Model Engine Works: 2020

Tuesday 8 December 2020

4mm-3mm Scale Photographic Diorama

An important part of displaying and photographing my models is the Diorama backdrops they are shown on. I have found that something with a raised track on an embankment or over a small bridge is useful as it allows for eye level shots.

They do not need to be large and are also a good way to display items of stock at home or at shows, a very good way of practising scenic techniques without committing to a full layout. They can be formed from any light and rigid material such as polystyrene or Polyboard. For my recent ones, I have been using 25 mm polystyrene bonded between outer skins of 4 mm plywood. This gives an extremely light and rigid block which may be shaped with a sharp blade. A sharp short pointed kitchen knife if you are allowed one of these.

I have left the base plywood as a rectangular piece and the upper skin has been pre-cut to the shape of the track bead, this makes it much easier to work the profiles of the surrounding landscape into the polystyrene core block.

I usually, work from a plan sketched on a piece of wallpaper lining paper; this gives me the position and scale of the main elements of the scene, roads, rivers, rocks, structures, walls, fences, gates and trees. For my latest scene, I have used a small stone bridge, the kind that would be used on an embankment to allow for a small lane or river. This has given me an excuse to add a kink in the track plan, always more interesting than a straight piece of line.

After cutting out and gluing the plywood and polystyrene together with PVA the glue they were cramped together using a workmate vice, it is best to leave this overnight as the PVA takes some time to dry between the polystyrene.

While this is drying the stone bridge was formed so the landscape could be carved out around it and make sure we get a snug fit. Other elements like fencing and trees can also be pre-made at this time. For this scene, I have used a combination of stone walls, wire fence, and hedges.

The bridge and parapets have been formed in Wills embossed plastic sheet random stone with corbel sheet forming the coping's, the bridge was made in two halves so it could be glued back together again under the trackbed when fully painted and weathered. A base coat of a dark buff colour was used, then further thinned and dry brushed coats of grey, charcoal and earth brown were added, further thinned and dry brushed coats of grey and olive green finished the paintwork off. This should not look uniform but also be in the right areas. The dark charcoal staining on the upper parts of the stones, the green staining around the base and some run down from the coping’s, some areas of buff should still show through the other thin layers of paint.

When the base has dried, I used a sharp short pointed kitchen knife to carve the polystyrene to shape following the profile of the plywood trackbed as a guide. I then used the pre-made bridge to gauge the hole needed under the track for it to fit correctly with the capping’s level with the top of the track.

A rasp file was then used to take all of the sharp edges of the plywood and blend it in with the polystyrene. The edges of the block were then smoothed with some 240 grid sandpaper.

The next stage was to give the whole diorama a durable shell to apply the decorative finishes too. I have used a brown gum paper tape; this is available form art materials suppliers. I use this for lots of cold moulds forming in my projects, and by building up multiple crossed layers on a former, it is very strong and durable when dried. I used about 6 layers on this diorama, formed in two stages, letting each application of about 3 layers dry before applying the next. Ones it dries it contracts and tightens on the mould.

Next I added the track, Using Peco 009 rustic flexible track formed into the shape I required, this was bonded to the upper plywood surface with PVA glue and held in place with small clamps overnight till the glue dried. Once dried a couple of check rails were added to the curved sections each side of the bridge, these also extending over the bridge and were held in place with some track pins. The sleepers were predrilled before these pines were pushed in place with some pliers. It was necessary to bend the check rails to shape before fitting them. I painted the sides of the rails with a dark grey & brown mix of revel oil paints to take the shine off the new track work.

The bridge could now be fitted in place ready for the landscape base material to be added around it. The two halves were bonded together with polystyrene cement and then glued in the correct position on the diorama using some contact adhesive.

For the landscape base I used a mix of plaster filler, PVA glue, and mixed brown powder paint into the mix. This gives a pre-coloured base paste which does save painting the landscape before applying scenic materials such as static grass and scatter materials. It also has the advantage of a stronger plaster that can be applied in a thinner layer which is there for lighter, and if you work it after you have finished the scenery it does not show white through, just a soil colour. The more PVA you add the smoother the mixes surface will become and the longer it takes to dry. Add as little water as possible to form a thick paste, as a dryer mix is easier to apply.

