dajt Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Hi all, I thought I'd try something quick and easy as a bit of light relief from scratchbuilding various things. I bought a whitemetal kit of an LSWR 15t stone wagon and it arrived yesterday. So far it has taken 2 hours to clean up the parts, and 2.5 hours to get it to the point in the photos below. I think from this point on I'll use glue rather than solder, all the remaining bits look too easy to melt! I've never built a white metal kit before. It's certainly quicker than building from an etched kit. I've only done two etched kits, a roughly equivalent wagon and the MW 0-6-0, but they both took much longer. The etched wagon was in a different class, detail- and quality-wise, but it also cost twice as much and took a whole lot longer. It was certainly more than twice the kit though. The MW kit was a dog, thick brass, dodgy chassis design, and very hard to build. I was quite apprehensive about soldering white metal but starting on the biggest bits with a 25w iron avoided any major disasters and it was quite nice being able to hold things together with fingers while soldering. By the end I was pretty confident I wasn't going to melt anything, but I was still careful to keep the iron on the biggest bits of whatever I was soldering. The downsides to this kit are that it only comes with parts to build a rigid, unsprung, chassis (W-irons soldered to the side/solebar castings), and comparatively primitive brake-gear, although it's better than what I could scratch-build. And one brake lever bracket and one V hanger came broken, so it's only getting brakes on one side making it an early wagon. Can anyone recommend a Humbrol colour to represent LWSR goods wagon brown? Also, any advice on where can I get transfers for the lettering and numbering? Doing it by hand is way beyond my abilities. Regards, David. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sykes Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Fox Transfers do LSWR wagon lettering and numbers. Can't help with the paint, though it's worth remembering that paints were mixed in the paint shop so showed some variation, even before the effects of weathering changed it further. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 As above for transfers, there is also HMRS but if you are only doing one LSWR wagon they are expensive. The brown I have a stock od precision paints for my wagons. It is quite a rich chocolate brown. I am afraid I do not know of the match. The wagon looks very good. Whos kit is it. I at some stage want to make up a short stone train. When I lived in the Purbecks I never got around to doing one. There are some lovely photos of wagons like this in the stone yards at Swanage. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajt Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 Thanks guys, I'll go for the Fox transfers and look for a rich chocolate brown for the paint. The kit is from Roxey Mouldings. Certainly yesterday's kit but easy to build despite that. If I was building wagons for running I'd look for (or make) some type of compensation system. I only bought it as a diversion and to try soldering whitemetal, so I didn't worry about that. Regards, David. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbishop Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Precision B36, SR/LSWR Goods Brown. If you PM me your address, I'll try to find my HMRS sheet and snip off enough transfers for your wagon. But it's been a long day and I'm going to bed! Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I think I have some ABS 4 plank exLSWR wagons to build. I look forward to seeing it progress. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajt Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Turns out I couldn't be bothered getting messy with epoxy and waiting for it to dry so I decided to solder the rest of the bits on. These were the brake V hanger, brake lever, brake lever bracket/ratchet, and the door "things". Didn't melt anything so that was good. I think all the body needs now is the plastic floor cut and fitted, and a drop of superglue behind each of those things on the doors so keep the top of them in place (they're only soldered at the bottom). So I'll clean it up and buy some primer and brown paint on Monday and start painting. Might buy some colours to do weathering too. A bit of dry-brushing, just like the old days painting miniature figures! Regards, David. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Turns out I couldn't be bothered getting messy with epoxy and waiting for it to dry so I decided to solder the rest of the bits on. These were the brake V hanger, brake lever, brake lever bracket/ratchet, and the door "things". Didn't melt anything so that was good. I think all the body needs now is the plastic floor cut and fitted, and a drop of superglue behind each of those things on the doors so keep the top of them in place (they're only soldered at the bottom). So I'll clean it up and buy some primer and brown paint on Monday and start painting. Might buy some colours to do weathering too. A bit of dry-brushing, just like the old days painting miniature figures! Regards, David. Just a little help. you have put the door buffers on upside down. They should hang down from the outside of solebar to stop the side hitting the brake leaver and springs etc. Looks good apart from that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalo Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Just a little help. you have put the door buffers on upside down. They should hang down from the outside of solebar to stop the side hitting the brake leaver and springs etc. Looks good apart from that. That was my first reaction but, in fact, they are not door bangers. Having looked at photos and a drawing of the prototype*, they appear to be some form of lever mechanism connecting with something under the solebars. Was it some sort of spring mechanism? Nick * in Bixley et al. An Illustrated History of Southern Wagons, vol 1. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 That was my first reaction but, in fact, they are not door bangers. Having looked at photos and a drawing of the prototype*, they appear to be some form of lever mechanism connecting with something under the solebars. Was it some sort of spring mechanism? Nick * in Bixley et al. An Illustrated History of Southern Wagons, vol 1. You are at the advantage of the book, my copies are not with me. must get them here. Sorry for any confusion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajt Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Hi, As Nick says, they seem to be some sort of sprung mechanism, not just dumb stops. In any case I'm sure they're on the right way. What's a good way to clean white metal? Is water and washing up liquid good enough prior to painting? Regards, David. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Only cheap wasing up liquid the dear stuff has lanolin in it no good at all. I use a vim type product first good scrub with old tooth brush, and then after rinsing a good scrub with viacal limescale cleaner. Then a quick blast of halfords best grey primer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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