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About this blog

Tales from my workbench and progress on my layouts.

Entries in this blog

Great Eastern Promise. Oxford BR N7 finished as Cambridge 31A's 69620

The Oxford N7 in my eyes is something of a bargain and Oxford have captured the look of these distinctive engines nicely.   It is representative of the N7/4 sub-class I believe so is only suitable for a small number of members of the class.   I wanted to model a Cambridge 31A example and discovered a number were allocated there in the mid-1950`s. Choosing an identity was made easier by finding a snap of 69620 at Cambridge Station in 1957.     One of the
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Ivatt Rescue Part 2. A tale of an eBay resurrection..

This morning our Postie delivered a small package from the Bachmann Spares Department. Excellent service as ever.     Inside was the new tender chassis and coupling mounting block highlighted as damaged in the previous post.    Armed with a mug of Yorkshire Gold in a suitable receptacle with an Ivatt 2MT on it I set to work...        The smokebox door handle was replaced with a new brass Eileen's Emporium example. This was sprayed
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Ivatt Rescue Part 1. A tale of an eBay resurrection..

We all need a another project to keep the modelling workbench busy don't we? Well in my case probably not..    However a perusal of eBay found a sorry looking LMS Ivatt 2MT described in 'As new condition'. My collection of Ivatt's never resembled the photos but I thought it was worth a punt for a cheap project.   On top of this I had a spare Ivatt 2MT 2-6-0 detailing pack to help things along the way.    My 'As New' Ivatt arrived safely and here are some photos. Tha
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Time for a brake... New Hornby LMS brake van.

My new Hornby LMS brake van in BR guise appeared in a previous blog entry.     As I mentioned then I felt the curved moulded rain strips were reminiscent of the old Airfix BR brake van kit. Prototype photos showed angled batons. Microstrip was used to make these.      The lower handrails were bowed so replaced with brass wire painted with Halfords white primer.    I painted the buffer beams bauxite to match the body. The veranda foot boards w
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It's fun to stay at the MCV....1970's Retro. Dapol 16T mineral wagons almost finished.. .

Over the past few days I've been able to almost complete the four Dapol 16T mineral wagons I've been working on.    If you remember I had removed the top doors from two of them in my earlier blog entry. Since then they were finished with Tamiya NATO brown and black.    Then using prototype photos from Paul Bartlett's excellent site I have been able to weather the quartet.      I have used my usual Vallejo acrylics for weathering. Dry brushing has given t
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Dapol Fruit 'D' detailing project.

A while back I ordered 3 un-decorated GWR Fruit 'D' wagons from Dapol. As you've previously guessed I do like Dapol for a source of modelling projects.    I understand the bodyshell for the Fruit 'D' has a venerable past and there are some dimensional inaccuracies. However Dapol have breathed life into it with a new chassis. With this I feel it makes suitable layout NPCS vehicle offering a bit of variety.      These 3 have received Lanarkshire Model Supplies buffers an
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Sentinel Resurrection...

I'm a bit of a Sentinel fan and possess a couple of the excellent Model Rail/Dapol examples.   However I was given a Sentinel in a rough state by a good friend who asked if I could breath some life back into it. He had previously acquired it in a box of old model railway stuff given to him.    With a bit of research I discovered it was an early Nu-cast example with a plastic body kit moulded by Ian Kirk. The chassis and buffer beams were cast white metal. It was attached to a
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Continued Dapol and Hornby wagon modifications....

Another Dapol build from a 12T BR van body mated to a Parkside BR chassis. Buffers from LMS once more. It is awaiting its transfers from CCT once more.   It is shown with a previously built Dapol brake van modified to represent an LNER version.      The new Hornby LMS brake van is a lovely model. However my example had bowed lower handrails which I replaced with brass wire primed and painted white with Vallejo white.      Also I felt the chim
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Van Tastic! Dapol Van builds continued...

Bit more progression on my Dapol van body builds over the past few days.      Transfers have been sourced from the excellent range by John Isherwood at Cambridge Custom Transfers. They were sealed with Johnson's Kleer floor polish.      The tie bars are 1mm 'L' shaped brass strip from Eileen's Emporium.      Weathering so far as consisted of a wash of Valejo acrylics left to dry then wiped off with a damp cotton bud. Some d
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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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