ScottW

2 hours ago, johnarcher said:

Do you happen to know which MORILL issues that was, I'd like to have a look?

Nice work with the wagons, I'm tempted ny S, I think boiler fittings are one thing that makes me hesitate. (That and natural indecision!).

Vol. 2 issues 3 & 4. I can’t recommend it enough to anyone wanting to have a go at scratchbuilding their own wagons. It was this article that got me started. Over the years I have tweaked the techniques to suit my own style of building but they are basically the same.

When I started in S Scale there were a number of things I was hesitant about. The thing that stops us from having a go is the fear of failure, We keep telling ourselves that we can’t do it and so we don’t, because that’s the easy route to take. Over the years, especially back in the early days, I had many false starts and for a while I flicked back and fourth between 4mm and S. One day I took a long hard look at my modelling as I felt I wasn’t achieving anything except half made kits. I decided then that I was going to make a serious go at S Scale. All the things I was hesitant about I would have a go at. If I failed, and I did, I would pick myself up, learn from my mistakes and have another go. Yes it can be disheartening when we fail but nothing beats the satisfaction you get when you have reached your goal.

On 07/09/2019 at 15:01, flubrush said:

Have you got any drawings of suitable buffer stocks and axleboxes?  I might be able to print some up.

 

Jim,

PM sent. 

Thanks, Jim.

With the use of microstrip, scratchbuilding a wagon IS just as easy as building a kit. The downside is it does take a little longer but the bonus is you can build something a little bit different, not to mention the immense satisfaction you get from building something from scratch.

Years ago Simon de Souza wrote a two part article in the magazine Model Railways Illustrated. If they can find a copy I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone thinking of having a go.

The wife and I have been away for a few weeks with the dogs. Sadly the weather was a bit of a washout and we didn't get out as much as we would have liked. Being prepared for such occasions I had with me a few basic tools and some pieces of plastic to keep me occupied. Manned with only a few tools I kept things simple and began working on some NBR 3 plank open wagons.

When scratchbuilding a wagon my preference is to begin with the base. The base is probably the least bit interesting part of a wagon so I like to get it out the way early.

The headstock is 80thou thick Microstrip with the solebars being made up from two layers of 40thou thick Microstrip. A single layer of 40thou Microstrip could be used but the thicker width gives more meat for the spring castings and brake pivot to be glued to.

I like to add as much detail as I can to the sides and ends before making up the body. I find it easier adding the detail with the sides flat on the cutting mat. The bolt heads are represented by slicing slithers off the end of a piece of 20thou plastic rod. Plastruct plastic rod is best for producing bolt heads this way as it is more pliable than other makes like Slaters. Slaters 20thou plastic rod is quite brittle and has a tendency to fracture when sliced.

Once the basic body is made-up I install two lengths of thick Microstrip that are just a fraction longer than the inner width of the wagon. They are not glued in place, just held there by the pressure exerted on them by the wagon sides. As the solvent starts to dry it starts pulling on the sides of the wagon causing them to bow inwards. These two strips force the sides out and helps prevents them from bowing inwards as the solvent sets. I will keep them in place till the time comes to paint the wagon.

Still got some detail to add but it's beginning to look like a wagon.

Home time tomorrow. Due the miserable weather I managed to make good progress on a few wagons consisting of a drop side wagon and three fixed side wagons. I think my two dogs would have preferred better weather and a little less progress. 

I totally agree with Simon's comments, I'm sure there was no malice intended and the remark was completely tongue in cheek. I must admit, I thought it was quite witty.  I certainly hope you don't give up on your thread, like so many, I look forward to reading your updates. So much so that it encouraged me to start my own thread.

Enough said, getting back on topic, the little pug looks superb and I can see why you were persuaded to part with some hard earned cash. Although how does this fit in with the LNWR?

Continuing with the brake gear theme I have made progress on the private trader wagon. This particular wagon is a Bent Colliery Coal Co. wagon which is believed to have been reconstructed from an older dumb buffer wagon c1904. In it's original condition the wagon would have carried the typical Scottish style brake gear but on it's reconstruction Morton style brakes were fitted. Here I have used a brake gear etch provided by the S Scale Society, it is designed to fit on the society's 1907 RCH wagon kit but can be bought separately as a stand alone etch. The etch comes in a number of layers which are easily aligned together by the use of locating holes on the etch. Because the WB on my private traders wagon was smaller than that of an 1907 RCH wagon I had to cut down each layer of etch. To ensure the brake hangers were correctly spaced apart I marked on a piece of wood the wagons WB.

