Castle

Hi Nick, The short answer is I don't definitely know - now! I thought that I knew they are green on the real thing and that little 4144 could reflect her big sister in this respect. It is always the way when you think you know what you are doing and some asks a question and that vague hint of doubt creeps in...  I will take a photo at the weekend to prove if I have got it right or if I just made an idiot of myself! Amazingly, I didn't take any reference pictures from the tank tops either so I need to take a look up there anyhow. If they are black, I shall fetch a plate, find a spoon, take a slice of humble pie from the fridge, get out the black paint and sort it out. Either that or I will make it look like a Severn Tunnel banker and get it so filthy you can't tell! My other prairies (Nos. 6106 & 5572) are both in plain BR black. All the best, Castle

Hi All, Prairie Procrastination (part 1 of 3) Chapter 1: A submission in triplicate. Well, there you go, I said that I wasn't going to touch ANYTHING else until I had done that TOAD. How well do you think that little spring resolution went? Hmmmmmmm... In my defence, two friends of mine from Didcot have wanted a model of their project locomotive (the both work on the overhaul of the real No. 4144) for a while and asked if I would do a session with them to help them re livery and detail their models at some point. Some point became this past weekend so we went for it! To the prototype first. The 2-6-2 or Prairie Tank loco is another of those ubiquitous GWR designs. Despite not being quite as recognisable today as the Autotanks or the Panniers (probably because the good Reverend never made one a friend of Thomas the Tank Engine!) the design was an absolutely pivotal part of the Western fleet for a large part of the 20th century. From the prototype, No. 99 (later No. 3100) - built in 1903, the breed evolved in a fairly convoluted fashion into a variety of different types. The fitting of the Standard No. 2 boiler and 5' 8" driving wheels set the standard for what became the 51XX Class. These machines had a truly mixed portfolio of tasks set before them but many ended up running suburban services where they excelled. Due to their high power to size output and blue route allowance they could be seen throughout the network too. No. 4144 was built in 1946 as part of the final batch of large Prairies that were built around the nationalisation era. 51XXs often became employed to bank heavy trains uphill in Somerset, Devon and through the Severn Tunnel. This final job is where our subject spent the end of its service life - the steam locomotive equivalent of a mole! As a result it was always extra filthy and never got the enthusiast attention of its classier suburban sisters. She was withdrawn in March 1965 and was sent to Woodham Bros where the final (gas) axe never fell. She was bought jointly by the Society and one of its members in 1974 and was initially restored in time to take part in the 1997 Didcot steam season and went on to fame when she was used on the “Steam on the Met†in 1998. Her first preservation era boiler ticket expired in 2007. The locomotive's current overhaul began in August 2010 and it was hoped to bring her back to service quickly as she is a very useful machine to run 81E with but as is the way with such things, the boiler had other ideas! The initial inspection and non - destructive testing of the unit revealed that the bottom firebox corners was grooved and was badly wasted as was the bottom of the front tube plate. The frames and mechanicals are in far better condition thankfully and is well on the way to completion. The really great thing about this overhaul however is that if you take out of the equation the project manager, the pressure vessel manager and the chief engineer / boiler smith, the volunteers working on this machine have an average age of around 20 years old! No. 4144 really has become both a Cinderella machine and a shining beacon for the future of our hobby. Meanwhile, back in 4mm land... The base models for these engines is the new(ish!) Hornby version of that perennial favourite - the Airfix 51XX/61XX. The new chassis has made the model a lot more of an attractive proposition but there is still the issue of the castings, mouldings and so on still having a slightly clunky Seventies feel to them. The plan of operation for the 'triple prairie' day is as follows: 1) Renumber the locos to No. 4144 with brass cab side plates. I already had mine from Modelmaster but the guys got theirs as part of their order from Fox Transfers below for no other reason than you can't get the transfers below anywhere else and it was one less chunk of postage to pay! 2) An unusual livery that isn't often seen in model form was requested so the very early BR in the GWRs Egyptian Serif font with GWR buffer beam numbers and the little 'W' under the cab side plates was chosen. These were all done courtesy of a number of Fox Transfers products. We have no direct evidence of our engine in this livery as No. 4144 was severely camera shy in service but it is a recognised livery for the class so that is our excuse... 3) The body shells should look better than the standard offering - to this end we would fit the following bits: Alan Gibson lost wax whistles, Mainly Trains etched lamp irons fore and aft & Mainly Trains turned smokebox door handles 4) Font cab windows to be fitted. 5) the various bits were to be blended in with paint where required and then the two visiting engines would receive a dose of gloss varnish for that engine in preservation look. 6) Real coal is to be added to the bunkers. My loco will not be finished within the day as I intend to take my engine a bit further but I will complete all of the tasks apart from the the windows and the coal load as I want to weather my engine and I don't want rusty coal or windows so I will leave those off until later! The first task is one of dismantling the models so that the body comes free. This is just one screw on these models that is under the front pony truck. A work in progress picture is below. A short while later with some Joe's Model Trains Detail and Decal Remover and cotton buds, the shirt button logo, the buffer beam numbers and the printed cab side number plates were history. A top Castle tip for this is to make sure you leave part of the top edge and a side of the cab side plates if possible to align your new etched plates on! A swift carving session with a scalpel and a dose of pin vice and drill resulted in the loss of the moulded Smokebox handle at the front and the moulded lamp brackets at the back. The etched brass lamp irons were folded up and the smokebox door handle assembled, primed and painted black and then put to one side to dry. We then tackled the transfers. The buffer beam numbers were fore and aft first... ...and the tank side logos after that. The top of the safety valve bonnet, the chimney internals and the holes where the feed pipes disappear into the tank tops were filled in with black Games Workshop paint and the moulded shovel on the tank top was picked out in silver and brown to improve its appearance. The whistles were mounted in holes drilled in the spectacle plate and the etched and turned brass accoutrements were stuck on using superglue. The bunker lamp irons were then carefully hand painted in the correct shade. Phoenix paint tends to be quite thin and if handled correctly, can be patch painted in small areas with a brush without detriment to the overall finish of the model. This is also helped when a coat of varnish is applied - be it matt, satin or gloss. Here is the (nearly finished) results of our efforts. The two gents have put a layer of gloss varnish on their machines to unify the colour and provide a nice finish. Mine is the one bottom right without the shiny finish and missing its coupling hooks and hoses. Mine also lost its tank mushrooms for some unknown reason - replacements and answers will be sought... Another top tip was to paint the back edges of two chassis lugs that stick through the bunker and locate the rear of the body. A dose of real coal and PVA and a bit of acetate for the window later results in what you now see below you with mine lurking unfinished in the background. This No. 4144 belongs to apprentice No. 1. And this No. 4144, with the lamps and Bachmann crew, suitably amputated and fitted, belongs to apprentice No. 2. Mine however still has a long way to go. Next time I will do the buffer beam detail, trial fit the couplings, make and fit some new mushrooms, finish the whistles and get the body shell into matt varnish. Then I will turn my attentions to the chassis and ponder what to do about things such as the sanding gear and the cylinder drain cocks. I have put the transfers and handrails on the TOAD too... All the best, Castle

