class"66" Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Very nice work space you have!! i realy need to clean mine up this week... cheers neil.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSLR Posted March 30, 2014 Author Share Posted March 30, 2014 Hi,Well the workbench is now finish (mostly for this part anyway) I even put a couple of pictures and a shelf up to smarten the place up (Star Trek related items are only temporary, waiting for their own shelf on the other side of the room) Now I can go back to my modelling.Seems the Burngullow Cottages are taking a slight battering... unsure what to do with them. At the moment I'm currently working on Presflo Cement wagons. This is the first time I've built one of these kits but so far it seems reasonably straight forward and easy to build, the mouldings appear to be quite good. I'm making a few of my own modifications such as adding new buffers and some better more correct pipes for the buffer beams. I'll also be adding some handrails and Instanter type couplings.To the underside of the wagon I've removed the chunky coupling mounting and I've fitted top hat bearings, the supplied wheels no longer fit so I'll probably get some Gibson or Romford replacement wheels. I'm using a new Xuron sprue cutter I bought the other day which I can say so far is very good for removing parts from the sprues and removing unwanted items such as the coupling mount mentioned.I am also trying some of this Revell Plasto filler which I bought for a couple of quid from a local model shop.A little something I got earlier last week was these Blue Circle Lorries which came with a sheeted load for £3 each. Although I've removed the sheeted load on this particular lorry and I'm thinking about using the large aggregate bags. I think they look good on the back of this lorry. I plan on doing my usual detailing such as painting the wooden planks, flush windows, a driver, perhaps some number plates and of course some heavy weathering as I think this lorry would probably be relatively old.I've got another supply of Plastic Weld in so more modelling coming up Cheers, Reece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
treggyman Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Hi Reece I like your new workspace......Mine was neat & tidy like that 'till I started using it.....Now!!!!!!! Regarding your cement lorry......If it had survived to the '70's/'80's it would probably have been a 'Celebrity' vehicle & kept clean I would have thought.... Also large aggregate (dumpy) bags are a relatively recent development.....possibly mid '90's at the earliest & why would a cement manufacturer be carrying them? However rule 1 applies.....They do look good as a load & most importantly ,it's your layout.... Watching progress with interest Cheers Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSLR Posted March 30, 2014 Author Share Posted March 30, 2014 Hi Reece I like your new workspace......Mine was neat & tidy like that 'till I started using it.....Now!!!!!!! Regarding your cement lorry......If it had survived to the '70's/'80's it would probably have been a 'Celebrity' vehicle & kept clean I would have thought.... Also large aggregate (dumpy) bags are a relatively recent development.....possibly mid '90's at the earliest & why would a cement manufacturer be carrying them? However rule 1 applies.....They do look good as a load & most importantly ,it's your layout.... Watching progress with interest Cheers Bill Hi Bill, Well it's not really tidy anymore, a mass of wagon construction has commenced and the doors to Reece's Wagon Works are once again open. Not too sure about road vehicles, not really my strong point but with Blue Circle printed on the sides and at only £3 each so I wasn't too bothered. I know ECC had large bags for China Clay (which was originally the intended purpose) so I assume you could put anything in them, Large bags of cement destined for a local industry or large building site perhaps? I wasn't sure about the introduction of aggregate style bags to the world. I've got a large supply of Ratio sacks so I'm might use these instead. Was sort of thinking late 60s early 70s for use on the roads sort of maybe matching in with the era along side my Class 22s and other Diesel hydraulics. But since as you say they're not appropriate, they'll probably do until I get some different road vehicles. Cheers, Reece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSLR Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 Hi,Day 1 Been working on this Prestwin wagon since 6:00 (at least on the clock behind), I'm finding it a much better kit to work with than the Presflo. It's a 2014 produced kit but it seems to be good, it's got Dapol wheels in conjunction with Romford top hat bearings which I fitted. I quite like the buffers and pipes which seem to be accurate. Although they had a great amount of flash which I cut, trimmed and filed off.The instructions aren't very good at all, I'd really like to look at the Airfix original - I'm currently stuck on where this one 'L' shaped pipe like component goes under the wagon... more accurately how it should face.Going very well so far otherwise Later that evening....More Prestwin Progress Day 2 Construction Complete best little kit I've built in a while, look forward to building the next.Although I'm still unsure how these 'L' shaped pipe like parts go underneath. Any feedback is much appreciated Cheers, Reece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaz Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Some lovely work you have been doing...wish my son wanted to tidy his area........ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSLR Posted April 2, 2014 Author Share Posted April 2, 2014 Hi,I built this Low Relief Shops kit yesterday evening (kit contains two of these I have another to build). It's wasn't too complicated to construct, I done this one in the time it takes to drink two bottles of Cider... so not very long.Down sides to the kit - lacking in signs, doesn't include the ones on the front of the pack either. Doesn't really look convincing externally or internally and I am still left clueless on how the metcalfe paving system goes... what kind of sad paving system is this!?But then the above is probably expected for a cardboard building, maybe I could improve and add to it. Least I could do is get some chimney pots. On a positive note comparing it to the old Superquick kits, the Metcalfe cardboard buildings are way ahead - be nice if they develop to the stage of wrap around bricks rather than the massive unsightly score lines. Maybe it's because I'm used to using plastic technology on my buildings as appose to flat printed cardboard. But nice to get the old UHU Glue out Cheers, Reece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karhedron Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Metcalf are pretty good for card kits but can be easily improved with a couple of simple tips. 1. Get a pack of cheap felt pens and run an appropriate colour down the exposed white card at the corners. 