2002's 4mm projects - Pacifics +

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

EM, they're great. Well done. You are entitled to feel absolutely smugnificent with that!

[CVR1865]

Hello there,
Yes I do like the look of those. The scot really looks the piece all sparkled up for the big show, very nice. That is a good A4 too with nice looking valve-gear under those skirts. I say!!

Thanks for sharing those and well done.
Simon

[Atlantic 3279]

I'd meant to remark on the improvement obtained by changing the valve gear too. I'd missed the stage of work at which you'd done that. You should easily obtain further new sets of Hornby pacific fine valve gear and matching cylinders if you want them for other locos.

[2002EarlMarischal]

I have been tinkering with some of the fiddly jobs on the various projects discussed above as well as one or two resurrected ones from the past!

I really wasn't happy with the finish on a Dean Sidings B17/5, and it still isn't good enough to stand alongside the latest RTR offerings, but I've been trying my hand at lining etc. It's a lot easier without handrails in the way!

The bands incorporated in the body moulding are not quite parallel.

I'm still waiting for a tender for A4 Woodcock but it is now lined. There is clearly no certainty regarding the lining with some suggesting 2 thin white lines and other the usual white/black/white. I've chosen the latter as it is readily available and there are claims from people who actually recollect the loco that this was the treatment it received.

The Empire Exhibition 4472 now has a tender that has more lining but that aspect's still not finished!

De-valanced A4 Peregrine has been this evening's project. I've been trying to make spectacle windows after being totally disappointed with a set of OO Jackson Evans Spectacle Plates purchased off eBay. Has anyone else come across these? They are too large for the Hornby A4 as the photo shows!

Having abandoned those, I'm trying to cut a set out of waste plastic. What fun!

[mick b]

Taken from Yeadon and RCTS both have photos

White lining and letters and numbers including cab and valances in the same type of layout as a Apple Green A4. The boiler bands lining appear to be body colour in the centre with white either side.
No mention of nameplate but I would think Black.
Nose area taken back to first boiler band in very dark grey or black as the first Green A4's.

The Jackson Evans cab window surrounds were designed for the tender drive A4's presumably with bigger windows !!

[2002EarlMarischal]

Wow - I don't have a tender drive A4 any more - those I did were relegated to eBay when the new ones came out - but they must have had big windows!

Not very exciting I know, but after several attempts, I cut a single spectacle window out of plastic that's clearly too thick. I became very frustrated that I could not then use it as a pattern on thinner plastic - simply too small for my clumsy fingers.

Then I had an idea! I used an indelible marker on the edge of the pattern and popped it on the copier with a white sheet of paper behind, passing the same sheet of paper through several times with the pattern moved to different places. Result is a plain sheet with several identical spectacle window outlines.

If I could only find just one sheet of overhead projector slide plastic, I could print the outlines and simply cut them out and fit! Of course if I'd been brave enough to use a superdetailed A4 as the basis for my valence surgery instead of Railroad Falcon, I wouldn't have to do this!!

[2512silverfox]

The finish above the skirting was plain grey with white lining and letters and numberplate. No darker grey on front or elsewhere - see also official photo of tender published elsewhere.

[2002EarlMarischal]

Thanks chaps - I certainly haven't seen that photo before. Do you have any suggestions for the unshaded white lettering? I believe that Fox do a white set for the Hush Hush, but they only supply the number 10000!

(Someone needs to invent some clever software that accurately can turn black and white photos into colour!)

[mick b]

Excellent photo.

Try Art Shops for white rub down sheet hopefully you can find the right side.

The Fox sheet is shaded lettering/numbers

[2002EarlMarischal]

Thanks Mick. Measuring the HMRS transfers I have suggests I am looking for 4mm high letters and numerals.

The style of the letters in the photo looks very much like normal LNER pre-war lettering without the shading.

Per 65447 eslewhere on this forum:

The RCTS 'Green Book' Part 1 does not offer the name of the typeface (not font) used before Gill Sans.

I wonder, has anyone identified if any of the well known fonts are a good approximation to what the LNER used?

[giner]

Earl, I had a shufti through the standard fonts on my laptop and only two typefaces come anywhere near, and even then I'm not totally convinced, but Colibri (when bolded) isn't bad, but could be a bit bolder. The only other one is Franklin Gothic Demi. Hope this helps.

[2002EarlMarischal]

That's very helpful of you giner, many thanks! I'll see if either of those are available from Letraset (doubtful) and others.

I understand you can print your own on transfer paper but I'm not sure about printing in white. Perhaps Fox Transfers may be able to produce them. I'll report back as to how I get on.

[mick b]

Try Precision Labels he does commisions and good service

[2002EarlMarischal]

Veeeery slow progress with projects at the moment but I finally sourced a tender for Woodcock, and I've had a go at the fairings prior to a coat of workshop grey. First time I've really tried to use Plastikard - have to see how it looks when it's had a coat of paint!

[2002EarlMarischal]

More news from "beginners corner"!

Having a play tonight with a damaged NRM Scotsman body which had huge gobs of glue on superheater covers, broken steam pipe etc. Want to turn it into Humorist.

[1] Have removed banjo dome by pushing gently from undeneath then sliding thin blade under. It came away with no damage just leaving a small hole.
[2] Broke the front handrail knobs on both sides trying to remove them so will have to drill out I guess. The original rails were of course too short because of smoke deflectors.
[3] Again using sharp blade gently flipped off offending superheater header covers and had to sand surrounding area with wet and dry to remove other glue residues.
[4] Filed/sanded off washout plugs.
[5] Removed cab-side numbers on one side with T-Cut but stunned how easy it was to simply rub the other side off with "used" wet and dry! Very little evidence of any work being done!

Next task is to see if I can make good the areas where the washout plugs were....