That was a lot of work you had to put in to that kit, but well worth the final result.

I like the method for increasing the width.

There are vertical rows (columns?) of rivets on the ends that don't get a mention... Also the triangular fillets on the corners of the top angle.

Coal is, or can be, shiny - especially, I think, as hewn out of the seam, and of one of the harder varieties. This should be Welsh steam coal - I don't know how hard that was.

29 minutes ago, 57xx said:

That was a lot of work you had to put in to that kit, but well worth the final result.

Thanks - yes, this one is definitely not a ‘shake the box’’ kit, at least if you want it to represent a diagram N13 accurately. It would be close to a later type (N20, N21? I don’t have the books to hand) though the doors were wider on those, I think.

24 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

There are vertical rows (columns?) of rivets on the ends that don't get a mention... Also the triangular fillets on the corners of the top angle.

Good point - the corner rivets are Archers transfers, and could have done with being a size larger to be closer to the moulded ones. The triangular fillets are just pieces of plasticard - a distinctive feature of the prototype, and especially visible on a model which tends to be viewed from above.

24 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

Coal is, or can be, shiny - especially, I think, as hewn out of the seam, and of one of the harder varieties. This should be Welsh steam coal - I don't know how hard that was.

Indeed, though looking at photos you don’t often get really large flat faces of coal catching the light, as tends to happen with at model scale. We can make this worse by using multiple-source lighting, so there is more chance of light reflecting off a face and into the eye - you therefore get more ‘sparkle’ than you would with a single light source (the sun) or diffused light (sky or overcast).

Anthracite is the hardest and shiniest coal, I think, with steam coal one or two steps along the spectrum towards the very soft coals. 
 

Nick.

7 hours ago, magmouse said:

Thanks - yes, this one is definitely not a ‘shake the box’’ kit, at least if you want it to represent a diagram N13 accurately. It would be close to a later type (N20, N21? I don’t have the books to hand) though the doors were wider on those, I think.

I suppose that the same applies to the 4 mm scale kit?

What an excellent result, hardly recongizable from the original kit. And a convincing proof of concept with the scrapper!

I like the  angle block + magnets. Is it a dedicated item for modelling or a good find?

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

I suppose that the same applies to the 4 mm scale kit?

Checking in the Bible, the first square-cornered types were diagram N20 in 1915, and the Slaters (ex Coopercraft) 7mm kit would be a reasonable match for that, except the width issue still applies. I assume the same would be true for the 4mm kit, but I haven't looked at it closely.

After that, a series of diagrams relate to increases in capacity (up to 12T), length, brake gear, etc.

For those not familiar, and trying to understand the diagram numbers, the reason for the jump from the N13 I modelled to N20 is that there was a diagram N19, which was an N13 with DCIII brakes and (on later batches) self-contained buffers, and other diagrams for larger capacity wagons (12T, 20/21T, 40T).

Nick.

45 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

What an excellent result, hardly recongizable from the original kit. And a convincing proof of concept with the scrapper!

 

I like the  angle block + magnets. Is it a dedicated item for modelling or a good find?

 

Thanks, Mikkel. I am pleased with this one, which I think catches the character of the original.

The angle block is from Axminster Tools, what they call a "Ground Angle Plate - 50mm": https://www.axminstertools.com/axminster-ground-angle-plate-50mm-800300?queryID=3730d40a3b5b0c5ff7d9a6eff2bedea3

It isn't cheap, but very useful, being accurately ground to have right angles to all the reference faces, heavy enough to act as a weight while glue dries, and usable with small magnets as clamps.

The only downside is it is just too big to fit inside most pre-grouping wagons, so you can do the first corner, but not the second. The loco coal wagon here is unusually wide for the period, so I was able to fit the block inside it.

Nick.

Thanks, Kit.

Yes, the black/grey thing is another rabbit hole, which has been discussed here before in various places. In some ways less contentious, as one person's dirty black is another person's less-dirty grey... I have an ulterior motive to work on the basis of grey for loco coal wagons, which is that logically they would then have been red in the earlier period. I have a fancy for the 20T diagram N4 loco coal wagon, with Thomas brake and cast number plates, shown in new condition in the Bible. I am convinced that wagon is in red!

The brake gear on this one uses a WEP etching for all the main parts, except the 'swan' lever and ratchet mechanism, which is the original plastic moulding in the kit. The moulding for the shoes and push rods is nice, but has the rods the wrong way round for DC brakes (they should be left-over-right for DC). The WEP etch gets this right, but still has the shoes too far from the wheels (a pet peeve of mine), so I solder it all up, cut the rods from the tumbler with a piercing saw, and re-solder.

Thanks for the link to the blocks - they look great. I have seen them before in the background of people's workbench photos, but I struggled to locate them because I didn't know what they are called and therefore couldn't search for them online! I think I will get a couple of the smaller ones - they look ideal for assembling wagons, etc.

Nick.

9 hours ago, magmouse said:

The angle block is from Axminster Tools, what they call a "Ground Angle Plate - 50mm": https://www.axminstertools.com/axminster-ground-angle-plate-50mm-800300?queryID=3730d40a3b5b0c5ff7d9a6eff2bedea3

 

It isn't cheap, but very useful, being accurately ground to have right angles to all the reference faces, heavy enough to act as a weight while glue dries, and usable with small magnets as clamps.

 

The only downside is it is just too big to fit inside most pre-grouping wagons, so you can do the first corner, but not the second. The loco coal wagon here is unusually wide for the period, so I was able to fit the block inside it.

If you do a matching pair of 1 side +1 end glued square with the block, then when you come to glue the two resulting parts, it's hard not to get a square (rectangular for the pedants) final assembly of the sides and ends.

7 hours ago, magmouse said:

 

Thanks for the link to the blocks - they look great. I have seen them before in the background of people's workbench photos, but I struggled to locate them because I didn't know what they are called and therefore couldn't search for them online! I think I will get a couple of the smaller ones - they look ideal for assembling wagons, etc.

 

The are known as 123 (or sometimes 321) blocks, as they traditionally are 1" x2" x3".

1 hour ago, 57xx said:

If you do a matching pair of 1 side +1 end glued square with the block, then when you come to glue the two resulting parts, it's hard not to get a square (rectangular for the pedants) final assembly of the sides and ends.

Yes, that is what I do, though you still can’t use the block to hold everything square with the magnets.

1 hour ago, 57xx said:

The are known as 123 (or sometimes 321) blocks, as they traditionally are 1" x2" x3".

Brilliant - just the info needed. Thanks -

Nick.