Hi Simon, I hadn't seen that film before - it is very interesting to see the real thing in action! Thank you very much for bringing it to my attention. It does show how 18K must have really stood out against the post war drab in that black and silver livery. Many thanks for the information on the continental models but there may be some issues in the size difference between OO and HO scale. Having got little 18K to run pretty smoothly with a well engineered chassis by Bachmann, I would hate to strip it down and start fiddling about any more than I already have. Even if it was just exchanging the wheelsets for more prototypical spoked ones, I doubt if it is a straight swap. If someone else out there wants to have a go you have given them a great start. Thanks again. All the best, Castle

Hi All, Thanks to all for the kind comments again! I really feel that this is what RM WEB is all about, sharing knowledge and experience so that we can all benefit. I couldn't tell you how much I have learnt from the forums here. I am glad it is back and long may it continue. Kev, it does say use in a well ventilated area so you and I use the world's biggest spray booth. It's just a pain that it can rain or snow in ours! It is free however... Not including the various locos and coaches that I have just renumbered and stuck in the display case or the not yet started projects, I have been a good boy over Easter and reduced my UFO (UnFinished Object) collection to 2 autocoaches, a Toad and something with a boiler and a Comet chassis kit that I have done some initial yet non committal diddling with. It feels good to clear the decks a bit! I keep drifting over to my list of things I want to do but having made such a good start on the UFOs, I feel I must finish at least one more of these before getting my teeth into something new. I did spray the Toad in GWR grey whilst painting No.117993 so I guess it's back to the lilly pad for me next! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Here is the final bit of the weathering posts. I don't know weather this is right... Once more into the breach dear friends and on to the chronic levels of grubby! Firstly we start with a grey / black wash and we are going to replicate the dark streaking we see in the prototype picture. this is as simple as can be - just needing the wash slapping on with a mid size brush in downward strokes to replicate what we saw in the picture earlier. Then we switch to a red / brown wash that gives us some rust streaks and a bit of texture on things like the corner posts. The picture really doesn't show it too well though. Oh, for some photographic ability. We then start in with the weathering powders and first port of call is the rusty colours on the chassis. Firstly, the darker shade pretty much all over... ...and then a little more selectively with the lighter, more orange shade. I usually pay particular attention to the cast iron brake blocks on any vehicle here as they were rarely, if ever painted and always show up in pictures. A shot of the grey dry brush effect powder then gives us a few subtle tones in the grey paint on the woodwork as well as the chassis. I used a dark silver shade of acrylic to paint the buffer heads and then some grease coloured powders and paints are used to represent the muck that builds up here in reality. The brake handles had got a bit too dark too - their use kept them cleaner in day to day service - and had another splash of white added. A sandy shade of powder was used on the bare woodwork inside as I felt that it had got a little too dark for comfort and then the sealing coat of matt varnish goes on to finish it off. We then reunite it with its wheels and coupling and we are done. In the spirit of the great democracy that is RM WEB, I will now invite suggestions as to what load to put in here although I reserve the right to say no if I really don't like it or it is just plain silly! Democracy to a point at least... For those that like to know these things, the total time for the build is about 4 -5 hours in total over a few evenings and in short bursts. Well, I am going for a lie down in a cold, dark room - it isn't often that I set my mind to a model and get it done quickly like this. It is all a bit of a shock to the system really! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Here is the next bit of the weathering posts. Weathering - wooden that be nice? Right then, the next thing we are going to do is to put the wood effects on the wagon now. The plan is to do the insides as bare wood as these bits were rarely painted on the real thing. The other thing we are going to do is put in a repair plank in the top row. These planks were frequently damaged is service - particularly as things were lifted in and out of open wagons with a crane. It happened at Didcot just the other day to one of the wagons and this particular wagon has a history of loosing top row planks as the picture here shows: www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/wagons/117993/117993pic_02.html The repairs more often than not were done quickly and left unpainted and that will add to the visual interest of the finished model. The pre restoration picture also gives us a good idea of the various actions of weathering. Things to look at include the rusty, dusty muck around the axle boxes. The rust streaks on the body woodwork. The dirty grey / brown effect on the internal wood and the vertical dark staining on various planks on the body. All of the