North Cranford

[M.I.B]

I have an old wooden school ruler that works well for this job.

[St Enodoc]

5 minutes ago, M.I.B said:

I have an old wooden school ruler that works well for this job.

I used to have a nice piece of round-edged skirting broad. That disappeared about four moves ago...

[M.I.B]

I have managed to find some time for modelling!!   First work in 4 months!    I have not been slacking - I built a huge workshop this summer, and I'm still looking for time to finish the wiring and roof insulation, and install the log burner.

 

First off, an emergency job that came in on Friday..... a very black tarnished medal, on a scrap of ribbon which was stained with brasso.  "Could anything be done with my Dad's medal for Malaya for my son to wear on Sunday........."   was the request.  No scope for error - I don't mount medals for a living and hence this ribbon was all I had to work with.  Cut a long story short,,,,,, some Silvo, a toothbrush, some plasticard and a safety pin.........

The medal was worn at the parade this morning.  The little boy's grandfather served with the Royal Signals in Malaya and was ambushed and survived to tell the tale.

 

 

 

The Centenary full brake was the first item to get modelling attention.  The water tank was removed from the roof (no WC on this carriage).  The holes left by the roof level destination boards were filled.  At the same time I did a similar exercise to the roof tank at one end of the D130 and C126 bodies.  Some vents were deleted, and some were added where plastic ones had been knocked off.

 

My plan is to get all of the coaching stock projects up to the same stage of production, meaning that these were first in the que.  The two excursion carriages have already had their windows removed and the sides are ready for the brass sides to go on.  I also need to put the sides onto the J12 Centenary sleeper, and a K22.   Those 4 will all be done at the same time as the next but one task.

 

Then out will come the filler and a couple of other projects will join those 4, followed by priming, which should see all of the projects up to the same level.  There are 11 coaches to do:

 

4 are rescues of attempts done a few years ago where the Araldite just peeled away and the brass sides split off.

 

10 of the 11 are "brass sides onto RTR"

 

One is a full brass kit - 12 wheel H57.  Soldered up by Phil "Mallard" of this parish.

 

Then there are engines to do after that - 3 white metal tank kits need fettling to fit DCC 8750 chassis into them.  Them a few engine repaints and re-numbers, and a Dapol mogul to get chopped about to make one of the last batch with the Castle style cab, outside steam pipes, and alternative reverser.

 

It's nice to be back modelling again.

 

On the day when the oldies, and youngsters marched, shuffled and stumbled along, and the Nation remembered, I hope that you are all happy and healthy.

Edited November 12, 2023 by M.I.B

[Graham T]

Not modelling related I'm afraid, but I wanted to compliment you on cleaning up that GSM.  And also to ask, how did you clean up the ribbon?  (I have some that need some attention).

[M.I.B]

On 12/11/2023 at 18:32, Graham T said:

Not modelling related I'm afraid, but I wanted to compliment you on cleaning up that GSM.  And also to ask, how did you clean up the ribbon?  (I have some that need some attention).

 

Turned it inside out after a gentle sponging with diluted hand wash liquid.

 

Once they are court mounted (glued to a board) you can't clean the ribbons - you have to send them off for a remount and new ribbons.   I use a firm in Dorset for doing my medal mounting. (I have a couple....)

[M.I.B]

And here is what was causing the logjam:

 

 

Two LMS WELTROLs from Bygone Wagons from Tasmania.  Great models which come complete with loads ( as do most of the offerings from them).   

 

Not a tough job - bauxite version and LMS  Freight Grey version (Humbrol 64).  Plus decals from HMRS.

These are completed now and re-boxed, so the cabinet has sufficient space for the projects in hand.

 

Next step for today - get the K22 sides (Worsely Works) trimmed out and filed, and line up the 4 needing sides glued on for final pre-glue checks and fettles.

Stay safe.

[Graham T]

7 minutes ago, M.I.B said:

 

Turned it inside out after a gentle sponging with diluted hand wash liquid.

 

Once they are court mounted (glued to a board) you can't clean the ribbons - you have to send them off for a remount and new ribbons.   I use a firm in Dorset for doing my medal mounting. (I have a couple....)

 

Thanks for that MIB.  When I dug mine out of the cupboard for Remembrance I found that the glue used in the court mounting has discoloured some of the ribbons, which is a pain.  Unfortunately I can't remember who I got to do the court mounting now, otherwise I'd ask them to put it right.  I think getting them re-mounted would be pretty expensive...

