Mike W's N Gauge Workbench

[Mike W]

After building my small Newton Parcels layout, I've been very happy to return to what I enjoy best; modifying RTR stock and kit building. The models shown here will mostly be in my main modelling era, 1979 - 1991 but there will also be some diesel hydraulics circa 1969/70 thrown in for good measure.

 

Some projects will be smaller than others but hopefully they will be of interest to somebody.

 

DP1

 

I've wanted to modify my model of DP1 for a while - I normally am pretty strict on what I buy (and I don't tend to favour celebrity locos) but I was bought DP1 as a present. I toyed with adding full yellow ends to it and also a cantrail stripe but in the end I decided to only modify slightly, so I could reverse the changes if necessary. So here is a nice little project to start with; a Farish DP1 in preserved livery with overhead warning flashes like the production deltics and a TOPS data panel added to the cabside.

 

 

Mk1 GUV Underframe

 

I like to run stock I've modified but new RTR releases are so good that apart from weathering, they don't need any work. Therefore I tend to keep a few examples of older models so that I can update them. Here is an older Farish Mk1 GUV getting a new Ultima underframe (newer tooling example being used for reference).

 

 

[Mike W]

Mk1 GUV Underframe

 

This is now complete, weathering aside:

 

 

For reference, here is a picture of an old tooling GUV underframe and a newly tooled one. The upgrade is well worth doing in my opinion.

 

 

[Mike W]

Class 33 Bogies

 

I've wanted to see if I could improve the old Farish 33 for a while now and the soon to be released 33 from Dapol has provided ample encouragement to try and save some money!

 

Some of the older Farish models are good, in my opinion (the 31 springs to mind) but whilst the bodyshell of the Farish 33 is good, the bogies let it down badly, being not very detailed and leaving too much of a gap to the bodyside.

 

I ordered some 33 bogie sideframes from CJM and the results are below. The bogie centres are wrong but I knew that going into the work.

 

 

 

I can't make up my mind about this one, to be honest. Time will tell; I think I have a few months to decide whether or not to cancel my Dapol pre-order.

[Mike W]

Dapol Mk3 TGS

 

Here are the materials I used, others who are better at railway modelling may use different tools and do a far better job!

 

• Donor coach (this started life as an Intercity Swallow loco hauled coach so it has had a bit of work already; it is the worst one I have for seeing the old branding so I didn't mind risking it on this project)
• PH Designs N gauge NMT modification etch. This has enough windows for 2 TGS coaches as well as plenty of other window types, which I might use to modify or create a buffet in due course.
• Model filler
• Cyano
• Sharp Modelling knife
• Small pair of scissors (on pen knife) for cutting etch etc
• Executive Dark grey paint (turned out to need Falcon grey in the end so this wasn't used)
• Mid grey paint for the window frames (not shown)

 

1. Coach dismantled; taking out the glazing was tricky and it did snap in places but went back in fine after the work was finished.

 

 

2. Old window frames were then cut away using the sharp knife. Pete Harvey recommends using a scalpel but I decided to use what I already had (sorry Pete!). I cut the frames away by gently cutting each side from the inside of the window.

 

 

3. The etched window frames were then cut out and glued into place. The first few I did were done really badly but I got pretty good by the time I got to the other side of the coach. I may well sell or junk this coach in due course, as I feel I could do a much better job now.

 

 

 

4. A small amount of filler was added where I thought appropriate.

 

 

5. Done; the coach was then painted and reassambled. I'm reasonably happy with it and it does mean I'm only 2 coaches away from a full Exec HST (buffet and a second TFO). I am quite sure that others would do a better job, though, and I definitely recommend the conversion.

 

 

 

 

[Robert Shrives]

Hi Great looking job . I have the yellow hst set as well - How do you think the frames match Dapol ones?

robert

[Mike W]

Hi Robert

 

Thanks

 

I ran the set last night, the window frames look slightly different to the Dapol ones but not enough to bother me, although everyone is different. I included the last photo to try and illustrate the difference.

 

However, for the yellow hst (NMT), I think the etch has windows for all the coaches so no coaches should have the Dapol frames left and the frames on all coaches would look completely the same.

[MrSimon]

Hi Mike,

 

Love the TGS conversion.  I've got a question about the paint you used - was the executive dark grey the wrong grey for swallow livery?  I've been touching up an old power car and the greys don't quite match, but your greys do so I was wondering which you used in the end?  Is Falcon grey a better match?

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[Mike W]

Hi Simon,

 

Apologies for the late reply. Yes, Falcon grey was a better match, so I used that in the end.

[Mike W]

Mk1 Underframes

 

I've now finished upgrading all my old tooling Mk1s to have Ultima underframe kits which has been very enjoyable. They're great kits and make a big difference. I've done Poole and Chinese models, shown below is a Parcels BG. One of my favourites is my Scotrail BG and I wish I'd photographed that instead now!

 

 

 

Blue Pullman

 

I bought a 'custard dip' midland Blue Pullman a while ago with the intention of turning it into a more useful representation of the type on the western region. It took me a while to pluck up the nerve to paint it! It still needs jumper cables and the Midland Pullman wording replacing with just Pullman.

 

 

 

Overall I'm happy with it but please note that Railmatch Nanking blue does not match the Farish paint colour!

 

Syphon G 0.62

 

A Lima Syphon body, modified with an Ultima diag. 0.62 etch, and a Dapol chassis.

 

 

 

45 Roof Grille

 

A small further mod to my 45, a BHE roof grille.

