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I seem to be in a wagon building mood these days. Dunno whether I’m locked down, locked up or or which tier of the cake I’m on, so wagon building is a cheap and time consuming activity. Now it might be argued that I’m getting my ratios wrong again, too many unusual wagons and not enough of the bread and butter diagrams. I’d agree, but the fun is in the odd stuff. I therefore decided to have a shot at one of the 1896 built D38 glass well wagons. Decent pics in the wagon books and a diagram for the basic dimensions. The wagon was built on a steel channel frame. Plastic channel has too thick a web to my eye so I soldered this up with brass channel sections from Eileens Emporium. The 19’4” wb makes it a long and awkward thing so I made a jig up on a bit of scrap wood. The W irons on this wagon were straight edged with no knee so I cut them from 0.3 mm brass sheet. The floor and well are from 10 thou styrene, cut on the silhouette and laminated. The bottom edge isn't as grubby as that, odd how the pic came out. The well itself is a tight fit between the wheels, the original being 3’ 11 1/2 “ wide. EM back to back is 16.5 mm, so it just fits. I think I’ll keep the frame and the body as two assemblies as long as possible. Difficult to paint if I jump the gun and glue the two together, but that gives an idea of how it will look. Sides next.

I've been doing a little more work on 'De Snitzlton', a small 0:4:0 shunting locomotive for Fun Town's market stall's. This blog covers the scratch building of the wheels, connecting rods, gearbox modifications, axles, mechanical parts for the steam assisted uncoupler and the animated and non animated 4mm scale figures. I probably got to carried away a little with one figure that seemed like a good idea at the time, but after a period of calm / settling down, this figure was destined for the layout instead. There are still issues to overcome regarding the steam assisted uncoupler gearbox that was covered in part one of De Snitzlton and these will be revisited in the next blog. What is Fun Town ? : Fun Town is a small table top module that can be used alone or form part of a larger unit, it fit's like a jigsaw piece to the Walls Traverser Cover to create a small 36" x 18" layout over the top of Snitzl Town's traverser. Done so far : Overhead Tram, Jules Verne's Flying Ship, Steam operated Traverser, Market Stall Wagons and Market Stall Engine with DCC uncoupler. Still to do : Steam Tram, Stall Replenish Wagon, Hot Air Balloon, Interior racking & goods for the Warehouse and anything else that may be appropriate, in other words, a bit of fun. Thanks for Looking : Snitzl.

I have a more detailed thread of this over at the modifying RTR forum but thought I would share a brief account of what I am up to. I resurrected an old Dapol LMS van earlier this year and had one which was a bit rougher left over. So, I thought I would have a go at a more in-depth conversion. I intend to create a reverse stanier van by making a few changes. I have cut out the panels on the verandas and intend to fix them in reverse on the opposing sides. The brief start has I think begun to capture the required look. Here the right hand end has been modified and the left remains original. Some more drastic cutting and scratch building will be required to make a complete upgrade. This is what I am aiming towards... https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/lmsbrakevan/h3be33a94

There are times when I can see the appeal of BR unlined black. About half way through decorating the No. 252 was one such occasion. However bit by bit it all came together. The final result is a bit bright, but the brass does tend to develop a patina of its own over time. As ever close photos show errors the eye misses and it needs some builders plates as well. A few pics ; Originally built as goods engines in 1878 the class were rebuilt as mixed traffic in the early 1900s, westinghouse fitted and repainted in lined blue. Last members of the second lot were withdrawn in 1932. A bit of video of 252 in a variety of mixed traffic roles. I found that to be a challenging build, but the end result is a bit of a character and a rather nippy wee engine.

