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About this blog

A record of the trials and tribulations of an average modeller

Entries in this blog

Mainly Trains 4 wheel chassis

Just thought I'd share progress on the GWR 4 wheel coaches. These utilise the Mainly Trains chassis, Shire Scenes sides for the brake thirds and Ratio sides for the composite.   I'll start off by saying this is probably the most difficult modelling exercise I've ever done. Nothing wrong with the chassis or the sides, it's when you mix the two together that problems occur. When you put them together it results in what my dear late Dad would call a "b*****s muddle." It seems I won't be doing muc

JDaniels

JDaniels

Mainly Trains 4 wheel chassis

Just returned to modelling after a pleasant trip to New York. Interesting times over there!   In my last entry I mentioned how construction of the Mainly Trains 4 wheel GWR coach chassis was proceeding well. I spoke too soon.   I had completed the chassis and coach ends but the problems started when I tried offering the Ratio coach sides to the chassis and ends. It was immediately obvious that the ends sat too high and as a result the sides were actually clear of the coach floor, the instruc

JDaniels

JDaniels

Mainly Trains GWR 4 wheel chassis and thoughts on O gauge

I bought three of the Mainly Trains 4 wheel coach kits along with the Ratio composite kit and two sets of Shirescenes sides. The intention is to have a superdetailed three coach set.   I've completed the three chassis and I have to say they went together reasonably well. If anyone does purchse them I'd make one recommendation. Do not glue the solebar overlays to the floor assembly. It was perhaps my fault in using Araldite past it's "best before" date but I found it best to solder them. It is

JDaniels

JDaniels

Yet more wagon matters and a Siphon C

It's been a long time since I last updated my blog. Weather has been too good to sit at my workbench.   I think I mentioned that I acquired a Coopercraft 04 open wagon kit at a railway fair at Horsted Keynes. I've now constructed this but comparison with photos of the prototype does underline the shortcomings of the brake gear. These wagons were fitted with Dean Churchward brake gear and whilst plastic kits include the actual brake gear assembly and the operating levers at the end, there are n

JDaniels

JDaniels

Musings on the forthcoming modelling season

As readers may know from my earlier blogs, I treat modelling as very much a winter or at least dark evening hobby. As the days are getting shorter, (yes really) I am thinking less of gardening, holidays and walking and more about modelling.   I have completed a couple of the POW sides private owner wagons. I was conscious that on a prototype based in Somerset the wagons should be from collieries in that county and POW sides do have a number of examples.These are based on the excellent Slater's

JDaniels

JDaniels

Yet more wagon matters

For those of us modelling the early days of the GWR, I've just found out that Coast Line Models do an etch of GWR wagon plates along with the numbers for the Ratio Iron Mink (V6). Most importantly they also do the cast solebar plates that carried the carrying capacity and tare so I can take off all those sloping Pressfix transfers.   The website is well worth a look. I've just ordered a couple of two plank Cambrian open wagons from Cambrian (who else?) and Coast Line also do the necessary tran

JDaniels

JDaniels

More wagon matters

I haven't spent much time modelling as I have set myself a number of jobs to do around the house, too many my wife says. I have though had another look at a David Geen kit I have that is rather wobbly on the track. The kit is for the outside framed van and whilst the detail is excellent I found having separate axleguards for each wheel did cause some problems. The problem arises as white metal has no "spring" and one of the wheel sets was very loose in the bearings. Try as I might I could not cl

JDaniels

JDaniels

Those red wagons and some general thoughts on goods traffic

Red wagons.   Well I've now painted my first red GWR wagon. Having looked at those in Mikkel's excellent blog and taking advice from MikeOxon I've mixed red oxide and vermillion (well actually the closest Humbrol equivalents) which has produced a colour that fits the "light red" description given in contemporary sources. The only currently available kit that could justify the red livery is Ratio's iron mink, other available kits all postdate the change to dark grey. Incidentally it seems to be

JDaniels

JDaniels

The final part of the steam railmotor saga

Christmas Day and having watched SCD I had the greater pleasure of seeing the steam railmotor work under its' own power. There have been times though when the chassis nearly ended up in the bin.   Following on from my last entry, having done the basic chassis it was time to set up the motor and gearbox. Unusually the High Level gearbox was not as smooth as they normally are when I fitted the brass final drive. The motor was a Mashima 1624 which fitted neatly in the brass frame I had constructe

JDaniels

JDaniels

Progress on the steam railmotor chassis.

Since my last entry I have made more progress but it's painfully slow. I did have a good photo of a railmotor chassis which looks to be taken outside Swindon works. I had been using this as a basis for the model but now I'm not so sure whether this is the right thing to do. The GWS railmotor was built from plans so must be correct and there are many photos on their website but there are subtle differences from the photo I was using. In particular on the photo the frames protrude beyond the cylin

JDaniels

JDaniels

Making a start on the steam railmotor

This entry will be of interest to those changing the chassis on the Nu cast steam railmotor. I guess that won't be hundreds of you!   As I model in EM the chassis provided with the kit was not really suitable, it's a large lump of white metal with little detail and no provision for springing or compensation. The only chassis that I can find for the railmotor is the one produced by Alan Gibson in etched brass. Having aquired this I made it up in the usual way with EM frame spacers with one axle

JDaniels

JDaniels

Yet more photos

A few more photos that I took today.   The first shows the Blagdon branch goods in the mid 1930's. The second van is another ABS kit, as I mentioned in my earlier blog these are excellent and cover the more unusual prototypes. I would also add that not all my coaches and vans have roofs this white!   The second and third are shots of the platform and station building. The station buildings on the Wrington Vale line followed a standard pattern but that at Blagdon and Langford were extended a

JDaniels

JDaniels

Photos

Rather than add them to the album I've done them as an attachment here. Slightly concerned that the rectangular photos appear square. My son is something of a whizz at computers but even he found this more complicated than he imagined.   Looking at the 64xx shows how far handrail knobs have advanced!

JDaniels

JDaniels

Progress to date.

I wil get the hang of this eventually. I've tried taking a few photos and in the process broke my desk lamp so no modelling tonight. Instead I'll let you know what I've done so far this season (as those who read my earlier blog, modelling for me has a season, rather like grouse shooting).   My first task was to finish off the outside frame brake van which needed painting. This was one of the ABS kits and I have to say they're rather good, excellent in fact. The white metal castings are crisp a

JDaniels

JDaniels

Setting the scene

I've had an interest in model railways, on and off, since I was about 16. As I retired a few years ago (albeit at 62) that's a long time. Model railways are not my only interest, indeed during the summer months I normally don't touch the railway preferring instead to be in the garden, travelling around the country, visiting stately homes and walking. Since I retired my son and I have walked the South Downs Way, the Ridgeway, St. Cuthbert’s Way, part of the Two Moors Way and the Norfolk Coast pat

JDaniels

JDaniels

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