Latest project: ex-LNER C13, No. 67421

[Dave Holt]

Made them myself using a method I read on here.
0.5 mm brass wire was spun at high speed in a mini-drill and held in a shallow groove I'd filed in the top of an MDF block whilst holding a file on top. Stopped when the small end got down to about 0.35 mm. Look quite convincing don't they?
Dave.

 

[45609]

They do. Nice work. I’ll try that myself sometime.

Thanks…Morgan

 

[Dave Holt]

The bunker extension plates and their mounting strips have been fitted. The plates were part of the profile milled set and the strips with the raise bolt heads are from the custom etches I had made.

Cleaned up quite well on the outside but, sadly, the soldering on the inside of the bunker is a bit rough. Still, will probably be submerged in coal, so perhaps doesn't matter so much.
Dave.

 

[Dave Holt]

The bunker interior has been finished off by fitting the rear tank vent pipes, bent up from 0.7 mm N/S wire.

Now we move on to the features that prompted the idea of etched detailing parts in the first place.
By the mid 1950s, quite a few C13s, and 67421 was one, had acquired external patch plates on the tanks and bunker. Those on the side tanks had quite a heavy rivet pattern which seemed hard to replicate without a riveting press (which I don't possess) other than by etching.
Here's the first panel fitted to the LH tank. It's not quite as good a job as it might have been and I struggled to get close contact along the top edge and avoid bucking due to the heat from the iron. It was probably a mistake to use 179 degree silver bearing solder due to the high temperature required and I'll change to 145 degree for the other panels, to see if it helps.

Dave.

 

[Dave Holt]

The bunker side overlays are now on. They're rather plain compared with the tanks - just two rivets on the upper plates and none on the lower. Must have been welded on.
Although it doesn't show too clearly in the photo, there are two plates on each side with a scale 9" gap between. It hardly seems worth the saving in material compared with a continuous plate. Strangely, the upper plate doesn't quite extend up to the beading at the top whereas the one on the bunker rear (yet to be fitted) does.

Dave.

 

[Dave Holt]

The patch plate overlays are completed with the fitting of the two bunker rear plates. A start has been made on the various fittings on the rear end with the handrail stanchions fitted and holes drilled for lamp irons, rear step and push-pull jumper cable terminal blocks.

Dave.

 

[Dave Holt]

Progress has slowed somewhat. This is partly due to other things getting in the way of modelling, but also due to the more fiddly nature of the current work. Also not helped by my clumsy destruction of one of the four lamp irons I prepared due to holding the iron on for too long whilst trying to attach it to the bunker rear. The result was a shapeless blob of tiny brass bits and the need to form a replacement.
Anyway, all four irons and the rear step now in place.
Dave.

 

[Dave Holt]

Push-pull jumper cables and fittings and the bunker hand rail fitted.

The push-pull arrangements on these locos was different to the LMS/BR locos with which I am much more familiar. The latter had a vacuum control pipe and one jumper cable at each end of the loco, whereas the C13s had nothing at the front and a control pipe but three jumper cables at the rear.
Next is the conduit from the terminal blocks , along the bunker sides and up the cab side almost to roof level on both sides.
Dave.

 

[Dave Holt]

Left hand conduit has been bent up from 0.3 mm brass wire and attached. On looking at the photo, I could see that the middle clip was a might too low, pulling the conduit down slightly. This has now been corrected.

The one on the other side is stated to be rectangular rather than round on a drawing I have. That will be more challenging, I think.
Dave.

 

[Dave Holt]

T'other side is now done. Unfortunately, I couldn't find my surplus 0.4 mm square N/S left over for the layout point rodding but I did find some etched rodding in 0.35 mm N/S which had not been used for the intended purpose. I managed to coax it round the radius at the back but had to do a soldered joint at the front and then file some semblance of a radius after fixing.
I think that now more or less completed the bunker area.

Dave.

