Jump to content
 
  • entries
    166
  • comments
    224
  • views
    93,848

About this blog

An occasional update on SRman's workbench projects

Entries in this blog

LBSC and LSWR wagon kits from Cambrian under construction - part 4

Almost all done now. The two Cambrian wagons have been running in service. However, they were still a little too clean so I have lightly weathered them with mixes of Humbrol 85, 62 and gunmetal, dry brushed or washed on according to the needs of the particular areas to be weathered.   The effects are fairly subtle and only just show up in the photos.       I also made a couple of videos of them in service with the Bachmann SECR 'C' or the Hornby LBSCR Terrier hauling them. I have poste
SRman

SRman

2

LBSC and LSWR wagon kits from Cambrian under construction - part 3

Two more evenings work are represented here. Painting the wagons has proceeded, with the LSWR open getting a colour more representative of the correct one. I have used a thin coat of LSWR coach umber over the red oxide base colour - it is supposed to e a purple brown shade but once weathered I think it will look pretty close.   The transfers have been applied using te HMRS (ex-PC) Pressfix SR wagon sheet, which included lettering and numbers for the SEC, LBSC and LSW Railways. There are a coup
SRman

SRman

2

LBSC and LSWR wagon kits from Cambrian under construction - part 2

The Cambrian kits have progressed to the paint shop. These photos show the first rough coat of paint. The photos are always one step behind progress and I have now painted the black undergear and buffers. Also in the photos is the newly arrived Heljan class 16 D8404 with Stratford style yellow panels.       Neither wagon's colour is entirely correct but they are close! More to come soon.
SRman

SRman

0

LBSC and LSWR wagon kits from Cambrian under construction

Last weekend I went to the Australian Model Railway Association's (AMRA) annual exhibition at Caulfield race course, as a member of the British Railway Modellers of Australia's (BRMA) stand.   I took along a couple of simple Cambrian wagon kits to construct when I needed a break from operating the demonstration layout. However, that didn't happen and I spent most of the time operating, demonstrating or just talking, but not building anything!!   Today I decided to sit down and build both kit
SRman

SRman

0

The SouthWest Trains class 450 conversion - all but complete

The class 450 conversion from a Bachmann Silverlink class 350/1 is now all but complete. There are a few very minor tweaks and finishing touches to do but the unit is now running as a complete four-car set in one livery.   It's not perfect. I have a few small air bubbles, a couple of small lumps in the paint underneath, and I cut and partly hand-painted the front end stripes to correct the Electra printing. It still saved an awful lot of work in adding the various livery elements and looks abs
SRman

SRman

2

Class 450 conversion - third coach converted and fourth in progress

Work continues apace on the class 450 conversion. I have taken a couple of photos showing all four cars, with the first two all but complete, the third prepared to accept the vinyls and the fourth with the first coats of red paint on the roof but otherwise untouched.       And another two with the vinyls now applied to the third (composite) coach. I scraped the existing "first class" wording off the windows with a wooden cocktail stick before applying the vinyl sides. I have also altered
SRman

SRman

0

The second coach of the class 450 has now been converted

Work is proceeding slowly on converting the Bachmann class 350/1 into a SouthWest Trains class 450,, with the second coach now pre-painted then having had the Electra overlays added.   My back has been healing slowly so I can spend longer per session at the workbench but I am still only dealing with one coach at a time. I have been painting the whole coach with a thin coat of dark blue as a primer coat (the driving coach used a Revell colour but al subsequent ones are using/will use Humbrol #1
SRman

SRman

0

Class 450 'swoops' mark 2

Last post on this topic for today!   I have added a little of the 'Barbie' blue along the bottom edges of the sides, retouched the 'swoop' stripes around the front and touched up the black on the 'buffers' and gangways. The stripes are sill very rough and the vinyls require trimming around the tail lights but it is taking shape.     That isn't a stain or patch on the sofa behind; I doctored the photo to remove a distracting red and blue bag on the sofa!   For anyone wondering, here's wh
SRman

SRman

0

Class 450 'swoops' and inner end - two more pics (edited - plus one!)

