Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

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Triode
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Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Tue Nov 30, 2021 8:16 pm

In case anyone finds it useful (and as an aide memoire when the dreaded time comes to give the same attention to my other Class 40s...), I thought I'd start a workbench thread chronicling the above.

The basis for this project is Bachmann’s model of no. 40159 – a BR blue centre headcode machine with a Clayton boiler port, and one of Bachmann’s more recent Class 40 models which uses the vastly improved bodyshell.

The prototype I’m aiming to recreate is no. 40195, as seen here. A photo in Diesels in Depth by David Clarke shows the loco at Gateshead depot in 1981 in this condition, which is my justification for choosing it. I particularly wanted to model the missing boiler water tanks, which were removed from 40195 and quite a few other members of the class. Most people seem to consider this an unsightly modification, and to be honest it probably is; but I’ve always thought it was quirky and added to the unwieldy, lumbering personality of the whistling giants in their later years.

I've been working on this on and off for a few months now, in between other projects, so if I post a sudden flurry of updates it isn't evidence of a superhuman workflow - just the opposite in fact. :mrgreen: Watch this space for progress and fingers crossed it turns out right...

EDIT - I should also point out that although I've written this like a 'how to' article (the kind written by someone who knows what they're doing...), I'm a relative novice at P4 and this is only my second loco conversion. It's possible I've done any number of things wrong that will rear their ugly heads later... :shock:
Last edited by Triode on Tue Nov 30, 2021 8:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Tue Nov 30, 2021 8:24 pm

CONVERSION TO P4 - DRIVING WHEELS

Conversion to P4 was relatively straightforward using the conversion packs sold by Branchlines for the Bachmann LMS prototypes, which also fit the Bachmann Class 40s. The packs use Black Beetle 14mm wheels mounted on stub axles which are a direct swap for the factory-fitted 00 wheels; these too being mounted on stub axles which are designed to push-fit into the nylon gears from either side to make up each wheelset.

There are a couple of things to be aware of however:

    (1) The wheels are only 14mm in diameter, whereas I’ve since found out that the Class 40 should have 15mm diameter wheels (3’ 9” prototype). The result of using the smaller wheels is that the buffer height is too low. For now I’m just going to live with it, but at some point I would like to source larger wheels from Utrascale or similar.

    (2) The Black Beetle wheels sold by Branchlines are live to the sub axles on which they are mounted. This is fine because the insulation is intended to come from the Nylon gears into which they are push-fitted. However, I found that if the stub axles are pushed all the way in, it is possible for them to touch through the centre of the nylon gears and create a short circuit. This can be remedied by filing back the ends of the stubs somewhat to make them fractionally shorter. For extra safety, a disc of thin paper can be glued to the end of one of the axles as insulation.

    (3) Related to point 1 above, I found that simply push-fitting the stub axles as far as they would go onto the nylon gears did not always result in the correct P4 back-to-back gauge. Some adjustment was required. In a couple of cases I found it helpful to gently file down the surfaces of the nylon gears to allow the stub axles to edge in further and more the wheels fractionally closer together. Note however that this may create a short circuit which should be remedied as per point 1.

    (4) There is a fair amount of side to side ‘slop’ on all three driving axles on the Bachmann bogie. I therefore packed out the first and third axles with 2mm bore brass washers either side of the gears to reduce this. The middle axle on each bogie had its ‘slop’ left intact to help it on curves. See image below:
DSC_4815.JPG

(5) Last comes the most annoying issue: imperfections in the plastic bogie gearbox assembly meaning all 6 wheels do not rest snugly on the track at the same time. This can be easily observed by laying the bogie on plate glass and seeing/hearing whether it rocks diagonally or ‘fore and aft’.

This seems to be caused by one or more of the brass axle bearings sitting too high or too low in its slot. In 00 it likely won’t be problematic or even noticeable due to the greater tolerances, but in P4 it can lead to derailments and reduced electrical pickup area. The belt-and-braces solution: fully sprung bogie kits from PenBits. The less elegant solution: identify which bearings are sitting too high or too low and adjust them.

