Mark's Workbench: back in the village again!

[Compound2632]

At first sight, I took the first photo for a CAD image, so sharp and neat is the paintwork - along with the precision lining-up to the squares on pristine cutting mat!

[2996 Victor]

Thank you, Stephen! I do try hard to paint the ironwork neatly. Not always successfully.....

 

I use a longish but fine brush lightly loaded with slightly thinned paint, held at about 30 degrees to the model and lightly brushed along the edges of the ironwork, filling in afterwards. Any slips are touched in with base colour.

 

As for lining up with the squares, that's OCD pure and simple!

[2996 Victor]

Last evening, small cat (Daisy - see above) got onto my work room windowsill, where stood on a length of track several part built wagons......Up to now, the cheeky little thing has only tried to get onto my chair.

 

The only casualty was my GWR V5 Mink, which has sustained enough damage to make it a write-off. The scratchbuilt D307 that was standing naxt to it somehow made it intact from the track on the windowsill across my work table and onto my chair, while my Cambrian wagon bodies were untouched, or at least un-pawed! Thankfully, only on Sunday had I moved all my almost-finished wagons from the windowsill to a separate length of track up on a shelf.

 

Lesson learned the hard way - the door stays shut 

[2996 Victor]

Well, I think I've cracked it! The method I've arrived at with the WRRC CamRys transfers is:

1. use very warm water with a hefty drop of washing up liquid,
2. apply the transfers without any softening/setting solution, gently tamp with a damp cotton bud and allow to dry thoroughly for three or four days,
3. slit the transfers along plank grooves and wet the cut edges with very warm water/washing up liquid,
4. wait a few moments and remove the majority of the water, gently tamp with a damp cotton bud and allow to dry,
5. apply a small quantity of MicroSol to the cut edges and around any surface detail such as diagonal strapping, wait a few moments and gently tamp with a damp cotton bud.

Here are the three current culprits:

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The results on the 4-plank still aren't perfect as the plank grooves are so deep, but they're much better, while the 2-plank dropsides look really quite respectable now! They seem to look better in reality, as well, so I'm going to leave it like that. Phew!

Edited March 18, 2020 by 2996 Victor
2-plank dropsides, not 3-plank!

[2996 Victor]

In between ordering batches of WRRC Cambrian Railways transfer - I think I'm keeping the Circle's transfer sales afloat single-handed - I've been pondering another of my back-of-my-mind one-day projects. I've always fancied having a go at creating a fictional Col Stephens-type of Light Railway, and I've even mapped it out so that it sits in a real landscape and serves real communities.

 

In a recent edition of the Model Railway Journal, No.276, David Murdoch displays some of his 7mm scale whimsies, destined for the next instalment of his Much Cussing and Swearing saga. Now, while its amusing, a silly name has its cons as well its pros, and I've never really thought in terms of naming a layout in that way. But I must admit to being quite taken with some of his wagons and their owners' names.

 

Which leads me finally to the point of this post. I quite fancy the idea of allowing my limited imagination free reign on some whimsical PO wagons, and indeed have a few ideas for names. The wagons themselves would need to be of an appropriate era, i.e. I'd stick with my chosen period of 1900-1905 and so the wagons would be of types that could have been seen up until then, and they'd have to be constructed to the same standard, if such it is, as my "real" wagons.

 

A few of Cambrian Model Rail's PO wagon kits have wended their way to Victor Towers, as has an HMRS PO wagon lettering sheet, so we shall see what we shall see!

[2996 Victor]

I spent last weekend at the Ancestral Home with my Mum as it was the twentieth anniversary, if that's what it can be called, of my Dad's passing on. He was just fifty-five.

 

I ventured into the loft to retrieve some aeroplane kits that have been languishing there for the best part of three decades, with the purpose of flooding the eBay market. Whilst under the rafters, I chanced upon an old cardboard box wherein lay treasures that I had long thought lost, kitbuilt and scratchbuilt wagons that date from twenty-five to thirty years ago! I hope you'll forgive me if I post some photos of them, as even now I'm quite proud of them!

