Jack's Present Day Workbench - Coaches of Many Colours

[James Makin]

I've weathered the wagon further today, although it's far from finished. I may have to dismantle this one too to spray the ends in primer...I'm thinking an EWS yellow coat on the ends? It's not too vibrant like warning yellow, so should weather easier because it's already dull.

Thanks,

Jack.

Is that the VGA, Jack? Humbrol do some great pale primrose yellow (No. 81?) shades which are pretty good starting points, either that or warning yellow with a dollop of white! I may be more slapdash than you but I'd sack off the thoughts of spraying primer and instead brush paint matt white as primer and then the pale yellow over the top, the finish shouldn't appear textured given that the flat areas on ends are so small!

[SWT442]

Like the sound of the VGA you're doing Jack, certainly an interesting prototype to work from! Quite fancy doing a couple myself in the grimey condition they're in today.

 

The Megafrets really look the part as well, wish I had your patience for doing all that plasticard work too!

 

Andy.

[Jack374]

It's me again!

 

Well this evening I've done some more odd bits, the first of which was to file down the wheel splashers for the IKA wagon, so once some glue for some slight repairs has dried, these will be added to the wagon:

Next I added some buffer back plates and a coupling hook arrangement to the first of the class 67 valances, which will complete the items that needed to be poly cemented on (e.g plasticard):

 

Now for the VGA(s). I gave the first one a wash of 32 dark grey, which has considerably darkened the whole side:

I might add some silver dry brushed to add some more tones and get it looking a bit like this:

Viewed at Oxford in 2015. I also painted all the ends yellow, and I think this will do although another coat may be necessary-

 

And finally...FINALLY...after countless years waiting...a parcel arrived from DC Kits the other day, containing enough parts for 8 PFAs (and associated Cawoods coal containers...pm me if you want them )

 

I'm not diving straight into making these...after all, I need to savour making them, the amount of time I've been waiting!

 

Thanks,

Jack.

[newbryford]

 

And finally...FINALLY...after countless years waiting...a parcel arrived from DC Kits the other day, containing enough parts for 8 PFAs (and associated Cawoods coal containers...pm me if you want them )

IMG_3039.JPG

 

I'm not diving straight into making these...after all, I need to savour making them, the amount of time I've been waiting!

 

Thanks,

Jack.

 

Hmm. 12 PFAs will look good with top and tail 37s............

 

You have until early September to finish them.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Swifty11]

Good work Jack, i've just had a good catch up on the thread.

[Pegleg90]

Hi Jack, 

 

Nice work as always! The PFA's are a nice little wagon to make - granted not finished one yet and have 3 of the 8 I have on the go! what coupling are you thinking of using for them?

 

Regards

Ali

[Jack374]

What coupling are you thinking of using for them?

Hi Ali,

 

I'm thinking tension locks for the outer two wagons and three links in between...I've spied some 51L sprung buffers that will do nicely for the centre wagons, and this will mean I can have shorter couplings which look more prototypical.

 

And as for September Mick...I'd better get glueing!

 

Thanks,

Jack.

[Jack374]

Evening all,

 

Well this week the postie made a very welcome delivery, and I made a worthwhile trip to my local model shop, so now I have all the bits to make the PFAs. This doesn't mean they'll get finished however!

The wheels are Gibson 10.5mm 'Lowmac' discs.

 

Tonight I made a start on drilling out the buffer bodies, but it soon became apparent that the castings aren't the best in the world, and neither are my precision drilling skills. These combined equal some dubious results, with at least one (nearest to camera) being completely wrecked. All is not lost, as the mouldings of the first third of the Oleos on the bufferbeams are actually quite good, so I found some 2mm brass tube and drilled it out to 1.5mm inside diameter, but only down enough so the shank of the buffer could fully retract. This will be glued into a hole in the bufferbeam mounded part, and should hopefully make a nice compromise between using the existing mouldings and replacing them...

 

Hopefully these little bits I can do with a few spare minutes will make me want to do some modelling, so following a test wagon assembly, they shouldn't be too long on the 'bench.

