S7 scratch building

[airnimal]

I have done a small amount today before I went for a social distant drink with friends. I enjoyed the experience as well as the sunshine and a good walk. 

I have glued the guard irons on along with the steps but how long will the steps last ? 

They are made from plastic and only have a very small contact point to glue them under the footplate. I may make metal ones as a replacement.

i have started to tone down the paintwork but I am going to take this slowly for fear of making a pigs ear of it. 

 

I will break up the coal and place it in the bunker tomorrow. Plastic coal just doesn't look right. 

I remember as a kid the coal man coming and dropping it down the coal hole. We used the coal hole as a way of getting in to our Victorian terraced house when we locked out. Down the coal hole in pitch black and up the cellar steps which was never locked. We didn't have anything worth pinching because  we were poor. 

Would I go back in time ? Only for a look around and take more photographs. Bread and dripping,  no thanks. 

[airnimal]

I have put a couple of small castings on that I have had in my spares box for many years ( oil cans / bucket / spanner / tea caddy ) that bring small locos to life. The real coal has been added to the bunker but I am going to leave the weathering until I pluck up enough courage to have a proper go at it. 

 

I am on safer ground getting back to wagons. So I am going to modify one of my own brake van kits with the doors open on the veranda. I have several photos of these vans with the doors open so I thought it would be a different variety to add to the mix. So both doors were cut out and replacements made and drilled to accept a small peg. This allows the door to be positioned open fully or slightly ajar. Incidentally one of these brake vans is currently on E- bay where it is described as a rare kit. Fame at last !

[Malcolm 0-6-0]

That is really superb - the real coal is always the way to go. And the door is a miniature masterpiece. 

[airnimal]

I have been busy being a grandad for the past week with little to show on the modelling front. I did make the early lamp irons this morning. I am not sure if I have posted about these before ( memory not good after running around chasing little boys all week ) but if not I will post again.

They are very simple to make from rectangle brass tube and flat strip with Scale Hardware bolts. The body of the van looks a little rough but once it is cleaned and painted I think it will be fine.

[Kendo54]

On 05/07/2020 at 07:45, airnimal said:

 

I am surprised I didn't get pulled up over the Turner Gallery, it is of course the Tait Gallery and the Turner prize. 

Mistakes like that are common in our house because my wife is from Salford and talks like Hilda Baker, so most things are backward.

 

I have fixed the brake gear with the V-irons and it has worked out fine. The pins holding the V-irons push through the solebar and the brake gear which clips in between several bits of Evergreen. It all comes apart for painting.

 

[Kendo54]

My wife is also from Salford. My commiserations are with you !!!!!

[Dave Hunt]

Our local priest was from Salford. When we were first introduced to him the introducer said, "He's from Manchester." A few choice and very un- priestly words soon disabused us of that notion.

 

Dave

[airnimal]

I have painted the body both outside and inside the verander and made up the brake gear and W-irons. 

I have fixed the doors open and inserted pins up from below to hold them steady. 

There is a fault of my own making because the doors were never intended to be modelled open. The floor is too high so that the door is now to short by the thickness of the floor. Because of the method I use with the W-irons it would have taken a radical rebuild to model the door and the floor to the correct dimensions. I still have a spare body moulding  but I don't have any more etchings even if I wanted to make another, in fact I don't have any more etch brake wheels for this build. It's a sad situation when the kit producer hasn't got enough parts to build his own model !

 

 

[Malcolm 0-6-0]

12 hours ago, airnimal said:

I have painted the body both outside and inside the verander and made up the brake gear and W-irons. 

I have fixed the doors open and inserted pins up from below to hold them steady. 

There is a fault of my own making because the doors were never intended to be modelled open. The floor is too high so that the door is now to short by the thickness of the floor. Because of the method I use with the W-irons it would have taken a radical rebuild to model the door and the floor to the correct dimensions. I still have a spare body moulding  but I don't have any more etchings even if I wanted to make another, in fact I don't have any more etch brake wheels for this build. It's a sad situation when the kit producer hasn't got enough parts to build his own model !

