The model is a Roxey Mouldings whitemetal kit sitting on a Tenshodo Spud power bogie. Spuds are used under a number of small industrial loco kits, being small, cheap and reliable although they do need some weight over them to tame their running.
I built this in 2009. The kit went together pretty well from what I remember, but care is needed when assembling the main body to get it square, one side on mine is a little off, but it's difficult to spot.
The trolley pole is a dummy, unsprung and without a shoe to act on an overhead wire.
I used Revel Aqua Color 331 'Purple Red' as the main body colour, sprayed over Hycote auto primer. A coat of Phoenix Precision satin airbrushing varnish seals the deal. Buffer heads are Vallejo Oily Steel, the bell Humbrol Brass, the lamp a mix of Revel white with a touch of steel and finished with a coat of gloss varnish. The interior is Revel Stone Grey above waist height and black below.
It can't be seen in the photos but there is an electrical panel inside the cab, between two windows, made from styrene off-cuts.
I modified the spud, converting it to EM and fitting driving rods;
To do this I removed the original wheelsets and stripped them down to remove the spur gears. Then new axles were cut from 2mm dia. silver steel, 21mm long. These had the gears fitted along with new wheels, I've used Gibson 10mm discs but any wagon wheels that fit a 2mm axle will work.
To convert the wheels to rod drive I drilled through one of the moulded holes in each wheel to suit a Gibson 4M42A crankpin. Coupling rods are made from 3mm x 1.5mm brass strip. I used Gibson 4M67/2 2mm bore washers to space the wheels out for EM. The wheelsets once assembled just drop into the bogie, but as this is rod drive care, and no small amount of adjustment, is needed for a smooth running loco. The bogie is held captive by a screw inside the cab.
This was a nice interesting build, built with no layout in mind but rather just for the joy of making a nice loco. It's a shelf queen, and to take these photos meant removing the loco from my display cabinet for the first time in at least 5 years.
Paul.
The tricky bit with this kit is the curved bonnets. Both the ones I've built needed a lot of refining to produce neat corners. Not too tricky, but it did take some time.
ReplyDeleteYes, I seem to remember some problems there. It would have been tricky making the masters for the kit with those curves, but it looks good when finished. And those rivets are very well done as well, better than on most 3D prints.
DeleteHellingly and the area around was part of my stamping ground when the family moved to Polegate in 1981. Then, you could easily make out the course of the Hospital line with bits of fencing, gate posts etc., still intact and the formation visible across the fields. I think there may even have been the odd traction pole. I've a feeling that a lot of the area is now under a sea of houses...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I bought a Minnie not long after they appeared on the market, no idea what I did with it, though. A display cabinet sounds like a good idea; it might motivate me to build some more kits up if I've got somewhere to show the results!
Thanks for stirring up some happy memories, Paul,
Simon.
Display cabinets are great for people like myself that enjoy building locos and rarely run them. I have two in the dining room, and another that I need to find space for.
DeleteNah. Build a layout - http://www.pagenumberone.co.uk/layouts/Hospital/index.htm
DeleteMaybe one day...
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