 

[St Enodoc]

9 minutes ago, M.I.B said:

Two LMS WELTROLs from Bygone Wagons from Tasmania.  Great models which come complete with loads ( as do most of the offerings from them). 

@amandalee of Bygone Wagons is now on RMweb (hope she doesn't mind me telling you all!).

[M.I.B]

On 14/11/2023 at 11:13, Graham T said:

 

Thanks for that MIB.  When I dug mine out of the cupboard for Remembrance I found that the glue used in the court mounting has discoloured some of the ribbons, which is a pain.  Unfortunately I can't remember who I got to do the court mounting now, otherwise I'd ask them to put it right.  I think getting them re-mounted would be pretty expensive...

 

 

I use Mess Dress Ltd in Bournemouth.

 

I'm highly unlikely to get another gong, but happy to refer them on as they always did a great service and also make good frames for displaying them - with a removable back so that they can be retrieved for cleaning and wearing when required.

 

I sent that Malaya GSM off to them for proper mounting today.

[M.I.B]

A quick check of the RTR bodies has shown that some more window trimming is required in a couple of places.  Once that is complete, out comes the glue.    I have a target of having these all in final primer (all filling and filing done) by Hogmanay.

 

I've been abroad for work and in Edinburgh for a sad family event, hence nothing has been done for 10 days.  M.I.B Snr is very unwell, so as usual,  this may all change.

 

I hope that you are all happy and healthy.

[M.I.B]

Christmas greetings to NC followers.

 

J12 has had a bit of an incident, and MIB Snr is  still in hospital.  So no progress on the "sides" projects still left to get glued up.  

I drove from Colchester to Barnsta-bubble and back today so that MIB Snr wasn't alone on Christmas day.  Hats off to the NHS staff at 'bubble Hospital for doing a great job today, and all though the holiday period.

 

Modelling has taken a back seat....

 

Hope you all have had a good Festive Season.

 

On the day that is also the birthdays of Annie Lennox and Shane MacGowan, I wish you well.

[M.I.B]

Happy New Year to you all for 2024.  I hope we all get the Saint from Dapol that we would all like......

 

I did say that I would like to get the carriage kits into primer by New Year, and I almost achieved it: as previously mentioned, the J12 etch is very very damaged, and CPL are not producing etches for now.

 

So on with the rest:

 

 

As they stand in the photo:

 

K22            H57

 

Centenary Full Brake        K40

 

C76                D130

 

 

They have had a very thin coating of either Upol Etch primer (brass items) or Halford's grey primer (plastic bodies.)   The aim of the thin coat was to dull down the myriad of colours and textures and make the blemishes and faults stand out ready to rectify.

 

H57 roof is still in plain alloy - I need to make two water tanks and fit a host of vents, so I thought these were best done on a bare surface.

 

 

There will all be finished in later versions of chocolate and cream.  

 

Still a long way to go before final paint: buffers, couplings, gangways, sole-bar steps. handles, droplights.............

 

I hope that you are all happy and healthy, and that I can find another J12 etch somewhere........

Edited January 1 by M.I.B

[The Fatadder]

A nice looking mix of coaches there.

 

what exactly is wrong with the J12?

[M.I.B]

The sides slipped in the vice when they were being trimmed.   They are very bent, creased and torn.

 

J12 Sides come complete with the strip that forms under the roof and also under the tumblehome.  Because I am adding sides to RTR I didn't need these strips so they had to be removed.

[M.I.B]

Some H57 jobs to boost morale - how many roof vent holes to drill with a pin vice??????

All of the castings from Wizard are excellent, apart from the corridor connectors - more filler work required.....

 

And with all this white metal underneath, it's not going to need any liquid ballast......

 

 

More work on gas tanks to be done, then vent fitting, then roof paint, then interior paint.......

[M.I.B]

Gas tanks as shown in the photos above are installed incorrectly, and have since been removed.  The ends are fitted upside down in effect.

 

I now think the best way to fit these items is as follows:

 

Working with the restaurant upside down....

 

Join with glue or solder as you wish.....

 

Fit the ends first.  Small "wedge" shape is attached to the underside of the chassis.  Push them out as far/wide as the under-framing allows.    The wider "wedge" will now rub along the under framing and can be attached to it.   Finally drop the cylinder onto the ends - trim the length of the cylinder to fit.   It is held in place by small cubes moulded in the centres of the end pieces.    

