S7 scratch building

[Northroader]

With wagon lettering I do the shading first, then overlap the main lettering on top, so you can get a narrower band for the shaded bits.

[airnimal]

I have made some progress this morning while my good lady has gone shopping.  I have made up the door chains and weathered the first side before starting to letter the other side. I do realise that I should letter both side before doing the weathering but as I said earlier,  I am impatient.  

The thing that stands out as not being correct is the letters on Buxton. The relationship between the X and the T is wrong.  I think I have got the letters to close together and it jumps out at me. I keep looking at the photograph of the wagon I am building and it is starting to rattle me. 

The weathering is not over done and is more or less as the photograph. 

 

[airnimal]

I am unhappy with both sides of the lettering on the second row down.

Now what do I do about it.

 

I could paint over with a wood colour as a new plank and try harder on the other side ?

Or rub it down and try and make a better job of it. ?

Or I could ignore the faults and apply a heavy weather coat of grime and try and disguise my poor lettering.  ?

 

I will ponder overnight and make my decision tomorrow.  

 

I have tried to alter the letter X but I think the better option is to rub the planks down and start again. 

[Simond]

I don’t know.  I do see something in the “x” but I can only say that what you have achieved is better than I could, and I suspect many others could too, so don’t be too harsh on yourself.

 

maybe build another one like this and see if you can do better.

 

but don’t be dissatisfied with this one!

 

 

[airnimal]

 I am now trying to do the lettering on the other side.  I have had several goes at it but it is not going very well but I will keep at it. As Simon said there is something about the letter X on the first side that's not quite correct. For a start the paint is far to thick so I may try and rub it down and go back over it with several thin coats . I am pleased with the interior woodwork and the tarpaulin sheet.

[Caley Jim]

2 hours ago, airnimal said:

 As Simon said there is something about the letter X on the first side that's not quite correct.

 

 

It looks to me that there is some black shading on the top of the RH leg of the 'X'.  The other shading is to the right and below, so that top right shading shouldn't be there.  I wonder if touching that out with some body colour would help?

 

Jim

[airnimal]

Thanks Jim, 

All shading is done in pencil and i must have caught the plank belowe doing letter O. 

 

I have got to the stage where I am now fed up with doing this wagon because I have rubbed the lettering down so many times my patience is giving up. 

So after another attempt I have removed most of the second side and given it a badly weathered finish.  There is a photograph in one of Bill Hudson's book of a wagon at Buxton with the White letters completely gone and just leaving the shading behind. So I have made a poor attempt of something similar to hide my bad workmanship.  I have still to add the door chains to this second side but then I am giving up. No doubt when I post these last photographs I will see something that horrifies me ! 

[rocor]

1 hour ago, airnimal said:

Thanks Jim, 

All shading is done in pencil and i must have caught the plank belowe doing letter O. 

 

I have got to the stage where I am now fed up with doing this wagon because I have rubbed the lettering down so many times my patience is giving up. 

So after another attempt I have removed most of the second side and given it a badly weathered finish.  There is a photograph in one of Bill Hudson's book of a wagon at Buxton with the White letters completely gone and just leaving the shading behind. So I have made a poor attempt of something similar to hide my bad workmanship.  I have still to add the door chains to this second side but then I am giving up. No doubt when I post these last photographs I will see something that horrifies me ! 

 

Weathering is an art, and you are certainly a master of it. That looks absolutely marvellous.

[Simond]

Michael,

 

I looked at the “X & T” thing again, and conclude that the X should be narrower.  What I can’t work out from the prototype photo as it appears on here is how the shading works on the lower right leg of the X, as the shading is “right and below”, so I wonder whether it would appear on the RH diagonal face of the X?  
 

(it would on the upper right leg, on the lower left leg, and under the both legs)

 

just a thought, hope it helps.

Simon

[Caley Jim]

That looks much better, Mike and, as @rocor has said that weathering on the other side does the business!👍

 

Jim

[airnimal]

After finishing the Buxton lime wagon I have been having a clear out of parts and bits I am never likely to use. But how to dispose of surplus unused model components ?

I don't do E-bay or take the main stream model magazines only MRJ and they generally don't have classified ads. I need to prune a lot of my railway books as well as storage is getting to be a nightmare particular as my good lady wants the third bedroom rearranging.  I have one of my book cases in there and she wants more storage for our grandchildren toys and a new bed settee for when the Australian clan come to stay in August.  I had another clear out of clothes from our wardrobe as well with several things I haven't worn for some time. One such item was one of my suits which has only been worn about 3 times but the waist has shrunk ! Honest. Still it's not that bad because I still could get into the other 4. 

 

After the clear out I thought I would finish one of my brake van's that I started a couple of years ago. 

This is the one I modified to have a open door on the veranda.  So I prepared all the castings and etched parts and spray painted them with a Halfords rattle can.  This is so much easier than trying to paint a full assembled wagon with a paint brush.

I will leave them for a day for the paint to go hard before putting it all back together tomorrow. 

 

I have prepared a list of things to buy at the GOG meeting at Doncaster on Saturday which I am looking forward to. We always go on the train and have a few beers after. 

