Scalefour Forum

Gents, Thanks for the advice and questions that have made me think... Accuracy needed? Visually irrelevant, good enough to work - I've no idea what that means numerically! Number needed? Three (so six suspension links), so no need to think of "mass production" unless the carpet god gets ve...

I was wondering if anyone could suggest a good method of making the part shown in "C" (with fittings) and "D" (plain) below: the side elevation is in "B", "C" and "D" are views from underneath. Capture.JPG My initial thoughts are milling (but I'm not...

Progress! And a request for help. Things have moved slowly as, to relieve the tedium of fiddly bits, I've also built a Slater's van kit that has been in the cupboard for over 10 years: and there was the garden and good weather! Little So the CAD drawing was resized differently in the x & y direc...

By chance I've been working with similar problems. As an interlude from the lockdown challenge I decided to do something simple and build a Slater's MR van kit and fit it with Exactoscale suspension bits that I've had in stock for many years. I used the conversion bits (solebar and W irons as single...

If you want to have a nice plan drawn with software then Templot, but for this purpose pencil and paper is much quicker if you have a scanner. Without a scanner a sketch using 'Paint' will also do. Suggest using coloured pencils - at least three, one for each "+ve and -ve" and one for the...

... I made up a true faceplate from a lump of brass to secure the tyre to with double sided tape, having removed the moulded centre, after all I was only taking gentle cuts, and I wanted to be able to remove the tyre without distortion. It took a fair time even taking a fraction off at a time, and ...

Two steps forward and seven steps back Large The profiles and other bits ordered from Eileen's arrived quickly but nothing has been done with them yet fortunately! Little A start was made with the wheel sets: to check that everything else would work, I decided to use standard wheels first before em...

Lovely.
I’m looking forward to following this as I’ve a wish to model an 0-4-4WT (with open cab) and have always thought that hiding the motor and gearbox could be a challenge, as will getting the balance right to keep it on the track and able to pull a decent load.

Also, https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/12x-ooho-scale-westinghouse-motors/

Not much progress to report as the weather has meant the garden took priority! Still some things have been done. little and large 002.jpg Little Solebars and one headstock have been fitted to the floor. The second headstock can probably only be fitted once the underframe is running OK as it will blo...

LITTLE It became clear as I was doing the model drawing that the original had highly detailed and dimensioned boxes but the underframe was probably best regarded as the equivalent of a loco weight diagram - a good impression but not necessarily correct in all aspects. So the changes & assumptio...

Penrhos1920 wrote:Cambrian do the axleboxes on their GWR bogies, the last proprietor sold them separately. Rhymney Models also offer them as castings.

Many thanks for the leads. I hadn't realised that Rumney Models did anything other than items much too modern for my projects! I'll contact Justin for information.

can I turn the stanchions? I have doubts about my abilities. Looking at the drawing Andrew, the stanchions look to be parallel above the solebar so they may have just slide into the "socket". Perhaps a plain length of rod/wire of the appropriate diameter and a piece of tube to suit. This ...

Well here goes. The "little" one is a Taff Vale Railway wagon with iron boxes for carrying coal, the drawing being dated 1851 was numbered 4845 in the old BR/OPC collection and I also have a copy of drawing 4846 that shows a slightly different design box. TVR coal box wagon trimmed.jpg The...

Little and Large I should really start anything else - my shelf of shame with unstarted kits and part started projects runs to around a hundred items... But here goes anyway! Two drawings that I've had for a very long time, one small and one large wagon with some challenges, particularly in the are...

Here's mine with a frame spacer marked out with it. marking gauge.jpg If I were making another I'd make the guide a bit bigger and possibly have it on a screwed thread to make precise adjustments a little easier. Perhaps, without a lathe, start with a threaded rod, nut for the guide, lock nut to hol...

From me as well, very many thanks to all involved with putting on an excellent event. I went hoping to pick up some ideas for solving some of my problems and came away with those and quite a number of extra items as well.

Roll on the next one! (The hunt starts for topics to bring.)

Couple of photos here of a cast of an RTR backhead. Note in particular the thin shelf above the firehole door. (The regulator, by the way, is a separate fitting.) 20200306_164456.jpg 20200306_164416.jpg I would use Bill Bedford's suggestion to produce 5 or so masters, and then cast them all at once...

Thanks guys. I'm pretty confident that I would never be able to cut enough individual steps consistently by hand before deciding to take up a different hobby. So I think it will be a case of drawing them up and waiting until I can put enough (different) items on one sheet to make it worthwhile havi...

Have you thought about making a master, moulding it and casting them in resin? You might have a high failure rate at the actual casting stage, and they'd be fragile in life, but it should be possible - I've cast down to 10 thou before, albeit for parts which will not be knocked. Thanks for the sugg...

Just thought that I would mention that It looks to me as if the drawing and the photograph do not correspond. The drawing shows a semi-circular vertical part of the footstep whereas the photo looks more rectangular with rounded corners. Steve Correct. They are different designs for 2 different sets...

Thanks guys. I'm pretty confident that I would never be able to cut enough individual steps consistently by hand before deciding to take up a different hobby. So I think it will be a case of drawing them up and waiting until I can put enough (different) items on one sheet to make it worthwhile havin...

Interesting 'crankpin jig'. Could you provide some more details? ... The idea is a variation on the GW Models concept. I felt that I did not have the skills to modify the GW one for small crankpin throws. I started with the largest diameter brass bar that I had and turned the two major components o...

Very interesting and it looks great. I'm just building one of these myself, also with an Ambis chassis. At the Stevenage show I saw that Alan's latest version of that chassis kit is now in Nickel Silver and does include rods, so even more of a bargain! Looking very nice Stuart. Are you finishing it...

Having got into difficulties with a couple of projects I decided to try something simple and build a couple of kits of simple locos so I started in the autumn in Great Missenden and all went well to start with. I found some problems with the design of one kit and subsequently I realised that I'd als...