Aston On Clun. A forgotten Great Western outpost.

[MrWolf]

38 minutes ago, 57xx said:

 

Three?? You jammy git, been looking for just one for years. I'm currently having to make do with a Chivers LMS equivalent.

 

Mine came out of those boxes of junk at exhibitions, they do turn up cheap on eBay occasionally as part of job lots. It takes a bit of trawling. Three will probably make up most of a train on this layout.

 

[MrWolf]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ratio-GWR-Open-C-Wagon-Kit-Lot-3-/125012359330?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

 

Just found this on eBay. The price is a bit ouch but they are taking offers.

 

[57xx]

I keep missing the good ones, I can see a kit for £20 there now. Also it would have helped if I'd subscribed to my saved search so I got the email notifications...

[MrWolf]

It's one of those buy it nows that if you put it on your watch list they send you an offer at ten percent less.

[57xx]

How long before they get to 50% off?

[MrWolf]

That's what I thought too. Last I heard about these was that the moulds were jiggered and couldn't be salvaged. 

There seems to be a distinct lack of long wheelbase open or machinery wagons in kit form based on pre nationalisation prototypes. The only ones that I have are from long obsolete sources.

[Charlie586]

Have you thought of trying resin moulds, I keep meaning to try it myself but never get around to it.

I sold nearly all my coopercraft and blacksmith kits last year when the prices got to silly levels. I might have some ratio ones  left lurking in a box.

[Nick C]

38 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

There seems to be a distinct lack of long wheelbase open or machinery wagons in kit form based on pre nationalisation prototypes. The only ones that I have are from long obsolete sources.

Five79 do a couple of LMS ones, and 51L do a Midland long-low. David Geen did an LSWR one, but his kits are NLA (I wish I'd bought more of them while they were still around...). 

[MrWolf]

48 minutes ago, Charlie586 said:

Have you thought of trying resin moulds, I keep meaning to try it myself but never get around to it.

I sold nearly all my coopercraft and blacksmith kits last year when the prices got to silly levels. I might have some ratio ones  left lurking in a box.

 

I hadn't actually, it's not something that I was really aware of. The only thing that I have done like that was lost wax brass castings back when I was at college, which is an entirely different ball game. 

What's involved in the resin process?

[MrWolf]

15 minutes ago, Nick C said:

Five79 do a couple of LMS ones, and 51L do a Midland long-low. David Geen did an LSWR one, but his kits are NLA (I wish I'd bought more of them while they were still around...). 

 

That's useful to know. I'll have a look at those. I did have a few Geen kits years ago, bought at exhibitions long before the internet. So many of the old ranges of kits and parts are long gone (I bought a lot of my stuff from Mainly Trains and the like.) it makes a mockery of the folks who still claim that you can build a Great Western based layout out of the box. I am presuming that they haven't been anywhere since about 1985?

I'm rather glad that I hung on to the old Coopercraft kits etc that I had from back when you could buy them new at four or five for a tenner. I would probably struggle for stock for this layout otherwise. I hear that you can get a brass kit for cattle wagons, but I don't want to think about what it would cost in time and cash for a twelve vehicle train.

[Charlie586]

16 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

I hadn't actually, it's not something that I was really aware of. The only thing that I have done like that was lost wax brass castings back when I was at college, which is an entirely different ball game. 

What's involved in the resin process?

I haven't got around to it yet, so not entirely sure but there are some threads on here. I've made silicon moulds before but that was for mrs 586 to make scented wax melts, I'm sure the principle is the same. Mix 2 chemicals and leave around the master overnight to make the mould.

I just thought If a kit is no longer being made, it's one way of getting yourself a few more without paying silly prices.

[57xx]

56 minutes ago, Nick C said:

Five79 do a couple of LMS ones, and 51L do a Midland long-low. David Geen did an LSWR one, but his kits are NLA (I wish I'd bought more of them while they were still around...). 

 

The Five79 one is the Chivers Finelines LMS D1675 I mentioned earlier. Cambrian do a GWR Loriet.

