Adam Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 (edited) Not sure either way about the engine in the Commer 4x4 Adam. If the REME museum website is anything to go by, the Q4 actually had a 6 cylinder Commer engine: http://www.rememuseum.org.uk/collections_view.aspx?id=58 The question with something like a Martian (or even a Q4 come to that) is 'Where do you put it?' That said, I know of a huge Russian 8 wheel thing that lives in a shed somewhere near Martock... Adam Edited November 7, 2015 by Adam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 If the REME museum website is anything to go by, the Q4 actually had a 6 cylinder Commer engine: http://www.rememuseum.org.uk/collections_view.aspx?id=58 The question with something like a Martian (or even a Q4 come to that) is 'Where do you put it?' That said, I know of a huge Russian 8 wheel thing that lives in a shed somewhere near Martock... Adam Weren't some of the Commer engines also two-stroke? The Larkin photo was at Carmarthen; that was the shot that reminded me of them. The Militants/Martians lasted in TA service into the late 1970s; I remember seeing one at the Meir TA depot in Stoke around 1979. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porcy Mane Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 More commonly known as the Morris italdo Marina. My ex bosses wife was called Marina Coupe. Honest! (and I used to work with a guy called Ray Gunn. Honest!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 Weren't some of the Commer engines also two-stroke? The Larkin photo was at Carmarthen; that was the shot that reminded me of them. Yes, some Commers certainly were - ECC (well, Heavy Transport Ltd, their haulage subsidiary) had a fleet of 4 wheel tippers and dad remembers them on Tamar Bridge construction traffic when his family moved down to Saltash c. 1960. Once heard, never forgotten, apparently. He's done a very nice model of one from RTI parts based on pictures from an ECC staff magazine but I can't find the pictures I'm sure I had. Whether the Q4 was fitted with a two-stroke I wouldn't know. Thanks for clearing up the location of the Larkin picture - I knew it was somewhere in west Wales... Adam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 My ex bosses wife was called Marina Coupe. Honest! (and I used to work with a guy called Ray Gunn. Honest!)Fairly recently, there was a case where a family in France was told by the local mayor (who has powers Boris Johnson can only dream of) that they couldn't register 'Megan' as the fore-name of their recently-arrived daughter, as it would cause her difficulties in later life. The family name was Renault.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Yes, those Commer two strokes could be heard coming, they were very distinctive and very loud. Foden were another builder of two strokes. Space wouldn't have been an issue for me, being rural we've a bit of land, it was rather more what would I actually do with it? Take it to shows and? The forward control, being about the size of a transit, is ideal for bringing stuff back from the builders merchants or stuff for the horses, I brought a trailer load of hay back this morning for example. So a toy with some practical use. But would I really have fired up a Martian to bring back a bag of cement from Travis Perkins? Would have been fun though! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 (edited) Little steps, and my natural modelling habitat; tiny bits of plastic sheet, based on the drawing in SR Wagons vol. 4 and, inevitably, Paul Bartlett's copious collection of wagon photographs: http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/srspecial/h393d36bf#h393d36bf Buffers from ABS; axleboxes and springs to follow... Adam Edited November 16, 2015 by Adam 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br2975 Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 My ex bosses wife was called Marina Coupe. Honest! (and I used to work with a guy called Ray Gunn. Honest!) And so did I, but here in Cardiff. . Brian R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br2975 Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 (edited) Fairly recently, there was a case where a family in France was told by the local mayor (who has powers Boris Johnson can only dream of) that they couldn't register 'Megan' as the fore-name of their recently-arrived daughter, as it would cause her difficulties in later life. The family name was Renault.. Most popular current 'Christian' name on a certain housing estate in Cardiff is Nevaeh ( as Dylan Thomas would say "a backward sort of name") and I found one poor local who 'Christian' names are "Neveah Lleh".................. you couldn't make it up. . Brian R Edited November 8, 2015 by br2975 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Lowmac and load, at cruel enlargement and very much in progress, notably the basis of axleboxes (the BR plate-front pattern that all seem to have ended up with) layered up from 40 thou' with 10 thou' plates to represent the journals. The loads are coming on too. I've finished tidying up the cabs and will move on to doing the same on the bodies. Note the added wing mirrors, securing lugs and grab handles. Adam 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 (edited) In a slightly scattergun move, yet another wagon. This time, a Cambrian Dogfish - because I enjoyed revisiting the first one I did and because it's gone together quickly, this post will go from start to finish (of construction, anyhow) in one post. Most of the hard work - and this is a notoriously tricky kit (a function of the prototype, of course) went on between the solebars. In the picture above, you may see what's actually gone on. As supplied, the structural integrity of the wagon relies on butt joints around the platforms at the ends, to which the hopper is added with quite a lot of clearance at either end - this is because the chassis mouldings are shared with the Catfish which has a longer, shallower hopper. To cope with this, I've added packing at either end - two bits of 40 thou' at the 'long' end with the handwheels for the chutes and a strip of 20 thou' at the other and the whole thing is now quite robust and should remain square. After the first phase of detailling, the overall state of play is shown below: I've replaced quite a bit of the strut detail with Evergreen strip, partly because I can, partly because the framework at the hopper wheel end is a bit undersize. The frame for the hopper wheels was made from flat strip (10 thou' x 30 thou' and 10 x 40 to make 1mm angle; cheaper than brass!). Note also the extensions to the end of headstocks. And here shown with the hopper wheels from Colin Craig etches which really make the model so far as I'm concerned. The lamp iron - a spare from Rumney Models etches - is pinned through the headstock. It may, who knows, be dry enough to paint it later... Adam Edited November 22, 2015 by Adam 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernman46 Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Did you ever try to do one of these in the old brown brittle plastic ?? - I stopped at 3 before my sanity went ......................... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 Did you ever try to do one of these in the old brown brittle plastic ?? - I stopped at 3 before my sanity went ......................... Ha! Just the one - second ever plastic wagon kit too - and recently refitted. You should be able to see the brown grinning through: Adam 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ullypug Posted November 22, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 22, 2015 Very nice. I'll have 10 please. Branded 'Return to Cheddar' if you would be so kind... :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) Very nice. I'll have 10 please. Branded 'Return to Cheddar' if you would be so kind... :-) Show me the money, Andrew. This one is return to Westbury, courtesy of Cambridge Custom Transfers, maybe the next one will be too. Adam Edited November 22, 2015 by Adam 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted November 22, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 22, 2015 I don't know how bothered you are about numerical accuracy Adam, but there are differences between batches concerning the orientation of the end L angle supports. Mike. Apologies if I'm in grannysuckeggs mode! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porcy Mane Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) And so did I, but here in Cardiff. (straying off topic, again) Did he come from Tiger Bay? The Ray Gunn I used to know had a permanent suntanned (if you see what I mean) look and was a bloody good footballer but I think he was born and bred Co. Durham. P Edited November 22, 2015 by Porcy Mane Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) I don't know how bothered you are about numerical accuracy Adam, but there are differences between batches concerning the orientation of the end L angle supports. Mike. Apologies if I'm in grannysuckeggs mode! Mike - presumably you mean that the handrail stanchions, made of angle, at the hopper wheel end are sometimes different ways about? This way: http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brdogfish/h3ae4caff#h2b2d08f5 And t'other? http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brdogfish/h3ae4caff#h3ce812f1 If I'm honest, the thought hadn't crossed my mind and I'm not hugely bothered in this instance (EDIT - I have checked now and this one is right - lot 2939, Chas Roberts, 1957) though the Cambrian mouldings are rather generously proportioned so might benefit from replacement. If any of the other bits of angle are differently arranged, then well, they're dratted hard to see... Adam Edited November 23, 2015 by Adam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Here's more examples of the difficulties of taking pictures of assemblies in white plastic in limited light. That said, you can see the plank lines in these. Otherwise, what's gone on is more gradual layering of detail onto the carcass of the SR lowmac. Since the last update, curb rails, wheel cover plates, angle brackets and the first pass of detail added to the axleboxes. It seems to be coming together quite well. Adam 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 (edited) While looking for something else the other day, I came across parts of three Ratio GW opens late of the same estate that yielded the GW fruit van body (more of which anon) in a pretty awful state but which, when