S7 scratch building

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, Coal Tank said:

Its a shame that we cant get finer Wagon wheels

 

Have you tried the chocolate biscuits aisle?

 

Dave

[airnimal]

A little bit of a change from the usual.  My friend  Peter asked me to lightly tone down the paint on his brewery tanker. This is to go on his layout which has a brewery on it which I scratch built for him about 10 years ago.

[airnimal]

I have being doing work around the house to get it ready to be put up for sale including laying a new floor tiles in the bathroom after we had trouble with a perished bath seal. 

I want to move house after being here for over half my life, but I think it is going to be stressful after so long in the same place. We went to view a house today that was in the perfect  location but it had not been touch for many years and would have required about 50K spending on it. 

 

Anyway I have being looking at doing a few more wagons but I am running out of parts. Or more precisely the parts I require for the wagons I wish to build. I still have lots of parts from various places acquired long ago but they don't neccessarily match up together. 

 

I have found 3 sets of white metal buffers that claim to be Caledonian Railway but which one is the correct shape. They all have a web down one side, but the shape on the other side are all different. Perhaps someone north of the border will know ?

I have Cambrain buffers but no axleboxes.  I have lots of other buffers that I don't know they origins but without W-irons. I think I could do with a clear out and restock on parts that I require. 

 

I really wanted to start some baseboards for a layout or diorama but it not worth it until I know the amount of space I will have when we finally do move house. 

[Caley Jim]

4 minutes ago, airnimal said:

I have found 3 sets of white metal buffers that claim to be Caledonian Railway but which one is the correct shape. They all have a web down one side, but the shape on the other side are all different. Perhaps someone north of the border will know ?

Checking in Mike Williams' book on CR wagons, there were several types which were of a similar pattern and all three of these fit the photos.

 

I can scan the relevant pages from the book and PM them to you if that would help.

 

Jim

[airnimal]

Jim, thank you but I have the book here in front of me and I dont think that anyone of the three matches exactly the photographs or drawings. It could be that the pattern makers haven't got it completely right or there isn't a good enough photograph that that show the buffers from all sides. 

It is a bit late now so I will check all the photographs  in the the book tomorrow. 

[airnimal]

Going through the Caledonian wagon book I think the buffers I have are from Caledonian Railway wagons. At least the two outside ones are, I am not so sure on the ones in the middle. 

I have been through my parts supply and now I have misplaced my etch W-irons to go with the buffers. I have had a right ear bashing from my better half for not putting them away safely. I spend hours looking for stuff that I have put away but can never find again. Perhaps the carpet monster has grown bigger and swallowed larger items. 

 

So looking in the same book I like the look of a furniture van truck in plate 12.1 that could be a contender for a model. But there isn't a drawing only a description which states that the early ones had 3' 6" Mansell wheels. The photograph of wagon No 27 clearly has spoke wheels but are they the same size or normal 3' 1" wheels ? I have the buffers I could use and the axleboxes look normal enough but would have to guess at the brake gear. This wagon could come south of the border with a nice carriage on it. The headstocks seem very thin and tall and the solebars are in shadow so not making it very clear regarding the iron work. 

 

Failure to find out about this wagons I could model a couple of wagons in the NSR wagon book that I have made before. The ones I like are unpainted dumb buffer wagons with a narrow boat load. 

Now if I can source a model narrow boat as a load it might be a runner. I know Skytrex do a couple but could I adapt on as a load ?

[Mol_PMB]

Langley models do a couple of options for narrow boats, might be better than the Skytrex ones? 

 

https://www.langleymodels.co.uk/awd1/index.php?route=product/product&path=225_227_226&product_id=6535

[Caley Jim]

4 hours ago, airnimal said:

So looking in the same book I like the look of a furniture van truck in plate 12.1 that could be a contender for a model. But there isn't a drawing only a description which states that the early ones had 3' 6" Mansell wheels. The photograph of wagon No 27 clearly has spoke wheels but are they the same size or normal 3' 1" wheels ? I have the buffers I could use and the axleboxes look normal enough but would have to guess at the brake gear. This wagon could come south of the border with a nice carriage on it. The headstocks seem very thin and tall and the solebars are in shadow so not making it very clear regarding the iron work. 

Sorry, Mike.  I can't help you there.  It's not on the CRA's CD of wagon drawings and, not being in the diagram book, I can't even give you basic dimensions.  What I would say, however, is that the buffers are not the same as any of the ones you have, being the early self-contained type which were rather more bulbous at the headstock end.

 

Jim

[airnimal]

Mol_PMB,  thank you for the information about canal boats from Langley models. I hadn't been aware of them. I have decided not to do these just yet. I think I have to much on my mind with thinking about trying to find a new house rather than tackle something so bold.

 

Jim, again  thank you for your help. I do have other buffers that are correct for wagon No 27 but as i have put aside the Calendonian wagons because I can't find my etched W-irons for these wagons. 

 

Having enjoyed building the NSR wagons I have decided to build a NSR van. I do know that Marc at Furness wagons does produce a kit for this van but from my past kit building I wouldn't be able to do it justice if I bought one. So it's my usual scratch built which I am more familiar with. 

So a basic frame has been knocked up and a start on the body has got going. 

