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MrWolf
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I have been reading @checkrails Stoke Courtenay thread, (Well worth a read if you haven't already.) the current topic on which is a comparison between the old Ratio Iron Mink and the Rails model. I've had some of the kits for ages and never put them together due to other commitments and the fact that they have been slated for being a mile out, detail wise.

It turns out that they aren't and a bit of detailing makes a big difference.

As stated on the Stoke Courtenay thread, they go together in about 20 minutes.

 

IMG_20210729_003330.jpg.188b428c6b8450227e070c55f992c3da.jpg

 

Edited by MrWolf
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8 minutes ago, Nick Gough said:

Nice stash!

 

Good to see you've been motivated to put them together.

 

Thanks, I have been feeling slightly guilty that my stash of wagon kits dates back to when I was still at school. 

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Tea break has been spent drilling horse hook holes in the solebars and bigger ones in the floor to allow the MEK fumes to escape when the roof goes on.

 

101241

 

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2 hours ago, Nick Gough said:

I've only been an 'extra' once, but agree with the last two comments.

 

It was an interesting and eye opening experience.

I've never actually been an extra but earlier in my career some of the trains with which I was involved were hired as props, so I went along on filming day to make sure they survived. I agree strongly with your last sentence.

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On 26/07/2021 at 06:24, NHY 581 said:

That makes it sound something personal to me. 

 

 I haven't and I resent the inference that would be drawn from your post. 

 

To explain. The recent threads building up to the release of the forthcoming issue of MRJ have always irked some and Andy Y has put a lock on the most recent one to emerge, thereby preventing anyone adding to the thread. And I hadn't posted on it. 

 

Please don't make such statements without clarifying what it is you mean. 

 

Rob. 

 

I apologise unreservedly. I was aiming for jocularity but, as so often on the web, failed. I certainly had no wish to offend you, or to reflect on your personality.

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It is a problem with posting or texting, there's no means of conveying the manner in which the message is intended to be received.

 

I find myself over explaining things or editing for clarity (To paraphrase Stan Laurel: "Who's Clarity?") more often than you'd think after I have re-read my posts.

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The same thing happened to me recently. On re reading my post, I realised it could have sounded negative. I immediately contacted the recipient to explain. He was not offended in the slightest, but I'm so glad I checked anyway.

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I know that I have had moments when someone has posted something possibly in all innocence and I've thought:

 

maxresdefault(0).jpg.71d1e3bfde2d82b7a84edbbf68489285.jpg

 

 

Come again?

 

Rob has a broad sense of humour, well, look at the sheep chronicles... But everyone has boundaries and we all unintentionally cross them at some point.

 

Meanwhile:

 

Trains....

Edited by MrWolf
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Iron mink progress, brake gear on, nearly forgot to cut off the surplus v hanger. I always trim the ends of the location bar on the brake gear so that it aligns properly with the v hanger and the wheels. 

 

If you look at the working faces of the brake shoes on any plastic kit, you can see that they have a slight taper to aid release from the moulds. I always trim this away so that the shoe is parallel. You're only removing plastic from the side nearest to the wheel flange. This is very often the cause of poorly running wheels.

 

I've also sawn / hacked / filed all of the mounting lugs for the Tri-ang and Peco couplings from the floor before assembly to make room for the 3 links. The horse hook holes have been deburred and before painting I will check the fit of the roof, because I suspect that the top of the T irons will need adjusting.

 

IMG_20210729_115739.jpg.1a70eea369677c62dbb095592139978c.jpg

 

 

For those of you who haven't made many wagon kits, this is an easy one because the frames and axle boxes are in one piece with the sides. The sides have a lap joint with the ends, so no pesky mitre joints to potentially make a horse's ar5e of either.

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1 hour ago, MrWolf said:

Iron mink progress, brake gear on, nearly forgot to cut off the surplus v hanger. I always trim the ends of the location bar on the brake gear so that it aligns properly with the v hanger and the wheels. 

 

If you look at the working faces of the brake shoes on any plastic kit, you can see that they have a slight taper to aid release from the moulds. I always trim this away so that the shoe is parallel. You're only removing plastic from the side nearest to the wheel flange. This is very often the cause of poorly running wheels.

