A Curved Handrail

After the success of using a small jig to produce the straight handrails, I then attempted to do the curved rail for the front of the loco. I couldn't think of a clever way to design a jig for this one so had to do it freehand. Amazingly it turned out pretty well.

I started with a straight piece of wire which I pulled round the handle of a small file (as you would when trying to curl ribbon when wrapping a present). This introduced a nice consistent curl to the wire, although one that wasn't quite as tight as I needed.I then slid on the five short handrail knobs. The middle one was soldered solid to the centre of the wire and was then gently fitted to the loco. This was then held in place with a piece of masking tape that ran along the top of the boiler over the knob and on to the smokebox front. I then fitted the other handrails into the holes and taped everything down. I could then solder these to the wire as well.

I then removed the handrail from the boiler and taped it flat to a piece of wood. The straight lengths which lead back to the side tanks were then soldered the best I could to the back of the handrail knobs. The extra wire was then trimmed away and the whole thing trial fitted back onto the model. Amazingly it all still fits (although yes it still needs cleaning up) and just about stays in place on it's own -- it's springing out slightly but nothing that won't be fixed once it's glued in place after the painting is done.

Handrail Jig

I hate making up handrails. It's not too bad if they are straight and attach to the locomotive via handrail knobs, but if you have to bend the wire at each end to fit into holes it's a complete nightmare. Previously I've done it by eye and ended up making a bunch before I get one that is just right. Some kits will proivide a jig (often just two correctly spaced cutouts on the edge of the fret of edged parts) to make life easier, but no such luck with this kit.

For Ivor I need to make up three rails. For now I'm ignoring the complex curved rail around the smokebox and am concentrating instead on the other two which are at the front of the cab to help Jones the Steam climb up into Ivor. Instead of struggling I thought I'd make up a quick jig so I could make two idenitcal rails, one for each side of the loco. I'm sure for many people reading this the idea won't be novel or exciting but I thought I might as well document it anyway.... if for no other reason so I remember the approach for next time!

First step was to stick a strip of masking tape down the side of the cab over both holes. I then used a 0.5mm drill bit to pierce two small holes inthe tape.

The masking tape was then carefully transfered to a piece of thin plastic strip and the 0.5mm drill used to make two holes.

I then removed the tape and cut a V shapped notch from the end of the stip down to one of the holes. This completes the jig showing just how easy it was to make.

To make a handrail I started by putting a 90 degree bend into a short length of 0.5mm brass rod

The short end of the bent rod was then pushed through the hole in the jig and flat nosed pliers were used to grip the other end, making sure to hold it tight just shy of the hole.

The wire was then bent through the notch into the hole to give the second 90 degree bend against the pliers.

The completed handrail can then be easily removed from the jig.

And the most important bit, it fits perfectly into the holes on the locomotive.

I still have to attach the handrails to the loco but that is usually trivial in comparison to making them up.

Two Small Steps for Ivor, One Giant Leap for Jones the Steam

Most of the remaining detailing of Ivor will involve me fabricating parts (like the hand rails) but there is one detail that needs making up from etched parts and these are the steps to help Jones the Steam up into the cab.

The photo shows one assembled and one still as the flat part. Given their small size they were a nightmare to fold (even with the hold and fold) and in fact the close up photo shows I didn't quite get the right hand edge of that one completely square. I'll probably end up gluing these to the body as I won't be able to use the blow torch to attach them without them coming undone and I doubt I can get the heat in with the soldering iron, but at least the tricky part of making them up is done

Side Tanks and Boiler Fittings

With the cab and boiler fixed to the footplate the last piece of bodywork that needed fitting was the side tanks. These were simple to fold up and attach, again using the blow torch; still no burnt fingers and this time not only did I not undo any previous joints I also didn't set anything on fire. With the body essentially complete except for details like hand rails etc. I couldn't help but fit the chassis and rest the chimney and dome/water filler in place to finally get a feel for how the completed model will look.

My first thoughts are that it looks prety good. The question is how well does it actually compare to the drawings in my childhood book that I'm using for prototype information.

Well it's not terrible although there are a number of things that jump out at me as being not quite right. I think the body is too tall; specifically there is way too much boiler visible above the top of the side tanks, which in turn forces the cab to be too tall. The dome (not actually sure what it is as it seems to have a lid, but it isn't part of the tanks) is also too tall compared to the chimney. I might see if I can design and print a better proportioned replacement. Also I can't see guard irons by the wheels in any of the original drawings, so I wonder why they were added to the model chassis. Trying to work out if I should cut them off or leave them on.

