Enfys_Rainbow

Please persevere with this one Kevin!

Is there a supplier of flexible pipes that you can recommend?

Thanks Jonathan - it's acrylic paint and washes of black, brown and grey oil paint over the top. I've been working away on the BSO. It's now been repainted and the various markings applied. I was in two minds whether to replace the window bars - I initially thought that the printed Hornby ones looked ok but following closer inspection, decided they definitely needed replacing. These were easy enough to knock up from fine wire and look a lot better to my eyes. I've also made a suggestion at a dropped buckeye - the inner ends will use Kadee couplings. I'm now debating whether to add cosmetic pipes to this end - their omission is noticeable, however will they get in the way of coupling/uncoupling using Smiths hooks and couplings? All that aside, I'm about to start the weathering progress soon which will hopefully bring all this to life. Matt

Have you tried emailing? Website has contact details and says enquiries are welcome that way.

Not with the Mk2D, but I had a similarly tough time removing the body from my Mk2E. On the E, there are 6 clips (3 per side) that click into the window moulding which makes it very difficult to separate. I don't have a Mk2D, but it might be a similar arrangement. Matt

Hello all, 6 months on, and I've finally finished the interior of the Parkside 13t wagon. To be honest, I've no idea if the real wagon floors were painted or not! Matt

A bit more work managed over the Bank Holiday, although unfortunately I'm going away again tomorrow so any further progress will be halted. I decided to knock up some steps using some bits of waste etch, nothing clever, but quick, [relatively] easy and most importantly, cheap! I've also done some more work to the ends: replacement handrails mentioned in an earlier post, and some very basic detailing to the corridor connector. I won't be repeating this on the inner ends of the rake, only the outer. And finally the coach sides have been repainted so as to provide a blank canvas - why I hear you ask - well there was some scratching and scuffing to parts of the body and a repaint was easier! Note that the body isn't clipped in place in any of these photos - disassembling it once was difficult enough! Matt

Hi all, I mentioned a few posts ago that I would be needing some coaching stock for a future project. At the time, I was mainly referring to Mk1's, but I've subsequently come to realise that a couple of Mk2's won't hurt either! The stock will predominantly be Blue/Grey, so this is very much an outlier, but I picked it up for a bargain price and thought it made sense to practice some of the changes I'd be making before committing to anything else. So this is a Hornby Mk2E BSO. I'm no expert when it comes to coaches, but these are certainly more affordable than the Bachmann equivalents on the used market and that is my priority! I've limited my changes to replacing handrails and roof grab handles. I've decided to leave the bodyside handrails as they are to avoid too much work/damage. I will be doing a bit more cosmetic detailing before I call it done, but this'll mainly be some pipes, cosmetic couplings [possibly] and steps. After that, I'll have to do a bit of repainting, just to patch things up. I did consider replacing the glazing, but after consideration, decided this would be an unnecessary step. Happy Easter! Matt

Sorry, can't help but... ...I remember these being advertised in RM! I always wanted one but could never afford one!

Interesting thread! I saw the original photo on FB too. My wife is from Bargoed. Matt

Although going away was a good thing, and a good time was had, it wasn't such a good thing for my modelling! That break, even though it was only a week, completely derailed [excuse the pun!] my enthusiasm and flow and I've struggled to return to the bench ever since. That said, I have made some slow progress, and here's how the CCT currently looks. Numerous tiny triangles [36 in total] have been cut from plastic and fitted individually to the solebars. This was as much fun as it looks. I've also sanded down the prominent roof ribs and then drilled, and fitted replacement vents. If the roof looks a bit strange, it's because it's moulded in transparent plastic. Matt

Are the Brassmasters rods still available?

I've built several buildings from foamboard (bought from the Range). I used superglue to attach the parts together with no issues at all. I also used the Range equivalent of evostick to attach embossed plastic to the shell and despite reservations, have had absolutely no issues in the 3 years since these were built. Matt

Very nice layout full stop James. This era and location (Scottish Highlands) are also a great inspiration to me. My next layout will be something similar-ish, although 4mm rather than 2mm. Matt

Hi all, I'm about to go away for the week, so progress will inevitably slow. The battery boxes have been transplanted across and a start has been made on adding some of the other bits and bobs - all from the spares box so far. I've also made a start on sanding down the roof ribs. Also, note the buffers aren't glued in position yet hence the crooked one visible here! Matt

With the SPV almost finished [apart from painting], my thoughts have turned to the next project, again an item of Parcels stock. The layout I'm planning in the distant future will need a few items of Parcels stock, hence the recent focus. I picked up a couple of Lima CCT's second hand, and actually first started this over 5 years ago but soon lost interest. One of the "modifications" I made back then was to replace the original wheels and graft some spare [although incorrect] Parkside w-irons to the solebars in an attempt to improve the Lima originals. When I picked this back up, I was tempted to ignore the incorrect w-irons and just detail the model and then repaint it. Unfortunate handling mishap A led to the destruction of the w-irons so Plan B was required. My next step was to cut sections of the chassis/floor to accommodate etched w-irons. I knew what needed to be done but a lack of concentration resulted in me sanding the solebars too thinly, and then snapping one of them in unfortunate handling mishap B. So Plan C is now to completely replace the floor and solebars and rebuild using the battery boxes and parts from the original. Matt

I'm hoping some of the Mk2's may yet become available because I could be tempted by at least one!

Hi all, The SPV is completed - construction wise at least [apart from couplings and axle boxes]. The underframe and brake gear parts are a mixture of Parkside bits [from left over sprues], scratchbuilt and etched odds and ends. The last few evenings have been spent assembling all these bits and I've thoroughly enjoyed it! And a low level shot to highlight the underframe parts: Please note that the roof is still loose at this point - hence the visible gap above the door. Matt

Litton Mill by any chance?

Baslow was the same author, same Prototype buildings (as appeared in the background above Heysham Harbour) but much smaller - it was mounted on an ironing board!

October 1984 - I was looking at the article the other day!

What a lovely looking van! Something about your kits just make me want to buy them - even though this is of no use to me! Wonderful stuff! Matt

Not sure about average, but I was also a big fan of Heysham Harbour, plus it's successor Baslow (or Barlow).

Hi all, The SPV has been progressing nicely, although it's taken a little longer to get to this point than I'd hoped. As mentioned in my first post on the subject, everything from the solebars down has had to be fashioned - mainly from scratch. So what you see here is a mix of re-purposed plastic spare parts, odd bits of etched detail and scratchbuilt items all cobbled together to give something approaching the underframe of one of these vans. There are quite a few more pieces to make, but it's getting there slowly! Matt

I've built a few Parkside ex-Blue Spot Fish Vans over the years, and nothing really wrong with any of them - it's a kit I really like. I've got a couple of Parcels related projects either on the go, or waiting to be started as I will need the odd few bits of stock for a future layout. For some unknown reason, I had one of these kits minus any of the underframe parts - absolutely no idea why, or where the parts have gone. So this means fabricating my own underframe from plastic section - the wheel irons are obviously etched, but that's simply because I had some to hand rather than for any other reason. Other than new buffers, the only real modification I've made to the body is to replace the door grab handles with wire. The prototype vans also have a grab handle each side of the door reveal frame, but I've omitted these because fitting them is more work than it's worth. The underframe parts and brake gear will be whatever I can salvage from the bits box, so is likely to be a motley collection of bits! Matt