airnimal

I will have to own up as the reason for your extra work today. Please tell Jill not to tidy up for my benefit. Although I am house trained ( 40 years under strict training ) I lived on my own in a batchelor pad previously. I lived in a house with newspapers at the windows and furniture donated by neighbour's. This house was full of bikes and motorbikes and without a television. I didn't own a car but did have a great record and book collection. My wife has being attempting over the last 40 years to get me interested in home furnishings without much success. I keep telling her I do not want to be remembered when I finally go to the engine shed in the sky that I had a passion for interior decorating. When we are sitting in our armchairs in a nursing home we are not going to remember THAT carpet we bought but the great times we had travelling the world.

After several weeks of inactivity I finally made an effort to add all the nuts and bolts to the remaining end and side. There are still a few bits to complete as well as sorting out the axleboxes and springs before painting commences. I don't know how I will explain the visitor of a Scottish wagon in the Manchester area but there are worst crimes about in the model world than mine.

BR60103, try using the old pressfix tranfers as the methfix type. This has worked for me in the past but some of the newer varieties were not as good. Mike

I am getting as near I can go trying to detail these pins and bar fittings. I have used some thinner material for the bar which I think does look better but if I have to admit it i am not entirely satisfied with it.

S.D.L thank you, your comments are always gratefully received. This is may be a bit oversize and I may try and thin the pin down and make it smaller. When I think about things like watches or jewellery made hundreds of years ago without electricity or modern technology or other antiques in similar veins I think my efforts are a poor imitation of of fine workmanship. How did they do it ?

The door holding latches are let into a rebate in the door with a hoop of wire around it with a pin to hold it closed. I have attempted to make it the same on my model by drilling a series of holes in the door and then making this into a channel. The metal bar was made from a couple of bits of scrap etch from some old brakegear. This was melted into the slot with the tip of the soldering iron being careful not to get to close to the plastic parts. It will need a bit of filler around it to bed it in because I wasn't very careful when I opened out the slot. I have made a few loops from thin brass wire for the loops but being so small there keep flying off into the distance never to be seen again. These things are getting harder to make as I get older because of arthritis and poor eyesight.

I have replaced the safety hangers to better reflect both the position and angle. I have also added the brake handle and rack both from Exactoscale parts. I have all the bolts to finish off on the far side of the body along with a few bits and pieces.

Steady on old chap, I am just a bodger. Just look at the bolts on the V-irons, the left bottom one isn't in line with the right hand one. And don't forget that as a married man I only get brownie points every now and again and then only very occasionally. I am surprised that the brakegear fitted perfectly without any alterations though the safety loops should be vertical and not on a slant. I will unsolder and correct them before I get to paint it. I fitted a couple of pads under the brakes with a 12BA nut sunk into them which enables me to remove it all before I paint it. This also makes getting the shoes close to the wheels a doddle. That is one of my pet hates seeing models where the brakes are a mile away from the wheels or not in line.

Jet lag again woke me at 4am and I couldn't get back to sleep. So I got up and had a cuppa and ventured into the workshop to see if I had any brass brakegear to finish this latest wagon. I added the square bolts from modified lace pins which I applied to the V-irons. I didn't get them spot on for accuracy which is becoming all to familiar now. I did find some 9' brakegear already made up from a previous aborted wagon that never made the grade. This hopefully will be made to fit with a little adjustment but if not I can always make some more from the parts in bits box.

Lacathedrale, my stock is at present located in a IKEA cabinet in my workshop. It isn't easy to photograph them laid out as you wish. I have built over 60 wagons since I retired nearly 7 years ago as well as a few for friends along with some buildings. I still have lots of ideas to build some way of displaying them, this may be a small layout or a diorama. I have been involved with helping other people and clubs to build layouts but never got farther than the baseboards stage for myself. I do wonder if I ever will build something but I am still enjoying what I do, so does it matter ? The locos are all stuck in boxes because I don't have the room to display them. Mike

