Starlight Express

Shane

It looks like you will be finished well ahead of me in the build stakes. I haven't even got my kits to NZ yet! I have been talking to Dean and Steve and trying to convince them to pay a visit to NZ when our engines are finished, for a well earned rest and maybe a wee promotional tour. Maybe at the next model convention!
All my tools and workshop bits are now packed and heading for NZ by sea container, and I will be heading home by the end of August, so keep up the good work and look forward to seeing your beast at close quarters very soon.

Phil,Good to hear the workshop is on its way down under. I am sure you will catch me up with your build. STW promotional tour -I was thinking along similar lines. It looks like Tauranga will have the national model engineering convention early Jan 2016 which of course is our summer.It would appear Dean and Steve never do anything by halves and if I could be so bold as to suggest a container sponsored by STW could ship a number of UK owners engines to NZ to assist STW with their promotion and attendance at our convention. Would have thought it would be tax efficient (ie a legitimate deductible expense) to STW.I am sure we could arrange accommodation for the owners and their followers. Hmm I wonder what others think?

Now that's an idea!

Hi Shane,

You will be able to add a STW 4" SC agricultural to the list of engines in NZ at the end of Feb next year. I am just finishing building mine - hopefully in steam in the next month. Would be interested in having a chat re boiler compliance when I get home.
The mother-in-law lives down at the Mount so I suspect we will be regularly making the trip down from Auckland!

Cheers Andrew

Hi Andrew, Good to know that we have another Kiwi builder. Happy to assist with information for your boiler compliance. If you email Dean at STW they can pass onto you my contact details. Cheers Shane.

showman shane wrote:I look forward to meeting some of you guys when in the UK hopefully when on sabbatical next Aug/Sept. Kind regards Shane

Hi Shane and welcome to the STW gang, your possible UK visit dates are going to enable you to visit some superb steam rallies while your here, Dorset and Old Warden. Hopefully you can get over and meet some of us while your here.

I have to say you have out blinged everything else on the forum with this one, super job on the wheel lining using lining tape, a lot of people have been using the Beugler wheel in conjunction with tape or on its own also with good results but as you can probably tell I do not have the patience for all that stuff!! I still have a gear guard to fit to Blackbeard and the roof needs finish painting.

As for Flashback's comments about dirt - enjoy it while you can or don't light a fire in it    

Maybe some of us should hop in the container with the engines to get over there so we can have a steam up at yours, it looks a superb location.

Cheers

Brian

Hi Brian,
I appreciate your comments. STW builders can be a little thin on the ground down here but I am trying to change that. The pin striping system I used was a little time consuming ,Particularly with 3 coats of 2 pack clear on top, but it does give you the flexibility to move away from lines. Also cost effective if you have a sign writer who knows what he is doing.My guy took a photo of the wheel,scaled it and cut 2 or 3 trial templates for fitting. With some minor adjustment came up with finished pattern. Skull and cross bones on the end of each wheel strake for Blackbeard would have had the rivet counters volunteering to walk the blank!

Always some where to stay down here provided you like cold beer and not that warm stuff I had to get used to when last visited your country.
Cheers Shane

Hi fellow builders and others interested.

Update on my build and photos below .Have been concentrating since my last report on kits 16(cleading) and 17 (belly tank) also fitted all steering componentry and replaced chains and eye bolts with stainless.

Some general comments for those builders yet to complete these kits which maybe helpful. When installing the hoops on the boiler barrel make sure they are a snug fit. I had to adjust the curves on mine (particularly where they join at the top)to enable the cleading to fit snugly. Spend lots of time(I spent hrs and hrs) fitting the cleading before painting .As the instructions say some trimming required but measure twice and cut once! Remember to allow for the paint thickness. With bringing the belly tank forward the new belly tank bracket does not fit in the gap provided in the cleading supplied. I suggest you fit this new bracket and trim the cleading before painting. Not sure if STW have made allowance for the moving forward of the belly tank bracket for subsequent cleading kits. Once all cleading fitted with belly tank bracket in place but before painting I offered up the belly tank for fitting to the brackets .Unfortunately it was fowled by the cleading on one side.I had to adjust brackets and bolt holes downwards and sideways(2mm max))for everything to fit. Pleased I did all this before painting.

Cleading all trimmed and etch primed.

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Painted base colour and fitted again to check before pin striping

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It's looking wonderful, well done. I can't get over how lovely it looks in the Blue.

