Rob Pulham Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 Minor health issues this week have stopped play for a few days so it was only last night when I made more progress. The open wagon is well on it's way now and it just needs the trestle bar and final details. I also need to work out just how to spring the buffers because they are turned brass heads that are designed for springing with a piece of piano type wire passing between them and the coupling hook tail. Aside from the buffers it's a lovely kit to build with everything fitting as and where it should. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazz Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 A very nice build, I too have a great dislike for buffers sprung through the coupling hook. My humble method is to drill a hole in the end of the buffer and use piano wire soldered to the floor in the centre. I insert the buffer and solder a washer to the shank to set how far the buffer sticks out, then adjust the wire for the correct tension. Downside is you cannot remove the buffer. But I've never had a problem with that as long as you're not going to go over board with the paint on it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted January 13, 2019 Author Share Posted January 13, 2019 Hi Ken, I must admit that I was thinking of something along those lines myself because I have soldered the coupling hooks in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 Bob's wagons are now well under way with just a few jobs remaining before I can get them on their way to him. Jobs still to do are: Fix on the roofs Add additional weight Weather the underframes of the cattle wagons Weather the vans. I hope to have the weathering, and weight completed tonight. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazz Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Just love the cattle trucks, weathering is just magic Rob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 Thanks Ken, I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed the process. The vans are to be lightly weathered so that will be done with the airbrush - or rather it was done last night but I will probably revisit it once I have the roofs attached. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted January 16, 2019 Author Share Posted January 16, 2019 The Slaters Wagons are finally complete and although I have enjoyed the building of them I am glad that they are finished and will be delivered to their owner next weekend at Bristol Show. They are to be used on a Layout called Hobson's Brewery, hence the faint 'ALE' branding on the cattle wagons. Here are the official portraits of each van. Sadly Paul Barlett informs me that running number B68501 belongs to a steel mineral....but I am sure that I took the numbers from the ranges supplied in the Slaters instructions - all things BR not being my strong point. 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share Posted January 18, 2019 Another session last night saw the GC open is almost finished, it just needs retaining chains for the side doors on the other side and the buffers fitting properly - just posed here for the photos. The inside is nicely detailed albeit the bottom doors are for the version without the trestle bar so mine will be tarped when finished so they won't be visible. I will definitely be adding more of these to a shopping list in the future. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share Posted January 18, 2019 The eagle eyed amongst you will also note that I have attacked the rather square profile of the coupling hook with some diamond coated burrs that fit my Dremel In true Blue Peter fashion - Before: After: It looks more like a proper coupling hook now 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazz Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 The eagle eyed amongst you will also note that I have attacked the rather square profile of the coupling hook with some diamond coated burrs that fit my Dremel In true Blue Peter fashion - Before: After: It looks more like a proper coupling hook now It's the little things that make all the difference on your models. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share Posted January 18, 2019 Thanks Ken, It's the little details that I like doing best, which helps. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 The mojo has been struggling recently but I have managed to get a coat of grey paint on the ex GC open. Warren Haywood kindly put some primer on it when I popped over a couple of weeks ago which made life a little easier. Next will be a coat of varnish before masking for the black underframe fittings. While I was painting I also gave the bogies for the Kirk Twins a squirt of black which is another job less down the line. 8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnaby Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 Yes Rob get that mojo working and give it its final paint as it deserves it. It's a handsome looking wagon. Regards 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 21 hours ago, Barnaby said: Yes Rob get that mojo working and give it its final paint as it deserves it. It's a handsome looking wagon. Regards Thanks Barnaby, I agree it is a handsome looking wagon and I can see more of these making their way across the bench at some point in the future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Mikkel Posted February 7, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 7, 2019 Rob, that build and basecoat are so neat and crisp I thought these were CADs! Can't be a bad camera either, can I ask which one - surely not a phone? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 Hi Mikkel, Thank you, I am glad that you like it. I can only take credit for the build and the top coat. The base coat was done by Warren Haywood. The Camera is a Canon 350D. It's getting on a bit now but it still does a good job. It was mounted on a tripod and the wagon was lit with studio lights (admittedly quite cheap ones). 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Mikkel Posted February 7, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 7, 2019 Thanks for the info. I misread and thought it was in primer - for a top coat it's even crisper 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted February 13, 2021 Author Share Posted February 13, 2021 Quite some time since I posted anything on this particular thread. Like many I suffered a bit of a mojo loss recently so I decided to take a short break from loco building to tackle a couple of wagons in the hope that the enthusiasm was rekindled. The first of these is a D&S Kit for a North Eastern Railway Bogie Road Van. Although I have had one of these kits for about 3 years, this one is for a gent who lives in Scotland who models the North Eastern Railway so I rang Dan Pinnock to enquire as to availability last year. Dan said he could do a kit but he would have to order the etches. And so, onto the build. I started with the basic floor pan and solebars. Like many kits the floor pan has fold down strips down the long edges. what is unusual is that these are not the solebars. The solebars have a full thickness rear section and a half etched overlay. The rear has a narrow fold along the bottom edge to represent the C section of a steel solebar. When put together the solebars fit into slots behind the fold down strips on the floor pan. To this floor pan is added a pair of queen posts Next, I made up the bogies, these are simple in design. A pair of really nice brass castings fit onto the ends of a fold up central bolster. Each bolster has a fold up strip on the top which either allows for and aft rocking or side to side. [/url] The brakes are simple affairs which fit nicely between the wheels on each side. 11 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazz Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 Great to see some of your beautiful work again Rob. Keep it coming. Best regards, Ken 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted February 14, 2021 Author Share Posted February 14, 2021 Cheers Ken Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted February 14, 2021 Author Share Posted February 14, 2021 Before going any further I took the time to detail the sides while they were flat. One of the features that I love about many North Eastern Railway vans is the doors and their variations of the locking mechanisms. Much of this detail is provided in the etches and I only added the locking rods and some thin half etched strip to create the staples that the locking rods and lower locking bar fit into. Once the various grab handles and pins for the drop doors were added they were ready for fitting. 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted February 14, 2021 Author Share Posted February 14, 2021 When I got my office and workshop completed last year I placed most of my shelf queens on the window sill in full view so that they are a constant reminder that they need finishing. One of those is quite a blast from the past, those with long memories will remember my building this NER V4 brake van back in 2017. I got so far with it and for some reason as sometimes happens, it was popped on one side. With the bit between my teeth, on Friday evening I picked it up and realised that all it needed to complete it was the fitting of the brake gear, guard irons and couplings. I am pleased to say that I knew exactly where the missing bits for it were and a couple of hours last night saw it complete. It does need a good scrub before it gets painted but it's now ready for a blast of primer when I do the road van. 6 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 Moving rapidly on with the Road van body, the instructions suggest that you fit the ends first and once I filed of an offending etching cusp, the ends fit nicely. My recently acquired RSU has come into its own on this build. Using it allows me to use the probe to hold pieces in place while tacking them. After tinning the edges of the ends, sides and the fold down on the floor pan, tacking it together with the RSU became a breeze. I ran the microflame gently down the joints to join up the dots and hey presto. It may just be me but it seemed so much easier than my previous efforts with van bodies. In fairness, the kit is well designed and that helps too. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnaby Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Rob, you may have temporarily lost your mojo but your skill is permanent for all to see. Beautiful work. Best 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted February 16, 2021 Author Share Posted February 16, 2021 Thanks Barnaby, You will have me blushing next... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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