Etched brass LMS vestibule coaches in 4mm - caution, not quality modelling!

[exet1095]

Oh yes, there is a sneaky Replica D1915 bodyshell in there, fitted with more appropriately sized vents. I will flush glaze with SE Finecast windows and swap the body with another one which is inbound from eBay. This way, I get a matching (dodgy!) paint finish in my excursion rake.

[exet1095]

Spraying in the shed.

[exet1095]

Painting complete. Fairly pleased; only

a couple of bleeds and one door

vent and a gangway came off with the tape.

Two in this post.

 

First up: the Replica D1915.

 

Comet five bay BTO.

[exet1095]

Three and four:

 

D1904

 

Six bay BTO

[exet1095]

Four interiors painted; three Replica TSO cut to size and one Replica D1904 TO.

 

Next job will be tidying the bodysdes before lining with some elderly Modelmaster lining transfers, then varnishing with Halfords lacquer. Again, how long it is until I am able to do it is a moot point.

 

Paul

[TheSignalEngineer]

On 27/12/2023 at 20:18, exet1095 said:

Using bits from old Mainline coaches leaves a lot of spare parts. This is a D1695 TK made from a composite with a chunk of break third side added in and the blank panel on the corridor side opened up.

 

It is not perfect; the joins are not great and the positioning of the lavatory windows is out as neither donor coach has them in the same place as each other, or the TK, but again, it is fun.

 

Wish I had carved the ventilators off and drilled new holes before cutting the body!

 

Paul

Will look OK on the layout when painted. 

I had the same problem with mine. Unfotrunately the pictures of the final effort disappeared in the Great Meltdown and the originals are archived somewhere. 

I put the donor bodies on the scanner and printed at life size. Then I made up a picture of the side working from the middle.

There's actually a slight error on the extreme right hand compartment window of the models as manufactured. It also appears on the drawing in one of the Jenkinson books. I don't think I bothered to correct that as it was a lot of trouble and I couldn't find a suitable panel.

[exet1095]

The D1904 has been lined, numbered (just a made up number as it was handy on a sheet, and who’ll ever know..?), given handles and varnished.

 

Not entirely sure about the Halfords lacquer; it’s a bit orange-peels. My wife tells me it’s fine… Maybe a coat of Ronseal might sort it out?

Three more coaches to line from this batch, then the roofs and ends to paint, glazing and assembly.

 

Any recommendations on a good matt grey for the roofs greatly appreciated. There is a Games Workshop nearby. Any of their colours any good?

 

Thanks,

 

Paul

[31A]

1 hour ago, exet1095 said:

Not entirely sure about the Halfords lacquer; it’s a bit orange-peels. My wife tells me it’s fine… Maybe a coat of Ronseal might sort it out?

 

I had that problem recently, trying out Halfords lacquer for the first time over Railmatch enamel paint.  It was much worse than yours, and I ended up stripping the paint and repainting, using Johnson's Kleer instead to provide a gloss finish for the transfers.  What a faff!  I should have thought it would work properly over Halford's own paint, but haven't had a chance to try that yet.  It certainly looks a bit orange peely in your photo, but sometimes it's a question of how it catches the light in a photo.

 

1 hour ago, exet1095 said:

Any recommendations on a good matt grey for the roofs greatly appreciated.

 

I normally use Humbrol 32 or 67; they're both dark greys, there's not much to choose between them.

 

Could I ask, what colour did you use for the cream part of the livery?  Sorry if you've already said and I've missed it!

 

[exet1095]

9 hours ago, 31A said:

I normally use Humbrol 32 or 67; they're both dark greys, there's not much to choose between them.

 

Could I ask, what colour did you use for the cream part of the livery?  Sorry if you've already said and I've missed it!

Thanks; that’s helpful. I shall have to replenish my Humbrol; a lunchtime walk to Hobbycraft.
 

The cream is Halfords Ford Ivory. Very pale, but that’s the effect I want. There are lots of Minis and FIAT 500s running around with about the right colour too.

 

Paul

[31A]

2 hours ago, exet1095 said:

Thanks; that’s helpful. I shall have to replenish my Humbrol; a lunchtime walk to Hobbycraft.
 

The cream is Halfords Ford Ivory. Very pale, but that’s the effect I want. There are lots of Minis and FIAT 500s running around with about the right colour too.

 

Paul

 

Thank you, I shall try and get some of that.  When I have painted coaches in red & cream I have used Railmatch BR Cream, but against other models (and how I think the real thing should look) it does look too 'yellow'.

 

[exet1095]

First side of the D1913 lined. Varnished with some old Humbrol this time, which seems much better than aerosol lacquer.

[exet1095]

D1904 revarnished with Humbrol…

I think it has done the trick…

 

Both brakes have had the first side done; the old Modelmaster lining needs to be set firm with varnish before being allowed to touch the blue roll (workbench).

