Tyteford Halte

[MrWolf]

Whilst we are looking at the interior of the coach I've had a trawl for pictures and found a couple of cab shots that could be useful.

Firstly the A30 showing the paint scheme and the guard around the throttle rod.

 

DRS 

 

Second one of the older cars showing the assortment of gubbins up in the roof. I think that the regulator and the warning bell (Top right) are in the kit.

 

Note that the regulator is painted red in the A30 and the brake standard black.

 

[MAP66]

Thanks Rob, those pictures are certainly useful. I'm not near the kit at the moment but I think there are 3 or 4 detailing parts included for the driving cab. However, looking at the images there is a lot more going on, so maybe some plastic micro rod, plasti-card and bits from the scrap box could be put to good use to try and add a bit more detail. In other news, I think I've found a reasonable colour match for the sides of the chairs and the panelling, remarkably, its an old tin of Airfix gloss paint G18 (Golden Brown) who knew!

[MAP66]

Yesterday, I was dabbling with the coach interior and working out how to add cladding into the luggage compartment, drivers cab and within the seating sections of the coach. Then I thought, how much would actually be visible through the glazing with the roof on, not a lot it turns out.

You would certainly need to install some interior lighting to show off all that hard work (another job added to the list).

 

While contemplating all this I discovered that the replacement glazing for the luggage area, at least, is a bad fit. Haven’t tried all the other windows as yet, but certainly there is an issue with the luggage compartment windows, as in my case they are not tall enough and slightly too wide. I think its noticeable and so will be fitting the original Airfix glazing back for these windows.

 

For the panelling, I’m using tongue and groove profile sheet for the luggage compartment around the door partition and the end bulkhead. The profile sheets are quite thick about 2mm which is fine for the luggage compartment, as there’s bags of room, pun intended. The drivers cab, however, is tight for space so card with the boarding scribed on would be better. Scribed on card would also be the choice for the seating areas of the carriage from the floor up to the bottom of the windows. For the doors I will be using card with some plastrut for the door frame.

 

Another thing which was bugging me and needed addressing was the screw boss on the floor within the driving cab. Its very unsightly and clearly visible through the windows so I decided to remove it and filled in the hole. Should also make it easier for the driver to fit.

 

Cladding sheet on the bulkhead, loose fitted for now to allow removal for painting.

 

My representation of the door, not my finest work! Will look better when painted.

 

Driving cab showing screw boss removed and filled in. Excuse the painting, I'm still experimenting 🤔

[MrWolf]

I've been wondering how best to tackle the lump in the cab floor too. Particularly as you then need to remove the boss on the chassis that receives the mounting screw. I've decided to try and disguise it, the alternative being to simply glue the body to the underframe.

I'll probably disguise it with the driver figure, because that throws up an age old problem. Because the model has two "floors" each about a scale 4" thick with the ballast weight of about a scale 3" thick and other compromises, it means that the top edge of the windscreens is the equivalent of 5 feet from the floor.

Allowance is made with the control column castings to put them at the right height in the window, but we are going to need to shorten our driver's legs quite a bit otherwise his head will be above the window.

[MAP66]

10 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Allowance is made with the control column castings to put them at the right height in the window, but we are going to need to shorten our driver's legs quite a bit otherwise his head will be above the window.

I've ordered the passengers and driver and when they arrive, I will conduct my prognosis on the driver and the best outcome for him regarding surgery. 

Initially, I'm thinking to put the cut line across his legs just below where his right hand ends, remove around 2mm and then re-join with the aid of some filler to blend it all in. His left arm may also require surgery to align the drivers hand with the controls.

 

[MAP66]

Just to illustrate further Robs earlier point on the height compromise required for the driver figure to enable him to see where he's going.

 

This is a ModelU signal man used to represent the driver, the figure is 24mm tall.

 

Front view, using same figure. Looks like up to 4mm will need to be lost in the leg dept. to get an acceptable height as seen in image below.

 

Top of peaked cap seems to be just below top of windscreen, which means adapted figure of driver will need to be 20mm tall approx.

[chuffinghell]

Is the same figure available in HO scale? or would that be against the law

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by chuffinghell

[MAP66]

1 hour ago, chuffinghell said:

Is the same figure available in HO scale? or would that be against the law

That's a thought Chris, I checked and its available in HO. I think as I have the OO driver on order I will wait and see what he looks like with shorter legs.

I already have a name for him (GWR driver Stan Shorthouse) 😄

[chuffinghell]

19 minutes ago, MAP66 said:

I already have a name for him (GWR driver Stan Shorthouse) 😄

Being dyslexic I first read that as Stan Shortar5e 😂

[MAP66]

14 minutes ago, chuffinghell said:

Being dyslexic I first read that as Stan Shortar5e 😂

He answers to both, as he's deaf in one eye.

