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Cornish Riveria Formation
GWR Hawksworth coaches pre nationalisationIf it helps, here is the formation of one of the Riviera sets in 1947 as listed in Harris [there were of course two sets]:
Brake Third D131 [Hawksworth] - 838
Third C82 [Hawksworth] - 792
Third C73 [Collett] - 1490
Composite E158 [Collett] - 7327
Composite E155 [Collett] - 6136
Dining car H26 [Collett 70 ft] - 9571
First A22 [Collett] - 8100
Third C82 [Hawksworth] - 800
Brake Third D131 [Hawksworth] 837
-and the Plymouth portion:
Third C82 [Hawksworth] - 803
First A20 [Collett] - 8044
Brake Third D131 [Hawksworth] - 844
One might have thought that nothing but the latest stock was good enough for the Riviera and through most of history this was indeed the case. Before the advent of the BR Mk 1 in the 1950s there was a time when at least one Riviera set was all Hawksworth bar the diner, because there were no Hawksworth diners! No BCKs though, as Adrian said.
Chris
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GWR K22 Full Break
GWR K22 Full Brake from Worsley Works etchings (00)Inspired by Robin on A Nod To Brent I decided my fleet lacked a GWR Full Brake. with help from the chaps on ANTB I selected the Worsley Works etched sides and ends for a K22 Toplight.
Edit to say I have had an issue with photo download so this will continue shortly......
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GWR no 8 crane
Standard Cowans Sheldon 15T Crane (mk1 and mk2 Jib) announced!23 hours ago, Compound2632 said:As two of the prototypes, Stoke (BR) and Wellingborough (LMS) are cranes from the Midland's 1893 batch, there's a prima facie case that one of the versions will be the curved jib type, corresponding (in original condition) to the photo use in the publicity, with all the implications as to jib length and intermediate shaft bearings. I'm not familiar with the other two prototypes: are these the swan-necked type?
Remember that it is possible that you know more about the detail variations in these cranes than do Oxford Rail, who may well be working from a single set of drawings.
The other two cranes were both equipped with a swan neck jib - the problem lies in that according to the Tatlow volume, one (901628) was equipped with a short (24 feet) jib whilst the other (DS.316) was given a longer (26 feet) jib.
This being the case then at least one of them will be wrong if the specimens were chosen on the basis of having a swan neck jib without realising that jib lengths differed.
I emailed Oxford Rail to ask what length of jib was planned for the swan necked variants but as yet I haven't heard anything back.
I'm interested in a swan necked variant to pose as RS1021/15, allocated to Bolton Yard between 1960-65 so I'm in with a 50:50 chance of it being the required long jib type (it won't be the end of the world if it comes with a short jib as it should be easier to add length rather than remove it).
Therefore as it stands the curved jib MR variants should be the more likely of the two sets to be accurate in respect of jib length given they were both the same long jib type (presuming Oxford don't tool them with a short jib!).
EDIT: I've just looked at what drawings are available in the Tatlow volume to see what Oxford could use as a reference.
The curved jib variant is depicted with a detailed drawing showing both long or short jibs whilst the detailed drawing for the swan necked type depicts the crane supplied to the SER with a long jib (the drawing doesn't show the short version unlike that for the curved type).
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Lining pen use
How to hone/dress and use a ruling penMy last video uploaded to YouTube covered how to hone a cheap ruling pen. I took some drastic action to get it into a working state, but what happens if you have a better quality pen to start with?
For years I have kept a lookout for old drawing instruments at boot fairs, antique fairs and online auction sites. Generally speaking the older instruments are usually of a finer quality and need to be dressed with a little more finesse that I did in the YouTube video. As I wanted to be able to add closeup images I decided simple photographs would suffice along with some descriptive words.
