Chorley Works - Kirk, Isinglass coaches, P2 in BR Blue, Millholme Merchant Navy, Hornby Bulleids

[30368]

John,

 

Sorry I misled you re motors/gearboxes. The second MN had a big Mashima and Branchlines gearbox. I used the High Level parts on the A1/1 and A2/3 - I better check that!

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

[46256]

John love twelve wheelers....can’t think if any of any type were preserved ..  let alone able to be travelled upon....to dine in one would be , have been a fantastic experience. Best wishes Brian

[thegreenhowards]

Hi John,

 

I’ve only just found this thread. I love the kitchen car which certainly looks more accurate and straight than mine, although mine was fun to build. I think I omitted the recessed door which seems very clear on your kit.

 

I was looking forward to tackling some Isinglass kits in 7mm, but he seems to be struggling to get them into production and the prices are quite steep, so I’m not sure.

 

The thread title intrigued me as well. I know Chorley well as my wife was born in Chorley hospital and brought up in Lostock Hall. Small world!

 

Regards

 

Andy

[thegreenhowards]

On 02/05/2021 at 17:46, John Tomlinson said:

The Hornby P2 - a different look

 

When Hornby introduced their P2 my interest was a bit limited being a BR era modeller. However, they were iconic locos, their rebuilding was one of the most divisive issues in British locomotive history, and also they must have being stunning to see. On top of that I was curious to see how Hornby built a model to go round sharpish curves with fully flanged drivers!

So I bought the Railroad version with its half hearted lining, for just over £70 IIRC at the Peterborough Show when they first appeared.

 

Performance wasn't bad, the whole thing ran very smoothly, although analysis on here quickly concluded that replacement with a 5 pole motor under reference X9108 would do a lot for slow speed running. This is easy to do, and both my models are so modified.

 

Roll on a few years and I managed to pick up one of the "full fat" versions on Ebay, for not much more than my original purchase. Very pretty with the full lining, although it comes from the "design clever" era and would have been better without some moulded handrails. I concluded I'd have to live with these as removal would as like as not make a real mess of the otherwise stunning finish.

 

I'd been pondering a "what if" repaint for a while with my Railroad example, taking the opportunity to sort out the handrails and one or two other bits and bobs. There have been a number done in BR green and shown on RMweb, so I decided to have a go at the BR steam blue scheme, for something a bit different.

 

So off I went, rubbing down the factory numbers and lettering, and replacing the handrails with turned knobs and wire. Thanks to Graeme King, I realised that a bit of careful leverage could get the front off, enabling the upper handrail to be replaced, along with the smokebox handles. I chose to leave the replacement for the latter in brass, something I'll probably change. I removed the ACFI apparatus, as the LNER would have done in time, and added Hornby's bits and pieces from their little goodies bag. Paint is Railmatch enamel Steam Blue and general Black, including doing the wheels, and lining is the LNER style from HMRS Pressfix. Doncaster worksplates are from 247 Developments.

 

As this is fiction, I assumed that the LNER kept the original style - the A4 style streamling fad wasn't continued by either Thompson or Peppercorn - and that having sorted out the mechanical issues of the rotary valve gear and the weak crank axle a production series of 50 were ordered, taking nos. 201 - 250 in the 1946 scheme, becoming BR 60201 - 60250. The locos were capable of running at speed, but were concentrated on the heavier services, over more difficult routes particularly in Scotland, and as such complementing the existing fleet of Pacifics.

 

I haven't decided on a name for the loco yet. I'm tempted by "William Wallace" Scottish revolutionary from the 13th century, then again I could assume clairvoyance by the LNER Board and go for "Nicola Sturgeon". Perhaps not.

 

The pics. below include a pose next to Bachmann's A1 in Blue, 60161 "North British".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John.

John,

 

I like the look of 60214. I do wonder whether it would look better with the smoke deflector in black. Obviously a fictional livery anyway, so there’s no right or wrong, but it looks a bit strange to me.

