James' non-SP model building thread

[Mécanicien de Vapeur]

Looking good James, you've captured the proportions very nicely!

[James Harrison]

The subterfuge of vertically stretching the body a little works then    I did have my doubts even until this evening that it would work quite so well... 

[James Harrison]

No photo update tonight (there should be, but they're still on the camera....)

For the last three days I've steadily been working on the boiler.  Which was hard work, considering it had to be cut by hand (at one point the saw slipped and did its level best to take the tip of my thumb off- ouch!).  Anyway- cut the boiler to length, then cut the bottom out so it would fit over the motor.  Needless to say I cut just slightly too much- which led to problems of how to disguise my error. 

The issue was overcome only this afternoon when I bought some UHU glue and used it to attach two slips of plastic card to the boiler- extending it down just enough to cover the bottom of the motor block.  Problem solved (I hope!)  I've also made a blank for the front of the boiler to which to attach the 'proper' front of the boiler- which includes the front of the smokebox saddle.  The plan tomorrow is to actually build the smokebox saddle, add the smokebox wrapper, drill an opening for the funnel and maybe even begin work on the Belpaire firebox....

[James Harrison]

Photos from the work yesterday (shewing a test-fitting of the boiler barrel). 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It is quite surprising how fitting a boiler (even temporarily) suddenly makes the whole thing look more like a locomotive. 

Today what I have done is to use my dremel to drill a couple of holes through the chassis front and rear and into the footplate (so the chassis can be simply screwed into and out of the body).  I also built the Belpaire firebox, but it wouldn't fit over the motor block- I forgot to take account of the thickness of the material    No matter- I can't get a deep layer of material to get the right curve between the sides and top anyway.  Think this is going to be a 'slip of paper' job...

Overall, this is slow going of the one step forward and two back variety; perhaps not surprising as this is my first attempt at a scratchbuild model locomotive.  To sort out how the boiler actually sits I'm thinking of building up a former on top of the motor block/ chassis weight; it may be more sturdy than simply relying on the smokebox wrapper and front frames to hold a relatively heavy brass tube in place. 

[Capt James Salt]

Very nice work!

I did not know about this thread here until you posted on the Tactile section. 

(I'm also a model builder.  I build cars   http://public.fotki.com/shrimpee/

[James Harrison]

Ooh; I like those.  Very nice work 

I think I have perfected the Belpaire firebox.  I started with a vague idea of cutting out three pieces of paper (the sides and top) and holding them, origami-like, together to form a whole.  But what about the gaps and edges?  This idea then evolved to one of cutting a slip of paper to the same width that the firebox is long, and gently pushing it down the gap between the tank sides and the motor, using the form of the motor to create the flat top.  This did, after a fashion, work... but it shewed a tendency to slip and create gaps where the firebox met the spectacle plate.  Hmm. 

Then I saw the gap cut in the spectacle plate to accommodate the motor- I had, by chance, cut it to approximately the outline of the firebox.  The proverbial lightbulb came on.  I cut another slip of paper, roughly twice as wide as the firebox is long, then drew a pencil line to mark where the rear end of the firebox should come (around halfway across the width).  This I gently worked down the gap between the motor and the tank sides, and then through the gap in the spectacle plate into the cab itself.  Result?  A firebox of the right cross section and length with a huge extension back into the cab.  In the cab itself I glued the firebox to the model, then cut away some (not all) of the excess. 

Brilliant!  It's not quite perfect- but it's better than my earlier attempts at creating something with difficult curves and slab sides- the rough shape can be seen on the cab end of the boiler of this LNER D10 (another loco I'm planning to build at some point): 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

   

So the short story would be:

Oversize slip of paper- rolled to become more malleable- slid between tank sides and motor- fed through gap in cab front plate- pulled through until firebox was correct length- glued behind cab plate- cut back in the cab to lessen noticeability. 

[James Harrison]

An odd pattern of workshifts this week has precluded much in the way of modelling progress, but last night I did manage to get a fair bit along. 

