The last two posts I promised pictures next time; therefore sorry for not posting any last time!

As I said I’m having a rest from pitting my brains against the J10 but it is at last beginning to look the part and those bl***y little splashers are complete. They are totally solid and no way will the wheels throw any splashes to their inside faces.

Posed on ‘Birch Vale’: the J10 with its part built tender and the prototype-build Ratio banana van waiting for painting. Although normally for use on ‘Wheegram Sidings’, the Banana vans are built to S4 standards and will have their EM wheels sets fitted after a few weeks running in on ‘Birch Vale’ & ‘Bowton’s Yard’. The wheels should be 3-hole disc but I have none in stock at present; at least not 18.83-flanged ones.

Still on ‘Birch Vale’: a side-on shot of the banana van. I called this the prototype because I wanted to see if it was possible to build straight from the box and run on S4 track. Because these are ‘OO’ kits with moulded axle-wheel sets it was not; the moulded axle is too long, and spaced to suit them, the axleboxes present a far too sloppy fit for 26mm long metal pin-point axles. I made new floors in 0.040†Plasticard but fitted the axlebox/solebar units as the kit designer intended but nearer to correct distance apart. This distance was decided on after fitting pin-point bearings to the axleboxes and mounting a set of S4 wheels on 26mm pin-point axles. This was achieved by use of what I call an axle jig. My version appears in the next pic and while it is not totally my idea, I have added the axle-retaining clip. The axle-box/’W’ iron strap will be straightened before painting!?!

Add pic axlejigtop

Here is a view of the axle jig from above;

and one from the side. This shows the axles held parallel to each other and on 10’ spacing, exactly as we need them to be on the wagon. The idea is to assemble the floor/solebar unit around the correctly arranged axles rather than relying on the kit designer getting his positions spot on – my experience says they don’t!

Both bits before assembly

In this pic we see the various sections of the assembly as I do it. From the left:

The body shell minus roof and floor but assembled as per kit instructions. Next is my sub-chassis as described above, followed by a small slab of lead which will be the ballast weight. This will eventually be araldited to the body like a central sub-floor. By then it will have a central hole over which will be soldered an 8BA nut. In the top right hand is a part of my axle jig made from 0.060†Plasticard. This is made from four parts: A. a base strip; B. a central strip carefully cut with square ends and to a length equal to the wheelbase minus the diameter of one axle - (40mm – 2mm = 38mm in this case). C&D two equal sized bits to suit, but the inner edges must be truly square. Assembly using MEK: Weld one end piece to the base strip taking great care that it fits squarely. Put an axle up against this and add the centre, wheel-base piece. Follow this with an axle between this and the second end piece. Dead easy but do take care of accurate cutting to length of the centre bit and also in ensuring squareness of all parts to the base strip. It will work just as it is but I found difficulty in ensuring axles stayed put while I was adjusting other kit parts so I added the springy axle retainer. This is no more than a strip of 0.015†(~say!!) brass or nickel-silver strip to which is soldered an 8BA nut on its centre. An 8BA clearance hole on the centre of the plastic part allows the spring strip to clamp the axles in exactly correct location.

Below that is the roof, still to be stressed to represent the hessian covering and fitted to the body shell just as in the instructions but in my case, not until all the rest is done and proven.

This is the body shell with two ‘Booth additions’. Experience tells me that van body sides need internal support against body-bowing over time. Looking from the roof position, a suitably square-ended bit of spru has been cut to the exact internal width at each end, and after a bit of fettling, nicely sits on two internal moulding lugs and is then welded all round to provide some much needed support in this vulnerable centre area. Below can be seen the ballast weight. Again from experience I want my 4-wheel wagons to weigh around 1.5 – 2 ounces so I usual add some metal. In this case the weight will become part of the body but it will sit centrally on the chassis floor and an 8BA counter-sunk screw will hold body to chassis. Like that bit of spru, the weight also adds support to the body sides in that vulnerable mid-area.

This shows a weight temporarily 'Blutacked into the body shell

I’ve all but built four of these vans in four days and I’m happy to report that each chassis has been flung by hand at about a scale 60 mph through a double slip followed by a B8, a return curve and a B6 all in about 10’. Derailments were negligible.

I’m not quite so proud to report that when I started on the prototype build I was going to melt in the brass bearings – I ruined an axlebox/’W’iron - so number five of this group of vans will probably end up with my version of Bill Bedford sprung chassis, - a bit along the lines of the brake vans talked about a few inputs ago.

I’m stewarding at Scalefour North in Wakefield all this weekend so if you visit, make your self known and come and have a chat; the pay desk staff will tell you how to find me, but most of the time I’m likely to be in or near the staff tea room. Hope to meet you .

Dave