Back in April I mentioned that I was considering building an extension board for the layout that could be used at exhibitions. The new board would hopefully have the following benefits. 1. It would eliminate the need to move the fiddle yard during shunting maneuvers. 2. If I give this base board full scenic treatment then the view under the bridge would be greatly improved! 3. My fingers couldn't be seen when moving the fiddle yard to set up roads for different locos and their accompanying stock. 4. Trains could reach a reasonable speed before entering or leaving the scenic part of the layout. 5. I could incorporate an area in front of the scenery to put a cup of tea or coffee! The post generated lots of useful comments, which I've pondered at length! Despite the temptations of engine sheds and trailing crossovers that the comments raised, I've decided to keep things simple and concentrate on my initial brief. The layout takes quite long enough to set up in exhibition halls as it is, space is limited in the hire van and Al and I have to carry the wretched thing once I've built it! The new board is 3 feet long, two feet wide and constructed from wood salvaged from the layouts "Mark 1 fiddleyard" New board in position I used C & L templates to work out which radius point to use, settling on a B 5.5 left hander. Grahame (BGMan) spoke highly of the point kits available from Greenwood Model Railway products, so I decided to give one a go. https://greenwoodmodelrailwayproducts.co.uk/shop/laser-cut-products/timber-track-base/o-gauge-straight-turnout-kit/ I can concur that the kits are excellent and the pre formed "crossing nose/wing rail makes point construction a doddle The point kits are available in standard 32 mm gauge and also in 31.5 mm and 33 mm gauges. I used a 31.5mm version to match the rest of the layouts track work. The only draw back as far as I can see with these kits is the fact that they come with 3 bolt chairs, which aren't really appropriate for a GWR layout. I decided that as my point is to be ostensibly "off stage" i wouldn't lose any sleep over it, I guess purists could always change the chairs for two bolt offerings from C & L! Greenwood Point in position I decided that for the sake of simplicity I would operate the point mechanically, rather than use a tortoise point motor which seemed a bit of a luxury for an off stage point! The bell cranks were "borrowed" from an old radio control aircraft project and the point is thrown by a simple slider switch which also changes the frog polarity. Bell cranks, pushrods and polarity switch I'm not a fan of backscenes with a 90 degree sharp corner, so a length of hardboard was spayed with water then bent around an old paint pot as a former and held in position for a couple of days. Once the water had evaporated and the sheet dried out, the hardboard held the curve pretty well. The backscene was then fitted to the base board using some inch square soft wood batten. MDF was used to form the back and sides of the shelf at the front of the base board for the all important tea/coffee mugs Curved backscene and coffee shelf. Expanded polystyrene sheet was used to build up the basic ground formation, this was then sanded using a Surform to create a a curved flowing surface. Polystyrene sheeting Once the Polystyrene had been sanded and the resultant debris swept swept up, the sheets were glued in position using PVA white glue. Weights (tins of paint/drill bits🙂 were used to hold the sheets in position while the glue dried. Weighted polystyrene Here are a couple of pictures of the view under the bridge, from the main layout. Obviously early days at the moment, but I hope people agree that it's looking more promising than the view of my fingers! View under the bridge I'm looking forward to getting out the static grass gun and adding some textures and colour to the embankments, but before that can take place I've got the "joys" of ballasting and point rodding to tackle! Until next time....... Best wishes Dave

To relieve the boredom during lock down I've spent sometime watching YouTube clips on modelling disciplines other than Railways! Probably heresy on a Railway Modelling forum, but good fun and interesting all the same The Military Modellers have some very interesting weathering techniques that I fancied having a go at and thought would make a nice change from pristine Edwardian G.W.R. locomotives and coaches! As a teenager I dabbled in 1/35th scale WW2 military stuff and I remembered enjoying building a little SAS jeep from Tamiya. I did a Google search and found it was still available, so I treated myself Tamiya SAS Jeep kit The kit is really nicely moulded with very little flash, but as it's been around for more than 40 years is lacking some of the finer details. This is easily rectified by the addition of a etched brass detailing kit from Eduard. https://sgsmodelstore.com/products/eduard-35797-1-35-willys-jeep-sas-photo-etched-set-for-tamiya?variant=21172361297998&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2018-08-09&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6575BRCQARIsAMp-ksOl5n_qPv49qXif0ObeRshid19tIbMwpu6i8BPVDjuHBvVAOurpFZsaAu6cEALw_wcB There's a bit of cutting and filling of the plastic parts to allow the fitting of the etched brass components, but their addition really improves the model in my opinion. Model with the addition of etched brass parts The main weathering technique that I wanted to try was "the hairspray technique." The model is first painted in a dark rust colour using enamel paint and this is then allowed to harden for 24 hours. The model is then sprayed with a couple of coats of hairspray, before spraying the top coat using acrylic paint. The hairspray acts as a barrier between the two paints and allows the top coat to be easily removed to expose the rust colour underneath. Water is applied to the surface of the model using a damp paintbrush, which dissolves the underlying hairspray and then wooden cocktail sticks can be used to make scratches and abrasions. How successful I've been in getting a good result is for others to judge, but I'm pleased with the end result and will certainly be using the technique on future railway wagon projects🙂 Painted Jeep The crew were painted using acrylic paints, I'm not quite there with painting faces, but I'm guess practice makes perfect! Addition of crew I found some nice wooden plinths on Ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/solid-oak-hardwood-display-plinths-bases/182346249361?var=691535184773&hash=item2a74aef491:g:Aw4AAOSwcUBYIPS3 and modelled a bit of dessert terrain using some fine Woodland Scenic's ballast, which I then sprayed in sand coloured acrylic paint. All in all I found a gentle excursion into a different modelling discipline to be very enjoyable and I certainly learned techniques that were new to me. There have been railway related projects happening alongside the jeep, but more of those next time! BW Dave