 

Andy

 

[John Tomlinson]

14 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

John,

 

I like the look of 60214. I do wonder whether it would look better with the smoke deflector in black. Obviously a fictional livery anyway, so there’s no right or wrong, but it looks a bit strange to me.

 

Andy

 

I agonised over this for a while! Not least because the only kit that I've ever bought that was already built was a P2. This was a K's Earl Marischal, bought for little more than the cost of the kit, many years before the Hornby one, and done in LNER apple green, with smoke deflectors black as you suggest.

 

It was some while before I realised from photos that the first two LNER ones actually had the deflectors in green. The other thing with the LNER, I think, is that they did an A4 with a solid black front over the smokebox, rather than the parabola, but only did one. It doesn't look too great IMHO.

 

When we get to BR, the P2's had obviously gone. They did however keep the parabola for the A4's, and even more relevant, kept the whole sides of the sheeting body colour on the various "air smoothed" Bulleid Pacifics. So, although this is fantasy, my hunch would be that BR would have gone for body colour on the deflectors. Having said that I've seen a few model P2's in BR green with the deflectors in black and they look fine.

 

I think the overly solid impact of the blue would be mitigated a bit with some nameplates, preferably quite long ones, and I will do this once I've decided a name and place an order with Narrow Planet. It would probably help as well if I ever learn to use a lining pen and do a white line around the outside edge of the deflectors - one should also be along the running plate valance,

 

Thanks also for the comments on the Kitchen Car. It dawned on me that this is of course longer than normal Gresley gangwayed stock, and that he therefore has the base and roof for those lovely Sleeper types that you've done from Kirk sides.

 

I've sent you a PM on my origins!

 

John.

[46256]

Hello John quick report on the taff vale motor. It  is a powerful type. I’ve married it with the comet gearbox and drive extender. The screw mountings are at an angle skewing it slightly. The gearbox combination though lifts it above the drivers and it fits nicely into the smokebox of a rebuilt patriot I’m working on. 

[John Tomlinson]

43 minutes ago, 46256 said:

Hello John quick report on the taff vale motor. It  is a powerful type. I’ve married it with the comet gearbox and drive extender. The screw mountings are at an angle skewing it slightly. The gearbox combination though lifts it above the drivers and it fits nicely into the smokebox of a rebuilt patriot I’m working on. 

Brian,

 

Thanks for the note.

 

I've seen Taff Vale on ebay, although I'm sure they deal direct as well, they seem to have a good range of motors.

 

John.

[John Tomlinson]

Well, it's been a long time since I posted on here, but recent months have seen a reasonable amount of activity, and various projects put to bed. I wonder if I'm the only one who has part finished efforts lying about, awaiting that particular part or more often information?

 

Above I'd done most of the build of an Isinglass 3D printed Kitchen Car, with six wheel bogies. This was finally sprayed and transfers applied, and I took the chance yesterday to do a couple of snaps in the sun.

 

There's a few things wrong with this, as follows;

 

   - the roof is on the wrong way round, despite fitting it whilst looking at the drawing! Senile or what!! It isn't quite handed and those who followed the Coulsdon Works construction of one of these will see there are one or two vents in the wrong place which is the give-away. Six points of contact for superglue between body and roof could just have been eased away, but the water filler pipes have handrail knob supports also glued into the body ends as well as the roof, making any disassembly fraught indeed. If I ever put a window in there will be a problem, and my conclusion is that when I do another of these kits, which I like, I shan't be assembling them per the instructions, but rather revert to my usual method of fitting body to roof, and making that assembly separate from the chassis.

  - the paintwork is OK, but the cream to carmine line isn't as straight as it might be, I rather underestimated the challenge this gives on panelled stock. It looks OK side on, less so viewed from the ends.

 

I did the white windows by gently sanding a bit of clear glazing, washing it clean and then spraying the sanded side white. The pieces were then cut to fit in the recesses provided in the kit sides.