 

Thanks,

Jack.

[Jack374]

So some more done on the PFAs this evening...

 

I started by finishing the buffers off, by creating another brass tubular section and then I drilled out the existing mounded buffers to 2mm diameter as deep as the bufferbeam would be, and drilled a 0.5mm hole all the way through, to accept the thin shank section of the turned heads. These now retract and extend freely when sprung, and the brass sections will be glued in in due course...

 

I also cut off the brass etchings for the floor and underframe, and after looking at Mick and Ali's models I discovered what the bent pieces were...the suspension hangers. These have been bent to shape and will be fitted once the solebars have been glued to the main spine section:

On the subject of the solebars, the bearing holes were drilled out to accept roughly 2mm dia. bearings, and then a 3.5mm drill was used to allow the shoulder to be set back into the plastic, as when I offers up the wheels, I found these needed more sideplay than I originally thought...

 

That's all for now, I'll add the buffers and then get the Plastic Weld out!

 

Thanks,

Jack.

[Phil Mc]

Hi Jack,

 

Would it be worth using shoulderless bearings ?

Looks like you've enough holes to drill as it is, without having to do them all twice !!

 

Cheers,

Phil.

[Jack374]

Hi Jack,

 

Would it be worth using shoulderless bearings ?

Looks like you've enough holes to drill as it is, without having to do them all twice !!

 

Cheers,

Phil.

Hindsight is a marvellous thing...it certainly would, but with two packs of shouldered ones (I found another pack after buying a new one ), I'll survive. I think I can actually make them into shoulderless ones because the shoulders aren't very strong...I've already torn off half of one shoulder (top right on pic), so this might be a solution.

 

Thanks,

Jack.

[Revolution Mike B]

I've loved reading though every bit of this thread - jeez, I've got a long way to go yet!

 

The tail lamps are great. I got some from Modelu but I couldn't drill them out without them breaking! I need some like yours.

 

Keep up the good work

 

Mike

[Jack374]

I've loved reading though every bit of this thread - jeez, I've got a long way to go yet!

 

The tail lamps are great. I got some from Modelu but I couldn't drill them out without them breaking! I need some like yours.

 

Keep up the good work

 

Mike

Thanks very much Mike! Tail lamps are a great addition, and if you've got the patience and eyesight to solder SMD LEDs, then using 0805 flashing ones is the best option, because you just have to connect them to a power supply (3v cell). I've got one to make up to put into my VGA at some point...

 

Thanks,

Jack.

[Jack374]

Evenings...

 

So much progress! This kit is so rewarding when you start assembling it, as it builds up very quickly. Tonight I made the rest of the Oleos from brass tube, as I've abandoned using the castings as they're just not useable due to the fragile nature of them and tight margins between the inner diameter and the external diameter. I've also added some Brassmasters 'hooks, and loosely secured them in place by drilling a hole in the hook shank and bending a small piece of wire through it once in situ...

Then I decided to glue the two solebars onto the main chassis, and included the wheels because there's no way to get them in/out once glued...

And it was after gluing that I realised I hadn't included the underframe etch, so this had to be butchered to suit. Also I made some tubular spring representations from a section of plastruct tube and a small disc to seal the end, then a tiny cube of plasticard to represent the bolt, as can be seen behind the buffer beam in the pic below:

 

Following this, I couldn't resist placing the parts together and surveying progress, and it looks good!

And the advantage of sprung buffers can be seen here...I know it's between the wagon and a bogie container flat, but with 2 axle wagons it will mean closer coupling:

 

More soon hopefully!

 

Thanks,

Jack.

[Pegleg90]

Nice work Jack. I know what you mean, before you know it you have the majority of the wagon together, then comes the frame work on top should you be going for that - silly question????? 

[Jack374]

Nice work Jack. I know what you mean, before you know it you have the majority of the wagon together, then comes the frame work on top should you be going for that - silly question????? 

I certainly will! I'm not sure of which boxes to go for yet...seeing as though I've got 8 wagons, I think a variety to run some odd trains will do!

