tomstaf
Western Thunderer
Hahaha,
I think the seats are right and the people are overscale. I've still not managed to find some people who I think look realistic yet. Which ones do you opt for?
Cheers
Tom
7mm On Heather's workbench - a trio of JLTRT Mk2s
- Thread starter Heather Kay
- Start date
Hahaha,
I think the seats are right and the people are overscale. I've still not managed to find some people who I think look realistic yet. Which ones do you opt for?
Cheers
Tom
richard carr
Western Thunderer
Heather
The seats look great.
Richard
The seats look great.
Richard
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
I think I've tried them all. Omen, Phoenix, you name it. I can't see how figures can be so very wrong, even allowing for the 5% leeway in whitemetal casting. After all, they look about right outside of coaches. Even knowing there's no such thing as an average human, most of the cast figures seem about right to my eye. Of course, real life clothing moves and folds, as does muscle and fat, so perhaps it just seems wrong when you try to fit a solid person into a space.
Osgood
Western Thunderer
The advent of 3D modelling and ready access to a body profile scanner might lend itself to some pretty accurate miniatures.
And now a horrible thought - with the advent of 3D we could get ourselves togged up in period driver's attire, get a body profile scan and send the file direct to Shapeways or another. That way we can get to drive our own (or other peoples') models
And now a horrible thought - with the advent of 3D we could get ourselves togged up in period driver's attire, get a body profile scan and send the file direct to Shapeways or another. That way we can get to drive our own (or other peoples') models
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
Today's progress has been a little slower, mainly due to the morning being spent on health matters. So far, one full set of seats has been given their pattern, and other detail areas painted (photos will explain later); both remaining sets have been undercoated, one has since been topcoated, and I've set about revealing the moulded GRP bits on the first set.
It's not in the least bit repetitive or tedious. Not in the slightest.
In between, I tackled an underframe. Thereby hangs a tale.
The JLTRT instructions are well illustrated, but lack certain detail. The bulk of the sheets cover construction of the air conditioning equipment, which is irrelevant to this build. Scattered in amongst the A/C building are bits I need to know about, but it's never terribly clear. There is also a supplementary set of sheets covering the non-A/C stuff. Between prototype pictures supplied by Richard, the Harris book, and shuffling umpteen sheets of A4, I managed to work out which bits went where, and more importantly, which bits hadn't been packed in Irvine. It's not just one box, mind, but all three where these same bits are missing. A phone call will need to be made in the morning.
I may have to make some minor surgical amendments in order to ensure the Kadee gear boxes don't foul the bogie swing. Before I dig out the milling machine to make the necessary spaces, I want to have the three underframe sets on wheels - at least temporarily.
It's not in the least bit repetitive or tedious. Not in the slightest.
In between, I tackled an underframe. Thereby hangs a tale.
The JLTRT instructions are well illustrated, but lack certain detail. The bulk of the sheets cover construction of the air conditioning equipment, which is irrelevant to this build. Scattered in amongst the A/C building are bits I need to know about, but it's never terribly clear. There is also a supplementary set of sheets covering the non-A/C stuff. Between prototype pictures supplied by Richard, the Harris book, and shuffling umpteen sheets of A4, I managed to work out which bits went where, and more importantly, which bits hadn't been packed in Irvine. It's not just one box, mind, but all three where these same bits are missing. A phone call will need to be made in the morning.
I may have to make some minor surgical amendments in order to ensure the Kadee gear boxes don't foul the bogie swing. Before I dig out the milling machine to make the necessary spaces, I want to have the three underframe sets on wheels - at least temporarily.
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
Hi Heather,
Sitting in a folder far far away, on a laptop near to me, are "parts" sheets for the BR Mk.1, Mk,2 and GUV kits, those kits being from our friendly supplier north of the border. The sheets provide photos, captions and JLTRT casting reference numbers. There is nothing on the Mk.2 sheets for vacuum brake fittings and nothing about V-hangers etc.. Given that the captions talk about Mk2B and air-con in the same breath then I am not surprised by what you have written above. Please ask if you think the sheets are of use to you.
regards, Graham
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
Graham, that's much appreciated. Now I can identify what the various parts are and where they're supposed to go, the other two coaches will be quite straightforward.