The polystyrene sheet was coated in textured sealing paint, which I'd pigmented with some brown acrylic paint. Once dry this formed a hard, flexible surface that I could use as a base for scenic treatment. Point rodding stools from MSE https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/signals/ls05/ were fitted to lengths of wooden sleepers and then glued in position alongside the trackwork. Ballasting was done using Woodland Scenics ballast using exactly the same method that I used on the main layout. The backscene was then painted using white emulsion as a base coat for the "Sky" The all important beverage shelf was painted using a chocolate coloured emulsion paint to match the rest of the layout's facia panel. Ballasting, Point Rodding stools and Catch Point The "sky" was then painted a pale blue colour using acrylic paints. The rear of the curved backscene on the main layout was "ridged" to allow it to bend and looked a bit unsightly. To make it more aesthetically pleasing I covered it in some thin card and then painted it brown. Sky The ground contours were then coated in a layer of PVA glue and Green Scene https://www.green-scenes.co.uk/ static grass fibres were applied using my "Flockit" static grass applicator. Static Grass The static grass was then detailed with rubberised horse hair, postiche hair along with various flocks and scatters from the Greenscene range, all held in place with an aerosol of matt acrylic varnish. Scenic detailing The point rodding was added using 0.7 mm brass wire for the majority of the runs, however I used plastic rod where it crosses under the track to avoid electrical shorting! This was then painted in my version of "Torbay Red" using enamel paints. Point Rodding I'm really pleased with the extra depth that this new board has added to the layout when viewing it along its length. I've had to be careful in the past when taking photos because the fiddleyard was very conspicuous and spoiled any illusion of reality. Here are a few pictures taken along the length of the layout to illustrate the view under the bridge. Under the bridge! I'll finish this edition of the blog with a picture of the all important beverage shelf in action, I hope my fellow operator at exhibitions approves of our new "exhibitors mugs"🙂 Mug shot Until next time Best wishes Dave

Back in the spring (installment 5) I had got the wheels turning again, albeit briefly. I since solved the problem of passing the pick ups through the footplate and onto the motor and had the engine on the track rather than a direct power supply for the first time since the body upgrade started. The motor is retained in the lower visible part of the boiler, which is removable with the footplate. The tanks and smokebox cover over this. The worm mesh is separated every time the body is removed. This being the compromise for modelling the bottom of the boiler and the balancing pipe between the tanks. I contemplated several solutions and consulted the 2mm ZAG on the possibilities of passing track voltage from the chassis to the lower body section before realising the solution of phosphor bronze tangs sticking up vertically with suitable bends to bear upon some very thin double-sided copperclad sweated to the insides of the firebox forming the a contact pad. These tangs take up space either side of the worm - not yet used for anything else - and there is room on the pad to have the motor wires soldered on in the future. The pads have some temporary (thick) wires on to attach to the motor wiring until the final fix It was not working so well though, even with some weight added to aid pickup. I reasoned that either the ebay coreless motors are awful or something else was up with this previously operational chassis. It turns out it was a bit of both! I indulged in a Tramfabriek motor to prove the point on the motor and there was obviously more torque available. This was a strong step in the right direction and with some loctite holding the worm on the shaft in place of superglue the motor was turning the wheels or stalled. This chassis must have rather suffered at my hands during this body re-modeling since the movement was not as smooth as I recall. Particularly when going forwards the engine will not start smoothly, requiring extra voltage from the controller and then shooting off a little quickly. There is some noticeable gear or grinding noise, not much, but more so in the forward direction. I've tried a number of things: Separating the wormwheel from the second stage reduction along the axis of the idler in case there was some interference with the teeth Removing further material from the backhead Additional mass (to try and aid pick up but it seemed only to make the stalls worse) Clearing the gears, in particular the worm (the spur gears were done originally), of any burrs Tweaking the worm mesh Wiring the controller directly to the motor It was getting closer but not good enough to avoid the stalling. The engine sat back in a drawer until I felt less grumpy about it. I again sought the help of friends for suggestions or advice. @queensquare suggested to give it a good wash in some cleaner (IPA) and if that didn't sort things then action should be what I feared: it was time to go backwards until the problem could be found. Remove the body and motor; get back to a rolling chassis. Check. Then: coupling rods off; secondary pick ups off; and if still all is not well then wheels out and start over. After a good clean the coupling rods and secondary pick ups are off. The former retained, the latter (now just bent and manky looking phosphor bronze wire) binned. It was rolling reasonably well after this brutality, but perhaps not quite perfectly. I have put it all back together for wiring the motor directly to the controller for another test. Unfortunately lack of materials halts progress now because the long lengths of wire I had used previously now seem inflexible enough to tell whether smooth operation has been achieved; the wire is influencing the engine on the track. I've ordered some wire for Ogbourne and added some extra wire with many thin cores and the thinnest insulation I could find to the order in the hope it is extra flexible.

