5Bel Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Hi All, I recently picked up three Lima parcels vans for under £20. They are the Siphon G, LMS GUV and BR CCT in Tartan Arrow livery. Bodywise I think they still pass muster today, the chassis however need work to bring them up to modern standards. I have completed the Siphon and the LMS GUV is ready for the paint shop. Here are some pics of the Siphon. The bogies are Replica and the underframe is cobbled together from brass section and various bits from the spares box and the buffers are MJT. I simply oversprayed the original Lima livery in Precision Gloss rail blue and used HRMS and Replica transfers. The masking tape pulled some of the paint off but this will be disguised by a coat of weathering. I am really pleased with the result. The biggest expenditure has been the MJT sprung buffers. For about a tenner I now have a reasonable model of a vehicle type I used to see all the time when I was younger. I will post pics of the other two models as they progress. Cheers for now, Ian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gary White Posted January 23, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 23, 2012 Looks very good i am all for recycling old models did you remake all the under frame out of brass or reuse the lima underframe on the siphon G Gary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I agree too. The Lima bodies are still very well moulded and full of decent detail. At under £20 for the three, you're onto a winner! Cheers. Sean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ramblin Rich Posted January 23, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 23, 2012 I like the look of that, I've been trying to find one of those to replicate this example with ETH connections (at Barnstaple - push the right arrow for a few more shots). Thanks for giving some idea of the work required. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Setting a great route-map out there, for what's a basically acceptable body IMHO. Looking forward to the LMS GUV especially, these two feature in my what-if projects list, and like you say, they're not that hard to get hold of. Lovely stuff. Thanks for sharing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwealleans Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 At the risk of repeating myself (and showing up my ignorance of these things) there is a detailing kit available from Blacksmith for these vehicles. I used the whole thing, which is a replacement chassis (or perhaps part of), undergubbins, bogies and the detailing bits you can see below. Of course not all these may still be relevant to vehicles running in the 1970s. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Bel Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hi All, Thanks for the comments. I have been aware of the Blacksmith detailing kit for a while but never got around to buying one. I may do in the future because I have another Siphon body in the loft and I want to put all the louvre doors on it. I have taken some pics of the chassis mods I carried out and of the half complete GUV. The GUV runs on Mainline bogies with the buffers and roof vents from MJT. Extra beading from plastic strip. It will be finished in rail blue as M378333M. If anyone is considering doing these type conversions then I can recommend the book BR General Parcels Rolling Stock by David Larkin. Once again thanks for the comments. Cheers for now, Ian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
number6 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Great stuff. That pulled paintwork looks the part - I wouldn't worry about that! My teenaged self did this conversion to a Siphon back in the days - when these models were fairly new - and made a bit of a hash with a soldering iron of one bogie side then sloshed super glue over the other side. The soapy plastic LIMA used was always a pain to stick so anything I seem to remember. Thinking back now that was a bit of a golden age for NPCCS RTR - along with the various offering from Mainline and Airfix we didn't do too badly in those days. You can get flush glaze for that CCT these days from Laserglaze. A new underframe on those is a must - those tiny pizza cutter wheels are an embarrassment! cheers 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I like the 'part-panelled' look on the LMS van- I remember seeing some of the 50' Stanier brakes in a similar condition in the mid-1970s. I wonder how easy it would be to do the 42' van with the high roof..? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Wintle Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 The only thing I can think of for the Siphon is that, IIRC, most of them lost their gangways about the time they went into blue. Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I have been aware of the Blacksmith detailing kit for a while but never got around to buying one. You may have trouble geting hold of it. Blacksmith's new owners seem to have had more than their fair share of problems. The 4mm range is a bit lesser-spotted and the website does not function properly. Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 The only thing I can think of for the Siphon is that, IIRC, most of them lost their gangways about the time they went into blue. Adrian While lots did loose them, the last ones in use were those with gangways for newspaper traffic. They were even fitted with air brakes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 While lots did loose them, the last ones in use were those with gangways for newspaper traffic. They were even fitted with air brakes. I believe these were even fitted with an ETH supply. