S7 scratch building

[Compound2632]

For what it's worth, a method I tried some years ago was to start off by painting the wagon side white, marking out the lettering in pencil, then adding the body colour and shading - I reasoned that working round the outside would make it easier to get sharp corners to the letters. For black or red wagons, and for black or red shading, I used a Rotring pen with Rotring inks (are these still available?) but for grey, it was enamel paint and careful brush-work. Some examples here. It would be difficult to get a worn and faded look by this method, I think. Anyway, I discovered POWSides.

[airnimal]

I am not finding sign writing as easy as I had hoped. I have rubbed out most of the first side and started on the second side with mixed results. I will keep on trying.

Taking photographs shows up all my mistakes that I have made so hopefully I can correct before finally putting on a coat of matt varnish.

[Western Star]

If I may be allowed to comment, the most recent photo shows improvement over the preceding image, as in:-

 

* the 'J's are cleaner with a more robust outline;

 

* the italic script for "Wigan" looks more-together.

 

 

How about using a photocopy of the writing from a photo, distorted if necessary to get a broadside image, at the same size as the wagon side and then overpaint the copy to get the feel of the brush strokes?

 

 

 

How do I do lettering?  Never tried so that means that you can ignore this posting!.

 

best wishes, Graham

[airnimal]

Graham, the photocopy of the drawing might be a good idea.l have rubbed most of the lettering off both sides so I may leave it as it is and try to do better next time.

[Western Star]

Mike,  I appreciate and applaud your desire to achieve the best possible representation of a wagon that has been "written" recently.  Looking at the photos of your wagon with scrubbed letters I am of the view that the image is that of a well worn wagon due for the two / three yearly visit to a wagon works.

 

I am confident that you are going to achieve your aim and I shall be pleased to see the progress towards that target.

 

Re-the photocopy suggestion...  probably of more use when a wagon is written on the sweep.

 

regards, Graham

Edited October 27, 2017 by Western Star

[Coal Tank]

Last two photos look pretty good

John

[Poggy1165]

Love the Wigan Junction wagon. The lettering may not be perfect, but if you commissioned some transfers I doubt the end result would be that much better. I think you are holding yourself to very high standards indeed if not satisfied. The "rubbed-out" version, once suitably weathered, should look superb and very typical of real wagons, which even in the glory days were not kept in showroom condition - albeit, probably repainted every three years or so.

[icw]

Those last two photographs look very convincing to me.

[airnimal]

Thanks to everyone for your kind support.

I have returned to the M.S.W.R. van with the corragated roof. I have sealed the edges with Limonene after Graham's concern about the double sided tape. The plank's are very close together and it took a fair bit of work to make it look right.

[airnimal]

I have put both doors on and made the door runner from brass with soldered 14 BA brass cheese head screws on the back. The thickness of the screw head works perfectly to space the runner from the body.

The roof will require trimming back.

[airnimal]

The roof has been trimmed back and the channel headstock and solebars have gone on.

Edited October 31, 2017 by airnimal

[airnimal]

I have put the buffers and drawbar plates on. The buffers were made from a old set of loco buffers that I found in my bits box. I had to turn the bases off but they matched perfectly the buffers on this wagon. The drawbar plate was from a small etch that came with a set of screw couplings from C&L. These small etch provides lots of little washers and plates and the ones that are not used always go in to my bits box. After 50 years of making models I have quite a large bits box and I have to go through it now and again and clear it out.

[airnimal]

The van is up on its wheels. Compared to my Dia 32 van it looks enormous but then it was built in 1896 and not in the 1870's.

I really do need a few more vans especially as I have scrapped both the Wirral van and the early kit built van.

[Coal Tank]

Looks great to me Mike

John

[airnimal]

I did a little more on this van yesterday putting the the rivets on the solebars. Because of the way I sandwich the W-irons behind the solebars and a 30 thou backing piece and a desire to make them removable for painting, I had to cut the shaft of the rivet down to 50 thou long.

Trying to pick up and insert a rivet with a 50 thou long shaft in to a hole drilled with a 16.5 thou drill nearly drove me mad.

[airnimal]

I have made up the simple brake shoe from my bits box and added a few more rivets on the body side. Just the iron corner plates and the rest of the brake assembly and hopefully another wagon finished.

One of the benefits of S7 is being able to get the brake shoe's close to the wheels.

[airnimal]

I have added the final few rivets along with the brake lever and label clip. If the weather stays dry today I may get a coat of paint on it.

[airnimal]

I didn't manage to get any paint on yesterday because I was helping my better half clean and tidy the spare bedroom for our middle daughters arrival from Australia.

So today with the weather dry and bright I have got the old rattle cans out and put both the grey on the body and the black on the solebars. I will leave the roof the white of the plasticard and just dirty it down.

I will leave the paint to harden for a few hours before I put it back together and paint all the other bits and pieces.

[airnimal]

I have been through all my transfers that I have in stock including many sheets of Letraset from way back, but I don't have anything I can use for this van. So I have got the brushes out and put a first attempt on. I think I will have to resort to having some custom transfers made.

[Poggy1165]

I love the wagon, and the lettering is a million miles from the worst I've ever seen.

 

Custom transfers - Steam and Things in Australia are an option. Really surprised none are available for this railway as I would have thought it would be relatively popular. 

[Caley Jim]

Lettering looks OK to me. Slightly faced and a bit rough round the edges, just as it would look after a few years in service. Unless, of course, you are building a museum shams model or depicting a ban straight out of the works.

[airnimal]

Thank you all for the encouragement. I have had another go but I have made more of a mess on the letter M. I will have to let it dry and rub it down later before I attempt to block it all in later.

[richard i]

I would keep going on this . Using pens for the shading ensures a consistant line.

Richard

[Western Star]

Mike,

 

I think that you are being honest about the "M"...  and I think that the rest of the lettering shows real promise of a good result.  Jim is correct to ask what is the expected "condition" of the van - as with the Wigan PO wagon from a week back, the writing in the last photo above says "old and weather-beaten", nice.

 

regards, Graham

[Regularity]

To be 100% honest, the bottom curl of the S looks a bit too wide/full, making the loop look smaller than the top loop, which I don’t think is the case. Easy adjustment to make, and your lettering is far better than my own mediocre efforts in the past!