[exet1095]

The brakes - first side done. I now think the varnish is too glossy…

 

Not sure what happened to the guard’s handrail on the five-bay one either.

 

[exet1095]

Lining, lettering and handles complete, and black bits painted. Roofs next, then glazing, no smoking signs, and the top halves will be complete. Still work on bogies and underframes to do.

 

That will not be today, however. Work this afternoon in advance of a major inspection on Tuesday, which meant that I had to cancel the first two days of my leave. 

[exet1095]

It’s not etched, but it’s finished. The D1915 (Replica repaint, re-glaze and re-ventilator) is complete. 

Natural light shows up all of its shortcomings. The SEFinecast flush glaze looks ok in the gloom of my railway room, but less so on this excursion to the garden.

 

I had better look for my gold pen for the handles and swap the coupling at one end to a smaller Bachmann one, then it is ready to run.

[cctransuk]

1 hour ago, exet1095 said:

It’s not etched, but it’s finished. The D1915 (Replica repaint, re-glaze and re-ventilator) is complete. 

Natural light shows up all of its shortcomings. The SEFinecast flush glaze looks ok in the gloom of my railway room, but less so on this excursion to the garden.

 

I had better look for my gold pen for the handles and swap the coupling at one end to a smaller Bachmann one, then it is ready to run.

 

As you say - the glazing looks OK at layout viewing distance, but somewhat hit-and-miss in close-up.

 

I have never been convinced by SEF vac-formed glazing - surely the Replica glazing would be preferable?

 

CJI.

[exet1095]

19 minutes ago, cctransuk said:

 

As you say - the glazing looks OK at layout viewing distance, but somewhat hit-and-miss in close-up.

 

I have never been convinced by SEF vac-formed glazing - surely the Replica glazing would be preferable?

 

CJI.

The Replica glazing is a simple, plain plastic strip, not moulded in any way. As this was a naked bodyshell moulding it didn’t have any anyway. 

[exet1095]

Apologies for the lack of progress…

 

Here is the D1913 BTO just waiting glazing and footboards.

[teeinox]

On 11/02/2024 at 14:18, exet1095 said:

It’s not etched, but it’s finished. The D1915 (Replica repaint, re-glaze and re-ventilator) is complete. 

Natural light shows up all of its shortcomings. The SEFinecast flush glaze looks ok in the gloom of my railway room, but less so on this excursion to the garden.

 

I had better look for my gold pen for the handles and swap the coupling at one end to a smaller Bachmann one, then it is ready to run.

I had a similar journey with the glazing on my first D1915.  I replaced the original, cloudy, Replica glazing with SEFinecast.  I was never happy with it.  Optically, it was no better than the original, and I discovered that in some windows the glazing actually sat slightly proud.  Plus, the offering to go into the ventilators was just awful, so they were glazed with plain strip.

 

When I got another D1915 (I am very fond of them), it was reglazed with plain strip.  So, no flush affect, but the interior could be clearly seen and no strange optical affects.  The result was better than the SEFinecast in the first coach, so I ended up ripping the SEFinecast out and replacing it with plain glazing.

 

How did you choose the colours for the interior?  I chose a dingy red for the seats, a bit like the colour the Severn Valley railway has used in the 3rd class of its recently refurbished Porthole CK.  But what about the table tops?  Were they covered in the ubiquitous BR grey vinyl, or left with what I would assume to be the original LMS varnished wood finish?

 

teeinox

Edited February 19 by teeinox
Corrected Diag No.

[cctransuk]

1 minute ago, teeinox said:

When I got another D1905 (I am very fond of them), it was reglazed with plain strip.  So, no flush affect, but the interior could be clearly seen and no strange optical affects.  The result was better than the SEFinecast in the first coach, so I ended up ripping the SEFinecast out and replacing it with plain glazing.

 

The majority of my Mk.1 stock is detailed Tri-ang Hornby and Lima - with plain glazing.

 

This has never bothered me - in fact, I prefer it to more recent stock that has moulded, prismatic flush glazing.

 

CJI.

[exet1095]

35 minutes ago, teeinox said:

I had a similar journey with the glazing on my first D1905.  I replaced the original, cloudy, Replica glazing with SEFinecast.  I was never happy with it.  Optically, it was no better than the original, and I discovered that in some windows the glazing actually sat slightly proud.  Plus, the offering to go into the ventilators was just awful, so they were glazed with plain strip.

 

When I got another D1905 (I am very fond of them), it was reglazed with plain strip.  So, no flush affect, but the interior could be clearly seen and no strange optical affects.  The result was better than the SEFinecast in the first coach, so I ended up ripping the SEFinecast out and replacing it with plain glazing.

 

How did you choose the colours for the interior?  I chose a dingy red for the seats, a bit like the colour the Severn Valley railway has used in the 3rd class of its recently refurbished Porthole CK.  But what about the table tops?  Were they covered in the ubiquitous BR grey vinyl, or left with what I would assume to be the original LMS varnished wood finish?

