Nether Madder and Green Soudley Rly

[ianathompson]

20 hours ago, Regularity said:

I was under the impression that Hornby had bought Humbrol?

 

I stand corrected.

Still suuspicious of the paint, however!

 

Ian T

[Martin S-C]

Since I started using Mig Ammo acrylics a couple of years back I haven't touched any Humbrol products except a couple of spray cans used for undercoating, and the few Railmatch pots I have seem to be weak products compared to the paints manufactured for the military diorama and wargame community. I don't know if this is a deliberate thing or driven by market forces or what. Possibly there's a bigger market in the military modelling hobby than there is in the model railway hobby that affects the type and quality of products (that is how much a manufacturer can invest in terms of costs vs market return). I imagine a very significant portion of the model railway customer base use RTR models while almost the entire military modelling customer base buy kits which need painting. That might be one reason why military modelling paints and other supplies like washes and powders and the new generation of "shaded paints" are a thing and model railway paint products appear to be falling behind the times in both quality and breadth of range.

Or of course this may be entirely subjective and incorrect!

[Denbridge]

4 hours ago, Martin S-C said:

Since I started using Mig Ammo acrylics a couple of years back I haven't touched any Humbrol products except a couple of spray cans used for undercoating, and the few Railmatch pots I have seem to be weak products compared to the paints manufactured for the military diorama and wargame community. I don't know if this is a deliberate thing or driven by market forces or what. Possibly there's a bigger market in the military modelling hobby than there is in the model railway hobby that affects the type and quality of products (that is how much a manufacturer can invest in terms of costs vs market return). I imagine a very significant portion of the model railway customer base use RTR models while almost the entire military modelling customer base buy kits which need painting. That might be one reason why military modelling paints and other supplies like washes and powders and the new generation of "shaded paints" are a thing and model railway paint products appear to be falling behind the times in both quality and breadth of range.

Or of course this may be entirely subjective and incorrect!

I've used precision paints for railway modelling almost exclusively since at least the early 90's. My experiences of Humbrol and Railmatch in recent years has only reinforced my view.

[Regularity]

23 hours ago, Martin S-C said:

I imagine a very significant portion of the model railway customer base use RTR models while almost the entire military modelling customer base buy kits which need painting.

Whilst you may be subjective and incorrect, I think you have hit things firmly on the head with that difference.

On the other hand, they usually build small static dioramas or just individual models which don't work.

[Corbs]

On 15/11/2021 at 16:35, Martin S-C said:

The varnish I used was Testors Dullcote. Its an old can getting near the end so I wonder if its past its use by date? I've had no adverse reactions between it and acrylic thinners before. Of course it could be something else like a temperature or humidity thing or the paint I was thinning... lots of variables.

 

How warm was the can Martin? I have taken to running the can under the hot tap for a bit before spraying as I have had a lot of issues with varnish blooming, sometimes also down to trapped moisture on the model if I haven't let it dry for long enough.

[Martin S-C]

2 hours ago, Regularity said:

On the other hand, they usually build small static dioramas or just individual models which don't work.

Well yes, the diorama people do but wargamers don't - and being one myself the paint finish there has to be robust and suffer a lot of handling - and that's just not troops and vehicles but scenery itself. I assume your "don't work" comment was either tongue in cheek or a reference to static/no handling but the latter isn't the case any more than most model railways which are entirely static other than the trains and the occasional moving cameo parts (though that dreadful model railway building competition programme would have us all think every layout was packed with action as though it were populated by Diddy Men).

And to stay on topic, here's a pile of wagons.


And, for no other reason than its the funniest thing I've seen in months, this:

https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/posts/5021800391188542

[Regularity]

Yes, I was being cheeky: I think modellers of other subjects are often streets ahead of railway modellers, where sometimes the only actual assembly is putting the track together…. (Also said TiC!)

[Martin S-C]

Slow progress on the Victorian 4-wheelers, but we are at least moving forwards. I loathe - simply loathe - modelling coaches. There's lots of repetitive jobs to do and there are windows that need glazing and I really dislike that job!
 

For some essential light relief between bouts of carriage action there is another apartment-block sized stack of wagons under way (detailing & weathering).

[Annie]

53 minutes ago, Martin S-C said:

Slow progress on the Victorian 4-wheelers, but we are at least moving forwards. I loathe - simply loathe - modelling coaches. There's lots of repetitive jobs to do and there are windows that need glazing and I really dislike that job!

Love those 1860s coaches Martin.  I must agree though that modelling coaches is one heck of a lot of work to do properly which is one reason why I scratchbuilt so few of them when I was still doing hands on railway modelling.

[Martin S-C]

Thanks Annie, they are cute aren't they? If there's one stage of coach kit building I enjoy its this bit - the adding on of the little twiddly bits. These always bring a model to life; it begins to look how it is supposed to. I've got the end handrails to add as well as door and grab handles. You might be able to see in the photo the 3 holes drilled near each left door edge and there will need to be some lamp irons on the ends as well but before I add all that I think I will paint them and before I do that I need to add the couplings and those are not going to be delivered before mid to late December as I have a part of a group order with the gentleman who we discussed a page or so back whom Corbs recommended who makes the permanent 3-links in 3D prints - there will be permanent couplers between the coaches and a tension hook on each end, but I'm on the hunt for a fifth vehicle to act as guards van. I could use my 1860s Scottish van but it will look very big next to these so I may have to kit bash something. I don't want to add the couplings until I have that vehicle sourced. Alternatively I could make one of these 2nd class coaches in a brake 2nd by just indicating "guard" on one of the doors. If I'd planned ahead I could have cut windows in that end as well but that's too much hassle now.
 