 

The cream is Phoenix Precision enamel, the crimson Railmatch, the same jar as used on the suburban stock shown earlier, although it looks different when against the cream. HMRS Pressfix transfers for lining, lettering and numbers. I tried powder weathering for a change, jury still out on this. I do in any case have a somewhat idyllic view of railways past, and at most only weather very lightly.

 

 

 

 

John.

Edited April 17, 2022 by John Tomlinson

[John Tomlinson]

Bulleid's Pacifics.

 

I haven't done much to my Millholme Merchant Navy seen above, although I did buy a new Hornby one at a good price off ebay! It will provide an opportunity to further evaluate the flaws in my effort, bearing in mind of course that the Hornby one may have defects as well. In particular I'm unconvinced by the Hornby roof profile viewed side on, which I think should dip a bit more in the rear section just before the cab.

 

I have in contrast done some faffing about with various Hornby WC/ BB's from ebay in various states. My standard actions with these anyway are

 

 - close tender/ body gap by moving plug on the tender (for the older type), so that the loco then still goes round my curves, and the fall plate on the tender should just cover over the floor extension from the cab.

 

 - ensure the connecting rods don't foul the front crankpin on curves by fitting suitable spacer washers to the crank on the driving wheel, and also limiting sideplay on the front drivers by glueing plasticard spacers to the chassis around the axle space.

 

- easing out the back to backs on all wheels including the drivers, using my GW wheel puller, early models had these at under 14mm!

 

- fitting the detailing parts including the brake pull rods and steps.

 

- installing RT Models etched cylinder drain pipes, and their four part etched front couplings. If steps have been lost I use their cast replacements.

 

- around 70g of lead is added, in the form of sheet in a "U" shape glued inside the bodyshell above the drivers.

 

- as all the above need a near total dismantle, the pre-owned loco gets a thorough clean and re-lubrication as part of the process.

 

Two I've just done are below.

 

"Fighter Command" in gray as shown is a myth as it stands, but will remain so - its my railway and Rule 1 applies! The Irwell "Book of.." has a great ex works pic of the loco when new, in gray, it then went back into works for the new style cab to be fitted, and then probably ran once or twice still in gray, if that. It wasn't named in this condition, yet the Hornby model has plates glued and also a paint job with a gap in the lining for the crest. So to get something correct you'd need a respray, and for that you might as well buy one of the common cheaper green ones! I came across this on ebay, various bits either lost or dropped off, for a lot less than they often go for, and decided to live with the inconsistency. Replacement plates are from Modelmaster, one had been lost leaving a big patch of glue! 

 

 

 

The second one is 34090, "Sir Eustace Missenden". Some kind soul had switched the chassis to one without the sprung rear axle, and in doing so losing the green lined wheels. I will do my own painting job to replace these eventually, meanwhile the model is otherwise in top working order with actions as above. I understand that the Hornby plates are the wrong colour as well.

 

 

 

Sorry about the test track controller in the picture!

 

John.

Edited April 17, 2022 by John Tomlinson

[davidw]

2 hours ago, John Tomlinson said:

Well, it's been a long time since I posted on here, but recent months have seen a reasonable amount of activity, and various projects put to bed. I wonder if I'm the only one who has part finished efforts lying about, awaiting that particular part or more often information?

 

Above I'd done most of the build of an Isinglass 3D printed Kitchen Car, with six wheel bogies. This was finally sprayed and transfers applied, and I took the chance yesterday to do a couple of snaps in the sun.

 

There's a few things wrong with this, as follows;

 

   - the roof is on the wrong way round, despite fitting it whilst looking at the drawing! Senile or what!! It isn't quite handed and those who followed the Coulsdon Works construction of one of these will see there are one or two vents in the wrong place which is the give-away. Six points of contact for superglue between body and roof could just have been eased away, but the water filler pipes have handrail knob supports also glued into the body ends as well as the roof, making any disassembly fraught indeed. If I ever put a window in there will be a problem, and my conclusion is that when I do another of these kits, which I like, I shan't be assembling them per the instructions, but rather revert to my usual method of fitting body to roof, and making that assembly separate from the chassis.

