TurboSnail

Recovering from whatever possessed me to make a 1980s VW, I've been putting together another Manning Wardle. The Class O 353 is almost finished, but I'm waiting on High Level to get back into business so I can swap the gears in it for one of theirs, so in the meantime I've drawn up the Class K, as per SECR 752 post 1904 rebuild with the large cab. Also planned to have a HL gearbox, so might have to wait a while before I can start building it!

Something I've been working on for a while - not exactly pre-grouping and not a 3D printer in sight, but I can assure you I haven't lost it completely... normal service will be resumed shortly! *note that "cheap" and "easy" are very relative terms...

Easily confused in the same livery, even down to the same missing "Goods Brake" text!

Not loads currently. I'm trying not to give myself too many new projects until I've got some of the old ones ticked off. Recently had a big re-organise of the workbench and trying to get some layout work done too so CAD work is taking a back seat.

A little summary video of how I made the EKR Saloon coach

Persuading the EKR to construct a saloon they didn't really need, then using it to benefit his other concerns wouldn't be out of character for Mr. Burr!

I've also recently completed the Channel Steel train, but naturally the layout for it has not been started... Needs some weathering when I can pluck up the courage to do it, especially turning the coal loads into something that looks a bit more like iron ore.

A while back I posted a picture of a Hornby Generic being hacked up - it's looking a bit different now! Based loosely on something the EKLR might have had, if they had a saloon or directors car - possibly influenced by the Earl of Guilford or the directors of the various collieries along the line. The only info on livery I could find was 'indian red', and this is the closest I had to hand.

Brake progress - just needs glazing and weathering now! It's numbered as one of the Ashford 1893 batch, which I think would have become dilapidated enough to have been put to light branch line duties by the time Guilford Colliery is set. I didn't have the right transfers but have got as close as I can with what I had. Waiting for the correct ones to arrive would probably have been enough for me to put the model back in the cupboard and forget about it for another few months!

And if anyone's interested, I'm selling off a couple of locos to fund new acquisitions - the Barclay Fireless and AEC Diesel are on eBay now: AEC: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294202695961 Fireless: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294202673231 Though on the bright side, I'm building a mk2 Fireless so hopefully I won't be without one for too long!

I've been putting this project off for so long, finally decided that it's never going to be perfect, so I'm just going to get it done. That involved chopping off the top sections of the solebars entirely, as the axleboxes were too close together, and superglueing the whole thing together with the solebars further apart. Hopefully it holds! I've got a new roof on print at the moment as I can't find the old one, and I'm just going to live with the dodgy printing (lot of lines and warp on this one). Maybe some heavy weathering will disguise it. Note also the broken footboa

Some bodging finally, to justify this thread's title! A Hornby full brake getting hacked up...

Some of you may have seen these buildings already over on the layout thread, but here's an overview of how they were constructed.

Buildings now done! Weathered (a bit) and in place, I'm quite happy with how these turned out in the end. There are a few things I'd change if doing it again, but not enough to bother me for now.

I agree on the colour - unfortunately, I can't remember what it was, hence the variation! I think it's either Humbrol 32, or a VW Grey from Halfords, but I've run out of the latter and my tin of the former has solidified... Fortunately, a bit of variation is prototypical, I hope!