Slater's tar tank in 7mm / S7

[Western Star]

Just for those of you who doubt that we ever finish anything... here is a model which was started by Peter when manning the Scaleseven Society stand at an Ally Pally show maybe five years ago. The construction of the kit was completed early in 2009 and the model was passed to Buckjumper (of this parish) as a candidate for the RM Web weathering clinic last summer. Adrian must have liked the character of the beast for he offered to paint and letter the tank - at that time none of us knew what was in store.

 

 

The kit was assembled as intended by Slaters although the pushrods were lengthened to place the break blocks closer to the wheels. The tie rods are made from brass wire rather than the plastic rod which came with the kit, we added nuts to the ends of the tie rods using Plastruct hex section. The model is sprung using Exactoscale parts. The safety loops are from the nickel silver strip which CPL sell as boiler bands. The V-hangers and the break gear are a mix of parts from Exactoscale and Ambis. All of the brass and steel parts were blackened using BIrchwood Casey products. The tank and underframe were sprayed with Games Workshop white primer before the blackened parts were attached. At this point the model sported the plastic nameplates which were part of the kit.

 

 

We wanted a red tank rather than the typical black finish for these wagons... and reference to Oil on the Rails (HMRS) revealed that Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Tar Distallation Company No.2 was a red tank whereas No.9 was a black tank (as per Slater's website). So Precision Paint Red Oxide from Roxey Mouldings was used by Adrian for the body colour. And then things went downhill... the transfers did not sit well around the spacing of the rivets on the tank. Oil on the Rails shows that no.2 had a tank which was shorter than no.9, the only known picture of these wagons is for no.9 and one presumes that the transfer lettering had been set out from that photograph. Adrian cut the transfer into pieces to re-arrange the spacing around the vertical rivets on the body.

 

 

 

 

 

On to the transfer for the cast details of the nameplate.... a desperate call from Adrian revealed that the nameplate lettering transfer was larger than the plastic plate and that the transfers had met their maker whilst trying to apply them to that plate. Adrian volunteered that he had some spares from his kit and so all agreed that the way forward was to make replacement plastic plates of a size to fit the transfers. The second time that Adrian attempted to apply the transfers the individual letters of the transfer exhibited a degree of autonomy and would not lie down in straight lines. At this point Adrian arranged to have some etched plates made for the model and for that we are very grateful - thank you Adrian.

 

So there we are, a red rectangular tank wagon modelled on a prototype for which, we think, there is no picture.

 

Graham and Peter

[Rob Pulham]

It was certainly worth the time taken Guys.

[Forward!]

I have actually based a whole layout around this wagon! (well, not quite, but it is based on the Gunness-on-Trent wharf, or Gunhouse as it was officially known by in GCR days.) It includes a tar works siding complete with a pit for dumping unprocessed tar in.) I have built No 2 and 9 in red oxide and black. Because I haven't seen a photo of the red oxide wagon I took a few liberites with detailing, adding a few differences I have seen in other photos of tar tanks, mainly relating to the end-stocks and the tie-rods. I am afraid my red-oxide was probably too bright (it was a halfords car primer), and instead of cutting the transfers I simply attacked them with mircosol to get the to sit down.

 

 

I wish I had thought of comissioning etched plates- they really add to this model and are a cruicial feature of these wagons. Who did them for you?

 

All in all, your photos remind me of that bullseye catchphrase 'here's what you could have won...' (if i'd put a bit more effort in)!!!

 

 

Will

[Western Star]

The etched plates were provided by Adrian - I believe that Adrian passed an intact transfer to a friend who drew the art work and dealt with the production.

 

An omission on my part - the photographs in this thread were taken by Adrian Marks who retains copyright. Reproduction in this forum is with his permmission.

 

Graham

[alcazar]

Very interesting. Do you have details of where the tar distillers was? I live 3 miles from Gunness.

 

By the way, your photo used as backdrop for the wagon places it on quite a high embankment, there is such an embankment at Gunness, since it's where the railway crosses the River Trent, but the background is flat, flat, flat.

You haven't modelled the King George V Bridge too, have you?

[Western Star]

 

By the way, your photo used as backdrop for the wagon places it on quite a high embankment, there is such an embankment at Gunness, since it's where the railway crosses the River Trent, but the background is flat, flat, flat.

You haven't modelled the King George V Bridge too, have you?

 

Funny how people can see different things in a photograph. Adrian took the photographs and he has a number of optional back-scenes to his display track. This one might be of the countryside alongside of the Buntingford branch..... on the other hand I might have got this wrong and if so I am sure that Buckjunoer will be calling to let us all know.

 

regards, Graham

[smudgeloco]

Isn't it strange how us modellers can drool over something as mundane as a tank wagon?