  - the paintwork is OK, but the cream to carmine line isn't as straight as it might be, I rather underestimated the challenge this gives on panelled stock. It looks OK side on, less so viewed from the ends.

 

I did the white windows by gently sanding a bit of clear glazing, washing it clean and then spraying the sanded side white. The pieces were then cut to fit in the recesses provided in the kit sides.

 

The cream is Phoenix Precision enamel, the crimson Railmatch, the same jar as used on the suburban stock shown earlier, although it looks different when against the cream. HMRS Pressfix transfers for lining, lettering and numbers. I tried powder weathering for a change, jury still out on this. I do in any case have a somewhat idyllic view of railways past, and at most only weather very lightly.

 

 

 

 

John.

The roof details look startingly good. Cann I ask how much you needed to add and how much cleaning up the prints needed. Thanks in advance.

[John Tomlinson]

20 minutes ago, davidw said:

The roof details look startingly good. Cann I ask how much you needed to add and how much cleaning up the prints needed. Thanks in advance.

 

Hi David,

 

Many thanks for your comment.

 

Pretty well all the roof detail I've added, apart from the two full length rainstrips which were included in the 3D print. Torpedo vents are (I think) MJT, the various others I've made from bits of plastic, mainly based on photos and guesswork. The four big oblong vents can be bought off Shapeways, but cost a significant multiple of the price going to the designer (Mike Trice) for post and packing, so I didn't bother. If anyone thinks I've got this wrong btw, please shout! The destination board holders and frame are bits of plastic strip and I've also made up the alarm apparatus and the water filler pipes from brass wire. The latter are a real pain to get to fit well,as they need to go round the cornice, then down the end and curve again at the bottom. Having got these fixed to look decent was the reason I didn't try to take them off after my stupid mistake of putting the roof on the wrong way round!

 

The quality of the 3D print I thought was very good indeed, although I did give a rub over inside the panels with some very fine wet and dry used wet, wrapped around a piece of brass bar of small cross section. You'd be pushed to see the dreaded layers even in bright sunshine. 3D prints, and resin moulds for that matter do feel greasy to the touch when new, so they get a scrub in warm water and Cif on arrival, and a few times after that, which also helps the paint key when you reach that stage. For reasons beyond my comprehension, etch primer such as the two part job made by Phoenix Precision for metals seems to work really well on resins, and so I use that through an airbrush even though it's a bit of a faff with all the cleaning afterwards.

 

You probably saw the Royal Mail carriage recently on Wright Writes, and I was a bit surprised by the print quality on that one, well below that of the kits I've purchased. I've done two of these now, and like the product a lot. I intend to do more in due course, and am very tempted by some of the main line articulated pairs. However my projects "stash" is not small, and needs to be reduced before more additions!

 

John.

[davidw]

48 minutes ago, John Tomlinson said:

 

Hi David,

 

Many thanks for your comment.

 

Pretty well all the roof detail I've added, apart from the two full length rainstrips which were included in the 3D print. Torpedo vents are (I think) MJT, the various others I've made from bits of plastic, mainly based on photos and guesswork. The four big oblong vents can be bought off Shapeways, but cost a significant multiple of the price going to the designer (Mike Trice) for post and packing, so I didn't bother. If anyone thinks I've got this wrong btw, please shout! The destination board holders and frame are bits of plastic strip and I've also made up the alarm apparatus and the water filler pipes from brass wire. The latter are a real pain to get to fit well,as they need to go round the cornice, then down the end and curve again at the bottom. Having got these fixed to look decent was the reason I didn't try to take them off after my stupid mistake of putting the roof on the wrong way round!

 

The quality of the 3D print I thought was very good indeed, although I did give a rub over inside the panels with some very fine wet and dry used wet, wrapped around a piece of brass bar of small cross section. You'd be pushed to see the dreaded layers even in bright sunshine. 3D prints, and resin moulds for that matter do feel greasy to the touch when new, so they get a scrub in warm water and Cif on arrival, and a few times after that, which also helps the paint key when you reach that stage. For reasons beyond my comprehension, etch primer such as the two part job made by Phoenix Precision for metals seems to work really well on resins, and so I use that through an airbrush even though it's a bit of a faff with all the cleaning afterwards.

