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Fun with crates


Mikkel

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I’m detailing my goods depot, something I’ve been looking forward to. As the layout is designed for close-up viewing I’ve been searching for goods items that could pass muster at a reasonably close range.

 

To begin with, here is a selection of crates. I'm afraid it's my usual unholy mix of kitbuilt, scratchbuilt, modified and ready to plunk! Hopefully it will all blend in with a bit of weathering and careful positioning on the layout.

 

 

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First up are these rather nice crate kits from US-based Rusty Stumps (above). The kits are laser cut plywood and come in various types – these are for horizontal crates. They are HO but quite large. The instructions are very good and the kits are easy to build (I used wood glue).

 

 

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If you prefer a plywood side rather than planks, the kit can be modelled inside out.

 

 

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Parts fit together well and with care the lid can be made as a press-fit, meaning you can take it off if you wish to leave it open.

 

 

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Above are the built up kits next to another offering from Rusty Stumps: Ready-made resin versions of the same crates. The latter clean up reasonably well, but I think you’ll agree that the kits are worth the extra effort.

 

 

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As an aside, Rusty Stumps also do a range of resin workshops scenes. I have no particular use for these right now but couldn't resist having a closer look.

 

 

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Back to the crates. This laser-cut high quality card kit is from the German company Kotol, which Job brought to my attention some time ago (thanks again Job!). The products from this company are not cheap, and some of their items are distinctly continental. But it’s attractive stuff for those who like small details, especially as they use wood, cotton and card for their goods items – so you get lots of texture.

 

 

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Above are the Kotol crates built up (I made the front one different just for variety). The kits are a bit fiddly and the card is quite sensitive to glue and scratches. So care is needed. The smaller HO scale was an advantage here, as I couldn’t find any decent small crates or boxes from UK manufacturers

 

 

 

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The Kotol range is quite varied and has some unusual items (anyone fancy working bicycle lights in H0?). This wood kit for a set of makeshift steps was a quick and pleasant build, and comes with a convenient jig.

 

 

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Scratchbuilding is another option of course. Having built the above kits, I used some of the scrap ply and card to fashion a few extra crates such as the one above. This added to the output from these otherwise somewhat costly kits. The scribing etc does take time, but other than that I would certainly consider scratchbuilding as an alternative in the future.

 

 

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Good old Hornby do these nice ready-made crates (there are others in the package, this is a selection). Some of them are very large and would probably have been dealt with outside the goods depot, not inside. But I find the medium and small ones useful. The one at the rear is as they come, the others have been heavily dry-brushed to add texture and do away with the slightly translucent look.

 

 

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I found this and a couple of other bottle crates in my spares box, and thought it loooked a bit dull. So I decided to have some fun.

 

 

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The result was these three machinery crates from Carr & Sons, a well-known Farthing company. A tad fanciful, but I had a fun evening making them. The sharp-eyed may have noticed that “Carr & Sons" looks suspiciously like “To Carry 10 Tons” on a transfer sheet.

 

 

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As many will know, Carr & Sons were leading manufacturers of round tuits. The one at the bottom is the basic model. The middle one is the advanced version. At the top is another of the company’s products, the square bloke (a development of the regular bloke).

 

 

PS: I have no connection with any of the above companies - except for Carr & Sons, where I own 51% of the shares ;-)

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Lovely work Mikkel.

 

It's interesting to see that you would consider scratch building in the future rather than kits, that is also my opinion though it is based on cost as I would only wish to spend on things I know I can't make myself.

 

Great to see all those bits though and the links to the sites, I will have to have a look and see what's there.

 

Thanks

 

Jim

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wonderful modelling yet again!

 

(Pedant and rivet counting mode on)The only criticism that one could make is that there are no labels on those boxes, (Pedant and rivet counting mode off).

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No wonder Farthing had to make itself 'unplottable', if it supplied round tuits.

 

The wrath of all those people from whom it took away their primary excuse for non-delivery must have been overwhelming.  Indeed, I am very surprised that you can publicly admit to a share-holding.

 

No, I hadn't guessed the source of your transfers - one of those things that is obvious after the event - like so many good ideas!

 

Those US wood kits are very nice.  I like the idea of making models from the 'correct' materials.  I must see what my Silhouette cutter can do with a selection of marquetry woods that I have.  I used some for the bed of my Carriage Truck but there are lots of other possibilities.