[Nick C]

1 hour ago, MrWolf said:

 

That's useful to know. I'll have a look at those. I did have a few Geen kits years ago, bought at exhibitions long before the internet. So many of the old ranges of kits and parts are long gone (I bought a lot of my stuff from Mainly Trains and the like.) it makes a mockery of the folks who still claim that you can build a Great Western based layout out of the box. I am presuming that they haven't been anywhere since about 1985?

I'm rather glad that I hung on to the old Coopercraft kits etc that I had from back when you could buy them new at four or five for a tenner. I would probably struggle for stock for this layout otherwise. I hear that you can get a brass kit for cattle wagons, but I don't want to think about what it would cost in time and cash for a twelve vehicle train.

David Geen only retired a couple of years ago - the ones I did get (a couple of LSWR vans) were from either a Scaleforum or ExpoEm about 5-10 years ago.

[MrWolf]

That's my fault for only getting back into railway modelling a couple of years ago! 

 

That would explain the bidding on eBay for David Geen's kits.

I have managed to source some of the items that I need (such as the level crossing kit) via Wizard models amongst others.

[Graham T]

Have you seen the prices of Wrenn Loriots on evil bay?!

[gwrrob]

10 minutes ago, Graham T said:

Have you seen the prices of Wrenn Loriots on evil bay?!

 

Be patient and they can be had for well less than ten sheets.

[Graham T]

I don't particularly want a Wrenn one, they just popped up in the search results when I was looking for a Cambrian kit.

[Tortuga]

Just an observation, but it seems as if the only producers of plastic wagon kits are Peco (since they now market both the former Parkside and Ratio ranges under their own label) and Cambrian.

 

Is that it for wagon kits if you don’t want to get into the mysteries of brass kits?

[JustinDean]

9 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

Just an observation, but it seems as if the only producers of plastic wagon kits are Peco (since they now market both the former Parkside and Ratio ranges under their own label) and Cambrian.

 

Is that it for wagon kits if you don’t want to get into the mysteries of brass kits?

There are some small manufacturers of plastic kits such as Mousa and 51L. 
 

Jay

[MrWolf]

I could only find one kit for a GW wagon in the Mousa range and that's a ballast wagon in brass. 51L produce a number of components but no actual GW wagons. Some of the LMS constituents look interesting though.

 

I've got a couple of exhibition junk box Loriots by Wrenn. They're not actually very good. A friend of mine had a Wrenn Castle that would pull anything though.

 

I have always assumed that the huge sums asked for Wrenn was driven by the collector market. They were as expensive as they were old hat back when I was in junior school. Flieschmann models could be had cheaper brand new.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2021 by MrWolf

[Nick C]

50 minutes ago, JustinDean said:

There are some small manufacturers of plastic kits such as Mousa and 51L. 
 

Jay

Also Five79, Red Panda (all BR era I think though) and Slaters.

[gwrrob]

23 minutes ago, Nick C said:

Also Five79, 

 

Excellent kits and very user friendly to build.

[MrWolf]

Those Five 79 kits look very good. I see that they do a GW ballast wagon to Dia. P23. Which reminds me that I have a couple of the old Kirk kits that allow you to build either the prewar P17 or postwar P23. 

 

Must not get distracted building more wagons must not get distracted building more wagons must not get distracted building more wagons must not get distracted building more wagons must not get distracted building more wagons must not get distracted building more wagons must not.....

 

[JustinDean]

23 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

Must not get distracted building more wagons must not get distracted building more wagons must not get distracted building more wagons must not get distracted building more wagons must not get distracted building more wagons must not get distracted building more wagons must not.....

 

The second verse goes like this:

 

Must not get distracted building more layouts must not get distracted building more layouts must not get distracted building more layouts must not get distracted building more layouts 

 

Jay

[MrWolf]

One or two of you already know, but the reason that work has stopped on the crossing house and ballasting among other things is that we suffered a break in during the early hours of Sunday morning. 

The good news is that the Pre Christmas Power Tool Pixie will not be having a merry Christmas.

 

I see that the Little Muddle thread have started with the Christmas decorations, given recent events, ours will probably look like this:

 

 

 

Only kidding, we don't have room for a tree that big....

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2022 by MrWolf
General illiteracy