West End Workbench

[jwealleans]

Hi Phil,

 

Yes, the turnbuckle is a foldup from the original etch. PT made new queenposts and some very fiddly components to attach the trussing, but I drew the line short of those.

 

These are still available from Matt at five79 and the last time I looked he had a special offer on - £28 odd instead of the usual £40.

 

You know it makes sense....

[Mallard60022]

Hi Phil,

Yes, the turnbuckle is a foldup from the original etch. PT made new queenposts and some very fiddly components to attach the trussing, but I drew the line short of those.

These are still available from Matt at five79 and the last time I looked he had a special offer on - £28 odd instead of the usual £40.

You know it makes sense....

 

I really think I've got one of these already and I've got no sense......

P

[jwealleans]

Go on, go on, go on, you know you want to.... The CCTs were painted and lettered up over the weekend. The first one was finished with Halfords Triumph Russett brown as per Peter Tatlow's recommendation in the article I cited earlier. I like this colour and have used it on a few vehicles. The second was done using Humbrol 186 with a spot of black, which ended up very close to Precision Paints' teak colour.

 

 

 

The smaller lettering under the number is from a set Mick commissioned from John Peck some time ago which I'm still using. There should be some route restriction lettering to the left of it but I haven't anything which looks appropriate so I've left that alone for the moment.

 

It was a bit cold up in the attic this weekend so I looked out a job I could do downstairs in the warm. Now, in May this year I went through about a couple of weeks where every time I saw someone I knew at a show they gave me a part-completed model suggesting I might like to have it to finish off. One of those will feature on here shortly, but on Saturday I dug out another; a pair of GN 19' vans started by Peter Simmerson "at least 25 years ago" in plastikard. They were rolling bodies, planks scribed but no detail. I reckoned there shouldn't be a huge amount of work in them, so here they are after a couple of evenings with the Evergreen strip and a magnifying glass. The roof vents need to be replaced with the correct torpedo type.

 

 

 

White on white isn't great for seeing, I know; hopefully you get the gist. The ventilated one I will do as a fitted version; the other I thought I'd do as the unfitted CLC version, just for some variety. They came with a drawing by 2512Silverfox of this parish, dated 1968 (he won't thank me for that, I'm sure) showing several different variants. I don't know where that was published, unfortunately, but it was very useful. Top work by Peter all those years ago as well; the bodies were still square and solid and corresponded to all the dimensions I checked. I imagine ABS is the only source of GN buffers these days?

Edited September 22, 2018 by jwealleans

[jwealleans]

Some progress on the vans through this week; rivets have been added with Archer transfers, the correct torpedo roof vents are now fitted and I've given them a blow over with primer to stop the rivets falling off. Buffers are on the way from ABS and brake gear for the unfitted one will have to be picked up from Andrew H at Wakefield. The GN one will have the Mainly Trains fitted brakegear which I always have in stock so I may get onto that this weekend.

 

 

I have been busy this week but found some time to fiddle on with the CCTs as well. Following running trials at Ormesby I raised the body on the bogies very slightly to give just a bit more freedom for the bogies to rotate and pitch. There is very little space between bogie, solebar and floor.

 

 

Initially this was done with washers, but the whole vehicle developed a wobble so plastic strip spacers have been stuck to the bolsters here. You'll also see black paper stuck to the underside - that's to prevent shorting if the bogie pitches enough to put both wheels in contact with the floor at once. More black paper is stuck inside to prevent light showing up through the holes in the floor.

 

 

Peter Tatlow's article showed two different styles of window bars (no indication of why this might be) so I did one of each. The upper body here has 5 bars, the lower has 2. These are .45 wire soldered to scrap fret and Evostuck to the inside of the body.

 

 

Lastly the roof. One of these two came with a roof, the other had lost it at some time. These roofs have 3 arcs, the curve over the peak sharpening as it nears the eaves at each side. I made a plastic ceiling for the van and stuck 40 thou formers to it, carved and filed to shape against the van end. This was stuck to the roof along the top of the curve and allowed to set. Then I squeezed it gently in a vice as shown here and flooded the edges with MekPak. This was left in the vice and allowed to set overnight. I had one small section which had to be restuck but most of it has taken and the whole thing now slots into place between the ends as intended.

Edited September 23, 2018 by jwealleans

[jonhall]

Jonathan,

 

Whilst browsing at Warley I found an interesting supply of Italian kits, that might provide some parts for building ferry vans...

 

the one that caught my eye was the refrigerated van

 

showing the contents, a couple of sprues, a set of transfers and a colour set of instructions equivilent to 3 sheets of A4

 

I have wondered if the entire body might be reusable

 

or just remove the ice doors

 

but then I noticed the springs - I think we have talked about these before!