Hm... decisions, decisions. Either way these will have to be put aside for a while which is a minor irritation as I'm itching to get some paint on them.

[Martin S-C]

Quite some time ago on RMWeb I recall a discussion about converting the Hornby Kit-Kat van into a reasonable facsimile of a pre-grouping van. I think it may have been a Hull & Barnsley vehicle. I now cannot find the discussion. It could have been on my thread, or on Edwardian's Castle Aching thread, or maybe a conversion Nile did on his freelance kitbash thread. Does anyone recall that discussion and is able to link me to it please?

[Compound2632]

23 minutes ago, Martin S-C said:

Quite some time ago on RMWeb I recall a discussion about converting the Hornby Kit-Kat van into a reasonable facsimile of a pre-grouping van. I think it may have been a Hull & Barnsley vehicle. I now cannot find the discussion. It could have been on my thread, or on Edwardian's Castle Aching thread, or maybe a conversion Nile did on his freelance kitbash thread. Does anyone recall that discussion and is able to link me to it please?

 

I think this is the other ancient Triang van, which makes a passable L&Y D3 van (a much more common wagon than the H&B refrigerator van):

 

 

[MrWolf]

I did convert a Hornby KitKat / Smith's Crisps / Prime Pork van body into an ex H&BR van on my thread, Aston on Clun, largely because I had one in the junk box. For the chassis I used a Cambrian 9ft wooden underframe.

I'm struggling to load pictures at the moment, but I will keep at it.

[Martin S-C]

Thanks. Yes that was the one. Your lovely L&Y conversion with the canvas roof slide is from a different source body I think unless you completely altered all the framing and door which seems a lot of work.

I understand this is your model from your Aston Clun thread:



And this is what I have:



In fact I have four of those bodies and was going to make one H&B van, one C&M van and make the last pair into NMR vehicles, but for the H&B van I need to make sure I do it at least partly right and decently, hence the enquiry.





Your L&Y van with the canvas roof slide looks very nice and you've inspired me to do one of those at some point.

EDIT: By the way to get pictures to load on RMWeb these days I click the previous page in the thread then click the one I want and that seems to do the trick most of the time. Previously refreshing the page worked but now that seems to have stopped working as well.

Edited November 21, 2021 by Martin S-C

[Compound2632]

I think @jwealleans did a full-on conversion of the kit-kat van body to the genuine H&B van but I haven't been able to track it down on his thread. Not to be confused with his upgrades to the later Hornby NE refrigerator van.

[MrWolf]

The body that I used for the L&Y D3 van was a Tri-ang Insulfish (and pretty much everything else they did) I've got some spares which you're welcome to.

[jwealleans]

50 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

I think @jwealleans did a full-on conversion of the kit-kat van body to the genuine H&B van

 

He did.  One Fine Fish, one Weetabix.

 

 

Recessed panelling filled in, new roof, scratchbuilt underframes, buffers, brake gear and Iracier axleboxes from 51L and 14mm Mansell wheels.

 

 

 

[Martin S-C]

1 hour ago, MrWolf said:

The body that I used for the L&Y D3 van was a Tri-ang Insulfish (and pretty much everything else they did) I've got some spares which you're welcome to.

That's very generous of you. I have several Cambrian kits 9ft underframes laying about the place. I will drop you a PM.

Jonathan - those are the ones I remember. Thanks! Yes, they look fantastic. I won't be attempting anything with such fidelity but I certainly wanted to have a go and see where I get to.

[MrWolf]

PM sent.

 

Whilst I don't claim that the wagon is 100% accurate, it is a way to get something unusual without spending a fortune. There's several pictures of the real thing on my thread.

[Martin S-C]

Thank you Mr Wolf, it arrived this morning and a donor underframe has been allocated. Now for some fun chop-chop-bodge-bodge, or as others call it; modelling.

[MrWolf]

Glad that someone has found a use for it. Mine is still in the works, but this is the result so far.

 

 

 

[Martin S-C]

Which underframe did you use? And I take this is based on an L&Y prototype but not an exact scale model?

[MrWolf]

I used the same underframe you have there, an RCH wooden item. It's a bit modern, but it was wood, the straight brake lever looks close and I had one in my stash. Like I said, not 100% accurate, but it does the job.

[Martin S-C]

It seems you are like me; if it's close enough and looks right, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

The obscene things I'm doing to the Victorian 4-wheel coaches and a brake van I'm hacking about into a small guards/luggage van would have the rivet counters grab their torches and pitchforks and storm my house

[Schooner]

5 hours ago, Martin S-C said:

...grab their torches and pitchforks and storm my house

 

More fool them - the NM&GSR being in an adjacent garage IIRC...