Adam's EM Workbench: Farewell for now

[Adam]

On 15/08/2019 at 18:24, Adam said:

 

Hi Mark,

 

Thank you - I'd seen the alerts! I've finished both, but haven't got around to putting them in front of the camera; I'm toying with loads for them but what with one thing and another, they're sitting in boxes. I am doing up a house at present, and it's the cricket season so I'm pretty busy. When I get a minute...

 

Adam

 

Right, for @2996 Victor's benefit and because it was out of the box:

 

 

A reasonably tidy finish for this one. Transfers (especially the TUBE lettering) a bit of a mish mash from various sources.

 

Adam

 

 

Edited March 10, 2020 by Adam

[2996 Victor]

On 18/08/2019 at 23:32, Adam said:

 

Right, for @2996 Victor's benefit and because it was out of the box:

 

 

A reasonably tidy finish for this one. Transfers (especially the TUBE lettering a bit of a mish mash from various sources

 

Adam

 

 

 

Thanks, Adam, that's excellent and inspirational, as expected!

 

Keep'em coming, please!

 

All the best,

 

Mark

Edited August 21, 2019 by 2996 Victor

[Adam]

Something I didn't mean to start, or at least, not just yet. Cambrian's kit for the first of the distinctive 'Southern' vans with their loading gauge-filling domed roof. I've built examples of most of the major variations, less the plywood and banana versions but this is the progenitor of the breed, with a 9' 6" wheelbase, lifting link brake, and a bottom flap door. This is about as close to building something out of the packet as I get; I've replaced buffers, axleboxes and brake levers but that's it.

 

 

 

The lever guides are from the Scalefour Society and the levers from Masokits. I've even painted it, though just the first pass as you can see, I've missed the odd bit.

 

 

Adam

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2020 by Adam

[Jack P]

That looks fantastic Adam, (as usual) where are the buffers from please?

[Adam]

7 hours ago, Jack P said:

That looks fantastic Adam, (as usual) where are the buffers from please?

 

The spares box - they must be ABS ones. Lanarkshire Models do something similar (look under the GWR self-contained types), the SECR ones were fairly similar - the heads should have a ring of rivets around the shank to secure the head to it but only Kenline ever included this feature and while we had some of those they weren't actually round...

 

Adam

Edited September 3, 2019 by Adam

[Adam]

On 03/09/2019 at 06:27, Adam said:

 

The spares box - they must be ABS ones. Lanarkshire Models do something similar (look under the GWR self-contained types), the SECR ones were fairly similar - the heads should have a ring of rivets around the shank to secure the head to it but only Kenline ever included this feature and while we had some of those they weren't actually round...

 

Adam

 

As it happens, @Jack P here's the real thing (from an ex-Port of Bristol-owned SECR open - the burning shown was to free up the shank which had seized). Interestingly, for anyone that had ever wondered how a 'self-contained' buffer works, the spring acts against the headstock and is not physically contained within the buffer housing. Simple, isn't it?

 

 

Adam

[Jack P]

Thanks for the photo Adam, that's an interesting photo of the end you don't usually see!

 

On 03/09/2019 at 17:27, Adam said:

Lanarkshire Models do something similar

 

Indeed they do - I'd forgotten about that. I ended up buying some of the 51L BR self Contained buffers from Wizard (product code BRC003 incase you wondered) which look really similar, if they turn out to be incorrect i'll test out some of the Lanarkshire ones!

[Adam]

1 minute ago, Jack P said:

Thanks for the photo Adam, that's an interesting photo of the end you don't usually see!

 

 

Indeed they do - I'd forgotten about that. I ended up buying some of the 51L BR self Contained buffers from Wizard (product code BRC003 incase you wondered) which look really similar, if they turn out to be incorrect i'll test out some of the Lanarkshire ones!

 

Courtesy of my dad who was involved in restoring the wagon in question. Neither of us knew about the mechanics of the buffer until that point... I think I have some of those 51L buffers; they're not the most amazing castings and they're not absolutely right, but they are the same size and proportion (just like the ABS ones used here) which ultimately is what matters!

 

Adam

[Jack P]

Do you have any photos of the finished wagon?

 

It's unlikely that i'll be able to get my hands on any of the ABS ones, and certainly not in bulk - So same size, and general look is perfect!

[Adam]

On 05/09/2019 at 12:35, Jack P said:

Do you have any photos of the finished wagon?

 

It's unlikely that i'll be able to get my hands on any of the ABS ones, and certainly not in bulk - So same size, and general look is perfect!

 

Eventually! It's destined to be a stores van on the layout, parked at the end of a siding. To this end it has an internal user number and branding.

 

 

 

Of course the layout doesn't exist yet and the associated clutter will take a bit of work, but the van is done.

