chaz Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 (edited) This one is another Coopercraft GW open, in this case a 5 plank. I put a shaped block of wood under the paper tarpaulin to look like a tall load. I built this wagon with the original GW style brakes and painted it with a lot less rust than the one shown in the previous posting. I also took a chance and fitted Peco's GW self-contained buffers. I have no idea if the prototype wagons ever ran fitted with these but I must admit I did this to add a bit of variety. I have built several of the Coopercraft kits as I like the crisp quality of the mouldings but it does mean that there are probably an unrealistic number of earlier (10T) GW opens to be seen at Dock Green. My own view is that anachronisms are OK if they are not too flagrant - you won't be seeing any blue diesels on the layout! Most of these photos of the stock were taken as the wagons were finished and portray them fitted with 3-link couplings, before I made the decision to fit Dingham automatics and long before Dock Green was started. With the layout stacked away (its next outing will be Guildex at Telford in September) I can't easily get new shots. Chaz Edited June 4, 2014 by chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Isambarduk Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 "... but I prefer glass microscope coverslips ..." Yes, I can commend these for all flat glazing. The glass is 0.15 to 0.25mm thick, typically, they are very cheap and easily cut with a diamond scriber, as sold with a number and letter template to etch registration numbers into car windows. Mostly cuts are straight lines but, to cut the circular windows, I scribe circles using a draftsman’s template. When reworking my Ixion Hudswell Clarke, I made four windows straight off without any failures, which was very pleasing – and quite surprising. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 If I were going to do that I think I would fit the glazing before I added the duckets to the van sides - but that would rule out soldering and would certainly make painting trickier. "I wish my Connoisseur toad looked that good" Thanks. As the Connoisseur kits go together so well I assume it's the paint that you are unhappy with? Chaz Paint, and the sort of detail finish that comes of being a fat fingered gumby with the attention span of a gnat . Seriously, though, I'm not really unhappy with mine. Indeed I was quite chuffed with it when I wrapped it up and put it in its storage box, awaiting lettering and weathering. It's just that photos like yours make me realise I've still got a way to go yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 (edited) Paint, and the sort of detail finish that comes of being a fat fingered gumby with the attention span of a gnat . Seriously, though, I'm not really unhappy with mine. Indeed I was quite chuffed with it when I wrapped it up and put it in its storage box, awaiting lettering and weathering. It's just that photos like yours make me realise I've still got a way to go yet. If it is any consolation I was an art teacher and later retrained to teach Design Technology - probably the ideal background for a modeller? However most of my specifically modelling skills have been developed by trial and rather a lot of errors. As to "the attention span of a gnat" one of my bugbears has always been seeing stuff through to the finish. Like many modellers I have uncompleted models and false-starts lurking in drawers. Over the years I have come to realise that it doesn't matter. There are lots of things one could say about compromise - every model railway you have ever seen will involve some level of compromise - perfection is not available. Edited June 4, 2014 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 (edited) An LMS unfitted van built from a Parkside kit, nice mouldings that fit together well provided care is taken with the mitred corners. As is my usual technique the basic grey and the matt black of the underframe were put on with an airbrush. After this had had plenty of time to harden off (at least a week) the general grime and filth was added as washes. Well thinned grime colours (matt black mixed with a mid-brown shade) brushed onto the surface (very wet) over the basic grey livery so the filth collects in corners, around detail and in the planks. I removed any excess with cotton buds dipped in white-spirit using a vertical motion so that any streaks might look natural. Some of the rust on the metal work was also added as washes, the rest was dry-brushed. The shunters' chalked destinations were added using a white coloured pencil. These are usually quite soft so I use a piece of fine grade glasspaper to keep the point sharp. If you find the result looks too white, too prominent, you can use a fibreglass pencil very gently to knock it back. If this is only used with downward strokes any white smearing will end up looking like the effect of rain on chalk. Chaz Edited June 5, 2014 by chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) An