Colin parks Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Hi Adam, Uplifting stuff as always and one of the highlights of RMweb for me is to study your latest wagons as they roll off the production line! The container looks very well with all the requisite shackles and loops - not just a boring, plain box any more. Forgive me for asking (possibly I already have), whose Instanter coupling links and screw couplings do you use? All the best, Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 (edited) Hi Colin, thanks as ever for the kind comments (and, once again, thanks too to the clickers of the various buttons). The coupling links are home made from tinned copper wire - bell wire I think it is, probably ex GPO - 15 amp fuse wire is much the same thing. The instanters and hooks are from Ambis Engineering while the screw couplings are from Masokits. The latter are all soldered in construction and thus don't suffer from the usual ills of etched screw couplings; they don't spread themselves round the layout. A tip for these (for anyone who goes down the Masokits road). Ignore the instructions and blacken the centre links prior to soldering the links up. Opening all the holes out to 0.7mm while the bits are on the etch is an excellent idea too. Adam Edited July 18, 2014 by Adam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Hi Colin, thanks as ever for the kind comments(and, once again, thanks too to the clickers of the various buttons). The coupling links are home made from tinned copper wire - bell wire I think it is, probably ex GPO. The instanters and hooks are from Ambis Engineering while the screw couplings are from Masokits. The latter are all soldered in construction and thus don't suffer from the usual ills of etched screw couplings; they don't spread themselves round the layout. A tip for these (for anyone who goes down the Masokits road). Ignore the instructions and blacken the centre links prior to soldering the links up. Opening all the holes out to 0.7mm while the bits are on the etch is an excellent idea too. Adam Many thanks for the swift reply Adam. I am about to make an order with Ambis for some point stretcher bars anyway, so I can just add on the Instanters. The Masokits products look good and I shall take you advice on their assembly. It is good to know there are so many small suppliers of quality parts out there - if you know where to find them! All the best, Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 (edited) No problem, good to hear that you're up and about and doing some modelling. All of these have had several thin coats of paint now and will take a few coats of Klear prior to applying transfers/lettering. I quite enjoy the thoughtful ruggedness of Masokits bits. They generally go together very well and stay in one piece afterwards which cannot be said of all etched details... Adam Edited July 18, 2014 by Adam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 I had my tin of Precision Paints Freight Brown out and, three thin coats later both Coil S and the BD container are getting there. The BD has even had transfers applied. Needless to say I don't have the right transfers to do the Conflat... Adam 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 A quick update here based around a Rumney Models BR 8 shoe clasp brake chassis - more pic's on Rumney Models' thread in the Small Suppliers section. Quite a mundane little wagon really, but the extra finesse of Justin's chassis is a big step up from the Red Panda version, nice though that is. Although designed sprung, I've built this one rigid. It's square, it'll run fine. Adam 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin parks Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Hi Adam, That van is looking very well on its metal chassis. The Rumney Models kit does look the business. It would have been interesting to have seen what you made of it as a sprung version. Though some extol the virtues of fully sprung chassis, it does seem to be that they need careful weighting if the springing is to work correctly. All the best, Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 Hi Colin Good to hear from you. I did attempt to make the springing work on the earlier mineral wagon chassis and so it does, after a fashion. If I'm honest, I don't think that there's a huge benefit to the additional effort required, at least, not in EM and perhaps not in P4 either, though the option is nice to have. The trick is to get the vehicle to actually ride 'on' the springs and I've found this a bit hit and miss. I would rather do without and have the brakeshoes closer to the wheels! The second chassis will go under something a bit more unusual. Adam 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePurplePrimer Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 I had recently become curious about the idea of building a few wagons in 4mm scale so I did a search and ended up at this thread. I had no idea just how good 4mm wagons could be - the models in this thread have been a real eye opener to me - stunning ! I am not expecting to get anywhere near the quality of these ( but I intend to try and get there eventually ) and I just wanted to say thanks for inspiring me and showing me what was possible. PS - I hope you won't mind a few questions from me when I get started 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) Very kind of you to say so Rob, any questions happily received. Most of the details are a matter of observing, from pictures or the real thing, and thinking about how best to replicate those details (and whether it's worth the bother!). I claim absolutely no originality: my dad's models set me a standard to have a go at emulating. Seeing what Geoff Kent could do and how it was done, in print and, later, at first hand reinforced that. Modern kits and bits make this easier, of course, but the intent is the important bit; you have to want to give it a go. Adam Edited September 8, 2014 by Adam 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 I was just going through some pictures and unearthed this, a model that I had completely forgotten about. This is my first attempt at a Red Panda Shocvan with the original chassis with a few added bits of wire. I don't suppose that there is too much to choose between them for the casual observer, but if it were anything like my other efforts at upgrading plastic brakegear there probably isn't a huge difference in construction time. Adam 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 (edited) Here's the new one. The stripes on the first one, it seems, aren't quite right; though there were plenty of variations, none seem to have been quite like this! That will need to be recalled for a minor refit. Oh, and I've missed painting a chalkboard... Adam PS - the main body colour, in this case, is Humbrol matt 100 rather than my usual Halfords red oxide primer. The colour variation is nice, but it's taken three coats to get sufficient coverage. Edited September 30, 2014 by Adam 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Zero Gravitas Posted October 1, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 1, 2014 (edited) Hi Adam, very nice work - as always, and the Rumney chassis certainly has that extra finesse! However - permission to ask a question. Your Rumney-chassised shocvan doesn't have any external springing (if that's a word) on the solebars. I wasn't aware of any shocvan diagrams that didn't - but of course I could be wrong (and I remember our conversation about Southern open wagons and the perils of research and assertion). I did find a picture in David Larkin's "Wagons of the Middle British Railways Era" (on page 59) that does show B854527 which does not have external springing, but does not have any stripes either, although it is clearly a shocvan chassis. However, I then looked in Trevor Mann's "British Railways Unfitted and Vacuum Fitted Wagons", and found on page 58 a picture of B854662 (from the same lot - 3117 - as B854527), and found in the description that the springs had been moved to the centreline of the van in "an attempt to reduce staff injuries". Coincidentally, I also found out that a lot of shocvan traffic was moving tinplate to the factories of Metal Box Ltd, for whom I worked for 25 years. The pictures tend to show the centre of the three stripes to be on the LH door - although B854662 has what can only be described as squares, rather than stripes. There - that was longer than originally intended - hope you don't mind. I've made a mental note to myself to get out more. Best Regards, ZG. PS: Your red panda van, B855090, was from lot 3224, which based on a picture of B855008 in Larkin (ibid - page 59), did have the external springs... PPS: Edited for typos... Edited October 1, 2014 by Zero Gravitas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted October 1, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 1, 2014 I wouldn't worry about the stripes Adam, there will have been one like that one somewhere. I saw a 5 stripe shocvan in Whittlesey sidings, door frame verticals painted white with 2 more on the doors, so anything is possble. Weathering is your friend! Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 ZG - so far as I am aware, it was only lot 3117 that had the springs inside the solebars and my model is, indeed, meant to be one of those. The 'boxes came in c. 1964 with the new 'boxed' lettering style and seem to have been applied in a haphazard fashion over the top of the stripes which were sometimes painted out, sometimes not. The position of the stripes seems to have varied even within the same lot. Here are a few from 3117 from Paul Bartlett's galleries just to demonstrate that point: http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brshocvanvsv/h659ebfe#h659ebfe Centre stripe just to the right of the door catch. http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brshocvanvsv/h659ebfe#hb858873 Centre stripe under the door catch. http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brshocvanvsv/h659ebfe#h1548b1a6 Centre stripe where I painted mine (markedly off centre though this appears to have been a repaint; the original stripe was under the catch) http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brshocvanvsv/h659ebfe#h1548b1a6 I may yet weather and over-paint the stripes with boxes, I haven't decided. To be honest, Mike, it's the raggedness of the stripes that are already there that annoys me as much as their positioning. Some metal metal brake levers would be handy as well. Adam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 Modelling has occurred, but not of the wagon variety. My NBL diesel from a Judith Edge kit has its own thread, but here are a couple of sample pictures: Adam 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Hello Adam, I've only just read the last 2 pages of this thread but that's enough to make me wow, that container has a lot of detail in it and I think it changes the look of it from a plastic shell to a proper working container, and I like the look of that van it's very nice, now to read the rest of the thread lol. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted November 2, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 2, 2014 "Wagon prodder" Priceless. Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethashenden Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 "Wagon prodder" Priceless. Mike. Yeah I liked that too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 (edited) Ready to prod.* The 'little' NBL is now more or less complete barring the process of lead lining, front sandpipes, a bit of touching up and weathering. It was even wired up the right way about at the first time of asking (testing courtesy of my trusty length of EM Ratio track and a spare 9V battery for the smoke alarm). I can't remember the last time I managed that... More pictures here. * ahem, shunt, if you prefer. Adam Edited November 10, 2014 by Adam 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted November 10, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 10, 2014 Prefer prod personally! Mike. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 ... it's the raggedness of the stripes that are already there that annoys me as much as their positioning... And there was me thinking, there's a nice representation of how untidy it could be. 'Someone' was clearly tasked with refreshing the white paint marks on BR wagons, as fairly bright white paint could be seen on otherwise heavily weathered vehicles. But the prep, accuracy of positioning, unstraightness of edges, and subsequent peeling of the white paint, resulted in a fair number of 'untidy' results among the general run of neatly applied paint, and that in a wide range of positions shapes and sizes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 And there was me thinking, there's a nice representation of how untidy it could be. 'Someone' was clearly tasked with refreshing the white paint marks on BR wagons, as fairly bright white paint could be seen on otherwise heavily weathered vehicles. But the prep, accuracy of positioning, unstraightness of edges, and subsequent peeling of the white paint, resulted in a fair number of 'untidy' results among the general run of neatly applied paint, and that in a wide range of positions shapes and sizes. I still think it looks like it was done with a yardbrush! While I agree that the edges need not be true, they should at least look like the work of a semi-skilled 1:76 painter, not a 1:1 one. Needs sorting, will be sorted. Adam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 Another wagon prodding device? Well yes, of an older, smaller, steam-powered variety. Anyway, the picture below shows the early phase of development, adding some injectors to the frames. No prizes to anyone guessing the prototype, but it's not really my usual thing. I must get back to wagons, but I fancied some soldering this afternoon. Adam 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ullypug Posted November 16, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 16, 2014 Interesting... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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