torkardlane Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Ok Santa kindly left a Parkside Dundas PC50 LNER standard cattle truck for me. I've never built a kit before so I'am after help and advise on what to do. When complete it will be used on my Deadwater Burn layout. 1, Where do I start, build first then paint or other way round? 2, Transfers who does them? 3, Detailing, are there anybody out there who does extras? All help and advise will be gratefully accepted Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Pannier Tank Posted January 3, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 3, 2011 2, Transfers who does them? All help and advise will be gratefully accepted See Parkside Dundas Website:- http://www.parksidedundas.co.uk/acatalog/Guide_To_Minipacks_Transfers_Suitable_For_Parkside_Dundas_Kits.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon A Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 A good source of ideas can be found in Getting The Best From Plastic Wagon Kits by Ian Rice / Irwell Press , also his Detailing and Improving Ready to Run Wagons may be of help. Geoff Kent produced a good series of books on wagon building and detailing as well. Gordon A Bristol Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePipersSon Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 The current issue of Railway Modeller includes a 'How to' article (in 7mm, but its the same in 4mm). BRM and Model Rail regularly have them as well Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Just built one of these myself. I find Parkside instruction simple and clear. Their kits go together very well with little or no flash and not much fettling to be done. My normal method for these is to build the body and spray it, paint the inside before putting the roof on, spray the underframe before assembly and touch up when all together. Finally weather. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 1, Where do I start, build first then paint or other way round? Read the instructions followed by: Read the instructions and familiarise yourself with the parts. followed by: make sure you have the tools to do the job. - a sharp (best new) scalpel blade - a cutting surface (the self healing mats are great) - glue/bonding solvent I usually build first then paint - or at least build chassis and body separate and paint. 3, Detailing, are there anybody out there who does extras? Any detailing usually involves things like: - replacing handrails/bars/etc with brass wire - substituting brass (sprung) chassis (probably best if EM/P4 ing) - adding more weight Otherwise the Parkside kits go together really well and require no further work to present them as good models. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodyfox Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I concur with painting post construction. I built one in Dec '10 and it was fairly straightforward despite being only my 3rd kit at the time. I made an error of using the plastic rod supplied to make up the top 'opening' bars. However they actually 'sagged' slightly and looked like cattle had been putting their heads out... ...the pics I have in books show a very slight sag on some of the bars. I would take your time on the brake rigging and make sure you study all of the diagrams. As a first kit this could be a daunting part. I used acrylics blended together to paint the inside a sort of mix of dark green/brown (cow muck) to bare wood and light greyish tone before I put the roof on. The kit I purchased (and all Parkside kits I've done) have been supplied with transfers. Regards Stu Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger5591 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Iain Rice has 2 DVDs covering all these questions. Each DVD also has a PDF files on the disk listing all the items Iain recommends for building kits/modifying RTR, painting and weathering wagons, and websites of where you can get them. They are Right Track DVD numbers 13 and 14. cheers RD Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
torkardlane Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 Thanks guys as usual you're the best. Watch the layout thread to see how well or not I get on. Thanks again Tom Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
torkardlane Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 Nice Chard, where do you get the wire from for the hand rail and would electrical cable do? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Ava_Hay Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Nice Chard, where do you get the wire from for the hand rail and would electrical cable do? Usually 0.5mm brass wire from a model railway or model boat shop and no, electrical cable won't do as it is far too malleable and never brass. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Nice Chard, where do you get the wire from for the hand rail and would electrical cable do? Because I am an IMBECILE, I accidentally DELETED my post whilst editing it. Here's a better picture of the LMS brake. The Medfits can wait for a blog entry. The handrail wire was included in the kit. Sadly, insufficient for the whole job. What's the game there, chaps? EDIT (trying not to delete again): the van will be weighted on the floor. The Meds, as they use donor chassis, have retained the bar weights that came with the donors. Buffers - I drilled out the Meds' stocks (??) to accept the buffers that came with the kits. I freely admit that more meaty items would be beneficial. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
torkardlane Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 Got me scratching me head there Chard wondered where your post had gone. Thanks Dave will get some 0.5mm when out next. Just a couple more questions are the buffers better replaced with something like A1 do and what measure of weight do people use? Thanks Tom Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Ava_Hay Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Just a couple more questions are the buffers better replaced with something like A1 do and what measure of weight do people use? Thanks Tom I usually use the Bachmann ones. Plastic but sprung. Weight, a few ounces. I use lead sheet. Try to keep the weight even. Box vans use lead sheet in the body but on the floor, not in the roof and for open wagons with no load, under the chassis in small pieces glued on and, if you have a supply, a tiny self tapper to make sure it stays on or, of course, under the added load. The only time this is an embarrassment is when you have gradients and a long train. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennine MC Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 . I find Parkside instruction simple and clear. Their kits go together very well with little or no flash and not much fettling to be done. I'd very much agree with this, one point I'd stress though to a tyro is to make sure you make a decent job of filing the mould parting lines off the top of each solebar. If you dont get them flat, the potential for a misaligned chassis is much greater. Use a medium sized flat file, held virtually lengthways in order to avoid 'pitting' them, and take off a bit at a time, checking as you go Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Lewis Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Parkside kits are generally excellent, although the LNER cattle wagon is one of the oldest in the range (Parkside inherited it from Westykits), and not as crisply moulded as more recent offerings. There was an article in MRJ years ago by Steve Banks about detailing them, and as others have mentioned, Geoff Kent's books are useful. If you do look at the Steve Banks article, be aware that the kit has since been 'upgraded' to be a fitted version. I've made several, using the Banks article, Geoff Kent's books and other photos as a guide, but I've modified all of mine to be the 10ft wheelbase ones, which requires a fair bit of fiddly modification: see my workbench if interested. Good luck with the build. