Looking good Adam. Your ladle reminds me - the only other bits missing from the bag were the other bits originally printed on the styrene sheet - one was a rib which runs from the ladle pivot back to the ladle body - this should be fairly clear on the drawings. The second was an additional rib on the face of the ladle which I had to leave off the casting as it was causing issues with mould releasing. Again, this should be clear by the drawings.

I'm sure you remembered this but thought I'd mention it in case.

What are the plans for finishing - obviously lots of rust but photos of these wagons seem to suggest the texture is really important as well. Not sure if that will come over in 4mm?

Alastair

Hi Alastair

I had remembered the plastic parts (even made a nice brass template for them in fact), but wanted to finish waving the soldering iron around before I started with those. I don't know if you've seen this picture from Kier hardy's site (models by Hywel Thomas)? I can't seem to link to the page directly, but you want 'Projects' and 'Morfa Bank Sidings Wagon Gallery'.

http://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/modelpageindex.html

The texture is an interesting question. I was thinking along the lines of talc mixed in with the paint and perhaps some other effects which the military modellers use. Watch this space...

Adam

Hi Adam,

Thanks for the link to Hywel's photos - I'd seen the Morfa Bank layout gallery but hadn't seen the wagon galley - I remember Hywel ordering these and a box full of resin ingot moulds (and being very patient whilst I took a while to cast the ingot moulds) but it's nice to see the finished articles, so to speak! Like all of Hywel's modelling, he's done a cracking job.

The big problem I find is that most of the photos I have ever seen of these (or similar) wagons have been in black and white. The nearest thing you often find in colour photos (as they survived in use later) is torpedo ladles for moving hot metal between blast furnaces and steel plants.

Alastair

Alastair.

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Beagle1