# Aster Rebuilt Merchant Navy Kit



## Ger  (Jan 13, 2009)

Progress on assembly of the Aster rebuilt merchant navy kit. 

Did a steam test , ran very good. About 170 hours to date.

After a track run, I will finish adding all ornamental parts.

Gerald Pierce
























































To enlarge pictures, either click on the picture or right click and open link


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Gerald,
Looking very nice.
Did you have any 'issues' during assembly?
Merry Christmas,
David Leech, Delta, Canada


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## Ger  (Jan 13, 2009)

Hello David,

Aster has included some "Key Points of Assembly" at the end of the instruction book. This is also on the Aster Japan web site. The web site instructions are in color, the instruction booklet is not. You need the color version to understand the "Key Points". 

I am very impressed with the precision of the parts and the ease of assembly of most parts. However, there were a few parts requiring some fine small files. 

The valve gear required considerable precision filing due to the small clearances between parts. This is clearly shown in the "key points".
It would have been helpful to have some small metric taps to run thru some holes, ( M1.2 M1.4). The smoke box, running boards and front steps were a challenge. 

I am pleased with the kit, it is a beautiful engine!
Gerald


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Gerald
Thanks for the information and posting...have several to do on our shop schedule.


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## dougiel (Jun 3, 2008)

Morning,
for those like my self who have these kits to build this site will give you a lot of info. You will have to register then go to the general discussion forum then Building the Aster RMN. There are 19 pages now discussing the "little wrinkles" of this kit.

http://g1rf.myfastforum.org/index.php

My own kit has been abandond for the foreseable future. I am at the point where I will have to strip all the connections in the smoke box to remove that bottom plate. Unfortunately the holes on the bottom plate, top plate and door plate do not line up.

Dougie L


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## Ger  (Jan 13, 2009)

Hello Dougie,

My smokebox saddle section, part 10-1, aligned precisely with the frame. The top, part 12-9, aligned exactly with the bottom section. The front door section screw holes were off, however a small round file was used to slightly enlarge the holes in the smokebox top section.

There may be several reasons why the screw holes do not line up for you.
Are your frames aligned correctly? Is the Multi jet blast pipe, part 7-1, level to frames and correctly in place, etc ? I used a surface plate to insure this. Is the boiler installed correctly? 

These alignment checks are clearly stated in the instructions. Also, the instructions give warnings that it may be necessary to adjust castings and plate work to obtain optimum fit by use of small hand tools, drills and files. 

Thanks for the web site, some may find it useful.

I have solved my assembly problems, my engine is assembled and runs great. 
Gerald Pierce


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## dougiel (Jun 3, 2008)

Merry Xmas Gerald,

Unfortunately, in my kit, the holes on the upper smokebox do not align with the threaded holes on the lower plate. Yes, the frames are square.

The instructions were an ongoing re-write as two UK based builders found the problems in the kit. They still, in my opinion, do not do a very good job of pointing out some of the pitfalls.

I have Arthritus in my hands which makes handling small items difficult. I built the Aster BR version of the Castle kit with out any major problems or pain. It runs like a dream. I thought that was the base mark for Aster kits. The RMN has proved that assumption to be wrong. A lot of work and pain has gone into getting as far as I have.

There are reports now of bits of the delicate detail on the ash pans falling of when running. Perhaps too much effort has been paid to the detail and looks and not enough thought about building and running this kit.

Just my thoughts this Xmas morning.

All the best to everyone for 2015.

Dougie L


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## Ger  (Jan 13, 2009)

*Aster RMN LKit*

Hello Dougie,

I must have a received a kit with part corrections. 

I hope the dealer will send you another smokebox.

I received my kit September 15 of this year. The US allotment arrived in late August, less the manual. I believe only 12 to 15 kits went to USA.

My engine is number 99. I have no idea as to the numbering of the kit.
Are the kits numbered by production date, by country, or another system.
Possibly, someone on this forum can explain.

I am following a detail write up of building the kit. See www.britanniabuilder.com/aster.htm He is advanced to the smokebox section assemble, which he will work on after Christmas. 

Gerald


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## AsterUK (Jan 2, 2008)

Hello Dougie,

Sorry to hear you have abandoned your RMN kit and I hope this will be just a temporary delay. Please remember that help and parts are always available. 

Certainly there are some particular 'challenges' with the RMN kit but all (that I have heard of) say that the final model is an excellent performer and appearance is pretty well perfect too. 