Looking out of the window at this awful weather doesn't help the modelling mojo. When we left to go and see our daughter down under, I did hope the bad weather would be nearly over by the time we got back. But we now have a pond in the back garden that wasn't there when we left. It is taking a bit to get going after being in the sunshine as well as suffering with jet lag which keeps waking me up at 4am. So I have started to look again at where I left off with this private owner wagon. I still have only one side detailed with nuts and bolts but I think I will wait until I am feeling back to normal before I attempt to drill lots of tiny holes for the Masterclub bolts. So the small amount I have done is only to fixed the pair of V-irons to one side of the solebar's. I have got a works reunion tomorrow so that is something to look forward to. I will find out what my old workmates have been up to and slightly depressing thought, who is no longer with us. I can't believe it will be 20 years this September that I left. How time flies.

We try and alternate where we spend our time at Christmas between our daughter's. So this year we have spent Christmas with daughter number 2 in Australia. Daughter number 1 lived in our house while we we away so she and her family could be near her other in-laws and daughter number 2. It all worked out well for all concerned. Modelling has been suspended while we were away, but railways are never far from the surface. We had a couple of days in Albany on the south coast below Perth where there is still railways but not passenger traffic. The last passenger trains were in 1978 but there is still a healthy freight service going to the docks. In the old station at Albany there is a model railway club located in the station building but the opening times did not correspond with our visit. I did visit the railway museum in Perth which is open on a Wednesday which also has a model club as part of the museum. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to have any 7mm content, and the exhibits in the full size museum looked in the same stage as they were when I went there about 5 years ago. I wonder what will happen to all these old relics when the present volunteers go to that great engine shed in the sky ? But we did have lots of sunshine and fabulous places to visit when everyone here was getting cold. The beaches are stunning and very uncrowded. The problem is it is such a long way to go and it is getting harder as we get older.

woko, that is a very flattering statement, I am not sure I justify it. I consider myself to be a self taught bodger who couldn't build simple kits to a standard that satisfied myself. Unlike yourself who has mastered the modern technology necessary to produce some incredible models. A big plus point for you is the ability to make the same model many times over which of course isn't possible the way I build models. As the old saying goes there is more than one way to skin a cat. I have not done anything for the past few weeks other than family matters. Having the 3 daughters in 3 different locations sometimes makes life difficult as we have to spread ourselves about a bit. Mike

Sam, congratulations on scratch building yet another unusual prototype. I can't wait to see the finished brake van in the early Lanky livery. Mike

But what about the small tank wagon hidden behind the 0-6-0 Barclay ? That does look different with the end fixings of an unusual design. Mike

Holywell town would make a great small compact layout. I have considered building this prototype station on many occasions. The bridges are still there as is the former goods yard. Even in 7mm it will fit into a normal size garage. I have already got the necessary stock ready to go in pre-grouping days. It would be interesting to operate as everything had to be push up hill and goods train were limited to a small number of wagons with a brake van at both ends.

Now I have fixed the end door problem I can get on with the details. I have checked how far the door was out of true and it wasn't very much. It's amazing that just being 10 or 15thou out of line can stick out like a sore thumb. I don't think it 100% but I can live it now. I don't think that there will be much done now for a few weeks with all the Christmas cheer or chaos that is about to take place. I am not a big fan of Christmas but my better half thinks it's the best time of the year, so I have to knuckle down and bite the bullet.

Thank you gentlemen for the input. I think my problem is having to much going on in life and taking away my concentration from the important things like trains. I will consider both the options. I have taken the decision that a total rebuild on the door is not an option. So I have removed the coupling plate and opened the hole a bit further to nearly the centre. I have used a etch plate from a screw coupling pack and used some Scalehardware brass hexagonal bolts to attach it to the headstock. Then I have cut some overlays from 10 thou plasticard for new planks. This is not totally accurate but is sufficient for me continue after spending so many hours building.