I don't know whether the 2bs I'm building were dual braked, but they were not air conditioned. In the box I have about 75% of what I need for the air braking. Missing parts, which will be sourced tomorrow, are one actuating cylinder, the main air reservoir, and a couple of other bits - from all three boxes!
I don't know whether the 2bs I'm building were dual braked, but they were not air conditioned. In the box I have about 75% of what I need for the air braking. Missing parts, which will be sourced tomorrow, are one actuating cylinder, the main air reservoir, and a couple of other bits - from all three boxes!
richard carr
Western Thunderer
Heather
I will check my coaching stock book this evening when I get home, that will tell us if they were dual braked.
I'm sure Laurie will supply the bits if they were.
Richard
I will check my coaching stock book this evening when I get home, that will tell us if they were dual braked.
I'm sure Laurie will supply the bits if they were.
Richard
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
To start the day, here's how the seats turn out.
I was going to paint in the plastic moulded detail, but then I thought "Why not just scrape back paint to show the resin colour?"
I think they look okay. The two remaining coach sets will be completed today.
I was going to paint in the plastic moulded detail, but then I thought "Why not just scrape back paint to show the resin colour?"
I think they look okay. The two remaining coach sets will be completed today.
richard carr
Western Thunderer
Heather
They look great
Richard
They look great
Richard
40126
Western Thunderer
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
Today, I retrieved the Proxxon MF 70 from the shed workshop, and set it up on my bench in the warm. The aim was to begin milling out the spaces required to fit the Kadee coupling gear boxes in each of the floor mouldings.
Before I get into that, I am reliably informed the coaches I'm building weren't dual braked. Sorry, Graham.
They were dual heated, though.
Anyway, on with the milling...
It's only a tiny mill, and getting a lengthy resin moulding clamped to the bed is an exercise in itself. Using a combo of proper bed clamps and some modelling clamps and an offcut of timber, I managed to get the floor moulding held firmly so it won't fly about if the cutter snatched.
First, I have to mark out the area to be cut.
This new generation of Kadees uses a plastic moulded gear box, instead of the older cast metal ones. I made a rough and ready plastic sheet template, and worked out the original moulded slot is just a tad narrow. It needs to be about half a millimetre wider each side. The depth to cut is down to the moulded step level in the vee slot. Using a set square and black marker, I marked out the area to be removed. Filling in the area with the marker meant I could see where the cutter had been, at least at first, so I could gauge the correct cut.
As you can see, a slice needs to be taken out of the crossmember. I also had to allow for an overcut into each corner to allow for the shape the cutter leaves.
Here's the rig with the floor moulding firmly clamped in place. I used a 3mm diameter cutter, and the rotation speed was about 11k RPM. It's soft material, so it doesn't need to be spinning much faster.
Ready to go. I didn't start in the middle. I actually started on the far edge, and cut about a millimetre away at a time. I think, since the material is quite soft, I could almost get away with a full depth cut. That might speed up the process, anyway. Essentially, I made a cut, stopped everything to clean up and check things, then repeated the process until the full depth required had been removed.
Yes. It gets a bit messy. The "swarf" tends to stick to everything by static, and I was continually stopping the machine to blow and brush the stuff away so I could see where the cutter had got to! After this first "proving" cut, I rigged up the vacuum cleaner to try to keep the mess under control.
I ended up with a nice interference fit for the coupling gear box on the first attempt. Okay, a couple of passes with a fine file and a little surgery to remove some blockages, but it was nice and snug. I guarantee that'll be the last time in this build that'll happen! A little slop won't hurt, though, as the gear box will be held by a bolt through the hole meant for the JLTRT buckeye. A smear of epoxy will help if required.
