Prometheus

Admirable honesty! You could dine out on that story!!!! Tony

My 'build' is proceeding reasonably well. I'm wondering about glazing now however. Finecast appear not to have made flushglaze for this coach, which is a great shame. Has anyone who has modified one themselves attempted flushglazing? Oh, Wheatley, thank you for the photo link - very helpful. Thanks Tony

Thank you. It's bog-standard Finecast flushglaze Mikkel, liberally coated inside and out with Klear, which seems to make a shade more glass-like from a foot away. Tony

Thanks for that Nick - appreciated. A D37 is on the list but not until I have finished 'improving' [well, trying to at any rate] a Triang Caledonian Brake. Tony

One of the more straightforward cut-and-shuts, this has been on my bench for a little while, mostly awaiting fine weather to allow painting and varnishing. It is, at last, complete. It comprised pieces of two Triang Clerestory Brakes, some extremely vintage K's Dean bogies [a project in themselves, frankly], Finecast flush-glazing, Ratio seats and various bits and pieces from the spares box. It awaits some Bachmann couplings and the bogies a light weathering. The splicing was pleasingly straightforward. Apologies for the poor photos, I am sans camera currently and had to use my phone in very strong light. I must paint the inner wheel faces, too. Finally, alongside the other Triang coach, for comparison. Tony

Thank you all for your replies, as always. I am going to proceed with this project, but with Rob's earlier disclaimer firmly in place: '...a bashing exercise to produce a nostalgic model...those who only wish to see [a] fine-scalemodel, precise in every respect, need read no further...'! Use of Hornby LMS dining Car 6 wheel bogies will be evidence-enough of the above caveat, that coupled with the probable use of Airfix or Dapol LMS coach roofs........ The underframe details remain a mystery yet to be solved. Tony

Thanks all for the replies. I was thinking about options for a Brake in LMS livery to use as a through coach. It looks as there may be a possibility. Tony

Many thanks - I shall explore.... tony

Can anyone tell me (please) whether these old coaches are capable of being cut and shut into any other prototypes? Close enough would do! thanks Tony

Thanks very much for posting those Penrhos - very helpful photos for my Triang C10 conversion! Tony

The Gaz is interesting but the Alfa is magnificent. I know which I’d be keeping! Tony

Bump - just to see if there is any further thought on this query out there. Thanks Tony

It’s a hobby, not a race, so unless you are in your late-90s...... Nice work there Lofty. Tony

Thanks all for your comments, appreciated. Mikkel’s C22 conversion is first on the list and will start soon when my new saw arrives. I thought about the D37 also but wanted to at least attempt the E37 as it is quite an interesting coach (although not without significant challenge). I have a backnumber of the MRJ in the post, featuring an article about a kit-built one - that should be helpful for detail pictures. All of this may come to nothing around the central toilet partition though, but I am thinking about using an adapted door for the central window area. We’ll see, we’ll see...... Thanks again. Tony

I may be losing my marbles but I am sure that, some time back, someone advised that they were attempting the above conversion and posted a progress photo. I have already falsely accused both Penrhos and Coach Bogie of this foolhardiness but if the real suspect reads this, could you please, if possible, provide a link to your post? Many thanks Tony

I have a pair of these fairly old castings. I'd like to use them but am uncertain as to their prototype. They are 9ft [more-or-less] and have a sort of GWR pressed steel appearance. But are they? Also, does anyone recognise their manufacture? Thank you. Tony

I recently discovered that my last RG4 was missing its brass spur gear, and I had absolutely nothing which would fit. If anyone finds themselves in a similar situation, Ultrascale quickly came to my help. Their 42 Tooth 100 DP 1/8th spur gear is an ideal substitute, and it fits both the larger and the smaller Portescap 'box, too. My order had a turn around in less than a week. Really cannot complain about that! Tony