[Neal Ball]

13 hours ago, MAP66 said:

Just to illustrate further Robs earlier point on the height compromise required for the driver figure to enable him to see where he's going.

 

This is a ModelU signal man used to represent the driver, the figure is 24mm tall.

 

Front view, using same figure. Looks like up to 4mm will need to be lost in the leg dept. to get an acceptable height as seen in image below.

 

Top of peaked cap seems to be just below top of windscreen, which means adapted figure of driver will need to be 20mm tall approx.

The other thing we often forget is that people were shorter back in the day. 

[longchap]

34 minutes ago, Neal Ball said:

The other thing we often forget is that people were shorter back in the day. 

 

Good old Milk Marketing Board with their third pint school rations!

 

[MrWolf]

2 minutes ago, longchap said:

 

Good old Milk Marketing Board with their third pint school rations!

 

 

Yep, much better now that they can pile into the corner shop and spend a fiver on energy drinks!😆

[MAP66]

4 minutes ago, longchap said:

Good old Milk Marketing Board with their third pint school rations!

Poor old Stan Shorthouse was born far too early to benefit from his daily intake of vitamin D and as a consequence developed a severe case of rickets "couldn't stop a pig in a passage" they would say. That's my story as to why he measures 5' tall in his socks.

[MAP66]

I made the decision to postpone continuing with the interior detailing until the glazing from Shawplan arrives, I ordered it yesterday. I just wasn’t happy with the SE Finecast stuff. I need the glazing to understand how I can insert the panelling beneath the windows. I also ordered some much thinner profile sheets of wood cladding (0.5mm instead of 2mm thick) which should make things easier to fit and work with.

 

While waiting, I shall revert to the Dart kit of detailing parts and make a start on the exterior embellishments which adorn the cab front and rear end of the coach. This will first involve very carefully removing the plastic moulded detailing on the Airfix coach ends. New chisel blades will be inserted into their appropriate handles and I will adopt the upmost concentration to avoid any slips of the blade and the resultant gouges into the bodywork. Hopefully, I will then have something resembling @MrWolf work from Aston on Clun pg 294.

[MrWolf]

I had the Shawplan glazing arrive last week, it looks very good indeed.

Those who have used it on their autotrailers and posted on my thread have advised using sparing amounts of Deluxe Materials Glue 'n' Glaze (just along the straight and not in the corners!) to secure the glazing.

I'm going to sort out the other three partitions in my example, paint the droplights mahogany and the window reveals interior colour (helps disguise the thickness) and have a bash at the windows.

 

I've put a few more detail shots of the real thing up on my page that might be of interest.

[MAP66]

I did say that I would postpone the interior work until the glazing arrived. However, no sooner than I posted that announcement and in the post arrived the ModelU passengers and driver. So me being me, I immediately painted up up one of the passengers to see how it might look in the carriage. It transpires that the passengers would probably fit better at 1/87 (HO scale) as the seating, armrests etc seem to be a little under scale compared to the 1/76 scale figures. 

 

I also experimented with printing some vintage GWR seating pattern onto a sticky label and then applied that to one of the long bench seats, just to see how it might look. I think it looks alright and I've made the decision that it's worth the effort of covering all the seating using this method.

 

No he hasn't been stabbed in the chest, it's meant to be a cravat! You can see how much higher his leaning arm is above the arm rest.

 

 

Should still be fairly visible through the new glazing when fitted and with the roof on.

 

Couldn't resist messing about.

There's a rumbling, grinding sound from under the cab floor which requires further investigation.

 

Or in B&W.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

It appears Hattons listed a couple of hundred packs of HO scale figures on the pre-owned webpage today, just in case it is of interest, Keith,

[57xx]

On 09/04/2023 at 21:42, MrWolf said:

As for the axle boxes, I'll stick my neck out and say that I'm going with Humbrol Matt 109, which is a kind of light royal blue similar to Caledonian Railway loco livery.

 

I don't know of any spec for the blue, so I think if it looks right to you, it is right. Personally I use Humbrol 48 (Mediterranean blue) purely because my brother was chucking some old tinlets away and I salvaged a few that I thought might come in useful one day.

[MAP66]

Progress is very slow at the moment, I have been concentrating on adding the detailing parts to both ends of the coach. As I’ve not done anything like this before it took me a little longer than expected. Most of the additional time was spent searching the carpet on my hands and knees with my ‘optiviser’ strapped to my head searching in vain for all the bits I dropped on the floor.