My starting point for this exercise is an unbranded pen bought as a job lot. As is often the case it has no handle however the blades are in good condition and nice and thin:
I mentioned in the video that I have been known to make a new handle out of aluminium tube. In this instance I also needed a length of brass tube to act as a spacer. Both were cut to length:
5 minute epoxy has been used to glue the inner and outer handle together and to the pen:
Only 1200 grit wet and dry was used in the dressing process along with a good magnifier:
As in the video the blades were carefully reshaped:
Under magnification the tips look like this. The tip ends are a slightly different profile:
The tips are slightly different lengths. Some thinning of the blades can also be done:
Using 1200 grit wet and dry the first task was to get the tips to match so they are the same length:
and the same profile:
Working slowly and with constant reference to the magnifier I have refined the tips with the 1200 grit smoothing them off and thinning the edges:
With the pen prepared I could now try and see what it could achieve. It also managed to draw thinner lines but the pigment in the Humbrol Enamel could not be seen:Honing can be addictive. I thought I could probably improve the pen still further so thinned the blades a bit more and polished them with jeweller's rouge in a minidrill:
And after retesting:
So with a pen prepared time to actually use it for lining.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Something that does not come over very well in the videos is how to fill the pen.
A tin of Humbrol is stirred using a cocktail stick:
Some of the stirred paint is transferred to the pen:
The transferred paint is wiped over the blades leaving paint between them:
Finally any excess on the outside of the blades is wiped off (the grot behind the pen on the tissue is where I had cleaned the Humbrol paint lid and rim previously ensuring the lid would go on and give a good seal):
Once again some aspects could be imroved in the videos so I took the opportunity to reshoot:
Hope this topic proves of use. Happy to attempt to answer any questions.
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GWR seats
Henley-on-Thames - GWR in the 1930's2 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said:Southwark Models do GW etched brass seats, but you will have to ring Dave at Roxey Mouldings to order them as none of the range is listed on the website.
01392 245439
Thanks again....
The seats are listed, as are some lovely looking GWR Barrows:
https://www.roxeymouldings.co.uk/product/874/sbm4115-gwr-platform-seat-kit-shirt-button-end-2-/
They also have the GWR curly logo seats:
https://www.roxeymouldings.co.uk/product/873/sbm4114-gwr-platform-seat-kit-entwined-gwr-2-/
I wonder how many I need..... Clearly it's a need, not a want. :-)
https://www.roxeymouldings.co.uk/product/868/sbm4113-gwr-goods-hand-barrow-kit-2-/
Thanks again for the suggestion @Siberian Snooper
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Finney 2721
Martin Finney 2721 Pannier TankHi there It is some time since I have posted here and I am going to be building a Martin Finney 2721 0-6-0 Pannier tank to P4 Standards using Ultrascale wheels fully working inside motion DCC controlled with working headlamps glowing firebox and sound. The first thing I am going to do is assemble the coupling rods and then use them to set up my Avonside Chassis Jig for assembly of the chassis using the compensation method.
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43179 Pride of Laira
A few shades for modern HST liveries - Fag Packet and MML1 hour ago, The Fatadder said:I have at least half a set of those in my scrap box (presumably I have the other half somewhere as well, though I havent the faintest as to where). Will see if I can get a decent photo later.
I have a plan kicking around for a small layout based around a corner of Laira, for which I will end up finishing off a fair few powercars in Intercity and GWT Merlin liveries. Should it happen Pride of Laira will end up being one of the first to use up the plates!
43179 used to be nicknamed "Hide in Laira" during a long spell of poor availability so you will want to model that one, maybe with the roof panels off or up on the jacks in the shed...
When it got the cast plates they changed the background colour every other week, from memory red, dark red, black, gold and green were all used at some stage.
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Collett 'Bow Ended' Standard 57' Corridor Stock Coaches for 2016
Collett 'Bow Ended' Standard 57' Corridor Stock Coaches for 2016Visible on the picture above, on the top right of the carriage just below the roof sign, there is a symbol. Can someone enlighten me as to its purpose? I note some carriages have one but others two
Thanks
David
It is the seating capacity. Thirds only have one but comps will have two.
Mike Wiltshire
Further to Mike's post, here's a shot of Centenary First Diner 9635 as built:—
This shows that it had seating for 24 First Class passengers.
Thirds sat 8 to a compartment & Firsts sat 6, so the rule for compartment stock is:
Thirds — 3/(8 x Number of compartments)
Firsts — 1/(6 x Number of compartments)
Emergency seating (like the tip-up seats in the van of Trailers) is not included.
It looks like the coach in Mike's photo had 4 Firsts & 3 Thirds
On the real thing, each number is 1" high with a 3/16" drop shadow, so much respect to Hornby for pulling this off in 4mm.
This is the artwork for use on 7371 at Didcot at some point:—
2 x 1st - 4 x 3rd.
