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Jack's Present Day Workbench - Coaches of Many Colours


Jack374
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It's worth noting that Dapol have learnt from their previous batch and painted the interiors of their new batch, which would save people who had to do this themselves a lot of effort...not thinking of anyone in particular *kof* Mick *kof* :D

 

 

Too late now.........

 

We need another 6 or so for the club layout though!

 

Cheers,

Mick

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Hi Jack

With regards to the Roof Grilles for the 60, I'd suggest trying Shawplan. They do a lot of etched grilles. Might. E the best place to start.

Regards, Ryan

Cheers Ryan, I've emailed Brian several times because I've got some other parts I need and ideas to suggest to him, but I don't think any of my emails are being received, so I'll have to wait until the next show he does up here or give him a ring.

 

Thanks,

Jack.

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Evening...

 

So today I've carried on with detailing some wagons. The first to be tackled was my second Christmas wagon, the ICA 'Silver Bullet'. Out of the box it looks very toy like, but after a bit of work it looks more like a model. First, having had problems with my other wagons I have, I set about reducing the height of the pair of handles on brackets on the underframe.

post-21664-0-19593400-1483121434_thumb.jpg

This picture I took of one receiving attention at Warrington Arpley shows these hang below the solebar by around 5mm, not the 10 or so millimetres that Dapol have portrayed, which causes problems with some hardstandings and other lineside bits on some of my layouts. To do this, the brackets were snapped off and the plastic rod discarded in favour of some 0.9mm steel wire, holes for which were drilled into the brackets.

post-21664-0-62233300-1483120664_thumb.jpg

Dapol felt the need to model longer brackets due to the size of the air cylinder, but practicality always comes before appearance, so I cut two channels in the air cylinder with a junior hacksaw to accommodate the new wires. After this I also decided to add the rod connecting the handwheels, which was another simple job of creating a hole with a pin vice and adding the wire.

The chunky buffer heads were then filed down to a more prototypical thickness and new brass coupling hooks were added. I also decided to file down the hook shaped things on the solebar because these were slightly too thick for my liking also. That was it for yesterday's efforts...

post-21664-0-72563500-1483122306_thumb.jpg

Today I set about working on the bogies. I cut off the brake shoes that are far too far forwards, and mounted them on a separate piece of plasticard on some wire. On this plasticard I also fabricated a new coupling pocket, as the chassis mounted arrangement is prone to derailments. Because of the slippery nature of the plastic, I attached the plasticard to the bogie using some short wire lengths to prevent side movement, whilst the screw holds the assembly to the bogie:

post-21664-0-98679800-1483120713_thumb.jpg

post-21664-0-77214600-1483120744_thumb.jpg

post-21664-0-09481800-1483120733_thumb.jpg

I've ordered a set of etched walkways from PH Designs which will be made up and then the wagon will be finished, and hopefully the others will follow suit.

 

Another wagon type I've set about improving is the IKA 'Megafret' intermodal flat wagon, which is a poor model if I'm honest. The biggest drawback is the swivelling bogie covers, which should be fixed to the chassis. Everything on the wagon is also very chunky, and will be refined or remade in due course, such as the brake cylinders and gear between the ribs. For now I've set about changing the buffers. The original chunky continental type were snapped off and the shank was sawed and filed flat to leave the buffer back plate. New units were fabricated from brass rod and plasticard rod of 2mm and 4mm diameter respectively. 2mm holes had to be drilled into the cast chassis to accommodate the new buffers, and then these were glued in place. Heads will be made shortly, then the other wagon will be done in the same way.

post-21664-0-64420200-1483120756_thumb.jpg

post-21664-0-23608800-1483120763_thumb.jpg

 

That's all for now! :no:

Jack.

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Nice work Jack.

You'll be going all P4 on us next............

 

Have you seen my mods to a IKA swivelling bogie frame?

(No idea where they are though - goes off to search....)

 

EDIT; That didn't take long.......... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/16410-Dapol-oo-ika-megafret-intermodal-flats-and-containers/page-2&do=findComment&comment=280646

 

 

Cheers,

Mick

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Have you seen my mods to a IKA swivelling bogie frame?