paints I am using to do this are Games Workshop Acrylics. This is because they are easy to work with and water based and therefore non toxic and much less stinky! This last point always goes down well with the people you share your living space with... We will start by giving the various internal bare wood bits a coat of darker brown base coat. I use a small brush and remember to make the brush strokes go in the direction of the grain of the wood - i.e. along the length of the plank, not across it. The next job is to use a mid range brown and to streak it on to the darker brown in fairly thin lines to start to get some depth to the colour Then, using a final lighter brown, even thinner lines are done to finish off the grain effect. The same process is then done with the repair plank on the door, the only difference being that we start with the mid brown and work up from there through lighter shades. This is because the wood here is newer and hasn't been exposed to all the effects of the environment. Once that is finished, a few different Games Workshop brown and dark grey washes are splashed about to bring the whole lot together. Well, I now have to finish the other sides - enjoy! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Here is the next instalment of the weathering posts. You can have any colour you like - as long as its grey... Another good reason for choosing GWR freight grey livery is the total lack of masking! All we need to do is spray a coat of Phoenix freight grey on. I make sure that I have done the sides, frames, ends and the tops of the sides. I am not that bothered about the insides as the internals of such wagons were usually unpainted and I have already made sure of the coverage of coats of primer and matt black. Time to let it dry again... Ironically, we now have to totally destroy the ultimate matt finish of Phoenix with a bit of gloss varnish to give the transfers something to stick to! Again, where dissimilar paints are being used, allowing the underneath coats of paint to dry thoroughly is essential. A light coat here is good enough. We then have a go at the decals. The kit has a small sheet of letters and so on and I have some others from Fox. I use the Micro Sol and Micro Set Decal solutions to get the things to conform to the planking lines on the body and stick properly. The information for the 1940's livery comes from the prototype and the excellent tome 'The Great Western Way' by John Lewis et al. While I wouldn't recommend it as light bedtime reading (it is really thick and heavy!) there is all sorts of fascinating and very helpful stuff within the covers for modellers and preservationists alike. As an aside, the recipe for the tar like substance used to paint coach bogies is in there. The gang that restored Pannier No. 3650 is now working on the restoration of C. C. T. MONSTER No. 484. This stuff has been hugely successful in preserving the century old bogies on this vehicle and the metal underneath it looks almost like new! Our ancestors certainly knew what they were doing... The few coloured details such as the white brake handles and the black cast wagon plates on the sole bars are picked out with Games Workshop Acrylics. We then have to re - matt our finish and Humbrol comes to the rescue again. The next job will be to have a go at painting the bare wood on the inside of the wagon and a repaired plank in the side. That is for this time! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Here is the start of the Castle method of weathering posts. I am not saying this is any right way of doing it or that my results look right to anyone but me but this his how things happen on my workbench. I hope it is useful to someone out there! Weathering? I'm open to it! The prototype for this one is No. 117993 of Diagram O29 5 plank open wagon, built in 1930. It was one of about 6,000 similar wagons that went all over the UK as part of the common user pool. This particular wagon made it a long while, escaping the threat of restoration (!) but it finally succumbed and was completed last year. It is now complete and in working order with a tarpaulin to keep the weather off and preserve the efforts of my fellow volunteers! The model is promising to be fairly simple as Ratio produce this very wagon and on the sprue, it looks pretty good. The only modification I am going to make is the fitting of some three link couplings and some liquid gravity ballast. As it was rare for freight stock to be repainted unless absolutely necessary, and the fact that we want to have a good go at weathering it, we will do it in a grotty old GWR livery! My chosen GWR / BR transition time period means I can get away with some stock in Great Western shades. First, I drilled out the axle bearing holes to the correct size... ...and then made up the monocoque structure of the chassis and body and got it rolling. A test fit of the couplings, a hint of break gear, the other detail parts and some liquid gravity and we are ready for paint! After taking the wheels and couplings off and then using some blu tack to mask the bearings, we start with a layer of Halfords finest primer... ...and end the session with a layer of Halfords matt black as an undercoat for the GWR grey. We now have to leave this to go off as the the Phoenix shades are a different chemical make up so I want the acrylic to be properly dry before I have a go at doing the top coat. We will throw some paint and transfers at it next time! All the best, Castle

