nimrod54 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I am sure that a lot of modellers will have had a model railway layout as a Christmas gift at some point during their childhood. I am also sure that most of those who did, spent a lot of time trying to wrestle the controller from Dad and I was no exception to this. I remember Dad buying many of the Airfix buildings and lineside accessories that were available as OUR layout developed, and I think helping/hampering to build these sparked an interest in other areas of modelling, probably a result of failing to gain access to the said controller. Do I still have a model railway? Yes, I have a small amount of Hornby/Minitrix N gauge stuff, the remnants of a 14ft (4.27m) x 2ft 6in (0.76m) layout, but sadly all of this is packed away in the loft. I wanted to do something different from my usual fayre for this GB and so, in an effort to rekindle some of those happy childhood memories, I decided a return to railway modelling may be a good idea. My choice for this build will be a Great Western Railways 3700 City Class loco 'City of Truro'. The 3700 class was designed by George Jackson Churchward and 'City of Truro' was built at the Swindon works in 1903. In 1904 'City of Truro' went on to achieve a record a speed for a steam locomotive of 100mph (averaged over two 1/4 mile posts). Although there is an earlier claim of 100mph recorded in 1893 by the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad, there seems to be little documented evidence to support this. The kit I am using is the old Kitmaster trackside model moulding which Airfix released at one time before the tooling passed to Dapol. I hope to try and improve some of the detail by removing the moulded handrails etc and replacing them, but need to see what, if any, aftermarket stuff is available to help first. Any help in my search from you model railway buffs out there, would be much appreciated. In the meantime here are a couple of bag shots of the kit. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiGFan79 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Ye gods, that's a blast from the past. One of the magazines used this as a base for a motorised model (pre Bachmann doing it). They used the upper part of the kit OOB except for adding handrails and a few other fittings, it looked very very good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I can recommend Mainly Trains for detailing components having used them when I used to model in OO. http://www.mainlytrains.co.uk/acatalog/index.html See links below for handrail components and boiler fittings respectively. http://www.mainlytrains.co.uk/acatalog/4mm-loc-bod-steps+handrailknobswire.html http://www.mainlytrains.co.uk/acatalog/4mm-loc-boilerfittings.html Best of luck. Karl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 Thanks for the links Karl, they are going to be very useful. It's been over thirty years since I have done any railway modelling so I am really out of touch with stuff that is available now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimbledon99 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I have a Schools Class 'Kings Wimbledon' and was really tempted to build it for this GB. However, my building time can be limited and I was worried about not finishing. No matter, this thread now provides the pleasure of seeing a 'Loco' being built I'm sure I'll be taking away lots of tips! Cheers Nigel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Top choice John, & I have an Evening Star in the stash. Plan is to do the same with the handrails. Will be watching & taking notes. No pressure then. Hope you enjoy the build & the memories. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 I'm not a railway modeller, but I am really looking forward to following this build Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 One of the most appealing things about this GB is the diverse range of potential subjects and this is another example of it. Nice choice John. How good a quality are the parts? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted December 31, 2015 Author Share Posted December 31, 2015 Top choice John, & I have an Evening Star in the stash. Plan is to do the same with the handrails. Will be watching & taking notes. No pressure then. Hope you enjoy the build & the memories. Cheers buddy. I have the Evening Star kit as well, but I made the mistake of asking Mrs N which kit I should build first and this one won because, and I quote, "It looks more Old Fashioned". Efforts to point out that they were both steam locomotives and so both may be considered 'Old Fashioned' fell on stony ground. So it is this one and if time permits I may start Evening Star too. I'm not a railway modeller, but I am really looking forward to following this build Cliff Welcome aboard Cliff. I'll try and keep things on the right track, signals permitting of course. One of the most appealing things about this GB is the diverse range of potential subjects and this is another example of it. Nice choice John. How good a quality are the parts? The usual fayre Col for a kit of 50+ years. Some flash, some chunky looking parts and some areas, such as the handrails, that need refining - I am sure that these items would be moulded separately using todays techniques. But, it is what it is and I think that, with the use of some AM parts, I should get a decent result from what is there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Great idea for a project for this GB! