I bought Patrick nearly six years ago for the L&TR's 30 anniversary with the idea that a quick repaint was all he needed before going into service. However I soon decided that I wanted to fit a more suitable cab as well - and so he's been waiting ever since with just the very occasional bit of use to see if he still works! Yesterday I took a hacksaw to the cab. For good or bad, I'll let you know how it goes!
Now I totally agree that these garish yellow versions of the Roco diesel do indeed need a re-paint and a different cab and I would do the same if I had one. But I would not be surprised that because it looks so bad, was not popular at all and most have been re-painted that in 20 years time this version becomes a valuable collector
I bet you pulled the legs off spiders when you were little ;D ;D ;D
Must have been a very low bridge he went under !
Bob
Is that a snowplough in the background?
Quote from: B.Meldon on March 05, 2012, 13:35
I would not be surprised that because it looks so bad, was not popular at all and most have been re-painted that in 20 years time this version becomes a valuable collector
Quote from: B.Meldon on March 05, 2012, 13:35
Now I totally agree that these garish yellow versions of the Roco diesel do indeed need a re-paint and a different cab and I would do the same if I had one. But I would not be surprised that because it looks so bad, was not popular at all and most have been re-painted that in 20 years time this version becomes a valuable collector
I thought it was a snowplough. I look forward to hearing what you do to that at some point.
Patrik's new cab looks great, has a sort of Fowler feel to it.
Perhaps a single waste line strip would look good on the flat cab back, but that is just my opinion.
I have also seen others raise the level of the cab door on these locos to hide the motor a bit more. (Roco in their wisdom designed the chassis so that the top of the motor is higher than the cab door!)
Another way to further anglicise these locos it to add UK style buffer beams with out the steps and a different front (radiator) to the bonnet.
But this is all extra work that you may not wish to do and just changing the cab, adding proper handrails and giving the loco a more suitable paint job will do wonders for the appearance.
Brian Meldon
Starting to look like an attractive little engine. Hope it runs better than mine - it wobbles due to the sub-standard running gear.
Have you decided on a livery for it yet - I thought industrial yellow might be a good choice................. ;D :-*
Mick
PS I like the look of the new cab - it has re-kindled my previously moribund diesel bashing node
Very briefly, many thanks all for your encouraging thoughts - all taken on board I might add for serious consideration!
I may not manage a lot of progress in the next week although last night I was bending up new wire cab handrails.
Ahem...
You get to a point in a project when you think "have I done the right thing?"
That point wasn't, surprisingly, when I decapitated Patrik. However, I did start to wonder when I was drilling out the radiator!
I think I got away with it! The extremely fine woven brass mesh is well over 30 years old, was incredibly expensive and comes from the time when I was testing the tear resistance of polysulphides. I've only got a couple of square inches and I wish I'd had a few more offcuts!
As you'll see Brian, I've taken your suggestions on board! The strap across the backsheet and along the back end of the cab side comes next...
The angle of that last shot makes him look boss-eyed!!!javascript:void(0);
Wow! That fine woven brass mesh looks amazing David! As you say shame you have not go that much of it. I can see that this is going to turn out very nice indeed.
Brian Meldon
That is extremely fine mesh! :o
Looks very promising.
Quote from: Born-Again Modeller on March 06, 2012, 21:20
The angle of that last shot makes him look boss-eyed!!!javascript:void(0);
;D Didn't noticed that last night!
Quote from: B.Meldon on March 06, 2012, 21:31
Wow! That fine woven brass mesh looks amazing David! As you say shame you have not go that much of it. I can see that this is going to turn out very nice indeed.
Brian Meldon
Thanks Brian; I'm pleased with the way it's coming on. Yes, the mesh is indeed lovely stuff - I used it for radiator grills on the Buccabury Railcar.
Sadly I'm going to disappoint Mr T because the livery will probably not be a nice bright yellow! Thinking of something close to Dinorwic red, possibly weathered. (Red locos are outnumbered on the railway at the moment!)
A bit more work on Patrik this evening. The wire handrails have been fitted and as you can see, Brian's thoughts were correct; he looks a lot better with a strap across the cab backsheet (er - the loco, not Brian ;D).
And just for Brian, I've included a photo of the woven mesh against my rule with the 1mm graduations!
David
Just a thought but you may find the
I am seriously tempted to something similar to my Roco ("Paul" - nothing to do with my brother-in-law being a Paul).
