Building the 2mm 08 shunter kit

Some final thoughts

2011-12-10T15:00:00.013Z

When I bought this kit it was the most expensive modelling purchase I'd made. I saw it as an investment that would help me learn new skills and show a loco-newbie what's needed to "make the wheels go round" in a practical way. I've learnt a huge amount, often by making mistakes, and appreciate the help people online have offered.

I appreciate the pleasure of buying a "ready-to-run" loco and watching it move along the track. But it's hard to convey how much more satisfying it is to see something I've built myself doing the same. And even though I'm conscious of all the inaccuracies I've introduced along the way, you really can't see most of them without a close look.

Having said that the lack of brakes was gnawing at me. Fortunately fitting them wasn't too tricky and they help conceal the bright metal flanges.

I hope to start another loco soon, this time with the people at Peco having done the hard work on the body, so I can concentrate on making fewer mistakes with the chassis.

Final details

2011-12-09T21:00:00.011Z

Railings

I had to re-drill the holes in the sides which were barely visible by now. Only problem I had was with one of the long 5-prong rails which I had to straighten out after failing to force it in. Once in place I secured them with some matte medium dropped into the holes with a fine paintbrush. Coming to the cab it's now clear that I've put the loco numbering too near the cab (in fact the numbers are too large), and the cab rail covers the nearest number. Rather than go back and reapply the numbering (I doubt I could do it as neatly again) I put the rail in at an angle.

For the front step rails I used 0.3mm brass, bent to a right-angle, painted and varnished, then cut to length and secured with superglue droplets.

marker lights

These and the rear bar are fixed with matte medium.

It was starting to look good now, there had to be another problem. And when I decided to unscrew the chassis to fit the brakes I found it was harder than I expected. Seems the motor is a very tight fit. So that can wait till I'm feeling up to it.

I will be lightly weathering it eventually, but not till the pleasure of the new has worn off.

Fixing the connecting rods

2011-12-07T21:00:00.004Z

I shortened the overlong pins with wire clippers, then with a sheet of slitted card over the rod I fixed the nuts with tiny blobs of superglue gel. I thought that I might have to remove the rods sometime in the future, and superglue could be dissolved without damaging anything else here.

The nuts are much thicker than the prototype, and it was only after I'd fitted them all that I realised how clumsy they look.

Perhaps I could find something more subtle sometime.

Fixing body to footplate

2011-12-06T21:00:00.003Z

First to add some more weight.

There's room behind the nose, and scraping away some of the excess resin under the roof allowed me to add some 1mm thick lead offcuts there.

I've used all-purpose adhesive to fix the lead. It seems to hold well but could be removed if necessary. The paper glued to the front weight is to stop any short-circuiting if the weight falls away and onto the motor terminals. The small pieces of brass on each side are not for weight, they're to stop the short half-axles falling out (as happened during testing).

There's also plenty of room in the lower part of the cab. I want to be able to see what I'm doing when I fix the cab to the footplate, so I'll add some weight there later.

Next using epoxy I joined cab to bonnet on a flat surface. Then I fixed this to the footplate while it was secured to the chassis. I don't think I should have done it that way. I haven't liked the look of the cab ever since I bent it inside out by mistake. Even so, I think I could have got it more square looking if I'd fixed the cab to the footplate first (as suggested in the instructions).

And this step produced a notable improvement in performance. Without the bonnet, the motor would rotate a few degrees one way then the other as it changed direction, and this could cause it to stall moving into reverse. Now that the bonnet holds the motor tightly in place, good behaviour in both directions.

Fixing the windows

2011-12-06T21:00:00.001Z

I found these pretty fiddly. They are cut from "Cobex" plastic sheet about 0.5mm wider than the window to fit into the recesses at the back, then secured with tiny dribbles of epoxy around the edges.

A few days later I started experimenting with matte medium, and I think that would have been a better way to go.

Adding the transfers

2011-12-04T21:00:00.006Z

I'd been painting and lettering some wagon kits while this project gathered dust, so at least I now had some ideas about how to approach this stage.

I started with two coats of Vallejo acrylic matt varnish - thinned with a little water, applied with a flat brush and allowed to dry horizontally it leaves a reasonable finish for such a low-tech method.

I found that Fox transfer numbers F603 and 2450 provided everything I intended to use - diagonal stripes for the ends, vertical stripes for the grilles, double arrows, numbers and warning flashes.

For the cab end I cut the wasp-stripes to width and coated the end with Micro-set before sliding the stripes into place. You get several transfers on the sheet. This was fortunate as the first one slid irretrievably out of control. Once dry I cut out the windows and trimmed the ends with my sharpest scalpel. Huge relief as I seal with matt varnish.

The front end would be the real challenge though. I couldn't see me doing this in one go so I tackled it in sections, cutting each piece to size. Again, it didn't work first time but was worth the persevering.

Coming to the side grilles, I realised that I'd have to pierce through the transfer to show the holes. I didn't want to do that for the yellow sections that were already correct so I only used the black parts of the stripes and fixed them individually (painting the stripes was out of the question with my unsteady hand). I used a broach to make the holes, then fixed the grilles.

Reviving the mojo

2011-12-04T21:00:00.001Z

I hope I'm not the only one who discusses things with themselves. These discussions usually end with me giving myself a reason not to do something, but I had a very productive one recently.

When I found out that a conversion chassis for the N gauge Peco Collett Goods was being developed, I thought what a great new project that would be. But then I reminded myself that I ought to finish that old project before starting a new one. And to be fair, I had to admit that I had a point. Particularly as I'd charted my progress so publicly. So we agreed that I could build a new loco once my 08 looked more like a shunter and less like a pile of bits in a box.

And I'm glad to report that putting those bits together wasn't too hard after all, and for the sake of completeness I'm posting some brief notes on the final stages.

Adding the couplings

2009-03-10T22:23:00.000Z

Yes, long time no post. The thought of making a mess on the last lap has been putting me off, but time to get a grip...

I've described my 3-link couplings elsewhere. I understand that 08's often had Instanter or 3-links hanging on the hooks, thereby almost hiding the screw couplings so to keep things simple I'm just going to use 3-links.

There's a lot of gubbins to avoid under a loco chassis, so I've made sure the back of the hooks are bent tight against the bufferbeams.

Painting the nose

2007-12-31T05:00:00.002Z

The nose is yellow at the front and sides, and black on top.

I'm soon thinking that I might have been wiser to paint this area before the blue sides, as these areas are flat and could have been masked off while I painted the sides afterwards.

Another thing I might have done earlier, is to make sure the flat areas really are flat with no excess resin.

resin flash on nose

clear tape used as mask

I want the area behind the grille to be more of a dirty brown than this, but I'll experiment with watercolour or weathering powder after I've varnished this.

After the time I've spent trying to get clean lines here it's disappointing to see the "close-ups". Having an unsteady hand, I suppose painting was never going to be my area of expertise. Now I need to be careful not to make things worse with the tricky-looking wasp-stripes.

Painting the cab

2007-12-18T05:00:00.000Z

This has taken far longer than I would have hoped, as past mistakes come haunting back.

I'd folded the cab inside-out then had to correct it. I'd strengthened the corners with epoxy for simplicity but part-way through painting one of the corners came apart. I decided to solder the joint this time, giving much greater strength but meaning I had to strip the paint and start again.

Part-way through painting and the same thing happened to the other epoxied joint, so this is now my third attempt. At least the cab feels stronger now, and I've learned a lesson about trying to cut (epoxy?) corners.

I'm using Railmatch 202 yellow, described as matching the yellow used from 1984 onwards, and it looks pretty much like photos of my prototype from the 1980's.

I'd got some "low tack" masking tape from Phoenix.

Using the tape to protect the finished side.

In the end I found I got a cleaner effect at the edges from clear sticky tape.

Hmm... suppose I should paint the inside too.