[St Enodoc]

5 hours ago, M.I.B said:

Gas tanks as shown in the photos above are installed incorrectly, and have since been removed.  The ends are fitted upside down in effect.

 

I now think the best way to fit these items is as follows:

 

Working with the restaurant upside down....

 

Join with glue or solder as you wish.....

 

Fit the ends first.  Small "wedge" shape is attached to the underside of the chassis.  Push them out as far/wide as the under-framing allows.    The wider "wedge" will now rub along the under framing and can be attached to it.   Finally drop the cylinder onto the ends - trim the length of the cylinder to fit.   It is held in place by small cubes moulded in the centres of the end pieces.    

Don't do what I did with my H33 Hornby/Comet conversion - I fitted the cylinders as above, only to find that on the H33 they were mounted longitudinally...

 

Can't be @rsed to change it now.

[M.I.B]

On 03/01/2024 at 22:53, St Enodoc said:

Don't do what I did with my H33 Hornby/Comet conversion - I fitted the cylinders as above, only to find that on the H33 they were mounted longitudinally...

 

Can't be @rsed to change it now.

My Hornby RTRs were given as many tanks as I could fit - across the carriage, as i had no reference material at the time.  I was then politely informed on this means, that I had mounted too many.

 

The same CBA rule as yours applies,  at least until I have nothing else to fettle.......

[M.I.B]

A day of news.

 

Hornby won't be making the MACAW after all.  Bit pointless with the Bachmann one freely available and it's a very credible model.

 

Hornby's GWR offerings for 2024 are meagre and unexciting.  Still hoping for a Saint from Dapol or Accurascale or Heljan....... I have been doing some researching on Saints and perhaps I may put my musings into words soon.  My previous thoughts of a huge class of engines which lasted for a long time aren't correct.    Every day is a school day!

 

Hatton's won't be making any more Genesis coaches - thankfully the ones I wanted are in the stock crates.

 

Hattons is to close - sad news.  It seems like they are closing properly, with no debts etc.   I have only ever had great service and prices from them.    Many thanks and best of luck to the staff who were always great.

 

(Always end on a high note)

 

CPL had a dig around their stock room........ and I have a fresh new J12 etch.

 

I hope that you are happy and healthy. 

[M.I.B]

Saints..............a beginner's guide without rivets being counted.

 

I was hoping to save up for two particular named Saints, and from a long way off, a class of 60+  4-6-0s engines not modelled in RTR since the early 80s seemed to be an enigma.

 

Why were manufacturers not rushing to make one?  They were Edwardians who lasted almost into the age of the "New Edwardians" - so what's not to like?

 

For a start, only 20 were named as Saints.

 

The whole class is divided into four batches (discernible by name) with two distinct front frames:  square step, or curved.   Something that even the most flexible "Rule 1" operator would find difficult to ignore.

 

The eldest lot (the Scott batch) (with the names from books and history) x 19

Then"Ladies" x 10

 

Both of the above had square frames above the front bogies.  The next two lots had curved front frame steps:

 

Saints x 20

Courts x 25

 

For someone who models post WW2 GWR, a popular period for modellers, the Saint's are remarkable scarce.... the scrap-ings of the Scotts, Ladies and Saints began across all 3 batches in 1931/32 and all of the 29XX class were "all gone" by 51/52.    Court scrapping started in '48 and withdrawal was rapid.

 

Then factor in outside steam pipe fitting halfway through their service (for some but not all), and that further subdivides the number of engines  you can wring out of one mould.

 

So I humbly admit to being too hasty to ask often on the forum why RTR Saints haven't been sold since Beatties were in business and since I was at school.  The ideal model to make in RTR covers a huge era, and you can re-issue it from time to time with a new name, new logos, and perhaps a different tender ((like Bachmann did with the 2251s).   Saints are a long way from that.

 

There's only a handful of "Saint" Saints left for my timeframe, and one that I particularly wanted was melted down.      So I either lean towards making a Court out of a Saint, or apply "Rule One" and forget the scrapping date.

 

I'm getting forgetful in my old age....    Life is too short.....

 

 

Meanwhile - the H57 Brake cylinders are fitted the correct way round, with the linkage correctly aligned.  Wizard have sent me some more gas cylinders, so they will be fitted this week.  The K38 has new buffers.     Things are heading in the right direction....

 

I hope that you are happy and healthy.

 

 

Edited January 13 by M.I.B

[M.I.B]

K38 Buffer replacement.

 

The base RTR running gear came with oval buffers, and K38s didn't......

