Star-rider

I knew this was going to be trouble, it must be like the feeling you would get if your new neighbour arrived and unloaded a trombone from the removal van… Unfortunately no further information about the underframe was forthcoming, so feeling alone and in the dark I pressed on regardless. From the etched markings on the underside of the body I worked out that four pairs of queen posts were required which lead me to assume that the coach probably sat on four turnbuckle trusses. A search on the net did not turn up anything specifically Great Western, so I ordered the etch offered by Wizard / Comet for LNER Gresley coaches. Hopefully it does not look too Northern, there is no obvious evidence of cloth caps or Whippets Their etch included a pair of trusses each for 51’ and 61’6” coaches. Obviously the longer one was probably going to be a bit on the short side for a 70’ GWR chassis but it was all I could seem to find to work with. The 61’6” trusses were hacked about to fit the underside on the outer edges and then I cut the trusses from the 51’ set at the point where they would be between the queen posts and then spliced in some scrap brass to reconnect the cut ends. Fortunately the truss section (including the turnbuckle) between the queen posts and the carriage ends was the same length as the 61’6” option. This was all hard work that I am not accustomed to but seemed preferable to cutting down a large overhanging branch and repairing a fence panel as my wife was encouraging me to – “I just need to finish this coach dear…” I had done a lot more “modelling” to achieve this than I would normally undertake but at least there is a representation of an underframe down there now even if badly compromised. The missing end had to be dealt with next. As previously mentioned I had already poached one of the brass internal divisions so that the body could be formed, a bit of Microstrip was dug out which looked about right in width as has been glued on with contact adhesive in an attempt to produce some faux timbers to match the other end. The steps in the kit were originally designed to pass through slots in the ends but as the slots were not present I bent the tabs of the steps back to ninety degrees and positioned them as best as I could with some superglue. End castings including buffers corridor connectors and jumper cables from the Comet range have also been added. I think from the photos below most will agree that I have certainly fauxed it up. The 9’ American bogies from SRMW / Shapeways have arrived and have been fitted with Hornby 14.1mm dis wheels and tension lock couplings inserted into the NEM sockets. I’m confident it will run fairly freely which is just as well, I probably will be wanting it to pass away from my line of vision as quickly as possible if it ever gets placed on the layout. The build sequence is scaring me a bit, I’ve never finished a coach by adding the roof on at the end and I need to be certain that the interior, glazing, window bars etc. are all in place before the roof is fitted with the two part Gorilla Glue (which incidentally I have discovered can be used for more things than repairing broken gorillas). I’m going to take some time to think this through and probably do myself a bit of a tick list. The E117 is going to be a much compromised model, but hopefully if closely coupled to its adjoining coach in a dimly lit smoke filled room, with luck I may get away with it.

Thanks for the drawing Mike, I didn’t have that and it gives conclusive proof regarding the bogies. (It does make me wonder if I should also check the bogie centres as those were also drilled out as per the Comet instructions). I’m quite enjoying this temporary life at home, it would never normally happen on a Thursday afternoon in April, but I spent an enjoyable hour sat in the sunshine in the back garden yesterday with the dismembered corpse of the H25 and some wet and dry paper. The ugly paint with its encumbent stray bristles has all but gone, the “glazing” which it looks as if I must have created from a sandwich wrapper has been pulled out and I have managed to save the droplights which as I have mentioned in previous posts I prefer to pre-paint and then glue in after the body is decorated. I’m still sacred witless of building my own bogies, it’s something I hold in the same regard as preforming dentistry on myself and having checked through the pile of unused ones I have amassed from kit purchases there are no seven foot ones there anyway, which probably confirms that Comet (pre-Wizard) sold me some nine foot units as listed in their instructions, so I don’t have anything to hand. Previously I have purchased the Stafford Road Models 3D printed bogies for the odd project, but the cost is now becoming prohibitive which is a shame. Earlier this month it cost me about £24 for a pair of 9’ American bogies for the E117 once I had selected a black material and the postage was added on top – then you have to add on the cost of wheels and couplings. That’s half the price of a coach kit… Instead I have just purchased through Ebay a second hand Airfix “B-Set” coach for less than £9 including postage which I am hoping will give me a tolerable set of cheap 7’ bogies for now. So it’s on with the painting and hopefully it will be ready for when the donor coach arrives.

Nah, I'll make the layout 15% bigger

Cheers Taz, You are quite right, I quoted the wrong kit number in my post, but the instructions I was working to were for W29(A) which does state 9' It seems you have confirmed what I was seeing, so now I need to think about getting hold of some seven foot bogies. (The H57 is another model on my problem shelf, but in that instance the only problem is that having built a seventy foot restaurant car I have found that I don't need one!) Pete.