 

 

 

 

 

I note on the right side door you have modelled a sill there - would it help to extend that slightly so that the gap (if the door was shut) does not appear to be apparent. Perhaps you could round or distress the edge slightly so that it looks like wood worn by heavy work boots. 

[Dave Hunt]

Another superb creation Mike. The planking on the verandah floor looks incredibly realistic - is that just by careful painting or is there some other secret?

 

Dave

[airnimal]

Dave, the floor was painted with Tamiya XF-57 and then brushed with weathering powders. 

 

I have decided that I can't live with the door in the open position with the floor being to high. 

It may look alright on its own but if it is parked next to another then it becomes obvious that the door is to short. 

When I made the pattern I never envisaged I would model one with the door open.

 

I have a spare body so nothing ventured, nothing gained ..........

 

I am not sure what to do with this one or how I am going to alter the W-irons that I don't have to match a lower floor that I have yet to make. 

 

[Western Star]

1 hour ago, airnimal said:

I am not sure what to do with this one or how I am going to alter the W-irons that I don't have to match a lower floor that I have yet to make.

Which is why so many of your readers tick the "craftsmanship/clever" button...  you never fail to deliver.

 

regards, Graham

[NeilHB]

Mike, that looks lovely. 
 

I have one of these in the box to build at some point so the photos of your build are proving very useful - thanks for sharing them.

 

Which paint do you use for LNWR grey please? I have a tin of Precision’s LNWR grey but it’s much darker than this (almost black in fact). 

[airnimal]

Neil, I just use Halfords grey primer and dust it down after with powders. Depending on how old I want the van to look like I just use more powders and build up the dirt levels.

I have changed the way I mount the brake gear in my later models because I have found it better to have each side separate rather than the sides spaced apart with brass angle.

 

Now I have cut the floor out I have removed one door and cleaned up sides of the frames to see what I need to do. Once the other door is removed I make make a new floor and look at modifying some old W-irons to fit the lower floor. I have some reject ones that with a bit of work ( make that a lot ) may be suitable.

 

I think I will make new doors and fit to the one with that I modified already but keep them in the closed position and just have the new one with open doors if that makes sense. I will change the number as well because that number was allocated to Camden which I have already made for one of my friends. 

These vans were only ever intended to be for a few friends and myself who all wanted a couple each and the remaining ones sold at cost or even a small loss. Even though I have spent a considerable time with these vans I still make mistakes including putting the diamonds on my own example on the wrong plank, which hasn't been commented on. Perhaps people have been to kind to point it out to me. 

[airnimal]

I have made replacement doors for the painted van but I have not put the details on them yet. I have also made a new lower floor for the new van. This will need a lot of filler and a new inner partition which will hide the bad join at that end. 

[airnimal]

I have folded up a couple of the poorly etched W-irons to see how they will sit with the unequal floor height. 

I needed to reduce one end by the thickness of the lower floor which is made from 60 thou plastkard. 

So on one of the W-irons I soldered a section of milled brass T section on end before cutting them apart. I then cut off the lower part to leave a shorter height W-iron that matches the other end, if that all makes sense.

 

I have cut out a new inner partition and glue it to the new floor. I need to make new doors before doing all the usual detailing of the body. I still need to find some 12 mm Dia 6 spoke hand wheels either cast or etched if anybody knows a source. 

 

 

[Western Star]

On 29/07/2020 at 11:49, Western Star said:

Which is why so many of your readers tick the "craftsmanship/clever" button...  you never fail to deliver.

 

See... just as I wrote.  Carry On Modelling in the manner that your readers appreciate.

Edited July 31, 2020 by Western Star

[airnimal]

The brake van saga continues !

 

I have removed the diamonds on the completed van that I put in the wrong place and resprayed the top half of the body. I will put the diamonds back in the correct location and try and match the weathering. 

 

The second van that I removed the doors to make a van with the doors open before I realised that the doors would be to short, so I have made new doors to be fitted again. 

