Rhinochugger
Retired Oik
Nothing like a bit of bad weather to assist with some good modelling 
Faur L45H / LxD2
- Thread starter jameshilton
- Start date
Zerogee
Clencher's Bogleman
Looking good, James! Still trying to make up my mind about ordering one, will probably wait till you get yours completed before I take the plunge.
One thing that occurred to me after your latest progress post - do you think the rigidly body-mounted couplers will give you any trouble on tight curves? I'm just thinking there is a good reason why LGB use bogie-mounted couplers in almost all cases, and that is to conform to their "R1 Rule". Did Rene ever specify a minimum radius for his design?
Jon.
One thing that occurred to me after your latest progress post - do you think the rigidly body-mounted couplers will give you any trouble on tight curves? I'm just thinking there is a good reason why LGB use bogie-mounted couplers in almost all cases, and that is to conform to their "R1 Rule". Did Rene ever specify a minimum radius for his design?
Jon.
jameshilton
Registered
Jon, thanks it's going together very easily 
A great product!
I don't envisage any problems with the body mounted couplers - my Frank S conversion has one with a similar overhand beyond the last wheel and that even has a hook. This one won't have hooks fitted at either end just in case. Rene hasn't quoted a miniumum radius but I will try it on my R1s on the indoor carpet train set when it's runnable
Ian, nothing like the 3 hour break between feeding and changing my 1 week old son more like!
A great product!I don't envisage any problems with the body mounted couplers - my Frank S conversion has one with a similar overhand beyond the last wheel and that even has a hook. This one won't have hooks fitted at either end just in case. Rene hasn't quoted a miniumum radius but I will try it on my R1s on the indoor carpet train set when it's runnable
Ian, nothing like the 3 hour break between feeding and changing my 1 week old son more like!
palmerston
trains
Found a few pictures, locos in Romania:
http://www.cfi.ro/index.php?p=2_26
see second page for a loco lineup
http://www.cfi.ro/index.php?p=2_26
see second page for a loco lineup
Zerogee
Clencher's Bogleman
Very nice and useful pics, Palmerston - I especially like the bright yellow ones with the grey chassis and underframes.
These locos seem to be operating in so many different colour schemes that you could get away with almost anything, and hardly have to invoke Rule 8 at all!
Jon.
These locos seem to be operating in so many different colour schemes that you could get away with almost anything, and hardly have to invoke Rule 8 at all!
Jon.
jameshilton
Registered
No real progress to report, but I brought over from Chester my Bachmann Scencraft figures to check the size of the cab. I think I might use one of them as a crew member, probably Bruce with the orange torch...
Anyway a bit of whimsy...
Geoff has been asked by the lines Chief Engineer to check progress on the railway's latest acquisition. It seems to be coming together but he's struggling to make sense of the builders drawings as they're in German and despite speaking and reading a little of the language the strong black coffee is not shifting the remnants of this mornings hangover. Wednesday night is poker night for the workshop regulars, and Geoff lost a packet as usual.
Bruce on the other hand is a little anxious about the current lack of driver facilities...
Anyway a bit of whimsy...
Geoff has been asked by the lines Chief Engineer to check progress on the railway's latest acquisition. It seems to be coming together but he's struggling to make sense of the builders drawings as they're in German and despite speaking and reading a little of the language the strong black coffee is not shifting the remnants of this mornings hangover. Wednesday night is poker night for the workshop regulars, and Geoff lost a packet as usual.
Bruce on the other hand is a little anxious about the current lack of driver facilities...
jameshilton
Registered
This morning I've started to glue the body together for the Blauturm (http://www.blauturm.de/ < Link To www.blauturm.de) Lxd2 kit.
The picture is a little misleading, I've balanced bits together to work out the next stage. The long bonnet is now together though up to the cab front. Once the glue is dry I can do the cab and the short bonnet. I'll then leave it to dry again before doing the roof. It's a good fit but will need some filler in places.
Elly joined me and helped put by doing an assembly diagram! Seen here midway through drawing!
The picture is a little misleading, I've balanced bits together to work out the next stage. The long bonnet is now together though up to the cab front. Once the glue is dry I can do the cab and the short bonnet. I'll then leave it to dry again before doing the roof. It's a good fit but will need some filler in places.
Elly joined me and helped put by doing an assembly diagram! Seen here midway through drawing!
Rhinochugger
Retired Oik
jameshilton said:
Nice one - train 'em young
Zerogee
Clencher's Bogleman
James - still coming on nicely! By the way, did you ever work out just what scale this kit is made to? What is the length/width of the footplate? From the plans you posted right at the beginning of this thread, the original is 9.4 metres long (footplate only, excluding buffers/couplings) and 2.2 metres wide, which should work out at about 418mm x 98mm IF it is to 1:22.5 scale. Several people have commented earlier that the "real" loco is actually surprisingly small - I think it's probably because it has the sort of overall shape of a big US type standard-gauge loco, so the natural assumption is that it should be bigger than it is!
Jon.
Jon.
Jon.