 

Luckily, the detailing kit has spare end steps and handrails as not all the fallen were recovered. While fitting the detailing, I thought about how best to go about painting the coach body work. The coach has a number of small blemishes and scratch marks which will require painting over. To cut a long story short, I should have re-sprayed the coach after I had removed all the plastic mouldings and the body work ends were fairly flat, making it easier to mask off areas prior to painting.

 

Being an impulsive numpty, I decided instead to fit the brass parts first which I then found made it very difficult to mask off over all the uneven surfaces. This then led me to get annoyed and hand paint the ends instead, which I now regret as it looks a bit lumpy. Anyway, that’s my problem to resolve. I just wanted to point out that it’s a good idea to have a plan beforehand regarding paintwork and if its required then undertake it after all the parring off and hole drilling is completed but before you stick anything back on.

 

I intend adding working directional lamps to the driving end of the coach and at the front of the 14XX, so I have some questions as working out cable routing is required pretty soonish.

 

Hopefully, someone out there who follows this will have an answer or two, so here goes;

My plan is to use DCC Concepts lamps, they have white, red and combined white/red lamp lights and my questions relate to correct lamp positions at each end of the train for each direction of travel;

Q1: When the coach is driving, would the lamp be positioned on the central lamp iron just below the windscreen?

Q2: When the coach is trailing, where would the tail lamp be positioned, same place as above or on the lower lamp iron?

Q3: Would it be acceptable to use the same lamp position (central top) for driving and for a tail lamp. If so, then I can use the combi lit lamp.

Q4: Same questions apply to the 14XX, where would the lamps be positioned for both directions of travel?

 

I've included some slow progress pics...

 

Drivers end, bits to remove totals 2 lamp irons, 2 steps and 6 handrails. Also to remove the drivers cab door hand rails each side - not in view.

 

Just the lower lamp iron to go (I forgot it). 1 casualty circled red, as a result of the blade slipping and taking out the small moulding detail.

 

All brass detailing added. Shame about the dodgy paintwork!! I stole @MrWolf fuse wire idea for the electrical connector block.

 

Now the before, during and after for the loco end.

 

So far, so good.

 

Oh no, I've ar5ed the paintwork up. 

[MrWolf]

I think that you do yourself a disservice in thinking that it's a bit untidy, far from it, it's not as though we do this for a job and there's no training other than having a go. The fact that you are willing to have a go makes you a step ahead of a lot of people.

I have to admit that I dithered a little about the fusewire cable, but I see that it's possible, so it's getting done here too. I'm only hand painting the new parts, as I don't have an airbrush so there's nothing to worry about there.

I'll be getting straight back to mine once the transfers are on the CC2 Mink van, which I'm on with as I type.

 

Then there's my 517 to finish, the AA16 outside frame Toad, a crane and match truck plus a layout somewhere....

[chuffinghell]

2 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

I think that you do yourself a disservice in thinking that it's a bit untidy, far from it….

Agreed

[Neal Ball]

That’s looking good @MAP66

 

Re: lamp positions, the red lamp should be on the lower right bracket, but given you can’t change them, I would stick to the lamp under the window in both directions. It’s a compromise worth making.

 

 

[Jerry1975]

Hi.

 

I'm really impressed with your autocoach,  it's looks really good. 

 

Jerry. 

[MAP66]

9 hours ago, MrWolf said:

I think that you do yourself a disservice in thinking that it's a bit untidy, far from it, it's not as though we do this for a job and there's no training other than having a go. The fact that you are willing to have a go makes you a step ahead of a lot of people.

I have to admit that I dithered a little about the fusewire cable, but I see that it's possible, so it's getting done here too. I'm only hand painting the new parts, as I don't have an airbrush so there's nothing to worry about there.

I'll be getting straight back to mine once the transfers are on the CC2 Mink van, which I'm on with as I type.

 

Then there's my 517 to finish, the AA16 outside frame Toad, a crane and match truck plus a layout somewhere....

Thanks Rob for the words of encouragement, much needed as I was a bit disheartened, its always a good thing to get another’s perspective. I probably have been a bit hard on myself, given that this is still fairly new to me. Its probably the cruel close ups which caused me to be hard on myself, the lumpy paintwork isn’t really that visible from normal viewing distances.

 

That fuse wire is tricky, as there’s hardly any surface area on the wire for the superglue to grab onto, perseverance is required in bucket loads, was for me anyway. I won’t hold it against you if you either abandon the idea or manage to get it done in 30 seconds flat with no hassle what so ever. I used up about a metre of fuse wire for a job which only required a couple of cm, the rest was lost to the carpet.

 

Those are some interesting projects you have on the horizon, looking forward to seeing those come to fruition. It’s the 14XX for me next, if I ever get this coach completed.