Here is the final instalment in the MICA / TEVAN builds. Painting? It's all black and white to me! The two wagons have been finished now and needed paint, transfers and grubbiness to finish them off. The paint seemed simple to start with with white uppers and black frames but the harder I looked, the more complex it got. Certain bits of metalwork was picked out in black, and that differed amongst individual vans and time period. The door gear tended to be black and the hinges were either black or dark with dirt and rust (black and white pictures here of course) so they got blackened too. In order to get the best look, I first painted the vans with Halfords rattle can white primer, masked the body off and then used their matt black to do the frames. The roof is done in the appropriate Phoenix shade - also rattle can applied. The details were then picked out in games workshop Chaos Black with a fine brush. Transfers are from the excellent CCT range and I am extremely grateful for the extra assistance and information that Mr Isherwood gave me with this project - thanks! The finish in the join on one end of the TEVAN where I had let in the new piece had after paint, made the plank line disappear. Rather than trying to reinstate the line (that could have done far more harm than good) I decided to paint this particular plank as if it had been replaced but not yet repainted to disguise the problem. This was done through the use of various of the brown shades and washes in the G/W range. I decided to heavily weather the TEVAN as this seems to have been the default state for these vans but to go a little easier on the MICA. To this end I used a couple of ink washes to represent rust on the metalwork on the TEVAN as also shown in the photo below. This is before the dusty rubbish was added with the Tamiya powders. TEVAN No. 79933 ended up looking like this post 'dirtyfication'. I also picked out the buffer heads and shanks on both vans using one of the darker G/W silver colours. This one is pretty much there now. MICA No. 105860 is also completed and now sits alongside its Dia. X brother in the display case awaiting its first duty. This has been an interesting build and I can recommend the kits to anyone who wants to make a start in the wonderful world of whitemetal wagons! They go together well enough and need fairly minor fettling to make that happen. That to my mind, if not excessive, is both good practice and part of the fun of building a kit in any medium. I have yet to purchase David Geen's kit of the Dia. Y2 Fruit van to build No. 47886 and the OPEN C kit to build No. 94835 but I look forward to building them. The only thing I would say against it is that if you are not familiar with the prototype, you may find putting the brake gear together a bit confusing as the instructions don't have any diagrams about this. You have done your research first before taking a project on however, haven't you? With the internet at our beck and call this is of course, less of a problem than it might have been in the past though. Stay tuned for further developments! All the best, Castle