 

Adam

 

[ullypug]

That's nice, that is

[sb67]

I've been having another glance through your thread after seeing the link on the Sheepcroft thread. It makes me want to go and build wagons! I find it all very inspiring, your painting and weathering is spot on. I cant believe you don't use an airbrush for any of it. 

One question, I love the rust effects on the mineral wagons and the way it looks like the rust comes through the livery colour, I was wondering how you would deal with a ready painted RTR wagon. Would you re paint it, putting the rust on as a base layer then the livery over the top or add the rust over the top of the ready painted livery?

Apologies if it's been mentioned before.

What have you been working on lately?

Many thanks.

[cheesysmith]

If that can is going to be a stores van, and not moved, how about modeling something not often seen, and have the handbrake pinned down? 

[Adam]

14 minutes ago, cheesysmith said:

If that can is going to be a stores van, and not moved, how about modeling something not often seen, and have the handbrake pinned down? 

 

You make a perfectly valid point, but see:

 

https://zenfolio.page.link/kC8ks and https://zenfolio.page.link/YEYKE

 

I'll chock it with a sleeper. Or maybe a second van, with parking brake on as I quite like pre-grouping vans and have precious little excuse for building them, though this would almost certainly mean an additional siding.

 

2 hours ago, sb67 said:

I've been having another glance through your thread after seeing the link on the Sheepcroft thread. It makes me want to go and build wagons! I find it all very inspiring, your painting and weathering is spot on. I cant believe you don't use an airbrush for any of it. 

One question, I love the rust effects on the mineral wagons and the way it looks like the rust comes through the livery colour, I was wondering how you would deal with a ready painted RTR wagon. Would you re paint it, putting the rust on as a base layer then the livery over the top or add the rust over the top of the ready painted livery?

Apologies if it's been mentioned before.

What have you been working on lately?

Many thanks.

 

Thank you! What with one thing and another, notably the arrival of a small person, there hasn't been much in the way of activity. The only thing I've completed is a simple repaint (paid for by delay repay payments from the commute as it happens...) of this Series 2 Land Rover. You don't see many in pastel green...

 

 

So far as minerals are concerned, it depends on the effect you're after. For a more rust than paint vehicle, the logical thing to do is to paint the thing rust coloured and then add some livery over the top. For a well-scuffed and chipped wagon then there are lots of ways of doing that (and there are probably some in this thread, but the last site rebuild broke the index I'd created so the best I can do at present is to suggest having a look (a thread search for 'mineral' might do it?).

 

Adam

[Adam]

This one - an Austin FF -  has been on the bench (but mostly off) for years now. It's a bit of an experiment. The cab and wheels are from Road Transport Images (albeit under Frank Waller's ownership) while the chassis and body are from scratch just to see if I could, and whether the chassis themselves were worth the money.* I need to add the prop shaft and diff on the rear axle but it's otherwise done.

 

 

 

 

Adam

 

* Broadly, yes. That said, they're not cheap...

 

Edited February 29, 2020 by Adam

[Adam]

Another lorry, this time a United Dairies Scammell, again from Road Transport Images parts. I've made a start on the tractor unit but until I've primed it, the white resin is impossible to take a decent picture of, so here we have the important bit, the tank. So the trailer started out as item T11 sold as a bitumen tank but readily convertible to something more lactic. 

So here is was after the first phase of assembly/filling (the casting is reasonable, bit with a fair number of pin holes which mostly showed up after first contact with primer) with band and nameboards on the side, scaled to suit the accompanying transfers. I've beefed up the tops of the mudguards with some 10 thou' superglued in place and blended. They weren't as thick as the curves which they should have been!

 

 

The current state of play following a dose of Halford's filler primer, showing the filling of pin holes (most really very tiny but opened up slightly to give the Milliput a chance) but also a start on detailing - you can see the mudguard stays and spare wheel here and also the toolbox (if that’s what it was):

 

 

 

Back to the tractor unit...

 

Adam

Edited March 14, 2020 by Adam

[hayfield]

On 29/02/2020 at 11:30, Adam said:

This one - an Austin FF -  has been on the bench (but mostly off) for years now. It's a bit of an experiment. The cab and wheels are from Road Transport Images (albeit under Frank Waller's ownership) while the chassis and body are from scratch just to see if I could, and whether the chassis themselves were worth the money.* I need to add the prop shaft and diff on the rear axle but it's otherwise done.

 

 

 

 

Adam

 

* Broadly, yes. That said, they're not cheap...