Firstly I made an overwrap of paper for the entire boiler barrel; not entirely necessary but I felt it would make for a neater finish (and be more amenable to the introduction of glues and suchlike for boiler bands, safety valves, chimney and dome).  I then removed the tank tops and fronts; I found that the boiler was too wide to fit between them and that when it did, it skewed.  The first belpaire firebox was also removed; a better way of making one was found (the overwrap was cut too long and provided an ideal series of fixing points for a slip of paper curved to the correct shape).  No fewer than ten pieces of 0.5mm plastic card were laminated together, then shaped to form the smokebox saddle (an earlier effort to rely on just the two sides to hold the boiler in place failed miserably).  One of the tank tops was then slimmed down by about 2mm, from 6 to around 4mm width, then slotted neatly into the gap between tank side and boiler. 

The plan, in a little while, is to do the same to the other tank top, then file down the lip at the bottom of the chassis weight that stops it slipping comfortably and easily off the boiler.  Photos will follow when this has been done tonight....

As I have said before, this model is pretty hard going; perhaps understandably given it's my first scratchbuild.  Even with a parallel boiler and a straight running plate I'm running into difficulties; keeping the boiler parallel and the running plate straight being my two main headaches at present!  The senseible thing to do, once this one is finished, is to get on with HMS Barham (which is much firmer ground for me), then build a simple tender engine.  Maybe hold off the D10 for a little while longer and try the J11 instead. 

[James Harrison]

Little delayed, but I hope you will be pleasantly surprised. 

By yesterday afternoon I had something that looked like this:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Although, actually, those photos were taken in the middle of last night's session.  The smokebox front blank and wrapper had been added, as had the amended tank tops (only one had been in place by the end of Friday night).  The blank (which will eventually be hidden by the smokebox door) was cut from 0.5mm plastic card, then gradually filed down until it was a comfortable push-fit into the boiler barrel.  The smokebox wrapper was cut from paper, then glued into place and gently nudged into the very edges with the side of a bradawl.  Then another layer of paper was glued over that to accentuate the smokebox. 

By the end of the evening I had this (photos taken just this morning):

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The cab roof was cut from paper, slightly oversize, then glued onto the spectacle plates.  Then it was cut back and another layer glued over it.  I like to use two or even three layers of paper for paper parts for two reasons; firstly strength, but secondly also to give a degree of 'obviousness' to the component.  Some parts can only really be made of paper (complex curves and all that, which are difficult in plastic), but at the same time need a certain thickness, either for strength or to build up an appropriate cross section. 

The boiler bands are again cut from paper and simply glued into position.  The chimney is an interesting experiment.  The modellers I have always found most inspiring are the early modellers of the roughly the 1930s into the 1950s; in the days of 'you make it yourself'.  Whilst I have no wish to return to those days (there are many things I simply couldn't make and therefore would have to go without- the market of parts and scratchbuild aids today is a boon), on the other hand there's an expense attached to those parts (and, mostly being made by cottage industries, there's also the issues of trying to find them in the first place, knowing what you're buying and chasing up suppliers if things fail to turn up...)  I decided to have a go at making the chimney myself.  It's a slip of paper wrapped around a length of airfix plastic sprue, then built up to a gentle taper.  After a fashion it works.... but I think I have a better idea to get something a little more accurate (watch this space). 

The dome comes from a loco body I bought right at the start of this project, around 14 months ago.  I actually started this project by buying a semi-scale complete body (marketed as being an 0-6-2, but I suspect actually intended as a 2-4-2), a Hornby 'Dean Goods' unpowered chassis, a 14mm 10-spoke wheel axle and an X04 motor and gears.  What began as an idea to simply take this motley collection of parts to create something that 'looked like' an N5 morphed into actually building an N5; of the list of parts given above the only one to make it into the final model is the 14mm wheel and axle.  The dome comes off of the semi-scale body, but is too small.  It's been loosely fitted atop the boiler just to give an idea of what the final engine will look like.

The next steps are going to be the last 'big jobs' on the engine- the boiler fittings, the splashers and the bunker interior.  Small jobs currently form a list along the lines of

- below footplate detail
- footsteps
- hand rails
- coal rails
- window surrounds
- water tank caps
- buffer beams (not to be fitted before the engine is painted). 