Here is the etch all soldered up. To ensure the brake hangers remained correctly spaced once removed from the etched frame I soldered a scrap piece of brass along the top of the hangers. This scrap piece of brass also helps when gluing the hangers to the floor of the wagon.

Next I fitted the V hangers to the solebar of the wagon. A piece of Microstrip is glued to the solebar to help add a bit of strength to the inner V hanger. Unlike the Caley wagon, which used MJT W irons, these W irons are a new addition to the S Scale Society's stores. They were designed by a fellow society member and are based on the W irons used on Scottish wagons. Being slightly narrower than the RCH W iron they are more in common with those used on pre-grouping wagons.

And this is how it looks when completed.

Self contained buffers were also fitted during the wagons reconstruction. The closest thing I could find that looks like the originals were Slaters 4mm scale Dean/Churchward/Armstrong locomotive buffers. Although designed for a 4mm locomotive they look about right on an S Scale wagon; possibly a little on the large side but a compromise I am happy to live with.

A little progress to report on the Caley mineral wagon with the fitting of the brake gear. Like a lot of the early Scottish pre-grouping wagons this consisted of a single brake block acting on the one wheel. Here I have used Bill Bedford's Highland Railway brake gear etch which has been re-scaled for S and is available through the society. As the Highland Railways wagon brake gear was slightly different to that of the Caley the etches were modified by adapting the brake hanger and adding my own brake block . The brake hanger is a little on the short side and needs packing up with a little piece of 40thou thick Plasticard.

On the prototype the buffers were not a standard Caledonian design which resulted in the headstocks needing to be slightly thinner than usual. To represent this I have used 60thou thick Evergreen Microstrip for the headstocks where as normally I would use 80thou. The buffers are 4mm scale, which I believe may have originally been produced by Romford. You can still buy them from Markits but I bought mine from the late Richard Hollingworth at Parkside. They are over scale for 4mm but about right for S. Not truly prototypical in shape but after painting and viewed from a couple of feet away they look okay.  The W-irons on this particular wagon were re-scaled MJT etches bought from the S-Scale Society, but sadly no longer available. Again, wheels and coupling hook castings were purchased through the S Scale Society.

On 16/07/2019 at 19:11, flubrush said:

 

I cut strips of styrene using a balsa cutter like this :-

 

No mod cons like that for me, I use a home made cutting jig:

I have glued a piece of 20thou thick Microstrip onto piece of 60thou Plasticard, which then acts as a back stop. I butt a piece of 5thou Plasticard sheet up against the back stop. A piece of thicker commercially produced Microstrip, the same width that I wish my strip of 5thou to be, is placed at each end of the back stop to which my rule is butted up against. Then simply cut a strip off. I'm sure you get the gist from the picture. :-)

22 hours ago, Regularity said:

Lovely stuff, Scott.

 

I have always struggled with 5 thou: which brand are you using?

21 hours ago, flubrush said:

 

I've used the Evergreen 5 thou which I've found OK.   I found the 5 thou Plastikard that Slaters sold was rubbish - I note they don't sell it any more. :-)

 

Jim.

Hi Simon,

As with Jim, I also use Evergreen. Evergreen don't produce 5thou Microstrip so I cut strips to the required width from a sheet, which they do produce packs of. I also think using DL-Limonene helps when securing the strips as it is less aggressive than other solvents.

In S Scale, as well as 4mm, I believe it is quite common to use 10thou thick Microstrip to represent wagon iron work. In my opinion it doesn't look too bad when modelling an open wagon but on the side of a van, where the iron work can be a little narrower in width, it looks too thick and chunky.

Thanks for the update, the layout is coming on and looking superb. Loving the Long Boiler Goods.

Your progress is putting my own efforts to shame and made me realise I must really pull my finger out.

Keep up the good work,

scott

I have just picked up on this thread and all I can really say is "Superb".