 

I have the guy's email adress who said he could do mail order, and there are other kits in the range, although he didn't have any in stock.

 

http://www.duegieditrice.it/kit/ shows the range - some of the vans with and without brakehut might also have some potential?

 

Jon

Edited November 21, 2011 by jonhall

[jwealleans]

Those look very handy, Jon. Can you let me have the chap's details? I was going to reuse the springs from the Rivarossi chassis on the van I showed you but those look easier to work with.

 

Given the European loading gauge you might be able to use sides from one of these with a new underframe - from memory the body should be ~102x33 mm for pretty much all the different types.

Edited November 24, 2011 by jwealleans

[jwealleans]

Managed to get the CCTs all but finished - the buffers need filing down (there is a cutoff at the top to allow the falling end door to open). This also shows that some of my Araldite didn't stick properly and the internal bars have slid down at one side on one van. Naturally this disguised itself until after I'd stuck the roof on so this side promises to be very dirty indeed.

 

 

 

Now a little teaser. I've been working on these all week but need some bits from Wakefield to get them complete enough to be worth putting up. So while I'm enjoying myself shunting all weekend - come and say hello if you're there - can you guess what it is?

 

Scottiedog need not answer - he ought to recognise it.

 

Edited September 29, 2018 by jwealleans

[paul2001]

NER Bow ended stock Dia 153 to 158.

[jwealleans]

Nine out of ten; nine and a half if you did that off the top of your head. It's a D 152. Now I have most of the remaining bits for it expect to see more shortly.

[paul2001]

Looking forward to seeing the full item. For a bonus could also of been a Dia 137 converted buffet. Got an open first on my desk, which needs some final fettling.

[jwealleans]

I'd like to see a picture of that - these are handsome coaches. Bill Bedford? Where did you source your castings and what did you do for a roof?

 

I want to get mine a little more complete but I hope to have them up here this week.

[jwealleans]

Now, my little puzzler from last week, which Paul saw straight through despite my deliberately posting the image upside down. As I mentioned back upthread I had a few days in May where I kept being given part-finished items. At Middlesbrough show, Scottiedog of this parish handed me a plastic bag containing two etched coaches. These, I found, were Arthur's (ArthurK otp) prototypes for some North Eastern bow ended vestibuled stock. They do appear at the start of Arthur's workshop thread but the images appear to have gone for the moment. They were part built; one was on bogies and the other a basically complete bodyshell.

 

 

D 152 all first in nickel-silver.

 

 

D 156 all third in brass.

 

I believe these were built from 1908 for services between Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds and Glasgow. They lasted until after the war, in the main. Some were fitted with Gresley bogies in later life.

 

I contacted Arthur a few weeks ago and he was kind enough to send through the remaining parts from the etches and another pair of bogies. I've been working on them slowly for about a fortnight but I didn't want to post them until there was discernible progress. With the acquisition of springing wire at Wakefield I've got them both onto bogies and so here they are. Parts for roofs and interiors are on the way and I'm hoping to receive the castings in the near-ish future so as to be able to complete them.

 

 

 

 

 

These are prototypes and as I'm sure Arthur will elaborate there will be changes to the final design. The principal one as I understand it will be a separation of coach body and floor so the interior can attach to the floorpan and the body lift off. That is my preferred means of assembling coaches. I can vouch for the presence of the compartment walls making it very fiddly to attach droplights and door hinges.

 

The design of the inset end doors is neat, they being part of the end etch which is shaped and then attached to the sides at the inner end of the door. Bogies are sprung and very smooth and free running.

Edited September 23, 2018 by jwealleans

[jonhall]

 

SNCF Hfs?

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/6504847119/in/photostream

[jwealleans]

Or FASU in old money. Good spot.

[jwealleans]

Well, you missed a lot with the forum having Christmas off. So here's a condensed resume of what I've been up to; more detailed entries can be found on the LNER forum if anyone wants to look them out.

 

The NE coaches:

 

 

 

 

A new project - bit of a Christmas present to myself and built in more or less a day:

 

 

 

 

 

... and once you've opened the box, you have to finish the contents, don't you?

 

 

 

I also made a start on a Mainly Trains J71 conversion kit, presently stopped awaiting a few bits:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2018 by jwealleans

[jwealleans]

I seem to have missed these from the last update. I had quite a bit of paint left over after painting the coaches so I did a couple of CCTs while I was on. Now I didn't build this, it was in an Ebay job lot I bought a long time ago. None of them were quite finished and I've completed the odd one now and then since.

 

 

It's a D & S GC CCT. I don't think this is the kit which the GCS have bought from Dan Pinnock, but I've never seen a different model?

 

I also lettered up a batch of LSWR vans over Christmas, all from the David Geen kits by Peter Simmerson.