Thanks Rob.Yes the blue is cool. Called Bondi blue -borrowed from bondi beach Australia.Having a problem with the rest of my post.Hope haven't lost it in cyber space

Start of pin striping

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Had to contend with 4 colours on top of blue for first time.
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I centered the man hole ring on the cleading when in situ so as dummy clamp would not fowl the edge. Also had to cut a hole in cleading to fit the fly wheel brake bracket on inside of hornplate.You can just see the hole in the picture below.
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Kit 17-Belly Tank

This kit lived up to all the comments both good and bad made by other builders. Apart from wheels probably the most satisfying part of the build so far now that it is finished. Purchased a 100 or so high tensile hex machine screws to pull the panels together.Being high tensile the threads did not strip.Came together beautifully which is a real credit to STW.I bolted every other hole then inserted nutted rivits in the holes between .A pain but no gaps as the photos show. Any mis- alignment of holes was minor and easily fixed with a round needle file. Did not use a drill as the drill tended to track to the hole in the bottom panel which then could have made the rivet heads on the top panel uneven.

At the start-boy there are a lot of rivits.
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Look no gaps!- as the add for filler goes in NZ
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Now setting up for Por 15
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Taped the edges and followed the directions to the letter set out by Por 15.Also pressurised (low)the vessel to push the brew out the joins. As drying wiped as much off the outside as possible.

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Then etch primer.

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Getting ready for pin striping with "the system"

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Masked up.

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Starting to come together.
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light sand b4 3 coats of clear

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And finished -ya hoo!

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even pin striped the bottom for the rivet counters.
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All ready for her first public outing

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Then into the trailer-ifor Williams of course!
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And at our clubs open day.Lots of positive feed back.
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My friend Bruce looking for a fire-at least a year away.
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Well well. Now how to put in to words?

Excellent
Well done
Stunning
Outstanding
Head turner
Show stopper

And the list can go on.

Noticed on your belly tank front bracket location. You have 2 extra holes not in pattern with anything else?

I seen your comment about cleading binding under the belly tank. I removed a strip form the forward wrapping, the one with the belly tank bracket. So that the cleading butts up to each other instead of overlapping. This gave the required space with the as supplied brackets. 

Also where the front cleading sections go up past the exciter mounting brackets. I removed the tabs to allow the insert to fit as a single layer instead of 2 as otherwise you could see a step in the front band and it did not follow the smokebox in an even manner.

Wow, when you put up a post, you really put up a post, I agree with everything Lynn said.... Simply STUNNING, FANTSTIC JOB!!!

Regards,
Tony

Thanks Lynn and Tony.You are very generous with your praise.

Yes Lynn, I followed your post on trimming the cleading. Worked beautifully but cleading still slightly fowled the belly tank. The extra holes to fit the angle bracket on the belly tank were purely guide holes as I had elongated the fixing holes to move the tank sideways and down a couple of mm. I didn't want the bracket to move out of position when sealed with Por 15 sealer(white stuff in a tube which is compatible with their tank sealer system) after painting.

Sorry Tony about my lack of posts. This computer stuff is a bit of a mission for me. My staff joke that the computer on my desk is just a large paper weight. My reply is that is why I employ them.Will try to be a bit more regular in the future.

Kind regards Shane

Great post Shane (and fast building) Well done!

I remember mine being that clean, and then I lit a fire

All the best,

Brian M

Brian M wrote:Great post Shane (and fast building) Well done!

I remember mine being that clean, and then I lit a fire

Can't see fire on the kit lists so I hope it's an optional extra and therefore avoided.  

Run it on electric. Then it can be kept at least soot free.

Starlight Express will definitely have a fire in her belly.I use char in my 3" burrell and it is very clean burning. So will start with this.Also hope that the 2 pack paint system I have used with the "anti graffiti "additive in the final coat of 2 pack clear will repel oil etc .The paint I have used is an industrial paint and not porous . All going to plan the working clothes can be easily changed to number 1's at the end of a days running.

showman shane wrote:All going to plan the working clothes can be easily changed to number 1's at the end of a days running.  

Hey Shane, what about the night running? You have to keep steaming to put the lights on under the table so people can find it to put their drinks/burgers/crap on!!!     

Gas firing might be an option, talk to the small scale loco boys for advice and scale it up massive, this way you might at least you keep all the coal dust and crap off it and less chance of letting the fire go out (no names mentioned but you know who you are).

Seriously though a superb effort and a very different theme now we can see it all together, bloody bright with all the shiny bits too - cool shades are mandatory on this engine. What other kits have you got to be working on if any?

Brian (plain old road loco obviously!!)

You can't beat the smell of the coal and hot oil.