ChrisS

That's looking good. Looks like you have a few useful photos there too.

It now has a face. Close up photos can be so cruel - It's funny what you see in a photo but not in reality! This is only the first coat and I'll try to tidy up some of the black lines- I did use Tamiya masking tape which is normally quite good. From a distance it looks ok. I've painted the interior to interpret the plastic, door cards and cloth trims too.

Interesting point - I'd never really thought about that. I've inadvertently acquired quite a bit over the years. Something to start do ing over the bank Holiday, though my daughter and wife also want to use the light box for their projects too - lol

I've finally finished spraying yellow - yay! Now starting to do all the detail bits including the rubbing strips and trims etc - still a work in progress, particularly the cab. I have some BR logos and lettering from Railtech to apply too. Its looking a bit toy like at the moment but some weathering will help i think. The finish line is getting closer, albeit at a relaxed pace!

Looking tidy. When I sanded the sides on my crew van, I found that cushioned nail files were really helpful to save my fingers and achieve a flat surface. I've hopefully done the last yellow coat of paint on mine - thank god.

Hello Steve, assuming links allowed and work, my wife said it was this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-EP53-010726-Portable-Photo-Studio/dp/B01GPY5EL4?th=1 from the amazon basics store. She said she paid significantly less due to a sale at the time of purchase. Obviously, usual disclaimers in that no connection to Amazon, and depending on budget, required features and size, alternatives are available. HTH.

Thanks Steve. It certainly does make a big difference. One feature I would have liked would be dimmable lights, but for the size and price, I'm certainly not disappointed with it.

For my birthday my lovely wife bought me an amazon basics photo studio/ light box. Its portable and collapsible for storage. The lighting in my house is really poor, and I'd get really frustrated trying to take photos of models - having to find additional lights, prevent shadows and hide background clutter! I'm using a tablet camera which is not the best, but I'm quite impressed with the initial results using the light box. Looks like a future project will be to build a suitable photo plank - though I do like the minimalist look. On another note, I've primed the class 20 body. It highlighted a few seam lines so I've done some additional sanding. It might take a little longer to complete, but looking forward to getting this in blue. That's all for now.

The new chassis looks smart. Is the crew van floor the original kit item?

So the second part of a productive Sunday involved the arrival of the fencing contractor to complete the yard fencing and fencing at the top of the enbankment to the right of the bridge. As before (along the rear embankment) I used the car repair mesh you can get from Halfords. To give an overview, I sent up the drone to take an aerial photo of works to date. Oh well, back to reality and work tomorrow.

I'm always on the lookout for odd workings. I came across photos on the Internet of DPU M55995 being used as motive power for an engineers ballast working, with two dogfish at Bow Street and Aberystwyth in July 1984. I was looking through my own photos and M55995 also happened to pass through Swindelton too, with this strange consist in July 1984.

It's been quite a productive day again. I decided to create/ finish a few trees. One was a tree I made from floral wire and hot glue trunk a while back, with sea moss super glued on and used for the finer branches. I used WWS static grass glue and fine woodlands scenic scatter to cover. A few other trees were created from natural sea moss. I might have to tone down the trunks on these. It's looking a bit greener on the embankment now. Back soon.

Thanks for the comments. I was lucky with the glazing on the 20, the glue had been used very sparingly and i was able to push out with some relatively light pressure. I broke one of the side windows in the cab but it's along the length of the vertical central window frame so hopefully won't be obvious when re-installed.

I don't know where the recent enthusiasm has come from - probably from having a week off work, but hope it stays! Once upon a time I had a pair of class 20 railfreight twins. I always wanted a blue one but missed out. Before I found out Heljan were going to re-release the 20 in blue, albeit at a significantly higher price than i paid for mine, I had made a start in dismantling one of the twins but then lost interest. I've felt guilty ever since. So I finally got round to ordering some IPA and stripped the body and cab. I was surprised at how long it takes, with some of the factory decoration being very stubborn! As a test, this afternoon I primed the cab to see how good a finish I'd achieved, and I'm happy with it. After a little more prep, hopefully i will prime the main body soon. What I found funny was despite being hidden under solid plastic horn grilles, the horns are moulded and present at both ends. I've got some rail blue and hopefully I've enough warning yellow left over from the crew van. Who knows how long this project will take to finish but at least its started to progress. That's all for now.

As with the bridge, i'd never finished the right hand embankment. With some further motivation I got the green keeper static grass applicator out, and spent a few hours grassing the embankment - much better now. I've also re-done the yard area to accommodate the reason for the recent enthusiasm- the crew van project. This included rearranging the location of the gates and structures. A while back i aquired a conflat wagon and it came with a container. The aim is to make the wagon a runner for my 03. I've weathered the conflat container to be an engineers store. In the background, I've also been busy modifying break van roofs, replacing the inaccurate rain strip curves with different variations of batterns. Next job to weather and finish them off. That's all for now.

