Leaderboard

Over the last couple of days I managed to get a coat of primer followed by a coat a Stratford's finest black. This was a heavy freight locomotive and getting towards the end of its life so I've got a fair bit of weathering to apply. On most of the prototype photographs it is almost impossible to see the BR insignia on the tender! I've noticed I also need to paint the bolt ends on the brake-gear. I'm very pleased with the way the different components came together. The footplate had lots of additional bits required to fill in the space left by the original splashers and the sandboxes were home made 3D printed replacements. Also on the 'still to do' list is the glazing, it looks from the pictures I have that the front side window was glazed but the rear one was not. As I've said before the J20 was a bit of a beast and it makes an interesting comparison with the B12 behind it. Given that the B12 is a 4-6-0 and the J20 an 0-6-0 it is quite amazing that the boilers are almost the same size! Next into the works in a J17, this one is a PDK kit but I'm getting a head start because one of my friends built one recently so we know our way around it. David

Whilst searching for an Hornby Fowler 2-6-4 on eBay for a good friend I came across this Hornby Stanier 2-6-4. It was a reasonable price so I thought it would make a nice project. There were a few areas on the model I could see needed repairing. When it arrived and I examined it it became clear the motion bracket was broken on one side. This resulted in some rather lumpy running. The other area of note was on the fireman's side the cabside steps and the injector pipework under the cab had been damaged. I stripped down the loco. Degreased the chassis and rewired it removing the circuit board in the process. The chassis was reassembled and regreased the gears with Vaseline. Thankfully it was a smooth runner minus valve gear. Through Peter's Spares I managed to obtain a replacement motion bracket assembly and got everything running very sweetly. I then repaired the pipework under the fireman's cabside step as well. The step was also reglued. One of the rear handrails was missing and also replaced. The body work was given a light buff with T-Cut and the numbers removed. I brush applied a number of coats of Johnson's Kleer to lift the finish. I sprayed in the smokebox and cab roof with Tamiya NATO black. The coal bunker received a false floor made up from black plastic sheet. Choosing a class representative that would be found in the Kettering/Wellingborough area came up with 42446 which was shedded at Leicester 15C but I believe it was a Market Harborough loco and worked on the Market Harborough-Northampton line. Numbers from Fox along with power classification and 15C shed code plate. The smokebox number plate is from the excellent Pacific Models range. Everything was then sealed with a coat of airbrushed Kleer followed by a coat of Vallejo satin varnish. The valve gear was inked in with a Sharpie silver marker followed by washes of Vallejo dark rust and German grey to pick out the relief. I managed to find an accessory pack on eBay which was duly fitted. Weathering wise the usual mix of Tamiya NATO black/brown for underframe dirt was sprayed on. Satin black from the same manufacturer was dusted over the smokebox. Detail painting and washes with Vallejo acrylics. Finely crushed real coal was added to the bunker. Crew are Horny drivers (For Mikkel) with suitable amputations to fit in the cab Dukes of Hazard style through the side windows. Lamps to be fitted. A nice project all round and good to restore a loco and give it another lease of life. Cheers, Mark

This EFE bus was bought second hand for £10. Whilst being a reasonably accurate representation, the gloss finish looked hideous. The first job was to dismantle it entirely. The model is held together with three rivets. The front two rivets were removed by melting the plastic heads with a soldering iron. The rear rivet was drilled out, taking care not to remove too much material as the platform would be damaged. The interior seating was painted and hand painted Preiser figures added. I replaced the grab rail on the platform with 0.9mm brass wire, as the EFE rail was too large. I also fitted brass wire handrails to the platform entrance. With the interior complete, I sprayed the body with Halfords Grey primer followed by Tamiya Matt Red for the exterior and Precision Paints Cream for the upper deck ceiling. Fox transfers and flush glazing to the front, costing an eye watering £30 were added. I also replaced the rear lower deck window with Perspex, as the EFE glazing spoiled the view of the platform. The final touch was the rear-view mirror (Plasticard, kitchen foil and brass wire) and front indicators (Plasticard). The only task left is some minor weathering.