 

First up, a group photo of the finished ones:

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They're all straight kit-builds, no fancy stuff, just plenty of care taken to ensure they're squarely built and run true, which they did and still do. The Toad has suffered a bit of damage in that a footboard has detached, but that's all. The cattle wagon has a load of Merit Cows on board - unfortunately, they're Friesians when they should really be an indigenous breed!

 

A couple of the wagons have had an attempt at weathering, which isn't too great, and they'd all stand a bit of extra detail in the brake gear department - notice the rudimentary attempt at the DC brake gear swan-necked lever on the wooden Mink - but otherwise with a set of EM wheels and better weathering and they're good to go. Not bad for nearly thirty years old! Incidentally, the 7-plank open, the wooden Mink and the Toad are all hand-lettered I had pretty good eyesight back then.....

 

Here are a couple of part-built CooperCraft cattle wagons:

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The one on wheels is compensated, and sports EM wheels already - I was building it for Dad's planned EM layout. On the other one, I've opened out end slots as per the design as built. This is one of those wagons that you remember doing but can't find! But it has been found and now it and its brother can be finished. Both wagons have had their roof profile corrected for the W1.

 

This is an early attempt at an S&DJR 3-plank dropside:

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Built from the Slater's kit, of course, this is another one that I thought lost for all time. Behind it is one of my recent efforts, and apart from the lighter grey they match quite well. How does my hand lettering compare to the Pressfix transfers?

 

Lastly for this post, a PO coke wagon from the Ratio kit:

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Again, hand-lettered to represent a local firm. My Mum attended the village primary school with Hartnell's grand-daughter!

Edited March 18, 2020 by 2996 Victor

[2996 Victor]

Broad Gauge!

 

GWR end-tipping coal waggons (notice - two "g"s!):

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With the exception of the buffers and axleguards and end door lever/guide, which are Broad Gauge Society items, these waggons are entirely scratchbuilt in styrene. Dimensionally, I based them on the BGS cast whitemetal kit, an example of which I had but was unimpressed with (sorry!), and I thought I could do better. Its a pity I didn't know about Alan Prior's 19thC drawings book, as there is a drawing of these waggons in there (my copy arrived last week.....) However, they're not too bad, really, being 1mm shorter and 1mm narrower than the drawing.

 

I was building a batch of five, two were going to run empty and three loaded. These two are the most advanced, and sadly of the others the empty one's sides have warped.

 

Here are a couple of close-ups:

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The bolt-heads are all tiny noggins of 10thou' styrene rod, I should think I used 10-15% of those I cut! Again, I can only say that my eyesight used to be a lot better than it is now, as the bolt-heads are pretty consistent. These days, I'd use Archers rivet transfers!

 

This is the basis of a BG Convertible 6-wheel fish truck (Tadpole in later years!):

http://

Again, its entirely built in styrene. It looks like I finished the interior bolt-head detail, but not the exterior. Still, it shouldn't be too difficult to finish it off even after all this time. It even looks like I'd selected a running number! I also made a second set of sides and ends, which are still in flat-packed form.....

[2996 Victor]

An early GWR Wooden Tilt Waggon:

http://

Once again, this is a scratchbuild with the only bought-in parts being the four buffers, the four safety-chain hooks, and the wheels/inside-bearing compensation units. The rest I made entirely from styrene. It was built from a drawing in one of the BGS BroadSheet magazines, I don't recall which, and quite why I built it I'm now not sure, as my chosen period was "late BG" and this was very definitely an "early" design.

 

Some detail shots, just because:

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This waggon would have had plate axleguards, which I hadn't made although I was thinking of using thin brass. It also had underslung springs, so I cast some in resin from a mould I made, the pattern being a scratchbuilt spring and keeper mated to a BGS whitemetal axlebox. They turned out rather well, and are still waiting to be used. One day I'll finish it!

Edited March 18, 2020 by 2996 Victor
Typos

[Compound2632]

Extra g for extra width!

 

Warping of scratch-built plasticard sides: I believe @airnimal has a technique for preventing this; I'm looking forward to finding out what @ScottW does. I'm afraid my technique has been always to have a couple of transverse braces and a false floor a couple of millimetres below the top of the sides - so the wagon must be loaded, or, given my youthful bodging attempts at the body ironwork, hide the whole lot under a sheet!