 

You probably saw the Royal Mail carriage recently on Wright Writes, and I was a bit surprised by the print quality on that one, well below that of the kits I've purchased. I've done two of these now, and like the product a lot. I intend to do more in due course, and am very tempted by some of the main line articulated pairs. However my projects "stash" is not small, and needs to be reduced before more additions!

 

John.

Thanks John. As time allows - after June - I'll be tackling an Isinglass kit. 

 

Thanks for the information above. It's very helpful

[John Tomlinson]

15 minutes ago, davidw said:

Thanks John. As time allows - after June - I'll be tackling an Isinglass kit. 

 

Thanks for the information above. It's very helpful

 

You are very welcome David. I thought we were supposed to be getting pictures pre. June 2021 re-instated, if so the earlier piece above on the build itself may help. If they aren't re-instated in a week or two I'll do it myself, not that big a job for me.

 

John.

[davidw]

9 minutes ago, John Tomlinson said:

 

You are very welcome David. I thought we were supposed to be getting pictures pre. June 2021 re-instated, if so the earlier piece above on the build itself may help. If they aren't re-instated in a week or two I'll do it myself, not that big a job for me.

 

John.

Thanks for that.

[thegreenhowards]

John,

 

That kitchen car looks the business! It’s certainly crisper than my Kirk cut ‘n’ shut and you’ve got the correctly recessed doors which I didn’t know about when I built mine. Shame about the roof but i know the feeling of I cant face going back to correct that.

 

Looking at photos I decided that the windows were more frosted than white. What made you go for white?

 

As for part finished projects I have loads. Sometimes they just get put aside for something more interesting and I forget to go back to them!

 

Andy

[Chas Levin]

7 hours ago, John Tomlinson said:

Above I'd done most of the build of an Isinglass 3D printed Kitchen Car, with six wheel bogies. This was finally sprayed and transfers applied, and I took the chance yesterday to do a couple of snaps in the sun.

Hello John, beautiful coaches and locos, and gorgeous looking in the sunlight: nothing quite like real sunlight!

 

I sympathise with your misgivings as to things like the roof and the paintwork - I worry about things I don't think I got quite right too. I sometimes find that tiny errors are all I can see when I look at one of my own models, but I've come to the conclusion that they don't appear that way to anyone else. I can tell you that this coach looks superb!! I wouldn't have know that the roof is on the wrong way round - it looks perfectly natural to me.

 

And as to paintwork lines that look Ok side on, but less so when viewed from the ends, yep, been there - been spending a lot of time there lately in fact! It can become obsessive, though I also think that the standard of modelling is raised the more we try to get things right...

 

I hope you enjoy running them - they look excellent! 🙂

[John Tomlinson]

13 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

John,

 

That kitchen car looks the business! It’s certainly crisper than my Kirk cut ‘n’ shut and you’ve got the correctly recessed doors which I didn’t know about when I built mine. Shame about the roof but i know the feeling of I cant face going back to correct that.

 

Looking at photos I decided that the windows were more frosted than white. What made you go for white?

 

As for part finished projects I have loads. Sometimes they just get put aside for something more interesting and I forget to go back to them!

 

Andy

 

Thanks Andy.

 

I really wasn't sure about the windows, there was a discussion on your thread that indicated "frosted", but equally in the BR period there are other types of Kitchen Car apparently with white. The picture of this vehicle on Steve Banks site is unclear. I felt more confident in achieving a tidy result with white, so there it was! One probable error is that I did the whole window, whereas the toplights probably should be clear, but I really had no confidence at all in my ability to do that in a precise way, without making a mess.

 

I'm pursuing unfinished projects at the moment, but at somepoint the urge to start something else will assert itself. It always does!

 

John.