 

Thanks,

Jack.

[westie7]

Loving the work on the Megafret, Always thought the deck and the locating spigot arrangement needed detailing, an etch kit possibly 

 

Another one for the bookmarks 

 

Mark

[Jack374]

So after yesterday's flurry of activity, today I only glued the etched deck to the chassis, and this is weighted whilst the glue dries.

 

More soon,

Jack.

[class"66"]

More nice build work here Jack,just had good catch up..

[Jack374]

I'm on holiday!

 

So after a fairly relaxing weekend, today has seen me get through some of my huge amount of work (grumble) and a bit of modelling. I've been driving a lot recently because I'm learning to drive, and I went into town today to get some spray paint, as Halfords have a 4 for 3 offer on. This means that I can start to work through some projects which have stalled due to it being winter and me avoiding using an airbrushed all costs.

I bought 4 colours; Rover Inca Yellow, Fiat Red Orange, Renault Royal Blue and Rover Henley Blue. These were matched by eye and I make them out to be NR yellow/warning yellow (Mick, they're the same. ), DB red, DRS blue and the blue seen on IKA 'Megafret' wagons respectively...

So I sprayed a little test sheet, and all seem to be near matches, although the light is awful and does them no favours, and the megafret blue seems a little dark. I decided to spray up the MXA wagon first, and the results are good:

The reds match really well, and the finish is excellent bar some crazing.

(Don't mind the poor light)

 

Also today I've added a little weight to the PFA, by gluing some strips of lead into a gap in the chassis, that's covered with the brass overlay. Some plastic strip secures them in place properly, as I used the glue sparingly on the lead:

 

That's all for now!

 

Thanks,

Jack.

[newbryford]

I bought 4 colours; Rover Inca Yellow, Fiat Red Orange, Renault Royal Blue and Rover Henley Blue. These were matched by eye and I make them out to be NR yellow/warning yellow (Mick, they're the same. ), 

 

(my bold)

 

Oh Jack, you disappoint me........... I've taught you better than that.     

 

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Jack374]

Yeah but life's too short to bother about 50 shades of yellow. Fifty shades of grey however...

 

Today I sprayed my ONE shade of yellow on to 977868, and it's not too bad a match, although it's a bit rich and sprayed over grey primer (should've listened to my instincts and gone white), but I can live with it...

The last photo really doesn't do it any favours due to the light.

 

Anyone fancy an ex-Dutch GB shed?...

 

Thanks,

Jack.

[rob D2]

You're doing some great work. I'd don't have any skills at your age , mind you I had a gap between 85-98 whilst I pursued unsuitable women instead.

 

I do like the stealth sheds , and I'm not a contemporary modeller .

[Jack374]

Cheers Rob, I'm lucky in that I've had one mildly sour experience of the female kind, but I'm now content, and she's very understanding with my slight railway obsession...

 

This evening I've been doing odd jobs, which started with me sorting out my materials drawer. It had card dividers taped in place, but as I've collected (hoarded!) various bits, this has proved too weak, so some more substantial dividers and hot glue has replaced it:

 

I've also been fixing a signal, as I'm currently starting to build a diorama and wanted to get this working. The thin enamelled wires aren't the most reliable, and if the common breaks, then nothing will work. A more robust return has been soldered on, and this has done the trick and it now works:

 

And finally, a new project. All will become clear when I reveal what it is, but see if you can guess. I took the tail light out of my Freightliner HHA, which I can now conveniently reuse in my VGA (see, there's method in the madness!). The body has been separated and rubbed down, and the large branding took some courses sandpaper and some elbow grease to shift...

 

Have a guess...you'll probably get it straight away but answers to be written on the back of a £20 note (inflation and BREXIT have seen this increase ) and posted to...

 

Thanks,

Jack.

[newbryford]

 

Have a guess...you'll probably get it straight away but answers to be written on the back of a £20 note (inflation and BREXIT have seen this increase ) and posted to...

 

Thanks,

Jack.

 

All over green repaint for a 387 delivery barrier wagon?

 

Cheers,

Mick