Black Notley - BR Eastern

[Andrew P]

Looking very good Paul, I'm looking forward to see how you do the changes.

[pwr]

Found this on Wikipedia

 

Volvo F89

 

Seems to be the prototype for the IXO model

 

Paul R

[pwr]

12 hours ago, Andrew P said:

Looking very good Paul, I'm looking forward to see how you do the changes.

 

I think the biggest change I need to make is changing the location and orientation of the windscreen wipers. 

 

The actual steering column looks relatively easy to modify.

 

Paul R

[pwr]

Making some progress with the LowFit. Brake gear is now all done - very complicated brake gear these BR wagons. I have some small bits still to add and need to trim the long wires. The brake pull rods will be added after painting as if I place them now I can't get the wheels out for spraying.

 

 

I still need to alter the buffer beam droop at one corner but we are almost done for painting.

 

Paul R

[pwr]

Sorry about the lack of posts here but in my defence I have been decorating the conservatory which we have also had insulated so instead of the sweltering 40 degree heat it now stays at a pleasant 25 degrees. 

 

Anyhow I have been painting the LMS Banana and BR Lowfit. This is where I am at.

 

 

The Lowfit has just had a coat of deck plank from an old Humbrol tin which must be over 30 years old but after a good stir its as good as the day the tin was opened. I'll dry brush some grey over this once its dried before I can fir the transfers. Parkside kits come with them but Slaters do not although I have a sheet of HMRS wagon transfers that will provide the necessary. The two reverse Fyffes signs are the Hollar Banana van sheet of paper labels which I have covered in a coat of Faller plastic glue to provide a seal. Once dry I will glue them on to the van. In case anyone not aware they are available as a free download from the Gauge O Guild web site. I don't think you have to be a member.

 

In other news one of my best friends was having a clear out and sent me two unidentified wagons which as an LNER modeller he was sure were not from that parentage. As far as I can see they are PFA wagons which were introduced in 1986 for Cawoods containerised coal. I suspect they may be Skytrex and checked their website without any luck but they do have some of the containers available so I ordered two. How long they will take to come I don't know. I'll post some pics later this week when I have glued the brake handles and its that fell off back on to the wagons.

 

On top of that he had previously sent me a BR MK1 BG he no longer wanted - a Westdale kit. I am going to make it up as one of the support vehicles for the APT POP train and have obtained a set of B4 bogies from Invertrain, some window surrounds and an interior kit from Easy Build and I am now waiting on wheels. What I don't have and can't seem to source a decent kit for are some MK 1 gangways. 

 

In terms of APT-E construction I have now figured out a way of making the coaches for this and need to have a word with a friend who has a CNC cutter. I'll explain more when I have the first of the bits. Suffice it to say I have to prepare a template for cutting out.  I've got 7mm scale drawings and hope to start that soon as well as finish off numerous other started kits!

 

All for now

 

Paul R

Edited April 3, 2022 by pwr

[pwr]

Here are the photos of the PFA I promised.  I haven't done any repairs on them and you can see that the buffer heads are missing - I don't think they were ever fitted - and the brake gear lever on 3 of the 4 sides is missing. I have these plus some steps that fell off.  I have loaded one of my scratch built containers on for sizing purposes.  I think the actual coal containers were 8' 6" or even 9'. There are no couplings fitted either.

 

Anyhow what do you all think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul R

Edited April 3, 2022 by pwr

[pwr]

Transfers this afternoon.

 

Those on the Parkside Banana are included within the kit and are simple waterslide.

 

 

You can see the gloss varnish applied to the areas where the transfers were to go. They will now get a further coat once the transfers have gone hard. Then I will use some watering powders to tone down followed by matt varnish after which the wheels buffers and couplings will go on and then its done.

 

The Fyffes posters were fitted with Faller Expert and varnished to seal them.

 

The Lowfit was slightly more problematic. Slaters do not supply transfers so I have resorted to my HMRS wagon transfer sheet. however its so old that all the stickiness has gone and the first attempt resulted in the Lowfit name coming apart.

 

Then I did a quick look up on the web and found out that if this happens treat them as methfix transfers which I much prefer in any event. So hey presto after fixing with meths/water solution I have now nearly finished the wagon

 

 

The fuzziness over the wagon number is the backing sheet drying off before I can soak it with water and lift it off with the transfers intact underneath. The number carried is there same as the prototype preserved on the Watercress line whose photo I downloaded as a guide.

 

Again once these are hardened off they will be coated in anger coat of gloss before some watering - not much in this case- and a final coat of matt before the buffers, wheels, pipes and couplings go in. This will be fitted with a Dapol Instanter whereas I shall probably fit the scew coupling from the Slaters kit to the  Parkside banana van. Parkside only ever supplying 3 link.

