Warren Branch

[chuffinghell]

wishing everyone a Happy New Year especially to those who have contributed to my thread with their help, advice and encouragement

 

[MrWolf]

Happy new year to you too Chris. Here's to many more inspiring pages this year,.

[chuffinghell]

Added the fire irons….

 

 

….now on the bench I thought I’d over-weathered them but now they are in place I don’t think I dirtied them up enough, I’ll have a go at dry brushing once the glue is dry

 

I’ve used glue n glaze to to hold them in place, mainly because you have a long time for repositioning and once dry it’s clear….and you can remove surplus with a wet brush.

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by chuffinghell

[MrWolf]

Panniers always look like they're working for a living with all that kit hanging from the bunker, it makes a big difference to the model.

What was the source of the fire irons please? They look a lot finer than some I've seen.

[chuffinghell]

44 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Panniers always look like they're working for a living with all that kit hanging from the bunker, it makes a big difference to the model.

What was the source of the fire irons please? They look a lot finer than some I've seen.

Thanks Rob, they are actually springside models DA61

 

 

Once you scrape and sanded off the flashing they look less bulky, I’ve also trimmed off some material here and there which may have helped (especially the one that looks like a hockey stick )

 

 

I've since dirtied them up a little bit more, instead of dry brushing I wetted a small paint brush, dipped it in the weather powder and painted it on

 

 

A bit better?

PS I like the Springside ones because they are soft white metal casting so it’s easy to make them ‘wibbley wobbly’

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by chuffinghell

[Rowsley17D]

Dart Castings do a nice fine etched set even if they are flat and you can get 4 for the price of 3

 

https://www.dartcastings.co.uk/shire/S48B.php

[MrWolf]

Those fire irons do look better for being dull and a bit bent. I've never seen straight or shiny fire irons in real life. The originals were made from what's known as black bar anyway.

Those castings really do come up well. I was only complimenting @wiggoforgoldearlier on his rendition of the old Ratio MOGO van.

These ancient kits are still of real value to the modeller and I often wonder if the criticism levelled at many is more to do with our expectations of ever finer out of the box details from locos and rolling stock and we forget that actual modelling is about what we put into the model ourselves.

it's certainly what lifts a model and helps take the hobby forward.

if we don't have to make any effort, modifications or improvements, we're just buying stuff and laying it out on a board.

whilst I realize that may suit some people, I would feel like I was just adding to the train set I had back in 1979, rather than building a model railway.

Long may we be unable to leave things as they come out of the box!

[lezz01]

I have to agree with Wolfy. There's nothing wrong with the old Ratio kits. With a bit of work they can be made into very fine models. As for their coach kits what outstanding value for money they are that once again with a little work can be made into fine models for very little outlay. Even the two loco kits can be made into nice running models although the original chassis left a bit to be desired but this was addressed with the inclusion of the Perseverance chassis in the later run. The 2-4-0 is very versatile as you can turn it into both the 156 and the 800 class outside framed Kirtley's with a bit of work, quite a lot of work for the 156 but it's not that hard as the body is plastic. I will admit to a bit of bias here as I used to work for Roger Webster at exhibitions for many years and happy times they were too.

Regards Lez.

[MrWolf]

It would be interesting to see if the loco kits could be revived with modern underpinnings, given the mad scramble that takes place on the rare occasions that they turn up on eBay. To think of what else they or something like a Dean Goods could be hacked into is quite inspiring.

In building my own layout, I think that I have been fortunate in having knowledge of working with the old school kits and detail components, some of which are still available as well as learning about the latest in 3d printing etc.

 

Sorry for the thread hijack Chris, back to you!

[longchap]

2 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Those fire irons do look better for being dull and a bit bent. I've never seen straight or shiny fire irons in real life. The originals were made from what's known as black bar anyway.

Those castings really do come up well. I was only complimenting @wiggoforgoldearlier on his rendition of the old Ratio MOGO van.

These ancient kits are still of real value to the modeller and I often wonder if the criticism levelled at many is more to do with our expectations of ever finer out of the box details from locos and rolling stock and we forget that actual modelling is about what we put into the model ourselves.

it's certainly what lifts a model and helps take the hobby forward.

if we don't have to make any effort, modifications or improvements, we're just buying stuff and laying it out on a board.

whilst I realize that may suit some people, I would feel like I was just adding to the train set I had back in 1979, rather than building a model railway.

Long may we be unable to leave things as they come out of the box!

 

I agree completely that it's what we put into our modelling which can elevate it from the norm, hopefully in the right direction and I normally add some little extra details with any kit, even if it’s just adding a brass painted track pin as a door knob. The beauty with older kits is that the mouldings are of excellent quality compared to the modern version still using old tooling with new packaging.

 

I have a stock of early Ratio coach kits made with the new tooling  in fine fettle, which make up much easier than the modern iterations, which have a great deal of flash and a marked loss of definition. I'm bashing some original old stock GWR 4 wheelers into a Clifton Downs set and they are a joy to work with. My favourite old kits however are those from Cooper Craft, which were always a cut above the rest and make up into superb miniature replicas of the real thing, hopefully with some small additions to make a difference.

 

I recently put an old Cooper Craft plate layer's and a new Ratio merchant's hut together, and they were quick and fun to build, but the old Cooper Craft very much more so.

 

Ah, guilty ma’Lord, topic drift again. Sorry Chris, muchly.

 

Best,

 

Bill

 

 

[Nick C]

8 hours ago, chuffinghell said:

wishing everyone a Happy New Year especially to those who have contributed to my thread with their help, advice and encouragement

 

Happy New year Chris! 