Sadly, following a burglary last night and the new rules for socialising, we have had to close the club for the foreseeable future. The burglar - who was promptly apprehended by the police - caused a phenomenal amount of damage across the three floors of the building that we occupy the top floor of. We will have to replace a number of doors, locks and door frames but, luckily, nothing was stolen and our six layouts were not touched. The latest COVID development would have closed us anyway: the burglary just added insult to injury. Tony

Swansea Railway Modellers' Group is reopening on a limited and extremely regulated basis this coming Wednesday evening. Initially we shall be open on Weds/Thurs/Fri nights for a maximum of 15 attending each night only. Members have been asked to indicate which night they wish to attend and a rota has been drawn up. At the beginning of October the position will be reviewed in the light of any further virus developments. New visitors and potential members should not just turn up for the time being but contact the club through its website. Details of reopening for any interested here:https://srmg.org.uk/news-blog/2020/9/4/club-update-september-2020 Tony

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GEM-FINESCALE-KIT-BUILT-MODEL-No-MISM6-GWR-CAMBRIAN-2-4-0T-TANK-LOCO-VN-MIB/402071331066?hash=item5d9d51a0fa:g:txYAAOSwT~NeQUvm 'Very nearly MIB' - I don't think so, but a snip at almost £230. And exactly what does 'yet to be unfitted front coupling' mean?! Oh, it's missing a step, too. But still, VN MIB. Usual suspect..... Tony

Apologies - I missed this, but thanks to Porcy Mane for replying in my place. Tony

I have no other experience of these kits Paul so the castings are probably, normally, OK. These were not however, particularly the solebar/truss rod units. They couldn’t be dressed without breaking the fragile truss rod mouldings and the excess flashing / casting on the back required a very large file to remove it. The bogey sides were similarly ‘over’ cast. Ultimately though, none of this was a problem and the work around was wholly successful. None of the unused castings were binned though, all will eventually be adapted to find another life. This was an enjoyable build and a challenge worth confronting. It’s just the sort of modelling that I enjoy. Tony

I have just used a thin coat of Klear on a Mopok coach to enrichen the lower chocolate brown and give the printed sides a slight gloss finish. It worked as expected and also it has considerable success in removing slight superglue misting (note that I said ‘slight’!). It has saved me a number of times in that department. Tony

Thanks for the comment. Out of interest, do you have a date for the kit’s release? Using parts of the Hornby underframe has helped considerably with the weight stakes and it’s not too heavy at all now. The flush sides compliment the Hawksworth body well, too, although the prototype’s prominent seams cannot be replicated. Separate handles and grab irons help lift the illusion however. I’m not at all sure that I could build a rake of these coaches but my hunt for the not dissimilar construction PC Models slip coach continues...... Tony

Having been given this kit sans instructions I assembled it largely from photographs on-line. It was an interesting exercise though and the finished product, although not perfect by any means, was better than I thought. The majority of the white metal castings were not usable however and were replaced by items from my bits box [I was lucky enough to have an identical pair of ends in good condition, better buffers and better ventilators]. The chassis was another matter altogether though and the central truss rod / sole bar mouldings, being completely un-salvageable, could not be replaced by anything that I had to hand. I remembered then that I had a scrap Hornby Hawksworth coach however and was able to use parts of that and some other castings to complete the underframe area. The Hornby part required some thinning but it fitted nicely eventually and provided a far more detailed, realistic underframe than the original castings might have. All that remains of the original kit are the printed sides, the acetate body shell and the wooden floor. The interior of the coach is scratch built but is, inevitably, almost invisible! I thought that the body shell captured the characteristic profile of the Hawksworth roof rather well although there was no provision within the kit for the prominent guttering. That I attached with fine microstrip and it also provided a useful barrier for the sides to butt up against when locating them. The sides of the coach are also pretty flat with no major bowing at all, although one end does curve out very slightly because of the width of the end casting being greater than the shell and floor. The body shell - inexplicably - was some way shorter than the printed sides and it was necessary to cut the sides right back to the doors to enable them to fit. Consequently, it was not possible to fit a grab iron at each of the right hand ends. No matter. Excuse the dust in the photos! Tony