Trouble is, I would definitely not be able to do as good a job cutting out thenew cab! (Tempted to investigate using card)
Very good point, Brian - and one which I wish I'd considered before I put the handrails on! however, I think I'll manage to sort it with some fine wet & dry, a Costa coffee stirrer and a bit of care! Incidentally, this is a really cruel photo - those handrails look awful as does the misalignment of the strapping on the corner until you realise that the strapping is only just over a millimetre wide! In fact when I reviewed the photo I rushed to adjust the strapping and then realised I couldn't see the problem on the loco!
Hugh - I'd sat use whatever material you feel most confident with because that's the one which will give the best results. All I'll add is that having got somewhere near the desired profile for cab lookouts it's easier to fettle them because styrene takes a file with better results.
All I did last night was to get a coat of cream paint above the waistline on the cab interior and investigate the possibility of attaching a radiator fan to the end of the worm shaft (no chance!!)
On the other hand, news for Tom is that I did spend some time glazing that rotary snowplough so I wasn't idle...
Quote from: Tigger on March 09, 2012, 12:40
On the other hand, news for Tom is that I did spend some time glazing that rotary snowplough so I wasn't idle...
Jolly good :) I had a rotary snowplough kit once, but sold it to Julien. I'm tempted to make a MickT style concentional plough for the HLR.
Look forward to more photos of Patrik.
I wonder if Julien's finished his or will I get there first... ;D ;D
Hmmm... ::)
Been a bit quiet on the Patrik front, basically because while several coats of paint are being applied there's not as much change to the appearance as there is during building. however, here's the latest. Livery is Precision Paints BR coach crimson with Precision weathered black for chassis and running plate, Humbrol black for the roof, Humbrol matt cream 71 for the cab interior above waist, Humbrol Matt red 60 mixed with a spot of matt black for the buffer beams and Precision track colour for the exhaust as it's a good approximation to well established rust. It took two undercoats and three top coats to cover that damned yellow plastic and still it's shining through in places! 'Fraid I've let myself down a bit with the brushed paint job but at least that's spurred me on to get a decent compressor for the airbrush (with which I painted 'Sir Theodore') before I do any paintwork to the Port Class. However, with the profile now established this is undoubtedly a Hunslet cab, wouldn't you say?
It's not instantly noticeable but I radiused the cut-outs in the corners of the buffer beams for a less Continental appearance. Some details still to add; the cab roof is still loose and there are spectacle glasses and lamp brackets to add, plus a driver to hide the motor. The name 'Patrik' came off easily with a glass fibre brush and he may not end up with a name (Edward 1st was tempting but there isn't room...) and may only bear the number 33 (being the 33rd loco on the L&TR books).
Not sure about the finish. Not gloss though. I'll usually finish in satin but I might go for matt instead. Thoughts?
Patrik looks very good, a nice adaptation of something that's often bashed.
I'd go for matt paint personally, and then maybe satin varnish. I never seem to get a finish I'm happy with using gloss or satin paint.
Quote from: invercloy on March 20, 2012, 23:22
Patrik looks very good, a nice adaptation of something that's often bashed.
I'd go for matt paint personally, and then maybe satin varnish. I never seem to get a finish I'm happy with using gloss or satin paint.
Exactly wot he said!
If you put on diluted satin varnish and then some gentle glass fibre rubbing here and there to show wear & tear, in addition to whatever normal weathering you may decide upon, I think you will get a suitable finish for a working class piece of motive power!
I look forward to seeing Patrik in the flesh, any chance of bringing it on a day out to Sparsholt?
Mick
You're both very kind and many thanks for your thoughts.
I'm probably going to go for a matt finish with a bit of weathering. I don't want to overdo the weathering but the loco does need to look suitable for the task of slate traffic. I just hope it doesn't seem too modern for 1952!
If I make it down to Sparsholt I'll try to remember to bring it with me. Sparsholt, rather unfortunately, always takes place on an inconvenient weekend for me.
Have you added the extra pick-ups on the centre axle, like you did with my 'IVO'? :-X
Quote from: Isaac W on March 22, 2012, 12:49
Have you added the extra pick-ups on the centre axle, like you did with my 'IVO'? :-X
In my experience in practical terms, including several experiments that we have done in the past, provided the wheels and the track are clean (as they always should be) and you have good track without any ridges kinks or bumps, then having central pickups on the Roco locos makes no significant improvement to the running of the locos.
None of my Roco HOe locos have got added pickups on the centre wheels and all run without any problems so it is just not worth the effort to fit them. But we also run 0-4-0 without any problems when others can not.
But I can not make any judgment if the wheels and the track are not kept clean or if your track has ridges or bumps in it.
