I've had these two locos for a while; "Whiting" longer than "Barog"; my conscience was pricked when I saw the Fourdees stand at NGN this month, and I have finally got down to completing them.
Whiting sits on a Kato 11-109 and there is plenty of space in the boiler space above the chassis for lead strip. I wanted to put a Greenwich coupling on the rear (this as a Print prior to Fourdees changing to NEM sockets on their models), which is the main reason for the delay in completion. I added a couple of crew figures.
This should be a good additon to the loco roster.
(https://i.imgur.com/7aKDkEn.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/FntEwME.jpg)
Cab interior
(https://i.imgur.com/M3HXaaL.jpg)
"Barog" fits on the Kato 057-210 Small England Chassis. I was intially taken with Rob Rossington's model - and, I must confess, with the name - so easily mistaken for Balrog !
(https://i.imgur.com/THU2ZMv.jpg)
Those large lamps at the front and rear were too much of a temptation - I decided to see if I could add LED lights.
I drilled 1mm holes in the backs of the lamps, and some "prospective" holes in the bodywork to see where the wires could be fed. There is very little room above the chassis inside the boiler - it could be done, but I had terrible trouble getting the wires to stick in place.
In the end I gave up and routed the wires from the front down the side of the smokebox door under the footplate, round the nearside cylinder and under the pipework on the near side to under the cab. There the wires are joine dup with the wires from the rear lamp (which just go straight down through the cab floor) to (in one lead) a 4k7 resistor, and to a couple of wires soldered to the pickups.
(https://i.imgur.com/ks9bTro.jpg)
wires down the front
(https://i.imgur.com/MKTNCUv.jpg)
..and under the body..
(https://i.imgur.com/7JFpOcC.jpg)
Lights test
I was pleased (and relieved) to see the lighting worked. I used warm white pre-wired nano LEDs which are superglued into the lamp reflectors. I used the transparent spectacle glasses provided with the kit, suitably sanded, as the glazing for the lamps, stuck in place with matt acrylic varnish.
I shot a brief video of the loco on my rolling road to demonstrate the directional lights..
{Rolling Road seems an appropriate name - the loco looks a bit drunk!}
My rolling road has that effect too.
... Rollin', rollin', rollin'. Keep them doggies movin'. Rawhide!
Looking good. I like the use of the mirror (or is it a time tunnel?) DC I take it? Diodes and resistors?
That's right. The LEDs are in parallel, back to back, with a 4k7 resistor in series. DC (of course )
Quote from: Hugh Norwood on March 28, 2025, 10:06That's right. The LEDs are in parallel, back to back, with a 4k7 resistor in series. DC (of course )
Thanks. Yes, of course. Doh! My brain wasn't in gear. They can each act as the reverse polarity overvoltage for each other.
What sort of LED - SMD? and what is the housing?
Quote from: Graeme Dunbar on March 28, 2025, 13:39What sort of LED - SMD? and what is the housing?
I think I got them from Layouts4U - they have a wide range of pre-wired (and pre-"resistored") nanoLEDs.
I have a Whiting kit and haven't worked up the courage to paint it yet. It's such a beautiful model I'm afraid I'll make a mess of it.
As long as you use decent paint and a decent brush you should be OK Paul.
Decent paint:
The range of Vallejo acrylic paints seem to be easy to use and water can be used to wash the brushes. Games workshop/Citadel/Warhammer are also very good. Tamiya are very good at not obscuring details but can be a bit awkward to get on by brush (sometimes with me they seem to form a thin skin on the model which the next brush stroke pulls off).
Enamel paints - Humbrol and the like that wash out in white spirit - can be a bit variable, sometimes going on well and drying with the finish you expect (matt usually) whilst another pot will be a bugger to get on and dry gloss despite it saying 'Matt' on the tin lid! Their acrylic paints seem to be better based on the few that I have.
Essentially as a beginner I'd suggest you go down the acrylic route.
Decent brushes:
In many respects you get what you pay for with brushes, so don't expect to get a decent finish with the plastic jobs found in kiddies painting sets or the 3" brush last used to paint the fence.
Go to an artists supply shop and look there. You probably don't need to go to the expense of (Kolinski) Sable as a good quality synthetic will do the job. As to sizes I'd suggest something small for the fine detail - 5/0 or smaller - and a bigger one for the rest - something in the range 0 to 3 - remembering that you can cover a big area with a small brush, but it will be hard to get into small areas with a bigger brush.
A few other points:
It's probably a good idea to give a 3d print a coat of primer. Most 'car body' primers and paints are designed to fill in small imperfections in the surface that we refer to a 'fine details'! What is needed is something that will not fill these. I use the spray cans from Citadel /Games Workshop / Warhammer - they do white, black and grey. These are designed for models, and I suspect other brands similarly designed for model use will also not fill in the details.
It may be worth giving the 3d print a quick clean. There are various techniques suggested but it may be best to stick with whatever Fourdees suggest in their instructions to avoid issues with deformation of the print. In fact given the fine details on their prints and the sometimes brittle nature of the resin they may suggest that cleaning is not necessary.
Take your time and don't rush the job. And above all relax.
Finally, if it doesn't go quite right you can paint over paint. If it goes really wrong you can probably dunk the model in pure Dettol to strip the paint off, but try not to soak it as leaving it dunked for too long (several hours or days) might soften the plastic of the print.
(Sorry for the thread drift Hugh)
Staying off topic...
I've had very good results with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer. It doesn't obscure detail and seems to encourage subsequent layers of acrylic to stick. I think it only comes in white.
I also use car body primer when I'm not too worried about slight loss of detail. It similarly encourages subsequent coats to stick, but, as Julien notes, it can obscure fine detail. This is what mu freight stock gets as a first coat, either grey or red oxide as appropriate. (I use Halfords own brand, but I don't think their retail empire stretches far enough west for you, Paul.)
For all the 3d printed stock I've used so far (Narrow Minded Railworks and Fourdees), I have got away with just going straight in with the primer with no prior cleaning. However, I am careful not to transfer too much finger grease onto the prints beforehand (nitrile gloves).
Ian
No worries! I have a few flat brushes I find useful in painting large areas such as tank sides. I use thinned enamels for locos and rolling stock as I cna't seem to get the hang of acrylics for large smooth areas.
I do use acrylics for figures.
* oh yes - the exception to the rule - the "gold" you see in the photos is Tamiya acrylic!
just a footnote. Here is a photo of the 4k7 resistor that limits the current through the LEDs, on the cab floor
(https://i.imgur.com/MIEDRaO.jpg)