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Bachmann Parrot Wagon


Garethp8873
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I have dismantled my Parrot and Warflat and both share a common casting for the chassis wit a different mould for the solebars and floor.

 

The only difference out of the box is the plastic mountings for the vacuum cylinders plus associated Cylinders and reservoir are not in the accessory bag!

 

Mark Saunders

 

 

Bachmann_Warflat_Parrot.JPG

Edited by Mark Saunders
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I have two of the versions with covered tanks on order but I wanted to make my own carrying some French Renault FT tanks en route to the Americans. I will print the transfers of the lettering myself. I had got some scale chain painted up but from the photograph I am working to, it looks like wood was enough to hold them. I will use balsa for that. This is as far as I have got so far. I'll add weathering later. I had recently bought the matt black and matt dark grey for re-spraying all my ROD locomotives. As well as the re-spray, I have changed the wheels to older spoked wheels.

 

 

 

 

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9 hours ago, Model Railway Noob said:

I have two of the versions with covered tanks on order but I wanted to make my own carrying some French Renault FT tanks en route to the Americans. I will print the transfers of the lettering myself. I had got some scale chain painted up but from the photograph I am working to, it looks like wood was enough to hold them. I will use balsa for that. This is as far as I have got so far. I'll add weathering later. I had recently bought the matt black and matt dark grey for re-spraying all my ROD locomotives. As well as the re-spray, I have changed the wheels to older spoked wheels.

 

 

 

 

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Excellent work mate! What version did you start off with?

Also, what paint did you use for the Khaki? Been looking for that shade for ages! 

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2 hours ago, SDJR7F88 said:

Excellent work mate! What version did you start off with?

Also, what paint did you use for the Khaki? Been looking for that shade for ages! 

 

Hi Callum,

 

I started off with 38-727 but 38-741 would be better as it already has the correct wheels.

 

I will get back to you about the khaki as I am away from home until later but it is something like Humbrol dark brown. It took me ages to get the right greeny brown khaki for tanks, although grey would have done. The ambulances/WD narrow gauge are painted in an olive drab which is the closest match I could find to the green ambulances. I have also just bought Halfords camouflage range khaki as that looks good but need to test it first. I am respraying 16 ambulance coaches in the correct colours for the war department spec of French grey tops and khaki bottom. They also had red and yellow piping! The roof looked light grey but the first British CAT (AT12) was all khaki with an almost white roof. Later CATs had two red crosses on each side, a WD crown emblem and the words, War Department Ambulance Train or coach (from memory). There is also a designated numbering and order to follow denoting what each coach was used for. 

The Bachmann AT40 is way off the mark in my view and that train was destined for Pallestine but went to Egypt first I understand, as the original crane in Pallestine could not lift the coaches. All the ATs I have seen photos of in that theatre looked very light grey or white! However Bachmann were offered a photo of the original AT40 so they will know what colour it was. They were offered this after production though. Bachmann's chose 40 because it was one of the two Midland trains and suited the coaches they

already had, presumably and understandably to keep costs down. I am modelling the other which is AT34 and was war department spec. It visited the CCS I am doing and they  covered the North Midland division. The AT number has also been quite small on all the photos I have seen. The American ATs were all British made in the WD specificatuon and colours. It took me ages to source French grey paint!

 

Michael

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1 hour ago, Model Railway Noob said:

 

Hi Callum,

 

I started off with 38-727 but 38-741 would be better as it already has the correct wheels.

 

I will get back to you about the khaki as I am away from home until later but it is something like Humbrol dark brown. It took me ages to get the right greeny brown khaki for tanks, although grey would have done. The ambulances/WD narrow gauge are painted in an olive drab which is the closest match I could find to the green ambulances. I have also just bought Halfords camouflage range khaki as that looks good but need to test it first. I am respraying 16 ambulance coaches in the correct colours for the war department spec of French grey tops and khaki bottom. They also had red and yellow piping! The roof looked light grey but the first British CAT (AT12) was all khaki with an almost white roof. Later CATs had two red crosses on each side, a WD crown emblem and the words, War Department Ambulance Train or coach (from memory). There is also a designated numbering and order to follow denoting what each coach was used for. 

The Bachmann AT40 is way off the mark in my view and that train was destined for Pallestine but went to Egypt first I understand, as the original crane in Pallestine could not lift the coaches. All the ATs I have seen photos of in that theatre looked very light grey or white! However Bachmann were offered a photo of the original AT40 so they will know what colour it was. They were offered this after production though. Bachmann's chose 40 because it was one of the two Midland trains and suited the coaches they

already had, presumably and understandably to keep costs down. I am modelling the other which is AT34 and was war department spec. It visited the CCS I am doing and they  covered the North Midland division. The AT number has also been quite small on all the photos I have seen. The American ATs were all British made in the WD specificatuon and colours. It took me ages to source French grey paint!

 

Michael

Thanks for the info, send me pics of when you do, as I've been looking at modelling the French Grey Ambalance Train, using RailRoad Teaks as the base models. Do you havea topic on your WW1 builds? 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all,

 

Here is the first of two I have ordered together with an update on my own. For my own, decals and weathering soon!

 

Sheeted tank carrier: 

 

Pros

  • Good weight
  • Magnet holding on tank
  • Cover sheeting looks good
  • Like the Parrot but personally prefer black with white lettering
  • Looks nice though

 

Cons

  • The front of the tank angle looks wrong to me
  • Scale-wise it looks too high and narrow - presumably to fit on an existing model at that scale
  • Cost

I may add my own sheeted tank to the Bachmann Parrot.

