These two are wagons built by Pickerings of Wishaw.  The bodies are in resin from True LIne Models, available through the CRA.  A straightforward build, my usual copperclad sub frame with compensation, mainly 51L parts, the buffers are correct RCH pattern in brass from Gibson.

I have good ex works photos of two suitable candidates, Wilsons and Clyde 2329 in a brown livery and Oakbank OIl Co. No 132 which looks to me to be a varnished wood finish. Could well be a yellow pine so some sort of light buff colour.

Having had a go at transfers for coaches I wondered how well the white transfer paper would work for PO wagons. The design was done in affinity with several different fonts needed . I also learned that affinity has some powerful tools for creating drop shadows. A doddle to use when you find them and read the tutorial.

Anyway I printed them out and had a play with them on some scrap plasticard painted in what I thought would be the wagon colours. I knew that I would then have to produce colour to match the transfers to go round them and lose the white edge. That proved to be easier said than done, mixing colours to get the right shade Isn’t one of my skills.

I had a think and decided to do it the other way round. I chose nato brown for the Wilsons and Clyde and a mix of buff and white  for the Oakbank OIl Co. Paint a couple of inch square swatches, scan them into affinity then sample them to give the transfer background colour. That seemed to work reasonably well, transfers applied and carefully painted round.

So this is how they came out,

A lot of messing about to make a couple of PO wagons, but something original I think.