By the way David I would also go for a matt finish with weathering on this loco.
Brian Meldon
Quote from: B.Meldon on March 22, 2012, 13:27
But I can not make any judgment if the ... track has ridges or bumps in it.
Sadly the L&TR suffers with it's 'joints' :( so there are several humps which made IVO http://www.buccabury.co.uk//ltr/ah07.jpg (http://www.buccabury.co.uk//ltr/ah07.jpg) stop, unless you used 'turbo power' and race across the various joints >:(.
Quote from: Isaac W on March 22, 2012, 14:12
Quote from: B.Meldon on March 22, 2012, 13:27
But I can not make any judgment if the ... track has ridges or bumps in it.
Sadly the L&TR suffers with it's 'joints' :so there are several humps which made IVO stop, unless you used 'turbo power' and race across the various joints.
Sad indeed, but unfortunatly common on 009 layouts. Perhaps a better approach would be to fix the joints? Or is the problem down to poor baseboard/trackbed design?
Brian Meldon
Quote from: B.Meldon on March 22, 2012, 15:20
Sad indeed, but unfortunatly common on 009 layouts. Perhaps a better approach would be to fix the joints? Or is the problem down to poor baseboard/trackbed design?
Brian Meldon
That would be for Tigger to sort. ??? ;D
(Ducks for cover) :-[
Looking good, David. Much better than the original!
Thanks Ted! I'm pleased with the look.
As for the centre axle Mr Watt, er - no! I looked at it and decided there wasn't room! I'd forgotten about 'IVO'. If I'm able to take a look at 'IVO' I might remember how I did it! I'm actually quite disappointed with Roco for not putting that rather major failing right with either of their locos.
Yes Brian, I admit it - as Isaac says the L&TR does indeed suffer from rough (rushed) trackbuilding at the outset and probably some degradation in and movement of the boards over the last 37 years! :( It would be for the best if I ripped bits of it up and replaced it but that would mean disrupting services and I just don't fancy doing that now I've finally got some enthusiasm back.
No 33 received its new name last night and its matt topcoat this evening (is it bad luck to change the lame of a loco or is that only ships?). Not too far to go now! I filed up five spectacle glasses last night ready for fitting!
Not quite finished but enough for a test run so here's the new diesel on a train of 16 loaded skips crossing the old drover's road on the first run on the layout - the first new loco I've finished for the railway for many a year and sporting a new name.
In a fashion similar to the Ashover, this is named after the three children of the quarry owner so no 33 has gone onto the L&TR books as "Timotheus Iorwerth Megan". There wasn't room for all that lot on the cabside so it's shortened to T.I.M. (Lettering from the Pressfix Pullman sheet and I know the T isn't quite straight, dammit! It's done the same on the other side as well!)
Splendid David. Don't forget the driver.............. ;)
Mick
That's made into a very neat conversion, David. I like it a lot.
Many thanks Gentlemen for your kind comments. I have to admit that I'm pleased with everything except the paint finish.
Mick, I have a couple of figures which are being worked on to make a driver!
Tom - I need a pair of Hunslet maker's plates, does Narrow Planet do them?
Cornelius, the width over cab sides is a mere 21mm (23mm over roof); cab front sheet to back is 26mm; height footplate to eves is 22mm and to top of roof arc is 24mm. The basic height and width dimensions were matched to the Roco cab to keep the proportions about right.
There are one or two finishing touches yet - lamp brackets, cab roof underside still needs painting black outside the cab and cream inside and at the Ally Pally show yesterday I picked up a sheet of Archer resin rivets from 3D so to see what they're like I might apply some to the buffer beams. When I've done all that, either before or after I weather the loco, I'll take a maker's photo outside the works.
Also, Isaac brought his Roco down to Ally Pally yesterday so I could take a look at how I fitted the centre axle pick-ups to it so that's another little improvement I can do.
The colour isn't quite right and doesn't quite match the other L&TR locos so I picked up a tin of Phoenix Precision P30 LMS Crimson Lake which more closely matches the old Humbrol HR114 which I used on the other L&TR red locos.
The shocking paint finish has reminded me why I started to use an airbrush (compare with the absolutely gorgeous airbrushed finish I got on 'Sir Theodore' on my first attempt at airbrushing here... http://www.buccabury.co.uk/ltr/loco-no25-sir-theodore.jpg) so also at Ally Pally I bought an AS 196-A compressor; when I get around to working on the Port class Hunslet I'll be using that!