 

And what happened to your storeman?  Did he accidentally spill a bag of flour over himself?

 

Yet another thought-provoking post :)

 

Mike

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Nice work Mikkel, the quality of the laser cutting looks very good in those little kits. Those resin workshop scenes look interesting, I've been thinking of using something similar 3D printed using photos from works as inspiration.  Thanks for taking the time to post up your findings, all very interesting :) especially the carr & sons crates!

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Just fabulous.

Think your goods depot will have a great lively look when all those little things are in place.

Nice to see the things form Kotol and Rusty Stumps build by you.

Like the Carr & Sons crates. Does the firm still exist in the late 1950's?

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  • RMweb Gold

They look good Mikkel and the variety adds to the realism. Typically identical sized boxes may come from one manufacturer but be unlikely that the same size box was used by two manufacturers.

Don

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  • RMweb Gold

Lovely work Mikkel.

 

It's interesting to see that you would consider scratch building in the future rather than kits, that is also my opinion though it is based on cost as I would only wish to spend on things I know I can't make myself.

 

Great to see all those bits though and the links to the sites, I will have to have a look and see what's there.

 

Thanks

 

Jim

 

Hi Jim, yes I think from a cost perspective it would work out much better to scratchbuild crates. It's just that there is something very attractive about trying out kits and the results are of course quicker.

 

I'm now trying to figure out how to scratchbuild some of the smaller wood boxes (not sure if they would be called crates) that held for example margarine. Photos seem to show there were a lot of that type around. I'm thinking blocks of balsa wood might be a way forward, as they would have had a lid during transport of course.

 

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wonderful modelling yet again!

 

(Pedant and rivet counting mode on)The only criticism that one could make is that there are no labels on those boxes, (Pedant and rivet counting mode off).

 

Hi Don, not pedantic at all! I haven

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Excellent and very useful article Mikkel, it's these sort of items that add more realism to every scene.

Er....... Will you be adding a little bit more flesh to the bones to pad these out ( photo 3 ?)

 

Well done again,

 

Happy modelling

 

Grahame

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Inspiring stuff. I think a few crates may appear in Diddinton yard. I followed your link to the Rusty Stumps site. Where did you get the crates with the clear bottles?

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  • RMweb Gold

Mikkel a links for you

 

this has an interesting pile of crates

http://www.huntleyan...e&s=2JEuqZUFC0N

view it large size.

 

Don

 

Hi Don, the link is acting strange on my computer, but is it this one?: http://www.huntleyandpalmers.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=huntley&f=generic_fullsizeprint_fr.htm&_IXFIRST_=23&_IXMAXHITS_=1&m=quick_sform&tc1=i&partner=huntley&text=railway&tc2=e&s=QOmT7HfqDCt

 

That's quite a pile of crates! But very neatly stacked. Looks like there's another pile under the tarp behind it. Quite a bit of work to model that! Those photos from Huntley & Palmers are so rich with fascinating details.

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Excellent and very useful article Mikkel, it's these sort of items that add more realism to every scene. Er....... Will you be adding a little bit more flesh to the bones to pad these out ( photo 3 ?) Well done again, Happy modelling Grahame

 

Hi Grahame. Thanks, looking into the H0 world can lead to some useful items sometimes - but you know all about that of course!

 

As for the bones, I believe you are referring to Aunt Augusta, the would-be actress who disappeared under mysterious circumstances back in the early 1900s. There's a bit more about that in this entry.

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Inspiring stuff. I think a few crates may appear in Diddinton yard. I followed your link to the Rusty Stumps site. Where did you get the crates with the clear bottles?

 

Would be nice to see some of those crates at Diddington! I was a bit concerned with import duty issues on these and some other items I ordered from the US.  However I've now received three parcels from there recently with no extra duty. I wonder if there is a minimum limit, beneath which there is no duty?

 

The bottle crates are from my youth, and I can't remember the supplier. Except I think they must have been German. An internet search revealed nothing on these. I found some others, eg: http://www.modelrailshop.co.uk/product/5979/EFE_BOTTLES_IN_CRATES - although those and others look more modern to me.

 

Preiser did some very nice kits for various small items some years ago, one of which also featured bottle crates. I've been trying to track down the kit with baskets and veg, but it seems to be sold out across the face of the earth. However the bottles may still be available.

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Yes that was the link. I guessed you had seen it before, however there is so much of interest it would be easy to overlook the pile of crates. There was another with a pile of boxes but I cannot locate it.