... and tidy up the window edges.

But these are minor details. I was concerned about getting clean lines where yellow meets blue, and (enlarged images aside) I feel I've achieved that.

Connecting the motor

2007-10-13T05:00:00.000+01:00

The motor will need to collect current from the rails via the wheels.

This aspect isn't illustrated in the instructions, presumably being considered standard procedure, but I now find myself wishing that I'd thought more about it earlier.

Because of the split-frame design, both sides of the chassis are live, so wires can in principle be led from any part of the chassis to the motor terminals.

In practice things like axles, gears and the motor itself get in the way and of course the wires should be unseen on the finished model. So I find myself with a tricky job soldering around wheels to access a small area on the top of the chassis, at the same time shielding the nearest wheel from flux and solder.

The left-hand wire is only a few mills from the wheel and the gear.

Now to connect the wires to the motor. Had to do this twice as first time the polarity was opposite to that on my converted Farish 08.

My "mid-air" soldering never looks tidy.

But it runs. The chassis trundles along comfortably at about 8-10 scale mph. Any slower and it's stop-start, but perhaps a bit of weight in the body will improve things.

Postscript

Thank you to those who showed interest in this blog at the recent 2mm Scale Association AGM. I was inspired as always by the general standard of modelling on show there, but staying on-topic I took the opportunity to see Mick’s prototype model 08 running. It ran smoother and more slowly than mine, so I came home determined to match it.

I’ve cleaned off the dirty oil and gunk from the gear train and axles, polished the wheels with fine wet-and-dry paper and now on my new, flatter test-track with KPC controller the chassis plus coupling rods runs pretty well down to about 1.7 scale mph.

I still feel there’s an issue with my gears, but it looks as though it’s not going to prevent the loco running reasonably well for a first attempt. Mick has made sure that his wheels can be removed if he needs to check the gears for example - definitely something I’ll try to do if I tackle another loco.

Painting the bonnet

2007-09-13T05:00:00.000+01:00

I start with a bit of practise on the spare bonnet sides, and soon realise that metal needs a different approach from resin - the paint moves across the surface easily, leaving obvious brushmarks in its wake.

But when I make the paint a bit thinner it flows off the brush and covers the metal almost by itself. The first coat looks uneven but I found that it’s better to leave it like that than to interfere as the paint starts to thicken quickly and soon shows any brushmarks. With three coats applied like this I got a reasonable finish on my test sides.

I also tried using marker pen as an undercoat (I’d seen it recommended as a primer for brass in an old 2mm Association magazine). I found that the first coat of paint didn’t flow and had to be worked on, but both methods produced a similar result in the end.

Eventually I feel ready to have a go for real.

After first coat

Well, some interesting effects. But for a uniform dark blue I expect to give it 3 or 4 thin coats. And doing each side and the top separately, and waiting for each to dry, this could take a while.

After the second coat had dried I found a couple of specks of something on the right-hand panels. Had to remove the paint from the panels and apply a fresh coat.

second coat

I’m not bothered about the colour as those panels will be a dusty brown eventually, but I do need to keep the surface smooth. I find a transparent plastic box (ex-food container) that I can lay over the model to protect it while the paint dries.

That's about 4 or 5 thin coats, and I'm happy enough. It's not dead smooth or totally uniform, but it looks good from 40cms, and certainly much better than I was expecting when I started.

Meanwhile my transfers have arrived and a quick test confirms that they don't look good applied to this matt paint. Think I'll need a gloss varnish.

From this point it would be good to know how I'm going to combine varnish, transfers and any weathering effects, so looks like a lot of research and experimenting before I take the next steps.

The roof ribs

2007-08-13T05:00:00.001+01:00

Just been reviewing what I still need to do - more than I thought, it turns out. But at least my worst fear - having to paint the ‘wasp stripes’ - evaporated when I was told that transfers are available for this. Thanks Mick :-)

Next task is to paint the body, but first something I overlooked earlier.

roof ribs

These slide into slots on the body once the tops are filed smooth.

Think I've got this right.

Painting the cab roof

2007-08-03T05:00:00.000+01:00

I’ve mentioned my fear of painting before (well, a general fear of screwing up, really) but I remember that the reason I bought this kit was to learn a few things, so... a deep breath and here goes.

I’m using Phoenix Precision dull blue with a small flat brush. I find that diluting 1 part thinners : 3 parts paint seems workable, in fact it takes to the resin quite nicely.

But it’s awkward to hold the cab roof between my fingers, and very soon specks of dust and fluff start accumulating on the wet paint.

Have to clean the paint off and start again, this time with the roof glued atop a “handle” of 10cm of styrene strip.

So much better this time.

Second coat

Three coats and the rivets are still visible, but I’m beginning to get a build-up of paint on one edge (see left side above). The resin texture is still visible in this photograph, but from viewing distance this looks smooth and a good representation of diesel blue, so I think I should quit while I’m ahead.

Photography

2007-07-28T05:00:00.000+01:00

I have had a request for some details of how I take my photographs.

I said before that I’m not a photography enthusiast. I’m happy if I can do what I need to do. So when I realized a couple of years ago that it was becoming difficult to get film for my 25-year-old Pentax 110 camera I started to think about digital photography. I noticed a camera on offer at a good price, with 3.1 Megapixels (not bad at the time), and with a “macro” setting for close-ups as I’d seen recommended on the 2mm Yahoo group.

It has reassuringly clunky moving parts and I’ve never had a problem with it to date. I’ve starting using 2500mAh batteries and with a spare set on charge find these quite adequate for my needs. My only gripe is that the optical zoom doesn’t work well with the macro setting so I can’t get good images of very small parts.

Other equipment is a tungsten lamp, a fluorescent lamp, plain white paper for background and a ball-and-socket mount that clips to the edge of my table.

I like to keep things simple so I always use the same settings - “macro” and “no flash”. I set the model on white paper to avoid any background distraction. I make sure it’s well-lit with the lamps (this involved some trial and error when I started). I use the clamp to keep the camera steady.

Focusing is the main concern. I use the auto-focus facility and sometimes find it focuses on the wrong area. I can usually force it by focusing on a solid object at the required distance, then removing it before taking the photo.

I take perhaps 5 or 6 shots in slightly different positions. I’ll choose the image that looks best on the computer screen, then with simple software (I use Goldberg for Mac) trim the image and if necessary resize it to less than 1000 pixels width as I like to have the whole image on the screen at once.

It does take time. But this blog would be pointless without illustrations. And for me a well-focused close-up image is a valuable tool - I often notice things on screen that I missed under the magnifying glass. OK that’s a double-edged sword, but you know what I mean.

Afterthought: I have been subscribing to Colin Marsden's Railway Photography magazine as I like looking at photographs of real railways. There are often comments about individual photographs. Although not directly relevant to the modeller, this seems to me a painless way of learning how to take better photographs.

Pipework under back buffers

2007-07-17T05:00:00.000+01:00

There is a thin pipe that runs underneath and parallel to the back bufferbeam. It's secured under the left buffer by some pipework like this

This casting lies between the inside and outside frames. The kit designer has suggested that it can be fitted in conjunction with the cylinders under the back bufferbeam, but my prototype doesn't have those cylinders.

I can't fit this as it stands, partly because of a blob of epoxy securing the left buffer and partly because I'd like it to be further left than it would naturally sit.

I've filed a lot off the left side and a little off the top so hopefully I can fit it to correspond with my photographs. I've also drilled a 0.3mm hole through the lowest part for the thin pipe.

The pipe bends upwards at both ends, so I'm making it in 2 parts. I've estimated the shape of the bend from photographs (approx one-third of the bufferbeam height).

I've fixed the casting onto the front of the chassis and glued wires into both ends of the hole.

