Garden Railway Forum

Just as an aside to the shell topic; Harecroft (www.harecroft.co.uk) and SLR Models (https://slrmodels.co.uk/) both sell 15 inch Howitzer shells and the smaller, more common, 9.2 inch shells.

FWLR wrote: ↑Tue Dec 11, 2018 8:32 am I thought I recognised that loco...So it was you who beat me to it mate.....

Sorry about that Rod.... you need to be quick!
I have no knowledge or experience of these models but if another one becomes available it is well worth buying.

TTHLRMatt wrote: ↑Tue Dec 11, 2018 2:23 pm Just as an aside to the shell topic; Harecroft (www.harecroft.co.uk) and SLR Models (https://slrmodels.co.uk/) both sell 15 inch Howitzer shells and the smaller, more common, 9.2 inch shells.

Thanks Matt, not seen these before but useful to know.

Blimey, you don't hang about, Peter. Already looking like a lovely little ng diesel. Be interested to see how it develops.

Rik

This looks good already Peter look forward to seeing more

Thanks again for your kind words, always good to hear your views.
A little more progress this afternoon, the various sections are now secured together after much thought going into the positioning of the on-off-on switch and the charging socket. I wanted to be able to remove the body from the chassis containing all of the control gear, however, it can't be done without fitting the switch underneath, and that would be too difficult for Brian to manage when in use, so it will be on the cab side facing the rear. To enable the two sections to be completely separated for maintenance purposes I will fit a three core plug and socket in line to the switch.
The build is now complete with horn on the roof, handrail knobs to the doors, detail inside the cab, buffer beams and buffers etc..... As I write this I am waiting for the first primer coat to dry and will put another on before I retire to bed, which won't be for quite a while yet!
Tomorrow a top coat of paint, but I haven't decided on the colour yet.

Thats really brilliant work again Peter.

How the heck do you do your circles. Are they drilled, if so you must have a flipping great big drill bit.........

I'm really quit pleased with the way the primer has done its job, the loco looks well balanced even with the enhanced cab dimensions..... Having searched my workshop for available paint colours I have found one suitable and sprayed the body. It is currently drying and I will be able to show the result later.

Just out of interest, Peter. Did you drill the circular windows, use a circle cutter or file them? They look flawless.

Rik

ge_rik wrote: ↑Wed Dec 12, 2018 7:30 pm Just out of interest, Peter. Did you drill the circular windows,

Rik

Rod has also queried this and I was about to answer... yes, they are drilled using my floor mounted drill press and spade drills, the kind with a central spike to keep them from wandering and a flat cutter with sharp edges. These are available in a variety of sizes and cut plasticard with great accuracy.
There is no chance I could achieve such a perfect circle any other way.

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Wed Dec 12, 2018 10:39 pm spade drills, the kind with a central spike to keep them from wandering and a flat cutter with sharp edges. These are available in a variety of sizes and cut plasticard with great accuracy.

Duh!
I've got a selection of those that I inherited from my father many years ago. I use them occcasionally for holes in wood but have never thought to use in this context!
Thanks Peter

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Wed Dec 12, 2018 10:39 pm

ge_rik wrote: ↑Wed Dec 12, 2018 7:30 pm Just out of interest, Peter. Did you drill the circular windows,

Rik

Rod has also queried this and I was about to answer... yes, they are drilled using my floor mounted drill press and spade drills, the kind with a central spike to keep them from wandering and a flat cutter with sharp edges. These are available in a variety of sizes and cut plasticard with great accuracy.
There is no chance I could achieve such a perfect circle any other way.

Well I will have to wait and see if Father Christmas brings me a drill stand....I do have the wood cutters though. So if he doesn't I will find some way of doing them...

Thanks Peter....

I'll have to try that - I'll be needing to cut out a spectacle plate in the coming weeks. I did it once using a pair of dividers (or is it a divider?), scribing round and round until I'd made a circular hole in the plasticard, but I don't recall it being a particularly elegant method. I'm guessing it's a little less important to get everything spot on if you're going to add brass spectacle rings, because with those you've presumably got a mm or two margin of error, so any little mistakes are hidden by the rim?

Anyway, the loco's looking great Peter, your friend will be very pleased...

Andrew.

Sorry to keep you all waiting guys, but at last the loco is finished! The paintwork was done yesterday but I waited overnight for the transfers to dry before a final lacquer spray. The switch and socket were connected to the receiver unit and fully tested yesterday and it runs so smoothly and has great slow running too.
Tomorrow is hand-over day so I hope Brian is pleased and takes it to our 16mm Association area group meeting on Saturday. Now...... what's next?????

Fantastic! Was looking for a word to describe it - I think it looks kind of "friendly"... The sort of diesel you'd be delighted to have at the front of your train...

All the best,
Andrew

Thomas the tank as a diesel!

What a transformation. Another superb build, I'm sure your friend will be very pleased.
Grant.

Beautifully done. Doesn't it look fantastic in primer?

(Not that I'm suggesting it doesn't look good painted)

Very nice. Thanks for the info about the spectacles. I assume you put the drill on a slow speed? Do you drill from both sides and meet in the middle?

Rik

What a little Beauty Peter.. I would be so proud to have her and I would take her everywhere I went..