Paul's workbench

[Clock O' the North]

Hello

That V4 is looking so good. It will be interesting to see that compared with maybe the other V type locomotives . Either way it looks very good.

Thanks, Lachlan

[earlswood nob]

G'day all
An interesting thread as I have an ABS V4 in my roundtuit pile, but I have so many locos/projects in that pile, that I will probably never get them finished.
I think it was a lovely looking loco.

Earlswood nob

[nzpaul]

Hi All
Work on the V4 has progressed to the point of almost done. I've lined the tender, using the bow pen, and added pressfix transfers for lettering. I've also finished adding the handrails and some other bits n pieces. I'm going to have to get hold of some proper Doncaster works plates as they are quite prominent in photos of the real thing. I spent a bit of time painting the interior of the cab, I've no idea if its accurate but it was a bit of fun. Not much left to do, crew in the cab, coal in the tender, nameplates and a coat of varnish should finish the job. I have discovered that as it is, the cab fall plate fouls the tender on even broad curves so that will require modification, but it runs well. I'm going to try one of the Hatton's £10 decoders in this one, it should sort out if they are any good or not.

Cheers
Paul

[nzpaul]

Hi All
the V4 is now done, I'm pretty pleased with it, complete with its slightly amusing name (my 8 year old son thinks it's hilarious). After the second coat of clear varnish the finish has become very glossy, a little like the finish of Ace 0 gauge trains, a bit toy like perhaps but it makes the green very rich, I'm not sure I want to do any weathering on it. The Hattons decoder has been wired in and will occupy space in the top of the fire box, I've taken care to keep the wiring tidy to avoid any short circuits.
I've posed it with a couple of older relatives to show how it stacks up size-wise. The impression I had from what little has been written about them was that the V4 was a really small loco, not quite true if this model is accurate. I can see how the real thing could have had superior performance to B1, Black 5 or Hall but we'll never know unless someone builds one I guess. I wouldn't want to be the person with the final say if the A1SLT's next project comes down to a choice between K3 and V4, personally I'd be happy either way. The V4 is a much prettier (for want of a better word) loco but the K3 is perhaps more significant as a design that did good work but has become extinct.
I've really enjoyed finishing this model, I think I started building it about 8 years ago. I have some more coaches to work on now but I'll be getting into another loco kit soon.

Cheers
Paul

[nzpaul]

Hi All
My next effort on the loco front is to convert the Hornby Railroad D49/2 to a part 1 engine. So far I've removed most of the unwanted detail from the boiler including outside steam pipes and what I think is supposed to be control rods for the pseudo cam valve gear. Added to the running plate are the boxes that enclose the top of the expansion link. The cylinders on the model are awful but I've cut some valve guides off an old tender drive A1 cylinder set and done what I can to make the D49 cylinders look a little more acceptable. I've also changed the wheels to a set from a Railroad "FS" mostly to get rid of the traction tyres, but the 20 spoke wheels make quite a difference to the appearance, even at this early stage. I'm Planning to finish it as 2755 "Berkshire", one of a quartet based at Carlisle in the mid 30's, not that the location is particularly relevant but I've got an excellent picture of it saved on the PC.

[nzpaul]

Hi All
I thought I'd try painting the D49 using acrylic paints, just for the sake of experiment, I tried to find a test pot of house paint to match the Phoenix shade of Doncaster green but although I've got some that are fairly close, none have hit the nail on the head. So I've given the Humbrol Apple Green a go and it's turned out ok. Weather or not I ever use acrylic for airbrushing again is undecided as although it's easier to clean up using water, it's an absolute pain to get flowing through the brush, only the Paasche brush with the largest nozzle fitted could shift the stuff, and the coverage of the paint was rubbish compared to enamels so con's out weigh the pro's. Boiler bands lined with presfix transfers and all other lines applied with a bow pen.
The b&w photo of "Berkshire" I have shows a square panel lined on the cylinders, suggesting that the panel inside should be green, can anyone confirm that this would be the case?

Cheers
Paul

[James Harrison]

Very nice!