The buffers

2007-07-07T05:00:00.000+01:00

The buffers supplied have shanks that extend through the bufferbeam next to the sideframes, and once again care is required to avoid contact.

turned brass buffers

They have an intermediate cylinder which doesn't seem to match the prototypes I've looked at. They also have a square endplate, although there is already a nice plate on the bufferbeams with the four corner bolts represented.

I can adapt them to an extent.

I've rounded the shanks to keep them clear of the inside of the frames. And by filing the square plate to a circular profile I can use the bufferbeam plate as intended. Still got that extra cylinder though - I could try a bit of butchery, but suspect I'd probably do more harm than good.

buffers fixed against etched plates

The front steps

2007-07-01T05:00:00.002+01:00

As with the rear steps, electrical isolation is an issue here - in fact more so as the bufferbeam also has to be joined this time. I've heard that better modellers than me have had difficulty here so I'll take a conservative approach.

But I also have a second problem. Test-fitting the steps against the footplate I find that the sandboxes are in the way. Ages ago I filed the sideframes short to get them to fit into the jig. Looking back at the photos it seems like a negligible amount, but perhaps this is payback time - the sandbox is going to look squashed between the steps and front axle. Ah well, nothing I can do now.

I'd already built these steps

I can have the steps in contact with the sideframe, or the footplate, or the bufferbeam. Isolation from all would be ideal but may be difficult. I decide to ensure isolation from the footplate and bufferbeam, so I start with a thin smear of epoxy on the back of the steps, along the sides that may otherwise touch those areas.

The steps have to be fitted below the top of the footplate to ensure that the bottom of the steps extends below the bufferbeam frame.

Yes, unfortunately the footplate does bend up at the end :-(

But the steps are isolated from everything :-)

Top of the steps filled with epoxy and made square with fine wet-and-dry.

The rear steps

2007-06-22T05:00:00.001+01:00

The steps seem to vary on the prototype. Some have a very defined "L" shape, others look much flatter. So far as I can tell my prototype had a pronounced L-shaped rung at the bottom and two flat steps.

rear steps etch

Note that the rungs are thicker on the left side. Folding this etch results in a set of very slightly L-shaped steps.

So I can't really use these. Think I may have to make some steps from scratch in styrene sheet, but decide to try a bit of butchery first. Separating the parts, I cut out the larger central steps and file the inside smooth.

With a little filed off the thick end, these will now go together the other way around.

Much closer to my prototype. Now I've only got a thin strip at the top to attach to the footplate, but this could work out well.

There is a potential problem fitting these steps, in that they could connect the metal overlay on top of the footplate with some part of the underside. This thin strip now won't make electrical contact with the footplate.

I've filed a gap in the footplate deep enough that the steps should lie flush with it (next time I'll do this before fitting the tanks).

top of the steps not touching the metal overlay.

Now I can use epoxy to carefully fill the gap.

Cruel in close-up, but reasonably pleasing I think from usual viewing distance.

Painting the wheels and sideframes

2007-06-12T05:00:00.001+01:00

Well, I haven't been looking forward to this (as I said), but I really need to paint the sides before I fix the steps.

My blackened chassis has got quite a lot of shiny metal showing through now. I think it'll be OK to leave it like that, but perhaps this means blackening isn't the way to go for the more visible areas.

I still like the Humbrol black I used earlier so I start with that on the wheels.

I've heard that these soft metal wheels are susceptible to rust so I polish the tyres and rims with wet-and-dry paper, grades 500 then 1000 and 1200.

Same colour on the sideframes, well thinned at first.

With a second coat and dry brushed with grey weathering powder it's looking better.

Already I can see some shiny metal showing through on the left axle-box. It's one of those things that always distracts me on a model, but that's going to happen where there are moving parts, I suppose. Wonder if you can get ready-coloured metals...?

The bright unpainted rims look very obvious here, but reluctantly I'm leaving them. If I find that the wheels don't need much cleaning once in use, I can revisit this.

The guard irons

2007-06-08T05:01:00.000+01:00

The extension at each end of the sideframes is the guard iron ("life guard").

front guard iron

From photographs they appear to bend inwards then back to approximately vertical.

rear iron

The tip should finish directly above the rail.

The tanks

2007-06-08T05:00:00.001+01:00

Like the sandboxes the front and rear tanks are cast in whitemetal.

front tanks

These are glued under the front of the chassis.

There is the risk of a "short" here because the tanks are very close to the metal rail under the bufferbeam. Fortunately they don't quite touch, and in any case only one of the tanks is in electrical contact with the chassis (by chance the other has been isolated by the epoxy).

I suppose the small hole on the front of the tank can be used to secure the pipework from the front bufferbeam, but connecting this would make it difficult to remove the chassis. One to think about.

rear tanks (smaller one goes on right side)

The pegs fit in holes on the outside frame. I had to open the holes to get these to fit.

left tank

right tank

rear cylinder etch and castings

The etch folds around the casting.

On some locos these appear quite prominently situated directly under the back bufferbeam, but in several photos of my prototype I can't identify them. So for now I'll leave them off.

The sandboxes

2007-05-28T05:00:00.000+01:00

The sandboxes are glued into the shaped recesses at front and back of the sideframes.

rear sandboxes

These are the same shape so it doesn't matter which side they go on.

front sand boxes

Took a bit of thought to make sure I got these the right way round.

You can see the small cap on the top of the sandbox here. In my over-enthusiasm I filed the top of the back boxes flat. I'll have to represent their caps with a couple of strips of something.

The bufferbeam stays

2007-05-24T05:00:00.000+01:00

These are the external joints where the sideframes meet the bufferbeams.

bufferbeam stay etch

On the prototype there is a plate and a pair of triangular stays at each of the 4 corners. The kit designer says that he omitted the stays on the front corners (from most angles they are hardly visible behind the front steps). Instead they are represented by etched flat lines on the front plates.

The intention is clearly to match the tabs with the slits in the plates and also in the sideframes. I filed so much off the tabs to make them fit that I decided I would be better gluing them together.

stays glued to rear plates

glued against back bufferbeam

plate with flat "stays" at front

The fixing screws

2007-05-22T05:00:00.000+01:00

The chassis is held to the main body with screws at each end.

I've already fitted the nuts on the outside frame assembly, now I assume I have to drill holes through the chassis to fix the pieces together.

I hadn't been thinking about that when I filled the areas in question with lead shot recently, so I have to remove most of it to drill the holes.

With the frame fitted onto the chassis I start by drilling through the nut from above, gradually increase the drill size, hoping this way to get the holes in exactly the right place. They have to be increased to about 1.3mm to comfortably fit the 12BA screws.

The first one ended up nearer one side, so I had to "move" the hole to the right by reaming with pressure on that side. Although the chassis now runs, it looks from the photo as though I'm not quite central yet.

I do better on the second hole.

body held with 2 screws

Now I find I've introduced a short-circuit. Turns out, when the screws are tightened, they push the PCB underneath the body assembly against the tabs on the top of the chassis.

I probably don't need the screws absolutely tight, but as a precaution I put some sticky tape over the tabs.

Finally I need to cut back one of the screws to keep it clear of the motor. I use a tip that I picked up from my 2mm colleagues recently.

I wound 2 nuts onto the screw before cutting it with pliers.

Once the rough end is filed off, the nuts preserve the thread as they are removed.

short screw clears motor terminals

Fitting the cranks

2007-05-14T05:00:00.000+01:00

I've done a little background reading on fitting cranks and quartering them, such as descriptions of how people align the cranks by eye then "fine tune" them by rotating one wheel fractionally relative to the others.

I'm not sure how relevant this is. Since I've already got the balance weights aligned and quartered (by eye) I want to try to glue the cranks onto the wheels using the connecting rod as a jig. However there is some play between the gears, ie each axle can rotate a few degrees relative to the others, so there is no absolute "correct" alignment, and I expect that for this reason I may end up enlarging the holes in the rods to allow for the play. Time will tell.

