Sandy Harper One thing about these JLTRT kits is that they go together quite quickly, but you still need to 'fettle' them to get a good fit of the cast parts.

This particular build has taken a bit more thought as the motor supplied was not what the kit was designed for and I needed to make provision, within the inner bogie casting, to accommodate the Slaters motor/gearbox unit as well as squeeze in a Delrin chain drive. It eventually fitted, just, without compromising the integrity of the inner chassis. The photos show where I had to cut a hole in the bogie chassis to accommodate the gear box. The hole in the footplate also need to be extended slightly to allow the gearbox to swing.

Sandy Harper I understand it JLTRT offer a Motorising pack which includes a motor, gears and pickups, called MM1. I am not sure if this was designed around the Mashima motor or not but I must admit, I was not that keen on the idea of the motor being screwed direct to the polyurethane of the inner bogie chassis. I would be concerned about any movement between the worm and gear wheel affecting the meshing of the gears. Certainly the motor /gearbox combination seems to be a more engineered solution.

If you go down that route you will need to source two pkts. of plunger pickups from Slaters (there is only 6 in one packet, you will need eight if you want to do all wheels).

The Delrin gear wheel on the gearbox axle will need some of the flange removing as there is not enough space left for it on the axle after the gearbox is fitted. I also reduced the length of the top hat bearings on that axle so that they were flush with the inside face of the inner chassis side to give me enough clearance to fit it all in.

StephDale Why plunger pick-up? You've got an insulated plastic frame so a live-axle pick-up in one form or another would seem most desirable and relatively simple to fit; it'll also reduce the amount of friction in the loco. Split axles would seem a good choice in the trailing bogie, to maximise the number of pick-ups and reduce the load on the driven bogie. Sandy Harper Steph, A good question. Friction or load on the driven bogie were not factors I considered in this particular build as the loco will only be used on a short shunting plank and is also why only one bogie is powered. If it was for me I would have approached it differently.

StephDale Aah, fair enough. As you know I find split axles rather easier to live with than other pick-up methods. I'll watch the build with interest. My Class 20 will be in DRS livery and, I suspect, will end up with drive/pick-up on all wheels…

Pat Buckley Sandy,Just a thought,whats your take on an idea i had for the existing holes for the motors on the bogies.I was wondering if a 10thou brass plate suitably shaped and made with holes that matched the ones in the tops of the bogies was araldited to both the top and underside of the resin inner frame to provide a firmer seat for the motor be it cannon or whatever to mount to.I had allso thought about the use of the “On the wagon ” toothed timing belts and pullys as opposed to Delrin,they do a specific kit for a class 20 power bogie - and lots of other ones as well.Of course suitable worm and gear sets would be needed but there should be something to suit available.

Steph. your thoughts on this would be valuable as well as i have never done anything like this on resin.I have done refurbishment on quite a few conventionable bogies on diesel and DMU bogies with normal brass motor mounts and Delrin drives but never a from new build.

Sandy Harper Hi Pat, My first thought is that a double thickness of metal, sandwiching the resin, might cause an issue with fitting a worm to the motor shaft. Especially if you are using a motor with a shorter shaft than a Mashima. If you are going down that road I would consider just one layer of N/S bent at the edges to form a shallow 'U' that was a tight fit down both sides of the inner chassis as well as across the top and Epoxy'd. I think that would achieve enough support for the motor without compromising the fit of the worm. You will probably also need to source longer motor mounting screws.

Pat Buckley Sandy,that sounds a good idea -never thought of that.i was planning on using two cannon 1833 from ABC the high power ones and i should be okay for screws as i have a lot left over from DJH kits i will try to sort that out useing my spare normal cannon.Of course i need to be carefull about over long screws damaging the armature. Thanks for your input its all taken in and stored in the memory cell.Keep up the good work !

Sandy Harper THe flash on the camera shows up where you have missed a bit of paint!!!!!!!!!!!!

John Kneeshaw Hi Sandy I admire your progress with the cyano glue. I am not a superglue fan in modelling, but I have used a lot of cyano products with differing properties in model engineering contexts. In 7mm, wherever possible I’ll use two part epoxy rather than cyanoacrylates. The disadvantage of this is the time it takes for epoxy (even the rapid variety) to cure.

Which cyano products have you used on the Cl20 and which accelerator are you using? I am right to guess that you are pinning your glued on bits where possible?