[John Tomlinson]

13 hours ago, Chas Levin said:

Hello John, beautiful coaches and locos, and gorgeous looking in the sunlight: nothing quite like real sunlight!

 

I sympathise with your misgivings as to things like the roof and the paintwork - I worry about things I don't think I got quite right too. I sometimes find that tiny errors are all I can see when I look at one of my own models, but I've come to the conclusion that they don't appear that way to anyone else. I can tell you that this coach looks superb!! I wouldn't have know that the roof is on the wrong way round - it looks perfectly natural to me.

 

And as to paintwork lines that look Ok side on, but less so when viewed from the ends, yep, been there - been spending a lot of time there lately in fact! It can become obsessive, though I also think that the standard of modelling is raised the more we try to get things right...

 

I hope you enjoy running them - they look excellent! 🙂

 

Thank for your kind comments.

 

I'm definitely in the "glass half empty" category of seeing flaws, been like that since childhood. If there's re-incarnation I'd like a program change on that one please!

 

Seriously, if we are to have pleasure from this or similar hobbies I do think we have to learn to accept that sometimes things aren't quite 100%, but hopefully learning and improving as we go. Which I think is another way of saying that the standard is raised the more we try to get things right.

 

John.

[Silver Sidelines]

21 minutes ago, John Tomlinson said:

 

Thank for your kind comments.

 

I'm definitely in the "glass half empty" category of seeing flaws, been like that since childhood. If there's re-incarnation I'd like a program change on that one please!

 

Seriously, if we are to have pleasure from this or similar hobbies I do think we have to learn to accept that sometimes things aren't quite 100%, but hopefully learning and improving as we go. Which I think is another way of saying that the standard is raised the more we try to get things right.

 

John.

Hello John you have certainly been quietly beavering away.  I think lots of work - super looking models.  I go in awe of your painting, something that I have not ventured to do.

 

'Glass half empty' - I have the same problem.  Somebody once said "Stop, put the model away out of sight and then come back to it after you have done something else".

 

Cheers  Ray

 

 

[John Tomlinson]

35 minutes ago, Silver Sidelines said:

Hello John you have certainly been quietly beavering away.  I think lots of work - super looking models.  I go in awe of your painting, something that I have not ventured to do.

 

'Glass half empty' - I have the same problem.  Somebody once said "Stop, put the model away out of sight and then come back to it after you have done something else".

 

Cheers  Ray

 

 

 

Thanks for your comment Ray.

 

Putting things aside sometimes does have its merits. About three years ago I sprayed some Kleer varnish onto a few models I'd virtually finished, the main one being a four coach class 104 DMU converted from a Hornby 110, in green with full lining, which amounts to about 15ft. of transfer lining. The varnish reacted, or something, with the paint, making visible blotches. I tried various remedies, more Kleer with a Brush, rubbing with IPA, rubbing with extra fine wet and dry and so on. Still rubbish and lots more bad language! A pandemic later I tried spraying Humbrol Satincote, the enamel varnish, and bingo a nice even coach side!

 

Happy Easter to you both, if belated.

 

John.

[Silver Sidelines]

1 hour ago, John Tomlinson said:

 

 

 

Happy Easter to you both, if belated.

 

John.

Yes, you too, we had the family here - watching trains going in and out of tunnels!

 

Ray

[Chas Levin]

5 hours ago, John Tomlinson said:

 

Thank for your kind comments.

 

I'm definitely in the "glass half empty" category of seeing flaws, been like that since childhood. If there's re-incarnation I'd like a program change on that one please!

 

Seriously, if we are to have pleasure from this or similar hobbies I do think we have to learn to accept that sometimes things aren't quite 100%, but hopefully learning and improving as we go. Which I think is another way of saying that the standard is raised the more we try to get things right.

 

John.

Agreed - standards are definitely raised in this way, aren't they?

 

5 hours ago, Silver Sidelines said:

Hello John you have certainly been quietly beavering away.  I think lots of work - super looking models.  I go in awe of your painting, something that I have not ventured to do.