Hi Kev, The 12th May is a Saturday not a Thursday. All the best, Castle

Hi Kev, It's the mix of the older traditional Welsh valleys loco shape and the GWR Swindonization with the 56XXs for sure! Like Swindon, but just a little bit different. I like the slightly mutant look of the 72XXs too for similar reasons. My to do / unfinished project pile is glacial in both size and speed of progress so I sympathise with your situation completely! Can I suggest a visit to see us on the 12th May? http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/54785-steam-aid-didcot-railway-centre-12th-may-2012 All the best, Castle

That's the stuff - Cheers Rob! If only I could get my Detail and Decal the right way round... All the best, Castle

Hi Bishop, The guys I get the stuff from is my local model shop which is Model Junction: http://www.modeljunction.info/estore/ They specialise in things that are more Norfolk and Western rather than Great Western in something call HO (and other scales). Who knows what that is all about...? They do open a few days a week but are mainly Internet based. They are a really nice family firm, willing to help and I cannot fault the service, biscuits or the tea handed out when I visit! Thoroughly recommended - service as it used to be! They have loads of really great stuff like this there and it is worth going to if you are in the area just for a nose around. The stuff is called Joe's Model Trains Decal and Detail Remover. I can't remember what I paid for it but it doesn't seem to go off as I have had my bottle for a while and it goes a long way. All the best, Castle

Hi All, Thanks to all for the kind words and all those that keep pushing the little 'like this' button thingy! Kevin: I would love to see this made on RM WEB in the senior scale if you do succumb to temptation. Go on, you know it makes sense... The thing that people forget about the 56XX is that it was the power equal of a Black Five! They were truly powerful beasts as the one that lived on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway until recently proved. The overhang at the front and the little trailing wheel set really gives them a unique look doesn't it? I love the fact that the overhang is SO pronounced that the lower middle lamp iron is attached to the front buffer beam! I recognise that avatar of yours - now, where have I seen that view before?! Stay tuned for a Castle special on 5900... CORNAMUSE: there is nothing 'black art' about weathering. It really isn't even a truly artistic process in a sense - it simply relies on our ability to scale down objects from full size and that includes the dirt! The MOST important thing is to start with a prototype picture. This shows where the grub lived. It need not be exactly the same vehicle, types of vehicles that live in the same environment at the same time tend to get dirty in similar ways. I have been known to use end of steam loco photos (as they are sometimes in colour, unlike my chosen GWR / BR(W) transition period) and simply tone it down a bit! The exaggerated neglect in the late pictures vividly illustrates where the grub should be. Don't over do it either, it is far easier to add a bit more than to take it off! To do 6697 I have put more than one layer of powder and then matt varnish sealing coats on. The varnish also has the advantage of knocking the powder colours back a bit too, helping with the subtlety. The final bit of paint chips, etc is done with G/W acrylics at the end. My chosen weapons of powders and G/W paints are good as to a certain extent, if you leave the base colours to cure (not just dry but really go hard - at least overnight, preferably for a few days), you can mostly wash it off if you get it wrong. The best thing to do is to start with a bit of cheap rolling stock from the bargain or broken bits box at a show or swap meet and just have a go! It doesn't matter if you get it wrong - just consider the few pence you spent on the wagon as an investment in your skills as it sails through the air on its way to the bin when it goes wrong! Go on, give it a go! If you would like, I will put together one of the many (!) wagon kits that I have and do a step by step photo job on the weathering of it. Sej asked me to do so a little while back and in the great tradition of model makers everywhere, I haven't got round to it yet... All the best, Castle

