Modbury - 2mm Finescale (Brunel's Baulk Road)

That looks very good. What are you going to use for the roof?

Ian, I'm very impressed with what you've achieved so far and eagerly anticipate some photos of the fruits of your labours.

 

I'm sure this process will become more and more useful to 2mm modellers with its short run capabilities. I have downloaded Sketchup, but am nowhere near as proficient as you obviously are. I need more practice!

Best of luck with the cattle wagon, hope it comes out well. I'm after a couple of these for my layout so if the results are good I'll put in a reservation.

That looks very promising, Ian, as did the outside framed van. There's something about the planking that doesn't look quite right to me. I've just checked both my 4mm ABS version and the photo in Atkins et al. and it appears that the bottom plank is wider than the others so you might want to remove that lowest line. There were, of course, drainage slots at the bottom, though whether you can reproduce them in this material I don't know.

 

Nick

That looks very good. What are you going to use for the roof?

Kris,

I intend to roll a rectangle of 10thou nickel silver to the roof profile and super glue it on (I will do the same with the Vans I've ordered too).

 

That looks very promising, Ian, as did the outside framed van. There's something about the planking that doesn't look quite right to me. I've just checked both my 4mm ABS version and the photo in Atkins et al. and it appears that the bottom plank is wider than the others so you might want to remove that lowest line. There were, of course, drainage slots at the bottom, though whether you can reproduce them in this material I don't know.Nick

 

Nick,

I'm not convinced by the lower planking either. Unfortunately the only image I have is a poor quality one in my copy of "GWR Wagons" by Atkins et al. The photo doesn't reveal a gap in the lower planks, and some of the strapping is difficult to see too - hence a bit of artistic licence on my part (under the roof line, and where the horizontal middle frame meets the door frame). I need to scour my library for a better quality image (although I know that the wagon will be ancillary to the main subject). I do know of an end view photo of a "Small" version of the wagon in a book on the Plymton branch - it is interesting that Atkins doesn't really mention the Small version, but the image to which I am refering is pretty blatant as the word "Small" is emblazoned on the end of the wagon).

 

I intend to amend the drawing if I can find suitable photographic evidence.

 

Ian

Vehicles for carrying livestock had to allow the easy inspection of hooves. That is one of the main reasons the gaps at the bottom of the sides exist, however this rule would have been introduced at some point, probably early in the 20th century so existing stock would have needed converting to comply? That aside it is normal for the bottom plank to be placed on the floor so having a 'half plank' at the bottom does look odd.

Looking excellent Ian, I look forward to seeing it printed.

 

I notice that your bolts/rivets are square, which is not a problem and they will come out perfectly fine in the finished item. I'm guessing that you tried to create little circular protrusions but Sketchup refused to cooperate saying 'radius too small' or something similarly unhelpful. This always happens with little rivets and the like in small scale models, and can be a genuine problem with slightly larger, but still in 2mm tiny, details. Things like the round lens of a lamp... this might throw up the same problem.

 

If this is an issue, simply design the element of the model at a larger scale, it might be at full 1:1 scale size, though it need only be, for instance, ten times the size needed for the model. This way the circular 'thing' will come out as intended, and it can then be shrunk to match the model (using the useful scale feature) without loosing its circular-ness.

 

(Here ends the worlds longest handy hint!!)

Will,

 

Thanks for that - I do remember seeing some IKB Models artwork for an etched kit drawn at what seemed a massive size at a Broad Gauge Society event many many years ago, I assume that it had been hand drawn back then. I never considered doing something like that in SketchUp. The rivets/bolt heads have been drawn at 0.2mm square, and 0.15mm thick. I expect that they will look like little pimples when printed :-) (I drew them the same size on the Goods Van, and am waiting with eager anticipation to see the fruits of my labour!

 

Rich,

 

I think that you are right, and I also think that is why the drawn up vehicle doesn't look right to me. I wil remove the "half plank" so that I can create a drainage slot, hopefully that will improve the look. Out of interest, what thickness did you make the planks of your beetle?

 

All,

 

Thank you for the encouraging comments, of course the proof of this pudding will be in the printing :-)

 

Ian

I've modified the bottom planking (removed the bottom half plank to provide drainage slot), and also added a little more detail on the doors that I'd missed. The revised model can be seen in the Sketch-Up screen shot below :

 

Ian

...I'm not convinced by the lower planking either. Unfortunately the only image I have is a poor quality one in my copy of "GWR Wagons" by Atkins et al. The photo doesn't reveal a gap in the lower planks...

 

Ian, the photo is much clearer in my copy (1986 single volume) and does show the two slots, one at each end of the panel, just as on the ABS 4mm kit. Interestingly, though, there is a copy of a Swindon drawing in Russell's Pictorial Record of GW Wagons with the title 15'-3" CATTLE WAGON that appears to show a continuous slot as in your modified version (15'3" is the internal dimension).

 

There are no slots in the ends or between higher planks on the sides as with later diagrams. With regard to Rich's comment about foot inspections, I would have thought that these higher slots would be for that purpose. I wouldn't want to get my face too close to the lowest slots of a loaded wagon...

 

Nick

 

ps. you also need to merge the lower planks at the end into a single wider plank.