Still I must mention one tip that I came across - someone uses a set of "loose muffs" so they can slide the wheels on and off easily for testing during construction. Wish I'd thought of that a few months ago...

"Work slowly and carefully", the instructions advise. I'll check things at each stage by making sure the chassis still runs downhill when I tilt my test-track in both directions.

First I check the fit of the crankpins in the rods, and have to open some of the holes out slightly so that the pins will fit through perpendicular to the rod.

Now I fit the first crank on, opposite the balance weight, making sure the pin is perpendicular. Waiting for the epoxy to set I remember I should have cut back the pins before fitting them.

Managed to cut the pin with wire-cutters. I allowed enough for the coupling rod, the fixing washer and a little extra to work with.

Next the front crank. As the glue sets I make sure I can turn the wheels gently. So far so good.

I've filed the first 2 extended axles back to allow the coupling rod to turn freely.

Then the third crank. The clearances are tight, but once I've removed every scrap of excess glue from the axles it still coasts downhill.

For the other side, I cut back the extended axles and crankpins as much as possible before starting.

Then I fit the cranks as before, with the rod still in place on the other side.

Well I'm happy to say, it didn't go that badly. I still have to fit washers to the crankpins (see the left axle above), but till then I'll keep the rods in place with plastic wiring.

The marker lights

2007-05-06T05:00:00.000+01:00

These are fitted front and back above the bufferbeams, attached together by cable.

They're a two-part etch. There's enough material for twenty lights but I only need four, so I can experiment a bit.

Once cut down the middle the part-etches can be overlaid. The part with a slit goes underneath to make a hole for the connecting cable.

I make a couple and cut them off but find that even the tiny sliver of solder I've used is enough to fill in the holes.

They're about 1mm long and it's beyond me to remove the solder. Perhaps I should build them with the wire in place.

The thinnest wire to hand is overscale (0.25mm). I glue the other half-etch on top of it.

The wire is very obviously too thick.

I wasn't able to locate any 0.15mm piano wire, but I got some gauge 8 guitar wire (0.2mm).

Eventually I find a method that works for me. Some part-etches seem to be larger than others, so I start with the large ones.

Use the jigs to cut the wire to length. Solder it onto the lower half-etches. Allow enough solder to bring it level with the wire and file flat.

Fix the top halves with epoxy and trim to shape.

The lowest set here uses the smaller part-etches. I'm not sure which are nearer to scale but I think the larger ones look better, possibly because they make the overscale wire less obvious.

Finally, and this may be too ambitious for me, once fitted the front cable should extend round one side of the bonnet, down and across the steps. I've got several metres of soft brass wire to practice with.

Building the cab

2007-04-23T05:00:00.001+01:00

The cab structure is a combination of metal etch with resin roof.

wooden cab door (left) and steel door

cab window etch

Some locos had a frame around the cab window, but mine is plain glass.

The doors are soldered onto the etch for strength before removing it from the fret.

cab etch with doors

Bending the sides accurately is tricky, particularly avoiding the delicate windscreen wipers. Without a folding tool I’m using 2 pieces of brass bar to support the etch next to the folds. Eventually it goes wrong. One of the doors comes loose and the frame bends.

I’ve removed the door on the right.

With the etch flat on a piece of glass I push a brass bar across the bent side with increasing pressure. When flat I replace the door with epoxy glue.

Doesn't look too bad now. The roof isn't glued at this stage.

I’ve made some windows from 0.25mm clear styrene. I’d like to model one of the cab windows half-down but I’ll need some thinner material for that. In any case I won’t fit the windows until the cab’s painted.

** May 2007 **

Yes my friends, I folded the cab inside-out.

After unfolding it, reversing the doors and folding it back there were three casualties.

(1) The thin section at the top of the window developed a kink that I haven't been able to remove. I'll have to fill it and file it flat.

(2) One of the windscreen wipers came off, and since they were both too bent by now I decided to replace them with some thin wire.

They're under 3mm long, made from 0.1mm electrical wire. I've glued the arm on top of the wiper so that when fixed the arm will be clear of the glass. I'm working at the boundaries of my dexterity and patience here - really wish my hands were a bit steadier.

(3) One of the upright tabs came off, but I managed to solder it back.

For a few days I was too annoyed with myself to work on this. Feeling better now though, and ready to move on...

The bonnet sides

2007-04-19T05:00:00.000+01:00

left bonnet doors

I’m tempted by the look of the riveted bonnet doors (left), but for my choice of prototype I need the pressed steel doors with cut-out for the air compressor unit (below right).

right bonnet doors

Four options here. I need the pressed steel doors with cut-out for the vacuum exhauster (below right).

There are lots of handles on the bonnet sides.

bonnet handles etch

There’s a template for drilling the holes to locate the handles accurately.

I had to file the lower left-hand edge to allow it to lie with the four square holes matching the grille marks on the body. Securing it with crocodile clips I can drill 0.3mm holes through the body.

My new “archimedean” drill broke the first bit straight away. Obviously a skill I need to learn. Had more success with the bit held in a pin vice, twisting quickly and pressing gently, but one lapse of concentration and another bit snapped. Glad the good people at “Eileen’s Emporium” had advised me to buy their less-expensive bits.

holes drilled

There are 2 options for the bonnet side grille. I need the one with the thin wires inside.

And a cover at the base.

There's a cover on top of the left-hand fuel tank. I'll need the flat one.

The fuel tank cover and bonnet sides are fixed with epoxy. The side grille will need to be removed for painting. I've added one handle for effect - I’ll fit the others later to avoid damage.

Adding extra weight

2007-04-13T05:00:00.000+01:00

I've recently been looking at some of my old N-gauge locos. Armed with the confidence and knowledge I've gained through working on this kit I took apart my
temperamental Farish railcar . Happily I did manage to get it back on its wheels, and it was also interesting to look at a different method of chassis design at first hand.

Anyway, it convinced me that I need to get as much extra weight onto this loco as possible.

I recently bought this lead shot. I thought it might fill various gaps more effectively than a single thickness of lead sheet, and also I didn't fancy cutting it to size.

First I’d like to have some extra weight below the footplate, giving it a lower centre of gravity and hopefully more stability.

There are sections at each end of the chassis that could easily be used.

A simple styrene sheet base with dividing strip to maintain the "split frame"

I glue the shot one layer at a time.

I'd been advised to use PVA glue, but it didn't hold strongly enough so I'm using epoxy.

The boxes on the footplate are straightforward.

The motor itself is fairly heavy, but if I need it I'll also have room for extra weight around the terminals under the bonnet, and hopefully also in the cab to balance it out.

Fitting the wheels

2007-04-01T05:00:00.000+01:00

I've been thinking about how to fit the wheels for some time ("putting it off" might be more accurate). Seems that people have their own methods, and the instructions touch on this only briefly. I've looked at the design for a jig that fits wheels (and does the quartering) by tightening it a vice. But an Association member who builds his own locos successfully with relatively simple tools has described his method for fitting and quartering wheels which I plan to follow.

First file a chamfer on the end of each wheel axle

I'd already opened up the muffs with a 1.5mm drill. Now I need to drill a 1mm hole through the centre of the muff. This is to allow release of air as the tight-fitting axles are pushed in.

A final check that the chassis sides are still electrically separate, then I fit the first axle by turning each wheel by hand with gentle pressure inwards.

I've put a small washer on this axle to reduce sideways play.

I'd previously calculated that I needed a 0.45mm gap on each side between the wheels and chassis and now I need some spacers.

simple styrene sheet spacer

The key dimension is the distance between the back of the wheel rim and the chassis side. So the gap in the spacers has to be big enough to go around the small raised section visible around the axle, allowing the spacer to lie flat against the wheel. I cut some from 0.5mm thick styrene sheet.