[James Harrison]

Two updates in one day- because I've just been working on it for a little while longer:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I decided that the chimney really didn't cut it, so started again.  First attempt was to make a former, then wrap paper around it.  The paper somehow crushed the former.  Second attempt was to make an armature of plastic and again build up the chimney from that.  That, frankly, was too fiddly.  The third attempt, then, was to take a cube of obechi wood and make a mark in the centre of it with a bradawl.  I then put a drill bit into my dremel and drilled a little way through, then released pressure so the whole piece started turning at a couple of thousand RPM. 

A word of caution- don't rush what I am about to describe- it has the potential to make for a really nasty accident. 

So, we have a cube of timber spinning around at what for a dremel is a low speed.  Where do we go from here?  Well, I took a rough file and very gently held it against the wood as it spun- gradually working down the cube into a cylinder.  Then I held it at a slight angle to work in a suggestion of the taper of the chimney.  This done, I used a smaller, finer file to work up a better finish.  I couldn't do more than that as I quickly found that dremels (or maybe the wood) object to being used as an ad-hoc lathe- the piece rattled loose and became unbalanced, and was prone to shoot off the dremel at speed.  Most of the time it hit me (hence why I say, DO NOT run the dremel flat out... you don't want the workpiece to come flying at you with the maximum velocity it can make with the aid of a dremel....). 

I then repeated the procedure to fabricate the dome, although here I also tried sandpaper as well as a mix of rough and fine files.  My principal finding here was that although it can be done, the sandpaper gets uncomfortably warm too quickly to be of much use. 

To make both components took the better part of an hour and a half.  It could, probably, have been done faster with more power and a lot faster certainly had I access to a proper lathe, but sadly I don't. 

What's my analysis of this method?  It certainly works... but as for accuracy only up to a point.  It all boils down to how much of a compromise the model-maker is prepared to make; if like me you follow Peter Denny's '18-inch rule' it does give fairly good results.  It was slow, painstaking and frustrating (having to stop every 20 seconds or so and go feel around on the floor for parts that have shot away took up around half of the time), but I would say that it can be a worthwhile exercise.  Plus there's a real sense of achievement, making components that most people won't even attempt... 

[Capt James Salt]

Great how-to information.........

[James Harrison]

The method works, but can be hit (literally!) and miss.  Two pieces for the dome ended up, somehow, sanded right down to a nubbin on one side and still square on the other    Best advice would be to give it a go- practice makes perfect after all.   

I think the next time I try this I'll use balsa wood- we'll see how the softer wood (with a larger grain) gets on. 

[James Harrison]

No photos yet (it's fairly late for me) but I have made, I feel, real progress tonight.  

I finally made it around to making the splashers.  The sides of them had been attached to the model for some time and these had been cut from 0.5mm plastic, the curve being attained using a pencil and a £1 coin (the curvature of the coin luckily matching the curvature of the splasher).  What I then did this evening was to cut a length of paper 25mm long and 4mm wide, and wrap this around a pencil (I find by wrapping it around something makes it more malleable).  It was then given a liberal coat of UHU on one side, and carefully maneouvred into place using the tip of a bradawl and tweezers.  To firm up the whole thing, it was allowed to dry and then given another layer of paper, this time 4mm wide and 50mm long- this covered the slapsher itself and allowed a positive and firm joint onto the running plate.  

This done, I moved to the bunker and added some measure of interior detail.  Cutting a rectangle of paper to the dimensions of the interior, I cut out an aperture into it and then added sides of 0.5mm plastic.  The intention was to suggest the idea of a coal bunker atop a water tank.  It's not prototypical at all- but I'm planning to add a good amount of (real) coal ultimately, which will cover this up.  

Moving to the boiler and its fittings, I built the safety valve.  The N5s carried a variety of these (the Railway Modeller drawing of November 1970 provides no fewer than 6 different designs, from the original 1890's pattern right through to Ross Pop ones fitted in the 1940s), but the one I opted for was the Robinson pattern, to my eye the most elegant.  Similarly the chimney (I didn't mention this last night) was one of four alternatives- Parker flower pot, Robinson tapered, Robinson reverse tapered and Doncaster flower pot.  For the period I model (circa 1930-39) I should really have gone for the last mentioned, but instead went for the Robinson reverse taper.  Still, those were only removed from 1925 onward as engines went through the works- it is entirely possible a few examples in a class of 129 survived into the '30s.  