Hi All, Thanks for the kind comments Trevor! Here is another one from the vaults: A real Welsh rare bit (of kit!) The 56XX 0-6-2s were a Collett design based on a traditional Welsh design of tank locomotive that the GWR inherited at the grouping of 1920s. The design was favoured in the coal mining valleys as it had good adhesive weight, plenty of power (they were rated 5MT by BR!) and had plenty of braking force. They were machines shaped by their environment. This Swindon version did not get of to an illustrious start but soon settled down to become a very valued part of the GWR fleet. They operated far and wide all over the system despite them being synonymous with the Welsh lines. Such was the poor state of the original Welsh 0-6-2s that Swindon was not able to build the large numbers needed alone in the short timeframe required. As a result, the firm of Armstrong Whitworth were contracted to build 50 machines. Didcot's No. 6697 (A/W works No. 985) was one such machine and is the only historic GWR designed steam locomotive not to be built at Swindon in the collection. It was also the only one of the nine preserved 56XXs not to go to Barry Scrapyard, being bought by the GWS in 1966 direct from Croes Newydd (Wrexham) shed, where with No. 5605 they had become the last of the type in BR service. This made the class one of the last GWR designed types in regular service. No. 6697 first went to the former GWS Ashchurch depot and made it to Didcot in 1970. Sadly, it suffered a collapsed flue tube while working on the main demonstration line in the mid 1970's that injured her crew and as a result it hasn't steamed since. It's time will come again one day - for now however, it slumbers on... Meanwhile, in OO gauge land - a Bachmann 56XX Class was purchased and thoroughly examined. This is a nice model out of the box but it really needs to have the front coupling removed to get the full effect of the massive overhang the prototype seems to have at the front end. There were just a few modifications needed to represent No. 6697. The photo of her in 1952 on Hatton Bank in the book 'The Didcot Story' shows her to not only have a tool box on the driver's side front footplate but also that she wore the GWR / BR intermediate livery. Missing on the Bachmann moulding is the lubricator pot under the front step of the driver's side tank and the brass Armstrong Whitworth makers plates. The transfers for the intermediate GWR egyptian serif style British Railways text came from Fox and the number plates came from Modelmaster. The original BR crest was removed with Decal and Detail Remover from Joe's Model Trains which I can thoroughly recommend as it strips off pad / screen printed marking and decals with ease and gently too so you can be quite specific and selective with it. It also smells lemony fresh too! The toolbox size was guesstimated from the remaining mounting holes as it is now missing from the real thing and constructed out of styrene along with the lubrication pot and various other details. An approximation of the makers plates were made from a couple of tiny squares of off-cut brass from the number plates. That was it apart from a few other bits and pieces and a splash of paint to disguise the new arrivals where needed. Scale couplings, weathering and real coal were applied in the traditional Castle fashion and into the display cabinet it went to await a crew, a train to pull and a layout to run on! That's it for now - I go, I come back later! All the best, Castle

HI All, Sorry about the lack of updates but I have been a bit busy recently with one thing and another. To keep the thread going, here is the results of a rummage in my display case! Here is another one from the vaults - No go in a MOGO? The GWR ASMO vans were very long wheelbase 4 wheel CCTs in the same vein as the afore mentioned Mogo and middle size Damo. The original intent for these vans was to transport motor cars and other road vehicles. They had a series of tie downs and moveable wheel chocks inside and a pair of large end doors to allow their cargo in and out. The ASMO was essentially the big daddy of the fleet, a scaled up Damo adding an extra 3' to the 19' wheel base and giving total length over head stocks of 33'. Our particular vehicle is No. 116954, built in 1930 to Diagram G.26 of Lot 1059. This particular version has the single end doors; there was another version (Diagram G32) that had bi-folding end doors that enabled vehicles to be driven through several ASMOs whilst the vehicles remained coupled. It seems a lot more sensible that way to me but who am I to speak out against the GWR Carriage and Wagon Department? Like so many of the vehicles at Didcot, No. 116954 is the last surviving complete ASMO but there are rumours of another incomplete body surviving on a farm somewhere. No. 116954 is currently bereft its woodwork in the back of the carriage shed awaiting its chance at rebirth. Now for the model. While looking for a project a little while back, I came across this beast in its tarpaulin sarcophagus at the back of the carriage shed. Being a thoroughly nosey sort, I started asking questions and found out what it was. After climbing through it and looking it up in the wagon bible ('A History of GWR Goods Wagons') I felt that its similarity, especially about the end doors and round the chassis regions, to the Parkside Python, it was too good a kit bash to pass up. I hadn't seen a model of one before either. A PC 37 Python Kit and an extra roof was ordered and duly arrived and a suitable section from the Evergreen range of styrene strip was sourced from the local model emporium. The sides could not be simpler and these were fashioned from Evergreen pre - planked sheet of the correct size and the door lines were scraped in with a broken scalpel blade. The door hinges and other odds and ends were made from styrene micro strip and the whole lot was stuck together on the stretched Python floor. A dose of Deluxe Materials 'Liquid Gravity' was also added. After that, all the relevant bits from the Parkside frames (W irons, brake hanger and the like) were cut off and transferred across to the ASMO. A great deal of the detail was reused and where needed, extended with brass wire and styrene strip. All the etched handles, steps, etc. came from Frogmore and the lamp brackets are from Mainly Trains. The paint and weathering is my usual mix of Halfords base colours and Phoenix accurate shades all squirted out of a spray can. I do own an airbrush and will use it on occasion but I don't have the time to set it up, use it and clean it all the time. I tend to set aside a half day for such things and these spare moments come along once in a blue moon so there is always a small group of stock awaiting their turn to cycle through the paint shop. I am currently collecting a batch of Auto trailers for said task but that is a tale for another time... All the best, Castle