disassembled, have yielded sufficient bits to make two good wagons since the body mouldings are quite nice. The mouldings as supplied have axleguards moulded integrally at a 9' wheelbase and by my era of interest, the survivors mostly had 10' wheelbases and vac' brakes, the latter added by BR in the '50s. I don't suppose I shall get around to doing much more with these for the moment, but just to keep things tidy, I got them into something approaching approaching basic rolling wagons. This means, in the one case, a new underframe from spare Parkside bits and a 40 thou' sheet floor with BR 'W irons' (quite a number of these GW wagons gained these) and stretching the 9' wheelbase of the other. The Parkside BD container just happened to be on the bench; I think it has found a home here rather than add to the Great Conflat Securing Chain Backlog. Slightly more of what was done to the stretched chassis can be seen in the picture below. The complete solebar assembly was sawn off the side moulding, dressed square with a big file and then cut into three bits. The bits were reassembled on a strip of 20 thou' plastic sheet in approved Geoff Kent fashion (using the centrelines of the springs to set the wheelbase at the required 40mm (10' in 4mm scale - obviously the width of the saw cuts needs to be accounted for in the spacing) before being assembled to a new floor. The floor is part finctional, consisting of 40 thou' sheet between the solebars and part cosmetic; piece of 20 thou' sheet cut to fit between the wagon sides and ends with a bit of 10 x 30 Evergreen strip to reinforce the solebar/floor edge. The wagon with the new chassis was a lot more straightforward. On this one, the entire 'floor' was sawn away from the sides. and assembled as if it was a normally-designed kit. They can now mature for a bit until I'm ready to do something about 'em. Meanwhile, back to the Lowmac. Adam Edited December 7, 2015 by Adam 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 And here is the GW fruit van, noted above, though the roof needs another coat of paint and a spot of touching up prior to weathering, it is more or less complete. Lettering a mix of cut about elements from a Cambridge Custom Transfers sheet, Railtec data panels and the fruit branding from the generally woeful HMRS sheet (brandings of this sort are round about all it is good for). Adam 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cctransuk Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 And here is the GW fruit van, noted above, though the roof needs another coat of paint and a spot of touching up prior to weathering, it is more or less complete. Lettering a mix of cut about elements from a Cambridge Custom Transfers sheet, Railtec data panels and the fruit branding from the generally woeful HMRS sheet (brandings of this sort are round about all it is good for). GW_Fruit_4.gif Adam Very nice indeed. However, my Sheet BL54; (see http://www.cctrans.org.uk/products.htm); would obviate the need to "cut about" !! Regards, John Isherwood. Regards, John Isherwood. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted December 8, 2015 Author Share Posted December 8, 2015 (edited) Of course John - and if I had a slew of GW vans to do, I would have done just that (and I recommend anyone else to do so!). Since I don't, and was keen to finish it I resorted to chopping. Job done. Thanks for making the transfers available, however, they are excellent.Adam Edited December 11, 2015 by Adam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 And here is the GW fruit van, noted above, though the roof needs another coat of paint and a spot of touching up prior to weathering, it is more or less complete. Lettering a mix of cut about elements from a Cambridge Custom Transfers sheet, Railtec data panels and the fruit branding from the generally woeful HMRS sheet (brandings of this sort are round about all it is good for). GW_Fruit_4.gif Adam Looks very nice too; I think I last saw one of these in 1969 at Weymouth, when there was still some perishables traffic from the Channel Islands being forwarded by rail. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 (edited) And so, the fruit van was pristine: And now it isn't, not tatty, but in fairly heavy use. Parked up next to it are other items from the weathering selection - since the lids were off the paint. Since the Dogfish is in view: The streaks down the side are presumably a consequence of ballast being loaded wet and seem quite a common feature. In the scheme of things this one isn't too grubby, but suffering from the effects of use. Next, we come to containers, the pair of FMs built ages ago, but only recently fully painted and lettered, which look, if I'm honest, much the same as one another, but one is on a wagon so I've chosen to show that one here: Many months ago, there was also a BD container, also sat on a conflat and like the FM, no chains, yet, but these are coming and possibly soon, or then again, possibly not. Until about three days ago, it looked like this: And now, like this - the difference between the Freight Brown and the bauxite is still noticeable. That's all for now, Adam Edited December 13, 2015 by Adam 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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