 

'Glass half empty' - I have the same problem.  Somebody once said "Stop, put the model away out of sight and then come back to it after you have done something else".

 

Cheers  Ray

 

 

Yes, putting things away is a very interesting way of dealing with things and often a very effective one. Blemishes 'recede back' into a more proportionate context, I find, and assume a sensible aspect as part of the wider picture, so we can judge them properly...

[John Tomlinson]

I thought I would show a couple more items of rolling stock that have been recently finished.

 

The first is an Ex Kirk kit for a Maunsell Restauarant Car that I modified to its postwar configuration of a Buffet Car. Basically this entails filling some of the windows with blanks to represent the sheeting applied when the conversion was made. The main purpose of this, as far as I can ascertain, was to give a wall area as side to the bar area of the vehicle, whereas originally there were normal windows for seating at tables for passengers receiving served meals. It isn't a bad kit at all, although I did buy a replacement roof for a few pounds at a show, having failed to get the original one into proper shape despite hot water treatment. Unlike the LNER vehicles, these Southern ones from the Kirk range do have recesses inside the windows for glazing, which gives a better result.

 

As with the BR (ER) Kitchen Car above, roof detail entails a bit of guesswork from photos, and a few of the fittings are my creations from bits of plasticard. I did a rudimentary interior, very little can actually be seen in fact, mainly the bar table at the end with the single window with curtains (done from pale gray card). The under fittings also involve a bit of guesswork, with some scratchbuilding to give an overall effect that I hope is convincing, if not 100% accurate.

 

I made a start on this before the Hornby Maunsell Restaurant Car was released, the latter would probably be a more refined starting point today, although I am not displeased by the outcome. I was displeased, however, in that having finished the vehicle for the first time, a sprayed coat of Kleer reacted badly with the Railmatch paint, so that I ended up doing a respray after rubbing down. The paint used now is Phoenix Precision enamel, for BR (SR)  green coaching stock. Lettering and numbers are HMRS Pressfix, and please, please will they get Sheet 14 for 4mm scale back into production again!

 

I was inspired to do this by the work of "145 Squadron" on here, in whose footsteps I tread a very long way behind. I do have another set of Kirk sides, which I'm tempted to do in Carmine and Cream still as a Restaurant Car, but we'll see.

 

 

 

 

John.

Edited April 19, 2022 by John Tomlinson

[John Tomlinson]

The second vehicle I thought I would show is this Ratio kit for a Southern bogie parcels vehicle B.

 

It is a good kit, but over complex, with umpteen parts for each side that could easily be moulded as one piece. It has some nice touches such as an etched fret for all the various handrails of different sizes, and came as well with some correct Maunsell pattern metal wheels. I will confess to losing interest at various points, as progress seemed very slow indeed, but I think it does look OK now finished. I think the paint here is Railmatch BR (SR) green enamel, and I realise looking at the picture I should paint the various sausage shaped destination panels in black - whoops! I've also missed touching up the back of at least one buffer in black.

 

The windows aren't completely satisfactory, as I cut some glazing and then tried to reproduce the bars with black transfer strip. Could do a bit better on this I think.

 

Generally it is pretty much assembled with kit parts, including the bogies, as was the case for the Buffet Car above. Transfers were concocted from HMRS and Modelmaster sheets, and are probably not totally correct, but fitting the various specifications on several lines into the space available between the stanchions is a challenge. I do have another of these in the stash, picked up at a Toyfair for not a lot, and might one day venture forth to build this one with a crimson finish.

 

The sides are identical, so only one picture needed.

 

 

John.

Edited April 20, 2022 by John Tomlinson

[46256]

Hello John I really like your coach models, the Maunsell restaurant conversion in particular. I have just purchased the Hornby original version in BR green, seeking to recreate, the shot of an Eastern B1 travelling through my West Midlands location with a rake of southern region stock. I had no green carriages prior to this thinking they wouldn’t have travelled through. How wrong I was, but a good excuse for more additions to the fleet. I won’t be tempted to alter to the buffet condition, however if a Kirk kit came along …