Hunslet Works in 7mm

[Andy Ross]

Its very difficult to say what colour it actually is but its nor red oxide - i do have a colour i think is nearer that I will try at the weekend on a spare beam.

 

[SimonT]

From the colour of an old photograph on a monitor, so a poor starting place, I would go for a light grey with some (tiny) dark red to change the tone. The iron fillings grot on the horizontal surfaces is going to be a pain to do.

 

[AndyB]

Looking at the photo, is the ‘orange’ actually red oxide?

BS 2660 was the standard for building and decorative paints, first issued in 1955 and superseded by BS4800 in 1972.
I recall seeing a lot of dark orange used in various factories, which I would guess as being something like BS2660-004 'Marigold'.
Swatches here.
It looks as though that workshop had a lot of natural light; Oranges / reds are much more prone to fading, and by the time they have a coating of grime on them too they would appear to be pale and matt rather than the garish bright gloss that they would have been when first painted.

Note the colour of what I think are electrical switchgear cabinets in Andy's photo (post #99, just towards us from the green cabin) - they look (to me) to be a similar colour to the crane runway beams, and would certainly not be red oxide.

 

[David Waite]

Could the orange colour be Read lead paint
David

 

[Andy Ross]

From the colour of an old photograph on a monitor, so a poor starting place, I would go for a light grey with some (tiny) dark red to change the tone. The iron fillings grot on the horizontal surfaces is going to be a pain to do.

Hi Simon

You are not wrong about getting the dirt effects but we need to think how far we go. I am planning on toning it down it all down with the airbrush and see how it looks. I have to keep reminding myself that once the shop is full of locos etc your eye will be distracted from the structure.

 

[Andy Ross]

BS 2660 was the standard for building and decorative paints, first issued in 1955 and superseded by BS4800 in 1972.
I recall seeing a lot of dark orange used in various factories, which I would guess as being something like BS2660-004 'Marigold'.
Swatches here.
It looks as though that workshop had a lot of natural light; Oranges / reds are much more prone to fading, and by the time they have a coating of grime on them too they would appear to be pale and matt rather than the garish bright gloss that they would have been when first painted.

Note the colour of what I think are electrical switchgear cabinets in Andy's photo (post #99, just towards us from the green cabin) - they look (to me) to be a similar colour to the crane runway beams, and would certainly not be red oxide.

Thanks for the comments and the swatches - as you say everything will of faded so it makes it really difficult to pick the right colour to use. I think I have got one identified from Army Painter - lets see how we get on.

 

[Andy Ross]

The painting trails are moving on and I think I have got to the point where I am happy to move onto the actual structure.

As previously stated I as well as the upright blue, I had also got a more suitable colour for the crane tracks, although I was not going to repaint the track beam on the mock up, but on reflection, it just had to be done, as I need to be 100% sure I have this right.



This is a lot better but I was still unsure but it looked a lot better when I took the masking off.



The next job was then to tone it down. I will not call it weathering as that's not what it is, mucking is more appropriate as it is mostly inside.

Army Painters do a range of washes that are really designed to be put onto figures to bring details out and add shading. Jill had some of these as she paints all the figures on the layout and other details, so why not try these through the air brush and it worked out ok in my opinion.

You will see on the photos one of the uprights is darker than the other. Although I was happy with the first application I thought it would not hurt putting another coat on, and to be fair, I think this is better.





As in the previous post I have put a photo together of the real structure and the model and I do not think I can get much closer.



We also have to take into consideration that we are working with pictures that have been scanned from old photos, printed over 30 years ago, of structure that may of faded in time. So I think we have a reasonable representation that no one can really question.

I have also done some trials on a scrap door panel - I did not do a lot of preparation on this, as it was only a test, so there are some odd bits of contaminants on the face.





This is a paler blue and I did a light coat of wash on the inside and much more on the outside face and again I m more than happy with this.

So the next thing to do is get the layout ready for blasting and painting. It is still at the clubrooms so while I have chance I am going to take the doors off and the lose sections of roof and bring them home and paint them first.

Before I start on the structure I need to solder on some tube to use as conduits for the wires that feed the crane tracks and the lights and remove all the walls that were temporarily fixed in place.

I think we are now at the point of no return but with far more confidence than I had a few weeks back.


Andy

 

[SimonT]

I've just realised how much more fabrication you have to do with all that pipe work and the electricity supply. The colours look very convincing through the medium of the computer screen.

 

[Andy Ross]

So it begins at the clubrooms tonight.



Everything lose has now been removed.





All the doors have been removed.



And the roof for the wheel shop.





The doors and the roof are now at home and these will be painted first and put in to storage while the main structure is done.

Also tonight, Alan Smith brought to the club the Jubilee he is building for me from a David Andrews kit. I have realised I would not have time to build this with everything else I am doing. Bahamas was rebuilt at Hunslet and there are several pictures of it in the yard when completed.





Andy

 

[Osgood]

Andy - can you advise on how common the practice of lifting locomotives by their buffer stocks was, please?
From memory pretty much all the photos I’ve seen of Hunslet have shown the use of lifting brackets bolted to buffer beams, but here is an Andrew Smith image of Barclays works in 1988 showing the use of stocks:

https://flic.kr/p/6511CG

 

[Andy Ross]

This is something that was never done in my time at Hunslet.
It won't do the buffers any good and will be relying on the fasteners, unless there was a big boss that went into the buffer beam. All the buffers I ever fitted had flat mating faces.

There is an interesting Video of our work that shows a loco with no buffers being lifted by having the chains hook linked under the frames.