ex-GNR horse-box built from a D & S kit. This was quite the best etched brass wagon kit I have ever built, the design and the fit of the parts is so good that I assembled it completely in a weekend, each step going so well that I just had to do the next. But this is a naughty one! I have read that a few of these vans survived the war and ended their days in the carriage sidings at Stratford but probably none ever received BR livery, remaining in varnished teak until their demise. I shelter under the umbrella of Rule One. A pity that I didn't notice and correct that errant footstep before I took the photo. Chaz Edited June 5, 2014 by chaz 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) Another naughty one - not an anachronism this time but one I didn't build. I bought it in Modeller's Mecca RTR at a time when I didn't have many wagons and saw it as a quick way to add another. It's an LMS steel bodied van and is from a Parkside kit. My contribution was to weather it - I'm sure those steel panels would show signs of rust, which I dry-brushed. Chaz Edited June 5, 2014 by chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 An impressive selection of wagons Chaz. Thanks for posting and please keep them coming. Perhaps you might wish to run a vote for images of your locos some time? OK, Paul, yes I will keep the snaps coming, and thanks for the comment. I will follow up the wagons with some photos of the locos, no need for a vote! Chaz 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) A BR standard van assembled from a Slater's plastic kit. I'm not sure about this range, IMHO they do rather overdo it at times. I certainly don't bother to add the extra underframe detail which is completely invisible when the wagon is on the track. I also prefer a plastic kit to be all plastic (and an etched brass one to be all metal - but that's just me) - I have built at least one Slater's plastic kit that included etched brass, and brass and white-metal castings. When I built this I did upgrade it by adding the springing kit. Although this works well as an alternative to compensation it did turn out to be somewhat incompatible with Dingham couplings - I suspect because the height of the couplings is unpredictable as the springs react to various influences. Still it does look the part, I think. Chaz PS - yet again the camera has been unkind, making the transfer carrier film rather obvious - HO HUM..... Edited June 5, 2014 by chaz 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) This is another, earlier LMS van - very similar to the previous van except that it has timber ends rather than the corrugated steel ends. It's another Parkside kit I took this broadside view to show the the effect of sun-blistered paint. To get this I let the grey paint harden off for several days and then brushed MEKPAK onto the surface. This caused the paint to wrinkle and blister. I let the solvent evaporate and the paint harden again before dry-brushing very lightly with white enamel to highlight the wrinkles in the paint. In a few places the paint skin tore away revealing the grey plastic beneath when I was dry-brushing. This was not intended but was a lucky accident - it looks like the bare wood showing through, does it not? The effect is very convincing but I have not used it on any other wagons. Why not? Well it's only visible if examined very closely - from any reasonable distance it vanishes. Both the van's roof and the rails are straight - the camera has distorted them into gentle curves. Chaz Edited June 5, 2014 by chaz 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Hi Chaz Enjoying the photo-history & looking forward to the locos. Thanks for adding a few details about techniques. I'm surprised by your comment about mixing materials in a kit - I take the view that this offers the manufacturer the opportunity to optimise material for function, which should make for a better finished product - just as long as they are not expecting me to solder to the thing that I just glued to the plastic part... Do echo your sentiments re some Slaters stuff however. I recall building a couple of their 7mm bogie clerestories with a mixture of relief & dread. They look the part, but I'm sure it could have looked as good with a bit less complexity! I might tackle another of their milk tankers one day... Best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 Hi Chaz Enjoying the photo-history & looking forward to the locos. Thanks for adding a few details about techniques. I'm surprised by your comment about mixing materials in a kit - I take the view that this offers the manufacturer the opportunity to optimise material for function, which should make for a better finished product - just as long as they are not expecting me to solder to the thing that I just glued to the plastic part... Do echo your sentiments re some Slaters stuff however. I recall building a couple of their 7mm bogie clerestories with a mixture of relief & dread. They look the part, but I'm sure it could have looked as good with a bit