[2996 Victor]

I totally agree, Stephen - the other coal wag(g)ons that I'd intended to run loaded are braced inside to within an inch of their lives, and of course they've survived the decades in good shape!

 

I wonder what @airnimal might suggest - do you have any idea if the technique is preventative or remedial? I did think about trying a little gentle bending under very warm water, but I'm mindful that the styrene may be brittle after so long!

[Compound2632]

Preventative, I'm afraid. I've found his post on my thread:

 

My recent scratch-built bodies do show signs of warping in but I'll be bracing and loading.

[2996 Victor]

1 minute ago, Compound2632 said:

Preventative, I'm afraid. I've found his post on my thread:

 

My recent scratch-built bodies do show signs of warping in but I'll be bracing and loading.

 

Thanks!

 

I seem to recall my method "back then" was to make sides and ends from two laminations of styrene, a 20thou' inside and a 10thou' outside. Both were planked, but I used to use the side of a compass point to impress the plank grooves, rather than scribing/scratching material away. Although the 10thou' isn't really affected, this method does cause a small degree of "spread" in the styrene sheet, and causes the interior part to bow outward.....needing it to be bent back inward to counteract this. These days, I use an Olfa P-Cutter.

 

The passage of time hasn't been kind in some cases, although its interesting that the two painted waggons haven't suffered while some of the unpainted ones have! Perhaps I should have enlisted the help of Lee Marvin.....

[Compound2632]

A little on the thin side? 3" sheeting should be 40 thou; 30 thou is a whisker under for 2½" sheeting - 35 thou (using a layer of 15 thou) is closer. But I wouldn't want to go below 40 thou for such a large unsupported area as a wagon side. 

 

I meant to say Bravo! on the Cam Rys transfers - persistence and experiment has finally paid out, much as you have to the WRRC.

[2996 Victor]

With hindsight, it was probably a bit on the thin side, but I was probably aiming for 2-1/2" sheeting which I believe(d) was more common in the 1850s/60s when these waggons were built. I think the bowing is mostly due to my method of making the planking.

 

Many thanks for your kind words re the WRRC Cam Rys transfers  I know others have had no issues with them, so I can only presume that the issues I've had are of my making! Hopefully, no-one else will have problems either, but if they should, perhaps the results of my travails will be of help!

 

As an aside, I've got one of @Quarryscapes Cambrian Railways 8-plank Loco Coal wagons on my bench, and a set of the WRRC's transfers for it - I started to apply the company lettering over the diagonal strapping before I'd blacked them! Which just goes to show that there's no hope.....

[Quarryscapes]

If you prefer, I have rubdown Cambrian Transfers available, they are just waiting for me to get off my backside and list them on eBay again - there's two variants for the Loco coal wagon, Oswestry style or Pickering style. 

[ScottW]

2 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

Extra g for extra width!

 

Warping of scratch-built plasticard sides: I believe @airnimal has a technique for preventing this; I'm looking forward to finding out what @ScottW does. I'm afraid my technique has been always to have a couple of transverse braces and a false floor a couple of millimetres below the top of the sides - so the wagon must be loaded, or, given my youthful bodging attempts at the body ironwork, hide the whole lot under a sheet!

 

Once the basic body is made-up I install two lengths of thick Microstrip that are just a fraction longer than the inner width of the wagon. They are not glued in place, just held there by the pressure exerted on them by the wagon sides. As the solvent starts to dry it starts pulling on the sides of the wagon causing them to bow inwards. These two strips force the sides out and helps prevents them from bowing inwards as the solvent sets. I normally  keep them in place till the time comes to paint the wagon.

 

 

Great thread by the way. 

[2996 Victor]

49 minutes ago, Quarryscapes said:

If you prefer, I have rubdown Cambrian Transfers available, they are just waiting for me to get off my backside and list them on eBay again - there's two variants for the Loco coal wagon, Oswestry style or Pickering style. 

 

Thanks, Alan, that's good to know - I'll PM you tomorrow!