 

[Dave Holt]

I've made a start on the boiler unit, drilling holes in the corners of the firebox for the covers, rounding off the front corners and fixing it to the boiler. The whole thing is removable and attached to the footplate/body with a screw fixing under the smokebox and a locating peg at the front spectacle plate.
Here it is in position. Certainly beginning to look more like a C13 now.
Dave.

 

[bri.s]

Sorry if this is been said before
But how did you do boiler did you roll it ?

Regards

Brian

 

[Dave Holt]

Brian,
The boiler came ready formed as part of the set of profile milled parts. It had been rolled from sheet nickel silver (with a seam along the bottom) with the smokebox front plate and wrapper soldered on. The firebox was also ready formed with profile plates at each end, double thickness at the front to allow filing of the radius. I just filed the radius and soldered the boiler and firebox together in situ and arranged the fixings.
There's a further rivetted overlay to go on the smokebox which I've had etched as part of my detailing parts.
Dave.

 

[bri.s]

Thanks for the explanation
It’s really looking good
Love the patch plates ,
gives the loco a lot of character
Regards


Brian

 

[Dave Holt]

Thanks Brian. The patch plates do make it quite distinctive. The arrangement used is that seen in a photo of the loco at Oldham Clegg Street station in the mid to late 50s. I have photos, presumably a bit later, with even more patches but I think they detract from the form modelled.
Not much physical progress, other than adding the hand-hole covers to the corners of the firebox and some pilot holes for the safety valves, dome and chimney, but thought I'd pop the cab roof on and take this shot.

Dave.

 

[adrian]

That is looking rather resplendent.

 

[bri.s]

How the heck did you do all the little rivets!!
Got some very small ones to do on a Judith edge N5 and I’m
struggling to figure out how to go about punching out the small rivets

Regards

Brian

 

[Dave Holt]

Brian.
There are a few embossed rivets pressed through from the inside on the cab sides and between the bunker patches - I just used a scriber point, but the vast majority were created by half etching the panels to leave raised "rivets". If examined closely, they're not domed but flat topped, but look OK at a reasonable distance.
I would suggest the only practical way to emboss lots of rivets to give a neat result is to use a proper embossing tool, such as the GW rivet press. I don't have one but they appear very effective for small scales. No doubt some people have successfully used machine tool slides (lathe or milling machine for instance) but you would still need appropriate press tools and dies to avoid distorting the sheet material.
Dave.

 

[Ian@StEnochs]

Brian,

To illustrate Dave’s point about rivet spacing here is what I do with my lathe. The rivet tool is held in the chuck, locked so it cannot move, and the work in the tool post. Exact spacing set by the slides.

The rivet press is home made for 7mm but I also have a small Reynolds 4mm scale press, similar design, which I can use for finer rivets.

Ian.

 

[bri.s]

Brian.
There are a few embossed rivets pressed through from the inside on the cab sides and between the bunker patches - I just used a scriber point, but the vast majority were created by half etching the panels to leave raised "rivets". If examined closely, they're not domed but flat topped, but look OK at a reasonable distance.
I would suggest the only practical way to emboss lots of rivets to give a neat result is to use a proper embossing tool, such as the GW rivet press. I don't have one but they appear very effective for small scales. No doubt some people have successfully used machine tool slides (lathe or milling machine for instance) but you would still need appropriate press tools and dies to avoid distorting the sheet material.
Dave.

Brian,

To illustrate Dave’s point about rivet spacing here is what I do with my lathe. The rivet tool is held in the chuck, locked so it cannot move, and the work in the tool post. Exact spacing set by the slides.

The rivet press is home made for 7mm but I also have a small Reynolds 4mm scale press, similar design, which I can use for finer rivets.

Ian.

View attachment 201708

Thank you both for your answers
With you saying about your rivets you’ve prompted me to dig the etches out and had a look and they’ve got half etched push out rivets thank goodness
So I’ll get something suitable to push them out

Regards

Brian