Jon.
jameshilton
Registered
Hi Jon - length of the footplate is about 42cm, width about 10cm (a touch wider on the ends) so yeah 1:22.5
so yeah 1:22.5
jameshilton
Registered
Through discussion with Jon we've determined the Faur has been scaled to 1:22. To show how it squares up to the ubiquitous LGB starter set coach Bruce and Geoff arranged this posed shot. The coach has a higher peak Austrian outline roof, the highest of the LGB variants, and I think it looks fine. The body is all glued together now so I'm going to detail the cab interior before I glue the roof on as it will be easier to do it that way. Definitely getting there now!
Zerogee
Clencher's Bogleman
Looking very nice, James, and looks spot-on with the LGB coach! Did you use the opportunity to check things like coupling heights (not that I'd expect there to be any problems, Rene seems to have done his homework)?
One question - is the finished body screwed onto the chassis/footplate, or are you meant to simply glue it on? Or are there removable access panels on the roof? Just wondering about ease of access to the finished model's interior (inside the hoods, not the cab) for maintenance of bogie pivots, wiring, decoder, lights etc., and for adding any extra weights should that prove necessary?
Jon.
One question - is the finished body screwed onto the chassis/footplate, or are you meant to simply glue it on? Or are there removable access panels on the roof? Just wondering about ease of access to the finished model's interior (inside the hoods, not the cab) for maintenance of bogie pivots, wiring, decoder, lights etc., and for adding any extra weights should that prove necessary?
Jon.
jameshilton
Registered
Jon - it's screwed on, by a myriad of screws along each hood so it's easily removable but very secure. The base of the shell is thick (5mm+) plasticard so I don't envisage problems. I've got plenty of extra weight to add once I've tested it if required. You can get access to the cab with the roof on, just not enough to add the sort of detail I'd like to include
As for coupling height - a bit difficult to do without some track and a few different items of stock, but eyeballing against the mount on the LGB coach it looks spot on, as I would expect - everything else has been
Once the roof is on and the lights and roof bits all glued and cut to shape I'll work over the body with filler just finishing off where I haven't quite got things spot on when it went together, generally though the finish is good, and has been easy to achieve
Jon if you do get one would you go for the same body style or the panelled doors?
As for coupling height - a bit difficult to do without some track and a few different items of stock, but eyeballing against the mount on the LGB coach it looks spot on, as I would expect - everything else has been
Once the roof is on and the lights and roof bits all glued and cut to shape I'll work over the body with filler just finishing off where I haven't quite got things spot on when it went together, generally though the finish is good, and has been easy to achieve
Jon if you do get one would you go for the same body style or the panelled doors?
CoggesRailway
Registered
very enjoyable thread! I probably missed it, but what motor blocks are those?
jameshilton
Registered
I'm still not quite sure how I'm going to paint the cab and fit the glazing as the roof makes access virtually impossible. The kit glazing is unfortunately not laser cut flush glazing panes either but instead four pieces that make up a box. Problem is they're even difficult to get in! So in the meantime I've started on the cab details.
So far the hand brake is fitted, this, like the prototype sits on a box with rounded edges. I've also knocked up the handrail around the large central box. I made some radiators for behind each cab door too, these are sections of 1mm strip plasticard cut from the kit sprue and then glued together with slices of 1mm diameter plastic-rod. I also started the first of the control boxes, although it still needs the dials adding.
So I think I'm going to need to paint, then seal and protect the cab before fitting the roof and finishing the body. That part is relatively easy. What to do about the glazing, that's the quandary! Anyone know anyone who can do laser cut pieces?
So far the hand brake is fitted, this, like the prototype sits on a box with rounded edges. I've also knocked up the handrail around the large central box. I made some radiators for behind each cab door too, these are sections of 1mm strip plasticard cut from the kit sprue and then glued together with slices of 1mm diameter plastic-rod. I also started the first of the control boxes, although it still needs the dials adding.
So I think I'm going to need to paint, then seal and protect the cab before fitting the roof and finishing the body. That part is relatively easy. What to do about the glazing, that's the quandary! Anyone know anyone who can do laser cut pieces?
jameshilton said:
We can do that, as can a fair few other G scale suppliers. Trouble is, for obvious reasons it's normal to spec/design the glazing as part of the same process as the kit to get a nice fit. Even then getting an interference fit is not the easiest process, even when you know what you're aiming at. Rounded corners make it even more difficult to get it right.
Hence my personal preference is to fit slightly oversize glazing to a pocket on the inside of the vehicle (see pics), for a semi-flush appearance (see pics). It also means that any adhesive needed is automatically hidden.
Doesn't look as though that's really an option here, so I suspect the best solution is a sheet of glazing, patience, and some needle files. However accurately you measure the window appertures, I suspect that you'll have to go through several iterations of laser cutting to get a decent set, and that's going to cost.
Jonathan
RDE
jameshilton
Registered
Jonathan, would it be possible though, to do something where the glazing has an edge instead, I guess you'd have to try and mill glazing material then though? My current thought was just ten thou material cut to be just slightly larger and glued carefully on the inside, with much cursing too no doubt! A semi flush glazed version of the same idea would make things a lot easier!