 

Thankfully the RTR has a lovely mould line through the centre of the buffer beam, so after

a session with the snips to remove the shafts, it is very easy to position the first drill bit in the correct place.  I then went up a few bit sizes until the fixing shafts fitted.  Before  fixing the new parts in place, sand off the mould line, and if needed, slice off the buffer bases - all depends whether the replacements come with bases or not.    60Second Superglue was applied to the Wizard buffers.  Job done.   

 

Corridor connectors will come at a later date.  This is a Hornby offering, so they can slip out once the body is removed. but only if the body and end moulding don't have to be blended together with filler......

 

Edited January 15 by M.I.B

[M.I.B]

Gas tanks as discussed a post or two back:  in short:

 

Stick the tank ends on - centre ones first

 

Drop in the cylinders....

 

If the tank ends for outers meet up with a Queen post, mark and file a very shallow groove - paint and grot will hide this later....

 

and so forth. 

To finish, file any moulding that protrudes beyond the framing (as seen above on the end tank and the mould flash on the underside of the tank end sections.....

 

 

 

After the photos were taken, some minor movement and manipulation was done to make sure all of the tanks were positioned correctly and cylinders snug on the ends.  Please make sure that you have a big spoon of patience at this stage.  I used UHU type glue for this to allow for "adjustment" meaning that for every nudge, an equal and opposite nudge will occur elsewhere  (Newton's First law of Kitbuilds).  So apply decreasingly firm nudges until everything is in place.

 

Later today I will add roof vents to the J12.

 

On this mid January day (soon be February!!) I hope that you are happy and healthy.

Edited January 15 by M.I.B

[M.I.B]

Following on the Saint theme....in the timeframe that interests me:  Jun 45 to 1 Jan 48:

 

What was still around, by batch?   

 

If there is no scrap date listed - engine made it into BR service.

Outside pipes were fitted pre 45 unless stated

 

Ladies (square front frame step)

2902  Lady of the Lake.  

2903  Lady of Lyons

2905  Lady Macbeth

2906  Lady of Lynn

2908  Lady of Quality

 

Saints  (curved front frame)

2912   St Ambrose

2913  St Andrew - no pipes fitted

2914   St Augustine - no pipes fitted.    Scrapped 1/46

2915   St Bartholomew - no pipes fitted.

2916   St Benedict 

2920   St David

2921   St Dunstan - no pipes fitted.   Scrapped Oct 45

2924   St Helena

2926   St Nicholas

2927   St Patrick   Pipes fitted Jul 45

2928  St Sebastian - no pipes fitted

2930   St Vincent

 

Courts (curved front frame)

 

All made it to BR service 

 

Scotts (square front frame)

 

2971  Albion   No pipes.  Scrapped Jan 46

2978  Charles J Hambro   No pipes   Scrapped Aug 46

2979  Quentin Durward     No pipes

2980  Coeur de Lion     No pipes  

2981   Ivanhoe     No pipes.

2982   Lalla Rookh     No Pipes.  Scrapped Jun 46

2983   Redgauntlet     No pipes      Scrapped Mar 46

2987  Bride of Lammermoor     No pipes

2988   Rob Roy   No Pipes    

2989   Talisman      

 

 

Still got fingers crossed that someone from Dapol, Accurascale or Heljan is working up a 29XX in OO......

Edited January 17 by M.I.B

[M.I.B]

The coach and NPCCS stock works continues quite well.    It's the dull but critical "filler and emery board" phase, so not many exciting photos:

 

 

The Centenary BK has really come out well.

 

On what would have been Clarke Gable's birthday, I hope that you also don't give a damn, and are all happy and healthy and avoiding the colds and sniffles going round.  

Edited February 1 by M.I.B

[The Fatadder]

On 16/01/2024 at 17:23, M.I.B said:

Following on the Saint theme....in the timeframe that interests me:  Jun 45 to 1 Jan 48:

 

What was still around, by batch?   

 

If there is no scrap date listed - engine made it into BR service.

Outside pipes were fitted pre 45 unless stated

 

 

Saints  (curved front frame)

 

2921   St Dunstan - no pipes fitted.   Scrapped Oct 45

 

Still got fingers crossed that someone from Dapol, Accurascale or Heljan is working up a 29XX in OO......

2921 I find particularly interesting in that despite only lasting a couple of years after it’s repaint it is listed in GWRJ no7 as having gained wartime black livery but running with a green 3500gl tender that still had the full Great Western lettering