[MarcD]

Mike,

I'm going to there with the stand and I'm hoping to launch some stuff of scratch builders. They might be of interest to you.

 

Marc

[Simond]

Mike,

 

you can sell stuff on WT.  I’m sure it would be most welcome.

 

ATB

Simon

[sir douglas]

i would gladly take some more scrapped half-built wagons off you again and buy some bits, i'll be on the Bring & buy at donny

[airnimal]

I have added all the painted parts and the tranfers for the diamonds and home depot. I now have van's for Liverpool, Buxton,  Crewe and Longsight. The tranfers for Longsight broke up when I applied them so I had to retouch them with ink using a old fashion knibb. 

The roof is on temporary until I make a better one. Other things to complete it are buffers and screw couplings along with windows.  One thing I haven't got is a hand brake wheel on the veranda.  You would think that I would have plenty because it was my own kit. But when I made some models for friends I double up the etch to make the wheels a lot thicker. So I used all I had and now I don't have enough for myself. I have some casting left but I don't have any etchings left which is a bit of a nuisance. 

 

 

[apl31]

I don't know how desperate you are for a handwheel, however I have built a 3D printed D16 in S scale, I can resize and print you one next time I'm printing.

Its a representation of the wheel rather than exact copy, you cannot really see it on my model its hidden in the dark, but It would be more prominent with your opening door.  

[airnimal]

ap131, 

Thank you for your kind offer. I would be delighted to accept a printed brake wheel. I am not in any great hurry as my models only sit in my cabinet. I will gladly cover your costs. 

 

I have painted the brake support bracket but as yet I haven't made a cross shaft. The buffer heads need going in the Birchwood black as do the screw couplings. After that it needs the numberplates and tare weight adding before I tackle the roof and glass for the windows. 

[apl31]

No problem. Send me a personnel message with your address. 

[airnimal]

The buffers and screw couplings have been in the Birchwood chemical black. I looked for the cast brass chimney without success so I turned up a new one from a small length of brass rod. I just need to sort the roof and windows out along with the numberplates and tare weight. 

[airnimal]

Although I haven't finished this last brake van I have started yet another wagon. This is one I have attempted before but when I was down at the S7 meeting a couple of weeks ago i was taking  with Antony Watts who wrote the brilliant book on Ince wagons for the HMRS about wagons from the Wigan area. I have a very blurred photograph of this wagon from Park Lane Colliery but i couldn't work out the lettering between the words Park Lane and Wigan. We have come to the conclusion the word is Bryn which is where the colliery was situated at Bryn Hall on the LNWR.

So I couldn't resist building another dumb buffer wagon. There is a certain amount of quess work involved but we do have drawings available of similar wagon from the Wigan area so if anyone can prove me wrong after over 140 years I would love to hear from you.

 

We went to the O Gauge show at Doncaster on Saturday and stocked up on lots of goodies to keep me going for a few years yet. I resisted buying some coach kits mainly because after examining them I came to the conclusion the work involved in building them to S7 standards work take to long and with my past experience of building kits it was probably a wise move. I did look at baseboard kits with the veiw to getting something going soon before winter comes again  but I will have to work out a track plan go fit the available space which isn't very large. 

 

Plans are afoot to decorate the last bedroom before the Australian clan to to stay in July. Plus there is the cycling which I have done a bit of recently.  Who said retirement was boring  !

[airnimal]

Inbetween housework to ready it for the influx of the Australian clan in July I have made the body for this latest dumb buffer wagon.  It's not all been plain sailing because I got one side out of kilter and had to remove it and add a bit one end before removing the same amount at the other end. It was only about 15 thou but it made one door not quite in the centre.  I did think about leaving as it was but I would look at it everytime and wish I had done something about it. The sketch was done before I found out the word Ince was Bryn but I haven't got any tippex to correct it. 

 

[redsoldiergreen]

Park Lane Colliery was indeed at Bryn. I live not far away . There is also a Park Lane club and a Park Hotel in the area nearby

[airnimal]

 I bought a new book at Doncaster on Saturday with Bryn Hall in it but I haven't had time to digest it yet. 

 

[airnimal]

It was all going so well ............

 

When I started to sketch in the lettering to check the spacing it quickly became apparent the door wasn't wide enough.  I can't blame anyone else for this mistake because I did the simple drawing with a lot of guesswork and looking at other examples.  Obviously I didn't check enough of what had gone before. 

I may be able to put new bodywork on the chassis with a revised layout. I won't get a lot done today because we have one of our grandsons as well the deliverer of new bedroom furniture which will need assembling. Tomorrow sees the start of the decorating again ...............

 

I do have a pass out for the S7 AGM on Saturday at the Warley club. I maybe able to run some of my stuff as well as selling some surplus parts I that I will probably never use.

[airnimal]

Well I have managed to dodge the dreaded  dec.............. until  Monday.  It has cost me a meal out though.

So I rebuilt this wagon with new sides and reused the ends. It's not perfect and I wish I had started all over again but it is better with the door the right width. One corner plate looks as it has had a bit of damage so I have followed the photograph.  The crown plates are an inverted V instead of the usual half round.