It’s important to note that even if you get all 6 driving wheels per bogie lying uniform to the rail, a rigid bogie assembly will never be as good as a sprung one for maintaining electrical contact, taking up track imperfections and smooth running. However, I took the decision not to spring at the present time, as I have far too many projects on the go. I’ve also converted other locos with no springing kits available (such as the Hornby Class 60) and found that they run well as long as the trackwork isn’t too bad.

My cheap and nasty solution to the problem was to identify which bearings are sitting too high or low and correct them. Identification can be done by placing on plate glass or a test track and rocking the bogie to see which wheels come off the surface. For example, if the bogie rocks ‘fore and aft’ like a see-saw, the entire middle axle is probably sitting too low to the track and acting as a pivot.

Once you have identified which bearings need adjustment, corrections can be made. Bearings which need to sit higher had their slots enlarged upwards by gently filing into the plastic; be sure to work slowly and check regularly to see whether the problem has been corrected. If the bearings need to sit lower, my solution was to put a dab of superglue at the top of the slot and let it cure fully hard before filing it flush and re-fitting the bearing – thus adding more material and making the bearing sit lower. Roughening the plastic with a file before applying the glue will help it grip the surface.

Eventually after some trial and error, you should end up with two bogies that sit nicely on the track without rocking.
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Triode
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Tue Nov 30, 2021 8:28 pm

CONVERSION TO P4 - PONY TRUCKS

The pony trucks were my only concession to springing. I used the excellent kit available from Rumney Models to make up new trucks from etched brass, sprung with piano wire and weighted with lead. This greatly helps the track holding.

The downloadable instructions are excellent and easy to follow, but note that all the spring wire L sections should be 15x5mm – not 13x5mm! There seems to be a typo early in the sheet which I need to let Justin at Rumney Models know about.

The Rumney Models kits include optional lateral springing to keep the trucks centred, as well as the obvious vertical springing of the hornblocks carrying the wheels. I chose to include both.

For wheels I used 12mm Black Beetles from Branchlines. I removed the pinpoint axle they’re supplied on however and made up my own to better represent the protruding axle stubs seen on the real Class 40. This was done by fitting a 29mm length of 1mm nickel silver rod inside a 22mm length of 2mm OD x 1mm ID brass tube, allowing equal amounts of the inner rod to protrude either side then soldering in place. The ends of the rod were then bored out carefully with a 0.5mm drill to give the appearance of hollow tubes. Images below:

Note – Using 1mm OD 0.5mm ID brass or nickel micro tube for the inner part of the axle would be simpler and obviate the need for precarious drilling. I’ll be using this solution on future models.

DSC_4801.JPG

DSC_4804.JPG


On the prototype the ends of the pony truck axles protrude through small openings in the bogie side frames. Bachmann has modelled these as indentations rather than openings, but its easy enough to open them out by drilling and paring away the plastic. The ends of your axles can then protrude through the openings just like the prototype!

DSC_4825.JPG

DSC_4823.JPG

DSC_4824.JPG


As well as weighting with lead as suggested by Rumney Models, I found it useful to add a 4mm ID 1mm thick brass spacer when screwing the assemblies to the main bogie frames. This keeps them sitting horizontally. See image below:

DSC_4821.JPG
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Tue Nov 30, 2021 8:34 pm

PICKUPS

While converting the bogies to P4, I added extra pickups to the remaining two wheels using phosphor bronze strip. I also soldered red and black wires directly to the pickups as I was not intending to reuse the direct contacts to the PCB fitted at the factory. The wires can conveniently pass through the same apertures in the bogie pivot plate. See image below:

DSC_4814.JPG
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Tue Nov 30, 2021 8:41 pm

Body Lifting Points

On to something prototypical now. The Bachmann model is missing the eight distinctive body lifting points. These were fabricated from plasticard as shown:

DSC_4808.JPG


The lifting points are located 16mm either side of the centreline of the bogie pivot brackets mounted on the body (the Bachmann moldings for these were retained), as shown below:

Body lifting point placement.jpg


Initially I spaced the body lifting points uniformly off the underside of the Bachmann plastic chassis base on strips of 0.5mm plasticard. However, the plastic chassis base actually does not lie flat when the logo is screwed together - I believe this is due to the fact that it follows the upward curve of teh body into the nose at each end of the loco :? ? In any case, the upshot is that it causes the pivot points to look skewed and to protrude below the bodyside by varying amounts. The solution was to prise them off and file them back on a case-by-case basis until each one protrudes just under 2mm below the bodyside as shown below:

Body lifting point protrusion.jpg


And that's as far as I've got for now in terms of a writeup. Once the words catch up with the modelling a bit I'll post another installment.

Cheers,

Liam
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby John Donnelly » Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:20 pm

Triode wrote:CONVERSION TO P4 - DRIVING WHEELS
(5) Last comes the most annoying issue: imperfections in the plastic bogie gearbox assembly meaning all 6 wheels do not rest snugly on the track at the same time. This can be easily observed by laying the bogie on plate glass and seeing/hearing whether it rocks diagonally or ‘fore and aft’.

This seems to be caused by one or more of the brass axle bearings sitting too high or too low in its slot. In 00 it likely won’t be problematic or even noticeable due to the greater tolerances, but in P4 it can lead to derailments and reduced electrical pickup area. The belt-and-braces solution: fully sprung bogie kits from PenBits. The less elegant solution: identify which bearings are sitting too high or too low and adjust them.


I've had this problem with every Bachmann diesel I've had so I've gone full Penbits on them, a 37 & 47 so far with a 46 in the works...

Nice work on the 40 so far.

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Triode
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:08 am

Thankfully Bachmann seem to be using milled die-cast bogie/gearbox assemblies on their newer models - such as the Class 20 and Class 158. These seem to be more precise than the molded plastic used on the rest of the range.

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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Enigma » Wed Dec 01, 2021 11:55 am

Some useful tips there, thanks. Many years ago I converted a Lima 40 using my 'usual' method of turning down the brass hideous Lima wheels to take Gibson coach wheel tyres. The pony truck wheels run on brass tube and the overscale width plastic bogie frames were narrowed and the sides (in seemingly unstickable plastic) were pinned to the rest of the bogies. For some reason the whole thing 'stalled' and was never finished. I still have it in its box and reading this may tempt me to have another look at it, especially the Penbits pony truck idea which I'm sure will fit the Lima version.

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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Wed Dec 01, 2021 12:15 pm

Enigma wrote:I still have it in its box and reading this may tempt me to have another look at it, especially the Penbits pony truck idea which I'm sure will fit the Lima version.

The pony trucks are Rumney Models.

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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Enigma » Wed Dec 01, 2021 1:27 pm

Thanks! Normal (for me these days!) brain fade! :thumb

Looks rather involved to me! Possibly a bit OTT for the Lima and, now I've seen it, maybe not suitable. I'll need to investigate.

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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby iak » Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:03 pm

Is this any help to anybody?
Much Class 40 naughtiness therein... :thumb

http://www.barrowmoremrg.co.uk/Journal/BMRJ_Issue_40_pub.pdf
Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest
enemy of truth....
Albert Einstein


Perfection is impossible.
But I may choose to serve perfection....
Robert Fripp


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Triode
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:55 pm

iak wrote:Is this any help to anybody?
Much Class 40 naughtiness therein... :thumb

http://www.barrowmoremrg.co.uk/Journal/BMRJ_Issue_40_pub.pdf

I've seen that article and the original one on the Mostyn whistlers in Rail Express. They were my inspiration for doing this model. I chickened out of using the Lima bodyshell though. :mrgreen:

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Triode
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:59 pm

Underframe Details

Rather than keep going item by item like I did with the body lifting points, I’ll save a bit of time by running over all the underframe details at once. This doesn’t include the details on the bogies, which I’ll cover separately. The numbers in the following list correspond with the subsequent three photos:

    (1) Bogie pivot points – These are the original Bachmann mouldings. All I did was add some 0.4mm brass wire in an L shape to represent the conduit/piping to each one.