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted February 20, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 20, 2012 My NNV has the Blacksmith side doors as well mine is W1019 or 7 I modified the BR1s to look more GWR like, in fact the BR1 is based on the last design GWR bogie - just a slightly shorter wheelbase. My CCT is fitted with 14mm wheels and is compensated - only my very long wheel base 4w are compensated Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted February 20, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 20, 2012 While lots did loose them, the last ones in use were those with gangways for newspaper traffic. They were even fitted with air brakes. AFAIR most of the blue ones were newspaper and were all gangwayed, often operated with a BSK Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Bel Posted August 16, 2012 Author Share Posted August 16, 2012 Hi All, Due to an unusual bout of sunshine in lincolnshire I managed to get outside and take some photos of the vans I have been finishing. This is a Lima model sitting on Replica bogies with Gibson wheels. It just needs some Laserglaze to finish it. I have finished this as per the Larkin book BR general parcels and rolling stock, which is brilliant for photos of this era. A Lima model that has had its axleboxes drilled through to take plain bearings. It is fitted with Gibson wheels and Mainly Trains brakes in line with the wheels. A little bit of effort turns these basic models into something that looks quite good and in the case of the LMS GUV gives me a model that is unavailable today in RTR form. I am waiting on a new chassis for the Tartan Arrow CCT as I snapped off a W iron whilst trying to drill out an axlebox. All that is needed now are varying states of weathering and they will be finished. Cheers for now, Ian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted August 16, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 16, 2012 Very nice. The Lima 42' GUV/CCT is a nice model apart from the bogies. I did one here #5: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/55405-metr0lands-acrylic-and-powder-weathering/ I completely forgot the 2 centre windows should be almost flush, since corrected. I've got another 2 in works. These also have Bachmann LMS bogies and both these 2 have shell vents on the roof. It's a model that comes up quite nicely without needing great tech skills - yet gives something different. Lima went through a strange phase with goods/parcels stock where they were pretty good for their time above the waistline. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted August 16, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 16, 2012 Having just rediscovered a batch of Lima vans in the loft I have found this post of great interest. Thanks mate. You have made a superb job of your batch and I'll pinch your ideas if that's OK? Amazing what some different bogies and sets of new wheels, plus a bit of detailing can do, especially on the roof which is what we see more than anything. P @36E Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Very nice. The Lima 42' GUV/CCT is a nice model apart from the bogies. I did one here #5: http://www.rmweb.co....der-weathering/ I completely forgot the 2 centre windows should be almost flush, since corrected. I've got another 2 in works. These also have Bachmann LMS bogies and both these 2 have shell vents on the roof. It's a model that comes up quite nicely without needing great tech skills - yet gives something different. Lima went through a strange phase with goods/parcels stock where they were pretty good for their time above the waistline. I sometimes wonder if Lima (and to a certain extent many other manufacturers) used photos of vehicles whose underframes were obscured by platforms... Certainly, Lima seemed to get it wrong on a lot of vehicles with reasonable bodywork. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Bel Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 Hi, Thanks for the comments. Mallard, if you can use any of my ideas that's brilliant. I seem to be doing quite a lot of Lima remodelling at the moment, I have a 117 DMU half done and a couple more milk tanks. Once again thanks for the comments. Cheers for now, Ian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted August 17, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 17, 2012 Cheers Ian. I have soft spot for Lima stuff. At the time it was quite good visually (if not technically) and I always thought their maroon vans were spot on for livery as I remembered it. Great thing is one can pick up items at good prices and then hack them about a bit. Your bogie improvements are probably most helpful to me just now and you have done the research which saves us mortals a load of time. I did do a couple of Comet LMS (I think) underframes for Siphons a while back. That worked as far as the fit went, but I went no further than mating up the frame to the body so that another webber could see if it worked. Not sure if I still have the pics. P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted August 19, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 19, 2012 I fitted 14mm wheels to a couple of GUVs and my Siphon has the little hatches fitted, but the paint is manky so restrip is ahead as are some 9ft GWR bogies, my CCT is also 14mm wheels and I compensated it. Lima stiff is nice to hack around, done 3 DMUs a few Mk1s all look better Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Bel Posted November 16, 2012 Author Share Posted November 16, 2012 Hi All, I have finally managed to finish the CCT in Tartan Arrow colours. I ended up using MJT W irons as the model sat too high when I drilled out the axle boxes and fitted bearings. The springs and axle boxes are the Lima originals chopped and filed so they fit on their new W irons. The brakes come from ABS and there are various thicknesses of wire under there as well. Buffers are from Lanarkshire Models which are the nearest I could get to the originals. I only ordered them Wednesday, excellent service!! Flush glazing is from a well known chocolate box and the window bars are Southern Pride. Overall this has been an enjoyable project and it goes to show how good the Lima bodies were all those years ago. Now back to flush glazing my Class 117 DMU! Hope you like them. Cheers for now, Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesysmith Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 Didnt the CCTs have cropped tops to the buffers due to the drop down flap in the end doors? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmrspaul Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 Didnt the CCTs have cropped tops to the buffers due to the drop down flap in the end doors? No, the depth of the door was less than the shank of the buffer http://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brcct/e31a4d9cc Paul Bartlett Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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