Nile's Mostly Freelance Bodging Bench - Pre-Grouping Locos

[Nile]

Yep. I didn't buy the Bachmann limited edition as I didn't think it was worth it at the time. Even with the higher price now this one will work out cheaper.

[WD0-6-0]

Plus you have the fun of making it.

I think grey was under used, I think it looks good on a loco. The C class is one I really must get at some point, it looks fantastic but I've never seen one run, would you recommend it?

Rhys.

[DLT]

I'm not a huge fan of grey locos, but it does suit some.

This one carried a grey livery for while when first rebuilt, and looked fabulous:

http://www.whrsoc.org.uk/WHRProject/2009/rd-87-130109-3.jpg

Cheers, Dave.

[WD0-6-0]

I prefer a darker grey but that does look "grey...t". Sorry

Rhys

[Nile]

It seems the SECR painted almost everything grey. I've used Humbrol 64 as it seems a close match.

Having sprayed everything grey, I now need to paint the few bits that aren't. Here is the cab.

 

 

I've removed the plastic between the cab sides and rear handrails, very carefully with a scalpel. The inside of the cab was masked during spraying.

 

A similar task for the tender, the floor, coal space and buffer beam need painting.

 

 

The loco body back in one piece and sprayed with satin varnish. Smokebox and cab roof painted black, buffer beam painted red. The buffers themselves will be grey.

 

 

Edited November 26, 2023 by Nile

[DLT]

Very neat job.

Dave.

[Nile]

On to the chassis and wheels. Spraying isn't practical here, so it's back to brush painting.

I left the rods attached, which made painting the wheels even trickier.

 

Some weathering helps disguise any dodgy painting.

 

All the visible parts of the chassis were also painted grey.

 

 

Before I put it back together, here is a view of the underside of the cab, showing how all the various parts come together.

 

 

Back together in one piece, nearly finished.

 

I removed the green paint from the safety valves, I think they look good as bare brass.

 

At the front I had to rebuild the brake pipe that had broken into several pieces in the box.

 

Edited November 26, 2023 by Nile

[Jack P]

Hey there Nile, looks fantastic! iirc though, the inside frames were painted red - I think it would make a huge difference!

Edited September 12, 2014 by Jack P

[Nile]

The frames were dark red (or maroon) before I repainted them grey. I'm using the two Bachmann models as painting guides as there isn't much else to go on, and I'd like this to match the N class I have.

Now on to the tricky subject of the markings. I've not found any commercially available, the closest are the numbers for Southern locos that are the correct shape but wrong colour. The only solution is DIY.

I used a Silhouette Portrait ## cutting machine to make the numbers. The Arial font seemed closest, apart from the number 2, so I chose a number avoiding that. After experimenting to get the right size I cut the numbers into a self adhesive label. After peeling away the label around the numbers this is what I was left with.

 

 

Here they are applied to the tender.

 

 

Alternatively I could have used the 'outer' part of the label as a mask and sprayed the numbers onto the tender. But I thought that had more chance of going wrong. This method looks ok from a normal viewing distance.

 

For the cab side plate I photographed the one on the Bachmann N class and printed some onto another label.

 

I cut these out with scissors and stuck them onto the cab.

 

Here is the finished model.

 

 

 

 

## See here for info about that.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/79025-a-guide-to-using-the-silhouette-cameo-cutter/

Edited November 26, 2023 by Nile

[DLT]

Terrific job with the C-Class, but it must have taken some will-power to paint over that SECR Livery!

Cheers,

Dave.

[Nile]

Hi Dave, the task was made easier because....

 

I have another one that I won't be repainting.

 

Some more photos for you.

 

 

 

The N class isn't quite what it seems, I shall return to it at a later date.

 

I replaced the coal lump in the tender with some real coal.

 

 

And finally a complete, if rather short, SECR train.

 

 

I think there could be more grey locos to come.

Edited November 26, 2023 by Nile

[Spitfire2865]

I personally think you could use more grey wagons. Though the C class looks amazing.

[Nedrahn]

I think it's a lovely bit of work, and it looks great. However, is it the right grey? The same applies to the Bachmann version. The usual description is a dark slate grey that weathered almost to black in a few months. I'm not criticising. I'm just interested to know how other people interpret SECR grey.

[WD0-6-0]

May have to do that myself if I get a C, it looks gorgeous

Rhys

[Jack P]

More photos of the N would be awesome! That rake looks fantastic, where's the brakevan from?

[Nile]

All the wagons are from Cambrian kits, plus HMRS transfers.

[Nile]

My next project is to modify and detail a Trix brakevan. Here is a picture you've seen before.

 

 

Some comparison photos with other brakevans.

 

 

 

 

A side-on view.

 

The molded in brake gear will have to be carefully removed, as will the raised details on the body.

 

The underframe.

 

That vacuum cylinder will have to go, along with the coupling mounts.

 

Broken down into its parts.

 

Wheels and couplings removed, ready for action!

Edited November 26, 2023 by Nile

[Spitfire2865]

Its honestly surprising they moulded plank detail into the floor, and yet moulded the lettering into the side.

[Nile]

That may be down to different designers. I've seen this chassis used under a container wagon. It seems much more continental in design with its underside detail. I suspect the body was designed to fit this (existing) chassis.

[BernardTPM]

It's the opposite way round; the underframe is several years newer than the chassis. The bodies were replacements for the previous tinplate wagons in the '50s whereas the chassis there dates from the '60s.

[Mikkel]

Still enjoying this thread tremendously. To my own surprise I actually find I like the C class even better in the grey livery. Gives it a real workhorse look. 

 

Mixing your freelance company with a real one is a clever concept as it makes things even more credible. What is it they say: If you have to lie, stick as close to the truth as possible :-)

 

Incidentally your track and trackbed looks pretty good too.

[Nile]

Here is the result of my surgery on the chassis, mostly with a scalpel.

 

 

 

 

 

I've also removed the brake cylinder and coupling supports.

While not perfect, hopefully it will look ok when finished.

Edited November 26, 2023 by Nile

[Spitfire2865]

Wow, except for the spring, your cutting was perfect. Though getting the spring out intact would be a trial of patience and concentration that even the most dedicated modeler couldnt handle.

Very nice work. I await to see what you make of this.

[Nile]

The flexible/rubbery nature of the chassis material makes it awkward to work with, and difficult to get a decent finish.

I've added some detail to the chassis, footboards.

 

I've used some 1.5mm angle strip, with one side cut down to make it a L shape, plus cut-outs for the axle boxes to which they were glued.

 

Some extra bits added, vertical supports and steps under the doors.

 

It's looking more like a proper brake van now.

Edited November 26, 2023 by Nile

[relaxinghobby]

It's good to see how adding a few details to a basic model can upgrade it to a much better model.

There are some other brake vans out there on the second hand circuit that are good candidates for this sort of 

upgrade treatment. For instance the Graham Farish 00 van and the even older Tri-ang.

 

 

L/H the Tri-ang with lowered roof. Use one with a metal chassis it's the right height compared to the plastic chassis ones.

 R/H Hornby body on a chassis made of three sections of Airfix mineral wagon kits.

It's based on a SECR six wheeler drawings of which where in some old Railway Modeler.

Edited September 28, 2014 by relaxinghobby