 

The third van has had the new floor and internal partition painted and new doors made. I will make all the new handrails and detail the body before fixing everything permanently together.

[airnimal]

Not much progress over the weekend, I have only replaced the diamonds to there correct position on my brake van I built a couple of years ago.

How I managed to place the diamonds in the wrong place is a mystery when I have a photograph in front of me to act as a guild. I can only assume I concentrate to hard and miss the obvious. Because of this i went and had a close look at some of my other wagons and have been horrified to notice some more glaring errors. 

Is this the result of getting old or have I always had poor observation skills ?

I must keep riding my bike because keeping fit is good for us or so the experts tell us. 

Anway I did 65 miles on mine yesterday in the sunshine which hurt a bit but I'm glad I did it. I also went to some places I hadn't been before around Fiddlers Ferry power station and over the Runcorn bridge which is closed to motor traffic at present. It was good to see the old railway bridge which is next to at close quarters. 

[Schooner]

7 hours ago, airnimal said:

Is this the result of getting old or have I always had poor observation skills ?

 

Might I suggest that it's neither?

 

Rather, it seems more likely that already-formidable attributes have been further honed with greater experience, knowledge and familiarity with the subject. There's no such thing as 'perfect' and there is always scope for improvement, they say...but that's no reason not to take pride in being bloody good

 

After all, what do you think the rest of us are doing here?! Keep up the good work (as and when the mood takes you)

 

Schooner

[Regularity]

3 hours ago, Schooner said:

 

11 hours ago, airnimal said:

Is this the result of getting old or have I always had poor observation skills ?

 

Might I suggest that it's neither?

 

Rather, it seems more likely that already-formidable attributes have been further honed with greater experience, knowledge and familiarity with the subject.

 

Not forget that as we live and learn, then when we have lived longer, we have learned more and have more knowledge and expertise at our disposal, so past models which seemed good at the time now shout out about all the mistakes.

[Coal Tank]

Mike your models are amazing. Which is why we all read your posts 

 

PS I did 96 miles the other day 

☺ 

John 

[airnimal]

John,  96 miles is brilliant. When this virus business is over I might get to go somewhere warm and put some more miles in. 

 

Not much to report today but i did get the floor levels right on the last break van.  I have found some PTFE bearings in the spares box that I am going to use.

 

My friend Philip asked me why I haven't made some of the longer wheelbase wagons that carried large loads. Mainly because I will never have the room on any layout that I am ever likely to build if I ever do !

He was saying he would like to build some of the Midland large 4 wheelers that figure in Vol 2 of Midland wagons. 

So I went and had a look and Dia 310 does appeal because of the unusual nature of the build. 

So I have cut out the basic frame shape and will attempt to knock up a shell to see if this is going to be a runner or not.

This may not get any further if I can't work out how I will build this strange wagon but it will give the old brain cells a workout. 

[Compound2632]

3 hours ago, airnimal said:

He was saying he would like to build some of the Midland large 4 wheelers that figure in Vol 2 of Midland wagons. 

So I went and had a look and Dia 310 does appeal because of the unusual nature of the build. 

So I have cut out the basic frame shape and will attempt to knock up a shell to see if this is going to be a runner or not.

This may not get any further if I can't work out how I will build this strange wagon but it will give the old brain cells a workout. 

 

Yes, it's not altogether clear from the diagram and photographs how it goes together. Unfortunately, the Midland Railway Study Centre doesn't have a copy of the drawing, Drg.514.

 

But if you succeed with this, I raise you either the D325 deep case wagon or D324 iron skeleton wagon!

 

One I have an ambition to build is the D312 15 ton tram engine wagon - a real sweetie, and one for which the Study Centre does have a drawing.

[airnimal]

Compound,  if I succeed in building this I will be very surprised but I do like a challenge.

I tried to cut the sides out in one piece but then decided this was too much trouble. So I have made a pair from Evergreen milled strip with block of nickel to act as a template. There are still a lot of working out to do but nothing ventured...........