Building the Connoisseur 4-wheel brake second

I bought my first O Gauge kit at the 2011 York Show. It was the Starter Loco from Connoisseur Models. That purchase was the result of several discussions (coercion more like) with a friend and Jim McGeown of Connoisseur Models. I built it during a week or so in the summer and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I was pleasantly surprised with the result and how straightforward it was to build.

I was determined to build something else so I chose the 4-wheel ex-NER brake second coach as used on the old North Sunderland Railway which I bought from Jim at the 2012 York Show.

As is usual with these things other demands on my time delayed its start until the Christmas break. I had read the instructions several times over the preceding months so I was quite well prepared with the sequence of the build in my mind. I had also taken the time to make a couple of sets of simple bending bars from 25 x 6mm flat mild steel bar to help with the long folds required.

The first thing to do was to mark out some guidelines on the solebars to help with positioning the footboard bracket overlays. There are also a couple of holes to drill that which were missed on the etch. I also decided to push out all the rivet details on the etch with a blunted scriber at the same time. I followed Jim’s suggestions and used a 40 watt iron and 140 degree solder for all the main assembly joints. Cleanliness is key to a good soldered joint, and using plenty of flux.

The sides and ends were carefully released from the etch and the resulting tabs cleaned off with a warding file. The sides were then clamped in the folding bars and the top edge folded through 90 degrees. Forming the tumblehome came next. I must admit I approached this with a little trepidation, but I was given confidence by the helpful notes in the instructions; I pressed on. I looked around for a suitable former as I didn’t have the recommended bit of 22mm copper pipe available. Luckily I spotted the kitchen paper towel holder had a spindle of a suitable size so it was pressed into service. Gentle pressure on the coach side etch over the spindle immediately started to form the curve (photo 2). A few passes up and down the side with simple thumb pressure soon had the shape sorted. The coach ends were used as a template to get the curve correct. ‘What had I worried about?’ I thought to myself. The bottom flange was then clamped in the folding bars and the side gently eased back using a steel rule to spread the pressure and to preserve the tumblehome (photo 3). At this point the steps on the front end of the coach are bent and soldered into place as are the emergency alarm gear brackets and the coupler plates. I then folded the buffer beam ends into shape.

There are also several parts to fit to the sides before assembling the body. These are the vents above the doors, the hinges and the droplights in the doors. I pretinned the recesses above the doors and the inner face of the sides around the droplights and hinge positions. The hinges are very fiddly. Being tiny they are difficult to handle, requiring strong tweezers and a steady hand to position them through the etched slots in the sides. Another thing to be careful about is the fact that the lower hinges are longer to compensate for the tumblehome. There are spares of these on the etch in case you lose one.

The droplights and vents were straight forward items to fit simply sweating into place after tinning. The droplights are different sizes so I had to be careful to use the correct ones for the positions. The ends and sides could then be assembled into the coach body. The folded buffer beam ends act as a guide to get the sides correctly positioned as the side bottom flange rests on them. I used a piece of glass as a flat surface to help with keeping everything in line and square as I tacked the corner joints. When all was square and true I ran solder beads in the corners to make things solid. This is a very satisfying point as the coach now has form and presence.

The solebars were next and the instructions were followed except for the fact that I fitted the footboard first and the bottom footboard brackets after. I also pretinned the back face where the bottom footboard supports were to be soldered.

The footboard brackets were tinned with 60/40 solder on the back and sweated in place between the pre-scribed lines with the tip of a 25 watt iron and plenty of flux. I used 60/40 as the bottom footboard support wires are to be soldered behind them and I wanted the best chance of not de-soldering them in the process (photo 4).

The tops ended up a little proud of the sole bar but were simply filed down level. The solebars were then soldered in place into the slots provided after filing the ends a little to make a good fit around the buffer beam ends. The bottom footboards are made up from the etched components and 0.9mm brass wire. The instructions are very detailed on these items and I followed them exactly and had no problems at all.

After cleaning out the holes in solebars the lower footboards were soldered in place as quickly as possible for the reasons mentioned above. As per the instructions the birdcage front was now fitted in place. Now come the fun bits. Lamp irons were folded up and made solid with 60/40 solder and tinned on the back with 140- degree solder. Measurements are given for fitting these and they go on easily if care is taken. The various handrails are made from 0.7mm brass wire which bends crisply over the jaws of a pair of pliers. I worked around the model and prepared them all then tinned the ends. I then fitted them all with a touch of solder where they came through inside.

I also fitted the door handles using the supplied ones on the etch. These are tiny and tweezers are needed to locate them in the holes in the doors. Again a touch of the pre-loaded 25 watt iron on the inside after a spot of flux was all that was needed (photo 5). At this point I tinned the areas of the coach body and underframe where the white-metal components were to be soldered.

I had previously made an extension lead with an incorporated dimmer switch to be able to set the temperature of the iron to around 100 degrees. This is fine for 70 degree solder and safely less than the melting point of white-metal. It is a very cheap and invaluable device.

The axle guard castings were fettled and opened up carefully to take the Slater’s wheel bearings then soldered in place after a little filing to clear the bottom footboard supports. I used Carr’s 70 degree flux and a quick touch from the pre-loaded iron fixed them in place.

The brakes were next and they were assembled and fitted as per the instructions with no problems. The roof was drilled in accordance with the dimensions given and again the whitemetal vents were soldered in place as above.

I decided to fit the supplied optional sprung buffers and these were relatively straight-forward to fit. The only fiddly bit was getting the length of the spring steel wire correct so that it did not foul the solebars. When all was well the wire was secured to the back of the coupling hook. I then finished off the brake pipes and gear and the safety alarm details on the ends.

The model was then ready for its last cleanup prior to priming. It is important to clean up after each building session as soldering flux is very aggressive and quickly affects the surface of the brass. I used Halfords aerosol etch primer and gave a couple of coats (photo 6). The chassis was then sprayed matt black (photo 7). The final colour was chosen from a range of aerosol enamels at my local model shop made by Gluelines called Matt Dark Earth. I got a copy of the book The North Sunderland Railway by A Wright and the colour is simply noted as mid-brown with yellow lettering so I guessed the Dark Earth would be about right (photo 8). The lettering on the few existing photographs looks very simple so I decided, after struggling to find anything suitable from the usual sources, to try white Helvetica Letraset in 3 and 5 mm then over-paint it with yellow. Putting on the lettering was a tricky task but I got a little better as I progressed. Finally the whole body was given a coat of satin varnish (photo 9). I decided to try and do something to give the impression of felt covering on the roof. Through the forum I had contacted fellow member Simon Bolton and he gave me the idea of using an overlay of tissue. I separated layers from normal facial tissues and cut them into strips which I then painted into place with acrylic.

It cockled badly and took a lot of gentle work with an emery board to get it looking ok, but now I am reasonably happy with the look of it.

The internals were created out of Jim’s 6-wheel coach interior kit which is a cardboard cut-out set. For the windows I used clear plastic sheet cut from an old Christmas card box lid glued into place with PVA glue; cheap and cheerful but effective. The roof was then simply glued in place with contact adhesive.

Overall I am very pleased with the result of my second try at brass kit building. Jim McGeown makes easy to build kits, but the most important thing is that the instructions are written in such a way that you feel you are being guided through the assembly process.

As a novice I have found this invaluable, and on the occasions I needed to query something it was good to be able to be able to talk through the solution with him on the phone.

The York Show 2013 has just passed and now happily sitting on my bench is the matching composite coach kit. The rake’s progress will continue.