After letting the base landscape mix dry my thoughts turned to add the track ballast. I wanted a fine stone for this and came up with fine dry building sand which has been sieved. I then added some grey powder paint to this and mixed it dry. Because of the colour of the sand, this did give me a darker coloured ballast, this was not a problem as I wanted to dry brush a lighter grey over some areas and other parts will be covered with static grass. The powder was added round and between the track dry and a medium sized paintbrush used to spread the ballast in and around the sleepers. This was then fixed with a glue mix off 50% PVA and 50% water; a small drop of liquid soap (washing up liquid) is also added to allow the glue to flow through the powder. The glue mix was applied with a syringe; two lots of glue were applied, leaving the first to dry overnight.

The landscape materials were a mix of 3mm late summer dry grass and 2 and 3mm mid tones of green static grass, I used some sponge scatter in patches to give depth to the landscape colour. A rock outcrop and banking was formed using some small sandstone shards crushed up into 4mm scale rocks and bedded in the plaster before it set.

Trees were formed with wire armatures which I painted with a plaster mix similar to the landscape. A mixture of landscape material ware used to form the foliage, these included Woodland Scenics foliage and sponge scatter added to the armatures with contact adhesive and PVA glue. Some small trees ware formed with a bamboo trunk and lichen sprinkled with sponge scatter applied over the top. This method was also used to form gorse bushes with the yellow flowers being added by using a yellow acrylic paint dabbed over the top and upper sides of the bush.

For the fencing I used lollypop sticks cut to a suitable section and length and drill with some fine holes through which I threaded a grey cotton thread, leaving this long to allow the fitting of the fence posts before drawing the thread tight and sealing it with PVA glue.

Tuesday 8 September 2020

Peckett Style Tram Engine

This engine was inspired by an article in the 009 News September 2019 by Ben Powell, who had accomplished a fantastic scratch version of a Peckett saddle tank shunter, on a Ndrive chassis with special outside cranks. Hornby has also brought out a standard gauge 0-6-0 version of a Pickett shunter which is super detailed, and I love the colour selected for that model. So, taking this style of the small engine as a guide I drew up a tram version to run on the newer Kato 11-110 chassis, more of a challenge to myself to come up with something that looked similar as a 009-tram engine.

The result of the drawing is a 3D printed version, which is printed as one piece to be split into roof, body, footplate and couplings. This can be printed in White Versatile Plastic or Fine Detailed Plastic. With the addition of small handrail knobs, brass wire and smokebox door darts looks like a passable resemblance to a Peckett style tram engine.

I had a sample printed by Shapeways in Fine Detailed Plastic. When this arrived with me, I soaked it in Petroleum organic solvent – paint thinners (“White Sprits” in the UK) in order to remove the wax support residue left from printing, then a wash in warm soapy water should leave the surface ready for painting after it is fully dried. I use a grey or white spray primer to prep the model for finishing. In some areas, it will be necessary to remove print lines from the surface, and this can be done with a burnishing tool - I use a hardwood stick with a rounded point to get in the tight spaces. Do these processes before separating the print into its component parts so you will be less likely to lose any of the small pieces.

Wirework and details

The next job was to add the handrails to the saddle tank and at the side of the cab. I obtained these from a supplier on eBay for both the wire and the small brass handrail knobs. I have used Alan Gibson versions in the past, but these turned out every bit as good. The cab side handrails I formed as small staples bent with pliers to the right size and fitted into the pilot holes supplied in the model. I did have to drill out the holes for the small handrail knobs to give them a clearance fit. The handrails were then glued in place with Cyanoacrylate (super) glue.

The smokebox door dart I ordered from RT Models who supply a good range of 4mm detailing parts, the darts come in white metal or cast brass. I used the brass version in this model.

