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46444's Blog

A blog by 46444

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About this blog

Tales from my workbench and progress on my layouts.

Entries in this blog

 

Dapol/Airfix 16T Mineral Wagon. Now bionic and with added inserts..

A little bit of progress today on this build. I've replaced the top panel in the centre above the doors I removed on these two 16 Tonners. Suitable width plastic sheet was used for this. Trusty Micro-Strip then replaced the beading and door locking latches.      I've also tidied up the area around the bottom of the doors to try to look more prototypical. The kit doors are designed to open but in this case are glued shut.      Essentially other than the
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Dapol/Airfix 16T Mineral Wagon. We have the technology to rebuild them...

Apologies to Steve Austin/The Six Million Dollar Man and reference to the cult 1970's TV programme.    Likewise BR started a rebuild programme of its venerable 16T mineral wagons later in their lives. This entailed new build body work and removal of the top flap door amongst other things.   For more indepth knowledge it's probably best to consult a suitable reference resource.    From my teenage years long before the likes of Parkside/Bachmann the Airfix 16T Mineral
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Wagons Roll. Dapol and Parkside builds with a few extras

With 009 goings on with Wadenhoe Road my OO builds have been put on the back burner. Hopefully this year will see a new OO gauge layout once more set in Northamptonshire with an iron stone theme.    Some of this stock I've had waiting around for getting the air brush fired up will no doubt make an appearance on the new layout.    Like many before the Dapol unfinished wagon body shells can be bought for less than £3. Mated with a suitable Parkside or Ratio chassis is a means o
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15A's not so finest.....Hornby Crosti 9F

A good friend of mine asked me to remove the factory weathering of his Hornby Railroad Crosti 9F. Having been a fireman at Wellingborough he actually worked on the prototypes and was none to complementary about them. Poor steaming and terrible visibility were mentioned. He also told the story of the Crosti 9F's being stored at the back of the shed and cannibalised for spares.   The Hornby model is a Railroad model from a few years ago. Yes it has it's faults but I actually like it and think t
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Christopher Biggins, Barry Wiggins, Bradley Wiggins or is it a Whimsey? Berry Wiggins Tank Wagons in OO

The purchase of a copy of Last Days of Steam in Gloucestershire in the early 1990's bought about two things. One an enduring interest in the railways of the Royal Forest of Dean and secondly an introduction to the photographs of Ben Ashworth who captured the essence of the railways of the Forest on film.   PB151727 by Mark Branson, on Flickr   PB151731 by Mark Branson, on Flickr   Those who know the Forest will be familiar with the distinctive tank wagons from the Berry Wiggins company who
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1950's Darlington Delights

The railways around Cleveland and Darlington hold a certain fascination and here are two 1950's Darlington 51A allocated locos.   Firstly 46472 which started life as a cheap unused LMS version from eBay. The factory printed lettering was removed from the tender/cab sides with the aid of enamel thinners and gently rubbing with a cotton bud.   46472 being a Darlington built example which was fitted with a tall chimney. Comet used to do one of these but are currently out of stock. Brian at 247
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Crimson...No Cream..

Hornby excelled themselves when they introduced the Gresley/Thompson surburban coaches. I've a number of these and have just recently finished weathering a Gresley brake and composite as well as a Thompson brake.         I used the T-Cut method of applying the cutting paste then wiping off with cotton buds gently buffing to a sheen. Then a watery wash of Valejo German/Grey/Dark Earth was allowed to partially dry before once more being wiped off with cotton buds.     The sides we
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Cambridge Blues....A trio of J15's from 31A.

