Making Curved Coach Roofs
I meant to mention, in my previous entry, how I made the curved plasticard roofs for my early GWR coaches. I have read about wrapping plasticard sheet around an empty wine bottle, filled with boiling water, in order to 'set' the curve. Somehow, I'm always uneasy about pouring boiling water into glass bottles, so looked for an alternative - beer cans came to mind but these seemed of rather too small a diameter for my coach roofs. After searching around the kitchen (strange, alien place), I found a stainless-steel coffee jug that seemed just about the right size. As shown below, I taped the rectangle of 20 thou (0.5 mm) plasticard, for the roof, to the side of the jug, using broad strips of masking tape:
I was pleased to find, after the water in the jug had cooled, that the plasticard had acquired just the right curvature and sat neatly on top of my coach sides. Only time will tell if the new shape is permanent.
In building these coaches, I have realised that there was a revolution in the construction of railway carriages during the late 1860s, as their stage-coach origins were finally left behind. The new coaches of the 1870s were on an altogether more massive scale, with much more robust framing and iron solebars. I have taken a couple of photos to illustrate these changes:
The train on the left is composed of the Dean type coaches (mainly Ratio kits), typical of the late 19th century, whereas on the right is a mix of earlier designs. I like the undulating roof line created by the juxtaposition of low, almost flat roofed stock, with the more impressive clerestory roof stock, much used by the GWR.
I regret that the coaches are not yet finished (pace Mikkel). When I have finished enjoying contemplating the various styles that they represent, I shall get down to all those fiddly details
Mike
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