Edited March 11, 2021 by airnimal

[MarcD]

We did produce a kit for one but the moulds died some time ago. I have the idea to retool but we have not had any customers asking for it I have put it on the back burner. 

Marc

[airnimal]

The basic shape has been completed and a roof has been found but needs trimming to size. The doors are next but the frames are not as deep. That is the reason I didn't make the sides all in one.  The difference is not great but I think it pays to have them slightly different depths.

[Compound2632]

23 minutes ago, airnimal said:

The doors are next but the frames are not as deep. That is the reason I didn't make the sides all in one.  The difference is not great but I think it pays to have them slightly different depths.

 

Nicely observed, seldom modelled.

Edited March 12, 2021 by Compound2632

[airnimal]

I should really be doing work around the house to get it ready to put it on the market but my motivation is sadly lacking. I could do with a kick up the backside because it won't do itself. 

I am also waiting for model materials from 3 different sources which are taking  forever. 

 

Now I have put the doors on it is beginning to look like a NSR van. 

The doors have been put on the other side so it's a bit further  on.

Edited March 12, 2021 by airnimal

[ian@stenochs]

I should really be doing work around the house to get it ready to put it on the market but my motivation is sadly lacking. I could do with a kick up the backside because it won't do itself. 
 

Mike,

 

It can be a bit counterproductive to do much in your house before putting it on the market. New paint or wallpaper can indicate to prospective buyers that you have something to hide!  Even though you’re not hiding anything  the new owner will probably paint over it!

 

What does help is removing clutter so just make sure you have a tidy workbench and carry on with the superb modelling.

 

Ian.

[Western Star]

1 hour ago, airnimal said:

Now I have put the doors on it is beginning to look like a NSR van.

How have you built the door / framing...  and then fitted the result into the body shell?

[airnimal]

Graham, I glued the outside door frame pillars to the ones already there and when dry added the backing planks before doing the rest of the door frame. I will have to make new metal pieces to place between the frames to rest my scalpel on to do the chamfering. 

 

I have a confession to make ! The body is a scale inch to narrow. It should be 7 ' 4" and it's only 7' 3". 

I hope that standards are not slipping.  I will go to the back of the class.

[airnimal]

A bit of a change from the usual.  I bought this brass loco at Telford in 2019 and had it converted to S7 standards last year. I thought the paint work was brilliant but a little to clean for a working engine.  The buffers were painted grey which I didn't like so I repainted them to a wood colour. I have then attacked them with some powders to tone them down to a more reasonable colour. The paint work is still clean but not with the very bright shine. It still needs a Jack and a few oil cans and a crew. The wheels need the tyres doing something with but I think they are stainless steel which doesn't take to chemical black as normal steel wheels do. I think I will have to paint them. I also need to change the links on the couplings. 

Edited March 13, 2021 by airnimal

[Tricky]

Mike, if I had a drawing I could make you a narrow boat from scratch?

[Coal Tank]

Hi Mike when Ken Newman did his P4 Wagon wheels they had stainless  rims he said use a black market pen

[NeilHB]

The Knotty van is coming along very nicely Mike. 
 

For painting the wheels on my wagons I use an extra fine black Posca Paint Pen as it dries to a nice matt finish - I’ve tried permanent markers before and find that they tend to have a bluish hue to them.

 

I buy mine from Cult Pens as they aren’t expensive and they ship quite quickly: 
https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/UN07953/uni-posca-marker-pen-pc-1m-extra-fine

 

 

[Regularity]

3 hours ago, Coal Tank said:

Hi Mike when Ken Newman did his P4 Wagon wheels they had stainless  rims he said use a black market pen

I believe it is also possible to buy black marker pens legally, too...

[airnimal]

Richard, thank you for the kind offer of a scratch built narrow boat. I do love canals and narrow boats and will hopefully have at least one somewhere down the line when I move house and have a diorama or layout. But I think it is a bit premature to have one just yet even as a wagon load. I will come back to you because I do want some of your packing cases / tea chests / posters in the future. 

 

Neil, thank you for the information about Posca pens, one is on order. I have tried other brands that didn't work on stainless steel so hopefully this one will.

 

I required some 3 bolt buffers for this van and I had some in stock but out of the 8 I have only 3 were of good quality. So I am making my own from my own plain castings that I had left over from my brake van kit. On the brake van kit the bolts were cast into  the base plate on the body casting. 

So I have drilled 3 holes in a brass washer to act as a drilling jig. I soldered this to the base of the buffer casting and the 3 holes drilled before the washer was taken off. I just need to add the Masterclub bolts when I have fixed them to the van body.

 

I have also cut some new plates to fit between the frames to rest the scalpel on when I do the chamfering.

[Worsdell forever]

2 hours ago, airnimal said:

I have also cut some new plates to fit between the frames to rest the scalpel on when I do the chamfering.

 

 

At first glance I wondered why you'd cut some of the body side panels out... then I read the text. 

[airnimal]

A small amount of work has been done today. The buffers are on with hexagonal bolts and a start on the ironwork.  The chamfer has been done on this end but I don't think it will be noticed until after painting. 

[Caley Jim]

You've captured these subtle chamfers beautifully, Mike. 

 

Jim