Roundhouse Fowler "Victoria" Build Pt.1

This post has been copied over from Farcebook.

Ever since I first got into garden gauge steam in late 2012, I've wanted to build a Roundhouse Fowler loco kit.
By mid 2016, I was able to afford the chassis kit as a start.
On with the build log anyway...

For those who've not seen a standard Roundhouse Fowler, this is what it's intended to end up like.
When I started this project, I intended to omit the tender and scratchbuild side tanks from brass. Now, I'd never scratchbuilt anything like that, and I never attempt anything I don't realistically think I can complete to a standard worthy of my excessive fussiness. So I later opted to just build it with the tender. I could always build a pair of tanks to convert her later on.

Sometime in 2015, I had some name and worksplates made for my other loco, Baron.
While I was at it I got a set done for the Fowler.

"Victoria" will be her name, simply because I've always liked it. Previously, I'd thought about building a nice coach and dubbing it "Victoria", à la Ffestiniog Rly style. I soon decided though, it was far too nice a name for a coach..
The worksplates happened to be on the same sheet as Baron's nameplates so I just painted them too while I was spraying Baron's.

 26/08/16
Chassis kit arrived!
The loco's construction is modular, meaning you can buy the chassis, boiler, body and tender individually and spread the cost out over time.

Well packed.

Parts are in sealed bags in order of construction making it even easier to build. This also makes it easy to check that everything's present.

Although I did get the dimensions of the loco prior to ordering, I was still surprised by the length of the frames..

The mild steel frames were found to be a bit bent which was not surprising considering they were at the bottom of the box. Easily bent back straight though.

The axle bushings come pre-fitted into the frames.

Frames and their spacers assembled..

Cylinders and valve chests fitted to the frame.
The cylinders come as pre-assembled units.

The instructions recommend to paint the frames before fitting the cylinders, but when the loco warms up in steam, the paint behind the cylinders can soften and the cylinders can move out of alignment slightly, causing running issues. Also, there was no way I was leaving those brass cylinders bare!

After thoroughly degreasing the chassis (the steel frames came with an oil coating to prevent rust during transit), and masking off with blu-tac(!)

Initial painting to come tomorrow...

   27/08/16
I made a Lego and tie wire mobile with the remaining components.
Parts were masked off where a good fit is required..

  

..And the parts primed. In hindsight (2018), I realised I really should've used etch primer on everything. Paint doesn't stick well at all, to the nickel plated wheels and stainless valve gear without etch primer.

After the primer dried, the parts to be painted black - only the wheels and pony truck, were hung on their own smaller "mobile" for painting.

I don't understand why so many people don't bother painting their wheels or cylinders. What loco in real life has mirror shiny wheels and cylinders? None, aside from those very few that have polished cylinder cladding.

Motion parts in red, will need a few days for the paint to harden before I can assemble them.

Insides of the frames and both ends in red.

28/08/16
The cylinders and outsides of the frames have been painted black.

Despite my efforts in masking the axle bushings, some paint made it in, so an "arrangement" was used to clean the bushes with thinner.

The pistons, rear cylinder heads and valve spindles were removed so the o-ring glands don't melt - frames are now ready to go into the oven. This will harden the paint making it more durable

The wheels have had their treads cleaned with thinner, awaiting the crank's paint to harden off so the wheelsets can be assembled.

29/8/16
The driving wheelsets, cranks and coupling rods are fitted. Some fettling of the holes in the rods with a round needle file made for a good (but not sloppy) fit.

The cranks were gently pressed home on their axles in the vice, their screws were then fitted.

It's taken a full day but the wheels, motion and reversing gear are now fitted. Valve gear has been set but is yet to be fine tuned on air and finally steam tested. This will all happen when I fit the boiler..

The front headstock still need a detailed overlay (I forgot to order that).

Seen with "Baron" on the display shelf, "Victoria's" chassis is basically complete. It will be a few months (likely by my birthday) until I can order the boiler, cab and some other bits..

That's as far as I got for almost a year..  

Part 2 here.