To illustrate what I said in the previous post, here is a photo of the front part of the red and orange 'swoops' modified to show nearer where they should be going. I have subsequently trimmed the lower orange bit and reseated it at a slightly better angle. The point of the red should end under the headlight and intersect the tail light while the orange should pass under the taillight with only a very slight overlap of the rim.     Fixing this will entail a little hand painting although tha
SRman

SRman

0

The first vinyls applied to the class 450

I have now added the first vinyls to the Bachmann SouthWest Trains class 450 (ex-Silverlink class 350/1). I was a bit stuck for the right shade of blue to match the SWT blue on the vinyls so as a preliminary undercoat for any exposed edges, the inner end and the roof I used a Revell dark matt blue, then followed it with some Precision Paints First Group 'Barbie' blue, which has turned out to be an almost perfect match for the vinyls.   I also pre-painted the leading end of the roof with red a
SRman

SRman

4

The LCDR / SECR brake van gains buffers and more coats of paint

Just a quick update on the LCDR brake van. I have added the buffers plus several more coats of paint. The white roof in particular needs many light coats to prevent it looking too clean and white (I used a pale grey as a primary coat for that reason).     Still to be added are the footboards and brake gear, the latter being particularly frustrating for me as I can't make head or tail of the instructions! In addition, I don't like the etched brass 'wooden' brake shoes so I think I will have
SRman

SRman

0

Two more pics of the LCDR brake van

Two more pics of the LCDR brake van going into SECR livery - the second coat of Humbrol 79 has been applied. I have posed it with the as yet crewless Bachmann 'C' 0-6-0 in magnificent full SECR lined green.       Also visible in the upper photo is the recently repainted Dapol track cleaner which was in Hatton's dark grey and white livery but is now in simplified BR blue and grey livery.
SRman

SRman

0

Roxey LCDR brake van progress

As I am recovering from the back problems of the last week or so, I have now been able to start a few simple modelling projects - or continue with existing ones. I can only spend short times sitting at the workbench for now but things are improving rapidly.   Besides the class 350 conversion to class 450 mentioned elsewhere, I have finally, after much thought, come up with a way to level the LCDR brake van - it was previously sitting a little high at the compensated end. The solution was actua
SRman

SRman

3

Preliminary work on converting a Bachmann class 350/1 to a 450 unit

The vinyls to convert a Bachmann class 350/1 into a SouthWest Trains liveried class 450 arrived last week, while I was unable to do anything due to a back injury! I have now healed sufficiently to allow short (very short!) spells at the workbench, so I did a little preliminary painting on the first driving coach of the Bachmann class 350.   I have also removed the pantograph and associated insulators and conduits/bus bars from the appropriate coach, Some holes will require a small amount of fi
SRman

SRman

0

Further detailing work on the ex-LSWR G16 4-8-0T

After a period of inactivity on the G16 project, I have now done a little more detailing work. This was to add a wire run (or is it an oil pipe run?) from the front of the tank to the bulge over the cylinders on each side plus the start of what will be the clack valves on each side. For the latter I have used a thickish brass wire with some fibre washers intended for valve gear applications. Next, I will add a little Milliput to the tops followed by another of those fibre washers. The photos sho
SRman

SRman

0

Hard-wiring Lima's BR Blue Class 31, 31 004

Encouraged by how smoothly the DCC conversion of 31 327 went, I decided to do 31 004. This one also ran very smoothly on DC so I thought it would go just as well as 31 327. WRONG!!   The actual hard-wiring went more smoothly because I knew exactly what I was doing this time. I pulled the Digitrax decoder out of 31 327 and plugged it in to 31 004. It ran like a dog! It stuttered and stopped and refused to complete even one circuit without stalling. I thoroughly cleaned the wheels, oiled the mec
SRman