When I batch build like this, I tend to build one vehicle virtually through to completion. Like a prototype build for a real full-sized vehicle, this lets me find problems and work out any mods - like fitting the Kadees - before I get stuck into the remainder.
Before I get into that, I am reliably informed the coaches I'm building weren't dual braked. Sorry, Graham.
They were dual heated, though. Anyway, on with the milling...
It's only a tiny mill, and getting a lengthy resin moulding clamped to the bed is an exercise in itself. Using a combo of proper bed clamps and some modelling clamps and an offcut of timber, I managed to get the floor moulding held firmly so it won't fly about if the cutter snatched.
First, I have to mark out the area to be cut.
This new generation of Kadees uses a plastic moulded gear box, instead of the older cast metal ones. I made a rough and ready plastic sheet template, and worked out the original moulded slot is just a tad narrow. It needs to be about half a millimetre wider each side. The depth to cut is down to the moulded step level in the vee slot. Using a set square and black marker, I marked out the area to be removed. Filling in the area with the marker meant I could see where the cutter had been, at least at first, so I could gauge the correct cut.
As you can see, a slice needs to be taken out of the crossmember. I also had to allow for an overcut into each corner to allow for the shape the cutter leaves.
Here's the rig with the floor moulding firmly clamped in place. I used a 3mm diameter cutter, and the rotation speed was about 11k RPM. It's soft material, so it doesn't need to be spinning much faster.
Ready to go. I didn't start in the middle. I actually started on the far edge, and cut about a millimetre away at a time. I think, since the material is quite soft, I could almost get away with a full depth cut. That might speed up the process, anyway. Essentially, I made a cut, stopped everything to clean up and check things, then repeated the process until the full depth required had been removed.
Yes. It gets a bit messy. The "swarf" tends to stick to everything by static, and I was continually stopping the machine to blow and brush the stuff away so I could see where the cutter had got to! After this first "proving" cut, I rigged up the vacuum cleaner to try to keep the mess under control.
I ended up with a nice interference fit for the coupling gear box on the first attempt. Okay, a couple of passes with a fine file and a little surgery to remove some blockages, but it was nice and snug. I guarantee that'll be the last time in this build that'll happen! A little slop won't hurt, though, as the gear box will be held by a bolt through the hole meant for the JLTRT buckeye. A smear of epoxy will help if required.
When I batch build like this, I tend to build one vehicle virtually through to completion. Like a prototype build for a real full-sized vehicle, this lets me find problems and work out any mods - like fitting the Kadees - before I get stuck into the remainder.
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
Things have slowed down a little on the workbench, for a couple of reasons.
I have been building up the underframe details on one of the SOs. JLTRT supply an illustrated instruction "booklet", but it leaves something to be desired, in several ways. For example, the photos are of the prototype kit construction, and the production kits have subtle changes (whitemetal over brass, location holes preformed and not requiring drilling, that sort of thing). Sadly, the photo reproduction isn't at all clear, lacking contrast and detail, not helped by a fading toner cartridge on the print run of this batch!
Buffer beam details were the order of today. No photos yet, but I'll do some tomorrow in daylight. Again, the instructions let me down. I've half a mind to offer my creative services to JLTRT to improve on their offerings. Even a simple diagram to show where the small bits are meant to be would be help.
Anyway, photos of the real thing and flipping about among the poor images helped me figure out which bits were meant to go where, and which bits were missing. I find it odd there is nothing provided in the kit - that I've found - to make the ETH cables between the sockets and plugs. I need to source fine flexible plastic tube, if I don't have anything suitable in the bits box.
All the buffer beam details are cast brass. I cleaned up obvious mould lines, buffed things with a brass wire brush and dunked them in the Birchwood Casey brass black. A drop of cyano held them in place, though I think one of the airbrake pipes will need something more substantial before the build is over. Either a wire clip, or better glue - not sure which right now.
These vehicles are dual heated. No steam heat pipes are included in the kit. There should be sets of ABS mouldings in the bits box (no extra charge, Richard!). Even if I don't have pipe mouldings, I can probably fabricate them.
