Corbs' Cobbling - Is it electric?

[LNWR18901910]

Not too much actually! The Hunslet style nameplates with the custom lettering were £5 and the WDLR style number plates were £3.50

I cannot recommend Narrow Planet enough, great service.

 

I also got some Dübs and Kitson works plates at the same time.

Interesting. I normally make the decals on art software programs and print them off and cut them out.

[Smiffy2]

Interesting. I normally make the decals on art software programs and print them off and cut them out.

 

That's good to know.

[Corbs]

A trip to Shepton Mallet toy fair today brought home some treasure. I've wanted an insulfish van for my 'flying kipper' train for a long time. As my layout is so small, I'm generally just getting one wagon for each industry at the moment (e.g. one china clay wagon, one milk tanker, etc.).

Another buy was the little green van.

Neither of them stayed new for long, I've mixed up some smoke and mud powders and applied them. Both were then treated to some dullcote.

 

[LNWR18901910]

A trip to Shepton Mallet toy fair today brought home some treasure. I've wanted an insulfish van for my 'flying kipper' train for a long time. As my layout is so small, I'm generally just getting one wagon for each industry at the moment (e.g. one china clay wagon, one milk tanker, etc.).

Another buy was the little green van.

Neither of them stayed new for long, I've mixed up some smoke and mud powders and applied them. Both were then treated to some dullcote.

 

IMG_3588.JPG

What a splendid job you did, there.

[HonestTom]

I meant to say this earlier, but I'm a big fan of Perseus there. I like quirky industrial prototypes, and that one's a nicely plausible little chap. The bell really tops it off for me.

[Corbs]

Thanks Tom!

[LNWR18901910]

I have actually thought about making a Percy model.

[Corbs]

good to hear

Edited December 11, 2017 by Corbs

[LNWR18901910]

good to hear

Percy is in the planning stages along with Thomas, Gordon and the other engines of the NWR metals.

[Corbs]

A little bit of military modelling. Another Christmas present for another friend. This friend is in to WW2 models and wargames so I wanted to make something that could be a backdrop for his tanks and figures, or an accessory in a game.

 

The base is a piece of foamboard. The pavement is made from a sheet of paving, cobbles and tram inserts from an unknown manufacturer, I picked it up at a model show some time ago.

The building itself is a resin casting from the Airfix range, the wooden floor is from the Wills sheets, and the sponge will become a rubble pile.

 

 

The edges of the pavement were blended together using filler and sandpaper and lovely lovely filler primer.

 

The building was painted with acrylics for the most part, and a few phoenix paints. I wasn't too bothered about getting the first few coats spot-on, just getting colour in the right places was the key.

When it was painted, the whole thing had a few washes of weathering powder (mix of smoke and dark earth).

 

The pavement was sprayed grey (gloss but not an issue as it will be dullcoted later) and more weathering applied.

The floor was cut to shape (I traced the bottom of the house onto a piece of card and used this to mark out the flooring)

 

The sponge was covered in PVA, then I poured some cat litter on (clean, non-clumping). Then into the spray booth and black and grey were liberally applied.

 

I used the spray cans to keep on adding different shades, like a bit of maroon for brickwork. I soaked the thing in dullcote and then sprinkled some different kinds of rubble on (bought in little bags from ebay), then sprayed it with dullcote again to stick it down.

A few odds and ends (floorboards, pipes, girders) were stuck in the rubble as it dried and secured with cyanoacrylate.

Here's the result - it's deliberately not finished completely so my friend can do it as he wants, e.g. add another building or park some tanks on it. I'm pleased with it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HonestTom]

I like that diorama a lot. I may have to steal your method of creating rubble, it's very convincing.

[Corbs]

Cheers Tom!

Another present I made was for a friend who has recently bought a playmobil G scale set and is planning a garden railway next year.

 

This was an LGB tanker wagon I got quite cheaply from eBay.

 

I took 'Essen' off with a fibreglass pen, and applied lettering from a couple of very cheap self adhesive sheets (also eBay).