    (2) Bogie bearer pads – I made these from 3.0mm wide, 1.0mm thick plasticard strip cut to 9.5mm in length with one end rounded off. They are fitted approximately 47mm forward of the bogie pivot line at each end and spaced off the bottom of the chassis base with 0.5mm strip. The rounded ends protrude approx 2.0mm either side of the chassis base. Note – Make sure the positions of the bearer pads line up with the corresponding dip in the bogie where the vertical support goes.

    (3), (4) and (5) Fillers and drain cocks – I don’t pretend to know the functions of these are, but I’ve represented them as best I can based on the excellent detail images on Brian Daniels’ Flickr page. (3) is made from 1.5mm, 1.2mm and 0.8mm diameter plastic and brass rod. (4) only appears on one side of the loco it seems; it was soldered up from 0.45mm rod and fitted into a bored out 1.5mm plastic rod. (5) is made from 0.45mm brass rod fitted into drilled out palsticard discs.

    (6) ???? - I have no idea what these are but they are broad, flat protrusions that protrude slightly, but visibly, under the bodyside. They are made from 4.5mm wide, 6mm long, 0.25mm thick plasticard. They need to be spaced off the underside of the chassis base so that the protruding surfaces stand 1.5mm proud of the surface. Note that the Bachmann chassis base has a step in it at this location which these items clash with. This precludes the simpler solution of just using 1.5mm thick plasticard.

    (7) Boiler water tank bracket – This is the ‘Eiffel Tower’ looking object which protrudes distinctively into the empty space beneath locos with the water tanks removed. It’s a complex little assembly, which on previous versions of the Bachmann model (with the flawed bodyshell) was included inside the water tank moulding. Unfortunately the newer model omits this in order to accommodate the cab light switch. Luckily I have the older model, so to save a complex fabricating task I scavenged it from that. The prototype had some strange egg-shaped objects attached to the bottom of the bracket (see here). Since there is pipework associated with these objects, I’m thinking they may be valves of some kind? I made them from rounded off 2.8mm lengths of 1.6mm diameter rod, pinned to the bracket approx 7.5mm apart. The pipework is 0.3mm brass rod.

    (8) Air tanks – The Bachmann model does have these moulded to the chassis base, but they appeared a bit weedy to me so I made replacements from 4mm diameter half-round rod fitted to 0.5mm strip which was filed and filled to continue the curvature. Seams were scored around the ends of the tanks and they were fitted based on prototype photos and an image of an O gauge model kit (bad practice to model a model I know :P ). Pipework is 0.5mm brass with some bits of micro tube threaded on to represent flanges where the pipes enter the tanks.

    (9) Boiler water tank end plates – These are large plates or brackets at each end of the boiler water tank and normally hidden by it. With the tanks removed as on 40195, they are just visible. I fabricated them from plasticard and brass angle. I’ll post a diagram separately showing the dimensions as estimated from photos.

    (10) and (11) are small neodymium magnets which I’ve fitted to allow the speedometer and bogie electrical leads to be prototypically attached to the body, while also being removable for dismantling. I’ll cover the leads themselves and their attachments to the bogies in a later post.

Figure 13a.jpg

Figure 14a.jpg

Figure 15a.jpg
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Sun Mar 27, 2022 7:20 pm

Bogie Details

Continuing with the writeup at long last, here is a list of cosmetic modifications to the bogies:

(1) Buffers – These are Hornby Class 50 buffers fitted with Shawplan footsteps. The only other modification was to add the small round plates to the side of the housing using small slivers of plasticard rod.