Finally, if I make it to Sparsholt I'll surely bring TIM with me. What an amazing coincidence - the acronym of the three children just happens to spell the name of the friend who took those superb photos for the Modeller last year...
Quote from: Tigger on March 25, 2012, 08:30
Tom - I need a pair of Hunslet maker's plates, does Narrow Planet do them?
Narrow Planet can do any plates you want ;)
Many thanks for the offer Cornelius but the whole idea was to name it Tim becuase of part Tim Easter played last year in re-vitalising my interest in 009 modelling. As Tim wouldn't have been a common name in 1950s North Wales I then had to contrive a reason to have those letters on the side of the loco! (So it was back to my book on Welsh names for children which I picked up for the purpose years ago!) I do appreciate the offer though! Does that make sense? Hope you understand!
As for Hunslet plates, to save you any work, can we first please see what Narrow Planet has in the 'off-the-shelf' range?
Tom, the Narrow Planet 'off-the-shelf' range isn't on the website so could you please find out what might be available in 4mm for a Hunslet diesel plate around the late 1940s? (And if the date can be read, no later than 1952!! - that's why I couldn't fit the Hunslet plate on the Dundas Sierra Leone loco - the etching was so good you can read the date!!)
No photo but cab roof now painted as per my last post and lamp brackets now fitted which effectively means the loco is ready for service (and had another trial run yesterday with the cab roof possibly still damp!)
Just needs an attempt at getting rivets on and a bit of weathering now!
Many thanks Cornelius - I'll be in touch on a PM or something! :)
This'll be my last posting on Patrik folks! Finished apart from weathering, T.I.M. was in revenue service for the first time yesterday evening on a down slate train and is seen here leaving Rhyffedd Coed approaching the level crossing on the slight rise up to the bridge over the Nant Ffernol. (Yes, I know there's no driver yet Mick - I haven't finished painting him! ;D )
The second photo is just for the record and for comparison really, and shows T.I.M. nose-to-snout with her diesellian predecessor, no 10, my original 1976-vintage Roco which expired in 1988. None of the Roco machines was ever named and only had numbers for identification so it's fitting that the first new loco I've personally put into service since "Owen" (in February 1992, twenty years ago, good grief!!) has broken the mould.
Very very nice work David, and very Hudswell or Hunslet in character. If you fancy another variant of this, I did one a few years back very similar to yours, but I extended the frames out the front and added a front mounted gearbox, a la Moelwyn, some early Fowlers and early Hudwells.
Cheers,
Charlie I
Quote from: CharlieI on March 29, 2012, 19:08
Very very nice work David, and very Hudswell or Hunslet in character. If you fancy another variant of this, I did one a few years back very similar to yours, but I extended the frames out the front and added a front mounted gearbox, a la Moelwyn, some early Fowlers and early Hudwells.
Cheers,
Charlie I
Like this one you mean, Charlie? Regrettably mine has one of the early Atlas chassis and it
Many thanks both! Yes, Hunslet or Hudswell - although I was aiming for Hunslet with the cab cut-outs the general appearance does have a bit of a Hudswell resonance about it. Either way I'm pleased that it looks a meaningful business-like loco! I rather like your version Ted - reminds me of a small 7
Took T.I.M. down to Sparsholt for interested parties to have a look. Many thanks all for your kind comments and I've now bought from Andrew and laid in a spare chassis for the loco. Mark cornered me so it looks like I now need to download all the text from this thread and produce an article for the News! Ho Hum. I was thinking of doing that a few weeks ago so as it looks like it'll be worth doing, I'll get around to it! Narrow Planet are producing a 1949 Hunslet 90hp maker's plate for me! Looking at similar-sized and dated diesels I think that'll be about right and I'll keep weathering down to merely 'scruffy' rather than 'wrecked'!
Good to see you at Sparsholt David and thanks for showing T.I.M. to me. The new cab and particularly the radiator give it a whole new atmospheric look in my opinion.
Did you just get the spare chassis from Andrew or did you go for the full set of 3 that you were building up to?
Mick
It was good to see
Greetings chaps! So much for a last posting! Should've known better!
In order then,
1. Thanks Mick, everyone who's seen T.I.M. has agreed that the new radiator is a vast improvement - Brian can take credit for that as it was his suggestion.
2. Nope, I've only got the one chassis so far - although I'm looking for another yellow one to add to my 'rare models' collection... ;D ;D
3. Thanks Brian, yes indeed I'm going to download all my notes from the Forum and create an article for Mark. That's the great thing about digital cameras - you get a decent collection of 'as I built it' photos!