Piccies of progress tomorrow, I think.
I have been building up the underframe details on one of the SOs. JLTRT supply an illustrated instruction "booklet", but it leaves something to be desired, in several ways. For example, the photos are of the prototype kit construction, and the production kits have subtle changes (whitemetal over brass, location holes preformed and not requiring drilling, that sort of thing). Sadly, the photo reproduction isn't at all clear, lacking contrast and detail, not helped by a fading toner cartridge on the print run of this batch!
Buffer beam details were the order of today. No photos yet, but I'll do some tomorrow in daylight. Again, the instructions let me down. I've half a mind to offer my creative services to JLTRT to improve on their offerings. Even a simple diagram to show where the small bits are meant to be would be help.
Anyway, photos of the real thing and flipping about among the poor images helped me figure out which bits were meant to go where, and which bits were missing. I find it odd there is nothing provided in the kit - that I've found - to make the ETH cables between the sockets and plugs. I need to source fine flexible plastic tube, if I don't have anything suitable in the bits box.
All the buffer beam details are cast brass. I cleaned up obvious mould lines, buffed things with a brass wire brush and dunked them in the Birchwood Casey brass black. A drop of cyano held them in place, though I think one of the airbrake pipes will need something more substantial before the build is over. Either a wire clip, or better glue - not sure which right now.
These vehicles are dual heated. No steam heat pipes are included in the kit. There should be sets of ABS mouldings in the bits box (no extra charge, Richard!
). Even if I don't have pipe mouldings, I can probably fabricate them. Piccies of progress tomorrow, I think.
mickoo
Western Thunderer
Heather, going back one post (catching up) I had the same problem with my Fret saw making dust everywhere so I bought a cheap bag hoover and rigged up the nozzle to the machine near the cutter, it gets rid of most of the dust, if you also use the narrow nozzle attachment you can get even closer to the cutter and get more swarf/dust/ what ever up there.
Nice mill and it's one my future present list LOL.
Nice mill and it's one my future present list LOL.
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
Thanks Tom. I'm not sure that I need much more info, but it's always handy to know it's out there! Perhaps we ought to pool resources into a thread here on the forum?
If I was building for myself, I'd be after all the pipe details around the airbrake reservoir and valve area, and electrical cabling around the various boxes and so on. Richard sent me some useful side views from a charter train he travelled on, but some of the finer details were lost in the murk.
Sometimes, you have to stop and ask yourself whether such minutiae meet with the "three foot rule".
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
lancer1027
Western Thunderer
Hi T
I would be very grateful of any detail pics both internal and external of any Mk2's
. Preferably Mk2 a, b and c's if poss.
Cheers Rob
Hi Tom,
I would be very grateful of any detail pics both internal and external of any Mk2's
. Preferably Mk2 a, b and c's if poss.Cheers Rob
richard carr
Western Thunderer
Heather
If you ask Laurie for an electronic copy of the instructions you will find them far more useful than the printed ones as they are normally a PDF that enlarges well.
As for the ETH cables, my preferred method is to cut off the protrusions where you stick on the tube and then drill a 0.8 mm hole and fit in soft copper wire. It looks much better and when painted black and weather looks very effective. I do it on all my diesel locos for ETH cables and multiple working cables.
Richard
If you ask Laurie for an electronic copy of the instructions you will find them far more useful than the printed ones as they are normally a PDF that enlarges well.
As for the ETH cables, my preferred method is to cut off the protrusions where you stick on the tube and then drill a 0.8 mm hole and fit in soft copper wire. It looks much better and when painted black and weather looks very effective. I do it on all my diesel locos for ETH cables and multiple working cables.
Richard
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
Richard, your method for the cables sounds favourite. Thanks.
I'll tap Laurie for a PDF, as you say. Mind you, once you've done one kit you sort of know where everything is supposed to go for the others!
I'll tap Laurie for a PDF, as you say. Mind you, once you've done one kit you sort of know where everything is supposed to go for the others!