MADE IN BRITAIN

This film deals with the comparison of locomotive manufacturers, Hunslet Engine Company and English Electric, in relation to products, markets, and competito...

www.yfanefa.com

I also like in the video how John Alcock thought the touch of a family business was so important, how things have generally changed. On saying that Hunslet today is now part of a family business again.

 

[Andy Ross]

The real painting has started this weekend with the doors. I have to admit I did not blast these as I was concerned that the layered up section might start pealing apart it the grit got under them. So I spent a couple of hours with the glass fibre burnishing brush preparing them.

Yesterday I eventually managed to get them etched primed dashing in the rain too and from the garage.

Today I fired up the compressor and did the pale blue. I will leave the toning down until they are back on the structure.



For anyone interested the blue is from the Army painter range.



I use this with their spray thinner.

The compressor was recommended by my friend Peter Kirmond and is from Machine Mart. I have never come across one that is so quiet.



Also for those interested the air brushes I am using are cheap and effectively disposable - see below.



I have had no issues so far with these but I do have several spares in case I need them.

As well as the doors I have also primed the roof structure for the wheel shop.

I have also brought the boiler shop roof home and need to work out how to hide the lighting wiring before it is painted.

Andy

 

[simond]

A quiet compressor is such a bonus. I struggled for years with a crappy old thing that wouldn’t die, then bought a modern one from a fellow WT’er. This may have coincided with ’er ladyship treating me to a new Iwata…. Both are a pleasure to use. I wish I’d splashed the cash years ago.

btw the crappy old thing still works, it’s just noisy. If anyone wants it, free for the cost of postage, or free collection in Folkestone.

 

[Ian@StEnochs]

Andy - can you advise on how common the practice of lifting locomotives by their buffer stocks was, please?
From memory pretty much all the photos I’ve seen of Hunslet have shown the use of lifting brackets bolted to buffer beams, but here is an Andrew Smith image of Barclays works in 1988 showing the use of stocks:

https://flic.kr/p/6511CG

That photo must have been taken at the Barclay anniversary celebrations when Ayrshire Railway Preservation Group loaned No 10 back to the company to be the sole working Barclay built steam loco at the open day. I was chairman of the group at the time and spent the whole day selling raffle tickets and never got the chance to go round the works.

Ian.

 

[Pugsley]

The compressor was recommended by my friend Peter Kirmond and is from Machine Mart. I have never come across one that is so quiet.

View attachment 217845

I've got an identical one to that and can confirm that it is excellent! It's so quiet, it's hard to tell if it's running or not when you're spraying.

 

[David Waite]

That type of compressor is basically the same as a refrigeration compressor in a domestic refrigerator.
David.

 

[Andy Ross]

Wednesday club night, with some help from my friends I took the layout down and loaded into the car to take it home for painting.

I normally transport it in my car which is a Volvo XC60 but we also have a Toyota Rav4 and in theory it should go in this as well. so we took the opportunity to try is and the good news is that it does with room for the stock etc.



The main baseboard was then set up in the garage and all the wooden walls and other structures were removed and put into storage. At this point I did feel like I was going in reverse.



Before I could start blasting I needed to remove the temporary wiring for the cranes and lights. This was held to the columns with Blue tack. I have now soldered some tubes up the back of the columns for the wiring.





I also masked up the running rail for the cranes to protect it from blasting and painting.



So it was now time to have a go at blasting. The original plan was to set the board up in the garden in a Gazebo but I thought this would mean bringing the layout in and out several times which would risk damaging it. So plan B, cover everything else in the garage with dust sheets and see how we get on.



With everything wrapped up I put the compressor just outside the door in the hope it will help to keep it cool, and I made a start blasting.





It was very warm today and I am still working out the best way to do it, but I have managed to blast three bays from the end, up to the side door opening.
I am managing to collect and reused some of the Ali Oxide but still getting through it.
When I did the trial I used some safety glasses over mine, but the dust still got around my face, the full face visor works a lot better.
I am hoping now to get the blasting finished next weekend, this will be a week ahead of where I thought I would be.


In parallel I have also been designing a new control panel. Up to the open day at the club the controls the wiring has been a bit of a lash up with the crane controllers on adapted plastic boxes and the power units on a chair along with the door control and the multi gauge test track selector switch.



The new design has all the units in one panel. This includes the six controllers for the two cranes, the power supply for the cranes, the power supply for the track, a three position switch for the test track for changing polarities and isolation, the controller for the doors along with a selector switch and a emergency stop button for the crane power supply.




This will also speed up the time it takes to set the layout up at exhibitions. I just need to draw the parts up for cutting now.



Andy

 

[Andy Ross]

Over the weekend I completed the blasting of the structure. I have to say I was glad when this was done.

When I got home from work tonight it all got etch primed.



This was done with rattle cans.



I am really pleased to get this done, and I am still a week in front of where I expected to be.

I have booked next Monday and Tuesday off, with the long weekend I am hoping to get all the colours on over the four days.

As previously mentioned I am also working on the control panel.





I have now got all the details parts drawn up for the laser.



Some of the parts will need cutting twice.

I should be able to cut these in-between the different colour paints drying.


Andy

 

[Frank1958]

Wow, I spent a few hours reading through this, simply stunning, well done and look forward to following the progress.
Frank

 

[Andy Ross]

Wow, I spent a few hours reading through this, simply stunning, well done and look forward to following the progress.
Frank

Thank you for your positive comments. That is what keeps me going.