But I am doing just that, a truly fabulous model, and a terrific set of pics as well.

[Western Star]

Very interesting. Do you have details of where the tar distillers was? I live 3 miles from Gunness.

 

You haven't modelled the King George V Bridge too, have you?

 

In spite of a long search of the internet I have little to say on the history or the location of this company. There is a page about the company on "A Sixth Collection", Turton, Lightmoor Press on which there is a photograph of tank No. 9. The text indicates that the company "disappeared" in the 1930s and makes an observation that Henry Ellison was associated with Yorkshire & Lincolnshire Tar Distillation Company at that time.... this maybe the same Ellison who had interests in other tar distillers in that area.

 

No, we have not modelled KGV bridge... our interests lie in the Forest of Dean and at West Wycombe (GW & GC Jt., 1910-1914).

 

regards, Graham

[alcazar]

Ah, right. I wonder if the site at Gunness distilled the tar produced by the coking plant at the local steelworks. There is still a tar distillation plant here, and boy, does it stink when the wind is from the east. Quite close to the town centre too...........

[Ian G]

West Wycombe should be a nice short layout.

 

Ian G

[Western Star]

West Wycombe should be a nice short layout.

 

Ian G

 

You are joking are you not? There is quite a length to the station, from the occupation bridge on the east to the (under) roas bridge on the west must be about 3/4 mile.... and on a curve as well. Maybe we should have chosen Saunderton after the Suffragette attack... or Seer Green... or Denham Golf club... or maybe the viaduct over the Misbourne Valley. The appeal is the wayside station with spacing for up and down loops between the platforms which were not put in.

 

regards, Graham and Peter

[Buckjumper]

Graham asked if I'd say a few words on the finishing of the wagon.

 

As mentioned above, the basic paintwork for the tar tub is Precision enamel Red Oxide over Games Workshop white acrylic primer. I usually use Halfords primer on plastic and resin and either Halfords or JLTRT cellulose on metal kits, but I was very impressed with the fine pigment of the GW product Graham had used...much finer than Halfords, and the smooth finish has given me cause to consider it for future work. I like pale coloured primers for translucent colours such as reds and blues - the primer adds depth to the finish which is emphasised later when T-cut.

 

So, to business; the Red Oxide was airbrushed on, but I increased the air-to-paint ratio from my usual mix, and pulled the airbrush back from the model by an extra two or three inches so the paint landed in a semi-dry state giving it a slightly gritty texture and a matt finish. After leaving the paint to dry and harden for a few days I then rubbed 2000 grit wet & dry (used wet) in between the rows of rivets on the tank sides and ends until the finish was smooth. I then T-cut these areas using a cotton bud. I then spent a couple of hours and several dozen cotton buds polishing these areas to a shine. Why? Well I needed a gritty texture in certain areas, to help facilitate the weathering, but the sides need to represent sheet metal, and an underlying shiny finish with plenty of depth helps to trick the brain into thinking it's looking at just that, not injection moulded plastic. Later on the shine can be knocked back by weathering.

 

Graham has touched on the methfix-type transfers which were cut to align with the rows of rivets, and armed with tweezers from Boots and cocktail sticks I got high on the purple fluid cajoling all those letters into place. Then I left the lot to dry and harden for a few days.

 

All the ironwork was then painted with Humbrol satin black #85. Lovely stuff. Dry, harden...

 

Now to the best bits. Humbrol 33 matt black and 133 satin brown are my base palette for weathering. Varying the ratio between the two can be used to replicate anything from old rust to brake dust on underframes and coach ends to sooty roofs. I sometimes add a spot (and I mean spot) of secondary colour such as leather 62 for underframes and coach ends, which is exactly what I did here. I start around 70/30 in favour of black, and thin to around the same ratio. This should produce a fine mist which takes a while to build up the colour, which is what we want - subtlety is the key. The black running gear was given the heaviest dose, the wooden frame was sprayed at a 45 degree angle to simulate muck from the pw getting thrown up. The tank itself was given a light dusting which was then gently wiped away with a moistened cotton bud, the grime being trapped in the rougher non-T-cut areas around the rivets only. The grittier areas around the rivets begin to give the impression that rust is slowly erupting beneath the surface of the paint, and it also adds to the impression that gunge, gunk and spillages have added to the patina. The gritty finish to the tank top was also given a general misting of sooty deposits.

 

The limited tar spill was replicated with a little Metalcote gunmetal mixed with 64 grey and drybrushed on. Oh yes - the plastic T handle on top of the lid. Well, I accidentally broke it off, so fabricated a new one from two L-shaped pieced of 0.7mm brass, the legs filed half-round and soldered in a pin vice. I then attacked the top of the tub with a stiff brush to simulate scuffing and rubbing from boots, sleeves hands and trouser knees from the men who's job it was to fill the tanks.