Funnily enough I stumbled across this earlier while searching whether there were any transfers available for the wagon (the answer to which is no), because I think I'll end up repainting the wagon a darker shade of blue as per the original. I was going to do your method of chopping and gluing the original cover, but I think the cover actually protrudes out from the solebar, so I'll fashion this from brass to allow that little extra sideplay (which means tighter curves can be negotiated)...

post-21664-0-35021900-1483138161_thumb.jpg

 

Where did your wagon end up? I've not seen any mention of it before...

 

Thanks,

Jack.

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Where did your wagon end up? I've not seen any mention of it before...

 

Thanks,

Jack.

It needs a partner to run it as a DRS Sellafield-Barrow working with the escort coaches........

 

On the round tuit shelf.

 

Cheers,

Mick

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It needs a partner to run it as a DRS Sellafield-Barrow working with the escort coaches........

 

On the round tuit shelf.

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

 

Hi Mick, do you have any pictures of these workings at all? 

 

Jack, great work as always - i don't know how you have so much patience with these Dapol wagons! i notice a lot of the problems with them and the inaccuracies but usually i just think "ahh well i can deal with knowing thats too chunky or too big or not quite right" etc! - great work as always mate

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Hi Mick, do you have any pictures of these workings at all? 

 

Jack, great work as always - i don't know how you have so much patience with these Dapol wagons! i notice a lot of the problems with them and the inaccuracies but usually i just think "ahh well i can deal with knowing thats too chunky or too big or not quite right" etc! - great work as always mate

 

There have been a few "test" workings - this is one of them.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/102817923@N05/25517937084/in/photolist-ESW6Eu-F5wXKp-aZJspk-F5kabY-9sYR3e-byT83v-CNbgKK-aLwiKH-b2AgB4-8Qb63R-zB7Ggo-FLAnVS-EYsmki-EVNGPz-dEawNP-FrssTR-zQ8q82-FRfQJp-EeCB8e-EJrkbE-Jy4ahq-zyjDrV-yfsjP5-zrK6N9-zuVpnV-ByCUJA-Eyg7xH-EyfX1B-NM2WUf-Jy2EKP-J3pTYt-FWanGz-9oFznd-AF2jxH-NfM97y-N4mi5N-MMpoqL-MgV7vv-Le3gTd-M2NqMD-M2kPtu-M5md4v-L84Dg7-LXeyGX-L8f4yp-LJR9ak-KM94cV-LDJ6Dy-LzJXGi-Ld5YVN

 

There was another longer distance trip, but the pic is on my home pc.

 

Cheers,

Mick

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There have been a few "test" workings

I've seen at least one picture of the working with two white containers, so the trials must have been successful.

 

This evening I've done the other bogie of the clay slurry tank, it took about half the time of the other one because I knew what I was doing. Both bogies were then painted and attached and the wagon is now complete bar the new walkways, which should arrive from PH Designs soon...

post-21664-0-62378900-1483211101_thumb.jpg

 

In terms of the Megafret, I've added the buffer heads made of plasticard and added a coupling hook by drilling a hole for a brass hook and then adding some plasticard strips around it to secure it. New steps were added from diamond mesh and plasticard to support it. To finish, a new lamp bracket was fashioned from brass strip.

post-21664-0-24826600-1483211112_thumb.jpg

post-21664-0-38037200-1483211121_thumb.jpg

post-21664-0-88604300-1483211128_thumb.jpg

I then set about working on the bogies, and sawed off the side frames, then filed down the bogies and painted them to look like the bogies, which will be mostly covered by the guards.

post-21664-0-43564900-1483211141_thumb.jpg

 

Have a pleasant new year and I hope you can all fit some more modelling in! :yes:

 

Thanks,

Jack.

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Evening all...

 

Not much done today due to the nice weather and me not being awake until after midday! :no:

I did however fashion some new bogie guards from plasticard...nothing special or complicated but I had limited luck with brass as it is hard to form if not etched....

post-21664-0-87766100-1483301053_thumb.jpg

 

And after acquiring some new spray varnish (and some wheels for a kit I got for Christmas) from my local model shop, I finally varnished 66428. The lights were done in much the same way as 66407, I.e a new LED on the night headlight side wired into the headlight feed(s), and some careful butchery of the light insert on the day headlight side, so the headlight could shine into the tail light lens but not vice versa. The details of how I did the loco before now can be found earlier in the thread. I must say that I do like this loco because they are very common around here yet it's quite hard to model due to the non-availability of transfers or a suitably liveried (with correct chassis/light arrangement) doner model.

post-21664-0-16505000-1483301062_thumb.jpg

post-21664-0-37133400-1483301070_thumb.jpg

post-21664-0-61339800-1483301077_thumb.jpg

 

That's all for now,

Jack.