It's been a while since I've touched Swindelton but I've found some mojo after working on another project- my BR crew van. Though I enjoyed starting it and getting the buttresses finished, i never actually finished the bridge at the end of Swindelton. Partly this was due to over thinking what materials to use and how to put them together. I had some Foamex which is light, strong and easy to cut, so thought I'd use this. I cut out a road deck and then another layer for the foot path. I measured and scribed the flagstones on the foamex. I used some evergreen strip to make the curb stones. One day I'll sort out the backscene - the creases spoil it a bit. I used some embossed plastic brick sheet for the bridge sides, glued on to a length of foamex. The deck was primed in grey and brick work with red halfords primer. I painted the road and weathered the flagstones with blobs of lighter greys, which I rubbed in with some kitchen towel. I painted the brickwork with a light grey and wiped it off to get the mortar joints. I used rail match concrete for the deck beam. It's been a couple of years between the buttresses and deck, but colours seem to match, or will blend further with some weathering. Not too sure why this took me so long, as it only took me a few hours in total! I'll definitely consider using foamex for any future buildings and structures. Till next time.

I hate spraying yellow but seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Looks good in the photos but still might need a coat or two, and varnish as well. I could not resist putting the cab and body on the chassis, and I'm liking the look of it. After spraying yellow, glazing will be the next fun challenge! Till next time.

Good to see a thread started on this one. Slightly jealous that your wheels seem to be in a better starting condition than mine! The rubbing strip on my van body also needed some work but I got away with mainly filling and sanding. Good luck and looking forward to see how yours turns out. Chris

Not too bad for the first coat of yellow. Looks a little better in the photo compared to reality - it will definitely need a few more coats.

Thanks. I think I'd like an earlier version too. I didn't realise how long they lingered in the fleet. You'll have to start a thread for it.

Thanks for the input Steve. Always good to hear about continuous improvement. Whilst there have been a couple of issues encountered, overall I'm enjoying the modelling - which is what it's all about. On another note, as I could not unsee what was pointed out re: top of cab and windscreen shape, I took a deep breath and got the files out. It seems to have worked and improved the look, and looks more like the prototype. Cab and crew body is now back in white primer - getting closer to a coat of yellow! Till next time.

Thanks for the input - it would have certainly saved time filling and sanding! Oh no - I'm now going to have to think about this. Just when I thought I was nearing the end of sorting the cab and crew body out. I now can't unsee what you've pointed out - lol

A little bit more progress to report. I was finding it really difficult to spot the flaws in the crew cab body and cab, partly due to the filling, sanding and use of a white primer to date - as seen in earlier photos. Prior to the recent snow, a quick blast with grey primer and good natural light still showed where work was required! Some more milliput fine was applied and the process of sanding started again. A little bit of milliput went a long way. A couple of hours sanding and another dusting of grey primer and I'm a lot happier. The lighting in my house is poor but I think I'm nearly there. I finally have flat surfaces. I've also painted the wheel hubs, battery and rear light clusters. Still some very minor adjustments needed to appease my OCD, but finally getting close to applying a yellow coat. I'll probably first prime in white again though. That's all for now.

Hello all, it's been a while but I have made some progress. The chassis is nearly there. I made some rear mud guards as evident on many of these vehicles but not part of the original kit. I've secured the crew cab floor to the chassis and still have the ability to remove the crew cab body and cab. Black does not photograph well, but I've painted the chassis a satin black. I made the mistake of using a humbrol water based varnish to seal the black and its as tough as a chocolate fire guard. I'll start picking out other details such as wheel hubs and lights. The driving cab seats are currently black but will probably pick out in grey. I have an exhaust pipe to fit but can't spot from photos where it typically exits. The kit instructions don't give you a clue either. For a bit of fun with a negative filter. There is one major stumbling block with this build and it's trying to fill and sand the crew cab body and cab. I'm losing the will to live with this aspect of the model. I've been using miliput fine which gives a nice smooth finish with a bit of work. As seen on many of the real vehicles I've made a crash barrier under the crew van body on the left side. I've not done the otherside though, as I've got to figure out what it looks like and how to secure it. Another part of the kit I've modified is the crash barrier at the base of the tail lift. The original was too big and interfered with my aim of allowing the crew van body to be removed. I've not fixed the tail lift to the body till i've sorted the body out - at this rate it might be quicker to fabricate a new one from plasticard! Oh well, back to some filling and sanding - till next time. Chris

Snap - it was a Deluxe brand filler I used too. Maybe it's user error or not using it for its intended purpose. Whilst it says you can clean up with water after application, i didn't expect it to disolve away when preping to paint - even after allowing several days to dry. Maybe the Cif cleaner was too good! I once used milliput to good effect to fill the rusty rear wheel arches on my dads, hand me down, Austin Maestro in the mid 90's!