Mark steven.4" scenic showmans "Enchantress"

Well here we go
After selling my large narrow gauge loco and part built 6" little Samson I picked up half the kits in one go for the 4" showmans on the 5th November 2015
I have been building steam models for about 35 years  but seem to have less free time now so decided to go down the kit route  
Starting with the tender" />


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All the parts were sanded down with 80 grit then 320 grit air sander. This gives a very nice surface for paint
The tender and tank are still to be primed and painted but waiting for temp to rise a bit
belly tank
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The horn plates and crank assemble are well on. The crank turns very smoothly having honed the bearings to size and polished the crank
Gears have been put in black to stop any rusting the teeth will soon polish up in use

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smoke box

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wheels have also been dry assembled but have to be striped for cleaning and painting once I have made sure they run true
Will post more photos as parts are completed
Mark

Hi

Looking good.

Question? Is the paint on the differential face temporary or permanent. As the paint will get stripped off the fist time the diff pins are out to change to the locking ones or using the winch drum.

Hi Lynnr
I know what you mean but what I have done in the past is make a shin about 0.010 thick and fit it between the wheel and the drive member this stops the rear of the wheel from removing the paint and keeps a nice finish as I think I am wright in saying you can see the drive member through the wheel
The inside surface of the diff also has a thin coat of paint to stop rust as it will just rub of if there is any contact but the
rest will stay and help stop rust build up
I have already set the diff up on the lathe and shimmed it so it is pretty close and should not rattle
I am just trying to figure out a way to fit grease nipples and pipes to feed the planet gears
Any ideas

Hi

Good on the shim

My diff is the proverbial black hole of Calcuta. After over 700 hours in steam and multiples of 100 miles on road and field. the pinion gears are as new and covered in oil. Please note the missing words. I have never oiled them. There is plenty getting in from the crank and gears above and main axial wicking through.

I also leave the winch drum dogged in to the diff with a bungee holding the wire in place.

I was actually very surprised how much oil was in there.

I hope to break last years record 236 miles on the road and over 300 hours in steam.

ok thanks for info on diff I will just grease them on final assemble an see how it goes
I also intend to use it a lot on the road and rally field I live in the hills above Edinburgh and there are loads of back roads and lanes to drive on
my last loco did over 100 miles a year on public pulling duty for many years with out any problems and pulled thousands of passengers
Also got my name plates today from steamplates will try to post photos this weekend
I am basing my engine on Dolphin but not exactly my wheels will be yellow and lining will be a bit different but going to copy power board at dyno so name plates can sit at same place on each side

got my brass plates all polished and fitted [img][/img]
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also my engine name plates arrived from steamplates .com[img][/img]


I have also insulated the smoke box door with very hi temp ceramic insulation to protect the paint finish [img][/img]

I did that and it works well, no heat staining of the brass rings. I also put a thin layer of high modulus clear silicone over the edge of the ceramic insulation to make it a bit more durable & not soak up the soot.

Thanks for the tip Steve I will do that as well
Mark

Well after nearly 2 years work the engine turned over on air today for the first time
Will try to post a video

Excellent news indeed. Waiting for the video with baited breath.