Some final thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.