That really is a fine looking wagon...Im not sure if i could do that though! Only one way to find out I guess....

Mickey - Thanks - I am sure you could - I was putting it off until my ham fisted soldering efforts improved...but I guess that comes with practice so you just throw yourself in - the learning curve is pretty steep - Pete

Evening Pete,

Really enjoying this account of building these Clayhoods.

Your first wagon is coming along nicely. The chassis looks neat and you've done a grand job of mounting the body on to it.

As a matter of interest, how are you planning to do the hoods?

As you say-'Only another 17 to go!'.

Cheers.

Mark

Nice work Pete. It's amazing how much difference the right wheelbase makes.

Donw

Mark - Thanks - I think I once read that masking tape makes a good material for the tarps - there will be a few experments first no doubt.

Don - Thanks also - I look forward to the day when I can run a rake behind a 25 or 37 and restart the train and see the 3 links working under the strain!

Nick - Thanks - I see what you mean...let me just rewind a little and share my findings to date on this...

The main problem, for my situation, is that the Parkwood kit is an N gauge kit designed to fit on a Peco N 9ft chassis, not a 2FS chassis. The first time I built the kit (refer to the pic on my Hoodies Part I post) it was built as per the instructions, with the sides resting on the extended buffer beams as you note above. The problem is, when you locate this on a 2FS chassis the body is far too wide...and its quite evident as the the protuding metal side ribs should pass the solebars...but the solebars end up about 1mm behind the ribs (each side) The other problem is that the length of the 2FS chassis does not then fit between the buffer beams. I tried to cut off the Parkwood buffer beams but its difficult as the metal ribs extend below the buffer beam at the non door end. So...looking at the prototype (thanks to Kris for his detailed photos on my RMWeb 3 thread ) I noticed that the buffer beams on the Parkwood kit were overlong...hence my cut and trim solution.

I think you are right about the ends being on the wrong way and I will correct that, but I guess when mix and matching an N gauge body with a 2FS chassis, compromises have to be made and I felt that the wagon looked better with the ribs tighter to the solebars. What we really need is a decent clay hood in 2mm scale...I am assuming Bachmann will one day release the 2mm version of their 4mm clay hood...unless any small suppliers out there fancy a challenge?

I hope this clarifies why I assembled the kit in this way. That said, this morning whilst transferring the wagon back to the layout, it rolled off my test track to the floor and smashed into a great number of pieces...so that's two kits ruined...my rakes will be pretty short at this rate

Pete

Now that's a shame that the rakes are getting shorter. The chassis looks smashing (possibly the wrong word in the context but..) in the pictures. I can see what you have done with the body to get it to fit. There are always compromises to make I think. I like the three links, they look the part.

Please ignore the follow waffled suggestion for the plasticy bits, as it comes from a bit of guesswork from the pictures and may or may not work.

Looking at the pictures I think that the bodies will need a little bit of work to get them to fit together nicely. I can see what appears to be a slight mitre at the edge of the ends and am assuming that this is mirrored at the ends of the sides. I don't think that the parkwood moulding is particularly sharp in this area. If this was sharpened up then the body would come together better(I find a quick couple of swipes with a file normally does the job). This obviously means that the chassis is then going to be slightly to long for the body (oh the joys of mixing and matching "N" and 2mm). A fraction off each end of the chassis will work here, or a little off the insides of the buffer beams.

Is there any hope for the bent one?

p.s. if you need more photos I can pop down to the SDR and see if I can find the wagon and fire away with the camera.

James - Thanks - its not the first time my 2mm stuff has had an encounter with the floor - when will I learn?

Kris - Thanks also - I shyed away from the chamfer the first time I built the body but now its time to rethink it and it might be the best solution for the 2FS etch...I think the analogy at the moment is 'nice legs...wrong table top'...so its worth trying using another body.

Thanks also for the offer to revisit and fot the hood although I think its not neccesary as the detailed shots you took before pretty well captured it all.

Pete

Hopefully, you can find a compromise. The buffer beams do look a bit too thick, so maybe it can be done without losing the fine rivet detail on the solebars.

I've just looked back at the photo's I took of one of these, that Pete mentioned earlier. The rivet detail is very hard to see. Given the normal viewing distance that you'll see these from I don't think that you'll see it on the wagon anyhow.

Pete - I assume that you were going to add the door stop strips on the chassis but were wanting to make sure that they lined up with the doors. I know that some of the wagon chassis come with these, if not they are very easy to make with a bit of scrap etching from the chassis build.

Nick - Thanks - I think the chamfer and the thinning of the buffer beam is the way to go as suggested by Kris and yourself. In absence of a 2FS etched kit then compromises need to be made...but it would be nice to improve upon my first attempt.

Your right to point out the axleboxes too - Doh! The Bcn heat is getting to me B)

I think all in all, what with the body, brake lever and axle box issues, then dropping this wagon this morning was no bad thing

The remedy: One large glass, fresh lemon, crushed ice, Bombay Sapphire and a splash of tonic...I feel better already...

Kris - Thanks - From discussions on my RMWeb 3 thread about this, the chosen 2FS 9ft 16T mineral chassis was deemed the most suitable - I have already removed the single door stop from the chassis and was going to add the two stops from scrap etch or plasticard at the end of the build.

I've got a vague memory of those discussions. Personally I would go with the scrap etch option as it will be much stronger than plasticard.

Enjoy the G & T - I think that I shall soon be following in a similar route following the day that I have had!

Mickey - Agreed - I believe Mevagissy models used to make an N gauge clay hood...I think it is adapted from a Peco 5 plank...nice model...but sort of what I had done 20 years ago and was trying to move on from.

Who knows if and when Bachmann will ever produce their 4mm version in 2mm - I guess another option would be to produce artwork for a 2FS etched kit which would fit directly on the 2FS 9ft chassis without modification...but that's beyond my skill set at present.

Mickey - Agreed - I believe Mevagissy models used to make an N gauge clay hood...I think it is adapted from a Peco 5 plank...nice model...but sort of what I had done 20 years ago and was trying to move on from.

 

Who knows if and when Bachmann will ever produce their 4mm version in 2mm - I guess another option would be to produce artwork for a 2FS etched kit which would fit directly on the 2FS 9ft chassis without modification...but that's beyond my skill set at present.

I have a feeling that designing the etch for the body should be reasonably straight forward, but if you were to go down this route then I think you would also want to look at doing the correct chassis rather than just going for the closest fit. It might also be worth considering the previous version of the clay hood (O.14?). The correct chassis is available for this one I think.

South Devon Railway has one that has been recently restored. I believe that this is the later BR version rather than the GWR one.

Kris - Your right - If you choose the etch route then may as well correct the chassis at the same time - still a little beyond me at present - I need to make a lot more etched kits first to be able to understand how they go together.

D869 - Did you see the close up photos Kris posted on my RMWeb 3 thread last year? I recall there was a shot of the buffers. How did you get on with the Parkwood body - same issues that I had?

The photos can be found on this thread.

China clay photos

Kris

Actually I dont recall doing anything to the body other than minor fettling.

Any photos to show? Sounds interesting.

In terms of the dims, I guess until a 2mm hood kit is available, we have to compromise on length v width. I will revisit my one and try and mitre the sides and ends, thin down the buffer beam and see how that looks - I may as well try to get one to a stage I am happy with before I build the other 16

Trouble is...the Spanish heat has now killed off my modelling mojo

oops - trigger happy double posting - now deleted...