[2996 Victor]

8 minutes ago, ScottW said:

 

Once the basic body is made-up I install two lengths of thick Microstrip that are just a fraction longer than the inner width of the wagon. They are not glued in place, just held there by the pressure exerted on them by the wagon sides. As the solvent starts to dry it starts pulling on the sides of the wagon causing them to bow inwards. These two strips force the sides out and helps prevents them from bowing inwards as the solvent sets. I normally  keep them in place till the time comes to paint the wagon.

 

 

Great thread by the way. 

 

Hi @ScottW,

 

many thanks for your post! I've done similar with wagons that I intend to load, but have fixed the stays in place. However, I've not previously used stays in the way you describe but I certainly will in future! That's an excellent wagon, by the way, is it North British?

 

And many thanks for your kind words!

 

With best regards,

 

Mark

[ScottW]

3 minutes ago, 2996 Victor said:

 

Hi @ScottW,

 

many thanks for your post! I've done similar with wagons that I intend to load, but have fixed the stays in place. However, I've not previously used stays in the way you describe but I certainly will in future! That's an excellent wagon, by the way, is it North British?

 

And many thanks for your kind words!

 

With best regards,

 

Mark

 

It is North British, Mark.

 

The idea behind the two temporary stays came from Chris Crofts which he described in his excellent MRJ articles. 

[2996 Victor]

48 minutes ago, ScottW said:

 

It is North British, Mark.

 

The idea behind the two temporary stays came from Chris Crofts which he described in his excellent MRJ articles. 

 

Thanks, Scott, I'd forgotten about the Chris Crofts articles!

 

All the best,

 

Mark

[Adam]

Just catching up with this thread while the baby dozes off on me (hence the absurd hour!). The Broad Gauge vehicles are hugely impressive with real finesse. Please finish that tilt waggon, it’s definitely worth the effort, though as a sucker for opens with ends higher than the sides, they’re a favourite prototype.

 

Adam

Edited March 20, 2020 by Adam

[2996 Victor]

9 hours ago, Adam said:

Just catching up with this thread while the baby dozes off on me (hence the absurd hour!). The Broad Gauge vehicles are hugely impressive with real finesse. Please finish that tilt waggon, it’s definitely worth the effort, though as a sucker for opens with ends higher than the sides they’re s favourite prototype.

 

Adam

 

Thank you, Adam, that's praise indeed!

 

It's my plan to renovate/upgrade the completed standard gauge wagons, and to finish the part-built wagons which are mostly the broad gauge ones (I'm also thinking about re-joining the Broad Gauge Society!), so one day it'll get done!

 

I hope your little one went back to sleep alright! Some of my happiest memories are of night feeds and cuddles with my three when they were tiny.

 

Kindest regards,

 

Mark

[Adam]

Amen to 'one day'! Yes, he went back to sleep fine, but is doing little for my home working productivity...

 

Adam

[Mikkel]

One interesting wagon after another! 

 

Congrats on solving the transfer challenge, it does look convincing. I'm not sure I would be patient enough to wait 3-4 days, but that says more about me than about the method 

 

The tilt waggon is my favourite, very pleasing outline and detail, and an impressive scratchbuild.

[2996 Victor]

2 hours ago, Mikkel said:

One interesting wagon after another! 

 

Congrats on solving the transfer challenge, it does look convincing. I'm not sure I would be patient enough to wait 3-4 days, but that says more about me than about the method 

 

The tilt waggon is my favourite, very pleasing outline and detail, and an impressive scratchbuild.

 

Thank you, Mikkel, praise indeed - the Tilt Waggon still amazes me - I'm really not sure I could replicate it any time soon!

 

I know exactly what you mean about waiting - I'm a perpetual tinkerer and if something is frustrating me at all, I keep going back to it and fiddling, usually with disastrous results  Leaving anything to one side for that length of time isn't easy, and I did keep picking up these and inspecting them closely. I've taken a bit of time out of today's working at home, and applied a full set of transfers to the 3-plank fixed side, the CAM (feathers) RYS to another 2-plank dropside, and also the running numbers to the ends of all of them.

 

They all need their running gear now, while the rest of the ironwork still needs blacking, too.

 

Kindest regards,

 

Mark