 

I'll post some pictures of the finished wagons in due course

 

Paul R

Edited April 3, 2022 by pwr

[Andrew P]

Excellent job young Paul.

[pwr]

Well I have managed to do exactly what I said I wold not and have started yet another kit. The BG that my friend sent me has been started in between doing bits on other wagons.

 

The LMS Banana and the BR Lowfit have been weathered using watering powders and are currently drying having had a couple of coats of matt varnish. Worryingly some bubbles have appeared on the corner roof of the van which have popped but have left what look like small craters behind. I'll have to see how it dried but I may have the dry brush it out with thinners and re-coat. Once the varnish is all done and dusted I can finish them off.

 

The BG is a Westdale kit made of aluminium for the body with a wooden floor and white metal castings and brass channel for the under frames.  Despite having a couple of Mk1's in the loft somewhere  and  Cravens and MetCamm DMU sets in the waiting to be built pile, I have never actually made a Westdale kit although aluminium does take paint very well if prepared properly. I did build an old MTK class 309 in 4mm which I still have and that went together OK so I am hopeful that this will do just fine. I have seen others who have made good jobs of these so I am relatively confident.

 

 

This is the kit viewed side on. The non for windows will be fitted with Easy Build window surrounds to represent a late built version and though its going to be finished in Blue/Grey it will have B4 bogies which I have obtained although wheels remain on order. There were no bogies in the kit surprisingly although it did have a set of 3' 6" wheels.

 

 

 

These next two show the ends glued in with Araldite epoxy metal glue. I have fitted some styrene strip to help fix them in place which I curved to the shape of the body by cutting out a series of 'V' notches and bending the strip to shape before gluing in. The top of the end was secured with superglue but I will follow that up with a fillet of epoxy. Quite a bit of filling and fettling will be needed to get the ends right but I am pleased with the start. You won't see the end corners once its put together.

 

I have found some door hinges in stock and some door handles although I don't have any of the long handles for the doubt doors.There are no grab handles on a BG.

 

I need to get some bump stops (Laurie Griffen does those) and some shell vents - the kit is supplied with early scalloped variety which is wrong for this late version. I'll check other kits I have in case I can plunder those but otherwise I'll need to source some. I did get some for the Easy Build MK1 SK which I still have not finished, but I can't remember where they came from!  

 

As I said this will be very much a fill in kit as I need to finish the BAA and Freightliner sets first. 

 

Anyhow all for now

 

Paul R

Edited April 3, 2022 by pwr

[jcarta]

Great start Paul, hope you'll going to keep us up to date with the build, lots of pictures please

 

Jim

[pwr]

On 18/06/2021 at 08:07, jcarta said:

Great start Paul, hope you'll going to keep us up to date with the build, lots of pictures please

 

Jim

Will do Jim

 

The guards interior etch came today so that part of the kit is here. Just need some shell vents, wheels and door bump stops. Still pondering over the gangways.

 

Paul R

[pwr]

Today I received another parcel, this time the two containers from Skytrex for the PFA.

 

Whilst I am not a fan of resin I am quite impressed with these.

 

 

There is some minimal flash to clear on the under frame but they are not bad. End detail not quite sqare but I will have to live with that.

 

 

 

I will probably cover the fake coal load with real coal but again its a reasonable representation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They come with a set of Cawoods transfers.

 

Just need to repair the wagons, decide on what to do about the buffers and get some screw link couplings and that will be that.

 

The Banana van and Lowfit continue to make progress. Both are back on their wheels and I managed to rescue the roof on the Banana van.

 

Final detail work now underway.

 

I am fitting Dapol Instanter to the Lowfit - best I have seen - and the screw coupling that came in the Slaters kit will go on the Banana as I have no more Dapol screw links in stock. The only ones I have are destined for the BAA and Freightliner sets.

 

Still no wheels for the BG - Invertrain must be out of stock.

 

All for now 

 

Paul R

Edited April 4, 2022 by pwr

[pwr]

The long awaited Dapol Conflat A has arrived and two of them have been shunted to the yard at Black Notley having arrived off a parcels train.

 

 

Nice models these and both the wagons and containers have different numbers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pre-arrival images showed the restraining chains fitted but these are not present on the model being supplied as a fret for the purchaser to fit. There is a hole at each end of the container into which a spigot fits and the other end is caught on the Conflat hook 1/3 and 2/3 on each deck. Shouldn't take much to fit them but there are no instructions in the box.

