My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

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Phil Brighton
NBR D34 4-4-0 'Glen'
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by Phil Brighton »

Compared to whitemetal kits, the older ones in particular, there is a lot less time spent filling and filing parts to fit which does make it more satisfying and quick to build. I would certainly recommend it as a kit. A few modifications were needed but basically it just goes together how it should. Main complaint would be that the instructions could do with a bit more detail.
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Atlantic 3279
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by Atlantic 3279 »

I can understand the problems that face anybody attempting to write instructions. Unless some knowledge on the part of the builder is assumed, the instructions would have to be extremely lengthy, not just comprehensive but exhaustive. Make the instructions too lengthy or detailed and some will be deterred from even attempting to read them. Make them technically and grammatically correct and there will be complaints from those who can only communicate in words of two syllables or less. Dumb them down and they can become ambiguous or meaningless. Make them brief but correct and some will find that vital details are missing. No matter what you write, some builders will probably be so opinionated, arrogant or stuck in one particular building routine that they will ignore the instructions, perhaps entirely, and then complain that the kit is poor because it won't go together properly in their (inappropriate) way. Maybe the "no instructions" approach has merit...
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Phil Brighton
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by Phil Brighton »

I don't think they would have to be that much more work to produce to just improve them a little. Numbering the parts on the fret would be useful and a bit more detail in the diagrams that sort of thing. Overall though it is a very good quality kit.
Phil Brighton
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by Phil Brighton »

P1 finished.
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mick b
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by mick b »

Lovely model.

The slidebar looks very high at the rear ?
Phil Brighton
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by Phil Brighton »

It is a touch. It will bug me and I will likely tweek it but at the moment it runs very smoothly so I don't want to go too far the other way and end up making it worse!
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Atlantic 3279
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by Atlantic 3279 »

Ideally, the top face of the upper slidebar should lie against the base of the turn-under part of the motion bracket. I don't know whether the PDK parts provide for that relationship. I certainly had to fiddle around with things to arrive at that on my P1, sourced from Heinz 57 varieties of parts:
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Phil Brighton
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by Phil Brighton »

A few years ago I manged to pick up these GNR D&S kits off ebay for £20 each. Was pretty pleased with that - no one else bid.

With a lot of talk of 6 wheel coaches about I thought I would give them a go. Have done the Luggage Brake and it's ready for painting.
They really are very nice kits to build. Only the brake gear gave me any difficulties and I ending up fudging it a bit so you can still get the wheels out if needs be.

Hopefully the 3rd and composite should be pretty straight forward as they as identical in construction methods.

(The Luggage Brake isn't screwed to the chassis and the roof isn't glued down. Will be done after painting.)
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manna
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by manna »

G'Day Gents

Oh nice ! :D

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Atlantic 3279
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by Atlantic 3279 »

Agreed, nicely made.

In order to try to get it in the true scale position, if you fit a slim strip to represent the cornice and gutter, I suggest you try to make its top edge lie no higher than the currently visible top edge of the brass side.
When I built my D&S six wheelers, over twenty years ago, I failed to realise that if I trimmed the roof to finish flush with the top of the side, and simply stuck the gutter to the edge of the roof, it would be too high up, even if that is the easiest way to do it. The error showed up strongly when I tried to mix the D&S six wheelers with very recent Mousa Models 3D printed examples. Checking against official drawings and against other true-scale models of Doncaster teak carriages confirmed what was wrong. I altered the D&S examples last year, carefully sticking new strips to the tops of the brass sides, but it would have been far easier to do the original work correctly, before creating the teak finish, painting the roofs and adding the weathering!
I don't like the alternative idea of allowing the roof to overlap the top of the side, with the gutter still stuck to the roof edge, but that bit lower down, as that approach can make the overhang of the roof appear excessive.
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Woodcock29
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by Woodcock29 »

Another pitfall with these kits is that the solebars are set too wide apart if they are simply folded down. I find it necessary to break them off, reduce the width of the floor and then solder them back on. Of course I found this out after I'd built my first two!

I also found it necessary to reshape the lower sides of the duckets and then add the beading again from plastjc strip. I also now make the skylights out of plastic and simply glue them onto the roofs. That way its possibly to get a better angle to their pitch as the D& S angle is too acute. They don't need see through glazing as they would soon be the same colour as the rest of the roof!
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Phil Brighton
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by Phil Brighton »

Thanks for the tips guys. The cornice I understand what you mean and looking back at your comparison on your thread with the Bill Bedford ones I can see where it needs to go.

The solebars and roof lights I can live with. However the ducket won't do will it. Its far too sticky outty at the bottom.
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by jwealleans »

I think I either narrowed the casting or widened the hole so I could shove mine further in, as it were. I didn't fancy remaking the beading.

I use the LNWR cast rooflights from 51L, through extreme laziness.
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Atlantic 3279
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by Atlantic 3279 »

I'd forgotten (thankfully) about the excessive projection of the duckets as supplied in these kits. At least one of my "thoroughly soldered up" finished models is forever blighted by that feature, unless I'm forced by other considerations to alter it and to risk having to do a full re-application of livery and weathering...
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Dave S
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Re: My Workbench - Potters Bar and South Mimms

Post by Dave S »

I trimmed some of Dans down when I built them but for my own I etched the ducket to try and make it slender like the real thing.
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