Atso's May/June 2018 Competition Entry

[Atso]

Hi all,

This is going to be thread for the May/June competition (once I've figured out what it is I'm going to be doing!).

[Atso]

Having given this a bit of thought, I think it would be best if my competition entry was an attempt to clear down some existing bits and pieces that need to be done.

Therefore, I'm not necessarily looking to complete everything within the timeframe, just get a few things closer to completion.

Test build my V1 3D print - this is destined to be available on my Shapeways shop but the test print is going to end up as 2911 as it was briefly allocated to Kings Cross in 1931. I've had the print for a while but things were held up by the need to include it in a photoshoot for a magazine article and its never progressed from the state it was in there!

Get the L1 and County CADs finished, printed and test built (again for the Shapeways shop but the prototypes will end up on a couple of exhibition layouts - not mine though as I don't have one!).

Resolve the final few niggles in the running of my D49 'Yorkshire' and use the remedies to finish off D49 'The Middleton' that has been being built for a friend for far too long!

See if I can scratch build some copper clad track as an experiment to ascertain if this would be viable in the fiddle yard of my Hadley Wood layout project.

If all that is going well, start scratch building the signal box for my Hadley Wood layout project (but when do things go that well?).

[Mountain]

Go for it!

[Atso]

Go for it!

Thanks Mountain, there is quite a list here but, as I said, the aim is to get some of these moving again and not necessarily finished.

So what is the initial starting point?



N gauge LNER V1 (on chassis) and V3 bodies. These were printed in FXD by Shapeways some time ago but were held back because of the need to have some models for a photoshoot at the back end of February for a couple of BRM articles. Unfortunately, the test builds haven't moved forward since and I really should get them done!

The V1 has already been rubbed down and is ready for fitting the handrails before painting starts. I like to fit the handrails as I generally find it easier to paint these as part of the body before lining (but not aways). The buffers and vacuum pipes will be fitted once I've painted and lined the model as (a) the buffer stocks are black (LNER livery) and (b) I need to draw a thin white line around the bufferbeam which is next to impossible to do once the buffers are in place.

The V3 isn't quite as critical at this stage as it shares the same internal details as the V1 and therefore if the V1 fits the donor chassis then so will the V3. The V1 has already had a minor alteration made to the frames above the front pony truck (just visible on the V3 in red primer). As designed these foul the pony wheels and so I've sanded the offending bit down to get clearance. This will be altered in the CAD and uploaded as a revised file to Shapeways.

The rear pony truck (actually a radial truck on the prototype) is also a 3D print from Shapeways, this time in White Strong and Flexible. For N gauge models, this is about the only application that I think that WSF is useful for. This also needs a little bit of a redesign to allow it to sit level but I've altered the print in picture accordingly. Both the axle holes and mounting point have been printed undersize and subsequently drilled out. SWF's quality isn't good enough to allow a running fit straight off the printer and it also allows me to make the parts slightly thinner than Shapeways will generally allow for printing.

[Mountain]

A really nice project.

[Atso]

Thank you Mountain,

I've fitted the handrails to the V1 today. It took a little long than I anticipated due to the 90 degree bend in the handrails above the tank. I made the mistake of fixing the first three handrails of the tank on each side first and then no end of fun trying to get the last one (complete with wire cut to size and shaped) into place. By comparison, the bunker handrail, one piece bending around each side and rear (normally my pet hate on locos like the N2) was nice, easy and fitted pretty much perfectly first try!



You may have noticed the holes in the running plate just behind the front buffer beam. These are to take lamp brackets while allowing them to be fixed to the back of the buffer beam for maximum strength; like the buffers and vacuum pipes, these will be fitted after the bulk of the painting and lining have been completed to make life a bit easier.

[PinkNosedPenguin]

Those hand rails are very neatly fitted - and the 3D printing looks good quality and nicely smooth (I expect you did a fair bit of rubbing down!). I had to remind myself this was N gauge - on my N gauge layout I often included a 20p piece for scale - just to remind those working in the larger scales just how small N gauge actually is

[TimberSurf]

I have just done some (rough as a badgers back end) hand rails for my comp entry, I thought that was really fiddly, I know Atso works in N, but until PNP reminded me, I had completely missed the fact again from the pic, dang!

[Atso]

Thanks for the kind words guys. The handrails on the rope of the tack really taxed my patience today so it is nice to read that others think they came out ok.

PNP, I've photographed some of my models with a coin to give an idea of the size before. This one is getting on for a year old now but, as it also uses a Farish N class chassis as a donor, gives an idea of the size of the V1. The coin is a little blurry but I assure you it is a ten pence piece.

[Atso]

Some more progress on the V1 this morning. First I got out the airbrush and painted the buffer beams with Tamiya flat red (I couldn't find my jar of gloss!). I prefer to do this first and then mask up as I generally find it easier to get good coverage over the grey primer. To do things the other way would require me to put down a coat of white and probably brush paint it as masking the fine lip of the running plate is difficult.



As per PNP's earlier suggestion, a two pence has been placed beside the locomotive for scale.

I then found the next correction to be put on the CAD, there is no representation of the smokebox lamp iron! I quickly dug out my Isinglass drawings and measured where this should be, converted this to N gauge and marked out where I would need to drill. The lamp iron is from an etch by N Brass, these are really rather useful but, as they fold up and are not long enough to insert from underneath, not what I will use for the irons above the buffer beam.



Once the Araldite had set, I masked up the buffer beams (using Tamiya masking tape well burnished down) and sprayed the locomotive using Tamiya black.



I do like using Tamiya paints for airbrush work as they dry sufficiently to mask up and put the next colour down in around 30 minutes. I'll let this harden up for a day or so before spraying a coat of Humbrol enamel gloss varnish over the top. The enamel coat will provide some additional protection to the acrylic base as, once hard, the bow pen will be coming out and lining can commence. For lining using a bow pen (or to use its correct name, a ruling pen) I always use gloss enamel paints on a gloss base. I find that these are easier to use and you can remove most accidents using a brush moistened (almost dry) in white spirit. If you try and line onto a matt base coat the paint is more likely to misbehave and it'll be impossible to completely remove errors.

[Lysander]

I shall watch your lining with interest!!!!

Brilliant work so far.

Tony

[Atso]

I shall watch your lining with interest!!!!

Brilliant work so far.

Tony

Thank you Tony,

Just remember for every bow pen line you see on the final model, it will likely have been drawn at least twice and had some cleaning up done using a fine brush moistened just a tiny bit with white spirit! I've also not touched my pen since around October last year so I'm really out of practice.

The body temporarily reunited with the chassis.

[Atso]

The V1 body has been sprayed with gloss enamel varnish (with no ill effects) in preparation for lining. While this has been hardening, I've turned my attention back to the County CAD.



All I can say is, it has been riveting stuff!

[TimberSurf]

All I can say is, it has been riveting stuff!

So we CAN call you a rivet counter!

[Atso]

So we CAN call you a rivet counter!

I guess I was asking for that!!!!

More progress on the County CAD, due to the complexity of the boiler some of the details took a little while to convince to render properly...