Hornby's J15 is a superb model and in my eyes captures the feel of the prototype nicely. Yes there are a few errors but it has filled an important void in my fleet. Sadly Hornby over produced these new models resulting in bargains to be had for less than £70 in some instances from the usual sources.     These three represent J15's found working on the Cambridge-Kettering line in the 1950's. 65390/65461 were renumbered with Fox decals whilst 65475 is pure Hornby. They are finished in my usua
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Hock & Dough....A brace from Wellingborough 15A

Those readers from Northamptonshire may be familiar with the traditional dish of Hock & Dough. I remember having it cooked by my Nan as a child.   Here's the recipe:   http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/hockanddough.htm   Quite a tasty and filling meal for not a lot really....Now Hock & Dough is associated with Wellingborough. Even Wellingborough Town FC are called the Dough Boys!   I've just been working on two locos that were based at Wellingborough 15A shed for a very good friend
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Oxford Rail Weathered 7 Plank ex-Private Owner Wagons

I'm a real fan of the Oxford Rail 7 Plank RCH wagon. I realise it's not perfect but it is has a number of merits including price.   I've a few of these including a couple I've weathered for my 1947 Teign Valley project. Some of them where bought with a view to repainting them into scruffy 1950's/1960's BR ex-private owner wagons. Paul Marshall Potter (PMP) on his excellent Albion Yard blog wrote an article on converting them to this state.   https://albionyard.wordpress.com/2016/03/16/nine-
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Wally's Trolley...A detailed Wallace Arnold Bedford OB Coach

A good friend gave me this OOC Bedford OB in Wallace Arnold livery for Christmas. I believe it was part of the Great British Bus Collection from Atlas Editions.   It's a lovely model and with the West Yorkshire connections and the destination screen set to Scarborough it is very appropriate and will be used on a future layout. Because of this I thought I would detail the model and it would make a quick festive project.   I managed to separate the bodyshell from the chassis by gently prisin
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Ivatt Interlude...A Darlington built 2-6-0 example..

Good evening...   Well progress on Ivatt based projects continues.   Recently I've been lucky enough to pick up a few mint used Ivatt's in LMS livery around the £35-40 mark off off a well known auction site . I've three on the work bench at present which will become Kettering and Darlington lined examples respectively and Cambridge's 46466 which is another Darlington built prototype in late 1950's-early 1960's unlined black with late crest when allocated to 31A..   Unlike the initial Crewe
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Ivatt Interlude.... Detailing the revised Bachmann Ivatt 2-6-2

Bachmann recently gave us a revised model of their Ivatt 2-6-2 tank with a new DCC ready chassis. Other than the dome on the body no further changes were made sadly. A good friend bought one to put the new chassis under an old body I'd previously renumbered. I thought I could add a few enhancements to the spare new body by adding a new chimney and a few other tweaks.   I had a 247 Developments Ivatt chimney in my spares box so cut off the old Bachmann effort and glued on the new one. New lamp
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Western National Plaxton Beaver

And now for something completely different....   When I went to Plymouth in the early 1990's to study believe it or not one of the things I can always remember are the Western National and Plymouth Citybus buses. Coming from the land of United Counties the mix of colours and different designs always stood out. Even after a night on the Barbican down at a club called the Salling School which was affectionately known as the 'GX'.*   At the time I was in my early 20's and owned a white 2CV # wh
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Manors Maketh Man......

As some of you may know (gwrrob in particular) I'm a real fan of the GWR 78xx Manor Class and often request a photo of 7804 at work on ANTB.   Several years ago I had a go at detailing two of these Bachmann models which date back to prehistoric times Mainline days. In fairness Bachmann did give them one of their new split chassis back in the 1990's but these are prone to axle problems.   When I detailed my brace I modelled 7802 Bradley Manor and 7807 Compton Manor. Later on I sold 7807 which
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Vehicles for Diddington

Recently I was asked by Alex (Wiggoforgold) of Diddington fame to finish off the a number of vehicle projects he had in his to do list.   This lovely Bedford CA van is by a company called CMC (?Cheltenham Model Centre) and moulded by a company in Bodmin.     I sprayed this with Halfords white primer before preshading the body panels with Valejo German grey. Then a couple of coats of Valejo biege and a couple of coats of Humbrol Clear to finish. Detail paintwork and additional washes.
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Coming in from the cold! Otherwise know as 'O' Gauge figure painting