As for parts falling off - well I haven't heard it myself. A drop of Loctite 222 solves must issues. Please remember there are plenty of doom-laden malcontents who see problems everywhere but never do anything useful themselves!

So be of good cheer Dougie and soldier on with your RMN kit and let me know if I can help in any way.

AsterUK


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## dougiel (Jun 3, 2008)

Gerald,

my kit is number 069. The numbers are as they are packed or built I think. I had to do a lot of filing on the piston rod slides, valve gear and castings to get it all to run smooth. From a few strokes to a lot of heavy metal removal. Then I fitted the smoke box base plate before I got the re-written instructions that said make sure the holes in the smoke box upper line up with the base plate !.

After carefull measurements I have found I will need to "adjust" the ones on the smoke box to fit. This means removal of the base plate after disconecting all the steam and exhaust connections. Frustrating but my own fault for pushing on too far.

There are still more "adjustments" to do on the kit with regards the detail parts so still a lot of work.

AsterUK, it is abandoned for the foreseable future. Work on a Jumbo that was supposed to be new and unused but has suffered damage through being dropped comes first. Then there is Silver Link. Very good externally but needing some TLC especially in the wick department. Once the fire is sorted then the rest can be tested. No real problem envisaged though.

Then there is a King to sort out. After that I will go back to the RMN.

Dougie L


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## Ger  (Jan 13, 2009)

My RMN kit is finished. The first steam run was January 1. I have added a few pictures.

The first shows a comparison to the Aster BR5MT.
The other two are the engine and a rake 4 Mark 1 coaches. These are Gauge 1 Model Railway Company.

The engine pressure was up to 1 bar after 10 minutes. (It was a cold day, the engine and water were cold to start.) Blower was opened and pressure was up to 4 bar in a short time. After clearing out water in cylinders, the regulator was opened a slight amount and it started to run without a push!

The engine pulled the load with regulator opened only about 10 degree . The three cylinders make for a powerful engine.

I have two youtube videos. One shows the engine running on air before the boiler was installed. It shows the three cylinders and valve gear in motion. The second video is a track run under steam. The engine ran very good. Only problem was the safety valves which needed some adjustment. I plan to add R/C controls.

I was unable to load these videos to MLS. You cad find these as follows:

No 1. Aster Merchant Navy, Building the Merchant Navy Kit
v=rBr4PM1z950
No 2. Aster Rebuilt Merchant Navy, First Steam Run
v=sQlFwyXuTSk
A google search should find these.

The RMN is a beauty and runs great!

My thanks to Andrew Pullen at Aster Hobbies(UK) for his work in the development of the RMN, and the engineers at Aster.

I also must thank my wife, Bea. She was my fastener organizer of approximately 720 screws, nuts , "o" rings, and other items.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Ha! it did work!
Here you go Gerald, I got this by reading this post;

http://forums.mylargescale.com/31-forum-bugs-testing/33018-video-insertion-test.html#post695306

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Gerald,
I am Larry Newman, I was so pleased at being able to post the videos I forgot to tell you.....Great videos!
Larry


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## Ger  (Jan 13, 2009)

Thanks Larry! You are a wiz!
I am also pleased. 

For me it was easies to build the kit than post a video on MLS!
Now that the RMN kit is finished, I will try to learn about movie making and posting on this site.

Thanks again

Gerald Pierce


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## cocobear1313 (Apr 27, 2012)

Gerald, beautiful engine and a very nice layout. Are the post on the concrete or is it set into the ground? I had to deal with a similar landscape "fallaway". Again, very nice.

Dave


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## Ger  (Jan 13, 2009)

Hello Dave,

The track is supported with deck blocks. 

I live on the side of a mountain. My property drops 15 feet in 120 feet which is the width of the lot. The area where the track is only drops about 4 1/2 feet in 20 feet.

Very difficult to dig here due to many rocks, some quite large, and roots in the ground. I tried a few composite deck blocks sold by Lowes, relatively light compared to concrete, however, my string trimmer would cut into these.

I also used 2x6 boards to support the decking, get some strong wind here. Also, good decking screws were used. The weight keeps the deck & supports in place. At my age, a 10 year track would be fine...


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## cocobear1313 (Apr 27, 2012)

We have the same fall away, 4-1/2'. I like your solution, Digging holes in clay was not fun, even with an auger, again, beautiful loco, beautiful setup.

Regards,
Dave


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Post Anchor; Oz-Post avail. from Home Depot or Lowes (24" & 36")










http://www.ozcobp.com/oz-post.html​


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