Class A Climax building log-FINISHED

[Anonymous]

Lovely job Vic.

Are you going to write an article for GR (either one)? You should!

I'd let Gromit drive it rather than Wallace.

Looking forward to seeing it on the tracks.

Matthew

[TrainFreak409]

Vic, that is excellent! So, did Wallace and Grommit get to take it for a spin?[:p][^]

[tangerine-jack]

Why is it all dirty[:O]? It's a brand new loco. I don't understand how the crew could have let that happen to such a valuable and expensive piece of equipment. Have the chief engineer report to my office immediately! [X-)]

[bman36]

Hey Vic,
WOW! That is just super. Had I not seen it from the start I never would have guessed how it was constructed. Excellent job on the weathering. Even in it's "fresh" state the model looked awesome. Thanks for sharing. Later eh...Brian.

[Anonymous]

Very nice!!! Vic

Click on Vic's images for a blown up view, the detail just pops out at you!

[vsmith]

Hello All

Well it was a long time coming but I finally got around to weathering the Class A Climax and I finally got some pics to show.





Rust paint, black and brown ink washes and Kyrlon Matte Finish and a little Testors Dullcoat gives it a nice "worn-in" look.

So this I guess this is the last building entry into the building log, sure was fun, have to do this again real soon! Afterall I still got a spare flatcar, a General kit and I'm still minus a Class B Climax!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it as much I did.[:D]

[Anonymous]

Bob , the slightly over sized wire it being larger will cause no problems due to it being able to carry more load in between the trucks. Overload won't be a problem because the voltage/ampage is kept constant by the transformer.

Vic, Another killer model I must say! I really like this class A you've done!
With all these completions the bench must be self cleaning [;)][:D]

[Anonymous]

Sorry Bob,I don't know what size18 gauge wire is.Everything over here is in millimetre squared.But then again,wire is wire when working with such a low voltage.Bit of wet string will do.I use anything to hand and it always works.And before anybody argues,I've been in the electrical trade for many,many years.

[van buren s l]

STONE AGE MAN MASTERS NINETEENTH CENTURY ELECTRIC TECHNOLOGY

Troy and Vic
I rewired the power blocks as you suggested. I got it right on the second try. With all wheels picking up together the run is noticeably smoother. The only wire on hand was 18 gauge stuff. According to my calibrated eye ball tthe wire coming out of the blocks is 22 gauge so it looks like a quick trip to Radio Shack is in order.
Thanks again.
Bob

[van buren s l]

Troy and Vic
I'm in the middle of a project right now and I'll wire the blocks in parallel. My wife has been taking photos of the project but I won't post them until I'm sure it is past the stage where I'm likely to take a hatchet to it. This loco has a lot of detail which, hopefully , will be incorporated in the model. Thankfully none of the sub assemblies has been painted yet because some of my language would peel the stuff right off. Thanks for your advice and explanations guys.
Bob

[Anonymous]

Bob,
If you have multiple motors ,it is always advisable to wire them in parallel.The longer the pickup,wheelbase,the smoother the train.
When I run my little Stainz loco (with 6 point pickup),with 3 coaches,it's actually picking up from 12 points over a good area.All of my rolling stock has power pickups.The longer the train the more power pickups it has,therefore the smoother it runs.
All the trams run on a short wheelbase,but pickup power on every wheel possible.

[van buren s l]

Vic
Thanks
Bob

[vsmith]

Bob
The primary advantage is in multiple power pickup points that allow both blocks to continue running together as all 8 wheels are pulling power together. I have had trouble with these blocks independantly stalling on switch frogs, with both wired together, even if one block hits a stalling point where there's no power pickup, it will continue to recieve power from the second block and keep rolling, and visa versa.

If they were not wired together, one block would stall, leaving the other to shove it over the stalling point until it was picking up power again and then dragging the rear block over the stall. tying them together eliminates this.

[van buren s l]

Vic
Earlier in this thread you mentioned that you wired the power blocks together. Is there any advantage to doing so? I've built a couple of locomotives using the same Aristo block and I've just soldered the wires so that each block runs independently. It hasn't been a problem so far but if there is an advantage to your method I can always rewire the blocks. Don't keep me is suspense.
Bob

[vsmith]

Teaser Pic, basic painting completed. Weathering remains to be done.

[Anonymous]

"Get off me cheese!! "
Great job Vic.
If Gommit likes it ,it's a winner with me.

[vsmith]

New pics with the roof on!

This is what I'm bringing to the BTS, unfinished so potential new kitbashers can get a look at how easy it can be done. i might add a few more details if time allows.[8D]






picked up a few hitchhikers...[:D]

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BennysRR

vsmith
do you have it running ?? it looks real shape, what motor blocks are you useing??my guess is aristocraft. ben

Ben , Yep, its running, check the earlier posts here for info on the blocks, they are Aristo centercab blocks with archbars from HLW fitted to them. Vic [8D]

[Anonymous]

vsmith
do you have it running ?? it looks real shape, what motor blocks are you useing??my guess is aristocraft. ben

[vsmith]

pics as promised

[vsmith]

Quick update:
Power blocks wired together, with detachable plugs this time, even added headlights to this one!
Boiler screwed down, and tank screwed down, added remaining cab and chassis bits, added side steps and grab bars, added front and rear couplers and steps, all thats really left is some detail work to the motor, and building the removable roof, after that the bulk construction is complete then its painting and details, details, details.

Will add pics as soon as I can.

[vsmith]

Bob

Those are small brad nails, the smallest I could find, simply drilled a hole and put them in with a little smidge of AC glue. Tank came out nice but did a lousy job at the boiler base cause I wasnt paying attention. Works great where theres room for the nail to stick into otherwise I have to cut the heads off with just a bit of nail left to stick into the hole, it gets real tedious doing that....

[van buren s l]

Vic











Vic
What did you use for rivets? You certainly did a good job on them.
Bob

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by unclebulgaria

Hi there, I am a new member, and I can see a 7/8 inch scale A class already. I live in Bulgaria now, hence my username. Hello there Phil Creer hows things.
Richard Feather

[#welcome]to the forum, Uncle B, I think your our first former eastern block nation representative member. Neat!

Good bunch of people here, very helpfull, hope to see some of your projects soon.

Later Vic

[Anonymous]

Hi there, I am a new member, and I can see a 7/8 inch scale A class already. I live in Bulgaria now, hence my username. Hello there Phil Creer hows things.
Richard Feather

[Anonymous]

Vic, I think you've really outdone yourself on this one, your level of detail is
[tup][tup]!

[vsmith]

Some more pics, motor bashed together, not 100% prototypical but , like the engine, based on old pics it looks pretty good to me. I think I will reduce the steam pipe size as the big tube looks out of place.











[8D]

[Anonymous]

Vic, Maybe I'm just seeing the black motor block sticking out because of the white body. I only noticed it from the front view and if the same configuration of a pilot is use on it as on your Dunkirk you wouldn't see it anyways.

Sorry for the critisism

[vsmith]

Thanks for the tips,[:D] I thought about that as i was building it, but I dont mind the higher riding trucks, they look OK on the Dunkirk so I'm not going to change them, still gotta put the 2cyl motor together before the CPH project gets started, that going to take some effort and I'd rather focus on finishing this up. More pics as i get the motor done.[8D]