Now with the spacers in place I can gently twist both wheels inwards until they are tight against the spacers. The first axle turns freely so I do the same with the central axle.

spacers on central axle

Now the gears are locking. Even though they had previously been running smoothly, I have to spend quite a while running the wheels along the test track by hand to loosen them up again.

Next to add the final axle, tighten the wheels to 8.5mm back-to-back (or just over) and turn the wheels so that the balance weights are aligned on both sides, with a quarter-turn difference between sides.

The coupling rods

2007-03-26T05:00:00.001+01:00

The good news here is that because I've chosen to fit gears to drive all the axles, I don't need to worry too much about getting the coupling rods and crankpin relationship spot-on.

coupling rod etch

That small piece was loose when I first opened the box. I've been worried about losing it ever since so it'll be good to get this done.

Soldered, filed, the holes opened with a broach then finished with wet-and-dry.

The pins are a good tight fit, but I may need to make the holes larger to get things running when I fit the cranks on the wheels.

** May 2007 **

When I examined my prototype more closely I realised there was some more work to be done. The overlays around the crankpins are circular, and very thin. I tried to represent this by filing the overlays thinner and rounding the edges as much as I could.

the lower rod here has been trimmed

Fitting the crankpins

2007-03-23T04:00:00.001Z

OK, I've changed my mind. Having thought a bit longer, I'm planning to fit the crankpins to the cranks, then fit the wheels then add the cranks.

Three reasons:

I'm finding it difficult to accurately fix the cranks parallel to the wheels.

I don't want to find that the cranks need to be adjusted further down the line.

I can make the crankpin joints stronger if I do them "on the bench".

And also, the instructions suggest doing it this way.

So, how to get the crankpins fixed perpendicular to the cranks? With the crank in a parallel clamp, I can hold the pin in the correct position with a finger while I solder (yes, the pin gets hot very quickly).

Then hold them in a drill chuck to tidy them up. I managed to get some solder around the sides of the cranks making the fold-over joint less obvious.

And now I can use the pins to help align the cranks on the wheels.

Wheel balance weights

2007-03-22T04:00:00.000Z

etch with 6 weights (larger weights for the central wheels)

Once removed from the etch these proved to be a test of patience. They're the size of a small fingernail clipping and have to be gripped tightly while the brass sprue is filed away (I use my small parallel clamp for tricky cases).

I fixed them with epoxy, and cleaned the excess off with fine wet-and-dry paper.

They look good, but I know I've got it wrong - the small weights are correct but I'm pretty sure the ends of the larger weights should lie mid-way between spokes not on the spokes as I've positioned them. I can't take them off without risking damage to the spokes so I'm stuck with them :-(

Worse things happen, but I'm disappointed - I think this is my first mistake that I haven't been able to correct.

** 28 March 2007 **

I hadn’t thought of trying to dissolve the glue but after seeing Nigel’s comment I checked on the 2mm Association Yahoo Group for suggestions. There were some posts suggesting using acetone for this.

Didn’t have any acetone handy, but thought I could try Plastic Weld (dichloromethane) which works by dissolving styrene.

This did make the glue soft enough to be scratched away with a pin-head, so I’ve now replaced the large weights in the correct position.

Checking out the cranks

2007-03-21T04:00:00.001Z

I've decided to go with Humbrol matt black for the wheels. I'd rather use paint than any strong chemicals to colour the wheels, as they could get onto the rims and damage the running surface.

Just a first coat - I'm thinking I should fit the wheels before the second coat. But so far it looks quite pleasing.

I need to fit crankpins to the cranks and the cranks to the wheels. Opinion seems to be divided about what should be done before fitting the wheels and what after. The crankpins are so delicate, it seems to make sense to fit the wheels before adding them, but no harm in doing a "dry run" first to see what it all looks like.

crank etch

soldered and trimmed

As can be seen I had trouble getting a smooth edge on the cranks. Perhaps more solder would have helped fill those gaps?

trial fitting of cranks

There's plenty of room on the extended axle for the crank. Should it be close to the wheel or at the outer end of the axle?

With the wheels pushed closely together in the underframe, it looks as though there is still room for the crank well down the axle. Probably best to allow some margin for error though, so I'll put the cranks part-way down.

with a crankpin

These are a very generous length. I'm not sure exactly when I'll have to trim them, but even if I cut them short now, they'll still get in the way when I'm fitting the wheels onto the muffs.

Meanwhile I've realised, having painted the wheels, that I've forgotten to fit the balance weights.

Best plan now seems to be, to fit cranks and balance weights, re-do the paintwork, fit the wheels, get the quartering as good as possible by eye then add the crankpins and finalise the quartering.

Some chassis adjustments

2007-03-19T04:00:00.000Z

There's a few things I need to tidy up.

When I fitted the rear spacer on the chassis I made it quite short. Now I'm thinking it may be useful to have it a bit longer, to give support to any coupling I may want to fit.

Extra spacer glued on

I haven't decided on a coupling system as such, but I will certainly want a coupling hook which I'll be able to secure on the inside with this extra spacer.

One thing that's been bothering me, is that the muff on one of my stub axles is short and moves from one side to the other when the gears change direction. It doesn't appear to affect anything, it's just annoying. I've been looking for some suitable washers for a while, but eventually find something in my "might be useful someday" box.

I think these nuts came with the Peco N-gauge wagon kits. Inside diameter is pretty near perfect for my axle steel, I just need to file one to rather less that half its width.

Works well. I could do some even thinner ones for the other muffs, but with a big model railway exhibition coming up I'll see if I can get anything there first.

Now to blacken the chassis sides (again).

I think only the lower part will be visible to any extent. I just slapped some more blackening liquid on the existing surface, taking care to avoid the spur axles. I think it's produced an interesting effect - messy black in a slightly uneven way.

Thinking about painting

2007-03-11T05:00:00.000Z

I’m now reaching the point when I need to start putting the various parts together. But some parts would be better painted first, which is giving me a headache at the moment.

Of all my modelling skills, such as they are, painting is probably the weakest. I don’t want to spoil my lovely model with poor paintwork, but looking at the “wasp stripes” on the loco ends is quite dispiriting - I know I couldn’t do that justice with my current level of skill.

Photo: Paul Appleby in Rail Photo Archive

There are also large flat areas on the sides and having just practiced with my best paintbrush, some enamel paint and an old piece of brass, I’m not sure I can even do a flat surface free of brush marks.

I’m considering three options:

1) Finish as much of the work as possible while I wait for inspiration (current plan)

2) Pay someone to do a proper job (sounds good, but might be complicated)

3) Complete it unpainted, with key parts removable for painting at a later date

I’m completely undecided over this at present, but there is some good news. Almost everything below the footplate is shades of dirty black, and my chassis, even after ten weeks of manhandling still has some of the original blackened areas. Once the wheels are on I wouldn’t expect this area to get that sort of treatment so I’m going to blacken the chassis again then put the wheels and coupling rods on. This way I can put off any decision for another few weeks.

Meanwhile I need to practice my brushwork, experiment with masking tape, and develop an idea for a stripe-painting jig.

The footplate overlay

2007-03-06T05:00:00.000Z

The footplate overlay etch has to be secured onto the underframe. It must remain flat for a quality result, I’m told. A bad start when I cut it from the etch and it springs into a banana-shape.

There are holes for screws at each end to secure it to the chassis. My kit included 10BA screws but I’d ordered some 12BA as these were recommended by others building this kit.

Think my best chance of a secure join is a generous portion of Araldite with the screws locating it in place. Once set I check that the sections are still electrically isolated, then have to file away the excess glue squirting out the sides.

I’d filed the PCB footplate side smooth earlier, but now I look again there are a couple of places still looking a bit uneven. I fill these with a smear of superglue and file away when set.

The photo shows that the edge is still not as smooth as I’d like. This will be very obvious on the finished model, so I give it a few strokes of fine wet and dry paper. This photo also shows a gap where the PCB footplate is shorter than the etch. I need to make up the front steps to check the correct length.

