Hi Gang.

Things are now progressing nicely, with a test etch for the frame arriving the other day, and Tim spent time at Liverpool putting together part of the frames in the jig that will be supplied with the kit. And it actually went together very nicely, a few minor glitches but that was always expected with a new kit from CAD drawing to etched Nickel Silver parts.

The etch for the frame build jig, will be modified to allow the small "pac men" to be folded up rather than  having to remove them and then solder them into place, all to do with making the kit easier for modellers.

The frame in situ, on the Frame Jig, with brass locating rods and aluminium spacers to keep the frames at the correct distance from each other, while the bracing is fitted in place.

The Etched Nickel Silver frames in 7 mm scale using 0.55 mm N/S. They still have a long way to go but they are looking great

Tim's soldering work is also looking great with great attention to detail in doing this project.

Tim also managed to assemble the rear pony truck which looks fabulous, it was while we we starting to pack up from Liverpool on the Monday that Tim sort advice from Ian McIntyre, regarding soldering the pewter castings to the nickel silver pony truck, as he had never done this before.

And after Macca showed him the 2 part method he uses, Tim soldered one casting into place and when we came home he soldered the other 3 in place as well, and the result looks great.

The Rear Pony Truck from the soon to be released Z20 7 mm Loco Kit, put together by Tim Ryan.

There were a few problems with both pony trucks (photos from the front P/T later in the week). As they both need to be reduced in width to ensure that the wheels have clearance and don't touch the sides and short out.

 

The etch for the Rear Pony Truck, which has to have a few alterations to ensure that short circuits are eliminated.

 

The Front Pony Truck, with riveted angle details that is overkill, as the detail remains out of site under the locomotive, so it will be removed , minimising the cost of the etch.

 As for other parts, there are a stack of parts arrived and more to come in the next few weeks. The bunker, water tanks are here with the boiler arriving in a couple of weeks.  the 3D smoke box and Firebox will be printed as soon as possible to see if they can be included in the kit as a straight out print rather than casting them from a master printed in 3D, and from what we have seen from the 3D we have previously done they should look very good.

Stay tuned for more updates later in the week.

Regards Keiran (I am excited about the end result) i am trying to make this a kit that you will not want to put back in the draw once you have started it.

Hi Gang.

Well it has been too long, so now I need to get much more active both on the kit and on here, so here goes. 
Firstly there are a couple of things about the kit that needs to be said.  The kit will come DCC ready, Sound ready, and have it's own speaker box, fitted in the bunker with a speaker suggestion for the modeller. The smoke box door will open and close (lock) The kit will not be released with auto couplers, it will only have hooks that will take 3 link couplers, and so you will need to have a match truck, one of your choosing. Or modify the kit to suit your favorite auto coupler.

I am still working on trying to make the kit as easy to build as possible, and to this end the instructions will be on CD, and on the net on my web page, so that prospective purchasers will be able to download the instructions before purchase, the CD will also include hundreds of photos of 2029 as it is preserved at The NSWRTM.

So lets have a look at a preliminary view of the frame. (small modifications still to be done)

Z20 Frame with Roller Gauges and Out riggers.

The frame will be etched  0.5 mm half  hard brass with all bracing being of similar material. The red rollers (in above photo, will be supplied and tapped to 2 mm and machined at 26.5 mm. By screwing the frames together and setting the frame up nice and true, the bracing can be placed in position (soldered), whilst the frame is on a level surface, such as glass. Once the frame is set and square the rollers can be removed, as the holes that they occupy will be required to hold other components.

The kit does not have horn blocks and as you can see the etched frame has holes for the bearings, with the front 2 axles having a 0.5 mm  (each way) of movement. The rear axle will be mounted fixed on the frame, with the other 2 axles being allowed to move vertically  There will be internal compensating plates and a compensating cross bar, which I will discuss later.

One of the big problems with the Z20 class is that the footplate has minimal support, with no external stiffeners, so the Outriggers need to support the footplate which is a thin (0.3 mm) etch. These outriggers are also formed from 0.5 mm etched brass and will fold up to attach to the frame using 1 mm screws being tapped into the frame, these can then either be soldered, glued or lock tightened. The outriggers can then support the foot plate, which in turn can support the front sand box and splash guards, as well as being secured to the water tanks, both side and rear and  the bunker. The rear and front steps will be a casting as well, with the rear steps having the water tank balancing pipe as a component.

Castings of the New Buffer Pots and Heads with  Coupler Hooks.

The coupler hooks will be brass castings as will the buffer plates, which will hold brand new buffer pots.
The rear buffer has the air tanks directly behind it, and therefore the old style of buffer can not be accommodated as the shaft would interfere with the air tanks, so I had to either remove material from the tanks or design a new buffer pot, I chose the later.

The way that they work is very simple the buffer pot is designed to accommodate the buffer head shaft which is square with a slot in it. The spigot at the end of the shaft housed a small spring in the tail of the pot . An 0.8 mm pin is then located into the bottom of the pot (not seen) which allows the head and shaft to spring, and also restricts the buffer pots from protruding past the buffer plate. These will be brass castings, and robust. They will also be sold separately when produced.

More information in the next installment.  in a day or so.

Hi Gang

Just a quick update on the 7mm Z20 Class, I have been working on the Pony Trucks , and have included a

couple of images for you to view

 I have also looked at a new method of design for the buffer pots. One of the problems with the Z20 Class is that the buffer heads interfere with the air tanks on the rear and the frame work in the front, so by designing the buffer pots to be self contained, the buffer head shafts are changed from round to square and with a cut out in the shaft, with a 0.8 mm pin located under the buffer, and placed to locate in the cut out, with a spring at the blind end of the buffer, thus allowing spring action to occur. Please let me know what you think, or if you can so problems occurring, have a look at the images below.