Although it is been quite silent from my side, I’m still modeling. After I had finished Rose Cottage I build Apple Tree Cottage. Apple Tree Cottage is the premises of the Hinchliffe sisters. They do some small village farming: a small apple orchard and some pigs. In the picture some pig food will be delivered using a Austin A70 pick up. The car is a John Day Model. According to my research the sisters Hinchliffe had a small car. From my collection of cars I choice the Morris Minor MM. The sisters bought this car in 1949 by Henderson’s Garage in Milchester, Middleshire. Model cars are out of the box to shiny and clean. I gave the Morris a coat of Vallejo Satin Varnish and some weathering. The garage/shed for Apple Tree cottage is finished. I used a garage from 3DK models to create the garage for Apple Tree Cottage. Instead of a brick wall I used a wood texture from Model Railway Scenery. The garage door is from the 3DK garage kit. The asbestos roof is a texture from Model Railway Scenery. I added some white metal details from several suppliers whish I painted using paint from Vallejo, Citadel paints and AK. Green is from Busch, Woodland Scenic and MiniNatur. I finished the shed scene by adding Cutie, the Irish Setter, and miss Mary Hinchliffe to it. There is a little story behind the scene but that I have to save for a later moment. Another scene has to been built for it. This little diorama is not yet finished completely. I still have to do the right side. Thanks for reading and keep safe. I also wish every one a Happy Christmass and a healthy and good 2021. Greeting, Job

The first 2- plank wagon has appeared at Farthing, accompanied by a round-ended 3-planker. The 2-planker owes much to Duncan, who kindly gave me one of his surplus 3D printed wagon bodies. Thanks again Duncan! I've been wanting to do a 2-planker since I saw Richards's early Opens some years ago. I’ve used the Swindon drawing in Atkins et al for reference, and the photo of Worcester built 19451 as the prototype. Apologies to Dave for doing the same number as his 7mm 2-planker, but there aren't many prototype photos to choose from. The chunky brake-blocks were drawn up from the drawing and cut on my Silhouette, then laminated from three layers of styrene. Ribbed buffers from MJT. I had to fit a new floor as the old one cracked when I applied too much pressure. Still learning the ropes with these 3D printed materials. “I made this model all by myself”. I don't think so. A word of thanks to the small-scale suppliers who make this part of the hobby possible. Not to mention all the helpful modellers out there. Enough with the bleary-eyed stuff, let’s paint this thing black! This is brush-painted Vallejo primer, convenient when you're in a flat during the winter months. Then a base of red, and some Archer’s “rivet” transfers. The latter stick best on a rough surface, I find. The Vallejo primer is slippery, so I waited till the first coat of matt paint was on. Good adhesion, might do that again. The photo makes my standards look more exacting than they are. Stephen - who is doing a Saltney-built 2-planker - spotted a flitch plate and other solebar details on the prototype photo, so I tried to replicate that. Thanks Stephen. Later Microsol on top, then matt varnish, then more paint. The finished wagon. The prototype photo shows the paintwork in a very worn state, but I decided to be more gentle, so that it doesn't stick out too much among the other wagons. Having said that, my phone camera doesn't capture the weathering well, I have noticed that before. It seems to just highlight the main colour scheme. I’ve also built a round-ended three-planker from a David Geen kit, I do like them. On many of these the ends were soon cut square, but some were left alone and occasionally pop up in early 1900s photos. Lettering in process. The eyesight is slowly going downhill, but I swear: A glass of Jameson helps me to focus. I’m gradually switching from HMRS to Fox transfers. I prefer the method of the former, but the printing on recent HMRS sheets isn’t quite up to former standards. I’m told it’s hard to find a printer who can do the sheets well. I sympathize and hope the HMRS succeed. The dates are when the sheets were purchased. The finished 3-planker. The wagon was started in our little forest cabin, under poor lighting. That does show in places, lesson learnt. The wagons together. It’s counter-intuitive, but the 2-plankers were actually an 1 inch higher than the 3-plankers. Here they are with my existing 3-plankers. I suppose that’s more than enough of these types for my 1900s yard. But I wouldn't mind a few more. Nancy Hoffman of Maine has 2000 umbrella covers, so I have some way to go.

Major good news! After the dispiriting news of jamming gears, I put it away for a day or two while I got on with something else. After carefully removing the wheels and gears until it freed up, I traced the problem, I think, to one of the short stub axles on the gear train, it was just too short, so I replaced it. After that it all ran smoothly, so I carried on, reassembled everything, even the rods, and it still ran! So I soldered the rods on with the microscopic washers and oil soaked rizla paper. It still runs. So far so wonderful. Stay tuned while I put the cosmetic outer frames on and so on. Once I’ve recovered from the celebration!

Since the previous post, the brake gear, under cab pipework and the basic footplate have been assembled and temporarily assembled, as shown in the last photo. This is the current state of play. Pipework underneath the cab - complete except the injector overflows. Chassis and footplate assembled. Dave.

Previously posted as a future project, this has turned into the current project. Quite a bit of progress has been made with the chassis which now has the wheel sets in. Still rather a lot to do, but it is coming along. Here are some views of the frames with the wheel sets, including the inside crank. Dave.