Basic build complete, some details next.

Ironwork added from a mainly trains etch. The scotch brake is a 51 L casting, I use lowmelt to solder them to a bit of brass strip, makes glueing them to the floor simpler. There is room for a bit of lead strip but since some things will need to be pinned through the solebars I will leave that till later.

Two fixed bolsters were fitted. The inner one had shackles and removable stanchions. I used some 0.6 mm copper wire for the shackles bent round a very simple jig. The stanchions are some 0.8 mm copper wire run to a bit of a taper in the mini drill. Some fuse wire wrapped round and soldered forms the base and retaining chain. Like the original I can choose to swing the shackles to the inside or outside of the stanchions.

I couldn’t make my mind up  about the folding stanchions. Upright or in the folded down position ? I messed about on the bench and came to the conclusion that making them work was no harder than making them in a fixed position.

So I used a bit of 1 mm dia copper wire and again ran a taper with the mini drill. Copper is ductile so it is easy to flatten the base with flat faced pliers. Scribe a line then drill 3 x 0.4 mm holes and use a fine broach to open those out to a slot. The base is a bit of 1mm U channel soldered to scrap etch, then drilled though for 0.4 mm ns wire left long at the rear to be fixed through the solebar.  Same method for the folded down bracket.

A picture probably describes it better than words.

The prototype had doors at the inner ends which could be folded down. I really can’t see what purpose they served in the folded up position since the bolster face is lower that the door height. I think these wagons are going to be a bit light for good running so I’m thinking about some sort of weighted load which means modelling the end doors in the down position. That means they will have to be fitted late on so I can get the fixed shackle in place. Simple answer is to have a brass pin which goes into the floor to line them up.

Time for all those bits to get as spot of primer.