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Evening...

 

So today I've carried on with detailing some wagons. The first to be tackled was my second Christmas wagon, the ICA 'Silver Bullet'. Out of the box it looks very toy like, but after a bit of work it looks more like a model. First, having had problems with my other wagons I have, I set about reducing the height of the pair of handles on brackets on the underframe.

attachicon.gifIMG_2594.JPG

This picture I took of one receiving attention at Warrington Arpley shows these hang below the solebar by around 5mm, not the 10 or so millimetres that Dapol have portrayed, which causes problems with some hardstandings and other lineside bits on some of my layouts. To do this, the brackets were snapped off and the plastic rod discarded in favour of some 0.9mm steel wire, holes for which were drilled into the brackets.

attachicon.gifIMG_2791.JPG

Dapol felt the need to model longer brackets due to the size of the air cylinder, but practicality always comes before appearance, so I cut two channels in the air cylinder with a junior hacksaw to accommodate the new wires. After this I also decided to add the rod connecting the handwheels, which was another simple job of creating a hole with a pin vice and adding the wire.

The chunky buffer heads were then filed down to a more prototypical thickness and new brass coupling hooks were added. I also decided to file down the hook shaped things on the solebar because these were slightly too thick for my liking also. That was it for yesterday's efforts...

attachicon.gifIMG_2793.JPG

Today I set about working on the bogies. I cut off the brake shoes that are far too far forwards, and mounted them on a separate piece of plasticard on some wire. On this plasticard I also fabricated a new coupling pocket, as the chassis mounted arrangement is prone to derailments. Because of the slippery nature of the plastic, I attached the plasticard to the bogie using some short wire lengths to prevent side movement, whilst the screw holds the assembly to the bogie:

attachicon.gifIMG_2810.JPG

attachicon.gifIMG_2814.JPG

attachicon.gifIMG_2811.JPG

I've ordered a set of etched walkways from PH Designs which will be made up and then the wagon will be finished, and hopefully the others will follow suit.

 

Another wagon type I've set about improving is the IKA 'Megafret' intermodal flat wagon, which is a poor model if I'm honest. The biggest drawback is the swivelling bogie covers, which should be fixed to the chassis. Everything on the wagon is also very chunky, and will be refined or remade in due course, such as the brake cylinders and gear between the ribs. For now I've set about changing the buffers. The original chunky continental type were snapped off and the shank was sawed and filed flat to leave the buffer back plate. New units were fabricated from brass rod and plasticard rod of 2mm and 4mm diameter respectively. 2mm holes had to be drilled into the cast chassis to accommodate the new buffers, and then these were glued in place. Heads will be made shortly, then the other wagon will be done in the same way.

attachicon.gifIMG_2815.JPG

attachicon.gifIMG_2816.JPG

 

That's all for now! :no:

Jack.

http://www.phd-design-etchings.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=25_28_63&product_id=128

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Yet more progress! This may well be the last of the progress though as life returns to (relative) normality tomorrow...

 

This evening I've done a little more on the IKA...the bogie guards were filed down to a roughly correct angle and then the hole for the bogie to rotate was cut. This was then glued on and I'm quite pleased with it; the bogie itself will have to undergo some trimming to swivel properly but the shape is there:

post-21664-0-08751000-1483395367_thumb.jpg

post-21664-0-15813000-1483395376_thumb.jpg

Following this I decided to replace the wire that runs along the length of the chassis with a steel replacement, as the plastic one had snapped in places and the remaining bits weren't all that sturdy. This was done by cutting some little blocks of plastic strip and drilling a 0.5mm hole to accept the 0.45mm wire. The end was bent to portray the real thing, rather than curving and then stopping abruptly as Dapol seem to think is the case...I know it may be OTT but I know it's right so in my mind it is better. I also added two pipes that join a pair of handles on each side of the wagon...another simple plasticard support and steel wire job...

post-21664-0-43466200-1483395350_thumb.jpg

post-21664-0-11440300-1483395360_thumb.jpg

 

It seems a lot of work for one wagon but hopefully it'll portray a better model when I'm finished. The IDA flat due for release soon looks like an excellent model, so I think one or two Megafret pairs and a few IDAs will make a good rake of flats. :yes:

 

Thanks,

Jack.

