BUILD A BARCLAY ‘01’ BRASS KIT

Dave Lowery samples the delights of a Judith Edge etched brass kit, and enhances it with his own modelling prowess.

MODEL ◆ Price

Wow, what a little beauty! I thought that I’d seen and built most ranges of kits over the years. I usually treat most kits as a set of parts for what essentially becomes a scratchbuilding project.

I always approach a new kit prepared to cut and shut parts and to make any shortcomings good with new bits. That way, I’m never disappointed with components that don’t fit or holes that are in the wrong place.

A weekend

But a little bit of work and some patience will result in a good model.

That was how I felt until I built my first Judith Edge kit. What an absolute gem! The detail is excellent and the parts are beautifully etched, which means that it fits together really well. Judith Edge Kits offers quite a range – mainly industrial locomotives or smaller BR steam and diesel shunters – in 4mm and 7mm:1ft scales. My advice is to get one now and keep it by to brighten some dark wintry

Throughout this build the various assemblies need to be screwed together and the locating nuts need to be soldered very accurately. Firstly, tin the area around the hole, add flux and place the nut in position. Gently bring the soldering iron into contact with the tinning solder. This will melt and lock the nut in place. Add a further filet of solder if required.

evenings by building yourself a lovely model.

The subject of this build is the Barclay 0-4-0DM D2953-56, later the Class 01. It’s a lovely little locomotive, with distinctive lumps and bumps that give it quite a character.

The kit contains parts to produce the Departmental version (No. 81). It also includes a few resin castings for sandboxes and internal fittings, but otherwise, everything can be soldered together – perfect for an old dyed-in-the-wool modeller like myself!

Some of the etched parts are very small and, with the transference of heat, you will need to clamp an old aluminium hair grip to the etch to act as a heat sink. It’s a trick that needs mastering but, aside from that, the kit is very straightforward and goes together well. There are a few small screws and nuts as well.

As with most kits, you’ll need to source the wheels, motor and gearbox, as well as bufferbeams. In this case, Markits offers the correct seven-spoke Barclay wheels, as well as the gearbox, and Alan Gibson produces the buffers – and all are available from Roxey Mouldings (www.roxeymouldings.co.uk). Unfortunately, the kit is designed to accept a Mashima motor but these are no longer available so you’ll need to source an alternative.

When folding metal into any shape – but particularly right angles – always bend past 90º. This takes the spring out of the metal. Then, using a set square, bend the brass piece to an accurate right angle.

The use of clamps on such a small model is a necessity due to lack of space. Here, the cab control desk is tacked in place and clamped in position, while the whole unit is held so the gas torch can complete the soldered joint.

Along the side of the bonnet above the doors is an angled piece of very fine etch. Clamp it in place and start to solder from one end, then work your way along its length. This will prevent distortion.

Here’s a trick to fix the bonnet door handles. Secure the handrail inside the bonnet with the ends sticking out. Hang the doors over the handles, solder in place and then bend down the protruding ends to form the door handles.