Anyway-safety valves.  I cut a baseplate from 0.5mm plastic, 5mm wide and 9mm long, and curved this at each end as per the drawing (curve drawn around a needle file and cut with scissors).  Then I cut four pieces of 0.5mm plastic, 3mm wide and 6mm long, and one of paper to the same basic dimensions, save for a curved extension to the 'top' that also extended around 4mm over.  Starting with the paper piece, I sandwiched it between the four plastic pieces (two on each side) then glued that to the base.  The entire part was then glued into place atop the firebox.  

Finally I began some of the finer detail.  I took four small staples and cut the long 'arms' off of them.  The remainder was then dipped into UHU glue and carefully positioned on the model.  One on each side goes onto the running plate abutting the front of the water tanks.  One on each side fits onto the cab sides.  These are really delicate!  I need to find a better way to attach them....

Tomorrow- I shall attack the smokebox door detail and boiler handrail...  

[James Harrison]

Before doing anything tonight, I've recorded how far I got yesterday:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

At top is a general view of the entire engine, shewing the handrails and safety valve added.  Middle is a view from the rear, shewing the interior of the bunker.  Bottom is a macro shot of the front, shewing the splasher tops and also the state of play for the smokebox door at present.

[James Harrison]

Before saying anything about tonight's session, here are the photos from last night:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Handrails along the boiler are 1mm plastic strip; where the handrail curves around the front of the smokebox was difficult to achieve well but on the third attempt I succeeded.  The method here was to take the strip, heat it over a lit candle, then bend it to shape over the spare 19mm brass tube from the boiler.  What I found however was that when heated it buckled too easily and then solidified before I could get it to the correct shape.  So for the third attempt I tried something a little different- noting how the strip bends naturally anyway, I wrapped it around the brass former before heating it.  Then when it cooled it took that shape.  This will only work up to a point of course- I feel that had the tube been, say, 17mm rather than 19mm diameter the plastic would have broken rather than take the bend- it really was that close.  

For the smokebox door I took a piece of plastic to the correct shape from the semi-scale body I bought last year, then coated it liberally in milliput.  When this dried I sanded it back to form the slightly-domed shape.  The hinge was simply cut and folded from paper.  

And so on to tonight:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 

The first thing I did tonight was to remove the one part I was pleased with yesterday!  The curved handrail protruded too far off the smokebox, I thought, so I gently pried it loose, cut down the top fixing, then refitted it.  

The next step was to cut out the window surrounds- practically invisible in the photos- which were cut from paper.  The internal 'hole' was cut using a hole punch, the external edge being cut with scissors.  

Then I moved onto the coal rails.  I tried making a 'proper' set using paper and plastic, and to be honest it was too fiddly.  So I compromised and went for a more robust approach.  Cutting a backing piece of paper (a bit too deep so as to allow a positive connection into the bunker), I then cut a series a lengths of plastic 1mm strip and glued them onto it.  These were then fixed into the bunker, with the plastic strips above the bunker sides.  I may, in a while, add some strips of paper to suggest the vertical elements of the rails.

The footholds were made by cutting a length of paper to the correct size, plus a little length to allow them a positive joint with the model.  Two more lengths were then attached to this to from the steps themselves- again a little over length to allow them to be folded and firmly attached to the 'backing piece'.  

I have also sanded down the front frames a little- they were too long- which has improved the look of the front of the engine no end.  

The only parts left now are, really, the buffer beams.  These are sitting in my spares box- taken off of a Dapol Schools kit- and won't be attached until after the body has been painted.  

So, the model is, for the most part, finished!  

[James Harrison]

The last few days I have been attempting more of the details.  The vertical elements of the coal rails were added, but the boiler wash-out plugs eluded my grasp after no fewer than four attempts.  I've also added lamp irons- 3mm lengths of 1mm strip. 

One of the things I have also done is to make two new tank sides from paper- I decided the ones already in place were too covered in glue and the like to make for a good finished surface. 