Hi Gang.

Sorry about the in-action on the blog, but a heart attack in December slowed me down a little bit. But I am back in action, and will be getting this project back under way so that the kit can be released in October 2012.
The mind is a lot clearer now that blood is flowing to the brain at a much stronger rate, and better ways of doing things are becoming more apparent.
I hope to be able to make the building of this kit a much more pleasant experience, and an experience that will make the modeller want more kits of this type.
As stated at the Aus7 O Scale Forum on 24th March 2012 at North Sydney, I have promised that those modellers who have stayed with me in this endeavor, can be assured that the project will be released in October and if it is not, their $200.00 deposit will be taken of the price of the kit when it is released.

THIS IS MY COMMITMENT TO YOU.

Can't wait to get this project onto the market place.

So the good news starts now, with simple projects such as :
*          Marker lamps and headlights being designed so that they can easily be illuminated, with LED's or fiber optics (Your choice).
*          Components being bolted to the frames rather than soldered or glued (hence allowing for simple repairs and /or replacement if damaged)
*          Simple 8 pin plug included, with suggestions for DCC operations and sound options (DCC Ready)

*          Pre-planned location for speakers, including which type of speaker, and speaker enclosure, so that the most optimum sound and operation can be achieved.
*          Options for cowcatchers and headlight types to minimize costs in the basic kit (after market options)

*          Operating brakes, so that when the brake shoes wear out , you will need to buy more replacements form me.(OK, OK, that may be a littler over the top, but when the mind starts working, it is hard to stop).

 Graphic of the drive rod boss 

Wheel arrangement with rods

Graphic of the motor gearbox arrangement 

 

Graphic of the air tank masters, the rectangular holes are for the captive nuts, allowing the units to be bolted to the frames. ----To be Prototyped 

 

 Graphic of the Clack Valve masters, ---To be Prototyped 

Any how, enough of the talk, back to doing some solid work on the parts, thanks for your patience and looking forward to any comments or ideas, and more regular updates of this Blogg

Regards and Happy Modelling

Keiran

For all of those modellers who have paid a deposit for the Z20 Class loco kit, thanks you for your patience and solidarity, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that light will be shining on 31^st March 2011 at the 7mm Forum at North Sydney Leagues Club.

For those who may be interested in a NSWGR Z20 Class Steam Locomotive Kit in 7mm. The kit is based on the Z20 A/E as built at Eveleigh.Living at Picton and having 2029 at Thirlmere can certainly make things a little easier when needing to compare drawings to the real deal.

You can secure one of the price of $999.00, up until the release date by sending a deposit of $200.00, to

Keiran Ryan Models

39 Coachwood Cres

Picton NSW

2571

After the release date the price will increase.

The following is a list of components and materials they will be supplied in

·         Etched brass frames (tabbed- not folded)( 0.5mm)

·         Etched brass outriggers (footplate support)

·         Etched brass footplate

·         Etched brass smoke box cover and wrap

·         Etch brass boiler wrap

·         Etched brass firebox wrap

·         Etched brass water tank wraps

·         Etched brass bunker wraps

·         Etched brass cabin

·         Etched brass  front and rear pony components

·         Etched brass marker lamp supports

The following components will be cast as masters using the rapid prototyping method.

·         Smoke box, boiler and firebox substructure (ABS Plastic)

·         Water tank substructures (ABS Plastic)

·         Bunker substructure (ABS Plastic)

·         Buffer plates

·         Smoke box door and hinges

·         Front cover plate

·         Front sandboxes

·         Wheel guards

·         Compressor

·         Dryer

·         Headlight- large

·         Headlight- small

·         Marker Lamps

·         Electrical junction boxes

·         Clack valves

·         Smoke stack (funnel)

·         Boiler valves

·         Steam Valves

·         Brake levers, supports and shoes

·         Front sandboxes

·         Rear sandboxes

·         Wheel guards

·         Steam Dome

·         Safety valve

·         Generator

·         5 chime whistle

·         Pee whistle

·         Back head

·         Back head details

·         Regulator

·         Firebox door and components

·         Gauges

·         Lubricator

·         Handbrake

·         Reverser

·         Water fillers

·         Tool Boxes

·         Steps

·         Front pony details

·         Rear pony details

·         Brake master cylinder

·         Brake rigging/handbrake rigging

·         Springs

No doubt there has been something omitted from this list but be assured the kit will be complete, with nuts and bolts to do the job, as well as nut and bolt detail where required. The kit will be designed to make construction as easy as possible, and all instructions will be in the form of a CD with colour coded instruction similar to that of the 7mm signal kit and the KRM silo kits.

The instructions will be published on Keiran Ryan Models web site prior to the kit being released.

I will be releasing drawings of components as they are finished, so that you  can see that we are getting closer to the finished kit.

Now back to work with the kit development.

Regards

Keiran Ryan

Welcome to my 7mm NSWGR Z20 Class Locomotive Blog

Welcome

This blog has been set up, to keep modellers informed as to the progress of the NSWGR Z20 Class Locomotive Kit, in 7mm Scale.
The kit has been a long time in the making and is now getting closer to being realised. For those who have had deposits on the kit, thank you for you patience and solidarity, through this design and development process, and I will be attempting to make the wait very worth while.