I guess the issues are that the original drawings are obviously 2D, and so there is no requirement that the dimensions shown also work across the width of the loco; i.e. with a boiler that small the tanks would have to be much wider (across the loco) in order for them to touch the boiler and be that close to the edge of the footplate. Making the tanks wider would have looked really odd, so they increased the boiler size instead which then stretches the height of the cab etc. Basically the model was never going to be able to perfectly match the original drawings and I think the designer has done a reasonable job of making something that looks about right.

All in all, I'm happy with how it's turned out so far. Next step will be sorting out some of the detailing parts (hand rails, steps etc.) and then I can move on to painting. I'll start with painting the chassis and wheels so I can then deal with the coupling rods and correctly quartering the wheels, before I attempt to paint the body.

Fire in the Boiler

Having attached the boiler to the cab, the next step was to join that part to the footplate. After the previous issues with getting enough heat into the joints using a soldering iron, I didn't even bother trying and went straight to using the blow torch.

Amazingly I managed to do all the joints without burning my fingers or having any of the previous joints come undone. I did manage to set fire to the piece of wood I was resting things on though which had the nice effect of smoke curling out of the hole where the chimney will fit!

We Need More Heat!

Whilst soldering the smokebox end of the boiler was reasonably straightforward, soldering the boiler to the cab was an absolute nightmare, although I did get there in the end and without any burnt fingers. Positioning the boiler was reasonably easy as there is a nice hole for the whistle that makes sure I know where the top is, and then it slots into a half etched ring on the cab front, and there are three little tabs on the end which further slot into holes on the cab front. The problem was that I just couldn't get enough heat into the joins to solder it in place.

As you can see I did eventually get it soldered on but not without having to find a different source of heat. When I used the soldering iron the solder paste would run but not melt, and the solid solder would melt into a blob but I couldn't get it to flow. Both issues were caused because I couldn't get the solder hot enough as the heat is pulled away into the rest of the brass that makes up the cab and boiler rather than staying close to the tip of the soldering iron where I want it. The solution was to switch tools to something with a bit more heat.

As you can see from the photo I own two gas torches. I've tried using the large cooks one before and managed to burn a whole through a brass part, so my plan was to use the small modellling torch instead. Unfortunately the small torch is useless. I had no problems filling it with gaz but couldn't get it to light properly. With the valve open the gaz was coming out and would light if I held a match in front of it, but it wouldn't stay lit when you removed the match. No idea what's wrong with it as although it's been in my toolbox for a while this was the first time I'd actually tried using it. So with more than a little trepedation I used the large cooks torch instead.

With the parts held gently in place, using a mixture of masking tape and coffee stirrers, I added some solder paste and then gently wafted the flame over the joint. Within no time at all the paste melted, flowed, and formed a nice joint. It's difficult to get the larger flame into odd places but I think I'll be using the torch again in the future for cases like this. Although I might see if I can find a smaller modelling torch that actually works.

Just as a final photo here is the mess I made on the inside of the boiler when trying to use the soldering iron. As you can see the solder turned into a blob but I just couldn't get it to flow and form a join. Anyway it was a useful lesson to learn that I can use the torch to make these kinds of joint if I need to.

Still some cleaning up of the joint to do before I move on, but I think that is the hardest part of the body built quite successfully.

It's Still a Cylinder

Having rolled the boiler the next step is to fit the smokebox door (or what amounts to the smokebox door on Ivor). This is basically just a flat circular part that cabs one end of the boiler. It has a slight half etched rim around the edge to help positioning the two parts. I gently cut away the sacrificial pieces (needed to help during rolling) and then carefully taped the two parts together as best I could.

Even having removed the sacrificial pieces there isn't a huge amount of space to get a soldering iron inside the boiler but I managed to avoid burning my fingers and am pretty happy with the result.

In the cruel larger than life photo I can see a couple of tiny spots that might need a little filler, although I can't really see them with the naked eye. Either way, I'm really happy with that, given it's the first boiler I've rolled and assembled. Now I just have to solder it to the cab front hopefully straight so that the chimney will be properly vertical.