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 57xx Posted January 3, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 3, 2011 I've just lost my P-D virginity also and finished putting together my first of their kits today, a GWR O11 open wagon. Overall the kit went together nicely and I'm pleased with the results. There were a few minor niggles though. The floor is 20thou too narrow and required 10thou microstrip placed either side before assembling (tip picked up from an article in RM magazine a couple of months back). The "wire" supplied for the tarpaulin sheet rail turned out to be some thin flexible plastic rod that really didn't seem suitable (I didn't relish trying to put a 90* bend in it!) so I substituted it with some brass wire. Lastly, the diagram for the DCIII brake gear is incorrect, as are the locating pips moulded on the underframe for the inboard brake gear hangers so it pays to know something about your prototype if you want to make sure everything is as it should be. Regarding your specific questions, I painted the inside before assembly as I find it easier to do the internal planking that way. As already mentioned, a sharp knife is essential as some bits are very delicate and need to be removed from the sprue carefully. Also have some filler handy, for making good corners and, in my case, filling the moulding imperfections in the buffer heads. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David C Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I've built a number of Parkside kits (including the LNER cattle van) with varying success. Some went together very easily (the more recently introduced ones) whilst others I've had problems with. Its a while since I made the cattle wagon, so can't remember that much about it. Generally, I replace all plastic rod parts with brass wire (Eileens are the source) whether on the chassis or in the case of the cattle wagon, the bars above the sides. I also find that the solebars tend to "tighten" up a couple of days after cementing them in place so much so that the wheels then can't rotate. It may be I'm using too much Mek Pak, but it can be cured by adding spacers of 10thou styrene to the rear of both solebars. It is also possible to gently bend the axle boxes out a little, but I wouldn't recommend it. There's an almost complete CCT with a broken axle box lurking in my stock box as a result of doing this ... I'd also re-emphasise Pennine MC's comments about ensuring the chassis is aligned correctly. There are other kits lurking unused in my stock box which don't run properly because I didn't get it right. I also replace buffers with whitemetal ones - in this case, I used ABS 20.5" LNER fitted buffers, but I suspect MJT may well have identical ones. (ABS no longer do mail order, alas) and also add vac pipes. As regards the cattle wagon, I do recall the floor does sit a little proud of the lowest slats in the sides so can be seen - not by much. There's not a lot you can do about it without altering the ride height of the wagon. In practice, its not really that noticeable. It'll be obvious I'm a bit of a bodger and by no means an expert, so I hope this helps. David C Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger5591 Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Usually 0.5mm brass wire from a model railway or model boat shop and no, electrical cable won't do as it is far too malleable and never brass. This is what Alan Gibson says about using brass wire (from his catalogue): 0.3mm. For use as handrails on Brake vans, coaches. etc. 0.45mm. The correct size for handrails on 4mm. scale locomotives and our 4mm. scale handrail knobs are drilled to take this wire. 0.7mm. The correct size for handrails on 7mm scale locomotives and our 7mm scale handrail knobs are drilled to take this wire. 0.9mm. Suitable size for most pipe work on 4mm scale locomotives. cheers RD Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigwelsh Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 57xx - I think the brake handle on your open may be backwards as it looks like it will hit the headstock if it were pulled down to try and apply the brakes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 57xx Posted January 5, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 5, 2011 Craig, it's because it's a very poor rendition of the DC brake lever. Straight from the sprue, it's actually dead flat and wouldn't even fit on the brake hanger without fouling the solebar. I put a couple of kinks in it to clear the solebar (softened the plastic with butanone and then tweaked with small pliers) as a temporary measure. ABS do some cast ones with the correct bend in so that the handle clears the headstock; they're on the shopping list. cheers Ric Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigwelsh Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Craig, it's because it's a very poor rendition of the DC brake lever. Straight from the sprue, it's actually dead flat and wouldn't even fit on the brake hanger without fouling the solebar. I put a couple of kinks in it to clear the solebar (softened the plastic with butanone and then tweaked with small pliers) as a temporary measure. ABS do some cast ones with the correct bend in so that the handle clears the headstock; they're on the shopping list. cheers Ric Ah fair enough though you may find brass a bit better. Nice prototype picture in this thread http://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1096&sid=ccdd848cd4ea52b6a9f627edb62b919f Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 57xx Posted January 6, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 6, 2011 Funny you should mention that Craig, I nearly asked yesterday if you fancied doing an etch! I'll have a nosey at the Bill Bedford ones, but feel they'll be overkill for my skills/needs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
torkardlane Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 Well I really enjoyed building this kit and pic below to show how far I've got. The question now after I've bought the modelmaster decals is the number to use. For a wagon in the early sixties what numbers did they use?, the packet has E150962, E146308 and E150920 but I believe they are LNER numbers not BR. Can anybody advise me on what to use? Thanks Tom Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Puts head on the line... such E-prefixed numbers are BR-era, signifying a vehicle built by the LNER. So you're OK with those I think. Parkside often give number ranges to suit the kit in the instructions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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