Prometheus Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 I'd very much appreciate some help here........ The image below is of a fairly vintage model of a Siphon G, purchased in an eBay lot which included two K's Siphon F vehicles. The latter initiated the bidding and the mystery G was just part of the lot. The body is a solid wooden block, with a card overlay for the roof detail and additional wooden detail glued to the sides to represent external bracing, etc. The bogies, which are quite nice actually, are plastic and assembled with glue. They are screwed into the underside. The buffers are sprung and the other parts of the underframe are bent up [rather well as it happens] out of wire. I cannot tell if any of these are proprietary or home made with some skill. The whole ensemble is really quite heavy and rolls poorly, much in part due to the plastic wheels which have been fitted. The couplings are of the Hornby Dublo / Trix-Twin type. The body itself appears to be just a little under-scale in terms of height, or that may be an illusion, a consequence of over-scale flanges on the wheel sets and some daylight being visible between the floor and the bogies themselves. Restoration is clearly an option although the considerable weight of the model will always be an issue no matter how freely it would eventually run. I'd also quite like to scavenge the bogies for another project. So, what to do, what to do..... Before making a decision, does anyone recognise the provenance of this interesting model ? I feel that it may have had a kit-based origin although I'm not sure. If I do reuse the bogies, the body will still be kept and will not be destroyed. Many thanks Tony . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad_Hatter_1 Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 The bogies sound like the ones from the Mailcoach kits, the gas cylinder could be from the same source as well. The rest I haven't a clue. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 Thanks ! Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 It might be the CCW kit, although I'm not sure about it being solid wood. Possibly the apparent lack of height has something to do with the missing solebars (it should be 7' 9" from floor to roof). Two SIPHONS F! That's almost as many as the GWR had - There were only six of them, of which only two (1546/8) had American bogies (from 1916?) like the K's kit. Two others were fitted with 7' bogies in 1929. (1545/7) (Data according to the HMRS SIPHONS book). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus Posted October 20, 2015 Author Share Posted October 20, 2015 Thanks for that. I'll put the body to one side and recycle the bogies. Yes, two 'Fs' - one to be restored and given better bogies, the other has been cut up and is now - nearly - a Siphon C. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Rixon Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 The card parts are possibly a "Masterpiece" kit by ERG. Some information on ERG is on-line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Back in the mists of time, I acquired a set of ERG cards for (IIRC) an L&Y fish van. I chickened out of cutting out all that framing etc......... Later I did assemble a Kenline kit of the same wagon, but the result showed I was right the first time. (Had I had a Swann-Morten knife back then, I might have made a better job of it!). I have still to add one to the stock lists..... (This one - http://www.lyrs.org.uk/Wagons- scroll down to Diagram 72.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 Thanks both: interesting links. And in the meantime, with nothing whatsoever to do with this Siphon oddity, I am rejoicing for my K's GWR 6 wheel clerestory is running very smoothly after some brass bearings were fitted. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Out of interest, how are the louvres represented? I remember an article in a 1970s Modeller about modelling a Siphon G in card, where each slat was an individual strip of card. I think it may have been by someone called '? Russell' It inspired me to do one in plasticard; it was, I might say, 'challenging'. Whilst it sticks out like a sore thumb amongst a rake of Lima models, it doesn't look too bad mixed in with other stock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 Brian I was incorrect: the overlay is not thin wood but, rather, card. It appears to have been sealed [shellac ?] and then painted. The louvres are very neatly and regularly indented by some sort of press. The photo below shows this reasonably well. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 If it were mine, I think it would be gently restored and kept for rare duties, perhaps parked in a carriage siding or a bay somewhere. I think it's rather nice, though clearly a product of its day. I'm sure there are other bogies to use on your other project. Best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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