I also use the Humbrol Apple Green and, like you, have found the covering power to be abysmal. What I've taken to doing (and I've had very good results with it) is to put down two coats of Revell 'Leaf Green' first (the colours isn't exactly correct but it has a very good coverage) and then put a couple of coats of the Humbrol over it.

[jwealleans]

If the loco was painted at Darlington then there would be a green patch on the cylinders surrounded by white/black/white lining. Doncaster painted them black, usually with two vertical red lines.

[nzpaul]

Thanks guys.
The Humbrol over another "close but not quite" green is exactly how I dealt with this, I think I'll go back to the Enamels, toxicity and all. I'll have to dive into the green bibles I think, Darlington built them so I guess the green panel should be present on the cylinders. If nobody knows for sure I suppose I'll get away with it, I'm 12000 miles away from anyone who might get offended if I'm wrong as well.

Cheers
Paul

[nzpaul]

Hi All
A little progress on the D49 over the weekend. I've added some brakes to the loco chassis using B1 parts from the Mainly Trains brake gear fret, I'm hoping it will go some way to filling the vacant airspace behind the cylinders and add some visual weight to the front of the loco.
I've continued mucking about with paints trying to find a descent apple green and I've found a Resene (local trade supplier) colour called clover that is very close to the Railmatch version of Doncaster green, I've sprayed an old corridor tender top and giving it a day to dry properly and see how it works out, I'm going to the trouble as it has become very expensive to get Precision paints out of the UK thanks to Royal Mail policy.

Cheers
Paul

[nzpaul]

Hi All
After a few distractions with a P2 among other things, I've made a move toward putting the D49 back together. I've had a go at lining the driving wheels with a 000 brush, it puts a line on alright but another method will need to be found to achieve a good result. It has it's numerical identity now so just the nameplates to fit for it to become Berkshire. The loco will require a serious weight gain program as now that the traction tires are gone it's a bit slippy, although it looks like it will be a very smooth runner when done. There's still a bit of work left to do but, no hurry, so I'll plug away and post a picture when finished.

Cheers
Paul

[nzpaul]

Hi All
As promised, some pictures of the D49 completed. I think I've managed to make an improvement on the rather plain original. The loco weight is now up to about 260 grams which is still a bit lighter the a Bachmann D11, so I'm not expecting miracles as far as haulage capacity goes but it should be adequate for the trains I have in mind for it. I still haven't solved the problem of lining the wheels, so I'm hoping that one of the expert builders/painters might share some good ideas at some stage (I'm watching a particular 2-8-2 and Atlantic build with fingers crossed...hint hint).
Modelling time has been a bit scarce lately due to me being a member of a 5 piece band that has become quite busy in the last few months and we're just getting into busy season. There's still a few projects on the horizon, some choppy upy coach conversions using Graeme King's resin clerestory roofs, a GEM Glen, Mainly Trains chassis for a J52, SE Finecast W1 and K3 and another Comet + Hornby A3, I'd better hurry up with the W1 or Hornby might beat me to it. If I manage to do anything worth sharing I'll be back.

Cheers
Paul

[mick b]

You can swop the drivers and bogie wheels for the lined Hornby A3 versions without any problem. The only downside is that you lose the traction tyres. Mine still manages 4 suburbans before wheelslip.

[nzpaul]

Hi all
Sorry Mick, haven't been on for a while to acknowledge your suggestion, the lined A3 wheels were one option I contemplated but I'd really like to figure out how to line the wheels myself so I'll keep trying.
I've been doing a little bit of modelling lately and made a start on the Mainly Trains J52 chassis, the etches are stamped with "Iain Rice" (who's he ?) so I was expecting good things, and although it's a pretty simple chassis I found it one of the better ones that I've tried. The tips in the instructions were very handy as well. It's a bit of a shame that Mainly Trains are winding up, I hope someone takes on these chassis kits as well as their brake etches a other bits. The photo shows progress after an hours work, give or take.

[Atlantic 3279]

Lining of the P2 wheels will come in due course....


That D49 would be a good candidate for an altered drawbar so that the rear of the loco carries the weight of the front of the tender. Put the first two axles of the tender on a soft springing arrangement with freedom to rise up, as well as down, to some degree, and stuff the front of the tender full of lead. It will pull then, with or without nasty traction tyres.