 

The same mix replicated spillage and seepage from the oil axleboxes. Dry, harden...

 

I then plopped dobs of 33, 62 and 64 on a palette and mixed in a ratio of roughly 4-1-1. With a flattie bush, and with almost all of the mix wiped off, I drybrushed in an upward direction across all the rivets, along every edge on the tank, the frames, the ironwork, the running gear - the lot. This takes some time, but it imparts false shadows. Then with the mix in favour of the light grey, drybrush all the same areas in a downward motion - this represents sunlight bouncing off these areas. The effect must be subtle or you'll create an awful caricature. If you bodge it up, simply wipe away with thinners (hence the drying and hardening of the previous stage before you start, or there'll be tears), or tone it all down with a mist of the general mix. The highlights and shadows lift the murky running gear, the grittier areas and especially the tank rivets and the ownership plate.

 

Ah, yes, the plate. Again, Graham's already touched on the problem encountered, so I was about to order a custom plate when a friend phoned and asked if I'd take delivery of some test etchings he was about to send away for, as he was going to be abroad for a few weeks. Discovering there was a spare square inch or so on the sheet I quickly emailed him the exact wording and a photo of the plate on tar tub #9. A couple of weeks later I had the resulting plates in my sweaty mitts.

 

Not a lot else to say, really - I replicated the oily water runs on the tyre faces, used tiny grains of rust weathering powders on the springs and axle guards, and that's about it.

 

I haven't forgotten to mention varnish as I rarely use it. Why go to all the trouble of creating a range of finishes on the model from matt to gloss and every state in between to go and obliterate the lot with an all-encompassing matt, satin or gloss finish? Transfers falling off? Not happened to me yet, and besides, you really ought to keep your greasy fingers off your models, so buy a pair white cotton valet gloves to handle your stock. If I'm building up a heavy weathering patina with lots of levels of weathering put on, and wiped off again, I'd perhaps carefully varnish over any waterslide or rubdown transfers to just beyond the edges, but that's about it.

 

By the way, the photo is indeed pure GE territory - the Buntingford branch near Standon once wended it's tortuous route down in the valley behind the wagon.

[Western Star]

There is not a lot left to say after such a "blistering" attack of the weathers...

 

Thank you Adrian for such a full and understandable description of how you turned our tar tub into a work of art, I am reminded of Barry Norman's words in MRJ when he saw what Martyn Welch had done to his Midland Railway 5-plank mineral wagon.

 

regards, Peter and Graham

[Forward!]

Hi,

 

some record of the Yorks +Lincs Tar Dist. company appears to have survived amongst those relating to the Frodingham Ironstone Mines company papers at North East Lincs Archives (Grimsby). I haven't looked at them, but the cataloguing they submit to the National Archives seems to imply the company might have existed 1907-1930. Frodingham Iron Mining co was part of the Winn Empire- or Lord Oswald as he was after 1885.

 

On my layout I have worked on an assumption that the tar distillation plant was associated with the Gunness Ironstone wharf, and operated by both GCR and Ironstone co' locos. Not totally implausible!

 

I imagine an afternoon at Grimsby Archives would sort this out one way or another.

[alcazar]

Interesting. I wonder why the stuff ended up in Grimsby when there is/was a perfectly good museum in Scunny.

[Forward!]

Interesting. I wonder why the stuff ended up in Grimsby when there is/was a perfectly good museum in Scunny.

 

Alcazar,

I was recently searching for records of a Wisbech (Cambs) timber company and the records are on deposit at Devon record office.......

 

Seriously though,Scunny Museum was justfiably very well thought of in museum circles- it was built with a bit of a point to prove (think of all those scunthorpe jokes...), and it did so superbly. Manuscript record isn't really within collection polices of local museums because in the first instance they were usually opened much later than the local authority archives, and scondly- preservation of paper records costs a fortune and is very strictly regulated by various legal instruments/ and national bodies. I imagine the deposit of Winn papers at Grimsby probably pre-dates the formation of Scunny museum anyway.

 

North East Lincs archives is very small office, and quite an 'old-school' one at that. Someone interested in modern North Lincs will also find that Lincolnshire Archives (in Lincoln) will hold records as well. Alas, the whole of the UK archive scene inherits the legacy of ancient jurisdictions. These often overlap, and there is usually a good explanation as to why- IF- you understand historic local government jurisdictions, or in a few cases even, the medieval church jurisdictions. Of course, for most laymen these sort of things mean nothing- as a modern researcher it can be infuriating trying to work out where a record might be deposited... anyway, rant over.

 

Will