Father Dougal

Thank you, that is really useful to know.

Just finished another project. I had a Lima Ferry wagon body and decided to scratch build a chassis and detail her a bit. This is likely not very prototypical but she looks like a Ferry wagon to me. The transfers are from Railtec. I enjoyed taking a few of the shutters out and adding in some mesh. I think this really lifts the model.

All done now. Crew and lights fitted. I really like the modern shunter crew. Runs nice and smoothly now. I did find a short circuit initially. It turned out to be where the wheel rims just touched the body shell. A thin strip of Plasticard sorted this out. Here she is shunting a few Guvs to the station.

Off with good old COVID (again) so fitted the sound chip to the chassis. I dismantled the green wire. Turns out it was an earth wire apparently (Thank you Dapol for your email reply) she runs really nicely. I have my sub micro LED’s but the lamps and crew are on back order from ModelU so I cannot finish the project just yet. Photos when the lights are done. Dougal

Ok so, 08 now finished in faded BR blue as promised…. umm, ran out of Blue so went for EWS Maroon. She turned out really nicely. EWS just about fits at the end of my time frame and also gives me a good excuse to buy myself a 67 kit at some point. Just waiting on electrification flashes to arrive. The interior was fun to do and looks ok to me. No idea if it is very realistic. Next month I will add the crew, lights and a sound chip once Mrs Doyle gives me my pocket money. For the chassis, anyone know what the green wire does? I plan to hardwire a chip in and so I plan to ignore this wire. Please let me know if you know what the wire is for Dougal.

It looks very close to the fence. Can they still get in when they need a wee?

A bit more progress made. I fitted new slim brass bolts to secure the chassis. Re affixed the sand boxes as they now do not cause any fouling. Fitted vac pipes. Refitted the steps and rebuilt the cab roof. A small bit of Mr Putty used to tidy everything up. No photos of this as not very exciting. Once I have built the removable cab interior and primed the body shell I will post some photos. Dougal.

About 8 years ago I bought 2 08 kits. The first was ok but I could never get the chassis to run properly. Eventually I used the motor and wheels for other projects and put the body shell away. I then forgot where it was. A couple of years later I made the second kit and got her running. A few months ago Mrs Doyle found the first body shell in the loft and I planned to build a new chassis and get her running. Last month I saw an 08 chassis from Dapol on eBay for £70.00 and snapped it up. This is cheaper than either the wheels or motor if I bought them instead. I have now begun altering the kit built body shell to fit the Dapol chassis. Pretty easy really so far. The securing bolts needed changing a bit as they didn’t line up and the front sand boxes fouled the body shell steps. After a bit of further fiddling she fits together. I was pleased to find that drilling a new hole in the metal chassis was very straightforward. I have stripped the body shell and I am busy tidying up a few areas. When I built the kit I didn’t think of lights or having a removable interior. The interior came away fairly easy. I shall make a Plasticard frame and add details etc. My soldering and building wasn’t too bad 8 years ago and so aside from a little tidy up I should be able to move to repainting soon. The roof however was a PITA as the supports had come away and forming the correct profile was annoying. Better now, not perfect but I can live with it after a little more fettling. I am looking forward to having another Gronk on the layout. This one will be in a faded BR blue. Dougal.

That was quick.

I would put the point back in before the show if I were you. 😀

Love the paint job on the class 20

A few shots of Test Coach Iris. She has a fully detailed interior built from photos including a lavatory (non working). I need to buy a microwave to go in the galley. A really fun build. The only thing I would change is a lower geared motor if I could. I do however like the underfloor motor supplied as everything is nice and neat. You can also see the postal crew getting ready for the 128 to arrive.

Is the 110 a single unit or part of a double unit? Not seen one before. Kind of want one now.

Yep that’s the one. They were around £5 cheaper per pack when I bought them. Not sure why the price went up recently.

EBay. You get laser cut wood plus overlays, pipes and air con units. I used 4 kits and built up the sides and roof from Plasticard. Bit pricey but came out ok.

Missed off this one. My second fork lift. I need to glaze the small door and fit some lights I think, but quite please with this. The air con units are my favourites.

Kale? Stupid auto correct

Ok, I am back! I have been busy updating the scenery etc. I am very pleased with the industrial unit that hides the fiddle yard. Today I finished a Bream conversion from an old VDA I had spare. I am slowly adding kale couplings to some of my stock.

Good golly, I can finally access the site again! Have I missed anything? Lots of progress in the layout to share shortly. Dougal

All finished now. I think they look ok. The transfers are a close match but not 100%. I have also been working on the shops in the town area and I built a signal gantry. Dougal

Hello, They are pretty rigid. If they break I will replace but they are more robust than they look. Dougal

Ok so, I have started detailing the PRA wagons. I added the side fitting walkways, buffers, mesh for the end pieces and the latching hooks. In fairness these kits do look good. They will need a bit of weight as they are incredibly light at the moment. Dougal.

Ok so. Turns out the hidden charge was an import duty. Shapeways don’t make this very obvious. Any order over £134.00 attracts the same duty. They blamed Brexit. The parcel has now arrived and I will take a look after work. I am really hoping this exceeds my expectations. I might just scratch build next time. More to follow....

I had an email today asking for an additional £55 for delivery. Looks like I will have to cancel the order as I dislike hidden charges. Not impressed with Shapeways at all

Very kind comment about my scratch building. Next year I retire and I plan to teach myself CAD design so I can start 3D printing. If I can do it I would like to develop a few kits at a fair and cheap price. I do feel a lot of kits are becoming costly, IMHO