A conversation with a friend about changing names and numbers on old Bachmann or Mainline Jubilees prompted me to dig out some etched plates I bought perhaps two years ago, and get on and fit them! Mainline Orion with 247 Developments etched plates and newer Bachmann split chassis One of my all time favourite models was the Mainline Jubilee ‘Orion’. I think ‘Royal Scot’ was my first Mainline model but Orion followed soon after in June 1981. Pallitoy must have made thousands of models of Orion and they mostly ran well with their characteristic whirring noise. When Pallitoy thought the market was saturated with Orions they brought out Leander. By this time the quality control must have slipped because wheels began to shift on axles and I thought models did not run as smoothly. Mainline Orion from 1981 with black painted wheel rims I sold my original ‘Orion’ in autumn 2007 to coincide with the arrival of the Bachmann ‘improved’ Jubilees. You cannot have too many models and more recently when the opportunity arose I purchased a replacement Orion. I fitted this latest model with one of the newer Bachmann split chassis mechanisms with blackened wheels and motion. I must also have bought a ‘spares and repair’ Bachmann bodyshell which yielded a couple of brass safety valves and some cab glazing (the hand rails and knobs being saved for another of those still to be completed projects). Mainline Orion on a Bachmann split chassis, cab glazing and brass safety valves – waiting for etched plates It was dark and wet here this morning, what could be better than to ‘finish’ Orion. My chosen etched plates came from Brian Mosby at 247 Developments. I think that they are suitably delicate without being too flimsy. First remove the plates from the fret. I have included a picture of my work set up, a piece of hard smooth Melamine shelving and a sharp craft knife. I also used a 1.8mm precision screw driver, but more of that later. Tools of the trade In my experience the printed name plates on proprietary models are usually oversize, that is Hornby and Bachmann. Heljan are the odd ones out and have form for making their plates too small. For comparison I have included a couple of views of the 247 etched plates together with the Mainline plates – the two types are different. Significantly the 247 plates are more narrow meaning that the replacement etched plates will not cover the original plastic plates. Etched plate from 247 Developments versus Mainline Plastic Printed plate. Etched plate from 247 Developments superimposed upon Mainline Plastic Printed plate. This morning I took the craft knife and gently scored a line beneath the plastic name plate. After say half a dozen passes of the knife blade, the ends of plate should separate from the support. The middle section of the name plate is too thick to cut through but with the ends free the plate can be bent forward and snapped off. Mainline Plastic Printed plate separated from support. The Mainline plastic is very soft and I used the 1.8mm precision screw driver to scrape and prepare the remains of the support for the replacement etched plates. Sometimes the original Mainline / Bachmann plates might have been applied crooked and scraping with the screwdriver provides a means of truing up the support. Finished and fixed in place The plates were then attached with super glue (matt varnish is a more friendly substitute which will allow more time for positioning of the plate). Orion with etched plates I think adding etched plates lifts a proprietary model to a higher level. Generally I only fit plates when the opportunity presents itself. However I have a black and white picture of Jubilee Invincible that I took at Carlisle Citadel – so it follows that this is another of my favourite models deemed worthy of etched plates. Invincible with etched plates. I don’t remember how these were fitted but looking at the pictures it would appear that the named part of the plate had been glued to the top of the Bachmann plastic support. Kolhapur with etched plates This is more obvious on Kolhapur where I thought it important to keep the green plastic support with its fine orange lining. (Note the larger more correct size of the cylinders). Making access to the front body fixing screw When working on Mainline / Bachmann split chassis Jubilees (and Patriots and Scots) it makes sense to pull out the leading pony truck wheels to give screw driver access to the front bodyshell screw. Mainline chassis left Bachmann chassis right. Spacing washer added beneath the Mainline cab. I have probably also mentioned before that there is a height discrepancy between the old Mainline chassis and the newer Bachmann chassis. One solution when fitting a Mainline bodyshell to a Bachmann chassis is to insert a small washer under the Mainline cab – taking care that it is not pushed so far forward that it shorts out the two sides of the split chassis. A good morning’s work.

