Jump to content
 

AM I A RIVET COUNTER


Webbo

Recommended Posts

Hello,

Am I becoming a pedantic rivet counter or just a grumpy old man. The reason being, kit manufacturers go to extreme lengths to give a realistic impression of everything external above rail detail with all their kits, but wagons especially 8 shoe have very little detail regarding brakes other than the shoes, the cross shaft, the vacuum cyl and the triangular operating bracket between the shoes, there is no rodding or levers that show the actual operation of the brakes.

I have included a couple of photos to show what I have done to rectify this on some of my wagons, the first one is an ABS mineral and the second is a D A plate kit which is still being built.

Hope I haven't offended anyone with my musing.

post-12183-0-52528700-1312829027_thumb.jpg

post-12183-0-65403900-1312829058_thumb.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

You are not a rivet counter.

 

All the rivet counters I know are pendants that produce the square root of nothing, yet talk as if they have built in every scale and gauge the entire products of Swindon Doncaster and Crewe.

 

That's not a T gauge chassis is it?laugh.gif

 

Regards

 

Richard

Link to post
Share on other sites

I wouldn't say that you are a rivet counter. I would regard you as someone who takes their modelling seriously and pays attention to detail - this you have proved by the amount of detail you have added to your wagons.

It is unfortunate that, as a general rule, this detail won't normally be seen when a wagon is running on a track. But there again, you will know it is there and have the satisfaction of knowing that it is there.

So no, it does not make you a rivet counter - unless you want to be.

 

Regards

 

David

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Richard, its not T gauge its "O" and a poor photo.

Alan

You are not a rivet counter.

 

All the rivet counters I know are pendants that produce the square root of nothing, yet talk as if they have built in every scale and gauge the entire products of Swindon Doncaster and Crewe.

 

That's not a T gauge chassis is it?laugh.gif

 

Regards

 

Richard

Link to post
Share on other sites

kit manufacturers go to extreme lengths to give a realistic impression of everything external above rail detail with all their kits, but wagons especially 8 shoe have very little detail regarding brakes other than the shoes, the cross shaft, the vacuum cyl and the triangular operating bracket between the shoes, there is no rodding or levers that show the actual operation of the brakes.

I'm afraid I am firmly in the school of just what is the point? If it cannot be seen on the layout I really do not care. No matter how much effort people go to to show the interior details of vans, or the beneath floor detail of a wagon/coach/loco I just see it as a waste of skills that could be better employed elsewhere.

 

But I can see the point of adding detail to the visual surfaces, though sometimes even here they really do need to be visible at "normal" viewing distance.

 

Rivet counter? I don't think that is the word for it - I'm trying to think of some other plausible yet polite description.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hello,

Am I becoming a pedantic rivet counter or just a grumpy old man.

 

'There is no shame in being a Rivet Counter - The rivets are there for precisely this purpose'

- Ancient Chinese Proverb!

 

Seriously - nice to see a modeller going to this extra trouble on underframes, an area close to my own heart

 

Regards,

 

David Parkins,

Modern Motive Power

Link to post
Share on other sites

Webbo, I don't think that your photos do justice to the effort and detail you've put into your wagons. I would imagine that you apply the same attention to detail to all aspects of your railway modelling and that it would stand up to the close scrutiny of a macro lens as well as being observed from a distance. If you feel you're not up to the job of being a snapper, maybe you could get someone to take photos for you… I think your work deserves this.

Link to post
Share on other sites

not wishing to put the cat amongst the pigeons webbo, but as the premise of your thread is building stock as accurately as possible to prototype I'm sure you know the ABS wagon is not a mineral but a LNER all steel 13T open merchandise wagon, I note you've fitted it with oleo hydraulic buffers so presumably running in later BR condition, were these ever used for the carraige of coal? I know they were used on sand traffic, & in modified form for the carraige of soda ash

 

regards Nigel

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm afraid I am firmly in the school of just what is the point? If it cannot be seen on the layout I really do not care. No matter how much effort people go to to show the interior details of vans, or the beneath floor detail of a wagon/coach/loco I just see it as a waste of skills that could be better employed elsewhere.

 

I'm in the camp of the detail should there, just as long as it isn't that time consuming to get there.

 

I have an American Wright Trak resin caboose kit on the workbench at the moment, it has wonderful etches, and lots of fine detail. But they fudged the brake gear etches fro the bits underneath. I'm not sure what it is supposed to represent, but is going to take a couple of evenings to fix the brake gear, most of which is near impossible to see while it is on the track.

 

There is way too much on my workbench, and I really need to get the caboose in service, so it is going to be deficient in this regard. If I fix the brake gear, then it will need an interior, then lights, a conductor... rolleyes.gif

 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm afraid I am firmly in the school of just what is the point? If it cannot be seen on the layout I really do not care. No matter how much effort people go to to show the interior details of vans, or the beneath floor detail of a wagon/coach/loco I just see it as a waste of skills that could be better employed elsewhere.

 

But I can see the point of adding detail to the visual surfaces, though sometimes even here they really do need to be visible at "normal" viewing distance.

 

Because not all modellers, especially in 7mm, are building for a layout. To many, the loco, coach or wagon is an end in itself, like with many aircraft or military modellers.

 

I had a customer visit from Switzerland the other week and purchased two of our Mk.1 coaches. He has no real interest in a layout but just likes building locos & stock and wants them to be fully detailed top & botom, inside & out. The fact he had just purchased himself 2-300 hours of modelling time was what pleased him most - and I know several other customers like that.

 

Surely it comes down to personal preference in the end and we can respect both points of view.

 

David Parkins

Link to post
Share on other sites

not wishing to put the cat amongst the pigeons webbo, but as the premise of your thread is building stock as accurately as possible to prototype I'm sure you know the ABS wagon is not a mineral but a LNER all steel 13T open merchandise wagon, I note you've fitted it with oleo hydraulic buffers so presumably running in later BR condition, were these ever used for the carraige of coal? I know they were used on sand traffic, & in modified form for the carraige of soda ash

 

regards Nigel

 

 

As a yorkie and living most of my early life (up to the middle 70's) in a pit village connected to the South Yorkshire Joint Railway I can safely say that the xLNER minerals were used in coal traffic, they used to put anything on the freights to the 2 local pits, I will agree that they were not used very often, the mainstay of traffic were of timber built wagons, hoppers and then the merrygorounds. The load was put in just to show what I do, it actually belongs in an ABS 5 plank.

Alan

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...