Sandy Harper Hi John, I hate the stuff and would not normally touch it but I can't find a better alternative for this type of medium. I am using Rocket Gel on recommendation from Hobby Holidays. It allows about 3/5 seconds to reposition if required. Most of the castings are cast with pins already in them so it is just a matter of finding the correct size drill to make a hole in the 'very' soft polyurethane. I don't use an accelerator!!

Paul Copsey Hi John , if you want to use superglue then stick with the Loctite brand 401 or 406 (Australian numbers) and you wont go wrong and they also have an accelerator specifically for their superglue . I use it when required and much prefer it to epoxy . Maybe I'm impatient ? In saying that I will use epoxy for domes , chimneys & safety valves so the items can be maneuvered into place. The cheap superglue isn't worth a cracker and remember with any superglue to store it in the fridge .

John Kneeshaw Thanks Paul I think the Loctite product numbers are globally consistent. I do have some in the fridge at the moment, which is a bit silly because this is December in Cambridgeshire!

Pat Buckley Sandy,on the front and rear castings of the body are all the round moulded bits for lamps and if so are you fitting them in the model?If i do one of these kits next year I would like some form of lighting on it so I am watching in the hope I get some tips on how to do it. I have aquired some DCC gear and would like to use it to add to the locos.I donnt want sound as i am rather deaf and cannt really hear it but lights are a must have on diesels I think.

Sandy Harper Hi Pat, This one will have the discs, but no lights.

Sandy Harper One Class 20 enroute to the paint shop in the new year.

Tony Kell Looks brilliant Sandy. I did one last year and fitted scale seven axles on standard Slaters wheels after thickening out the frames with 60th Plastikard. I also fitted 1.8mm LED lights into the holes drilled out. It took some fiddling with but it was worth it.

Jim Snowdon It looks good, but a really close up photograph is always liable to show up defects that are best attended to before the paint job gets done. :( This one's got a few, like the odd casting not seated properly, or a bent ladder. I can't make my mind up whether it isn't sitting a little high on the bogies, or if it is just an illusion.

Pat Buckley Tony,can you give details of the lights that need fitting.This will be my first Diesel kit and i want lights but donnt know what they all do on this loco. Thanks in advance.

Tony Kell Middle top and bottom and bottom outers are white. They were blanked off with the relevant head code discs depending on what they were doing. The two other lights were red for use when running without stock as tail lights. Most modellers have them lit as part of the DCC selection but I am informed that when stack is being pulled they should not be lit and this can be achieved by using one of the free functions. I went the way of 'most modellers' so mine is wrong.

My next project for my 20 will be to build a complete spare set of bogies with Finescale wheels so that I can use it on the club layout as it is not Scale Seven. I will have to speak to Laurie to see if I can buy the relevant resin parts, brass castings and etches seperately

Pat Buckley Thanks Tony, I shall make a note of that and try to get it correct when I build it.That does solve a problem as I assumed I was going to need dual colour LEDs in each position so will only need single LED or grain of wheat bulbs.As i have just started using DCC in a small way I should be able to program them correctly - I hope!

DavidAtkinson Sandy Without wishing to be too pedantic, but, before you paint the Class 20, I think that your lights are wrong. The lights in question being the two lower outer ones. The tops fold down to cover the light, they do not lift up to show the light. Check out pictures of preserved ones or historical pictures to see what I mean. Other than that, well done and you certainly would not want to paint it and then have to alter it.

Jim Snowdon David, I started with the same thought and went looking for pictures. I found a few where the bottom flap had been hinged up, leaving the lamp exposed, which rather suggests that the discs were supported by the hinge, leaving both flaps free. However, the vast majority of pictures showed the top half closed down onto the bottom half, at the same time obscuring the light. What Sandy has done isn't wrong, but it is decidedly atypical.

Sandy Harper Thanks Guys, a case of the 'bleeding obvious' the 'closed' discs should be the other way around, duh!

Tony Kell Correct, I hadn't noticed that. I actually fitted the folding ones supplied separately by JLTRT. they are fiddly to fold and solder, but they actually open and close like the real things. The only trouble is that once painted, they tend to flake off the paint along the hinge line when operated.

A further observation is that your loco shows different codes at each end indicating different traffic.

Sandy Harper Thanks for all your help and advice guys on my first mainline diesel locomotive build. It was a steep learning curve and I think I still have a way to go yet!!

Anyway, here she is, resplendent in her new paintwork. I have fitted a Loksound sound chip and it works! I still needs to be calibrated apparently as it has a bit of a jerky moment on starting. I need to get access to a decent length of track though as my 4ft of test track is too short.