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Evening all...

 

Bit more done tonight...I set about making the coupling for the bogie from plasticard as per the ICA wagon. Nothing special really, just various bits of plasticard sheet and square strip. This is a much better arrangement than the chassis mounted contraption Dapol has chosen to use. I also made the rear set of bogie guards and these should be fitted shortly, meaning this wagon is almost complete (finally!).

post-21664-0-23669900-1483480427_thumb.jpg

post-21664-0-43115200-1483480434_thumb.jpg

post-21664-0-09911100-1483480441_thumb.jpg

 

Keep on modelling! :yes:

Jack.

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Yet more progress! :yes:

 

So today I had a trip to my local model shop (Transport Models Preston) to stock up on supplies and to buy some new wheels...more of which later...

 

First though, I've practically finished the first half of the 'Megafret' pair. This entailed making a new coupling bar that is more substantial than the Dapol version. This was simply some 0.9mm steel wire wound around the spigot at one end, then a length of brass rod threaded on and the other end done the same:

post-21664-0-81041800-1483829017_thumb.jpg

Following this I glued the rear pair of bogie guards on, and added the rear valance from plasticard with some strip for reinforcement....

post-21664-0-81326200-1483829054_thumb.jpg

post-21664-0-93453000-1483829062_thumb.jpg

I decided to fill the unsightly holes in the deck with something resembling the locating spigots, so small squares of plasticard were cut and a shallow 1.2 mm hole drilled in each, then a 1mm round magnet glued in. These were upturned and filed so only a thin layer of plastic separated the magnet from another mounted in the underside of a container, which is enough to hold it tight round corners at speed...

post-21664-0-30767600-1483829071_thumb.jpg

post-21664-0-02760100-1483829102_thumb.jpg

Also some wheel splashes were added from paper. I originally thought to put a small piece of wire underneath to create the arc shape, but couldn't be bothered in the end :D

post-21664-0-13501800-1483829094_thumb.jpg

 

The new wheels mentioned previously were for my two Cambrian bogie track panel wagons...currently one YSA 'Salmon' and one YKA 'Osprey', however since receiving another kit for Christmas, I'll make all three into the latter variant with extra supports to hold the panels in place. The wheels are Gibson 10.5mm 'Lowmac' plain discs, which I actually found out the shop stocked through their eBay shop, so these will replace the undersize and frankly awful Kadee wheels I first used.

post-21664-0-87609400-1483829108_thumb.jpg

And construction on the third kit has just commenced:

post-21664-0-85680100-1483829116_thumb.jpg

 

That's all for now...back to college next week with mid year assessments the week after, so don't expect frequent updates from now on! :no:

 

Thanks,

Jack.

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Yet more progress! :yes:

 

So today I had a trip to my local model shop (Transport Models Preston) to stock up on supplies and to buy some new wheels...more of which later...

 

 

Great minds think alike. I was in there on Saturday afternoon (stocking up with yellow paint........)

 

Cheers,

Mick

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Great minds think alike. I was in there on Saturday afternoon (stocking up with yellow paint........)

 

Cheers,

Mick

And whilst in there, they had a second hand Bachmann 20 for £65, but I thought no. Lo and behold, I must have psychic powers after Bachman announced one today :dance:

 

Jack.

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Evening all...

