I was found recently wishing that I had posted this blog entry some years previously such that I would have had the information contained within. Back before Coronavirus, a job change, my wife going through childbirth, a house move, and a job change I posted this entry. 

The subject of that entry has since been finished, painted and lettered but I never did write up how I got there. People who had printers wanting files to test volunteered to print something and I had the 3D file. That gave me two more to make. Looking back to my blog and under the completed model left me scratching my head - a lot - because it was not immediately obvious how I'd completed the under-gubbins. The bogies were obviously association parts for GWR plate frame bogies and there was a 'floor' with queen posts and truss rods that seemed to agree with a fuzzy memory of cross drilling small diameter brass rod but I really wasn't sure where I'd obtained the Vs from to support the cross shafts for the brake and the brake handle. Those for the latter looked to be created/fitted in a rather odd way. I went about making some components.

The 'floor' was snipped from 0.010" n/s sheet and marked for the various holes and slots thought necessary. I planned to make the queen posts by fixing 0.3mm n/s wire through a slot each side made with a piercing saw (#0/4 blade is about right for width) covered over with small bore brass tube 0.3mm inside and 0.8mm outside diameter. The hole for the vacuum cylinder was made off set from the centre line. The centre line helps with aligning the central V hangers. I took the V hangers from a 2mm association etch for an underframe with GW DC brakes (2-361). These were a bit long so I elected to fit them above the 'floor', even more so by doubling over the material to space them further upwards. This meant making slots for the Vs to pass through. The length of the floor was made to set the length and angle of the truss rods when fixed to the outer corners. The truss rods were made by cross drilling 0.45mm brass rod. I found this could be achieved by flattening the rod between small nosed pliers where the holes are to be. Holding the rod in an engineers pin chuck and securing that in a bench vice I marked for drilling with a point from dividers. Without this the 0.3mm just wanders over the not-quite-flat flattened section of rod. Also in the above picture is the beginning of the brake pull rods. The crank is shaped around 3 holes drilled in a line in a part of the donor etch material waste. It was left long at one end until the first of the pull rods was fixed in place to make it easier to hold and then filed to the shape seen. Not seen are brake handles (also from the donor etch).

The central Vs fixed in place with the vacuum cylinder (also 2mm shop part). The Vs for the brake handle cross shaft needed to be mounted above also and that required some manipulation and reduction of the one end of the 2mm chassis etch donor. This is the end that originally had 3 hangers on (the other has just 2). If it looks wonky that's because it is - the hangers on the Mink F are isosceles triangle instead of the right angle of the etch - they've been bent appropriately and the joins reinforced with solder.

The remainder of the brakes (less handles) fitted and trimmed in an assembly order that made sense ensuring that the movement makes sense for applying the brakes: It's' something that I tend to spot and I've seen two many (at least one) models where if it were possible to move the brake lever/handle and the brake components then the brakes would not be applied, in fact quite the opposite. I always leave the handles themselves until last when test fitting to the body and the wire is left long here to facilitate. The brake linkage shown in the previous photo was cut to make the line from the cylinder to the cross shaft as well as the link between the cross shafts.

The queen posts were positioned in the slots made in the floor. First I bent a right angle into some n/s wire 0.3mm diameter with a long tail across the floor aligned with the slots. The first bend provides some location where it is fitted tight within the slot. The second bend is made up through the slot after fixing the first side in place. The small bore tubes all cut to the same length are placed over and the truss rods over them secured down whilst held tightly. The ends are bent sharply downwards outside of the queen posts and fixed to the ends. No measuring required since that is taken care of by the floor already. 

Now trimmed to length ready for a trial fit. 

Checking the clearance and also the ride height. The bogies are running on the brass top hat bearings supplied with the bogie stretcher etch. The larger side is on top. The smaller side is filed back significantly to reduce the amount of slop so the bogies do not fall as far when placing or lifting the wagon from the rails. The filing can be best achieved by using a piece of material with a ~5mm hole around 2mm deep to place the bearing into whilst filing. Everything is still loose for now; the bogies are only secured once since their lower cross pieces will not endure repeat bending.

Checking the ride height against something to hand. The siphon has been out of the box since it needs the roof refitting. This has been an excellent point to try out printing a load of milk churns. It must have taken a fall at some point since the buffer is an odd angle. 

Securing of the bogies. This view hopefully shoes better the arrangement. A 10BA bolt is fitted from above the bolster printed in the body. Then 2 packing pieces from the bogie stretcher etch fit over that with the filed bearing next, then the bogie. A washer is required above the nut. There are four appropriately sized holes on the bogie stretcher etch (arranged around the part number etching) suited to this purpose that just need cutting out. I made a little nut spinner type tool out of the filing jig for the top hat bearings since it is has already served the primary purpose. With a little tweaking I found it was possible to adjust this to grip the nut for transferring, which made what is usually quite a fiddly job easy.

The 'Dean' square style buffer housings with oval heads are filed up from coach buffer turnings whilst holding in a pin chuck. There are some lovely looking castings available in the 2mm shop nowadays, I think resulting from the efforts  of @-missy-, but I've always done mine this way since before they were available. Couplings will be fitted after painting. I've undercoated the bodies two different colours in the hope the final shade will vary a little. I think the grey is too light even for faded GWR grey?

I said last time I only intended to make one of these Mink Fs. The GWR only built 8 so I now have nearly half this wagon stock in model form. Whilst I really do not plan to make any more - even though I do have another body to hand - this should now be here if I do come to need it again in the future and hopefully it has been interesting and or useful to others.