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silverfoxsteam

The continuing quest for internationalism!

I grabbed this example of 'vapeur de jouet' by the French maker, Jean Comby the other day off that-auction-site-which-must-not-be-named.



I'm actually rather impressed. Not fired it yet but the overall build seems quite good. The chimney's missing and as the base diameter's is 38mm, the original must have been huge! I've got a piece of brass tube that will fit nicely if I only knew what length it was! Other than that, the burner's missing and the cylinder end's gone AWOL - neither presents a real problem though.








The engine's a single acting, non-reversable slide valve. Exhaust is carried out through the rear of the valve. Interestingly it has a spung s/v AND a filler plug. The firebox door is quite a nice feature I think.
silverfoxsteam

Oh and come to think of it, there must be a pulley missing from the boiler end of the crankshaft.

Anyone got any ideas on the sort of length and colour the chimney should be?
Mamod Collector

Thats a nice aqasition Steve  Very Happy
Would it be possable to exhaust the steam though the chimmney  Smile
Franco

silverfoxsteam wrote:
Oh and come to think of it, there must be a pulley missing from the boiler end of the crankshaft.

Anyone got any ideas on the sort of length and colour the chimney should be?


That's a great find Stephen...this is the closest engine I could find to it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjRlqB60UxQ



                               Franco.
silverfoxsteam

Mamod Collector wrote:
Would it be possable to exhaust the steam though the chimmney  Smile


It's quite possible to add an exhaust steam pipe and route it to the base of the chimney, but the problem is collecting the condensate. Bowman never bothered about it, as the chimnies are brass there's no rusting problem, you just mop up the water! My Wilesco D21 has a little plastic condensation tray in the chimney base.

I think, in this case I'll just try to create something that looks acceptable - that's enough of a challenge!
silverfoxsteam

Franco wrote:

That's a great find Stephen...this is the closest engine I could find to it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjRlqB60UxQ



                               Franco.


Thanks Franco - very useful. The 'smoked' effect on the chimney looks quite extraordinary but if that's what they did then I'll give it a go!
John Chapman

Ah! C'est bon Stefan, vive le differance  Very Happy

There are some JC photos here - http://www.blooo.fr/galerie_2008/displayimage.php?album=62&pos=1  and a couple on John O'Rear's site http://www.johno.myiglou.com/steamodds.htm.
JJ

This is what I like about this site, wide variety and always loads of enthusiasm.

Nice Engine Stephen.
Spokesmann

An unusual looking machine, is that cylinder not double acting?
avenger

Interesting engine not seen one before !
silverfoxsteam

John Chapman wrote:
Ah! C'est bon Stefan, vive le differance  Very Happy

There are some JC photos here - http://www.blooo.fr/galerie_2008/displayimage.php?album=62&pos=1  and a couple on John O'Rear's site http://www.johno.myiglou.com/steamodds.htm.


Tres Bon mon ami, merci bien!
silverfoxsteam

Spokesmann wrote:
An unusual looking machine, is that cylinder not double acting?


Definately single acting - like my smaller Marklin.
silverfoxsteam

avenger wrote:
Interesting engine not seen one before !


I've never seen one 'in the flesh' before either H. Pity the chimney's gone but I'll have to see what can be done, I don't want to 'anglicise' it, well not too much anyway!
silverfoxsteam

Had an 'idle' 5 mins last night so I thought I'd see what I could do about a chimney for the JC.

What do the members think?

Before...



After...






Be honest now I'm looking for comments not praise, if you think it looks daft please say so!

It looks a bit big but the angle of the camera doesn't help much. I can always cut it down. This is how it may have looked, courtesy of JohnO's website...



Unfortunately I'm just not clever enough to copy that, but it's amazing what you can do with an old brass garden sprayer!

I've made no attempt to polish any of the brasswork on engine or chimney as you can see. Options on the chimney are to leave it, polish it, clad it in 'brick' paper or try and reproduce the 'smokey' white/grey paint effect.

Suggestions please.
Nick

Stephen, check your pm's about the paint. Wink
Mamod Collector

It does look a bit big Steve around the girth    Very Happy
As you say maybe the brick work effect would help reduce its visual impact
The length seems ok its just to thick   Very Happy
(I'm so glad my GF isnt reading this)  Smile
silverfoxsteam

Like it!

Being serious for a moment...

I think the chimney should have a slight taper, although the diameter is set by the base and that (by shear coincidence) happens to be correct for the brass tube I had available! I'll try some brick paper (my preference too) and see what it looks like.
silverfoxsteam

I've mocked-up a brick effect, opinions please...


Mamod Collector

100% better Steve  Very Happy
steamykid

very nice! Very Happy
silverfoxsteam

Cheers lads - does look a lot better doesn't it?

I'm going to play around a bit with the finial (top bit!)and then paint it silver grey. The brick is paper temporarily help in place withe rubber bands. I'd like to have a play with copying the 'smokey paint' effecty before deciding on the final finish.
newts

I've seen a similar effect done as marbling on MDF.
Dark coat first & allowed to dry,  white then applied & swiped with the edge of a stiff feather to give the smudged effect in small areas.
Not sure if it would work with enamels, but acrylics should be OK Very Happy
Spokesmann

That looks the part Stephen blends in very well and looks very industrial!
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