Starting the buffer beams I cut two pieces of 0.5mm sheet, approximately 36mm in length and 5mm in depth, then attached buffershanks which had been cut away from the buffer beams of an old Dapol kit.  The only pieces left to build up now are the vacuum pipes and cosmetic three-link couplings. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 

A quick coat of paint from an aerosol can really brings it to life!  Aerosol paint is great- it took two minutes to coat the model (without the risk of things breaking off), and then twenty-two minutes to get 'most' of the residue and spray off of may hands.  Even now they look like reverse star maps! 

The next step will be to a) let the aerosol dry off, b) apply a second coat by brush, c) touch in the red befferbeams before adding the bufferbeam details, d) add decals and e) varnish. 

[Matthias Gladstone]

Stunning work! Looks very professional.

[James Harrison]

Cheers!  For a first scratchbuild I'm pleased with it.  Got a loooooong list of 'things to do differently next time' too....

Since those last photos were taken I've given it a second coat of paint (humbrol matt black enamel, applied with as big a brush as I could find)- encouragingly few brushstrokes/marks left on it.  I've also taken a hammer (well, the handle of a large file) to the lump of coal I found last night.  Broke it down into a couple of smaller pieces but also crucially ended up with loads of little 'shards' which I dropped into the bunker, and which are now setting with the aid of some very-watered-down PVA glue.  It is surprising, though, how even though I built the bunker as a pretty solid box the PVA is still pooling under the engine. 

[James Harrison]

Transfers arrived yesterday- around £7 for a sheet of them from the Historic Model Railway Society (but you do get enough of them to do several engines, so it probably works out at around £1/engine overall). 

First job today was to give the black a final coat, making for three coats overall (two of which are brush applied).  Then I broke out humbrol #70 and brush painted the bufferbeams.  These should be a bright cherry red, but using a duller matt red/brown suggests weathering and road dirt.  Also, the brighter red is a bit disconcerting on an otherwise matt black engine.  That done, I made up some brake pipes (5mm paper circles folded in half over 1mm plastic strip) and cosmetic three-link couplings (8mm lengths of plastic) which were painted matt balck after being attached. 

When it had all dried I had a go at the transfers.  I started these by looking very closely at other examples of this engine, to get an idea of where the letters and numerals are supposed to go.  I then cut a template of paper to provide (in theory) a straight edge and equal spacing for each individual transfer (there are four letters and four numbers for each side).  This done I cut out the characters and carefully placed them on the model before rubbing hard over the backing paper.  The transfers I own are self-adhesive 'pressfix' examples, so don't need water or meths to secure.  When they were in place, a dab of water on the backing paper to release them and 'twas done. 

On my first attempt of both letters and numbers, they are a bit 'wonky' and a bit unevenly spaced, but to be honest I don't think that the effort to fully replace them would be justified.  On the other side of the loco they came out perfectly... 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

And there we have it.  The photos show the engine in gloss finish, as the varnish is drying.  The varnish used is waterproof yacht varnish, thinned down with paint thinners mixed in roughly equal measure.  This was applied to finally seal the transfers.  Although they are fairly robust, I don't like the idea that they even might come adrift.  So when that dries- LNER #5941 joins my roster.     

[Will Howard]

Very nicely done!

[James Harrison]

Cheers!  It's been a long process to build it, and provided pleasure and frustration in about equal measure, but I'm glad it's finished and come out quite so well.  Given a week or so to 'recover' and I may be in a position to start my next project...

[James Harrison]

Just to top it all off, when I thought it was finished I got thrown a curveball.  The varnish dried to a gloss finish- not ideal 

What to do, what to do, what to do? 

I pondered it for a little while and then thought back to my Stirling Single model of a few years ago and how I 'varnished' it. 

Spoiler:  Handy little trick follows (click to show/hide)

Turns out that if you douse the whole model in watered-down PVA glue and allow it to dry, it will go from gloss to matt!  Magic!

So, what have I learnt from this whole process?

1.  Perhaps the most important thing to take away is that I must plan builds more carefully.  I was lucky in that bits I added prematurely I was able to remove without too much damage- I may not be so lucky next time. 