Laying the steps in place, turns out the clearances are very tight here. I have to file the footplate back to make room for the steps.

The steps shouldn't protrude forwards beyond the front bufferbeam. I've filed the footplate right back so the steps will be in contact with the front sandboxes (to fit in those recesses on the side frames).

Finally the nuts have to be soldered over the holes in the overlay. Wanted to be sure I got this exactly right so I tried to solder around the outside of the nut with the screw already through it. Hopeless - as I half-expected, I soldered the screw onto the nut. Found it much easier with quick-setting glue. I hadn't really used this stuff in the past, but I'm definitely getting to like it.

Getting the motor working 2

2007-03-01T05:00:00.000Z

Some good progress in this area since last month's post.

I took off the wormwheel and cleaned thoroughly between the teeth with a glass-fibre brush, particularly what appeared to be the problem area. Still not smooth running, but an improvement.

More running-in and more lubrication continued to help.

Then I did what I should have done earlier - soldered the electrical leads to the motor terminals. With the wires supported to relieve pressure on the motor this is a very noticeable improvement. Perhaps the slight movements of the motor were causing momentary power loss from my loops of wire around the terminals.

Following up a comment on the previous post, I wired up my cheap multimeter to test the current. After some teething trouble (I'd never used it as an ammeter before), I found that the needle flickers at the "stiff" points. But this depends on the position of the motor - when it's unscrewed a quarter-turn, the flicker is more like a gentle sway. I'll have to devise a way of ensuring that the motor stays in this position once the body is fitted.

At the slowest speed without stalling, the driving wheel axles now make one revolution in over a minute in either direction.

Meanwhile I've bought a new controller - a Kent Panel Controls KFS/FC. It's fitted with a switch to turn feedback on or to a minimum. With feedback on minimum, at the lowest voltage the driving axles make one revolution in about 90 seconds, at a fairly constant 1.5mA. And at increasing speeds, the current rises to around 3-4mA.

Of course I still have to add wheels and coupling rods, but for now this seems as good as I can hope for.

On the footplate

2007-02-23T05:00:00.000Z

Armed with photos of 08801 I can select the etches to represent the various boxes on the footplate.

On the left side I want a vacuum exhauster, battery box then compressor box nearest the cab.

The battery box should be the short version (lower).

On the right side there's a vacuum exhauster and a battery box.

My loco has different-sized grilles on the vac exhauster (lower). I'm wondering why there's an extra panel with these grilles till I look back at my photos. Sure enough, this version of the vac exhauster sticks out beyond the footplate. Nice one.

At first I tried to solder the parts together, but couldn't work out how to keep the sloping tops in place. Found it easier to join the parts with "Tacky Wax" then add a drop of superglue to secure the joints. The facings were then stuck on with quick-setting Araldite.

The 5 caps on the vacuum exhauster look as though they fold over into place, but when I tried it was a bit tricky to get them all aligned at the same time. So I took the long road, cutting them off and filing to shape. Then starting from the centre I glued them on, separating each with 0.4mm rod. I had to wait for each to set, so I could clear the glue from the inside edges before fixing the next.

I did one flat (left) and the other already made up (right, not yet cleaned up). Not much difference either way, for me. It was very tedious, and on reflection I wish I'd persevered trying to align them on the etch.

Anyway at this point I was renewed by a picture of the finished article on the 2mm Association North East Area group blog

The last thing was to fold up the steps and glue onto the insides of the vacuum exhausters.

Eventually the boxes will be secured onto the footplate and firmly against the body side, but I think I may be better not fixing them until later. In particular I want to get the loco running so I'll know how much lead weight to put inside these boxes.

08s on the web

2007-02-07T05:00:00.000Z

The instructions are now telling me that I have to make some decisions depending on which specific loco I'm modelling, so I need to confess - I haven't decided yet.

My other loco (also an 08) is in 1960's green, so I want something a bit more recent (ie blue). This will allow me to run some of my 80's N-gauge wagons waiting to be converted to 2mm scale.

The instructions give the following points to be researched for a chosen prototype:

1) is there a vacuum exhauster on the right side?
1a) if so, identify side panels
2) is there an air brake compressor cabinet on the left side?
3) bonnet doors - riveted or pressed steel?
4) type of bonnet front grilles, and whether lower cover present
5) position of front and rear marker lights
6) whether ladders around front bonnet (early locos)
7) wooden or pressed cab doors

In short I'll need photographs clearly showing both sides and both ends (preferably taken around the same time) of my chosen loco.

Not being a photographer, I haven't got any locomotive photos of my own, but fortunately these days many people are happy to share their collections on the web.

I'm looking for photos of locos as they were at the time - showing clearly all livery details, and of course the grime that I'll need to represent. So Preservation Society sites don't count. To my mind, these locos don't look right if they're kept too clean.

some useful sites

I found Rail Photo Archive a good place to start. It's the most comprehensive of the ones I know, and you can search for your favoured time, livery or location.

There are also photographs of a large number of locos (and some related stuff - he appears to be an ex-worker at Cardiff Canton depot) on Martin Bray's site. In particular his 08 / 09 gallery includes a photo of many 08's, together with date and place taken, from the 70's onwards.

Graham Turner's Rail Blue site has additional information on many of the photographs, dated around the 70's to early 80's.

Colin Marsden's books are mentioned in the instructions. He also has a website therailwaycentre.com with some technical information.

Mark Shipman has a section on 08s from the 80's onwards.

Comparing these photographs against my Motive Power Pocket Book (1992) suggests that the air brake compressor cabinet is present on the left side for locos with dual (air and vacuum) brakes, but not for those with air brakes only.

Railfaneurope has a gallery of shunter pictures from various contributors, mostly from the 90's onwards.

Dazza has 08s from the 90's onward.

Justin Buckley, Dave Swan and The Bufferstops all have small selections of recent 08 pictures.

Robert McCulloch has some Scottish-based photos.

Colin Birch has 08 and 09 sections, unfortunately not all the photographs are dated.

Andy Small has some nice photographs of 08s at work "in the landscape" but by their nature they're not the best to establish detail.

Locoscene takes some time to browse, but if you know what you're looking for just log in as "guest" then type the loco number in the "find loco" box.

And BR Diesel Web has some downloadable sound clips of 08s in the "shunters" section.

Far from having no photos to model from, now I'm spoilt for choice. Eventually decide to go for 08801 as I found several clear images from the 80's, but also because they were taken around Penzance in Cornwall. I once spent a happy afternoon there around 1971 just watching the trains from behind the wall, thinking grand thoughts about modelling the station. This could be my first small step towards that dream...

The footplate

2007-02-03T05:00:00.001Z

First I'll need a jig

This will hold the sideframes, bufferbeams and footplate in place.

Plan view from underneath the footplate.

This shows how, when the bufferbeams and outside frames are soldered on, the gaps will divide the underside into 4 electrically isolated sections.

The underside must also be isolated from the top side, hence the need to file back the PCB from the edge of the bufferbeams.

The instructions say the bufferbeams should be “centralised on the footplate, flush with the top surface, and vertical.

With a steel square clamped to my board and a line drawn perpendicular, to it, I can position the bufferbeam then hold the footplate firmly against it with a cocktail stick while I solder.

The angles are OK, and the isolation gaps all correspond. But it's too long for the jig. I take a bufferbeam off, file the footplate back and solder the bufferbeam back on. Now it fits the jig perfectly, but the sideframes won't fit inside. I file a fraction off the sideframes and rather more from the inside edges of the bufferbeam until it all goes together.

bufferbeam inside edges reduced

Now the footplate fits over the sideframes in the jig.

There's only a small area of footplate between the frame and the isolating gap, so soldering will be tricky. This shows one of the easier corners.

Managed to solder three corners together, but the gap was too close on this one, so I had to slide some solder underneath the frame near the axlebox.