 

I've also sawn / hacked / filed all of the mounting lugs for the Tri-ang and Peco couplings from the floor before assembly to make room for the 3 links. The horse hook holes have been deburred and before painting I will check the fit of the roof, because I suspect that the top of the T irons will need adjusting.

 

IMG_20210729_115739.jpg.64c2f665d0e0a30bbe91af73d34e82d9.jpg

 

For those of you who haven't made many wagon kits, this is an easy one because the frames and axle boxes are in one piece with the sides. The sides have a lap joint with the ends, so no pesky mitre joints to potentially make a horse's ar5e of either.

Are those the original Ratio plastic wheels? If so, it's worth replacing them with metal ones - you get better running, and less dirt on the rails (presumably due to static build-up I wonder?)

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20 minutes ago, Nick C said:

Are those the original Ratio plastic wheels? If so, it's worth replacing them with metal ones - you get better running, and less dirt on the rails (presumably due to static build-up I wonder?)

 

No, they're all metal, not sure what they are (possibly Jackson?) which came with two of the kits. 

I learned a long time ago that plastic kit wheels always mean lousy running and a raised centre of gravity and regular derailments.

Whenever I open a kit, the plastic wheels, fragile pseudo Tri-ang couplings etc go in the bin. Alternative parts I don't need go in the spares box.

 

 

 

Edited by MrWolf
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As if to prove the point, the last Iron Mink is a 50 year old version which was in the carded plastic bag package. For some reason, the plastic of the really old Ratio kits is very brittle.

Therefore I managed to snap the brake lever whilst trimming off the flash (none of that on the newer kits either.) 

So I substituted one that was spare from a Cambrian kit where I had used the DC brake. It won't show when painted!

 

Maybe...

 

IMG_20210729_140705.jpg.44366b1ee524ab92d005103b90748c85.jpg

 

image lost.

Edited by MrWolf
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Thank you Russell, I hope that I can do the valley topography justice! 

Old buses are fine on here, just don't leave boxy new ones on bridges though!

 

This one belongs to a relative, it's about as old a bus as you can get.

 

1001-John-Bull-Church-Lane-14-Sept-2002.jpg.d39f0677db0aa6416cf5b0ffe9d5b4bd.jpg

 

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It's a Commer, from I think, 1905. Originally a double decker, it was used on rural routes where low hanging trees made the top deck unusable. It was cut down c1912 and the upper part used for carrying parcels. 

 

13903205048_a45b53a1d0_b.jpg.4222288f54e79b19f244fb261691c2e0.jpg

 

 

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A little more bodging using scraps of plastic has braced the sides to stop them bowing inward where the roof joint is weakest, I don't know why I hadn't thought of it before. Thanks go to Kevin @KNPfor sharing the idea on Little Muddle. 

 

IMG_20210729_200622.jpg.2a8ef41ea1a05dd36d2f72c29b1e549d.jpg

 

Image lost.

 

 

Edited by MrWolf
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21 hours ago, MrWolf said:

horse hook holes

 

presumably the hooks will be brass and so will the horse shoes to avoid unnecessary sparks . . . .

 

I wonder how hot axle boxes were dealt with. Running away  I guess. . . . 

 

Although this has prompted memories of a story of an ammunition train catching fire and what the crew did to lessen any damage to surrounding area. Can't remember the details though.

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11 minutes ago, Fishplate said:

 

Although this has prompted memories of a story of an ammunition train catching fire and what the crew did to lessen any damage to surrounding area. Can't remember the details though.

 

It was at Soham, 2 June 1944

 

https://ww2today.com/2-june-1944-two-g-c-s-after-soham-railway-disaster

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These two came out of the Box of Doom also, they're old Kirk kits, number 4M6, GWR 10 ton box vans. The assembled one has a plasticard floor, because the supplied item was a little narrow. I remember that these came to a halt because I couldn't find out what diagram they were, so I had no idea what the numbering sequence was or the type of buffers required.

 

Anyone out there have any ideas? I'd like to get them finished.

 

IMG_20210730_081814.jpg.a3e80a3b8260283534efa909884ad828.jpg

 

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