2.  Linking in with this I should try to think ahead a bit more with regards to final detailing- the handrails in particular are less robust than would otherwsie have been the case because I didn't think ahead to attach the handrail supports whilst the boiler was separate from the rest of the engine, for example. 

3.  I need to come up with a simple, effective and difficult-to-foul-up method of attaching the body to the chassis.  The N5 eventually just rests on its running gear loose- which is not quite ideal. 

4.  There is no real appreciable difference between brush painting and aerosol- so I should do as I do on my ships more and pre-paint components before attaching them. 

5.  I need to take care not to drip or run glue all over the 'final' surfaces- on the N5 I ended up attaching new tank and cab sides precisely because they had been criss-crossed with UHU trails. 

6.  Transfers are difficult to get right.  I should, perhaps, employ a chalk line for getting them level and moisten the backing paper before pressing the transfers into position- most of my difficulties here were simply because I had no idea what position the transfers were in until after I had rubbed them on. 

[James Harrison]

Well, work began on Barham last night. 

I commenced by taking the two halves of the hull and cutting out the after 6'' gun ports (these were plated over completely on Warspite during her 1936-39 big refit).  Starting 29mm ahead of the very end of the hull, I cut a 5mm deep slot, then measured a further 45 or so mm forward and repeated the procedure.  These two slots were then joined with a third cut and the whole gently filed square.  Moving forwards to the forward 6'' battery I extended the rear end back a further 30mm or so (there should be an 80mm gap between the forward and aft 6'' batteries after this procedure).  I then cut away the 'posts' on the forward battery and then did the same to the catapult supports.  The knuckle on the keel at the very tip of the bow was gently filed away to a smooth curve, and the cut-out for the Admirals' walk on the stern was filled with Milliput modelling filler.  I have seen photos of Barham with this walk and photos without; I can only assume that this was something added or removed during small refits. 

Moving up to main deck level the big job is to completely remove the hangar and midships superstructure moulded onto the deck.  This was done with a small hacksaw blade, the residue being scraped away with a scalpel and then sanded down for a smooth(er) finish.  Looking at the Warspite's deck there is a pronounced 'shoulder' amidships that was lacking on Barham and Malaya.  This was cut away so amidships the deck is now straight.  Similarly above the 6'' batteries the protusions of the main deck were cut off.  The roof for the Admirals' walk was cut away with a scalpel, then the deck returned to a curved profile by use of files and sandpaper.  The other 'big job' to do here is to cut away at the sides of the deck for the aft 6'' batteries.  This coincides with the cut-outs made in the hull aft, and was done quite simply with a scalpel, the curved profile in the corners being achieved with a small file. 

An interesting thought presents itself now.  There is, on the Airfix model, a substantial strip moulded on the hull (something that was added to the ships during their initial big refits of the mid-1920s).  If these are sanded down, carefully, the hull is returned to a profile very close to that of the ships when first built (or, in other words, to roughly 1914/15 condition).  The potential is certainly there to take the Airfix model, which represents Warspite between 1940 and 1947, and use it (or, rather, parts of it) as the basis of a Queen Elizabeth-class dreadnought as it appeared during the First World War, complete with tripod mast and two funnels (an appearance described in Janes at the time as making them 'certainly the most graceful dreadnoughts yet built').  I think I have another model to add to the 'projects in pipeline' list.... 

[Will Howard]

The Queen Elizabeth class was quite elegant.  More attractive than contemporary American battleships of the period, in my opinion (EXCEPT, of course, the U. S. S. Texas, despite modifications & the blue paint currently on it!)

[James Harrison]

I think I'd struggle to find even one class of dreadnought that wasn't elegant, except maybe the Spanish Espana class.  I quite like the American designs, with their lattice-cage masts.  Maybe there's potential to take the Revell Arizona and backdate her to 1916 condition?  No no, I keep having these ideas and just know it'll be circa 2020 before I finish them all at this rate! 

[James Harrison]

My googlefu powers were strong this morning; I think this article will be invaluable for anyone contemplating following in my madness and bashing an Airfix Warspite: 

http://www.davecov.net/modelling/reference/airfixmagazinearticles/warships/pdfs/October%201978%20-%20Queen%20Elizabeth%20Class%20Battleships.pdf