[chuffinghell]

I’ve used powders to try and vary the shades of colours on the fire irons so they’re not a uniform colour

 

Difficult to show in a photo

 

Thats it now though, I don’t want to bore everyone with appearing to post the same thing

 

[Stubby47]

Not being an expert in these matters, but I'm sure I read somewhere that fire irons were accessed from the left side of the cab, so would have the handle end on that side.

 

Happy to be laughed at if that's not right.

 

Oh, and Happy New Year.

[chuffinghell]

11 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

Not being an expert in these matters, but I'm sure I read somewhere that fire irons were accessed from the left side of the cab, so would have the handle end on that side.

 

Happy to be laughed at if that's not right.

 

Oh, and Happy New Year.

But it wouldn’t be Warren if it was done correctly 

 

Happy New Year Stu

[John Besley]

They usually have the handle end on the firemans side, the shovel always ends up with a pronounced curve so you can get into the back of the firebox otherwise with the depth of the box you would not be able to lift out much of the fire.

 

The pricker bar (hockey stick shaped tool) lives in the cab either on a hook hanging down on the firemans side  on a 45xx or in a trough on the bunker front on Panniers as this is used during the day to wake up the fire after standing for sometime before firing again.

 

The Dart is heavier than the pricker bar and is used to break up the firebed and loosen clinker - run a dart through a fire and hitting clinker is like hitting solid rock!

 

To chuck out the fire its first pushed to under the brick arch with the Dart and pricked bar - makes a huge difference if the fire is run down on the last trip - then lifted out with the fire dropping shovel and chucked out through the cab doors 

 

Hope this helps

[NHY 581]

Morning Chris and a Happy New Year to you and yours. 

 

That there Pannier looks jolly nice. 

 

Re. Fire Irons, I use the set from Kernow.  They are extremly fine and pretty certain they are still £2.99. Outstanding value. 

 

Rob. 

[Clanline35028]

10 hours ago, chuffinghell said:

I’ve used powders to try and vary the shades of colours on the fire irons so they’re not a uniform colour

 

Difficult to show in a photo

 

Thats it now though, I don’t want to bore everyone with appearing to post the same thing

 

Yes, looks much improved over the plain bunker you had before. Great job.

[Winslow Boy]

Don't forget the fireman has one arm shorter than the other due to it having been removed and then reattached- a medical first for the 1930's.

[chuffinghell]

2 hours ago, John Besley said:

They usually have the handle end on the firemans side, the shovel always ends up with a pronounced curve so you can get into the back of the firebox otherwise with the depth of the box you would not be able to lift out much of the fire.

 

The pricker bar (hockey stick shaped tool) lives in the cab either on a hook hanging down on the firemans side  on a 45xx or in a trough on the bunker front on Panniers as this is used during the day to wake up the fire after standing for sometime before firing again.

 

The Dart is heavier than the pricker bar and is used to break up the firebed and loosen clinker - run a dart through a fire and hitting clinker is like hitting solid rock!

 

To chuck out the fire its first pushed to under the brick arch with the Dart and pricked bar - makes a huge difference if the fire is run down on the last trip - then lifted out with the fire dropping shovel and chucked out through the cab doors 

 

Hope this helps

so if I understand correctly I need to remove the pricker bar and refit the shovel and dart the other way round (with the handles on the left when viewed from the back)

[chuffinghell]

2 hours ago, NHY 581 said:

Morning Chris and a Happy New Year to you and yours. 

 

That there Pannier looks jolly nice. 

 

Re. Fire Irons, I use the set from Kernow.  They are extremly fine and pretty certain they are still £2.99. Outstanding value. 

 

Rob. 

Thanks Rob

 

I'll take a look

 

Chris

[John Besley]

1 hour ago, chuffinghell said:

so if I understand correctly I need to remove the pricker bar and refit the shovel and dart the other way round (with the handles on the left when viewed from the back)

 

Just to get it looking right correct.

 

If it was a 45xx you could leave all the fire irons on the tank top as these are accessed through the firemans side window.... although I wouldn't attempt to get a pricker bar from there when running as it would be lethal if you caught it on a over bridge side ... doesn't bear thinking about.

 

Tender engines also had a fire iron tunnel on the running plate the firemans side for the same reason if they didnt have a hook on the cab roof

 

Oh and dont forget the pep pipe on the firemans side

[chuffinghell]

One of the other advantages of using glue ‘n’ glaze I failed to mention was the fact you can remove parts you’ve glued in place quite easily and any residual glue can be gently removed with a wet brush

 

3 hours ago, John Besley said:

 

Just to get it looking right correct.

 

If it was a 45xx you could leave all the fire irons on the tank top as these are accessed through the firemans side window.... although I wouldn't attempt to get a pricker bar from there when running as it would be lethal if you caught it on a over bridge side ... doesn't bear thinking about.

 

Tender engines also had a fire iron tunnel on the running plate the firemans side for the same reason if they didnt have a hook on the cab roof

 

Oh and dont forget the pep pipe on the firemans side

 

if you or anyone out there has photos that would be appreciated, it’s only OO gauge and not fine scale so any details I can add to improve the overall look is good enough for me

 

Chris

 

Edited January 2, 2022 by chuffinghell

[chuffinghell]

Would this pass for a pep pipe?

 

 

[Rowsley17D]

I believe some pep pipes (slaking/slacking pipes on the LMS) had a short length of copper tube at the end to act as a kind of steam lance.

[chuffinghell]

1 hour ago, Rowsley17D said:

I believe some pep pipes (slaking/slacking pipes on the LMS) had a short length of copper tube at the end to act as a kind of steam lance.

I think I’ve proven time and time again I’ve no clue what I’m doing so I have no idea if also applies to the GWR