(2) Body-bogie electrical sockets – These are scratchbuilt from plasticard. Round 2mm diameter rod was heated and bent to 90 degrees, then cut back to the appropriate dimensions and glued to a 0.25mm thick backing. Three of the four sockets were modelled identically, but the fourth was made to a slightly different style as on the real 40195, which photos show to have an odd one out.

(3) Bogie bearer supports – Fabricated from plasticard (2mm wide x 1mm thick on top of 0.25mm thick base) and fitted to correspond with the bearer pads on the body.

(4) Steam and vacuum pipes – These are made from 0.8mm soft aluminium flower wire. Inside the bogie they are anchored into 0.8mm holes drilled into one of the cross members using epoxy for strength. The brackets on the outer face of the bogie were made from brass strip; firstly a 0.8mm hole was drilled into the strip, then it was filed back into the correct shape, leaving a ‘stalk’ which could be pushed into a hole in the bogie side for a secure hold. On the vacuum pipe side, a representation of the flexible connection to the body was added using the well known wire-wound method of making vacuum pipes. On the steam pipe side, no flexible connection was added and the rigid sections of pipe were left isolated as per photos of the prototype 40195; presumably this was because the steam heating system was no longer in use on this ‘no boiler’ loco. The ends of the redundant pipes were carefully bored out for a three dimensional look.

(5) Sand pipes – These were bent from 0.45mm wire and dry-fitted into the holes in the sandboxes. The brackets were made up separately from brass strip and two 0.3mm stubs drilled and soldered in to give a means of securing and to represent rivet heads. Once the brackets were glued in place, the pipes were bent round to correspond and then soldered to the brackets. Finally a thin superglue was used to fix the pipe permanently into the sandbox.

(6) The front aperture in the bufferbeam is too deep and was reduced in size with plasticard.

(7) MW socket – The MW socket was made from plasticard as described for the bogie side electrical sockets.

(8) MW plug and lead – The fittings for this are Heljan blue star spares from Gaugemaster. The lead is from brass wire.

(9) Openings in bogie frame opened out to allow pony truck axle stubs to protrude.

(10) Bogie front footsteps – Fabricated from brass strip bent into a U shape, and with a short length of wire drilled/soldered into one of the ends to give a means of drilling and pinning to the bogie frame for strength. The tiny gusset/support bracket under each one was added using a sliver of 0.25mm thick plasticard glued in place once the foosteps had been fitted.

(11) Pipe added under one side of no2 end bogie only from 0.8mm flower wire with a collar of 0.8mm ID micro brass tube. (Steam heating exhaust?) As with the ends of the redundant steam heating pipes, the end was carefully bored out for a 3D look.
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Wed Jun 08, 2022 7:14 pm

Windscreen Surrounds

The windscreens were modified using Shawplan Extreme Etches. The intended use of these is to carve out the whole Bachmann windscreen area and inset the Shawplan etch. However, I feel this is rather drastic and didn’t fancy the task of blending the etch seamlessly back into the bodyshell.

My solution was to use only the front part of the Shawplan etch (the one with the three window grommets). First I fixed this temporarily in place (using minimal superglue) so that I could score round the edge of the etch to represent the seam around the group of three windows on the prototype. I then removed the etch and carefully snipped out the individual window grommets, which were then glued permanently in place.

The middle window is a very good match to the Bachmann aperture, but the outer ones have a very slight mismatch which becomes evident when the etched grommets are overlaid. The etches then provide a clear guide for some gentle filing to enlarge the opening until it matches.

The image below shows the end result.

Figure 20.jpg
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Triode
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Wed Jun 08, 2022 7:19 pm

Boiler Port

40195 has a Clayton boiler port, which in the condition I’m modelling had been plated over. I filled the circular opening with a snug fitting stub of plastic rod, then filed it back flush and blended it in with filler. The image below shows part of this process.

Later following priming, I added rivets around the edge of the plate using Archer’s transfers. The finished result is seen below.