Hi All, Thanks for the compliments guys - they are much appreciated! Trevor: you are right when you say people don't realise how much relied on the railway. So many little outposts and so on didn't have access to mains supplies and so on. There can't be many places left in the UK that don't have at least mains water (I know there are still a few outlying communities). Most signal boxes and out of the way loco sheds must have relied on this sort of traffic in one form or another. The wagon collection at Didcot reflects the now past wider national reliance on the railway too. There are wagons for any number of goods and services. The CORAL (for crate glass), the TEVAN (for dry goods like tea and cocoa powder) and the SIPHON (for milk) are just a few examples. Unlike today, the roads just did the last little bit. Cornamuse: Actually, the tank is a 3,000 gallon one, the same as (I think - I stand by for corrections!) as is on the vast majority of 6 wheel milk tanks. Certainly, to the Mk. 1 eyeball, SR milk tank No. S4409 which is also in the collection, looks its equal. Does anyone else know better? The main differences as between DW 101 and the Hornby model (which is based on a GWR prototype I believe) is the four tie down straps, the locking mechanism on the tank lid and the hose rack that is on one end. There are a few other bits and pieces that were bashed about but it has been a while since I did this! The great thing about this wagon is that it is an easy conversion from a cheap proprietary model to something relatively unusual and interesting. You could get away quite easily with a paint job and transfers so it is a good one for anyone to have a go at. For the record the numbers were (DW) 101 - 106. All the best, Castle

HI All, As my posts have been a little slow recently, here is another bonus one from the vaults - Fancy a drink? No. DW101 is one of Didcot's oddities. It looks to the untrained eye like a big rusty 6 wheel milk tank but don't be fooled! These vehicles were made to Diagram DD6 in 1946 as departmental vehicles for transporting drinking water. 6 were built and lasted well into the preservation age. As a result 3 of the six were saved and can still be seen and appreciated today. The model is converted, like the real thing, from a GWR milk tank design - in this case a Hornby item. The big difference apart from the colour (!) is the tie downs that wrap over the top of top tanks and various other minor details. I bought one of the weathered / graffiti daubed ex milk tankers from the Hornby range. This was for no other reason than it was cheaper that any of the other ones on the shelf -cheapskate aren't I?! I dismantled it and set about filling and sanding the big obvious joint line in the tank that is prevalent on the Hornby Model. The 4 tie down straps were hewn from finest styrene strip as were the hose racks and other accoutrements. Scale couplings were also fitted. A 'fun' time was had doing the lettering as it felt like writing an essay using the tiny 1mm alphabet letters from the Fox Transfers set! Yes, they are ALL individual letters! Thankfully, the essay is still just about visible on the rusted sides of the tank at Didcot... A fling round and about of my weathering weapons of choice resulted in a relatively easy (apart from the essay!) make over that produced an interesting and unusual prototype and for not a lot of money either. Give it a go! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Here is the latest instalment of the MICA / TEVAN builds. Tea brakes? This bit is a little easier than the X8 MICA as we can follow the kit instructions for the D/C brake gear. This goes together very well if you know where to put the bits but a diagram of this in the instructions would have been helpful. The GWR modelling website (http://www.gwr.org.uk) is useful in this respect as some great diagrams are to be found there. The tie bars on the brakes and between the brake gear are fitted and then the single side steps were fitted. The photo is an in progress one. The final shot here shows all the various bits and pieces added including the 2 horrible (to make at least!) handrails at the ends fitted, all the handles & door stops on and so on. The door lock is a little bit of conjecture as the vehicle today has 'standard' van door gear but all period pictures of TEVANs I have seen have shown them to have the swing bar as on the model. I am not a wagon expert but I decided that as there would be major league aggravation in changing it and as I have precedent, I left it be! There we are for now - just paint, transfers and weathering to go... All the best, Castle