SRman

3

Lima Railfreight Class 31, 31 327 - a quickie project

Another diversion from layout building and work on the G16 and 2 HAL. I looked at my Lima class 31, 31 327 in Railfreight grey and thought I would like to do something useful with it, as the 30/31 was a particularly good model from the Lima stable. Some years ago I fitted separate handrails to the front of my blue 31 004 and repainted the yellow ends completely. 31 327 had been languishing in a drawer because it had never had the side handrails which were supposed to be supplied in the box but w
SRman

SRman

0

The GAP ex-LSWR G16 gains buffers

Since most of the remaining painting required will be by brush, I decided it was time to add the buffers, after first painting the buffer beams and shanks red. There was a minor disaster when I dropped one of the sprung buffers and it fell apart on the floor. I fished around with a torch for extra illumination for a while and eventually reunited the buffer head, shank, spring and tiny retaining screw! I do have to check to see if that rear buffer beam should be red for its entire depth or only f
SRman

SRman

0

The ex-LSWR G16 continues to take shape - part 2

I spent a short time this afternoon gluing the steps, toolbox and cab roof vent on the G16, followed by filing the rear body mounting to make it sit more levelly. The Christmas bag in the photos was to hide the glare from the TV as I decided to take the photos in the sitting room next to a window.   Still to add before painting are the lamp irons from flattened brass wire, remembering that these Southern locomotives had six lamp irons at each end, lubricator pipe runs, and the clack valves and
SRman

SRman

0

The 'Tin' HAL continues towards completion

More on the 2 HAL: I have now started painting the interiors. I know they started with a reddish-brown for second class (ex-third class) but I have no idea what colour the first class seats should be. I chose a French blue on the strength of Hornby using blue for their Maunsell coaches but this is a tenuous guess at best! I will also paint the antimacassars white or cream for first class only.   The roofs were still in undercoat before and have now had a coat of a darker grey.   The interior
SRman

SRman

2

Painting the G16 and Glazing the 2 HAL

Only a little more progress to report on both the ex-LSWR G16 tank and on the Ayjay Models 'Tin' 2 HAL kit.   I have painted the bogie wheels to better match the rest (i.e. got rid of those shiny silver tyre rims!) and given the whole locomotive a second coat of black. It is now too black as this really hides any detail (an also any inaccuracies!!). The chassis needs a small adjustment as the mounting gives the body a very slight lean to one side.     I have finally got around to glazing
SRman

SRman

5

The ex-LSWR G16 continues to take shape.

My 14mm 10-spoke bogie wheels arrived today from Mainly Trains in England, so I wasted no time in fitting them and testing again. Before I show the pic of it with the new wheels, though, I took a photo the other day before decoder fitting but after adding the motor and works back in and temporarily hooking up the wires for testing on analogue (12V DC). This also shows the various mods and add-on bits.     And now, with the body on, decoder fitted and the new bogie wheels. The capuchon has n
SRman

SRman

3

The G16: powered and test run

A quick update (but no photos at this point): I reinstalled the motor and intermediate gear this morning then hooked up the wires temporarily to test it on DC power. It ran perfectly on the test leads so I placed it on the track and switched that over to DC (from DCC). There was an initial stickiness but after a couple of circuits it ran perfectly, although there was an annoying ticking noise that I traced to the front articulation on the coupling rods touching the spacing washer on the valve ge
SRman

SRman

0

The G16: a quick coat of paint

After three days of ice packs on my face and pain killers I have had to have a root canal job on a tooth. Now that I'm recovering and feeling human again, I have pushed the G16 project a little further.   I have put a temporary wheelset on the bogie and given the body a preliminary coat of black.   On reading the potted history of the class in the instructions, I have realised that I need to remove the capuchon from the chimney - a few strokes of a file will fix this. I am almost ready to fi
SRman

SRman

3
×
×
  • Create New...