The new Kato 11-110 chassis is a welcome improvement on the later version of the 11-104 which they replace, having more weight, different gearing, a brass flywheel and much smother electric motor. They fit within a similar opening as the original. They do not need as much ballast to run well, but adding some is a good idea for traction. I used small strips of lead fitted along the inside of the skirts, as low as possible to keep the engine balanced.

The couplings I used on this model were the printed ones, but others could be fitted such as Greenwich or NEM couplings. The aperture in the buffer beams will take the Peco 103 NEM pockets and couplings.

Painting and finishing

Once all the additional bits and details were added I gave the model a final coat of grey spray primer and made sure all was ready of the final paint finish. For this model, I was trying some Tamiya acrylic paints, for the body XF-4 Yellow Green the footplate, roof Handrails, smokebox door, funnel and couplings XF-85 Rubber Black on the buffer beams XF-7 Flat Red. Using these I noticed that each colour has a different consistency, the XF-4 and XF-7 being thin and needing several coats were as the XF-85 was smother creamer and needed fewer coats. Some details like the window frames I picked out in a brass enamel paint and the cab handrails, cylinders and couplings were painted in a gunmetal metallic enamel paint.

I wanted to add an etched nameplate and number transfers to the model. I applied a coat of clear gloss enamel varnish to the areas these were to be placed, this is a better surface to apply the transfers to and allows you to adjust and position them much easier. I used “Fox” 2mm waterslide transfers in black for the cab sides and rear and white for the front buffer beam. The etched nameplate was obtained from an eBay supplier “N Brass Locos” of premade 009 industrial engine nameplates. These plates were glued in place with a small amount Cyanoacrylate (super) glue, though a contact adhesive works as well and does give time to adjust the position on the model. Once this was completed, I applied a coat of matt enamel varnish to the whole surface of the model, this also seals the transfers in place.

The final additions to the model were to add some real crushed coal to the rear bunker, by adding PVA glue to the bunker area and then tipping a small amount of the coal over this using a tube as a micro shovel to place it correctly. I have in the past made some working lamps from white Plasticard and rhinestones of clear and red plastic and I used two of these for the running lamps for this engine.

If you would like a 3D print of this model visit Shapeways at:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/SESX92UV4/009-peckett-style-tram-engine?optionId=122218125&li=shops

Sunday 16 August 2020

009 Morris J Rail-Van

Built with Die Cast body and Kato chassis

009 Morris J Rail-Van

4 mm scale

Hunting through the internet on my prolonged absences from work April 2020, I came across an Oxford Classix Morris J Van for sale on eBay, as this was for a very reasonable price and I had an idea for a small service van on a backwater railway, I bought it.

Having received my van and dismantled it, I took a Kato 11-109 chassis and had a go fitting this into the body shell. The major alterations to the chassis had to be done to the front part of the unit, some metal had to be removed, this allowed it to sit in the right alignment to the wheel arches. To do this bit of cutting, I removed the plastic shell from the chassis and cut the front off using a cutting disk in a mini drill. One thing to observe when doing this the metal chassis is in two electricity isolated halves, so when the cutting is done make sure that there are no little bits of metalwork still bridging the gap between the two. This will cause a short circuit.

I then carefully removed just over half of the metalwork which held the plastic floor pan and wheels in place at each end of the inner body shell. This allowed the chassis to sit far enough into the body to place the centres of the wheels at the bottom line of the bodywork.

I then cut off the front and rear mudguards from the floor pan, which was a tricky job on the front ones as I did this by keeping the front part of the floor pan connecting them together, this made it much easier to line them up when fitted. These were glued to the metal bodywork with a little super glue, I did remove the paint from the wheel arches on the body first. The inside of the rear ones were made flush with the inner body, but the front ones I left to overhanging a bit and cut back the chassis to suit.

The chassis needed trimming at both sides mainly at the front to squeeze into place. Once this was lined up I drilled a series of holes to suit 1 mm soft steel wire and formed some side rails and a front and rear bumper rail, and that was it, a relativity quick fix with no painting or finishing needed, though I will probably give it a coat of matt varnish and a bit of weathering.