 

 

 

The left one of the bottom pair is a Meat Van - I still need the transfers for this if anyone has them spare from the HMRS sheet - and the other a butter van.

 

Last night was mainly spent (apart from painting an ME 109 for No. 2 son) on the roofs of the coaches. I have scans of the Isinglass drawings but the scan had altered the size of them so I had to scale off to work out where the vents ought to go.

 

 

 

Does anyone know which compartments were non-smoking?

 

I also painted up a D86 General Van with the surplus paint but I don't know what the code above the number should be - anyone enlighten me?

Edited September 6, 2018 by jwealleans

[jwealleans]

A short update from a lot of work.... lining. I hate it and the modern Hornby coaches set a standard only the very gifted among us can equal. Done it has to be, though. I did the 3rd over the weekend and made such a complete cock of it that it's been completely repainted. It was useful practice, though and I think this is much better. The camera is merciless and some of the lines have pixellated slightly making it look worse than it is.

 

 

It's done with the fine tip of a Bob Moore pen. It's when you're sweating over this sort of thing and rubbing it off again for the dozenth time that you realise what a supreme talent the Larry Goddards and Ian Rathbones of this world really do have.

 

I do know I've missed a line and once it's dry I'll be making some judicious adjustments with a cocktail stick to tidy it up. The other side still needs the upper panels doing.

Edited September 6, 2018 by jwealleans

[jwealleans]

A couple of evenings last week saw the lining complete - Coach has nothing to worry about but once they're weathered and the 3' rule applied I think they'll passs muster. . Good practice as I have an A8 to line for Ormesby once these are done.

 

I glazed and added interiors this weekend as well so here they are as at this morning:

 

 

 

I've had some discussion with members of the LNER forum about smoking compartments. It remains a little speculative - please tell me if you have definite information before I put the lids on..... I now need to spend an evening painting passengers. The roofs will not be removable due to the amount of filling and profiling the ends will need so all this has to be done in advance.

 

I also received a parcel from ABS with some buffers so was able to just about finish off the two vans I detailed way back upthread:

 

 

That lettering session also covered the SECR van which had been queued up for a week or two.

 

 

While I was doing those I went to letter up the D5 horsebox I built only to find that CCT only include one set of lettering for it on their sheet - and that had gone on the Parkside one. I see that Parkside do a sheet with both LNER and BR lettering, which works out well as I have another D & S one to build, but I shan't see them until Doncaster in February. So it's on hold, but as promised here it is against the Parkside one. You have to say that the plastic holds up very well.

 

Edited September 6, 2018 by jwealleans

[jwealleans]

Coaches now have roofs affixed and filler is drying. That doesn't make for very interesting photography, so here are a few other things I've been messing about with:

 

I volunteered to repaint and line the A8 for Ormesby over the winter. The boiler bands are done with what I think must have been Modelmaster lining, given the way the lines kept detaching from the carrier film. The rest is Bob Moore. It's very much just a repaint and there are a few things which could do with attention at another time. The boiler bands will need toning down once it's cured enough to weather.

 

 

This was in a lot of cast kits on Ebay which someone pointed out on the LNER forum. It was in bits (although described as 'well built') and so didn't seem to attract much attention. I know a GE 10 ton van when I see one, though. It came yesterday morning, went straight into the Nitromors and half an hour last night saw it put back together. I'll probably have to replace the brakes as I want to put it into BR livery and I believe they may all have had 4 brake blocks by then.

 

 

Finally another parcels van. I've had these for years and done nothing with them, but the simple expedient of using the box for something else so they're on the test rack and in my eyeline has got me working on them. I though this D & S NER D171 van would be as simple as a few lamp irons and a repaint, but closer examination showed that the builder had failed to fit any handrails (and had blocked up the holes for some, so I assume it was a deliberate decision). Anyway, a bit of bent wire later it's about ready for primer again.

 

Edited September 22, 2018 by jwealleans

[Rob Pulham]

You certainly seem to be on a roll at the moment Jonathan, I am enjoying the sheer variety.

[Pennine MC]

I'm liking the finish on the maroon HB, in line with comments on the current 'prototype' thread and the pics I've seen myself it would seem that that's a typical 'careworn' in-service look.

[jwealleans]

_{Well thanks, chaps, you're very kind as usual. The horsebox was done in a bit of a hurry for - I think - Manchester last year and I was pleased with the way it came out, so I have never revisited it. I'm not sure it's had much more than a wash over witha weatheirn mix and clean with a cotton bud.}

 

_{Rob; the variety comes from suddenly realising that we open again at Ormesby in not many weeks and all the jobs I said I'd do for them are largely unstarted. I have an F4 masquerading as an F8 to look at and the Sentinel railcar to remotor (although that won't be done by March).}

Edited January 22, 2012 by jwealleans

[jwealleans]

Some updates worth posting after a few days fiddling about. First of all the coaches are about finished. There are one or two bits of paintwork to touch up but I'll leave them for a couple of weeks now and come back to them with fresher eyes. I will probably give them a run round Pilmoor on Monday as a test, so there may be more photographs then.

