Steadfast Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Really nice work on the HST James, I might have to steal some of those ideas down to N! The extra cable visible on the shot from last week is, I am reliably told, the Wifi cable. FGW Sets are being fitted with wifi at the moment, those fitted have gained a load of aerials on the roof of the TGS jo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted August 16, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 16, 2015 Just caught up with the HST stuff. Superb work James. I have a 2+5 set to start soon in a plain single coloured livery.............. One question - how fiddly/time consuming are the magnets to attach when putting the stock on for an exhibition? Does the set need to be turned upside down to fix them, or can they be done easily with the stock right way up? Cheers, Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swifty11 Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 When are we going to see the 'creative' coalfish graffiti that I showed you? Those wondering, it is actually from a prototype wagon! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted August 17, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted August 17, 2015 Just caught up with the HST stuff. Superb work James. I have a 2+5 set to start soon in a plain single coloured livery.............. One question - how fiddly/time consuming are the magnets to attach when putting the stock on for an exhibition? Does the set need to be turned upside down to fix them, or can they be done easily with the stock right way up? Cheers, Mick Thanks Mick! I've been looking at refining the design to make it less fiddly, at the moment the coaches can be connected while on the track, the magnets pull together, but the challenge was the little ETH pipes at the side, but you'd normally only get easy access to one side of the stock in a fiddle yard, so I'm going to experiment with putting all the pipes on a single bar and this will then connect much faster for exhibition setup and hopefully still look pretty decent! I've just bought a set of plastic (non magnetic) tweezers to help with handling the magnets to make things easier as well! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted August 17, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted August 17, 2015 When are we going to see the 'creative' coalfish graffiti that I showed you? Those wondering, it is actually from a prototype wagon! Hehe these will definitely come soon Tom! I've got a load of fudge brownies to make tonight for the office tomorrow (birthday necessities) but if I get a spare moment later..! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted August 17, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted August 17, 2015 (edited) I had more fun doing another three of the S Kits 'MHA' wagons during my leave last week - MHA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr We have late-build MHAs 394694, 394778 and 394788 joining the fleet today. I'd set out to model each on photographs, some of which had interesting markings to set them apart from a standard wagon. MHA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr First up, 394778 which I photographed going through Didcot with distinctive chalkings on the side - this one will remain empty! MHA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 394788 featured interesting ghostings of the word 'Full' written on the side, difficult to tell if this was leftover from useful wording for engineers (i.e. the wagon was full!) or whether just graffiti! MHA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr And then there's this one...well, all I can say, I'm sure Paul is probably a nice guy in real life! Thanks to Tom (Swifty) for sharing the prototype pic. These are really good fun, got a couple more late-builds in the works before moving onto detailing some early-build versions, and some accompanying MFAs! Edited August 14, 2016 by James Makin 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.C.M Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Nice work on the wagons James, The graffiti on the last one made me laugh. I would guess the washed out full would have been for the benefit of staff. Do not load may have been due the the wagon being carded for maintenance. The arrow may have been to include a few other wagons not to be loaded too. May be for operational reasons. I know that when I was a Shunter at Eastleigh Yard and was given the chalk to mark where wagons had to be split etc I did write little notes to the other shunters and draw the occasional inappropriate picture. Cheers Peter. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimleygrid Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Excellent work as always James. However, I do think it might be time for you to visit a Doctor, as your wagon obsession does seem to be getting worse! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugsley Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 And then there's this one...well, all I can say, I'm sure Paul is probably a nice guy in real life!Of course, the cat may have actually enjoyed it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack374 Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Great work as ever James, you could always model a 'Dyson' with this on the side... I'll also add to the HST coupling details, these are only between coaches but they may be of use... Look forward to more! Jack. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 Lots of good detailing James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted August 28, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted August 28, 2015 Buffering in progress... 288 buffers have arrived courtesy of George at S-Kits, enough to get cracking on the first of the HAA sets my early-build 'Coalfish'...but it's a long road ahead! 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimleygrid Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 And I thought my OCD was bad! Good luck with your Coalfish wagons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack374 Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Yes good luck James, but I count 287 buffers...are you sure he's not short changed you?! Joking, I've bought some stuff from George before and he's an excellent trader and all round nice person to deal with. Jack. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpleymodeller Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 More excellent work James well done! How many 'COALFISH' wagons do you plan on modelling? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted August 31, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted August 31, 2015 More excellent work James well done! How many 'COALFISH' wagons do you plan on modelling? Thanks! I've got around 30-something Coalfish altogether but I'm looking to create a realistic early 2000s EWS ballast train for Loftus Road, with a mix of usual wagon types, so probably won't fit that many MHAs alone in one train! I think our fiddle yard can just about fit a 36-wagon HAA set in so may just be able to squeeze a comparable ballast rake in! From my early-2000s observations the average trains have the late-build MHA as the dominant type, followed by early-build MHA, then MTA and finally MFA in low numbers, sometimes with a few MKA 'Limpets' thrown in for good measure! Really excited to be finally getting round to doing the Coalfish, I remember trying to buy the old Mendip Models resin kit back in about 1999 and the company went bust just as I put my order in!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted August 31, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 31, 2015 Thanks! I've got around 30-something Coalfish altogether but I'm looking to create a realistic early 2000s EWS ballast train for Loftus Road, with a mix of usual wagon types, so probably won't fit that many MHAs alone in one train! I think our fiddle yard can just about fit a 36-wagon HAA set in so may just be able to squeeze a comparable ballast rake in! From my early-2000s observations the average trains have the late-build MHA as the dominant type, followed by early-build MHA, then MTA and finally MFA in low numbers, sometimes with a few MKA 'Limpets' thrown in for good measure! Really excited to be finally getting round to doing the Coalfish, I remember trying to buy the old Mendip Models resin kit back in about 1999 and the company went bust just as I put my order in!! Up north, the MTA was the dominant wagon with MFA then MHA early build. The later build MHAs took awhile to migrate north. We also had (and still have) some of the MKA-MTA conversions with higher ends. And my take on it a few years ago. (If I was redoing the wagon, I'd be using some of S-Kits excellent Bruninghaus springs to update the chassis) Cheers, Mick 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beacon Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 From my early-2000s observations the average trains have the late-build MHA as the dominant type, followed by early-build MHA, then MTA and finally MFA in low numbers, sometimes with a few MKA 'Limpets' thrown in for good measure! I love the work you do and thanks for posting updates here. I hope you don't mind me temporarily hijacking to ask a question? I model the early 2000s as it was the era I travelled back and forth to Uni from Totnes to Cambridge by train. I recall the passenger side fairly well and have plenty of books with livery details etc. but when it comes to goods I unfortunately didn't take enough of an interest at the time and have struggled to find details of trains to run other than photos of individual wagons online (if I know what to look for), occasional magazine articles or guesswork from RTR models! Is there anywhere I can look or any good books you've used to find out about goods trains of this era? If not, maybe you could use you own observations and photos to write one I can buy!! Keep up the inspiring work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted September 4, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 4, 2015 (edited) Up north, the MTA was the dominant wagon with MFA then MHA early build. The later build MHAs took awhile to migrate north. We also had (and still have) some of the MKA-MTA conversions with higher ends. mta 395388.jpg And my take on it a few years ago. (If I was redoing the wagon, I'd be using some of S-Kits excellent Bruninghaus springs to update the chassis) 395386.jpg Cheers, Mick I like your MTA Mick! I've only had one attempt at doing any of the different MTA's so far, I did this 'Doorand' some years back, some of them have differently-placed side ribs, was humming between changing a Bachmann MTA by adding higher ends and new sides, or cutting down a tall POA and adding the triangle top capping! MTA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr This is my old 395008, upon doing a Flickr search recently I was somewhat perturbed to find 395008 has become one of those fancy new 'Javelin' trains!! Edited August 14, 2016 by James Makin 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted September 4, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 4, 2015 I love the work you do and thanks for posting updates here. I hope you don't mind me temporarily hijacking to ask a question? I model the early 2000s as it was the era I travelled back and forth to Uni from Totnes to Cambridge by train. I recall the passenger side fairly well and have plenty of books with livery details etc. but when it comes to goods I unfortunately didn't take enough of an interest at the time and have struggled to find details of trains to run other than photos of individual wagons online (if I know what to look for), occasional magazine articles or guesswork from RTR models! Is there anywhere I can look or any good books you've used to find out about goods trains of this era? If not, maybe you could use you own observations and photos to write one I can buy!! Keep up the inspiring work. That's a monster of a question Peter haha! If it were me, I'd start by deciding what part of your train trip was the most exciting/inspiring and base your layout on a location or rough area, to help narrow things down! I'd also then get a heap of old railway magazines from eBay as there's a ton of forgotten info within and great for getting the feel for what was going on around then and the kind of freight movements you're looking for. Realistically it'll take many years to completely research everything but you can't go far wrong buying some of the current RTR Bachmann wagons and having a good play - ballast wagons got mostly everywhere while you can gradually research if other freight flows went through your chosen area, e.g. the oils, Freightliners, coals, china clay etc etc. It'll come gradually - for example I've been on/off researching Didcot at first hand and also through mags/internet for about 15 years and I still get surprised at some of the unusual workings that surface so you never stop learning! Save every picture you find and keep folders of info on your computer of anything that comes up in giant 'to model' portfolio - the internet is fickle and things can disappear overnight! Flickr's a good resource although the best one was Fotopic - these sites suddenly died around 2008 and I think we lost a truly enormous volume of early-2000s railway pics which will probably never return sadly, but hopefully from all the above you can piece together a good picture of somewhere inspirational! Hope this helps 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beacon Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Ha! Yes I thought it might be a bit of a 'tip of the iceberg' question! Thanks for the advice on where to start though. Old magazines is a good tip as I hadn't really thought about that but I suppose they give the best contemporary record month by month. I've looked on Flickr but always get a bit list what to look for so hopefully a few magazines might help. Sorry for the hijack and thanks for taking the time to give a thorough response. I'll continue to sit back and enjoy your modelling as inspiration! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted September 4, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 4, 2015 Ha! Yes I thought it might be a bit of a 'tip of the iceberg' question! Thanks for the advice on where to start though. Old magazines is a good tip as I hadn't really thought about that but I suppose they give the best contemporary record month by month. I've looked on Flickr but always get a bit list what to look for so hopefully a few magazines might help. Sorry for the hijack and thanks for taking the time to give a thorough response. I'll continue to sit back and enjoy your modelling as inspiration! Research is half of the fun to me. As James says, save everything you can. Even if it's a low-res screen grab using such aids as the Microsoft "snipping tool". Don't forget the likes of Smugmug - Martyn Read's site is very useful and contains copies of many of his previous fotopic collection Regarding books - although it's a 2008 publication "Wagon Recognition" by Buck & Rawlinson is a good starting point as well as "Modelling 4mm Wagons" by Nigel Burkin HTH. Cheers, Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beacon Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Thanks Mick. I'll have a look for those books. I love the research side too but I've found it much easier to research further back in time or the very modern/current scene than 'recent history' like early privatisation. You've both given me plenty to go on now though so no more excuses! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpleymodeller Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 (edited) Hello James, 30+ MHAs will be an impressive accomplishment! I've included a couple of MHAs I photographed at Arpley last year that may be of some help; No.394392 still with EWS lettering No.394370 with EWS lettering painted over Will be following this project with much interest, Regards Lewis Edited September 10, 2015 by Arpleymodeller 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Nice work on those wagons James!! cheers neil. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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