Black Country Blues

[5 C]

I dont know about the 70s but in the 80s there was certainly a disproportionate amount of cars from longbridge and vans from leyland in the birmingham area. What was the predescessor of the sherpa?

 

Cheers

 

Jim

I believe it was the J4 van. This one coincidentally sporting a West Brom area registration:

http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/photos-cars/austin_j4_van_27.htm

 

Andy

[RANGERS]

I believe it was the J4 van. This one coincidentally sporting a West Brom area registration:

http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/photos-cars/austin_j4_van_27.htm

 

Andy

Classix are adding the J4 to their range but it was announced over a year ago and has yet to appear.

[PhilJ W]

I don't want to get into an argument on what is definitely a side issue in this topic, but I feel that at the time, there was a disconnect between how BL saw their market for the RR, and the kind of punters who, initially, actually bought them.  It took fully 10 years imho for their vision to become reality, and due credit to them too; they invented a new class of vehicle, later dubbed SUV, which was copied the world over.

Back in 1970 was Land Rover part of BL? The original RR concept was a multi purpose vehicle for farmers which despite its 100 mph top speed did not handle very well. The first people to find a use for the RR were the police for Motorway patrol. It was only after BL took over Rover that it was effectively marketed. Until then Rover was allways strapped for cash, which was one of the reasons for the development of the Range Rover which was a fairly simple body with the interior from a Rover saloon on a Land Rover chassis with the ex Buick engine that Rover's had recently acquired.

[Worsdell forever]

Well I wasn't going to post again this year but a chance discovery of this photo of a Bedford CA van taken from episode 1 of series 1 of The Sweeney got me thinking that I had an appropriate van (in Royal Mail livery) somewhere, it was duly found and a few hours and it has been transformed.

 

 

 

 

Hope you all have a happy and productive new year.

 

[Merfyn Jones]

Nice Merf. Have you modified that from the Lledo model and, if so, did you use the original glazing?

 

Yes the Corgi Trackside/Lledo model. Cut down chassis and original wheels, but the glazing is liquid.

Merf.

[Arthur]

Thanks Merf.

 

 

 

The Chassis.   I started by pulling off one of the front wheels, they’re just pushed on to a ribbed axle end, but they take some getting off. I ground off the feeble fuel tank, removed the spare wheel and ground down its carrier block to a third of its original width.

 

Here is the pretty much complete chassis;

 

 

The Base Toys chassis has three mounting points for the front axle.  The original AEC uses the centre position but the Guy, with its axle at on the cab rear line, was better suited to using the rear position.  Some brass washers were inserted to improve the track and the removed wheel, hubs painted BSC Blue, glued back on.

 

A new fuel tank was built up from some evergreen tube with microstrip for the mounting straps. I drilled it to take two bits of .7mm wire, one for the filler neck and one to fix it to the chassis. The spare wheel was fitted to its reduced mounting block in a similar manner.

 

A strip of plasticard formed the rear chassis cross member.  Anyone who remembers these vehicles might recollect the huge silencer and exhaust mounted under the front bumper, it was a very characteristic feature.  A simple fabrication of Plastic rod and brass wire was glued under the chassis front. 

 

 

The Trailer    The Base Toys trailer is too short, whereas a 40 footer just looked too long.  BSC Orb works, at Newport, ran a fleet of 30’ and 36’ trailers (steel sections were often supplied in 30 ft lengths) so I went for a 33’ trailer.

 

This is the original trailer with the bogie removed, it's just screwed on.

 

 

The trailer was a simple construction in styrene and was ‘designed’ as I went along to fit the Base Toys bogie.   It consists of a 60 thou deck with a scribed deck on top.  The chassis rails, side rails, headboard surround and transverse supports are various lengths of evergreen section.  I fitted four transverse bolsters, you don’t want steel lengths laid flat on the deck, well, not unless you want to handball it off, the bolsters allow space for lifting straps/chains or forks to get under the load.

 

 

 

The headboard, also from two layers, has a front from Slaters corrugated to replicate that shown in the prototype photo. The landing legs are made from 3mm square styrene with the upper housings formed from 20thou panels applied around them and the feet are from pieces of 20thou. Discs of 40 thou, punched out with a leather punch, formed the locating point for the rear bogie and the fifth wheel (tractor-trailer coupling) pin.

 

 

One Day.  About twenty years ago I bought a pack of transparent, coloured, light lens', thinking that one day they'd be useful. Well, one day finally came and I used them to make rear light clusters for tractor and trailer.

 

 

Here they are fitted;

 

 

And finally a test fitting of chassis and trailer, the trailer isn't pushed fully home onto the fifth wheel pin. I've started to weather the trailer bed and it will be fitted with a suitable load.

 

 

TBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2013 by Arthur

[Mark Forrest]

It has been quite a productive Christmas/New Year period on the workbench.