 

teeinox

Like you, I am a fan of the Replica vestibule thirds, and have got a few of them. Having reglazed two now, I think the SE Finecast glazing looks better on maroon than on crimson and cream, but it is not ideal. I shall live with it as the rest of this set has etched sides, and the effect is ok as they clatter past (which is what my modelling is all about!).

 

I just used some old maroonish red for the seats, and brown for the seat ends, partitions and table tops. The floors and visible sides of the tables are a Tamiya acrylic grey that doesn’t cut it for coach roofs!

Edited February 18 by exet1095

[exet1095]

The D1904 awaiting glazing, buffers and their beams, and footsteps.

And a black line on the gutter too…

 

I think it’s an improvement on the last one of these I did. Just need to keep improving when I get onto the next batch of coaches!

[teeinox]

The photograph below is of my two D1915 coaches after renovation.  It was taken to show the differences in window treatment.

 

 

On balance, I prefer the simple glazing.  They run with the later super detail Hornby Stanier coaches and look O.K.  For compatibility, they have Hornby close couplings.  The photos show just how ugly those are.  I am mulling over replacement with Hunt magnetic, which may be a challenge to fit on the D1915s.

 

The Hornby coaches have heavily opaque white lavatory windows.  When I used the SEFinecast glazing, I copied this, as you can see from the photo.  But, while some LMS coaches did have this degree of opacity, judging by the pictures of D1915s on pages 16 and 127 in Jenkinson and Essery’s book, they had a more translucent treatment.  So, the plain glazing was sandpapered to get the translucence, and a light coat of white washed over to strengthen the effect.  Also, the interior of the toilet compartment was painted white to increase the white “presence”.  Judging by Severn Valley coaches, the reality was a rather unpleasant shade of mint green.  I passed on that!

 

I also managed to find a photo of the interior of the Severn Valley CK.  For copyright reasons, only a fragment appears here, enough to illustrate the upholstery colour.

 

 

The treatment is said to be authentic for 1949/50 when these coaches were built.  As for the sides of seats and partitions, the LMS typically used “Empire” wood veneers, so I left them Replica Railways plastic brown.  I have no idea what an authentic floor colour would have been; grey or brown, I would guess!

 

The Severn Valley railway does have a D1915.  Originally numbered 9355, the SVR converted it into a buffet car, renumbering it to 149.  The interior is completely changed, so no guidance there!

 

teeinox

[exet1095]

Interesting contrast in your two D1915s. I use micropore tape behind the glazing for my LMS bog windows. It works well on flat sheet, but not on the flushglaze…

 

How did you fit those couplings? I find that on coaches with CCUs, when they’re stored on their sides gravity makes the end bend away and after a while the coupling fails to work. I have tried a selection of Hunts on CCUs and they seem good so far; not tried the screw-on ones yet. 
 

The advantage of tension locks is that they allow trains to be split and joined; essential at Plymouth. I think the Mainline ones are brilliant within rakes (staying coupled and allowing reliable propelling), but the modern small ones look better at the ends of sub rakes. I therefore try to mix them up a bit as this allows me some random shunting fun!

[teeinox]

On 20/02/2024 at 23:36, exet1095 said:

Interesting contrast in your two D1915s. I use micropore tape behind the glazing for my LMS bog windows. It works well on flat sheet, but not on the flushglaze…

 

How did you fit those couplings? I find that on coaches with CCUs, when they’re stored on their sides gravity makes the end bend away and after a while the coupling fails to work. I have tried a selection of Hunts on CCUs and they seem good so far; not tried the screw-on ones yet. 
 

The advantage of tension locks is that they allow trains to be split and joined; essential at Plymouth. I think the Mainline ones are brilliant within rakes (staying coupled and allowing reliable propelling), but the modern small ones look better at the ends of sub rakes. I therefore try to mix them up a bit as this allows me some random shunting fun!

I put the fishtail into a NEM socket, then drilled a hole through the socket and fishtail for a screw which then screwed into the extension on the bogie which supported the tension lock coupling.  But not tightly, so it is free to move, but it is not self-centreing so coupling can be a pain.  It is a kludge, and not a nice one.  I have not come across the bending issue - yet.  All the more reason to explore the Hunt option!

 

I have managed to install proper kinetic couplings on other coaches, including an LMS restaurant car (a pig for clearance reasons).  The only reason I didn't do so on these coaches is that I ran out of drawbars which were those sold by Hornby for conversion of their pullman coaches to NEM sockets.  They are no longer obtainable.

 

On further investigation, I found that the design of the buffer headstock prevented me from using the Hornby type drawbar to install a kinetic coupler.  Haven't found another way.

 

teeinox

Edited February 22 by teeinox