 

I did the spacing using masking tape.

 

 

Then... weathering! I mixed up a load of smoke and dark earth for a wash.

 

 

I worked this in to the cracks with a damp brush while it dried, taking most off the large flat areas.

 

Then, using the brush (dipped in water and then squeezed to get most of it out) started adding streaks to the nearly-dry weathering wash.

 

 

It's quite big compared to 00 stock! I trimmed off the ladder on this side as it was in the way of the lettering.

 

 

The whole lot was then sprayed in dullcote.

 

Rather pleased with how it came out!

 

 

[Corbs]

Right, with the festive season out of the way I should try and crack on with the ex-FR K2.

This will become NWR No.102 'Edward Faragher' and is made from a 3D printed kit courtesy of Sparkshot Custom Creations.

 

The blue was sprayed a while ago, but the blasted black won't dry! It's been 2 weeks now so I'm trying to work around it. Last time this happened, lacquering helped set it.

 

I've managed to do the handrails by working carefully. Today I completed the lining on one side. This was exceptionally fiddly, every corner is a separate piece (the sheet from Fox is intended for GWR tender locos). I think I'm going to continue the theme of having 2 livery variations and go for an austerity version on the other side!

 

It's not perfect, there are a few bends but I'm learning as I go and every time I do it, it gets a little better so at least that's a little victory.

 

Edited January 2, 2018 by Corbs

[Mikkel]

Nice work on that tanker, the black mess is slighty shocking but the end result looks very good. 

 

I agree that doing round lining corners on cabs can be stressful. When I first saw that lining on the  K2 I thought "those curves look GWR" - and so they were! The Fox lining must be intended for the BR blue experimental livery?

[LNWR18901910]

Right, with the festive season out of the way I should try and crack on with the ex-FR K2.

This will become NWR No.102 'Edward Faragher' and is made from a 3D printed kit courtesy of Sparkshot Custom Creations.

 

The blue was sprayed a while ago, but the blasted black won't dry! It's been 2 weeks now so I'm trying to work around it. Last time this happened, lacquering helped set it.

 

I've managed to do the handrails by working carefully. Today I completed the lining on one side. This was exceptionally fiddly, every corner is a separate piece (the sheet from Fox is intended for GWR tender locos). I think I'm going to continue the theme of having 2 livery variations and go for an austerity version on the other side!

 

It's not perfect, there are a few bends but I'm learning as I go and every time I do it, it gets a little better so at least that's a little victory.

 

Screen Shot 2018-01-02 at 23.11.12.png

Wow! That's an impressive model! How would it be powered?

Edited January 5, 2018 by LNWR18901910

[Corbs]

Nice work on that tanker, the black mess is slighty shocking but the end result looks very good. 

 

I agree that doing round lining corners on cabs can be stressful. When I first saw that lining on the  K2 I thought "those curves look GWR" - and so they were! The Fox lining must be intended for the BR blue experimental livery?

Thanks! Yep that's correct, they handily do it for more loco shapes than existed in real life (as only the top link locos were so treated) so it's a very useful sheet.

[Corbs]

Whilst the K2 and the Bagnall are stalled until I order some wheels (and then I can work out the mechanisms), I had better carry on with some more stock.

 

A while back I got 4 kitbilt Ratio coaches which were quite playworn, in order to build some suitable coaching stock for the Ffarquhar branch (2 for the price of 4). Mainly the bogies had been knackered and had to be cannibalised to provide enough parts for a set.

 

I ran the first victim under some cold water to help separate the glue, then the sides were left soaking in dettol for 48 hours, nicely removing the paint and transfers.

I repainted the roof, and decided to do each side in a different colour scheme to represent different eras.

Stripping the sides off had the bonus of being able to spray the insides.

 

 

Some clear plastic was cut into strips to form new glazing, and stuck in place with glue 'n glaze. 

 

 

Roughly reassembled here, I want to add some suggestions of an interior so the roof will stay loose until then. The door handles have been picked out in copper and the droplights in black.