Good luck Dennis. The thing with styrene is it it reasonable cheap and if you scrap some it's not the end of the world unless you are of limited means. Thankfully I am in my eyes fairly well off ( my wife may differ ) but I have been on the bread line more than once after being made redundant for the third time with a young family and without any savings. We are the only people on our road with a ten year car as our only means of transport but we have a great family who are all healthy and happy, which is what matters most of all. I haven't done much other than Christmas duties and fixing items for one of my daughters. Her husband is a great bloke but was born with ten thumbs so I still get all her problems to mend. I have started to drill holes for some more Masterclub bolts on the ends and the other side. I keep having one reoccurring problem in I am struggling to get anything central. I first started to notice this a few years ago and I try to combat this by turning everything around more than once when making out and looking down at everything at eye level. This helps but I find when I get a few thou out on one piece and this is joined to another then the combination of two parts a few thou is more glaring. Perhaps I am getting to old for all this. The coupling plate is a few thou off centre which I noticed once I had glued the body on. After so many hours, do I cut the plate off and fill in the hole and redrill it ? On checking both the plate and the door I find it is the door that isn't in the centre which is a major problem which will need a complete reconstruction. Oh fiddly sticks ***********

It's good to see a tank wagon modelled with this level of detail. My own model of an early tank wagon had a similar filler cap.

Crook lad, Nothing out of the ordinary to cut styrene, just the scalpels from Swann Morton or a Olfa cutter. I use mainly a number 10a blade for cutting through styrene and a number 9a which is the flat blade to shave off any raised burrs. I use this held horizontal against the styrene to remove burrs followed by a quick rub over with some fine emery paper or these soft based emery boards. These are not cheap but they seem to last a long time. The Olfa cutter has a V shaped blade and I use this scribe the plank lines in always counting how many passes I use so the depth doesn't vary to the previous one cut. I always cut against a metal rule or square and a cutting mat underneath. An old toothbrush is used to brush away any swafe or dust. If you have made models from metal them I think you will find working with styrene a doddle. I hope this helps. Mike

The cleats for ropes under curb rail could be the same as on Dia 1 wagons. This is part of a works drawing from a Dia 1 which shows these fittings. I would imagine that with the standardisation of the LNWR that it would probably be the same. Mike

Christmas has come early in our house because Santa brought me an etched present. Thanks to Graham Beare and his son along with Chris Brown for providing the necessary artwork and PPD for the etchings. I have sometimes put a etch nameplate on my work but these were just the name tags that were on some etched sheets I had for other things many years ago. I hadn't any special ones done previously, so this is a real bonus for me. I suppose it's vanity really, but it does identify things I have made. A friend contacted me recently because he had bought one of my wagons at the Guildford trade show a couple of weeks ago. When he turn it over there was my name crudely painted underneath. It didn't look particularly attractive, so these are definitely a big improvement. Also on the sheet were some more numbers for LNWR wagons. There wasn't any luck with our house viewing. It was the same story as all the previous buyers that the house was in a great location and in very good order but the kitchen was to small. My wife and myself have brought up 3 daughters here without any problems and it was big enough for us, so I don't know what size kitchen people expect for a 3 bedroom house.

I have being drilling holes for the Masterclub bolts with a vengeance. I have decided that because these bolts stick through the sides and when cut down, that they will near enough to represent coach bolts found on the inside of most wagons. I rub over the cut down stubs with a soft abrasive cloth that takes the edge off them and gives a rounded appearance. Because these things are so small that they are hard to see anyway. I did say that standards were slipping. I have only done one side so I still have both ends to do as well. I did drill a couple in the wrong place which had to be plugged with plastic rod and redrilled. I can't see myself doing to many more wagons with such a large amount of bolts, because they are taking a toll on my sanity. We have to tidy the house today because we have a viewing on our house tomorrow, but I will not be in because I will be at the Manchester show.

Nick, to mark the position of the bolts I tend to draw a faint pencil line especially on the end stanchions and wider cornerplates, but on the thinner ironwork I tend to play it by eye. I have just tried and failed to melt the rear of the Masterclub bolts with the tip of a soldering iron to form a domed coach bolt. I will have to think of another way of adding the interior details. When I drill the holes through the middle ironwork, it will give me a line of hole which acts as a guide to place the internal knees.