For your next one, forget the poly cement and use Mek (or similar) and a paintbrush.

There's no brake cross shaft on your model above - I replace the supplied ones with wire although even a plastic one is better than a V hanger which visibly serves no purpose.

You're using glass - full marks. I wish I'd known that when I started.

Should there be a door controller and/or door springs on the sides?

What couplings are you planning to use? If 3 link, lose the plastic hook, they're always a waste of time.

Looks a neat, tidy, square build. Halfords grey primer is a good basis for painting (and I know at least one modeller who just uses that for LMS wagons).

Your model looks very nice!  I agree about using Mekpak (or similar) - it gives a much better and cleaner joint.

Isn't it great re-visiting your youth   I'm well into second childhood now and do find that the patience that comes with the years is the best asset of all, when model buildling.  A nice thing about kit and scratch building is that you can always add more details later.  I have loads of models that are missing brake gear and the like, because I tend to get distracted by something else and promise I'll get back to it later.  If you are more interested in the overall layout, then a lot of these details are barely noticeable anyway.

Now you've got going, I look forward to lots more pics!

Mike

Thanks for the comments.

Re: Mekpak - thanks for the tip.  How do you clean the paintbrush after use?

@jwealleans:  As far as I recall, the instructions don't mention a brake cross shaft; but logic said there ought to be one (brake gear was a mystery to me before this build, but I now see how it would work on the prototype). What type/size of wire would you recommend, and where could I obtain it?  Any other 'raw' materials you would suggest having in stock?

Re: Door controller - instructions recommend fitting after applying transfers if using the early, large lettering as the controller location overlaps the 'M' of LMS.

Couplings: I'm planning to use Kadees.  Would be grateful for any tips on which ones...

Primer:  Already have Halfords grey primer - interesting idea to leave that for LMS wagon grey.  Question - should I prime the running gear with that as well, before painting black & weathering?

@MikeOxon: Thanks for the encouragement!  The pretending-to-be-a-kid part of me really appreciates that.  I'm not obsessed about detail, but this first wagon has shown me that having a goodly amount helps improve the overall impression.  Putting on the brake gear has also enabled me to finally work out how it worked on the real thing, which has been interesting in itself.

Planning a van next, and I think I'll pull any other grey finish wagons out of the 'pending' box before batching them through the paint shop.

Isn't this modelling fun?  I really can't explain how much I've enjoyed this (relatively) simple job.

Mek-Pak - don't bother to clean the brush, any excess will simply evaporate off, but don't then use the brush for anything else. 

Ignore the instructions about the door controller, it would be far better to have it securely fixed and to trim the transfer to suit. One thing with these big letters - it's a good idea to press them in to conform with the planks, Microscale's Microsol is the thing to use here as it softens the transfers to allow them to be pressed in to the detail. 

If you must use Kadees (a personal hang-up this - they look ridiculous on this sort of wagon no matter how well they work though the state  railways in Victoria, Australia used knuckle couplers with side buffers until quite recently) I suppose the thing to do would be to mount the coupler pocket so the coupling protrudes below the headstock packed with plastic sheet as appropriate. If you like 'em, ignore my aesthetic hang-up, it's your model and thus your enjoyment that matters and they do work well.

Real cross shafts seem to be about 2" diameter so I use 0.7mm wire (brass) which can be had from, among others, Eileen's Emporium or Alan Gibson. 0.45mm wire is always useful for doing things like handrails

Painting: prime everything, it's easier. Halfords primer is a good an LMS wagon grey as anything else I reckon. Unless modelling a brand new wagon the running gear is unlikely to have appeared black and don't forget that the solebars in LMS livery should be the same colour as the body. I tend to paint wagon chassis in Humbrol matt chocolate (no. 98 I think it is) and weather back into that with a bit of oily grey on the bottom half of the axleboxes and some dusty colours here and there. 

HTH

Adam

Adam, thanks for the tips.

I know what you mean about the Kadees, but for me they seem to be the best compromise.  And I am somewhat conditioned as my first train set was a Hornby Dublo "Cardiff Castle" with the giant claw couplers and a couple of what I think were Trix chocolate and cream coaches, similarly endowed!  That would have been in the late sixties...

I work fairly close to Frizinghall Models in Bradford, so I'll add the wire and other bits to my shopping list for my next visit.  It will be nice to go shopping for constructional items instead of looking only at things in boxes.

Andrew

Isn't this modelling fun?  I really can't explain how much I've enjoyed this (relatively) simple job.

It's what it's supposed to be about    .... though you will have your moments, such as when you've spent a day correcting fault 'A', only to find that faults 'B' and 'C' have mysteriously appeared while you were doing it.

There are lots of suppliers of modelling 'bits' who are worth finding.  A bit of Google searching should unearth several and don't forget the 'search' facility on this site, which will help to find loads of useful information.

Kadee number 5s are normally suitable for 17'6" wagons like this