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Should be interesting... I have this, and the Schools class, and ES, and Rocket, the Mogul is built but needs finishing. The Deltic, Railcar and class 03 are being powered and need finishing also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted January 1, 2016 Author Share Posted January 1, 2016 Cheers fellas, I thought that there would be plenty of aircraft made for this and so decided to give one of these a bash. The nice thing about this GB is the range of subjects that could be tackled and that means lots of opportunities for people to try something different. Still waiting for someone add a Black Cab to the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted January 2, 2016 Author Share Posted January 2, 2016 So it's time for the off. I have opened the bag this morning and photographed the parts and they don't look too bad. The plan is to build it as much out of the bag as possible and refine some of the details to improve the appearance. I will probably start with the loco chassis and tender first and that will give me time to sort out the parts I need. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I'd definitely be inclined to go with etched name and number plates and ditch the decals. Are you going with the fully lined Edwardian scheme with deep red frames? That would look great! Karl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 I'd definitely be inclined to go with etched name and number plates and ditch the decals. Are you going with the fully lined Edwardian scheme with deep red frames? That would look great! Karl Yes, I'm looking at going that way for the nameplate Karl. Bit less certain about the scheme yet, I agree the Edwardian lined scheme would look good though, especially with some suitable figures on the footplate. It would have to be decals for the lining though cos my hands ain't steady enough for that. Anyhow, time for an update, I know I said I would probably start with the frame and tender but who can resist a quick look at the boiler - well not me for one. Just a couple of sink marks to deal with and a couple more underneath. Most of the detail on the boiler should be readily available and I will remove that when I get hold of the replacement bits. After that side track, I assembled the drive wheels and those for the tender and then started work on the tender itself. I decided to remove the plastic coal and this will be replaced with something more realistic later, I did this by chain drilling and cutting through the holes with a sharp blade. I then added a new floor and some side walls to fill the gap left by the coal removal. I have also removed the two hand rails from the top of the front end, but still have to take off the two seen here on the back of the tender. Then one more look at things together - minus the front bogie and side frames. Thanks for looking in. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Looking good John, the tender already looks better without the plastic coal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimbledon99 Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Nice start - Already taking shape! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Looking good! It appears they have already molded the lining on the tender for you! Karl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Good to see this one taking shape John. I now understand what you mean about items such as the handrails benefiting from replacement; not the worst representation as kitted but certainly leaving room for your improvements. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 Just a bit more done over the course of this week. The frames that hold the drive wheels have ben cleaned up ready for paint and the boiler halves have been glued together. I removed the hinge pin on the smoke-box door and replaced it with a short section of brass and this was then added to the boiler. I now need to fill the join and then clean that up and I have ordered some brass door darts to replace those on the door. Then I made a start on removing the moulded handrail detail from the boiler, taking care not to lose the boiler bands and washout plugs. I might replace these details, it all depends on how things look after the clean up. The replacement bits for the handrails are on order and I have also ordered some other extras to improve the steps on the tender and the details on the buffer beams. The photo below shows one side with the handrail removed, I will leave the other side for the moment as a reference for fitting the replacement parts when they arrive. Cheers until next time. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 That's some nice work John. Looking forward to seeing the difference the replacement parts make. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimbledon99 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 This is looking great!!It's proving a real incentive for me to build a loco this year 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecov Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Coming on nicely. Can't wait to see the new handrails and boiler bits in place. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 That's some nice work John. Looking forward to seeing the difference the replacement parts make. This is looking great!!It's proving a real incentive for me to build a loco this year Coming on nicely. Can't wait to see the new handrails and boiler bits in place. Dave Thanks for the kind comments chaps. So there's no pressure when the bits arrive then. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 A nice little parcel from Mainly Trains arrived earlier today and included the handrail knobs and wire, lamp brackets, screw link couplings and some etch steps for the tender. Still to come are a couple of column brake controls for the tender and some vacuum pipes, there should be enough left of the handrail stuff to use on the Evening Star kit when I eventually get around to that. I just need to get the bits on the kit now. I thought that I had also ordered some replacement door darts for the smoke box but it looks as though I missed those off when ordering, so I still have to get those along with a set of replacement nameplates and numbers. Busy time ahead then. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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