Faur L45H / LxD2

Gizzy, thanks, the loco seems to be 373...
http://www.tabor.wask.pl/egzemplarz...deo! Thanks everyone else too, good finds!
 
VERY EXCITING news! I received an email from Rene that my kit was ready and he was going to send me a Paypal payment request :)

That's over a week shorter than the quoted 6 week lead time :D

More very soon...
 
Looking forward to seeing the first pics, James - knowing you, I'm sure you'll photo-document everything from the first opening of the box and all through the build. Really curious to see what this looks like as a kit!

Jon.
 
Sorry chaps - I was in a rush but wanted to let people know it had arrived...
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Well I've not had much time to digest and work out the contents or assembly yet but here are what you get in the box...

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A set of detailing and smaller parts. Rene has assembled the side frames and bent the cab roof sections.

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The motor bogies, initially we thought these might be USA trains, but on closer inspection I wonder if Rene handcrafts them?

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Then a big set of flat styrene. This is cleanly cut from a variety of thicknesses.

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Finally a set of exploded drawings with notes on them in German. I'll use Google translate to understand these before work starts.

I plan to use mainly polystyrene cement for construction, and superglue for the metal parts. I think I'll begin with the chassis, probably at the weekend.

Generally though very pleased at this stage with the quality of parts and service from http://www.blauturm.de/ < Link To www.blauturm.de so if you're after a kit of something a little different then give Rene a try!
 
Looking at the trucks, I still think they're USAtrains wheels, and the slider shoes look familiar too, but the basic block having screws in the side isn't. Best guess is home-brewed cases using USAt wheelsets, gears, motors etc. - that would allow subtle changes in wheelbase to match the prototype too. Nice job anyway.

Jonathan
RDE
 
James, I guess building the kit might be a little bit back-burnered by your forthcoming addition to the family, but when you get back to it, just one thought (prompted by some of the discussion at the GRS Massoth Course today) - if the motor blocks are indeed built around USA Trains motors and gears, I would put an ammeter on them and find out what they draw. If I'm remembering your earlier posts correctly, you still use a fairly small power supply (unless you've recently got a new one?) and there were experiences being swapped today of USAT locos drawing relatively huge amp numbers - anything from 4 to 8 amps was being suggested! The thing is, if these figures are typical (and I've never run a USAT loco, so I'm only going on hearsay) then you might find that the motor blocks on the Faur are sufficiently amp-hungry to cause you powerpack problems, and also an XLS decoder MIGHT not be up to the job either - if you find you'll need more than the 3.5 amps that an XLS is rated at, the best solution would probably be one of the 8-amp XXL driving decoders and a separate S unit for the sound......
Of course, it might all be fine - but I'd definitely check to be on the safe side, before buying any of the electronics.

Jon.
 
Must be the angle the photo was taken at, but the bottom of that motor block looks very low - almost level with the bottom of the wheel tread?
 
Thanks chaps I shall check the amp drawer on these, and see, but I don't expect massive numbers, they run fine on my old OO controller, which isn't particularly high powered. For the garden I have a nice Helmsman 5AMP unit these days so it's not a major concern, but I wouldn't want to kill an expensive sound chip so it's a tip worth knowing :)

PS - there is at least 3mm clearance between the wheel tread and the base of the motor unit, it is just the angle of the photo :)
 
No probs, James, actually now you've reminded me I do recall something about you getting a Helmsman!

While you're checking the amp draw of the blocks, I'd certainly try to do it under some sort of simulated load - eg: just pressing them gently down onto the test rollers while they're running and make sure the amps don't shoot up too alarmingly.
With the short trains you run it should be OK - it's quite possible that the USAT horror stories are from people who drag fifty coal hoppers behind one!

BTW, when you're ready to buy your speaker, I'd wholeheartedly recommend the Massoth 8241070, their FRS7 Visaton 15 watt jobbie - square mounting plate 67x67mm overall, corner holes on about 55mm centres (along sides - across diameter, more like 75mm), and 31mm high. Nice rubber mounting plate face for a good sound seal, with a 'kin great magnet and they sound great with a good enclosure behind them. Should be under 15 quid at most stockists - yes, you could get one cheaper probably from a generic supplier, but this one comes with the little Massoth 2-pin plug all nicely fitted ready to plug straight into the S or XLS board - buy a generic speaker and you'd have to source a plug and fit it, adding to both cost and hassle. If those dimensions are OK in your speaker location on the loco, I'd say this is the one to go for. :bigsmile:

Jon.

PS: good luck to you and the missus for tomorrow!
 
How do eat an elephant?

Piece by piece...
And so the same with the Blauturm kit. With nothing but exploded views I've been apprehensive about starting but once you do it becomes even more apparent what a well designed and laid out kit this is! The styrene cuts, glues and cleans up well, Rene has grouped parts together, and the fit is perfect every time! I've spent a very pleasant half hour putting the first pair of bogies together, the only deviation from the kit, Rene suggests a paper clip wrapped in tape to represent the turn buckle, I ended up using 0.9mm brass rod and some Evergreen styrene tube I had in my bits box.

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Looking good so far and now the seal is broken...
 
Saw these in Saxony James - looks pretty similar.
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and on the standard gauge
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Thanks Alan, Bruce has already emailed me ones of L45H-84, I hadn't realized you'd also seen 348, that's the body style my kit represents, the original batch from Faur I believe.
 
I've continued with the Blauturm Lxd2 kit today grabbing the odd half hour and I'm now well on with the chassis, to the point where I think I need to sort out a sound chip and speaker! The underframe has a speaker grill built into the fuel tanks, yet to be slotted into place but I might struggle to get it in if I leave it much longer, I'll work it all out later on.
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The only modification I've made is to score a tapered groove into the top edge of the fuel tank as the prototype isn't smooth here but two pieces, with the tank inset about an inch or so, I couldn't scribe that deep but I hope the slight relief I've added will create the illusion that it's two pieces. This was done with a straight edge and a chisel blade in my smaller scalpel, dragged lightly over the surface at a slight angle until the groove was formed, it is sharp on the top edge and tapered out below.
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When I asked Rene the best way to assemble this kit he just said cut out the bits and assemble it by hand first, without glue...
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Seemed good advice, a dry run to check the best way to fit parts together and where you'd need to apply glue, even whether to use liquid poly or polystyrene cement...
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So I did! I couldn't resist cutting a body side out to look at how it fitted together.

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I've now moved on to the body side panels, before I do the assembly properly later this weekend...
 
Well time marches on and I've been doing more bits and pieces to the Lxd2 in the past few days...

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I've finished most of the chassis details and have been working on the body side louvres. These are quite fiddly to get set at the same angle and I wanted to show mine slightly open.

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I've used white superfine Milliput on the ends to produce the smooth rounded edge, they'll need a little bit of extra work once the body is glued together but it was easier than trying to smooth just the stepped cut plasticard.

In the bits box I found two LGB couplings which just clip and screw straight onto the buffer beams. The boxes behind the buffers are packed full of weights to be fitted before I glue the fronts on.

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I also found a pair of centre buffers from a spare set supplied with my LGB 'standard gauge' roll-wagen load open wagon. These were perfect, a slight adjustment with a file to the base to fit and cutting off the rear clip with a razor saw, I'll superglue them into position when the buffer beams are painted.

So I'm pretty much ready to now assemble the bodywork - and then I'm going to start scratchbuilding a cab interior to do the kit justice as I've gather quite a few cab interior shots of these from the internet and it has such large windows :)

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