The little van is a good weight because of the metal body and runs very well with the new style Kato chassis.

Saturday 11 July 2020

009 Waddington Rail Bus

It was quite by accident that I came upon a 1930s railbus photograph while searching for something else on the internet. I liked the 1930s aero styling and the design looked perfect to adapt to a narrow gauge variant. The original Waddington V8 railbus was designed as a feeder vehicle for the main railway lines in Sidney during the 1930s, running on standard gauge lines.

The result of the drawing is a 3D printed version, which is printed as one piece to be split into the roof and upper body, and lower body. This can be printed in White Versatile Plastic or Fine Detailed Plastic with the addition of brass wire to form handrails. Couplings could be added to the model, but I have not added any to this version.

I had a sample printed by Shapeways in Fine Detailed Plastic. When this arrived I soaked it in Petroleum organic solvent – paint thinners (“White Spirits” in the UK) in order to remove the wax support residue left from printing. I then washed it in warm soapy water to leave the surface ready for painting when fully dried. I use a grey or white spray primer to prep the model for finishing. In some areas, it will be necessary to remove print lines from the surface, and this can be done with a burnishing tool - I use a hardwood stick with a rounded point to get in the tight spaces. Do these processes before separating the print into its component parts so you will be less likely to lose any of the small pieces.

Wirework and details
The next job was to add the handrails to the door which is on the righthand side of the vehicle only. I obtained this from a supplier on eBay. The handrails were formed as small staples bent with pliers to the right size and fitted into the pilot holes supplied in the model. The handrails were fitted but not glued in place at this point in the construction process.

The glazing was formed by making card templates of the windows and then transferring this to clear acetate, which I usually recycle from packaging. It is best to paint the model before adding the glazing material and gluing in place.

The model has been designed to run on the new Kato 11-110 chassis, which are a welcome improvement on the later version of the 11-104 that they replace, having more weight, different gearing, a brass flywheel, and much smoother electric motor. They fit within a similar opening as the original. They do not need as much ballast to run well, but adding some is a good idea for traction. I used small strips of lead fitted along the inside of the bodywork, as low as possible to keep the models balanced right.
As mentioned, I did not use coupling on this version of the model, but if a small slot were made in the front bumper and above the rear bumper Greenwich or similar couplings could be used.

Painting and finishing
Once all the additional bits and details were added and before glazing the model, I gave the model a final coat of grey spray primer and made sure all was ready for the final paint finish. For this model, I used some Humbrol enamels. These were a mixed pale green and an off white. Some details such as the window frames and bumpers were picked out in a silver enamel paint. I applied a coat of matt enamel varnish to the whole surface of the model.

The final job was to add the glazing in place to the inside of the upper bodywork. Once this was complete the bodywork was glued together and the handrails added and glued in place.

I used Cyanoacrylate (super) glue to fix these components together.

If you would like a 3D print of this model visit Shapeways at:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/QZUZADELF/009-waddington-rail-bus?optionId=168311932&li=shops

Wednesday 10 June 2020

009 Fowler Style Tram engine

This is a “what might have been” Fowler style steam tram engine, based on a Fowler traction engine’s boiler and funnel, the cab of a steam wagon, assembled on a footplate to go on rails. The result is a reverse running engine cab first with a large forward facing lamp, but it looks equally well as a small engine with a high mounted boiler and oval cab windows running forward. It would probably be used in various industrial settings or on small roadside tramways around the latter part of the 1800s.

I had a sample printed by Shapeways in Fine Detailed Plastic. When this arrived, I soaked it in Petroleum organic solvent – paint thinners (“White Sprits” in the UK) in order to remove the wax support residue left from printing, then I washed it in warm soapy water this should be left to fully dried before painting. I then used a grey spray primer to prep the model for finishing. In some areas, it may be necessary with some models to remove print lines from the surface, and this can be done with a burnishing tool - I use a hardwood stick with a rounded point to get in the tight spaces. Do these processes before separating the print into its component parts so you will be less likely to lose any of the small pieces.

