If you were hoping for Southern MUs then you might want to leave now ;-)

I've been trying very hard to finish some of what I have started. The amount of visible desk (zero) had become an impossible situation, especially considering that our spare bedroom has three lengths of worktop in it and SWMBO only has a small portion of that. In attempting to paint more of the items I had built but not painted I had a growing pile of stock that was 'finished' awaiting couplings. Progress was being made but things were not getting to the point where they could go in the stock boxes I bought earlier in the year. (I have a rule that stock cannot go in the box unless it is finished with couplings - i.e. really finished and suitable for use on the layout).

Here we have the results of painting and coupling fitting from this week.

LNWR diagram 88 van.

Long time readers will have seen this in a previous entry. Since then some further weathering has been udnertaken, mostly the addition of various chalked notes. It only really needed some couplings to be complete.

MR D342 coke hoppers.

These have been hanging around unpainted almost since my order came through when Chris Higgs originally offered these as limited availability a few years ago. Fortunately for Midland fans they are now available from shop 2. The paint specification in Midland Wagons 1 suggests the paint recipe contained more than 12 parts white or clear to one part black. I had my doubts whether the lettering would be visible on such a light colour (there isn't much contrast in some pictures of the prototype) and I darkened the left one a little with a very light black wash from the light shade I chose. The one on the right has been in service a while longer and the lead in the paint has darkened the colour. The lettering stayed bright because of the paint used, which had a 'self cleaning' property.

GER cattle wagon.

Built with a steel under frame. According to LNER wagons a small number of this diagram were on steel, rather than wood, under frames.

GC Lowmac.

Okay, this one's not quite finished, but it is painted and has couplings. These wagons had the securing chains permanently fixed to rings in the deck and I have run out of N Brass Loco container securing chains after loading up the Macaw Bs seen in previous entries. More have been ordered so I expect to be finished soon.

I didn't so myself any favours with the to-do pile at TINGS recently. Having intended to get a couple more Mathieson wagons I got talked into a few more. Fortunately I dealt with this swiftly by re-painting internally, dusting with weathering powders, re-wheeling, and adding couplings such that they aren't going to be hanging around in the UFO pile.

I'm a little way off a mimic of the coal train on the Dartmoor scene at Pendon, but until I have an 8 coupled loco finished there might be a problem with siding space...

...because I think I might have an addiction: I've ordered more!