 

 

As usual the curse of the Dapol quality control rears its head again and one of the couplings fell off as I took the wagon out of the box. They are screw couplings - which is pleasing to see - but one of them was not tight enough around the hook and fell out. A quick fix with pliers and tweezers but frankly I should not have to fix this problem and coming on the back of a previous missing buffer on an open - still not rectified - missing bearings on a banana - had to sort myself -  missing coupling on a banana - again had to sort myself, you can see why I am frustrated with Dapol and their rather poor quality control.

 

In other news the Parkside banana is finished and the Lowfit is in the middle of being fitted with Instanter couplings and brake pipes which will be done shortly after which I will post photos.

 

Paul R

Edited April 3, 2022 by pwr

[jcarta]

Paul

 

They look very nice....

[pwr]

57 minutes ago, jcarta said:

Paul

 

They look very nice....

 

They do Andy. I remember these from my school days when I used to travel from Witham to Colchester and back. Every day they used to bring one of these out of the yard propelled by a class 15 initially then when they were withdrawn a class 03 then 08. They would work it round from the yard and lave it in the siding adjacent to Platform 6. They would then pull the parcels vans out from Platform 6 and collect the conflat and shunt the whole train back into Platform 6.

 

To this day I have not been able to find out what happened to it from there and what the contents were. I did raise a query to the GER Society e-group but nobody seems to know.

 

Paul R

[Andrew P]

4 minutes ago, pwr said:

 

They do Andy. I remember these from my school days when I used to travel from Witham to Colchester and back. Every day they used to bring one of these out of the yard propelled by a class 15 initially then when they were withdrawn a class 03 then 08. They would work it round from the yard and lave it in the siding adjacent to Platform 6. They would then pull the parcels vans out from Platform 6 and collect the conflat and shunt the whole train back into Platform 6.

 

To this day I have not been able to find out what happened to it from there and what the contents were. I did raise a query to the GER Society e-group but nobody seems to know.

 

Paul R

I think you meant JIM, but close enough Dave WHOOPS, Paul.

[Hal Nail]

5 hours ago, pwr said:

As usual the curse of the Dapol quality control rears its head again and one of the couplings fell off as I took the wagon out of the box. 

Looks like a couple of your chains are broken as well.

 

I'm sticking with the Slaters BR type rather than these ex GWR designs but I wouldnt mind some of those chains as long as they are in one piece!

Edited June 23, 2021 by Hal Nail

[pwr]

12 hours ago, Andrew P said:

I think you meant JIM, but close enough Dave WHOOPS, Paul.

 

Oopa yes sorry Jim!

[pwr]

12 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

Looks like a couple of your chains are broken as well.

 

I'm sticking with the Slaters BR type rather than these ex GWR designs but I wouldnt mind some of those chains as long as they are in one piece!

 

Hadn't noted that but I am not entirely surprised. They would have been better made of metal - hopefully they will glue back together but again poor quality control from Dapol.

 

Paul R

[pwr]

12 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

Looks like a couple of your chains are broken as well.

 

I'm sticking with the Slaters BR type rather than these ex GWR designs but I wouldnt mind some of those chains as long as they are in one piece!

 

So I contacted Hattons about this and they are sold out and can only offer a refund and an offer to pre-order from the next batch. However that could be months and the price will have gone up again for sure! 

 

Have decided to try and repair. Like you I have some Slaters kits is stock and I also have the Parkside Conflat kit which I made up some time ago but this is probably the GWR version that Dapol have done.

 

Paul R

[pwr]

Well I have now finished the Lowfit and the LMS Banana van - yes I have actually finished something!

 

Here are the photos on the layout

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

F

 

o

 

r comparison purposes I have put the LMS Banana next to the Southern version. These two (and the Freightman LMS version of the same diagram) will break up the Dapol monotony and allow me to run a more prototypical train.

 

 

Now I am going to try and fix those conflat chains and I have a few bits of plastikard to stick into the BG to prevent the floor riding up into the coach body. Photos later

 

Paul R

Edited April 4, 2022 by pwr

[jcarta]

They have definitely come out very well .... Top Job  

[pwr]

16 hours ago, jcarta said:

They have definitely come out very well .... Top Job  

 

I think Slaters wagons are more fiddly than Parkside but they make up into a slightly better wagon in my opinion. 

 

That said there is not much cross over between the ranges.

 

Paul R

[AJon30]

Hi. Just got my earlier version of the conflat - not sure about the markings - should the 13 before the B number be actually 13T and in smaller script?

 

Rgds Andrew

Edited June 25, 2021 by AJon30
spelling

[Hal Nail]

3 minutes ago, AJon30 said:

Hi. Just got my earlier version of the conflat - not sure about the markings - should the 13 before the B number be actually 13T and in smaller script?

 

Rgds Andrew

 

This is covered elsewhere. Normally yes but not for the first time, Dapol have managed to find an obscure random variation and have modelled that accurately!