Not sure why the gaps have to be so close to the frames, but at least its done, and with all the sections isolated.

Only needs wheels and a body.

Building the bufferbeams

2007-01-31T05:00:00.001Z

bufferbeams, bufferbeam overlays and thin PCB sheet

The overlays are soldered onto the bufferbeams on one side

and PCB soldered onto the other side then filed to fit.

Using PCB means that the bufferbeam insides are electrically isolated from the beams on the outside.

These gaps ensure that the sideframes can be joined to the ends of the bufferbeams without being electrically connected.

A fraction of the copper coating has been filed from the bottom of the PCB to ensure isolation during a later phase of construction.

Building the axle boxes

2007-01-24T05:00:00.000Z

These are provided ready-spaced, so layers can be built up while still on the fret.

First layer soldered onto the outside frame.

I use solder paint between the layers. With everything aligned, a soldering iron pressed on top of the layer makes the joint firm.

Any excess solder is removed with a glass-fibre brush.

Getting the motor working

2007-01-20T05:00:00.000Z

I know the motor runs on its own, and I know the gears turn - now I have to get them working together.

Optimistically I start the motor with all 6 axles in place. Not a flicker. Turn the power up a little... still nothing.

I'll have to take this slowly. Removing the wheel axles leaves just the worm and worm wheel in contact. The motor turns hesitantly in one direction then stops, still nothing in the other direction. With the power on low, I help the motor through the sticky patches by pulling one side of the worm down with pressure from a pair of tweezers. Soon it's turning under its own power. Still not smooth, but a start.

But the other direction is trickier. With the power off I try to turn the worm. It's very stiff in places but I manage to get it round. After about an hour, it's running both ways on its own. I'm hopeful that some "running in" will resolve the stickiness without me having to check the components.

At least when I add the 3 wheel muffs (still on makeshift axles) it all runs reasonably well, but still not smoothly.

Eventually decide to check the worm wheel axle. On close inspection there is some friction between the muff and axle bearing. I take it out, file the end of the muff and
glass-fibre brush the axle bearings. Do this a few times, with improvement each time. Perhaps that was the problem all along.

Some lubricating oil on the worm wheel also helped. As did unscrewing the motor a quarter-turn from its bearing, but now the motor had to be aligned accurately. I would need to take care when securing the motor to the frame spacer underneath.

Using strips of card and paper, I find that the worm wheel turns fastest with 0.4mm support. Stick this onto the spacers with double-sided tape as a temporary measure.

I don't want to add the wheels and coupling rods until I've got the gears moving as well as possible, so meanwhile I'm going to start on the underframe.

Fitting the stub axles

2007-01-17T05:00:00.000Z

The stub axles support the worm wheel and spur gears. To remain clear of the body they can only extend about 1mm outside the chassis side.

I feel that I'd like to be able to remove the axles should the need arise. By making them from axle steel and running a 1.5mm drill bit through the muff, they should be a loose fit.

Then with the muff in the chassis, I feed a 1.3mm drill bit through, then feed in the 2 stub axles, separated for electrical isolation by a slice of styrene.

3 stub axles in place

Others make stub axles from old 1.5mm drill shanks. I can see that this would be smoother than axle steel, perhaps worth trying at some point.

Fitting the motor

2007-01-15T05:00:00.000Z

First test fitting of the motor and mount.

Turning the worm with a pair of tweezers, at first I think it's not working, then realise the worm wheel is moving really slowly.

The precise angle of the motor doesn't seem to affect the running. I want the worm wheel to make contact with the middle of the worm, so I glue the shaft on (Araldite) leaving it about a millimetre short of the motor. This also means I can be sure no glue gets into the motor.

Next solder the mount to the chassis. Takes me quite some time to get it flat against the chassis side, and once done I find it tilts the motor slightly upwards.

I know there's little clearance under the resin body, so I decide to do it again, this time using crocodile clips to clamp everything in place.

Now it's horizontal.

The resin body is a tight fit over the motor. I've made sure the motor is central over the chassis, but I still need to file a little off the end of the motor shaft before the body will fit over it.

And finally, testing with power to the motor terminals - it runs smoothly and slowly in both directions. Feel my efforts have been rewarded.

Building the motor mount

2007-01-10T05:00:00.000Z

The kit is designed for 2 different motors. I've got the Maxon (similar to Faulhaber) coreless motor as it was offered with the kit.

motor mount etches

In years past I enjoyed taking my N gauge locos apart and watching the motor with the wires on the core spinning around between the magnets. As I understand it, a coreless motor has a magnet in the centre and a coil of wire spins around it. I'd like to open it up and have a look, but at £30 a time I can't really afford it. The ones I've seen in action appear to be beautiful slow runners - perfect for a shunter.

The bearings support the motor at one end and the shaft at the other.

Although I’ve soldered the low side with the tabs in the slots, it obstructs the hole. A little work with a semi-circular file and I'm ready to solder the bearings.

First attempt - the motor bearing isn't flat against the mount, and the joint has started to come apart.

I fold the end down, file away some of the side, correct the soldering and fold back up.

This looks better. I've probably weakened the structure by filing the end, but it should be easier to align the motor and shaft on the chassis.

Brakes - fixing rigging to the shoes

2007-01-07T05:00:00.000Z

As soon as I cut the rigging from the fret I realise that I should have opened the holes first. It's too flimsy to hold now so I clamp it and use the broach.

Next thing is to lay the rigging over the shoes. The instructions recommend using a piece of thin card to prevent the rigging fouling the wheels, but how thin should it be?

From photos of the prototype the clearance looks negligible but my model's axles will have some sideways movement so I'd better make enough allowance.

Decide it's time to do some calculations to understand exactly what I'm doing.

A member of the 2mm Scale Association has kindly pointed me to a diagram in our Yearbook which shows that the back-to-back (the distance between the insides of 2 wheels on an axle) should be 8.5mm. The total width of the chassis is 7.6mm, so there will be 0.9mm of space between wheels and chassis. So when I put the wheels on I'll need to make sure that there's 0.45mm space on each side.

I put the wheel axles muffs in the chassis and find the greatest movement is about 0.5mm.

So I'll also need to make sure that the muff is central along the axle, giving 0.25mm play either way. If I do that no wheel should ever be more than 0.7mm from the chassis.

Now I can see how this looks.

The shoes and rigging are held in place with wires in some balsa wood, as suggested in the instructions. This took me some time - must treat myself to a proper magnifier soon.

I’ve added some pieces of 0.7mm plastic strip under the wheels to represent the extreme of the wheel movement. The wheels still move freely, and I can see exactly how much clearance is needed.

Turns out some 0.3mm card fits very well, except for the central shoe that seems a bit wider. So removing the strips I use a sliver of card over the two end shoes, keeping the rigging flat with gentle pressure using a small brass rod while I'm soldering.

I tried to use as little solder as possible, but this backfired when I lifted the rigging off and one of the shoes fell off immediately. I re-do them all with a generous blob of solder.

Can't think of a good way to cut the wires really close to the rigging, so I just file them back slowly.

Feel that I’ve taken a long route to get here, but at least it looks reasonably good, and I’ve started to tackle some questions about the wheels and muffs.

Brakes - building the shoes

2007-01-05T05:00:00.000Z

Looks like this is where it starts to get fiddly. The brake shoes are held onto the rigging with pieces of wire. The whole thing hangs on the chassis, with the shoes around the wheels. Fortunately the rigging will be removable.

brake shoes (3 for each side)

brake shoe rigging

I open out the holes in the shoes with a broach then test with 0.3mm brass wire before cutting the shoes from the fret.

I try to cut close to the shoe, but there’s always some trimming to do with etched kits.