First up, the bolster twins have moved a couple of steps closer to completion.  I've painted the floors with a weathered wood finish, given the body work a first coat of brown and finished the bolsters:

 

A few of the other wagons I've been working on (photographed on a slightly overcrowded Foundry Lane - storing the layout above the workbench makes it a convenient dumping ground for incomplete projects!):

 

As for locos, a couple of Rats have been on the workbench for boiler step covers to be fitted (using the Brassmasters parts) - hoping I can get away with just patch painting these for now; should really have primered them before fitting.....

 

Next on the to do list is the Bachmann 47 - which is likely to become Bescot's 47335 and finishing off the pair of 20s.

 

Progress will, no doubt, return to the normal sedate (sluggish) pace with tomorrow's return to work after the festive period.  Can't wait.

[2ManySpams]

Good bit of progress Mark, all I have to show for today's effort is 100s of shallow cuts in brickwork to hide the corner joints.

[2ManySpams]

Bostin' job Arthur.

[wagonbasher]

mark

 

those bolsters look great

 

A

[wagonbasher]

The christmas break has given me the chance to catch up a bit,  Skew bridge ready for departure to Geoffs.  I heard that he had down tooled yesterday with no track to lay because the bridge was missing..    Andy

[wagonbasher]

Sorry for the delay, I have had a crazy christmas..    I then lost the bit of paper with the spot heights on.

 

so

 

If 1 is zero.......

 

2 = -1

3 = +18

4 = +19

5 = +32

6 = +40

7 = +23

8 = +41

9 = +38

10 = +61

 

I have place the cut out where the terainne is flatest, Orientation was a guess, Chris we will need vehicular access cutting into the bank off the road.

 

If you need more spot heights, I imagine Geoff can answer, he has the board.

[2ManySpams]

that's nice Andy - what colours did you use on the brickwork?

[wagonbasher]

Do you have a photo of (or know the name of) the rivetting tool - looks like a worthwhile addition to the toolbox.  Just out of interest - have you tried it on thin plasticard?

I haven't tried it on plasticard but I cant imagine the spacing I was using creating such a distinctive rivit, I will give it a go.

[2ManySpams]

I would imagine that it would curl the thin plasticard badly - which then makes fixing an issue as the stuff is harder to place.

[wagonbasher]

that's nice Andy - what colours did you use on the brickwork?

More than you can imagine.....

 

Morar first was Humbrol 83  turned out too yellow (there are some sections that look too yellow now)

 

Dried Brushed Precision blue brick, then a bit of Humbrol 70 (brick red tinge here and there) then a skim of black.

 

Defo too yellow, so a wash of 121, then more dry brushing in the blue brick and the black

 

The green growth is humbrol 80 and looks a bit - in your face, we may need to knock that back but no point until we see where the scenery comes to.

 

Finally white for the efflourecence, smudged and again knocked back with a bit of grey.

 

Doing it again I need to find a better mortar colour - I probably spent 12 hours in total painting the damn thing

 

A 

[beast66606]

A couple of photos which may help.

 

Latchford

 

 

[Mark Forrest]

I haven't tried it on plasticard but I cant imagine the spacing I was using creating such a distinctive rivit, I will give it a go.

Cheers.  I'm after a blanking plate to cover the boiler exhaust port on the roof of our Class 47 (basically a square plate of about 11mm x 12.5mm with a row of rivets or bolts along each side).  I suppose there's no reason why the aluminium tape wouldn't work, or maybe some thin brass.  Otherwise it's plasticard and Archers rivets.

[wagonbasher]

with some firm pressure you can make the edge of the aluminium almost disapear, it is probably 50 micron at the most.  You could do it in aluminium and stick it onto some plasticard for cutting out.  warning if you apply too much pressure to the aluminium - what rivits.

 

you are welcome to try my tool and tape

 

Andy

[Mark Forrest]

Thanks for those.  I've not done much more on our cabin since the last photos, until today.  I noticed, that some of the planking on the base had distorted - presumably a reaction to the glue.  I've stripped this off to replace it, also had a quick look at the glazing.

Putting off fitting the brackets and planks beneath the windows - most pluck up the courage soon!

[Arthur]

Thanks Chris, I'm enjoying the build.

[Geoff Cook]

The christmas break has given me the chance to catch up a bit,  Skew bridge ready for departure to Geoffs.  I heard that he had down tooled yesterday with no track to lay because the bridge was missing.lotties camera 3 072.jpglotties camera 3 073.jpglotties camera 3 076.jpg.    Andy

 

I didnt say I had nothing to do, just couldn't lay the final pieces of track, theres a jigsaw of wires for me to sort out yet

[Mark Forrest]

More than you can imagine.....

 

I probably spent 12 hours in total painting the damn thing

 

A 

Time well spent judging by the photos, it looks spot on.

[Mark Forrest]

mark

 

those bolsters look great

 

A

Thanks, just a few bits of Evergreen with etched stanchions from the 51L range.

[Stubby47]

Given that this is a railway over railway bridge, would any of the mortar still be a light colour ?

 

I'd have thought the years of soot swirling around the brickwork would have left everything almost black.