The first ready made, painted model.
From this view you can see the wormshaft through the side window.
The model in "real loco" view. It was first painted by Tamiya semi-glossy
model color, but this showed a rather bad results. Thus it was stripped and
repainted by Model Master Enamel, a mixture of mat and glossy paints.
This picture was taken at the same time, same place, just on another negative.
This explains the different color hue. The picture can be seen in a
very large version too.
From this point of view you can also see the flywheel below the coal.
You can also observe the Westinghouse air pump's tubing.
The loco's back. The coal is real one.
Right side profile of the model. I think the proportions are just correct.
The machine from the front. It is a pity that the coupler is so clumsy. I
did not want to paint it black, as the European coupler hook should slide
up on its front and this might be difficult on a painted surface.
The back of the loco with the steps. The handrail on the top is also a typical
item. You can compare with the
real loco.
The top view. You can see how many small components are visible on a loco
top.
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The paintwork of the first Class 342 model was not really successful. It looks first as a fingerprint, but at a closer view you do not need to be a Sherlock Holmes to realize: no human being has such a fingerprint. What probably happened, I applied first a well sticking metal basecoat containing rather agressive thinner. I did not wait enough to evaporate the thinner and it has attacked the finish, which was a simple enamel. The process was slow, in the first photos the failure is almost invisible. Thus the model needed a repaint. |
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As a part of the upgrade a new gearbox was made,
exactly the same design as the
second model's gearbox
In this case the flywheel is hidden in the firebox,
thus there is enough place remaining in the cab
to mount a boiler backhead there. Unfortunately
the cab is rather closed, this backhead is almost
invisible when the cab is on.
You can see the characteristic round "Brotan-head" in the firebox top, a feature of the water-tube Brotan-boilers the Class 342 locos were equipped with. |
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The upgraded model has working headlights. This is operated by tiny SMD-LEDs. As the brass headlight body could provoke short circuits at the wire solderings the headlight is glued inside a tube turned from plexi. |
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The upgraded Class 342 model. She was also retrofitted to represent a loco in the late 1930's. Now she has a water cleaner tank on the boiler top, a Friedmann-lubricator, a two-part stack and of course numberplates with the old Hungarian coat-of-arms. The painting happened using semi-glossy new Model Master acrilic paint. |
The second model shows the prototype as it was in the 1930s.
You can find the tank of the water cleaner on the boiler top,
the Friedmann lubricator on the water tank front
and the stack top is removable. These are the biggest
differences but you can find many smaller ones when observing thoroughly.
The right side of the model. After several experiments I painted it using Tamiya
semi-glossy model color and the surface became nicer than the first model.
The model from the "most usual" point of view. You cannot see here the flywheel
like in the first model as it is placed inside the boiler rather than in
the coal bunker. You can see this picture in a
very large
version. And a similar setup with a
digital camera.
These pictures were taken at the same time in the same environment. Thus you can
study the differences between the analog and digital photographing.
The engineer side of the model. Unfortunately due to a measurement error the
manufacturer's plate on the sanddome became a way too big. Soon I make a
new one. You can see this picture in a
very large version.
The model from the left back side. Of course real coal is glued to the coalbox top..
The other side from the rear. This is again a picture made using a digital camera.
Both models together. Very similar, indeed. But not alike!
The models side-by-side. And also in a
very large version
where you can study the differences.
The models in "elephant walking" arrangement. The 342s were probably rarely
running double headed, especially with two 342s. Here is a
very large version
of this picture.
The components of the Class 342 model's first type gearbox.
The gearbox is soldered, the gear cover
on the right side is fixed by a screw and it keeps the axle bearings inside
the slots.
The mounted first type gearbox. On the full size photo the dual gear arrangement
is well visible. The larger one is a bevel gear meshing with the worm, the
smaller one is a normal gear meshing with the axle gear. This allows to use
different shape for the worm and the normal gearset, and also gives a decent
speed reduction.
The mounted first type gearbox, top view.
Both gears are well visible. The "wings"
will keep the cab and the accessories that will be mounted on the cab bottom,
like the non-lifting ejector. The gearbox is lower than the cab window, thus
it will only be visible, if one looks closely inside the cab.
The sides of the second type gearbox after drilling by the
CNC drill machine
and cutting out by the
piercing saw.
These parts will be filed to shape after this, the scribings for the final
shape are also visible on the picture.
