Trains&armour

The downwards angle is too shallow, making them stick out to the rear too much. And they now end kind of pointy, there should be a cutoff at the end. Have a look at Clive's drawings to see what I mean. Also, there should be a triangle of sheet metal connecting the mudguards to the rear. As it is, this area looks off.

Noticed that as well. Will invoke rule one and put a Comet on my warflat. Never liked the Cromwell much... As to the Airfix Tiger model, It does have all it's roadwheels (Late steel rimmed type) but a lot of other details are indeed missing because they faithfully copied the incomplete example at Bovington. With some work, it still builds into a model looking like a Tiger I. Here's one I build 25+ years ago for my wargames: The Tiger was indeed designed to fit on the German flatcar, but later in the war, depending on circumstances, they just didn't bother removing the mudguards and roadwheels.

Hi Clive. You're right, it might be Germany post war, I just can't tell. I automatically assumed it was taken in or around Bicester because of the nature of the website and the other photographs. But there's not enough information on the website or details visible on the photograph to confirm the location. I will try to contact the historical society and see if they know where and when the photo was taken. And if a higher resolution copy is available.

You might be mistaken... While browsing the internet just now I came across this photo: I do think the tank behind the Churchill is a Comet. Probably the rest as well. The tank is clearly wider than the warwell, and has the modified track layout with return rollers. The rear of the turret with its overhang and visible commander's cupola also matches the Comet layout. https://www.blhs.org.uk/index.php/head_military/world-war-ii

I,m back! But I don't have much to add to the comments on the prototype by Clive. As to the Cromwell model, it's a plastic model and looks like a plastic model. It needs to be painted and weathered. And the rear mudguards definitely need some work. Probably some other areas as well, but it's hard to tell from the photographs. Wait till I get my hands on one....

And a lonely Rectank mixed in with the warflats. (second wagon). Nice.

I build this a while back (Well, three years back, practically yesterday . Maybe it's time for some more modelling...)

I went to North Yorkshire last year. Can't stand foreign holidays.... Oh, ah, wait , something not quite right there....

Too early for my holidays...

Caption contest?

Sorr Sorry Robin, last one... Last project

I don't collect lego, seriously, I don't.. I just use it to build things...

Who, in his right mind, collects lego then?

Blame the Germans! Clearly a blitzkrieg victim.

Hi By coincidence, I came across one of these wagons, the 20 ton low sided steel wagon (example below): And see my thread at: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/116707-haphazardous-00-modelling-a-slow-workbench-topic/&do=findComment&comment=3437306 I've started to try and build a model of one of these wagons. But I really could use some more information on these wagons. History, builders, users, detail shots, but especially photographs with recognizable PO liveries. Any and all help appreciated.

Not much, but enough to start me on designing some transfers. Body cleaned up in photoshop to use as background layer: Hoare Brothers: Thomas Lant: According to the text accompanying the Thomas Lant drawing this firm was amalgamated into the British Quarrying Company in 1928. Based on a repainted Thomas Lant 5 plank wagon pictured in Turton's seventh collection (page 61) it should have looked like this after repainting: And the Wickwar wagon, based on their 5 plank wagon liveries (A.G.Thomas, The Modeller's Sketchbook of Private Owner Wagons, book 1, 1969): More prototype information and/or corrections welcome, especially photographs with recognizable PO liveries.

Meanwhile, in my spare time, I did some research on the prototype. Apparently they weren't used widely, or they weren't considered photogenic enough, because I could hardly find any information or, more importantly, photographs. After a trawl through the HMRS website I found this one: And of course I wasn't the first or only one with an interested in these wagons. This one I found on RMweb: (text additions my own) (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/51853-Hornby-20t-wagons/&do=findComment&comment=609792) Btw, I would love to know which book this drawing came from. After a lot of digging in the piles of magazines strewn about my man-cave I bagged this one: (Model Railway Journal No. 162, 2005, page 260, Roye England CTY, Pendon Museum) According to the caption a renumbered and repainted Ex Wickwar Quarries Ltd. wagon After the magazines, the books. Which got me this very strange beast: (Keith Turton, Private Owner wagons. A fourth collection, Welsh Anthracite, Lightmoor Press 2005, page 119) A heightened 20 ton low steel wagon.... . Best saved for a later project.

A unpainted Dapol body: Some work with a hacksaw: Cutting of the ends and halving the body (you actually need two Dapol bodies, because of the end door of the N32, which the low body doesn't have) Now some sanding, to fractionally lessen the width of the main body. If done carefully, the iron capping and the ends should now stand just proud of the body. Test fitting: Some more tweaking needed, but this should work.

And then I spotted this one on Ebay: A limited edition. I just had to have it. So I bought it. And only afterwards I found out that it should have looked like this (Thanks to the HMRS website) Dissapointed! But intrigued as well, as I hadn't seen this type of wagon before. More variation to add to my model fleet. Alas, not available RTR or in kitform (as far as I know of). Could I build one myself? Or better still, modify an existing wagon? Looking at it, it could be mistaken for a cut down version of the RTR 20 ton steel wagon. And 20 ton wagons I have aplenty.

Hmmm, the P4 rebuilt didn't generate much interest. But I have more projects. Quite a lot of them actually... One of those is collecting 20 ton steel mineral PO wagons. First released by Airfix and later Mainline, these models are now made by Hornby as well as Dapol. The models do show their age, but as a whole they are still passable representations of GWR diagram N32 .Not the most common mineral wagon, but the GWR did have some 5000 of them build. I quite like them, not in the leastbecause they add some much needed variety to my PO wagon fleet. And they can be made into reasoanble accurate representations of the prototype with some weathering and detailing. As in the example below:

Current state of play: Compare: Next up: Priming, filling, sanding, painting.

Further work on the underframe: More body details: Underframe cleaned and fitted:

Turning the coke rails into solebars: Glued to the body, with the underframe test fitted: (The remaining coke rail parts were used to make the the rounded top planks)

Which enabled me to reduce the width of the body as well: ( I already carved away the extra brake handles):