Wirework and details

The next job was to add the handrails to the side of the cab. I obtained the wire for these from a supplier on eBay. I formed the cab side handrails as small staples bent with pliers to the right size and fitted into the pilot holes supplied on the model. The handrails were then glued in place with Cyanoacrylate (super) glue.

The smokebox on the model is a simple top-hinged affair so no dart will be needed.

The new Kato 11-110 chassis are a welcome improvement on the later version of the 11-104 which they replace, having more weight, different gearing, a brass flywheel and much smoother electric motor. They fit within a similar opening as the original. They do not need as much ballast to run well, but adding some is a good idea for traction. I used small strips of lead fitted along the inside of the skirts, also on the sides of the water tanks keeping this as low as possible to keep the engine's centre of balance as low as possible.

The couplings I used on this model were from RT Models ref 4NLP005 white metal Penryhn Locomotive couplings. Others could be fitted such as Greenwich or NEM couplings. The aperture in the buffer beams will take the Peco 103 NEM pockets and couplings.

Painting and finishing

Once all the additional bits and details were added I gave the model a final coat of grey spray primer and made sure all was ready of the final paint finish. For this model I was trying some Tamiya acrylic paints, I had decided this was going to be an industrial-looking model and finished in black, so I used the XF-85 Rubber Black on everything except the front buffer beam, which I used XF-7 Flat Red. Using these I noticed that each colour has a different consistency, the XF-7 being thin and needing several coats were as the XF-85 was smoother, creamer, and needed fewer coats. I picked out some details like the window frames in a brass enamel paint and the cab handrails I left in the brass wire to match. The cylinders, couplings, lamp, and smokebox door were painted in a gunmetal metallic enamel paint.

I wanted to add numbers transfers to the model so I applied a coat of clear gloss enamel varnish to the areas these were to be placed. This is a better surface to apply the transfers to and allows you to adjust and position them much easier. I used “Fox” 2mm waterslide transfers in gold for the cab sides and rear only. Once this was completed, I applied a coat of matt enamel varnish to the whole surface of the model, this also seals the transfers in place.

The final additions to the model were to add some real crushed coal to the two bunkers at the rear of the water tank next to the cab, by adding PVA glue to the bunker area and then tipping a small amount of the coal over this using a tube as a micro shovel to place it correctly.

In the past I have made some working lamps from white Plasticard and rhinestones of clear and red plastic and I used one of these for the rear running lamp for this engine and a larger rhinestone for the large lamp on the cab.

If you would like a 3D print of this model visit Shapeways at:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/QZZ3HCYNZ/009-fowler-style-tram-engine?optionId=118835606&li=shops

Thursday 14 May 2020

Articulated Geared Engine

Revised 2020 to include funnel options

The idea for this engine came from an original Hunslet catalogue. Although the design was, I believe originally produced by the Bristol-based Avonside Engine Co. I was struck by the unusual format of the engine and the possibility of developing a design to run on a Bo-Bo chassis. I found that a good option for the chassis was the BANDAI B-Train Shorty Powered Motorized Chassis 3, which gave me the opportunity to design coupling rods and hubs to add to the wheels, as they did not have fixed axle boxes covering the wheelsets.

The bodywork and details

Note, in 2020 I added a straight funnel as well as the original with the spark arrester, to give a different feel to the model that you can build.
The bodywork is printed in one main part with separate parts, which I think makes it easier to paint the model. The approach to finishing the print, which in this case is done in Fine Detailed Plastic, was to remove the wax support material from the print by soaking in petroleum paint thinners (white spirits in the UK) and then wash in warm (not hot) soapy water, leaving the model to dry overnight. I left all the parts attached together when I did this, so I did not lose any of the smaller parts.

The first parts I removed from the bodywork was the frame printed directly under the footplate, which included the steam pipework, lamps, and couplings. This will expose the connecting rods and hubs. The cylinders are printed within the cab area and removed last.