 

I'd be intere366996011_Bachmanntank.jpg.1aa433ac6fe989578c18adc526e50491.jpgsted ot see your thoughts.my_tank_carrier.jpg.743ed47675e88ed1668c0d829e86a7d2.jpg

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I wasn't too keen on the sheeted tank. The front angle is wrong and it looks a bit higher than it should. With this in mind I tried a couple of my own. They aren't glued in place yet and the Parrots will need weathering too.

I have several photographs. Those newly in from the UK seemed to be covered. When used and then being transported, they just had the retracted sponsons covered. I noted that a female in one photo was on a train and didn't have it's sponsons retracted, possibly because they were smaller. 

 

 

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The sheeting was hanging off the tracks at the front, it isn’t always wrapped up like a present ;) Looks just like some photos. 

Look at the third photo down here and I have seen them at Wool with a train load wrapped just like that. 

https://tank100.com/david-fletcher/tanks-on-trains/

 

Edited by PaulRhB
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17 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

The sheeting was hanging off the tracks at the front, it isn’t always wrapped up like a present ;) Looks just like some photos. 

Look at the third photo down here and I have seen them at Wool with a train load wrapped just like that. 

https://tank100.com/david-fletcher/tanks-on-trains/

 

 

Thanks for the pics Paul. I have commented on my layout thread that the covering was used in a whole range of ways in the collection of photographs I have. At first I thought they were initially completely wrapped from the UK when they were secret but Mk Vs were wrapped the same way, so maybe it was how they were supposed to leave the factory. All of the photos where they are being transported within France after use seem to only cover the sponsons or none at all if going for repair. I suppose it depended who was handling them and time and equipment constraints etc. Having said that I haven't researched beyond the photographs. I didn't like the front angle on Bachmann's wrapped version but others here won't mind at all.

gwr-macaw-tanks.jpg

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post-19663-0-68274500-1387210047.jpg

wd5724-polls.jpg

Edited by Model Railway Noob
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interesting to see the GWR strengthened Macaws being used for the tanks. These were so strong several survived to have long lives including in private internal use.

https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/gwrbolster/e2eb4680f   https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/gwrbolster/e281eb587

https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/gwrbolster/e6124e0a9   https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/gwrbolster/e67dbd86a

 

there are a number of close up photos.

 

Paul

 

 

 

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4 hours ago, hmrspaul said:

interesting to see the GWR strengthened Macaws being used for the tanks. These were so strong several survived to have long lives including in private internal use.

https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/gwrbolster/e2eb4680f   https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/gwrbolster/e281eb587

https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/gwrbolster/e6124e0a9   https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/gwrbolster/e67dbd86a

 

there are a number of close up photos.

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

Did you post some of your photos about WWI wagons etc some years ago when someone asked what was used? It could have been a different forum.  When I first started researching this layout, I saw links to the strengthened Macaws because I did buy some of those initially to modify based on these photos. I suspect the ones I saw were yours. They certainly looked like it.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

A short running session featuring the all new Bachmann WW1 Parrot Tank Wagons, with tank loads. These wagons were widely used during WW1, transporting tanks and heavy machinery to and from the front. 
In this video we see a rake of 9 Parrot Wagons loaded with fresh tanks, being prepared by ROD Baldwin 0-6-0T, No. 690, in the yards, before ROD 2-8-0, 1918, collects the full rake, heading for the front. 

Hope you enjoy

 

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On 08/01/2018 at 05:05, jklakes said:

post-19663-0-07155100-1387209966.jpg

This and the other photo's of tanks in 1917 were mainly taken at The Plateau before and after the Battle of Cambrai, the yard at The Plateau was built by a US Army railway construction battalion. As for how the tanks got onto the wagon, they drove onto the end wagon via a sleeper ramp, much like cars and trucks have for years. Later in the war, 1918, the four wheel ramp wagon was introduced. The ramp wagon significantly improved the deployability of tanks as a stub siding with end ramp, or a siding with a side loading ramp wasn't needed. Similarly, the ramp wagon most significantly improved the 'operational security" of tank operations, as they didn't have to spend a day or more building ramps that may be spotted by German aerial reconnaisance or balloon surveillance. 

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  • 3 months later...

I ended up emailing Bachmann, and was told that there are no jacks in the accessory pack for the LMS Parrot (I believe the LMS actually named these wagons "Quad"). 

 

I realise that Bachmann priced the OO Gauge Parrot wagons based at the same price of the WW2 Warflats, which have quite a good Cromwell MkIV tank.  But, I must say that I am amused by Bachmann's recommended price of £56.95 for #38-740 WD 40T 'Parrot' Bogie Wagon WD Grey With Sheeted Tank, compared to the LMS "Quad" wagon version minus end jacks for £41.95.  There is not £15 in the "sheeted tank" resin blob, which others have pointed out doesn't match the profile of a WWI MkIV or MkV tank, and is poorly represented by the covering "sheet", which has the weave of a fishing net.

 

A great pity Bachmann didn't also release a WD Parrot wagon with jacks without the tank load, as there are a few 3D printed and resin MkIV and MkV tanks that would make much better loads available from small wargaming manufacturers.

 

 

Cheers,

Chris

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