Not been upto much lately, but have given the latest two coaches an undercoat of grey primer, which is brilliant for showing where you need to do more sanding and filling . Added all the end details handles steps etc. I've got the underframes built (just need some more vacuum cylinders) and the interiors bashed together from Hornby remnants.

The brake third just needed a luggage compartment building, the all third was made by cutting and splicing the four third class compartments from the brakes (you lose the guards compartment as its too large) and a further two compartments came from a spare composite interior.

The photos show the coaches mocked up with bogies but these still need fitting. I'm gonna fit some new grab handles (etched ones from comet) but I'm wondering if I could make a jig up to make these from brass wire.

I'm gonna fit flushglazing. When originally built these ran in rakes of seven, two brakes, two thirds, two composites and a restaurant car, and its very tempting to make another three coaches (i've already got two spare composites) however by the time I'm modelling, the original sets had long been broken up and it would probably be more interesting seeing these coaches mixed in with 60ft and 57 ft stock and whatever Hornby eventually decide to grace us GWR modellers with.

So heres the photos

Some rather fuzzy ones of the underframes and the interiors but I think they give you the idea of how the compartments were put together. The underframes themselves were made of 80 thou plasticard, edged by two strips of 20 thou. Running boards were added from more stips of 20 thou. Be careful with the glue - I'm always a little heavy handed and its easy to end up warping the whole thing. This is why I glued the compartments on with small dobs of superglue. In fact I used this for gluing the coach bodies together, its very good for filling gaps and gives a stronger bond then liquid poly.

Now two of the all third and finally the brake third..

Oh by the way i didn't win the auction on ebay for the BSL kits of the 70 footers, but I did get a centenary all third (I've got the kitchen first car and third diner in store somewhere) and I also got the restaurant composite to go with the kitchen car in the Cornish Riviera stock. One thing you can say my passengers will be well fed.

Rovex