At this stage, it is an advantage to spray the model in a grey primer which will hi-light any distortions to the surface caused in the printing process. I further separated the hubs and the cylinders from the main body now to allow me to clean the surface of the print removing any furring and surface lining caused in the printing process of the model. Once this is completed a further couple of coats of spray primer will give a good surface to work with.

The chassis adaption

The design of the coupling rods and hubs needed to be done so that the new hubs could be aligned and quartered to each set of the existing wheels. To achieve this I had the idea to print the rods and hubs as a set, which were at the correct centres and orientation to be glued directly to the wheels.

The connection of the coupling rods to the new wheel hubs would be done using 14BA brass machine screws, nuts, and washers. These would be cut to remove the head and bonded into pre-printed pilot holes in the new extended wheel hubs, leaving them long so they can be trimmed off after final fitting.

The final print was set up with the four sets of hubs and coupling rods printed together off a central sprue. When fitting the hubs to the wheelsets, each pair of hubs still connected to a coupling rod has the 14BA threads put in place, which are glued in place and then glued to the wheel centres with a Cyanoacrylate (super) glue. A delicate job that needs to be done the right first time. Once this is done on all of the wheelsets the coupling rods can be separated from the hubs. The sprues will need to be cleaned off these and the holes in the coupling rods drilled out to give a loose fit to the 14BA threads. This loose fit is essential for the coupling rods to work without causing the whole mechanism to seize up. The washers are placed between the coupling rods and the nuts. These are not tightened but will be locked in place with a little contact adhesive when the final assembly is completed. You will find that all of the holes will need to be drilled out on both the hubs and the coupling rods. This is a restriction in the printing process the hole size can dictate the overall size of the printed parts.

The other items to be fitted to each bogie are the coupling assemblies, which are fitted within the existing N gauge coupling pockets. These are printed as a frame and the rear part of this is pushed into the U shapes housing left when the N gauge couplings are removed. I used a contact adhesive to bond the print into the pockets. I found it easier to complete the painting of these before finally gluing them in place.

There were a few bits to add to the model that I had sourced from suppliers. Smokebox door
darts were from RT models and the 0.45 mm brass wire I used for the cab handrails were from eBay. These were all added before the final coat of primer.

Painting and lining

It is an advantage to fit all the body parts before painting and final fitting in place. The main body of the engine was painted in a Revell enamel paint, ref matt 56 blue. Several thinned coats were applied to achieve a smooth surface to the paint finish. Before applying the lining transfers to the model, a coat of gloss varnish was applied to the surfaces and left to dry. This gives a much better surface to apply the transfers to as it also allows them to be moved into place much easier.

I also added a set of brass etched nameplates to the model, which were obtained from Narrow Planet who supply a large range of names and works plates are etched brass. They were fixed in place with a small amount of Cyanoacrylate (super) glue.

Other areas of the model such as the footplate, smokebox, funnel, couplings and bogie hubs were painted in a charcoal Revell enamel paint ref matt 9. In areas such as the steam pipes and cylinders, I wanted a metallic look to the finish so I mixed matt 9 with a silver 91 to get metallic gunmetal. I also hi-lighted some areas such as window frames and the dome with a brass finish paint. The buffer beams, hub faces, and coupling rods were finished in a Revell enamel paint ref matt 36 red.

Once all the painting was completed, a coat of matt varnish was applied over all areas, which has the effect of sealing the transfers and smoothing the joint between the etched plate and the model. If any area needed a gloss or shiny finish like the dome, I applied a little more gloss varnish to them.

I sorted out some figures for the crew and adjusted them to fit within the cab. It turned out better to add these to a small base plate and then paint them and was also much easier to add them into the cab afterwards.

The final touches to complete the model was the add some real coal into the bunker at the rear using PVA adhesive and real crushed up coal. Then the lamps were given some sparkle with some clear plastic rhinestones of a suitable size.

If you would like a 3D print of this model visit Shapeways at:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/4H279PJGA/009-hunslet-v-c-articulated-engine?optionId=113544516&li=shops