that bothers me not one jot.

Building this in between reading Iain Rice in the latest MRJ (250) got me thinking. Simon de Souza's - perhaps barbed? - mockquote of some hypothetical modern modeller and, I should add, making a joke against himself; 'These days I find myself heading into TurboCAD to draw something long before I reach for brass sheet and piercing saw...' struck something of a chord with me. This chassis is lovely, only partly because of the CAD processes behind it, and a lot of fun - for me, anyhow - but I could never reasonably populate a layout this way. This really doesn't matter.



Good design speaks for itself, I think, even if I can't make the most of it, I can reap almost all the benefits.

Adam

 

[Dog Star]

... you'll note that I am not likely to join the 'no solder brigade' any time soon, a fact that bothers me not one jot...

Carry On like that and you are likely to suffer the wrath of the FS with careful adjustments to your avatar and / or WT-title.

 

[AJC]

Carry On like that and you are likely to suffer the wrath of the FS with careful adjustments to your avatar and / or WT-title.

I reckon I'll live if they do: this hardly makes me a heretic!

 

[Steph Dale]

Adam,
Reading that post I think the hypothetical modern modeler is probably me...!
Even for stuff I'm scratchbuilding I often do a quick sketch in TurboCAD before anything else. It's partly a time and facilities thing; I can always get to a computer, but only a couple of evenings a week at the workbench.

Steph