Model Building Progress

Progress this week was on three construction projects.  I was building sideframes for my QR DH.  I shortened three of them instead of making new ones.  I added the sand boxes and spray painted them black. 

The second project was continuing work on my QR 2050 railmotor.  This is where most of the work was concentrated.  It included making a step board out from both end doors.  This was made by using checker plate patterned styrene.  I have some sheets of this in styrene around and I used up way less than 1 cm x 1 cm.  My prototype photos of the railmotor showed that the small step board had a checker plate pattern, so I added one to each end of my model.  I then made some buffers.  I had to fit the buffers.  I also added air hoses, KD couplers and MU cables.  I also got around to adding an extra inline resistor to the rear marker lights.  I did the same to the front marker lights and this has reduced the light intensity of these lights.  I also did a bit of work on the front section of the roof.  There was a gap between the roof section and the front piece of styrene for the railmotor front.  So I added some extra styrene to the roof piece and then sanded it back down.  It now fits like a glove.  I also needed to adjust the roof line at the front of the roof, so more work has been undertaken here and it does look a lot better.  I made up some homemade battery boxes, added an engine and then the fuel tank, and air cylinders for the undersides.  At that time, the underside components still need to be painted.  I have been compiling photos of the bogie sideframes for the QR 2050 railmotor and I think I really need to try and get a 3D printed version, as I’m not sure I can find some plastic springs to use in scratch building the bogies for the railmotor.  I think it will be huge scratch building effort.  But I will investigate further.

The front of the railmotor with the MU cable, buffers, KD, and air hoses.  Just don't look to closely at the front.  The 3 foot rule applies here.

A side view with the underfloor detail applied.

The other side of the railmotor.

The next model that received some focus was my long ignored QR HO wagon.  I removed some styrene tie down rods and replaced these with phosphor bronze wire.  I added brake hoses, and couplers.  Under the wagon I added the various brake pipe pipework and the brake cylinder.  I added door locking bars, and door hinges and door latches.  I eventually got around to adding the uncoupler lift bars on Saturday, but I made these early on in the week.  I started making the various underfloor air tanks as my spares collection is running low.  I was able to obtain a parts layout for the HO wagon equipment from Arthur Hayes and this helped me identify and locate this equipment.  I had been going through my decal collection and I need to get some items.  I swapped some white metal bogies that I was going to use on this HO wagon, with what I had on another wagon.  The other wagon had some Wuiske bogies.  The Wuiske bogies allowed me to use a cutdown pair of Kadee #441 brake hangers for HO (16.5mm) that I narrowed to 12mm.  These fit over the Wuiske spacers and sit nicely on the bogie and makes the bogie look complete.  I couldn't use them on the white metal bogie.  Hopefully I get an extra point when I submit that model for assessment in the future.  All of these items also need to be painted.  While watching the NRL on TV today, I painted the underside of my QR QH, QR HO wagon and the QR 2050 railmotor.

The HO wagon with coupler lift var, air hoses and various detail items applied

Showing off some of the detail items.

I will need to go through a huge list of activities still to complete this HO wagon.  Then I have a second one to complete.

I glued the side frames to the QR DH bogies, two on Friday and 2 on Saturday.

I went to a local Buy and Sell this morning and that was a wasted $5 entry fee.  I had a great time talking to some mates there, but nothing in the detail range that I actually wanted to buy was there.  Looks like there is a Casula order coming this week.