Hi Simon, The more, the merrier as far as new volunteers go at Didcot! If you want to come and volunteer then the first step is to join the Great Western Society (membership forms are on our website at: www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk). After that, it depends on what you want to get into. There really is something for every interest and every skill set on any preserved railway and our place is no exception. I am part of the locomotive department and I am on the 4079 (unsurprising that isn't it?!) and the 4144 restoration teams. We meet officially on Saturdays for working party days fortnightly. Unofficially though we go in at all sorts of times as employment and personal lives allow. If you would like to come down, have a look round and a chat about getting involved then drop me a PM and I can sort you out. We are a friendly sort of bunch so newcomers are always welcome to get involved and the kettle is always on and ready for a brew as well. I find that the modelling as a young boy fed the need to go and play with the real thing that increased my knowledge and enthusiasm that lead me back to modelling and this time round I know a fair bit more about what all those weird moulded blobs and shapes actually were and are supposed to do! One hobby adds new dimensions and interest to the other and vice versa. I had little knowledge or interest in the carriages and wagons until I restarted modelling a year or two ago and I have become a bit of a wagonaholic if the 9 unmade kits and 4 RTR conversions in my to do pile are anything to go by... All the best, Castle

Hi All, Here is the latest instalment of the MICA / TEVAN builds. Fancy a cuppa? On we go to the Dia. V 31 TEVAN. This one will require a bit more surgery in some places that the X8 MICA and a little less in others. The big change is in the ends where we have to get rid of the ice boxes. I thought about a range of different was of doing this including cutting off and repositioning the ends and shaving the tops down to the correct thickness and scribing in the detail. In the end, I took the path of least resistance and simply cut the tops off and soldered the sides together. I then fashioned new top sections in styrene sheet that I had pre scribed with a broken scalpel blade to represent the planking and then blended it in with filler. This is the first end to be done. I also had to remove one side of the steps on the ends and the holes for these had to be filled in too. The roof was used to ensure the correct curve at the top. With both ends on I found that the roof was now too long and as it didn't need any hatches or the vast majority of the detail either so I sanded it smooth and with judicious mini drill carving, made it fit then shortened it. Then it was time to break out the green goo again! That's it for now - see you soon! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Having looked at the inside motion drawings, does anyone do an inside motion kit (static or otherwise) for the GWR 4 cylinder engines? Having first hand experience of a real Castle (guess which one!), it would seem to provide vaguely the required shapes that could fill the void quite nicely. Just a thought! All the best, Castle

Hi Cornamuse, Thanks for the kind comment, it did drive me a bit spare doing those end rails it has to be said! I should have done enough on the vans for another update this weekend. I have another project on the go alongside this which will have to remain top secret until next month so stay tuned! All the best, Castle

Hi Simon, Outstanding workmanship (or should that be top crafting?) on show here as always. The articulation on the Achillies looks particularly cunning it has to be said. Is there any chance of a couple of pictures to show how the whole thing works please? Don't worry about (especially young) people not making things or appreciating how things are made - the average age of volunteer on the overhaul of Prairie No. 4144 in the Didcot works is just 20 years old. At least two of them are avid railway modellers too. These people are out there, they just need encouraging. Thread hijack over... All the best, Castle

Hi All, As requested, here is the latest instalment of the MICA / TEVAN builds. Get a handle on yourself! The final job is to sort out the roof, handrails and lamp irons. I started with the roof that I had cleaned up roughly before hand. A session with the mini drill and a milling bit soon put pay to the original hatches and a dose of Squadron green putty filler was applied to smooth out the rough edges. Brass strip of the correct thickness was formed over a curved surface and then cut to size with a slitting disc in the mini drill. These were soldered on and a thin piece of brass wire was used to represent the handle. The hinge was formed from a chunk of styrene. Then it was handle time - Arghhhhhh! That I am glad that I had extra brass wire of the correct diameter in my own personal stocks is all I will say about how the end rails were formed... Thankfully, the TEVAN only has two! The other handles are etched versions from either the kit or Frogmore Confederacy. Tiny holes were drilled to help the securing of these and the lamp irons. Finally, (after this last picture was taken) the new door stops were fitted on the bottom of the wagon's body, scale couplings trial fitted and we can call that one ready for the paint shop. That's it for now - see you soon! All the best, Castle