 

 

 

I've just about done the passenger brake as well. The shiny bits are where I painted up the cornice to match the body after gluing the roof in place. The roof needs another coat and then it'll get a blow over with satin varnish again. I also realised that I'd forgotten a handrail, which you can just about make out unpainted at the right hand end.

 

 

Now a couple of different jobs. When I took the A8 apart to paint it, I removed the insulating arrangement from the front cylinders. This consisted of a piece of electrician's tape over the cylinders and across the underside of the front of the body. Now it's painted I needed to put something equivalent back. These locos are notorious for shorting on curves, as are the B16s - in fact our B16 on Pilmoor can only be used 'down' because it won't go round the 'up' curves.

 

The cunning plan we came up with on Monday night was as follows:

 

 

This is the problem - the front bogie wheels touch the front edge of the cylinder very readily.

 

 

The cylinder had already been cut away in the past, possibly when the loco was built, to try to counteract this. I cut it further back, almost across the half way point.

 

 

To complete the cosmetic subterfuge, a couple of circles were punched out of black paper and stuck over the cylinder ends.

 

 

I'd like to say it worked perfectly, but I painted the wheels today so I haven't been able to test it yet. Full report to follow in due course.

 

Next a job Ian (Pennine) knows I've been going to do for months and kept forgetting. I have a GW open which I acquired and built last year, don't recall where from. I wanted to sheet it, but make the sheet removable so I can run it 'loaded' or 'unloaded'. The problem was how to make the sheet a realistic looking fit - and the wagon has a tarpaulin rail as well - but still be able to get it off. I had an idea but hadn't tried it. I'm pleased to say it seems to have worked.

 

First, wrapped the wagon in clingfilm.

 

 

Then coated the back of the sheet (Roger Smith) liberally with PVA and stuck it on, folding and moulding it to the shape of the wagon and over the tarp rail. A rubber band holds it nicely in place while drying.

 

 

Once dry, only the absence of ropes is the giveaway - but that's an unavoidable compromise if you're going to be able to take it off.

 

 

Judicious trimming to remove all visible evidence of the clingfilm and the sheet slides off easily. The PVA makes it quite rigid, but this may well get a bit of weathering and some matt varnish which ought to stiffen it up a bit more. I'll make a rolled sheet from plain black paper to put into the 'empty' wagon.

 

Edited September 6, 2018 by jwealleans

[Rob Pulham]

Neat idea for the sheet Jonathan, I have a few slaters opens in the pile so I may 'borrow' the idea at some point.

[jwealleans]

After a prolonged absence due to a major home improvement project, I have managed to find the time to do a bit more modelling. Not as much as I'd like, or the projects I really want to crack on with, but bits and bobs of finishing off to ease myself back into the swing of it gently. In the main this has been completing wagon kits which I take with me on my travels and build in hotel rooms. I dug out one or two older kits this year. Hopefully it will be self explanatory: I've tried to use the bits as supplied, but there are one or two substitutions where components were so awful as to be unusable or much better things are available.

 

 

 

The detail on this is a bit flat, but it's turned out better than I might have expected. The centre axle floats on a floppy bit of wire. I wasn't able to find decent replacement buffers; the supplied ones are nowhere near those in the photos I looked at, but no-one seemed to do any which resembled the bottle shape of the real ones, so these will have to do until better ones turn up. Both these kits showed their age in the amount of time it took to get flash free W irons and square, parallel axles.

 

 

A free gift, found in a box with another kit from Hereford Model Centre.

 

 

This is another of the ex-MAJ range. A shame they don't seem to be available as they make up really well and are very detailed castings. The instructions implicitly suggested that I should remove the beautifully cast and legible plate on the bodyside but I just couldn't bring myself to.

 

 

This is awaiting etched stanchions from 51L which arrived today. I also replaced the buffers with (the wrong) cast ones - Dave Franks does the correct pattern, but by the time I realised they were glued so firmly that I started to pull the buffer beam off. It is built as the earlier, 1929, diagram.

 

 

A characterful wagon which went together very nicely. Like all the Cambrian kits here I've replaced the plastic buffers with metal ones, here turned steel from 51L.

 

 

 

 

 

I have a few Bachmann bodies which I've been using Parkside chassis under to make up Lowfits, but this is Parkside with a few scratchbuilt brake bits to fill in gaps.

 

 

Finally, I fettled the coupling rods on the J71 so the chassis rolls smoothly. I'm now awaiting the mechanicals from High Level.

Edited September 6, 2018 by jwealleans