The fully mounted second type gearbox. Unfortunately the filing was not very
nice at the lower corners, but as the important dimensions are correct I
did not make new ones. The lower part will be invisible behind the framesides
anyway. As seen on the picture this type of gearbox contains the full integrated
cab floor instead of the mounting wings of the first type. The gearbox sides
have no cutouts as this gearbox fully fits inside the firebox, thus it will
be invisible from outside.
The framesides. On the top there is the 1mm (0.04") brass sheet after drilling
all holes - including the "rivet holes" by the
CNC drill machine.
The part in the middle is a frameside after cutting off from the brass sheet
and all larger opening are cut through using a piercing saw.
The part in the picture bottom is the ready filed frameside.
The openings for the axle boxes allow compensated vertical movement
for the first and the second drivers.
The third driver is fixed in the frame, its axlebox opening is smaller.
The frame before and after soldering. The framesides are soldered together with
several horizontal spacers. They also have holes and threaded holes to keep
the gearbox, the cylinder block assembly and the entire superstructure (first
and last threaded hole).
The soldered frame. The very front part is narrower to allow the sideways movement
of the leading wheelset. The back is cut out to allow the same movement for
the trailing wheelset. Both solutions are unprototypical: the much larger
radii allowed smaller sideways movement for the Adams-Webb axles of the
prototype.
This picture shows the cylinder cover disks in their creation process. The
hole pattern was made using the small CNC drill machine. The smaller rings
with 12 small (0.4mm diameter) holes are for the valve cylinder, the larger
ones with 16 holes for the syeam cylinders. Those having two larger extra
holes are for the crosshead guide pins. On the left and right end of the
strip those patterns are incorrect, probably the X-Y table was removed while
changing the drill bit, and thus the two crosshead guide pin holes aren't
aligned with the center hole. The disks were cut off in a lathe fixing the
brass sheet in a mandrel. The small component on the lower side left is the
end spacer of the crosshead guide.
The Crosshead Guides and one Yoke. The Crosshead Guides are cut and filed
from a 1mm (0.04") nickel silver sheet and soldered to the Spacers. One Spacer
is visible below the unmounted set of Crosshead Guides. The rod soldered
on the other side is a temporary spacer to keep the Guides parallel and aligned
while soldering them to the Yokes. After fixing the guides this rod will
be removed.
These are the Valverod Hangers. They will be mounted to the back face of
the Cylinder Casting and the Valverod is kept by their longitudinal holes.
The match on the top was put there for size comparision.
The cylinder "casting". It is resistance soldered from brass sheets. The
Cylinder Cover Disks and the Valverod Cover "tubes" are glued on the front
using Epoxy. This part keeps the Crosshead Guides and the Yokes and remains
separable from the frame. The threaded hole above the cylinders is for the
current collector bridge fixation.
The fully mounted Cylinder Casting with the full Walschaert Valvegear. To
remove this unit from the frame one has to remove the Crosshead Pin and the
pin that fixes the Eccentric Link Rod to the Reverse Link.
The Cylinder Casting with Walschaert Valvegear from another view. The fixation
of the Reverse Link is well visible here.
The Cylinder Casting with Walschaert Valvegear from the back. The soldering
of the Reverse Link Support is not perfect. Here it was necessary to work
fast to avoid unsoldering the Crosshead Guides. The visible slots will be
filled up with putty before painting the yoke.
The Cylinder Casting with Walschaert Valvegear from the top. Here the forked
Radius Rods and Combination Levers are well visible. It is also visible that
the corner of the Crosshead Guide had to be flattened in order to clean the
main rod in its lowest position.
The frame mounted with motor, first type gearbox, flywheel and wheels. Also
the plate with the cylinder "casting" and yoke is mounted, but it still lacks
the valvegear, crosshead guides, crosshead and rods. When mounting the
longitudinal bridge that contains the current collectors the model can move
on its own power. The rolling properties aren't perfect as no rodding is
available and the motor only drives the rear driver axle.
The loco from the Front. You can see the splashers below the front footplate.
The Leaf Springs on the top of the Footplate - a typical spotting feature
of the Adams Leading Axle - are still unmounted.
The first loco with fully mounted Walschaert Valvegear. This model is mounted
with Romford drivers. The motor is a Faulhaber 1624 is mounted using a dual
face tape. The electric connection is a temporary one. The buffers still
have no buffer plates.
Detail of the first loco with fully mounted Walschaert Valvegear.