 

 

[Mike W]

Rather a big update, I'm afraid - working in IT, I prefer to spend my 'down' time not using computers to updates have been lax and I have done a fair bit of modelling. Before I begin, though, my plans for my stock have been drastically altered, which is where some of these additions come from. My wife is pregnant, which is wonderful news, so I have decided that railway spending must be curtailed. All my pre-orders have now been cancelled and I have been busy buying/modelling cheap alternatives to them, which are described below, as well as keeping some older models I was going to replace (Farish class 25/2, anyone?).

 

46037

 

This is a cheap Farish D186 which is a work in progress; the buffer beams have been painted, the headcode panels removed (ready for dots to be printed and glued in) and the numbers etc have been removed. This now needs the headcodes finishing, bufferbeam detailing and TOPS numbers/panel adding, before weathering at some point in the future.

 

Blue Pullman

 

The Blue Pullman has had some more work; transfers added to remove 'Midland' branding and I have used some TPM jumper cables on the front. The cables still need more work so this isn't finished yet!

 

 

Mk3 Blue/Grey HST Buffet

 

Having decided to curtail spending and cancel my pre-orders, one coach I needed was a buffet to complete my Blue/Grey Dapol HST. Having used up my PHD etch (see below - perhaps this post is in the wrong order!), I decided to buy an old Farish coach and modify it - it has had a BR Lines painted interior, new wheels & Fox C3 transfers.

 

 

Newspapers BG

 

A plain green Mk1 BG repainted into plain Blue, awaiting Newspapers transfers and numbering. I had wanted to repaint a new Mk1 for a while and it was very enjoyable.

 

 

NSE 4-CIG

 

I did an NSE 4-CIG some years ago but was never happy with the ends of the unit. Electra Railway Graphics have upgraded their vinyls and added end glazing, so I thought I would replace my current vinyls and improve the unit. I'm very pleased with the upgrade. The unit has various TPM bits and bobs and a BHE underframe. It is unpowered and hauled by a 33 or 73.

 

 

Class 50s

 

Some more pre-orders cancelled were the Dapol class 50s, which would have replaced my Farish examples. I decided to try and detail my Farish ones, so they now have CJM roof grilles, headcode box covers & horn grilles and RETB pods (where appropriate) along with BHE cab window frames and front steps. Below is my NSE example.

 

 

47004

 

I had an old tooling class 47 bodyshell sat in my spares box so I decided to finish it off as 47004 in Railfreight Construction livery, as it was when painted in Scotland, without cantrail stripe. The chassis came from an old Scotrail bodyshell which has since been sold on a non-working chassis. Transfers from Fox, etched arrows/plaques from Shawplan, BHE roof grilles from Etched Pixels (thank you!) and BHE detailing kit added.

 

 

Merzario Freightliner Wagon

 

A cheap Safmarine freightliner wagon was bought recently as a donor for 2 spare Merzario containers I had in my spares box. I'm quite a stickler for freightliners, I think it is easy to get the eras wrong but I finally saw some Merzario boxes in this livery in a photo so I thought it was about time I put them onto a wagon.

 

 

InterCity Exec Loco Hauled Mk3s

 

A pre-order of the new I/C Exec Mk2s duly cancelled, I bought some Mk3s in a summer sale for £5 each and used some of Electra's new style vinyls (& BR Lines interiors) to create a rake of these.

 

 

Dapol InterCity Exec Mk3 HST Buffet

 

Right, I've put this at the bottom of the update in the hope that people will have stopped reading already! It's a bit ropey but looks OK in a full set whizzing round and it means my Dapol I/C Exec HST is complete. Look away now if easily offended! This might get replaced with a production coach in due course. The method of construction was the same as that described for the TGS above.

 

 

NCB Stock

 

Lastly (phew, right?) I've done a bit of NCB stock to go with my class 14, which my Dad kindly bought me a few years ago. Some unpainted Dapol 21ton hoppers now have paint and transfers and I have repainted a Farish LMS brake van as seen on the internet somewhere in a photo from 1986.

 

 

[Mike W]

Some recent small projects.

 

LMS BG

 

A mk1 GUV was sold to make way for an LMS BG, which has been repainted in blue, to match this image.

 

 

HST Sun Visors

 

A nice little addition to my Farish HST from Etched Pixels.

 

 

Strathclyde PTE 107

 

I've modified a 3 car Farish 108 into a Strathclyde PTE 107, using Electra vinyls and Etched Pixels class 25 headcode boxes (hacked about a bit). Not perfect, but I'm happy with it.

 

 

Scharfenburgs

 

Tomix Scharfenburgs have been added to my fixed rakes; an example shown below is the now reduced gap on some old Farish mk4 coaches.

 

 

158

 

Having tried to convert an old Farish Regional Railways 158 into an original Express branded unit for a while, I've now used Electra's new vinyls, which have made a big difference and the unit is much improved from using transfers and trying to patch paint the old branding out.

 

 

InterCity Mk1 Buffet

 

A nice cheap coach modified using TPM gangway rubbing plates and Ultima underframe components. Needs the appropriate catering parts adding and is yet to be painted.

 

 

24081

 

Lastly is something which has been bugging me for a while. Back when 24035 was the only blue class 24 available from Farish, I renumbered one to 24081, but was aware that in order for it to be authentic for it's last years in traffic, the front doors needed plating over. Farish then released an actual model numbered as 24081, but the doors were again incorrect for what I was after. My admittedly rough solution has been to put a bit of card over the doors. Not perfect, but again I'm quite happy with it.