Rebuilt Crosti 9f

[spikey faz]

Back from holiday in the sun and time to face next bit of bodgery. The handrail holes on the l/h side have turned out a bit out of alignment. Also the joint between the firebox sheeting halfway down the l/h side was sloping down towards the running plate rather than parallel. Not by a lot, but enough to be noticeable. Not sure how this has happened. So a few pictures of how I've started to rectify this.




I'll reinstate the rivets with some punched out Plastikard ones. All looks a bit messy, but I'm optimistic about how it'll turn out. Had to do it as it was throwing everything else slightly out of alignment. The other side seems OK.

Mike

 

[spikey faz]

Think I've got away with it! Handrail knobs in place and it all seems to line up. The final bit of handrail that runs under the washout plugs kinks down a tad on the prototype, so the far hole to the right has got to come down a bit to achieve this.

Mike

 

[spikey faz]

I dare say the washout plugs could do with a bit of realignment, but I've decided to leave things as they are.

Mike

 

[spikey faz]

Hand rails are sorted. Although I was going to fix them in place prior to painting, turns out they're quite easy to take in and out. So I'll probably fit them permanently after painting. They're nickel silver, so I should be able to blacken them more easily than if they were brass.


I've also started on the clack valves. It's a bit difficult to tell but some of the pictures of the prototype seem to indicate the horizontal part of the associated piping is lagged. I haven't found a clear enough picture to confirm this though.

None of this pipework is fixed in place either. Again I may leave it off until after painting.

I had to beef up the front part of the steam pipe covers as I wasn't convinced that they looked quite right. I think dimensionally the kit parts might be slightly out, but in the absence of accurate works drawings I'm relying on intuition!


Mike

 

[chigley]

if it looks right then it must be

 

[spikey faz]

if it looks right then it must be

Well, that philosophy fits in with my 'impressionist' modelling!

Mike

 

[spikey faz]

A whole chunk of pipework for the r/h side completed. I hadn't planned on making it removable, but that's how it's worked out.

I've just had time to beef up the brackets that hold the pipes to the boiler. Not entirely prototypical, but they're good enough for me. They're made from sticky-back copper tape.

Mike

ps. I've noticed from my pics that the pipework appears to not quite parallel to the footplate. No worries as it is fully adjustable!

 

[chigley]

It's not parallel to allow the condensed steam/water to run back

Ken

 

[spikey faz]

It's not parallel to allow the condensed steam/water to run back

Ken

Of course!

Mike

 

[Dave Holt]

Definitely need to be horizontal, parallel with the footplate.
Dave.

 

[spikey faz]

Definitely need to be horizontal, parallel with the footplate.
Dave.

Absolutely. Rest assured they will be.

Mike

 

[spikey faz]

And on to the l/h side. Conduit is held in place with three short pins. Helps to keep it aligned.


Ejector piping taking shape.


Mike

 

[spikey faz]

Added a bit more pipework just below the ejector.


The reversing gear shaft that runs along just above the footplate is represented in the kit by two whitemetal castings. They are actually straight enough, but not long enough! Or at least not on my model. Could be down to my incompetence! Also I have a feeling the diameter should be a bit smaller so I replaced the castings with 2.5mm dia tube. I did manage to re-use the little u/j.

Mike

 

[spikey faz]

As quite a lot of this pipework makes it way into the cab, I decided now would be a good time to make a start on the backplate.
I could have taken the easy option by simply using the supplied whitemetal castings, but it was to be honest a bit crude. The best option would have been to made a new backplate from scratch, but as it happens the whitemetal one fits rather well. So I went for the middle ground and went for re-using this, albeit with some modifications.
I've ground off all the cast details.

And will start adding new bits. A combination of Ragstone and bits conjured from my spares box plus any bits I can use from the kit.

Progress so far.

Mike

 

[spikey faz]

The Ragstone rocker sockets are nicely detailed (like all of the Ragstone parts I've had), but they don't quite accord with the prototype pictures I have for reference.

No problemo. Quick cut n shut and here we go.

Rivets (not prototypical as they should be nuts & bolts, but don't tell anyone) help hold the modified rocker sockets in place, backed up with superglue. Washout plugs in and firebox doors soldered in place. Smokebox door handle will be fixed in place later once I've made and stuck the little shelf in above the doors.

Once again its not speed of light progress, but playing football with the grandchildren over at the local park takes priority!

Mike

 

[spikey faz]

The backplate takes shape.

I had to replace the throttle handle as it broke!

My fault for being a bit clumsy. The mounting bracket is fine, but I had to make a new handle.

Maneuvering the backplate in and out of the cab is a bit like a 'ship in a bottle'! It's fiddly! Hence my preference for lots of pins to hold everything in place to hopefully prevent stuff getting knocked off.

Mike

 

[chigley]

gluing or soldering parts on Mike

 

[spikey faz]

gluing or soldering parts on Mike

Both!! Solder preferably, but superglue where there's a risk of a meltdown.

Just had a bit of time to make the blowdown valve. It's a bit cobbled together and no doubt a Crosti expert will tell me its wrong or was removed later on. But its staying put on my model.



Not in final position yet.

Mike

 

[simond]

I don’t know who gave the sage advice to never glue if you could solder, and never solder if you could screw.

 

[SimonT]

I don’t know who gave the sage advice to never glue if you could solder, and never solder if you could screw.

Don't climb in a modern aircraft, there is lost of glue involved.