There's no step-by-step account for this one, just a summary of what's been done with what. My close-up camera is off for servicing, so these were taken with the standby. Underframe airbrushed with Railmatch Frame Dirt, then sides with a mix of Frame Dirt and Weathered Black. Top surfaces and cab front and back airbrushed with a darker mix of Frame Dirt and Weathered Black. Wheel centres and coupling rod joints were given a quick waft of Weathered Black. The tank and cab sides were then brushed vigorously with a wide flat shader while the paint was still damp, to remove enough paint to make those areas look cleaned. Running plate was given random applications of MIG Productions Rubbel Dust and Dark Mud, the cab roof, chimney and smokebox were given an application of Smoke Black (or is it Black Smoke?) and highlighted metal edges were achieved with AK Interactive Gunmetal pigment. All pigments were applied with a filbert brush.

So I got the forge painted, like the original it is very black and difficult to photograph! If it was anything other than a forge I might have been tempted to pick out the lettering in paint but in reality it would never have been. I did a quick google search for 'vintage belt drive forge blower UK' and found someone selling two on Ebay. I liked the note that said postage was not an option given the weight. Still they helpfully supplied a number of photographs and the key dimensions on their listing. So the intention is that my forge will be proudly equipped with an Alcosa No4 blower manufactured by William Allday at Paradise St, Birmingham. (Not wishing to offend any Brummies on here but that does sound like a case of Victoria hyperbole to me). It modeled up quite well in CAD and ends up about 20mm tall. It's not perfect but I doubt there are many people out there who will be able to tell once it is installed in the gloom next to the forge. David

I had modeled the forge up as 8 separate parts to allow me to position them on the Anycubic Photon to get the quickest prints. The resulting jobs filled the print bed twice and at a .04mm layer height it took about 5 hours to print out the parts. The results weren't too bad, there was a bit of warping on the largest part (the main base of the forge) but it was fairly easy to conceal as the worse bits are under the base and not visible. The top came out very nicely and I don't think there is a quicker, more consistent, way to make something with those compound curves than CAD and a 3D printer. The parts were stuck together with CA glue, the legs actually fitted fairly well into the corner cut outs made for them. Filings of the resin actually make an excellent filler in the joints when a drop of thin CA glue is put onto the surface. The complete forge stands at 84mm tall with the base being a scale 3' square. I'm very pleased with the way the manufacturer's name came out on the front and the general look of being made from cast metal. When positioned with the anvil and work bench I think it looks the part. There will need to be some kind of belt driven blower positioned next to it to feed in air and a good layer of coal/ashes. I'm also wondering about fitting an orange glowing LED. I'll also need a bucket of water and a sack of coal to go with it. David

In my previous posting I had found this picture of a rather nice cast forge. Some more digging on the internet and I found some references to Keith - Blackman Ltd of Farringdon Avenue London, manufacturers of smith's hearths and forge blowers - purveyors of complete installations for the smithy. I thought I'd try to model up something suitable for my workshop. I've broken it down into a number of pieces so i can try and print the individual parts on the photon.. If there are any RMWebbers who know their forges please tell me if this looks hideously wrong! I've also started on modeling up a power hammer, this is definitely a work in progress and still needs lots more work doing on it. Again, all comments very welcome! David