Figure 21.jpg


Boiler Port finished.jpg
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Wed Jun 08, 2022 7:23 pm

Radiator Fan

Not a lot of say about this. It’s another Shawplan Extreme Etch. The fan was built up on a brass rod and inserted into a plasticard disc sized to fill the aperture. My method for fixing the mesh was to fix it in place with masking tape, then gently ease some thin superglue (Deluxe Roket Hot) under the edges with a blade.

Figure 22.jpg
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Wed Jun 08, 2022 7:33 pm

Radiator Side Grilles

40195 had the outer frost grilles removed by the relevant time period, so these were omitted. The Bachmann moulding of the louvres underneath shows them closed, but I liked the idea of showing them open, so I made up my own from plasticard. This was quite a time-consuming task, and made me wish I knew how to design my own etches, which would have been ideal for this sort of thing!

I did keep a record of the parts used and dimensions, so I’ll post this here in future in case anyone finds it useful.

Figure 23.jpg
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby ClikC » Wed Jun 08, 2022 8:24 pm

Looking good.

I know a man who made some test etches for Class 40 Radiator grills (because I happen to have them buried in the bottom of a box at my parent house), although I've never managed to persuade him to make some more (nor managed to successfully put them together either), I think he's sitting on the design until he finished making them open and close prototypically. Which is the kind of madness I am 200% onboard for.

The new Bachmann Class 40 is, a giant leap forward compared to the original model, but suffers from the same issue that actually caused both the original Bachmann and Lima 40's (and in fact almost all EE nose bonneted models regardless of manufacturer) to be wrong. That is, the cab roof is made out of thick (in terms of scale) plastic, and not thin sheet metal, as per the prototype. The result is the thickness of the cab roof pushed the windows down.

Having said all that, the new 40 doesn't offend me the way the old one did. Your approach is an interesting new take, so thanks for sharing.

Regards

Matt
Matt Rogers

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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Will L » Wed Jun 08, 2022 9:40 pm

Triode wrote: My method for fixing the mesh was to fix it in place with masking tape, then gently ease some thin superglue (Deluxe Roket Hot) under the edges with a blade.

The great think about thin superglues is that capillary action will draw them into fine well made close fitting joints. Put a blob of glue onto something non absorbent, pick up a very small amount of this on a thin probe, I use the smallest jewellers screwdriver set, and just apply to the joint. The glue will disappear onto the joint. You really don't want to apply very much. This is superglue at its best.

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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Daddyman » Thu Jun 09, 2022 9:07 am

Triode wrote:Windscreen Surrounds

Interesting method! https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/80998-bac ... -easy-way/

Slight problem, though, is that when you separate the window surrounds from the Shawplan etch in this way, you end up with grommets that are 10 thou (ish) instead of 5 thou, because the part of the backing etch behind the grommets comes along for the ride. Makes them look slightly too bold when painted - though it's less obvious when the grommets are a different colour (black) from the bodywork. Not sure if that was the case with BR blue 40s.

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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Sat Jul 02, 2022 8:14 pm

Nose Front Details

The Bachmann handrails and top centre lamp iron were retained, but new lower lamp irons were made up from thin brass strip. The moulded horn grilles were pared away, drilled through and replaced with Shawplan Extreme Etches.

Figure 24.jpg
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Re: Bachmann Class 40 - P4 conversion and detailing

Postby Triode » Sat Jul 02, 2022 8:14 pm

Bufferbeam Pipework

Bufferbeam pipework was made up from scratch using brass rod bend to shape. The taps at the top of each were made from stubs of micro brass strip, drilled through and threaded onto the tops of the pipes, leaving just enough clearance around the edges for the tap handles to be fitted from 0.3mm brass.

The vacuum pipe was made from elastic cord and fitted with a small magnet for connection to piped wagons (though time will tell if I can be bothered to connect this in practice!) Another magnet fitted to the bufferbeam provides a way to stow the vacuum pipe when not in use.

Figure 25.jpg
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