How about the tea chests were they around in Edwardian times there would have been a lot of tea imported. These were often re-used In the fifties they were the mainstay of house moves.

Don

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  • RMweb Gold

Lovely modelling as usually Mikkel!  Carr & Sons is an inspired use of transfer sheets, certainly I didn't catch on until you pointed out what you'd done!  I'd never heard of "Rusty Stumps", some interesting stuff on the site and I see they do 7mm offerings!

 

Dave

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Excellent entry Mikkel.The Rusty Stumps crate kits look particularly good, and as Dave says, useful that they also cater for 7mm.

 

The Huntley & Palmer link is fantastic - what a scene! And wouldn't it make a great set piece: cobbles, setts, inlaid track, puddles, horses, warehouses, soup-strainer moustaches...

 

If you don't, I might! ;)

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  • RMweb Gold

Yes that was the link. I guessed you had seen it before, however there is so much of interest it would be easy to overlook the pile of crates. There was another with a pile of boxes but I cannot locate it.

How about the tea chests were they around in Edwardian times there would have been a lot of tea imported. These were often re-used In the fifties they were the mainstay of house moves.

Don

 

Don, I hadn't noticed the crates before, so I'm glad you pointed them out.

 

Tea chests, now that would be interesting. But how would they have looked in the 1900s?

 

A nice (and railway related) 1940s photo shows the conventional plywood design with metal edges on Wikipedia here (note the wagon is railway owned): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_chest

 

The same design can be seen in the 1920s at 1:01 here: http://aso.gov.au/titles/ads/bushells-tea-factory/clip1/#

 

But earlier photos begin to show different designs, eg this exotic shot which is dated 1890-1910:

 

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Source: http://pictorialrecord.blogspot.dk/2012/05/whys-and-wherefores-of-sri-lanka-one.html

 

That said, it seems plywood was first patented in 1797, so the material for the conventional design would have been around in the 1900s.

 

More research is needed!

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  • RMweb Gold

Lovely modelling as usually Mikkel!  Carr & Sons is an inspired use of transfer sheets, certainly I didn't catch on until you pointed out what you'd done!  I'd never heard of "Rusty Stumps", some interesting stuff on the site and I see they do 7mm offerings!

 

Dave

 

Hi Dave, yes the 7mm kits look good too. It's in situations like these that I envy 7mm modellers: I'm trying to make some printed sides for various boxes, but getting the print to show up properly in 4mm isn't easy! There's a bit more scope there in 7mm I would think.

 

I came across this shortcut to doing your own 7mm crates - I especially like the ends that he does with actual stripboard, rather than the drawn lines:  https://markpaulson.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/simple-crates-from-wooden-blocks/

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  • RMweb Gold

Excellent entry Mikkel.The Rusty Stumps crate kits look particularly good, and as Dave says, useful that they also cater for 7mm.

 

The Huntley & Palmer link is fantastic - what a scene! And wouldn't it make a great set piece: cobbles, setts, inlaid track, puddles, horses, warehouses, soup-strainer moustaches...

 

If you don't, I might! ;)

 

That would be a great scene for your intermediary project! Or Basilica Fields, even. There have been some earlier discussions on here about the Huntley & Palmer photos, and a very inspiring build of the wagon traverser:

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/87412-huntley-palmers-factory-sidings-about-1900/

 

I hope to create a bit of the atmosphere from the H&P photos at the waterworks end,on my "sidings" layout,  but only loosely.

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............. There's a bit more about that in this entry.

 

I'd missed that entry before - fascinating stuff!

 

It revealed to me that 517-class No.835 made its way to Farthing after a spell around North Leigh !  It seems to have lost its wing plates and Indian red frames, in the intervening years, but the white Wolverhampton lining has been renewed.

 

Mike.

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Ha ha, yes I have noticed that 835 is a popular choice for 517s. I suppose it's because it had the inside bearings at the rear. I backdated mine from a secondhand loco a long time ago, and so it may have some inconsistencies for the period I'm afraid.

 

There's yet another 835 here on RMweb: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/926/entry-7554-rolling-stock/

 

BTW, no. 835 was involved in a (fairly small) accident in 1905: http://www.brucehunt.co.uk/Saltash%20collision%201905.html

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  • RMweb Gold

Thanks for the link seagull! Those crates and other details really do make a difference.

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