Alan's even more Cambrian thread (actual pre group content in this one!)

[Quarryscapes]

Here's some I made earlier!  A lot earlier, probably around 30 years ago IIRC.  All scratchbuilt from plasticard using Mike Lloyd's drawings mainly with adapted commercial running gear and hand lettered although I think someone was marketing Cambrian axleboxes etc. at the time.  Buffers were adapted from some commercial ones.  I also have (somewhere!!) a van built from a Model Wagon Co. cast kit - but I can't find it!  I'm aware that the brakevan should have Red ends, one day I'll repaint them.....................

 

The wagons are compensated and on P4 wheels but standing on my US HO layout (as can be seen by the vehicles in the background!).

 

I remember one of the lime wagons being parked in a siding at Porth-y-waen in the early 60's and I think it was the one that Mike measured up for his drawing.

 

The 'darker' low-side wagon was built by Dave Goodwin ('Mostyn' layout etc.) and presented to me at a Cambrian Railways Modelling Circle meeting.  He used a different paint to me, mine was a Humbrol Authentic one from the Military range, possibly a German Light Equipment Grey?  Lettering was done with a mapping pen and thinned poster colour (I think!).

 

I have a Jidenco kit for the 'double end' brakevan, one day I might steel myself sufficiently to have a go at it!

 

They are lovely! I prefer the lighter grey - it's what I will be aiming for when I actually go out and buy some paint - I'm being very stingy at the moment and making do with what I have sat around! I've run out of black, everything's getting Panzer grey instead at the moment! It's why I used talc for the weathering, couldn't risk darkening them any more!

 

 

The Jidenco/Falcon Brass Cambrian guards van was the first etched kit I ever tackled. 

Every so often I would take it out of the cupboard, look at it, whimper, then put it back.  When, after several years of doing that I finally plucked up the courage to start it I found that although the instructions are truly appalling, the kit itself isn't actually that bad.

The main problem I found was that there aren't all that many fold lines and quite a few of those it does have are in the wrong place.  Even that wasn't the problem it might have been because they were so far from where they ought to have been the error was blatantly obvious, so unlikely to catch anyone out.

 

Didn't even know there was a kit for one, will keep my eyes peeled now! 

 

 

I took a look at this website a few moments ago and found that 'click rights are disabled'. This means that I can't even close down the webpage unless I reboot the computer. I think this supplier is well worth avoiding.

 

Regards

 

You'd avoid a supplier because you can't right click on their webpage? PPD are my first port of call for all my etching since I gave up with Chempix some 8 years ago. 

[PenrithBeacon]

... 

There are also some good guidelines to be found here;

 

http://www.hollywoodfoundry.com/HowToPapers.shtm 

 

...

I'm getting a 404 Error for this website.

 

Regards

[Jol Wilkinson]

Works for me David, perhaps you have a problem with your PC, given the difficulty you had with the PPD site

 

Jol

[PenrithBeacon]

Works for me David, perhaps you have a problem with your PC, given the difficulty you had with the PPD site

 

Jol

The Hollywood site works now. A temporary glitch, perhaps they were updating it.

 

Thanks Jol

 

I think I should say that PCs are notorious in the IT business as being very variable in their responses. This is because there isn't the rigid standardisation in their components and quite often software. It isn't helped by web developers using simulators to test their efforts rather than slogging through all the possible variations, or even just a few of them.

 

Regards

[Quarryscapes]

Well the etches arrived today, and look fantastic. All the experiments seemed to have worked, the size of text which remains legible in 0.25mm sheet is pretty incredible - I have wagon number plates with fully legible Cambrian Railways written around the number! 

 

I built the first Lime wagon chassis and noted a clanger - I managed to forget brake levers! I also failed to check that the 3D print actually conformed to the dimensions it was drawn at when sent to shapeways, it's actually considerably undersize and wouldn't it on the etched chassis which is spot on correct. I'd also made a mild error with the outside V hanger, having etched it for a full height solebar, when in actual fact the door moulding covers that area and thus needs the V hanger shortening. All correctable anyway. The brake gear turned out quite well, if a little fiddly to construct!

 

I'll turn my attention to the 6 ton van tomorrow.