 

Well college isn't as time consuming as I thought, so I've had a couple of hours tonight for some modelling :yes:

 

This entailed filing down the cast parts of the second 'Megafret' wagon that need doing, so chopping off the buffers and filing down the footstep. This was much easier this time round, since I left the actual step piece on to hold the two supports steady during filing. I also filed off the paint where the coupling and etched diamond mesh step will go...

post-21664-0-05859200-1484084385_thumb.jpg

 

And also I've made a start on the YKA 'Osprey'. The bogies have been filed down to remove flash and tidy them up, and the bearings and bearing caps have been glued on. Also the buffers have been refined and attached to the beams, which will be attached to the main floor and solebars when the poly cement has fully cured on them.

post-21664-0-94301100-1484084390_thumb.jpg

 

That's all for now...keep modelling! ;)

Thanks,

Jack.

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Evening all...

Well college isn't as time consuming as I thought, so I've had a couple of hours tonight for some modelling :yes:

 

Instant win!

 

I found the same with college, suddenly whole afternoons free to 'study' or model haha..! And then later on to university, heaven! Entire days of no lectures or seminars, providing you're not too hungover, I ended up building a whole layout in my free days!! And then the best bit, "Reading Week" - reading Model Rail more like! Enjoy!! )

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Instant win!

I found the same with college, suddenly whole afternoons free to 'study' or model haha..! And then later on to university, heaven! Entire days of no lectures or seminars, providing you're not too hungover, I ended up building a whole layout in my free days!! And then the best bit, "Reading Week" - reading Model Rail more like! Enjoy!! )

Haha cheers James...I've got an entire day off tomorrow too for 'study'...studying how to assemble the kit and improve models! In all seriousness I have got some work to do, but modelling always wins, and a trip to the railway on my bike in the morning is also likely...especially as GBRf have just won the 6S94 Irvine China clay contract and there's a 92 back on the front! :yes:

 

Thanks,

Jack.

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Haha cheers James...I've got an entire day off tomorrow too for 'study'...studying how to assemble the kit and improve models! In all seriousness I have got some work to do, but modelling always wins, and a trip to the railway on my bike in the morning is also likely...especially as GBRf have just won the 6S94 Irvine China clay contract and there's a 92 back on the front! :yes:

 

Thanks,

Jack.

 

IIRC your college (begins with R and ends in aw) isn't too far from the WCML.....

Trainspotting at lunchtime?

 

Cheers,

Mick

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IIRC your college...isn't too far from the WCML.....Trainspotting at lunchtime?

Yup...I've already done that a few times (some photos of which are on Flickr), and also walked to the station or been dropped off in a morning or during the day there and walked to college...very handy indeed! :yes:

 

In other news, some goodies have arrived from a couple of suppliers, with some more due soon, so hopefully some progress will happen shortly on a few projects.

 

Thanks,

Jack.

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More updates! :yes:

 

So this evening I've pressed on with the Cambrian 'salmon' (to be an 'osprey'), and I had a revelation. The other two models are slightly underweight, and whilst trawling through my weights drawer, I found a Hornby MK3 chassis weight (from my long shelved NMT project), which fit perfectly between the solebars and the end of the underframe ribs, and with some careful butchery of the inner ribs, it now fits. It was secured with superglue, and just for good measure I cemented some scrap sprue and squares of plasticard to the floor to act as a physical support. New angled sections to join all the ribs were made from plasticard strip and the strap box was added too:

post-21664-0-10760600-1484256778_thumb.jpg

Also the ratchet barrels and eyelets for securing straps were glued on to the solebars:

post-21664-0-61040200-1484256793_thumb.jpg

And finally for now, a coupling hook was added to each bufferbeam:

post-21664-0-87492700-1484256801_thumb.jpg

 

Next I decided to glue up the bogie guards for the second 'Megafret', all done at the same time, and this wagon will progress once I reclaim my drill box from my model club, which I left there on Monday night :nono:

post-21664-0-40150100-1484256808_thumb.jpg

 

And finally, the silver bullet tank has been stripped following the arrival of the PH Designs etch. I didn't realise (because I don't normally use such a small drill) but my pin vice is severely worn, so a replacement and some 0.3mm wire has been ordered from an online tool supplier.

post-21664-0-26569000-1484256815_thumb.jpg

 

A pair of bogies arrived today for a Bachmann MK1 (pair of commonwealths), and some cast frames of the same design are also on their way, which will almost complete the WCRC fleet of coaches I've acquired. When I need them (when the club layout is running) I'll have a look at detailing the rake and modifying them all.

 

Happy modelling! :)

Jack.

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