 

 

 

Reminds me very much of my uncles old lorry, he had a shop in Vicarage road and a stall in Watford Market

 

There was an area behind what now is the Natwest bank accessed from Market street where there were lots of large garages, where he kept the lorry when not in use. Long gone now as I think the row of buildings were redeveloped in the 70's

[Adam]

34 minutes ago, hayfield said:

 

 

Reminds me very much of my uncles old lorry, he had a shop in Vicarage road and a stall in Watford Market

 

There was an area behind what now is the Natwest bank accessed from Market street where there were lots of large garages, where he kept the lorry when not in use. Long gone now as I think the row of buildings were redeveloped in the 70's

 

Don't suppose you can remember the colour? I haven't a clue what livery to apply...

 

Adam

[hayfield]

Sorry no. certainly before metallic paints, the lorries were mostly signwritten. My uncle would probably have bought it second hand and may have had it  either repainted (probably by hand) or just signwritten over a plain colour. His lorry had four or 5 planked sides which hinged downwards. As the veg spent its life in the open no need for a top over the goods !!

 

I have just Googled Commer lorries

https://www.google.com/search?q=commer+lorries&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-GBGB833GB833&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFv7jDm6LoAhU-TxUIHYHqCWIQ_AUoAXoECA8QAw&biw=1920&bih=937

 

Most if not all are authentic, the posh ones were two tone livery. Small traders may have only had the cabs painted/repainted, leaving the rear either plain or a different colour. Certainly no white vans/lorries

[Adam]

Following a rather chaotic week at work, well, sort of at work, mostly at home for however long it will be now, there hasn't been a whole lot of modelling time, but what there has been has been devoted to this road-borne milk tank. So ladder on and stays fitted, fifth wheel fettled and the impressively huge wheels installed. Those big tyres were called super singles (because they were not doubled up as is common for trailers to spread the weight). Their large diameter, as on the tractor unit, reduced the rpm for a given speed making for more efficient haulage. Actual top speed was less on an issue because these Scammells were limited to 20 mph when built!
 

 

I'm reasonably certain there should be lights/reflectors by the point I'm modelling (post 1960), so these are still to add. The tractor needs more radical work because the cab as supplied was intended to accommodate smaller steering wheels - United Dairies seem to have standardised on equal sized larger efforts - so I need to make and fit new mudguards. The chassis used here is intended for the later Highwayman. Viewed from the other end, it's plain how basic these units are.

 

 

Adam

Edited March 25, 2020 by Adam

[hayfield]

My school was opposite the Scammell works in Tolpits lane, I was amazed at the amount of what was basically chassis with engines being driven around, probably from one shop to another, but a chap driving a lorry without either a cab or rear body/platform allways would stand out as did those massive tank transporters. Tolpits lane side was mainly the office complex, the rear of those buildings was where most of the lorries were parked, so out of sight from the school  

[Adam]

2 hours ago, hayfield said:

My school was opposite the Scammell works in Tolpits lane, I was amazed at the amount of what was basically chassis with engines being driven around, probably from one shop to another, but a chap driving a lorry without either a cab or rear body/platform allways would stand out as did those massive tank transporters. Tolpits lane side was mainly the office complex, the rear of those buildings was where most of the lorries were parked, so out of sight from the school.  

 

Fascinating, and reminiscent of my experiences of cycling round Southampton when transits were still produced at Eastleigh. Export vehicles were driven to the docks in whatever form was required, mostly chassis cabs, in convoy. The drivers tailgated absolutely everyone...

 

Adam

[Adam]

From this, to something a bit closer to completion.

 

 

 

I've reworked the flatbed with chains to represent a lorry in the churn collection business. The livery is imagined, but representative (though like M & A Shaw, whose blue Bedford can be seen below, Bateman of Pitney refers to someone I know rather than a genuine south Somerset haulier). This Austin will need an awful lot of churns to be fully loaded (about 70, which explains why you don't see these modelled too often - that's a lot of Dart Castings...).

 

 

The Bedford is from Milicast (a military specialist, as the name suggests) representing a pre-war Bedford O as requisitioned in large numbers for the BEF and inevitably left behind but produced in massive numbers after the war. I've adjusted the rake of the radiator grill, but that's about it, other than the masses of lettering...).

 

 

Adam

Edited May 17, 2020 by Adam

[57xx]

Is that all hand painted lettering Adam?

[Adam]

30 minutes ago, 57xx said:

Is that all hand painted lettering Adam?

 

Yep. It just about passes muster, I think?  Commissioning transfers would require a bit more planning than I'm perhaps capable of. That's an old 50p by the way...

 

The Bedford is inspired by this image (of a Kew Dodge): http://www.stilltimecollection.co.uk/detail/30886-tpt-transport-truck-lorry-wagon-george-wadacor-ncb-bradford-coal-mining-pit-bedford.html#25922

 

Adam

Edited May 17, 2020 by Adam