As far as I can tell from studying photos, the seat allocation numbers came into use sometime during the Lake period - possibly post WW1; if anyone can narrow that date down it'd be much appreciated.
Pete S.
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Tetbury
TetburyI was painting up some figures the other day for a few locos that are due to be sold, and I though that people might be interested in the process.
These fellas come from the Hardy's Hobbies range, and are bought as a bulk pack to get an economy of scale, although my preferred supplier is Modelu3d where the figures have more detail.
The first step is the undercoat. Here I use Halfords matt black. Its really intended for cars, but you get more for your cash. Leave to dry preferably overnight, and them you can move onto the flesh.
Why black? Well if you miss a bit, it looks like dirt or a shadow. Also, it does have an impact on the paints being applied over the top, and makes them more subdued.
Flesh tones are Tamiya flesh which I think gives the most realistic colour. (Humbrol and Warhammer paints are a bit too pink to my eye) Approximately paint the flesh bits and overlap slightly into other areas. We'll sort out any overpainting in the next stages Leave to cure.
I tend to leave it overnight again as the next stage I uses enamels, but if you are continuing to use acrylics, you'll probably be able to move onto the next stage after an hour.
Now our figures can start getting dressed. Here we start with anything visible under the clothes eg shirts. As these are enginemen, I use matt Humbrol 89 Middle Blue. Again, you can overlap onto the overclothes, but avoid getting any onto the flesh areas. I tend to use an Artists rigger brush to give a bit more brush control.
If you've applied the shirt colour lightly enough, you can probably move onto the next stage fairly swiftly (About 30 mins to an hour)
Now the contentious part. What colour are enginemen's blues? Well, this is anywhere between Oxford Blue upwards. Original enginemen's blues weren't colour fast, and were hard wearing, so examples of enginemen wearing light blue overalls are common. My enginemen's jacket is 10 years old now. I've heard stories of enginemen who would bleach their blues to make themselves look more senior and can think of one engineman I know who wears a jacket that's nearly white in colour.
Personally, whilst Oxford Blue is correct, to my eye it looks too dark (That's the guys on the right). I prefer Humbrol 96 RAF blue which gives a lighter hue. (That's the guys on the left) The gentleman 5th from the left uses RAF blue for the jacket and Oxford Blue for the trousers if you want a comparison.
Don't forget, that most people have hair, or remnants of. Male pattern baldness tends to affect the top and front, so under a hat won't be visible. I tend to use Humbrol 98 Chocolate for dark hair, and Humbrol 225 Middle Stone for blonde hair (I colour matched my daughters to get that right. Don't worry, I just held up the colour chart against her head) Some people have silver grey, but I've not reached that stage to be able to get a colour match.
Also, we can now apply details like ties. Here its Humbrol 98 Chocolate to give a brown western region type tie. That can be fiddly, so a very fine 5/0 artists detail brush is used here.
Finally, we can paint the greasetop hats. I just use Humbrol matt black 33. If you want, a bit of satin black to the top of the hat to represent the Garbardine material which does have a slight sheen. I personally don't worry unless the figure is leaning out of the cab window. Flat caps are a myriad of greys and browns, so what colour they get painted is up to you.
We can also add some more of the Humbrol 255 Middle Stone for shovel shafts. If keen, you can also add some Humbrol 27004 gunmetal to the shovel blades, but to be brutally honest, that effect is generally invisible once your crew is fitted to your loco cab!
You'll notice that there are two figure painting techniques I don't do.
Firstly is black washing and dry brushing. That looks great from a distance, but I find that a diluted black wash can make your figures look like oil paintings in a photo realistic world. Both of these figures have been black washed, yet the yard figures behind have not.
Dry brushing also I don't think is necessary. Why highlight the contours of a uniform, when the contours already exist? There is no dry brushing on the figure below.
Also, there is another technique when you leave a black gap between colour areas , but I'm yet to be convinced that it photographs well. Maybe I'll try a few next time and see if I can be converted. Perhaps my technique is a little basic, but I feel that there is no point over complicating things, after all, I've got layouts to create!
Sorry for the long post but thought it might be useful to some. Hopefully once Carterton has moved on a few stages, I can take a some more Tetbury photos if everyone is still interested.
Have a great bank holiday weekend folks!