Eureka R-class....No Really!

It has been a long process, but nearly 8 years after they were first announced, the Eureka Models R-class has finally arrived. The model has had a difficult birth, much the same as the real locomotives which spent more than 20 years in development. Eureka had to endure a change of factory a few years into the project, and other delays with sound chips for the DCC sound versions. However they are now here and being delivered to customers. Mine was delivered to me yesterday and I was eager to unpack the model and put it through its paces. Unfortunately the number I had ordered (R761 as preserved) was not the model I ended up with; R727 in 'as delivered' condition. On closer inspection I noticed the numberplates are only plastic mouldings with the numbers printed on, so rather than send the model back I will obtain some proper etched numberplates from a 3rd party manufacturer. Other than being the wrong number, the model itself is very nicely detailed. The cab interior has all the seats, brakestand and controls modeled, but will benefit from a bit of work with a paintbrush to add some colour. The driving wheels are chemically blackened but still appear shiny, so again some paint will cure this.

On the track under power the model performs well. There is very little motor noise and it track well through points and over undulations in trackwork. I've yet to do a  full load test but the engine easily handled hauling 2 Auscision E cars. The prototype was not regarded as a heavy freight loco but rather a fast passenger loco capable of hauling a 4-6 car train at up to 70mph. As such a single R might look odd a train of more than 6 E type cars. In preservation it is common to see a R haul close to 10 cars on flat sections of track such as Melbourne-Geelong without assistance.

Anyway enough gassbagging, here are some photos of the model:

In due course the model will recieve:
-New numberplates.
-A paintjob to the cab interior.
-A crew.
-Paint to the driving wheels.
-Paint to the buffers.
-A DCC decoder (possibly sound).
-An improved front coupler to those supplied.
 

Project Vulcan Part 2

With the weather turning bad recently I haven't had a chance to finish the AW car. So I decided to at least get the J-class tender finished. Assembling the oil tank proved an interesting exercise, and I opted to follow the instructions to make my job easier. The tank wrapper is brass, and the ends are whitemetal. To join the 3 components the inside of the tank wrapper was tinned with standard solder, then a layer of low-melt solder. The tank ends were inserted and flux applied before rolling the barrel of the soldering iron around the edge, being careful not to melt the beading on the tank ends. To keep the wrapper taught around the ends some copper wire was wrapped and twisted around the wrapper. The rest of the tender assembly was pretty easy with all the details added to the rear. I must also give thanks to David at Steam Era Models for supplying a replacement fireman's side step after I broke the first one. Anyway here are some pics of the tender more or less finished. The pickups still needs to be wired hence the tender top isn't finally secured and the oil feed from the sump is not fitted either:

BTW the number J541 is planned to be temporary until some J549 plates are made. It just so happens J541 is one of the numbers supplied by Steam Era Models.

Project Vulcan Part 1

Progress on painting the AW is proceeding well, with the carriage likely to be finished in the next week or so.

In the meantime I have finally started a project that has been waiting 5 years for me to begin. That project is a Steam Era Models oil-burning J-class steam locomotive kit. As I require a oil fired J-class for my VGR roster (J549) I purchased the kit 5 years ago so that when the time was right I would already have the kit ready to start building. That time has finally come.

The kit itself is very well designed as most of the soldering thus far has been done from the inside. The etched brass components fit together very well. Anyway here are a couple of photos of the tender currently under construction:

The next step will be to construct and fit the oil tank and detail the rear of the tender.

The little red box....and H20 to go

Painting of the B van and WT tank wagon took a couple of days, thanks to some warm weather. The B van got Testors dullcote a mere 2 hours before it's maiden run at the Bendigo Clubrooms:

As you can see I have opted to number both wagons as those preserved by the VGR. Now that they are completed I can now focus on getting the AW car painted. This will also represent an item of VGR stock: carriage 23AW and is being painted in the crimson livery with light coloured roof that the VGR have adopted in the past. One can see this livery at the railway on carriage 41BU which is undergoing restoration. More in the next blog update.

Little red box

Well at least it will be when it's painted!

With the WT now in the paint shop and the AW car not far behind I decided to slot in a Steam Era Models B van to replace an earlier one I had constructed when I first got serious about building kits:

Since I want this van to represent the B van currently preserved at Maldon I needed the later type mesh tred shunter's steps. For this I decided to try out the Model Etch shunter's steps (ME12). In the past I have used the Auscision steps but I've found they are slightly thicker than the etched brass offerings. This van will now join the line in the paint shop.

A touch of class...First Class.

With the weather warming up it has been the ideal time to get stuck into more modelling projects. This includes finishing ones that have waited a few months for me to finish. That was certainly the case with this Steam Era Models AW car. The last items of the undergear such as the trussrods and handbrake were fitted yesterday and the car is up to a stage where it can now be painted. After painting the interior will go in, the windows fitted, vestibules finished and the handrails fitted. Show below is where the car is up to:

The plan is to paint this car in the brown/crimson colour that all timber cars received in the 1950s (and is replicated on the Auscision E cars).

Drought Relief

It's been a while since I last assembled an etched brass kit. The Rail Tractor was probably the last. In the last few days I have assembled Steam Era Models excellent 4-wheel WT water tank wagon kit. This kit is a good beginner kit for those who wish to learn how to solder etched brass kits. The only really tricky bits are getting the tank wrapper the right shape and forming the angled brackets on each end. As I had trouble bending the later I opted to use styrene strip which were the only parts I super glued. Show below are progress pics of the construction and the finished product ready for paint:

Next step is to give the model a good clean and then painting will get underway.