Well it's been a while since I posted on here,   Real life has certainly had a profound effect on my modelling escapades of late.   However, in between things a good friend of mine has taken up 7mm modelling. As a gesture of kindness I thought I'd paint a few Monty's 7mm figures for him.   Here's the finished result:   Loco crew and guard 11-14 001 by kettering15b, on Flickr   Finished with Vallejo/Revell acryllics. I built up layers using washes to obtain the effects on the figures. M
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LNER/BR B17/6 61633 Kimbolton Castle

I'm not normally an Eastern Region modeller although a few classes do stand out. The big Pacifics don't interest me as such and it's the more humble classes like a J15 that appeal to me more. One class that I've always thought had really graceful lines was Gresley's LNER B17 with a short GE tender.   Earlier on in the year I brought a BR version and I really must say this is a beautiful model that Hornby have produced and captures the protype welll. It doesn't have the robustness of a Bachm
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Manning-Wardle 'H' Class. Part 3 of a Pug Bash

Over the past few days I've managed to get the component parts together and we're now at this stage.     I painted the inside of the cab before assembly with a Revell green acrylic applying washes and dry brushes to finish. This was masked off with tissue paper when I sprayed the loco.     As you can see various bits of wire have been used for detailing along with parts from the Pug including the reversing lever. One thing I did do is remove the sandboxes from the chassis. Luckily i
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YMR BR MK1 SK. A quick project.

Yesterday I managed to pick up two of these Your Model Railway £3.99 MK1 SK coaches from ASDA in Rushden for a friend of mine. He asked if I'd put numbers on them and weather them for him too.   Thanks to David I was able to source a suitable number for an Eastern Region example. Here's the link to David's in depth posting on the SK number series:   http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/75546-br-mk-1-sk-coach-number-series/&do=findComment&comment=1143408   If you've got
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Manning Wardle 'H' Class. Part 2 of a Pug bash.

Managed to do a few more bits on the 'H' Class over the past few days including fitting the cut section of tubing under the saddle tank to represent the boiler. Thank's to Ruston's measurements of his Ixion 7mm version I was able to work out a rough figure for the depth between the bottom of the saddle tank and the running plate. The photos below show the model held together once more with Blu-tac.       Thankfully, I managed to make up the smokebox door straps fairly successfully with M
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Manning Wardle 'H' Class. Or a Pug Bash. Part 1

Last year in the August edition of Hornby Magazine Phil Parker converted an Hornby Lancashire and Yorkshire 'Pug' into a resemblance of a Manning Wardle 'H' Class. I thought this would be a nice little conversion to undertake that I could use on my layout Juniper Hill based on a Northamptonshire ironstone line. It could also be used on my proposed Teign Valley project as well.   Here's the link to Phil's website with plans and pictures of his completed model:   http://pagenumberone.co.uk/dow
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Hornby BR Southern Region BY. A few tweaks.

A while back I was given one of those excellent Hornby Southern Railway BY's in olive green and decided to repaint it into BR (SR) green. Paul Bartlett's excellent site came up trumps with this photo:   http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/srby/h3317da13#h399adca5   The thing I liked about this photo of 'S764S' is didn't appear to have the full data panel on the right hand ends this making application of decals easier.   The model itself breaks down really easily into its component parts. Th
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Conversion of Dapol BR 20T brake van kit to earlier LNER version

One project that has sat on the work bench for a while are a couple of the old Airfix/Dapol BR 20T brake van kits I've been been detailing. One of them I decided to back date as an earlier LNER version which I've now completed.   This particular kit had banana shape sole bars so a bit of manipulation was required to try and staighten them. I cut off the concrete end weight mouldings and made new ones up from plastic sheet. The moulded handrails were removed and replaced with brass wire and
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Dapol Stanier Coach Detailing Part 2

Following on my my previous entry about detailing these Dapol/Airfix Stanier coaches here they are near enough completed. Both are running on Romford 14mm wheels I had to hand.   First up is the D1905 Brake 3rd which has come out the better of the two.     I've added flush glazing to the rear windows and new rear hand rails. The corridor connection board is a spare from a Hornby Stanier coach. The non-brake end has received separate water tank filler pipes although I've kept the moulded p
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