Modifying Chivers' MDVs (21t Minerals)

[Fat Controller]

Due to a slight 'clerical error' on my part, I've found myself with twenty of Roger's excellent MDV kits. Whilst I'm quite content to build a number as he intended, I've always been a great fan of 'cross-kitting' and partial scratch-building to represent prototypes for which no model is currently available. The obvious derivatives from the Chivers kit are :-

Using the body

21t Diagram 1/107 welded 21t mineral, and the later rebuilt 21t '4-door'ones

The chassis for these is one of the 4-shoe 12'0" underframes from Parkside.

Using the underframe.

BR Coil A and Coil B

(Possibly also the Shockhood B- I need to check against drawings)

The first photo shows the 'as-built' Chivers MDV, with a Diagram 1/107 built my my friend Chris Lewis.

The second photo shows another one of Chris's 1/107s (right) and one of my later rebuilds

The modifications in both cases are relatively straightforward.

For the basic 1/107, the 'London Merchants' top flaps, and the cross member below them, are removed with a sharp knife. After the area has been filed flat to one's satisfaction, a new cross member from plastic strip is cemented into the missing bit of top frame, and then 'blended in' with some fine wet and dry paper.

The later rebuilds have a much thinner top rim. To represent this, all the existing top rim is removed with a craft knife (I used a chisel'-type blade, cutting down against the work bench). Once this has been done, the top of the three sides needs to be filed down gently, such that a piece of .020" strip fixed to the top brings the height to the same as that of the end-door.

Both these modifications used Parkside solebars from the 12'0" underframe kit- a very small amount of material needs to be removed from each end of the solebar, so that they fit snugly between the headstocks of the assembled Chivers body. The ones pictured have the conventional brake-gear, but I am now experimenting with modified types. One is the 4-shoe type, with V-hanger at the left-hand side, originally from a HUO. Another will have the former LNER 21t hopper brake gear, with clasp-brakes on one side only.