2. Add some guttering and downpipes. Either commercial ones like Ratio or simple use some circular and semi-circular bits of plastic rodding. 4" is a common size for british guttering which works out to around 50 Thou in 00. 3. Improve the chimney stacks. Plenty of options available including a mixed pack from Dart Castings (nice to add a bit of variety). http://www.dartcastings.co.uk/dartcastings.php 4. If you want to weather them to tone down the bright colours, consider something like model mates sprays. These are translucent dyes rather than opaque paints so will tone down colours without obscuring the printed detail. Less sophisticated than weathering with powders but easy to do large areas in one go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobster Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Nice work Reece - Good clean/tidy work area. Cheers, Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
treggyman Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Hi Reece Two bottles of cider.....Not the 3ltr bottles of Blue Lightening I trust !!!!!!! Nice work Cheers Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSLR Posted April 2, 2014 Author Share Posted April 2, 2014 Hi Reece Two bottles of cider.....Not the 3ltr bottles of Blue Lightening I trust !!!!!!! Nice work Cheers Bill Hi Bill, Nope, two bottles of Bulmers Apple Cider. Of course each served chilled in a tall pint glass over ice Cheers, Reece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSLR Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Hi,I've started on the other shops in the pack, again similar conclusion to the above but I've modified one so far to include a model shop but not just any model shop... meanwhile it seems Kernow Model Rail Centre have opened up a new branch!Just a mater of taking a few photos then scaling them down on the computer then printing them out and fitting them. They're Printed on high quality paper glued to a card backing (bit of the blue Dapol top card shown earlier) then varnished over with Railmatch. I found Deluxe Materials Glue 'n' Glaze very good for putting it all together - spreads nicely and goes tacky before drying.Got Greg on the counter in the shop downstairs and Andy upstairs in his office working on his CDAsThe printer had printed Greg's trousers and the shop sign slightly strangely so I improved the appearance with some fine line artist pens. Now just needs detailing and a few window displays etc. The street so far. Looks reasonably interesting and adding my own shop as appose to the boring range included in the kit adds to it. I think with further detailing, colouring the unprinted card, adding pots, perhaps some proprietary slates, some guttering with down pipes and some light weathering should make them a whole lot more convincing.Some of which Karhedron suggested above cheers budAdding some more photographic interiors to the other shops could look good. Maybe a trip to the bakery, fruit & veg shop and chip shop with the camera could be a start. yeh I'm going to change the sign, I don't really want a cafe. I wanted the Lizzies Fish & Chips sign but it wasn't included in the kit.I have a feeling the more I take away the cardboardness from the building the more interesting it will look. Not bad considering I got this kit for nothing, a gift.Any feedback is much appreciated Cheers, Reece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold ChrisN Posted April 3, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 3, 2014 Reece, Metcalfe kits are generally very good and take card modelling a step up. Any customisation though of any sort will improve the total look. You will never get the 3D effect of plastic unless you do multiple layers but redoing the standard printed card insides makes a lot of difference. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSLR Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share Posted April 4, 2014 Hi,Acting on advice and input posted by others earlier I've coloured all of the unprinted areas on both shops. I used a mixture of Sharpies, Artist fine line pens, watercolour paint and water colour pencils. I was thinking more like an artist type veg rather than an Engineer or Modeller... mixing colours to match and suit the application.Looks slightly more presentable now but still more work to be done before they hit the layout. I've coloured the interior floors and I've yet again modified the model shop sign, this time I've cut it down and varnished it.I plan on adding some basic wall papers and some basics to the interiors to finish them off. I'll probably stick some lights in so you'll be able to see what's going on.On top of the above I'll make all the exterior enhancements as stated earlier. think the major change improvements will be the slates, gutters/down pipes and the all important chimney pots. Might get and use them new laser cut York Model Making slates, they seem quite popular at the moment. Any feedback is much appreciated Cheers, Reece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold ChrisN Posted April 4, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 4, 2014 Reece, You are certainly moving in the right direction. I have some York slates, they seem good although I have not used them yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSLR Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 Hi,Building one of the Airfix Mineral Wagons... well at least the later Dapol version anyway, but I'm following the instructions from the Airfix version because they're less boring. I'm making my own modification of removing the coupler mounts to make room for Smiths couplings and more weight. In the Dapol instructions this removes numbers 9, 10, 11, 12, 12A, 12B and 19 from the equation reducing the sad instructions to 14 steps, in the original Airfix instructions there are only 12 steps (11 if you get rid of the couplers) which are pretty much 99% pictures. However in both sets I'm sure parts 24 and 25 are the wrong way around!Unsure on the livery yet, probably mid 70s condition. I assume I'd be correct in making the addition of a brake cylinder, buffer beam pipes and painting in BR bauxite livery. Again I'd assume that would be late BR bauxite shade.I think earlier unfitted versions (using my somewhat basic wagon knowledge) would have had a brake lever on one side, of course in unfitted BR Grey livery as stated in the kit. But by the time of my era they would have had brake levers on both sides with the addition of vacuum brakes.Please correct me if I'm wrong ^ Any feedback is much appreciated Cheers, Reece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kal Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Your so tidy, it is a pleasure to look at your workbench, maybe you can have a word with Jaz about tidyness. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSLR Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 Your so tidy, it is a pleasure to look at your workbench, maybe you can have a word with Jaz about tidyness. Cheers Kal I'm sure Jaz will comment on that soon. My workbench is reasonably tidy so I can work there but to be fair I can't really say the same about the rest of the room! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSLR Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 Hi,Half way update on the first Mineral Wagon progress.As you know I'm currently building a Dapol Mineral Wagon kit (1990s produced probably), I've put together the chassis so far. Still unsure about the brakes so I've left them off for the moment while I conduct more research. All going well so far on this one, the plastic seems to be good almost like the original Airfix and Dapol 2014 quality but the buffers need some slight finishing before sticking on with Mek-Pak as you can see in the following picture. Just proves you get some good ones and some bad ones, the earlier recycled plastic they used seems to be unpredictable. New 2014 kits are good, Old kits are good, 1990s and 2000s not so good. Any feedback is much appreciated Cheers, Reece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSLR Posted April 7, 2014 Author Share Posted April 7, 2014 Hi,More progress on the Mineral Wagon kit.Making wagon building easy since 1961?! A very slight gap either side of the floor as you can see.The sides of the wagon didn't quite meet the floor giving around a 0.5mm gap either sides, so I cut a sheet of 10thou plastic to the dimensions and attached this to the inside, this brings the floor level with the door and fills the sides. The kit features opening side doors which is awesome but the hinges are hardly to scale and so I'll probably fix the doors shut and construct replacement hinges. The wagon also comes with a removable load which is handy so I'll attach some of the B&WR's finest loco coal on top which should look convincing and gives me the option of running the wagon empty, after I've finnished and painted the wagon ofcourse. All numbers/mouldings to the interior have been removed - I just need to fill in some moulding 'circles' with filler before painting. I've fitted the standard wheels included in the kit, just the normal metal axel and plastic wheel combination which should do for the time being. I've not fitted brass bearings or any special arrangements. It runs very well without! gentle push from one end of the 7ft workbench and the model rolls swiftly to the other no problem at, with no bumps or anything well until it bumps into the board at the other end and stops.I think the only improvement needed is to perhaps replace the wheels with all metal ones as I feel the plastic although good enough with eventually disintegrate with constant running after a long while. That and some 'liquid' Lead pellets in the frames to give it some more traction perhaps going over some point work.Still not too sure yet on the brake arrangements, clearly more research is needed. I really wanted BR Bauxite fitted stock but may have to go with some unfitted BR Greys if I'm not able to find anything.Really great fun to build this has to be my favourite of the 'Airfix' kits so far, might start another tomorrow! Any feedback is much appreciated Cheers, Reece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSLR Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 Hi,More wagons! Built 2 more and one in progress 2 more Prestwins ^ Mwhahaha soon I will have a fleet of these odd looking wagons!The left and the middle have brass top hat bearings fitted, the one on the right however does not yet performs equally as well. Little strange because on the first two they needed them fitting but this last one didn't. Think that's as far as I'll go today/tonight/evening because it's now 4:15am finish that last one tomorrow then make a start on the next. Any feedback is much appreciated Cheers, Reece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornish trains jez Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 I've been watching these wagons being built and they do look impressive. Nice work Reece! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock67B Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Thanks Reece, I still have some old Airfix versions from about 40 years ago which I now intend to use on my coaling stage module. There are a couple of old model railway mag. articles on detailing, couplings, etc. which I have copied and would be happy to e-mail to you if you supply me your address. Having a week in Porthleven in June yippee!. Keep up the good work, now I've found this thread, I shall certainly be following it - it was the 'Fraddon' name that caught my eye as I had four marvellous years living at Porkellis and near Redruth ! Kind regards, Jock67B. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesysmith Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 The 16ton mineral wagon is a minefield. As to the brakes, on unrebuilt ones the brakes on unfitted are only on one side, with the brake lever pointing away from the end door. The brake lever on the other Side would have the cam to reverse the movement of the lever to apply the brakes. For fitted versions, they had brakes on both sides, with a tie bar between the axles. This only applies to the Morton brake fitted versions. This is a very simplified description but should suffice for building your wagons. If unsure, look on Paul Bartlett's BR wagon website. Loads of photos there to show what you need. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock67B Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Hi 'cheeseysmith', with apologies for dunce like behaviour, can I take it that there was a lever on the other side then and that simply removing the actual brake gear would look pretty authentic for my three link versions? Your help would be appreciated. Reece, apologies for nobbling your thread! Kind regards, Jock67B. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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