 

 

So that's coach CBL. ABL is next in line, shown next to CBL in its 'raw' form.

Edited January 7, 2018 by Corbs

[Mikkel]

Very nice. Can I ask about the glue n' glaze, does it dry up completely invisible on the droplights? I ask because the stuff I normally use doesn't quite do that, so I'm looking for alternatives.  

[Smiffy2]

Very nice. Can I ask about the glue n' glaze, does it dry up completely invisible on the droplights? I ask because the stuff I normally use doesn't quite do that, so I'm looking for alternatives.  

 

I'm assuming you mean the Deluxe Materials product?  I've just used it for the first time today. It takes a bit of practice, but dries completely clear (albeit lumpy if you're cackhanded like me). I tried it out on some Slater's window frames and then on the spectacles on an 0-16.5 loco, using the drawing-across meth. I also used it to fix the nameplates, and it seems to be pretty good for that, too - mistakes don't show!

I used the drawing-across method to make a film. Not instantly easy, but good.

 

[Mikkel]

Thanks very much for that. I use Testor's Clear Parts Cement for fixing individual droplights/windows, and sometimes the capillary action will draw glue into the visible part of a window. While it does dry up clear, you can see the outline of the glue clearly on the glazing. I'll try out some of the Deluxe glazing next time I need a new bottle, to see if that is better.

[Corbs]

Hi Mikkel,

 

I think it does show a bit, I'll try and take some close ups of it to show the results. It does take a long time to 'go off' so you need to keep an eye on it if using the draw-across method to make sure gravity doesn't cause it to build up at the bottom and pull apart.

[LNWR18901910]

Whilst the K2 and the Bagnall are stalled until I order some wheels (and then I can work out the mechanisms), I had better carry on with some more stock.

 

A while back I got 4 kitbilt Ratio coaches which were quite playworn, in order to build some suitable coaching stock for the Ffarquhar branch (2 for the price of 4). Mainly the bogies had been knackered and had to be cannibalised to provide enough parts for a set.

 

I ran the first victim under some cold water to help separate the glue, then the sides were left soaking in dettol for 48 hours, nicely removing the paint and transfers.

I repainted the roof, and decided to do each side in a different colour scheme to represent different eras.

Stripping the sides off had the bonus of being able to spray the insides.

 

fullsizeoutput_277d.jpeg

 

Some clear plastic was cut into strips to form new glazing, and stuck in place with glue 'n glaze. 

 

Screen Shot 2018-01-07 at 23.22.08.png

 

Roughly reassembled here, I want to add some suggestions of an interior so the roof will stay loose until then. The door handles have been picked out in copper and the droplights in black.

 

fullsizeoutput_2785.jpeg

 

So that's coach CBL. ABL is next in line, shown next to CBL in its 'raw' form.

IMG_4240.JPG

IMG_4241.JPG

Great work on Annie and Clarabel!

[Corbs]

Another Restored Ratio coach, ABL joins CBL fresh out of the paintshop. I do like the red side quite a lot and may do the mainline stock to match.

 

The roof hasn't been fixed down, my plan is to add some suggestion of an interior.

 

 

Mikkel - Here is a rushed close up of the window on the new coach, I didn't use as much glue on this one but you can see a bit around the edges.

 

Here's the older one with more spillage.

 

 

[Mikkel]

Thanks Corbs, yes that's exactly what happens to me too sometimes. I fit the windows individually so it's not too much of a hassle to exchange it for a new one, but annoying none the less.

 

Not very visible in your photos though. Nice work on the coaches. The red makes them look special and hides their origin, I think.

[Compound2632]

These two carriages have clearly been transferred from the Birmingham area, probably around the mid-30s. As CBL is a four-compartment brake third, it's probable that ABL is - and always was - a composite, although sharing the same body as an all-first. She would have three compartments at one end fitted with false partitions to bring the compartment width down to the standard 6'0" dimension for third class. Both carriages would have originated in one of the four coach sets BT/T/C/BT, with both BTs having four compartments, used on the Evesham line, as seen here leaving Broom Junction.