less complexity! I might tackle another of their milk tankers one day... Best Simon Thanks for the comments. "I'm surprised by your comment about mixing materials in a kit" Well, sometimes it works and sometimes..... Take for an example the Slater's BR standard brake van kit. The footboard support pillars are brass lost-wax castings. The pins on the top of these fit into holes in the solebars but are a chore to clean up and fettle so that they do in fact fit. And then the footboards are plastic and therefore have to be glued. Once fitted these are very vulnerable, and often come adrift - the problem is the tiny area available for glueing. On the kit I built I threw the plastic footboards away and cut new ones from brass. These I soldered to the support pillars - they have stayed put, solder being somewhat stronger than glue. I should say that I have no objection to small details such as fixed lamps being brass castings provided they peg into place - although I can't really see why these are not moulded in plastic - they are no more intricate than the axleboxes, are they? Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 (edited) These three have featured in this topic before but I like this snap of them together. The van on the left is an LNER "Green Arrow" van. I made it from a Connoisseur brass kit for a BR standard brake, but made quite a few detail changes to backdate it. The centre van is from the same kit but built as intended. On the right is an unfitted van built from the Slater's plastic kit. As I said above I replaced the plastic footboards with ones cut from brass but otherwise the kit was assembled as per instructions. The two brass vans both have WEP compensators, the plastic one has Slater's own springing units. Ironically it is the latter one that is occasionally prone to derail when being propelled - possibly it needs a little more weight to get it to track accurately. The duckets are obviously different sizes - checking photos in G Gamble's "British Railway Wagons #5 - Cattle & Brake Vans" suggests to me that the Slater's ones are a bit undersized. Rivet counters know what to do! Chaz Edited June 6, 2014 by chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 (edited) An ex-GCR van built from a Connoisseur brass kit (LNER in 7mm fans should be grateful to Jim - his catalogue includes lots of nice kits for us). This is the first Connoisseur kit to include sprung axleboxes. Nothing radical with the build - I followed the instructions and it resulted in a nice model. I have set the exposure (in Lightroom) a bit on the dark side as the "correct" setting did not show the (light) weathering that I put on this one. I don't think every wagon should be really filthy - it's nice to have some variety of finish. This is not the first time a camera has rendered weathering virtually invisible. Probably down to lighting. Chaz Edited June 6, 2014 by chaz 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Thanks for the comments. "I'm surprised by your comment about mixing materials in a kit" Well, sometimes it works and sometimes..... Take for an example the Slater's BR standard brake van kit. The footboard support pillars are brass lost-wax castings. The pins on the top of these fit into holes in the solebars but are a chore to clean up and fettle so that they do in fact fit. And then the footboards are plastic and therefore have to be glued. Once fitted these are very vulnerable, and often come adrift - the problem is the tiny area available for glueing. On the kit I built I threw the plastic footboards away and cut new ones from brass. These I soldered to the support pillars - they have stayed put, solder being somewhat stronger than glue. I should say that I have no objection to small details such as fixed lamps being brass castings provided they peg into place - although I can't really see why these are not moulded in plastic - they are no more intricate than the axleboxes, are they? Chaz love it - the one thing I try to avoid - soldering to the brass thing that I have just glued to the plastic solebar... I do agree that the cast brackets can be a bit of a job - but is that the execution of the part, or the material? Definitely these would be better if the brackets had holes and the pins were simply brass nails, or something similar. best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 7, 2014 Author Share Posted June 7, 2014 love it - the one thing I try to avoid - soldering to the brass thing that I have just glued to the plastic solebar... It can be done, providing you are quick and use a hot iron. In fact I drilled a piece of MDF at the same spacing as the holes in the solbars and used this as a soldering jig. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 I wish my Connoisseur toad looked that good . An alternative glazing technique, which I considered but didn't do, would be to cut a strip of perspex or similar to fit in the slot in the ducket casting which forms the windows, and polish the ends. I think the liquid glazing would be easier though. That's the technique that I used below on a Connoisseur kit with cast duckets but I may try the liquid glazing in future. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 8, 2014 Author Share Posted June 8, 2014 That's the technique that I used below on a Connoisseur kit with cast duckets but I may try the liquid glazing in future. Is that the earler NER van? Rather out of period for Dock Green. The glazing looks very good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Is that the earler NER van? Rather out of period for Dock Green. The glazing looks very good. Hi Chaz, no it's the NBR van, Although in the to do pile I do have one of the V4 NER vans, plus a couple of the NER birdcage types, and one of the BR versions which like you I plan to back date to an LNER version. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 (edited) I think that's probably enough wagons for the moment (and anyway I need to set up a section of Dock Green so that I can snap more of the stock)... So how about a locomotive interlude? Looking back through the photo archives gives me the chance for a bit of build history.... Usual first step for me - the footplate. It has to fit onto the frames and also forms a base for the body. Slater's pre-group parallel buffers - base flange drilled and entomologist's pins soldered in captive nuts fixed with a generous fillet of solder - last thing you want is the nut coming away hidden inside the body the two "helpful" slots visible are to locate the cab - in the wrong place! (story later) Can you see what it is yet? Not the easiest parts of this build. Getting a good shape for the tank and smokebox wrappers. Sometimes it pays to just get on with it - on this occasion I surprised myself (this was only the second brass loco kit I built). I built the frames in this very basic, by the instructions, form, no compensation or springing and a simple worm-drive gearbox. Coupling rods are laminated from the kit parts and therefore in one piece - no joint. Later, after some service, I rebuilt the frames for better performance (more of this later). Chaz Edited June 10, 2014 by chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Isambarduk Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 "captive nuts fixed with a generous fillet of solder - last thing you want is the nut coming away hidden inside the body" Yes, although this has never actually happened to me, I do worry about it so I always solder a plate (say 1/8", 3mm thick) where the nut would go and drill and tap the hole 8BA (or whatever). I realize that not everybody has an 8BA tap to hand so perhaps the plate could have the hole opened up to just fit over the nut so there is plenty of nut for the solder to grab onto. Perhaps this is all too much belt-and-braces but it's just a thought. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianwales Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Hi Chaz Do the Peco GWR 7mm wagon kits contain BR era transfers? Thanks Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 "captive nuts fixed with a generous fillet of solder - last thing you want is the nut coming away hidden inside the body" Yes, although this has never actually happened to me, I do worry about it so I always solder a plate (say 1/8", 3mm thick) where the nut would go and drill and tap the hole 8BA (or whatever). I realize that not everybody has an 8BA tap to hand so perhaps the plate could have the hole opened up to just fit over the nut so there is plenty of nut for the solder to grab onto. Perhaps this is all too much belt-and-braces but it's just a thought. David Nothing wrong with that solution David, but I think a good fillet of solder probably answers well enough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 (edited) Hi Chaz Do the Peco GWR 7mm wagon kits contain BR era transfers? Thanks Ian It's a while since I built one but I don't think they do. (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong). The Parkside kits include transfers for both BR and pre-nationalisation (where appropriate), of course etched brass kits never, in my experience include any transfers. I have always used Fox transfers on my wagons if they are not "in the box". IIRC Slater's kits don't include transfers either. Chaz Edited June 10, 2014 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 There is nothing sacred about a kit - if you find that it's wrong you are allowed to change it.... Made up the cab which, with the addition of some half-round wire for beading, went well. However the two tabs at the bottom of the sides, when fitted into the slots in the footplate put the cab too far back, eliminating the step made by the projecting footplate - it's wide enough on the prototype for a man to rest his toes on whilst clinging to the bunker. Also they placed the cab over to one side - not good. I filed the tabs off, soldered the cab in the correct position, and filled the slots with solder. Chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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