The second loco with fully mounted Walschaert Valvegear. This model has Piko
drivers, already painted black, but during the mounting, testing and fine
tuning the paint peeled off in spots. The motor is a cheap temporary one
on a temporary mount. It runs a bit faster than the model with Faulhaber.
Detail of the second loco with fully mounted Walschaert Valvegear.
Building the cab.
The parts are already cut and filed to shape,
but the side window openings are missing.
They were cut only after bending the side walls to shape.
The boiler top and the top sheet of the water tank. As from the boiler only
the top is visible only that was built. It was cut and bent from 0.3mm (0.012")
brass sheet. On the background one cane see the soldered boiler with the
water tank top sheet. The etched part in the front is the thin tank
top sheet with all rivets, it will be glued on the thick top sheet.
The cab with the tank and coal bunker. This forms the model's "shell". It
will be fixed to the frame by two M2 screws.
The parts of the first model. In the front the boiler and the tank top, behind
the tank sides with the cab and in the back the frame with the motor and
the drivetrain.
The "shell" mounted to the frame first time. It lacks the stack, smokebox
door and -cover and many small parts. But already it looks like a loco!
The smokebox front. The circular hole pattern was drilled with the CNC machine
and after this cut round by a lathe. The thick round sheet is the base for
smokebox door.
This is the smokebox lagging still flat. The base material was 0.2mm
brass sheet. The "rivet" structure was punched by a new river hitting tool
fixed on the CNC machine. After this step it was cut to size and rolled around
the smokebox core.
The water inlet covers on the water tank top. The cover sheet was cut by
a piercing saw and filed to size. The river rows on the sides were etched
and glued to place.
The checkvalve. It was soldered from small rods and tubes. The match gives
an impression about its size. It is a "normal" match, not the oversized version!
This is the model of a Friedmann-type central lubricator press. These were
mounted on the larger MÁV steamers before WW2, usually on the right
side above the crosshead guide or the yoke. At tank engines, like the Class
342 on the front of the right side tank. After WW2 they were moved into cab.
The lubricator was operated by a lever that was driven by some moving part,
usually the crosshead or a crank. On the tank engines the driving rods and
levers are behind the tank, thus invisible.
The Friedmann lubricator with a match for size comparision.The lubricator
should be removed for painting, as its back can only be painted stand-alone.
Etched components. The oval front window, the rivet bands and the riveted
tank covers. This was etched from a 0.2mm brass sheet.
The brakehangers and brakeshoes were also etched, but from a 0.5mm nickel
silver sheet. The color of nickel silver resembles better to the shiny steel
of the original, thus no painting is necessary. The brakeshoes are soldered
together from one part with hanger and one without. Thus the 1mm thickness
is not far from the prototype.
The etched numberplates and manufacturer's plates for both Class 342 models.
The size of the numberplate is 6.0x3.5mm, thus the text size is well below
1mm (0.04"). But still readable.
These are the lead castings. The smaller one will be glued into the coal
bunker and its top forms a pile of coal. The longer ones will be glued into
the water tanks. The plaster molds are closed ones with long entry funnels.
This was the learning from the
Class 326 model's castings.
It that case the molds were open, and thus the corners weren't filled in.
Here the weight of the molten lead pushed the casting to fill out the corners.
The lead in the funnels was simply cut off when it became cold.
Here is the first Class 342 model before painting.
For better photographing I mounted a few components that were removed again for painting.
But not all components are mounted.
The whistle, the headlights and other minor parts are missing.
This is a view from the level we observe the prototype locos too.
This is the side view.
You can see through the cab and the frame openings,
exactly like on the prototype.
The other side.
This shows the Westinghouse two stage air pump.
This was a brass casting from the German company Weinert.
The model from the back.
The steps on the back side were soldered by resistance soldering.
One can see the lead weight in the coal bunker that forms a pile of coal.
The real coal will be glued on top of it after painting.
The second model almost ready, before painting.
A few small components are still missing,
but they need to be dismounted anyway for the painting.
Clicking on the thumbnail you find a medium size picture, but here you can see a
very big picture, too.
Here is the left side of the second model.
Here you can see a
very big picture.
The second model from back.
The gearbox is invisible, unlike on the first model, as it is inside the boiler.
Here you can see a
very big picture.
The second model from the side.
The injector tubing differs from the first one, this version is more correct.
Here you can see a
very big picture.
Both Class 342 models side by side. The new one still unpainted.
The second model after sandblasting before painting.
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This page was updated last time on 12th March 2009
© János Erö