A true work of art, keep up the good work.

Scott

There is something very attractive about that particular design of coaching stock: everything is in proportion. When painted red it will look superb. Must resist the temptation to change prototype...

Are the etchings being done in S for you?

Does anyone else shave at their workbench, or is that just Scott?

Ian has kindly produced a number of 4 and 6 wheel coaches for me in S, along with a couple of NBR goods brake vans. Sadly I haven't managed to find the time to make a start on them.

Scott

I recently had the pleasure of making an NBR 6 Wheel 5 compartment first in 4mm. The etches were produced by Ian Terrell of NBR 4mm Developments, Ian is currently in the process of developing a range of NBR 6 wheel coaches. This particular coach was from one of his test etches.

I believe Ian has managed to find someone to produce the castings for his coaches so hopefully they will be on the market soon.

Scott

The 0-6-0T is a beautiful (albeit slightly battered) model which captures the character of the P class well. From this distance, I'd say the original builder was a skilled craftsman. I'd be interested the know more of the model's provenance. And I'm curious to know who is/was Bill Hall. Maybe I missed something, but was he an early pioneer of S scale? How did the model come your way? 

Phil,

Both myself and Jim Guthrie trawled through past editions of the Gazette to find some history on the models, and their builder Bill Hall. All the information was written up in last February's edition of the Gazette.

Scott

Phil,

Your touch up has improved the paintwork but unfortunately in reality I think it will take a little more work. What you see in the picture is the locomotives best side, the other side is not quite up to the same standard. If you look closely you can just about make out from the photograph that the side tank is a slightly different shade of green from the rest of the body, I think this was done when the loco was re-numbered. What you also can't see from the photograph is the minor damage to the rear buffer beam which will need sorting out and over the years some of the smaller detailed parts have come away. The paint will have to be removed and some remedial work carried out with the soldering iron.

Regarding the chassis, I would prefer to build a whole new chassis with split frames, suspension and finescale wheels. The current wheels look to be Romfords with the centre drilled out to accept plain axles. Yes, it might be possible to re-profile them but I would prefer to try and obtain a new set, with the correct number of spokes. Unfortunately I can't comment on it's running quality as I've not tried to get it moving.

Scott

I'm going ahead. Boxpok wheels are inherently stronger than the normal spoked variety, largely on account of the thickness of the "spokes". Having said that, I've long had it in mind to build an S-Scale model of an SECR P class 0-6-0T. I have a good drawing and can get hold of suitable tyres for the wheels. The centres I would like to print.

David,

Attached is a photograph of an S-Scale class P 0-6-0T. This model was built in 1958/59 by Bill Hall and is now part of my collection. Built for stud contact current collection and wheels courser than todays finescale standards. It's my intention to build a new chassis for the loco, and to give it a fresh coat of paint. I'll be needing some wheels so would be very interested to hear if you go ahead with the project.

Scott

That's interesting and something worthwhile.  Lets not forget that there were lots of other modellers working away in P4 who did not advertise themselves in the model press.

The late Mike Gilgannon had an extensive loft layout which was was much more impressive than Heckmondwike, and the other layouts on the early exhibition circuit. The full story of that layout has yet to be told. My own modest exhibition layouts were exhibited in Glasgow and Edinburgh in the mid 70's. Carsphairn was described in an early edition of Precision and I still have most of my own rolling stock built for it.  

 

Happy modelling,

 

Ian.

Mike Gilgannon's layout is one that I would certainly like to read about, not to mention the lovely models he made. Mike was a true craftsman and certainly one of the unsung hero's of our hobby.

Scott

On the wheels issue and 3D printing: I'm with you on that one, Jim. The proper name for the process is 'Rapid Prototyping', of course, which gives the lie to its original purpose - the rapid production of masters for lost-wax casting. This ought be be the best use for 3D printing as a stage in the production of brass loco wheel centres. On their own, I can't see that 3D printed plastic wheel centres would be robust enough for the rigures of protracted layout operation.

It will be interesting to see how printed plastic wheels last the test of time. I was quite surprised to hear that someone has actually produced a gun, that fires an actual bullet, using the Rapid Prototyping process. Maybe the process is stronger than we think.

Scott