There are 3 small holes marked out in front of each axle. The lower 2 need to be drilled through to carry the shoes. Find that my newly-purchased 0.3mm drill bit is too small for my minidrill, so I use the tip of a larger broach till it breaks through, then open the holes out with a small broach till they’ll take the brass wire.

Don’t fancy folding the shoes accurately by hand. Conveniently my 1mm thick steel rule helps keep the angles square.

Suddenly notice that one of the shoes has gone missing, so I’m delighted to find that there are some spares on the fret.

Wires ready to be soldered to the shoe.

I've made both wires long enough to go right through the chassis, but they'll be cut back eventually.

A clamp holds the wires parallel while they’re soldered to the shoe.

Just a blob of solder inside the shoe. I need to keep one wire long to help fix to the rigging. Now to try the shoes in place around the wheels

I find that there's slight contact, so I need to file the back of the shoe just a fraction.

Now the wheels turn freely, I can worry about the rigging.

Blackening the chassis

2006-12-31T05:00:00.000Z

The underframe of the loco will obviously have to be a dirty oily colour when it’s done. I’m hoping I can get away without painting a lot of small delicate parts if I blacken them first.

I don’t think much of the chassis will eventually be visible, so this would be a good place to see how well it works.

I bought some Birchwood Casey Liquid Blue once, planning to reduce the shine on the top of my rails. Haven't got round to that yet, but have used it for chemical blackening. It’s strong stuff (used on rifle barrels, apparently), and needs to be washed off in water as soon as the required colour is reached. I paint a little on a spare part of etch, and it starts to colour after a few seconds.

They give instructions on how to prepare the surface with some products I don't have, so I use liquid flux and wash off after a minute or so.

the chassis prepared with flux

after blue-ing for 10 seconds

30 seconds

I'd say this was a good colour, but there were a few stubborn bits refusing to blacken.

60 seconds

Perhaps I didn't prepare those areas well enough.

Now with a small dab of lubricating oil smeared over.

This looks quite promising, but the black layer can come off. I'll leave one side oil-free and see how it looks after being handled for a couple of weeks.

Testing the gears

2006-12-17T02:00:00.000Z

When I read the instructions for this kit and found that there were several ways of putting the gears together my first thought was that I’d go for the simplest layout. But this would mean two of the axles being driven by the coupling rods, and since I’ve had problems with this before (my Farish conversion), I’m coming round to the idea of driving all the axles via gears.

The 18 tooth gears with muffs

The muffs turned out to vary in length from 5.95mm to 6.11mm. I decided to use the shortest one for the worm wheel, as by filing the inside of the corresponding axle bearings I could make the muff a perfect fit.

Worm wheel bearing

Wondering what effect this difference in lengths will make when the muffs are in place. Perhaps I should get some small washers to act as equalisers for the shorter muffs.

The gears can be pushed onto the muffs, but the hole through the muff is (deliberately) too small for the axles, and needs to be opened out until the axle will slide in tightly.

I want to put the gear wheels together on the chassis to check that it all runs freely, but I’m feeling a bit nervous - If I don’t open the holes enough it’ll be difficult to remove the axles. But if I open the holes too much the muffs may rotate on the axles.

Some smaller, say 1.4mm axle steel would be ideal to try the gears in the first place. I can’t find any rod of that size, but 1mm square rod should serve the same purpose.

Putting the gears in and spinning them round, I find they move smoothly in one direction, but get stuck going the opposite way. Trying the gears one by one, turns out one gear is brushing against the underside of the spacer tab. Think it may be because I’m using thin rod which allows more movement, but find the same thing with the axle steel.

I gently file around the outside of the gear teeth and also reduce the underside of the brass tab. Needed to remove quite a bit before the gearwheel turns freely.

Now the whole mechanism turns smoothly. Very satisfying.
[I subsequently decided that I must have bent the tab by more than a right-angle, so that it was below the intended level and hence interfered with the gearwheel. Would have been much easier to remedy if I'd checked before soldering the spacer on.]

underside view

from above

This shows how the shorter muffs can move along the axle, meaning the gears slop around a bit. Not enough to disengage, but a couple of slices of the right diameter plastic tube would fill those gaps neatly.

** January 2007 **

An alternative gear arrangement, in response to a possible difficulty with attaching the brake rigging.

I was concerned that wires coming through the chassis may interfere with the gears, but apparently that won't be a problem.

Preparing the wheels and gears

2006-12-04T02:00:00.000Z

Need to check the gears and wheels before they’re in place.

Under a magnifying glass it’s easy to see the small imperfections on the face of the rim and between the axles.

Well, I stroked a fine (no 4) file gently acrtoss the face of the wheel to rub down the small “blobs”, and cleaned between the spokes with a small cutting broach. It looked good under the magnifying glass, but the enlarged photo shows how rough it's left the wheel rim.

Rubbing with wet and dry paper (I had some P500 handy) restores the finish.

Digital close-up photographs can be cruel - now I have to rub down the other wheels and photograph them till they all look smooth.

The gear wheels looked pretty good. No imperfections that I could see, and nothing trapped between the teeth.

Fitting the frame spacers

2006-11-30T05:00:00.000Z

Now to join the sides with the spacer material.

There are some fold-down flaps on the chassis etch.

The spacer material is PCB strip with copper-plating on both sides. The recommended method is to cut parallel insulating gaps into the strip. I need to leave enough copper on the outside to be able to solder the strip onto the flaps on the brass sides. Tried a file first but a fine-toothed saw along a straight edge is much quicker. Has to be done on both sides of course to maintain electrical separation.

When I tried the strip in position I found that I had cut the gaps too close to the outside, so the flaps might cross the gaps and cause a short-circuit. That’s the last thing I wanted, so before soldering the strips on I enlarged the gaps . Quite generously...

Five horizontal strips in all. I soldered the 2 central strips onto the flaps, as it mentions in the instructions that they may obstruct the gears if fitted underneath.

And one vertical strip.

Fixing the axle bearings

2006-11-24T02:00:00.000Z

The lower row of holes in the chassis is for the 3 axles, the upper holes are for the various gear setups. Haven't decided how to do the gearing yet, so keeping my options open by soldering all the axle bearings. The holes are countersunk on the inside of each frame to hold the bearings comfortably.

outside (above) and inside view (below)

Hmm, a bit generous with the solder. I don't think this will be visible on the finished article, but decide to clean up the sides with a file anyway.

Cleaned the holes with a cutting broach, so the rods turn smoothly in all six positions.

The frame jig

2006-11-18T02:00:00.000Z

Time to make a start. I’ve read throught the instructions, and it looks like there may be some challenging times ahead, but the first bit looks easy enough.

A simple fold-up job.

Went together very crisply. But before soldering I checked that the chassis frames would fit. One of the slits had to be opened out slightly with a scalpel.

This jig will keep the 2 chassis frames in their correct position while they’re joined together.

This loco will have a "split-frame", ie the chassis is made of metal, but the two sides are electrically isolated. So this jig will keep them aligned while they're connected with non-conductive material. I’ve never made a loco, but I can imagine that without a jig, this would be a real headache.

Opening the box

2006-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

So I've just received my kit for a 2mm finescale "08" diesel shunter.

It's in a solid box with a 36-page illustrated instruction booklet and a CD with further illustrations.

It's beautifully presented and obviously superb quality, but I'm initially overwhelmed by the number of parts and the small size of many of them.

one of the frets

tiny (but not cheap) motor

more small parts

OK obviously I should have expected it, working in a small scale, but this is my first loco kit and perhaps it's the idea of building a loco as much as the kit itself that's daunting. (The "08" that appears elsewhere on pictures of my layout is a converted Farish model).

I've always felt as though there's some mystique about building a loco from scratch. I know some people feel similarly about building their own track but I never felt that. These two aspects are what many 2mm-ers believe puts potential modellers off this scale. Well I know making your own track is no big deal once you take the plunge, so I'm hoping that by getting this thing running I'll feel confident to tackle something else in future.