“Project Furlough” hath now delivered unto me a D56(LH), D56(RH), C46, E111, the H41 Buffet car plus a Parkside Mica. My E155 should be finished this evening. A couple were from a standing start, others were already at various stages of completion. Apart from the E117 which I have posted about in a separate thread, I have now run out of new projects so have taken another look at the Problem Shelf and pulled down an H25 that I had shoved up there several years ago having got frustrated with what was one of my early attempts. Looking at it again, the standard of painting is pretty awful, even from a distance. I’m not sure what I used for glazing at the time, the material is really thin and has distorted and come away from the sides in a couple of places but the worst thing though are the bogies / couplings. Something is definitely amiss. If I were to push the coach into my station the coupling hook would probably arrive three minutes ahead of the rest of the coach. Looking at the instructions issued by Comet the H25 should be on 9’ pressed steel bogies and as I had an aversion to building my own bogies it looks like I had robbed some from a redundant Airfix Autocoach which also suffers from an excessively protruding coupling mount. Checking back in Russell’s Appendix One, it states that the H25 was fitted with 7’ plate bogies and looking at the images in there the end of the bogies is well short of the end of the coach unlike on my model. Have Comet or Russell got it wrong, or were the bogies changed at the same time as the windows were modified (around 1938 I believe)? The model I am constructing is Comet kit W27 which has the later type of window. If anyone could enlighten me on this I could then make a decision on how to resolve the problem with the bogies. Otherwise I think the H25 could be salvageable, the build is not too bad so I’ll start to strip the paintwork from the sides, repaint and re-glaze it whilst I still have this unexpected time on my hands.

Thanks for your input. I think perhaps I was not clear enough in my post, the ptoto of the etch in my OP was robbed from the New Colletts From Old thread which is what prompted me to look into this build again. The uppermost of the three etches in the previous photo was not sent to me with what I purchased and as mentioned one of the ends was also missing. What I actually have to play with is in my own photo below. On reflection I think I bought a bit of a lemon with the missing end and underframe etch. You will note that I have used one of the partitions to replace the missing end folded it up and dropped in some Plastikard in to replace the robbed partition. A you will see I have also purchased a bit of brass channel and a comet roof extrusion plus some fittings. I think I can make something of the upper structure but it is the underframe I am going to find challenging. As for the instructions; well it's a bit like the reverse of having parts without instructions - I'm sure if I had the missing etch the instructions would make a lot more sense. If I'm not being too cheeky would you be able to help me with a clear photo of the etch I am missing (or even a scan)? I could then perhpas try to get some idea of how to try to replicate or bodge up what I don't have. Thanks for the information about the solebar depth - that suggests that I should be looking for someting of around 3-3.5mm and it is some 3mm channel that I have to hand so a bit lean, but it will probably do. Appreciated.. Pete.

Thank you Miss P. The instruction sheet in so far as it is legible referred to the duckets as a "casting" and as there was not one included in what I had purchased I put it out of my mind and had not given a thought to the fact that those etches might have been associated with it. They are plated over now, so those will go into the scrap box. As the coaches were a 1905 build I assumed that they would originally have been sent out in brown & cream, however my understanding was that an all over brown was used between 1908-1912 followed by Crimson Lake from 1912- 1922. Not knowing how frequently a coach may have had a repaint I suppose I was hoping that one of those simpler schemes may credibly have been applied and hung around for a while. Frankly this is a mixture of ideleness and the desire to have something a bit different running in the formation. Pete.

You have got to love a 12 weel caoch haven't you The top one should be an easier affair to replicate as it does not seem to have the lininng pannels, just the branding on a cream background. I still feel that a self adhesive vinyl label would be the easiest way to do this, but as I suggested in my post Precision Labels did hold out the offer of a custom transfer at a reasonable price. The lower one is similar to the livery I was originally considering for my H41, although I belive that originally (and unusually) the GWR roundal was also set on a cream coloured disc. That, together with my concerns about the durability of my paint and not being able to check the preserved coach for the measurements for the lining pannels is why I have decided to walk away from mine for now and bring it in to service as it is. Good luck with your H55s.

Looking through the very entertaining “New Collets from old” thread, I came across a post from Re 6/6 with a photo of an E78 etch which I found enlightening whilst at the same time it threw up a number of questions that you good knowledgeable people on here may be able to assist me with. Another of the formations I am building calls for a 70’ brake composite and as far as I can make out the Haye Developments model is the only game in town even though it is discontinued? I watched an auction site for several months (no, it was not Southerby’s or Christie’s) and I pounced on one that came up as an “etch only, missing one compartment division”. When it dropped through the letter box and I took a good look at it I found it was actually an end that was missing and not a division. It was also difficult to try and work out how the thing was supposed to go together and it was only after seeing the photo in Re6/6’s post that it was confirmed to me as I was beginning to suspect, that I am missing a complete etch, as illustrated at the top of the picture. For convenience I have reproduced the image here, if that upsets the rights holder please let me know and I will remove it immediately. I’m also baffled by the parts of the etch that I have put a ring around on the image, can anyone tell me what they are and where they should go (I know I am going to be having a face-palm moment when all is revealed, but I honestly don’t know if they are door overlays or part of the underframe!) The underframe may have to end up as a “freelance”, I have purchased some brass channel to form solebars with and I will get the usual Comet castings. The “trusses” are another grey area though, a photo in Russell’s Appendix One suggests that these are a lighter rod type truss rather than the more usual angle iron? Also could anyone confirm that it is probably 9’ American bogies I am seeing? If so, I will probably use Stafford Road Models 3D printed units as I have had good running from those in the past and they will take standard Hornby coach wheels and it is easy to plug in a tension lock coupler. The E78 has now become part of Project Furlough as I am now stuck at home with time on my hands and mindful of a slightly reduced income and I would like to see if I can progress it over the next couple of weeks. Given what I have to work with, could anybody offer any suggestions on how best to take it forward? At the moment I have the “box” soldered up, the missing end has been replaced with one of the compartments which in turn has been substituted by a bit of Plastikard. The underframe seems to be the next place to go if I can get some guidance followed by the interior and then the roof. Putting the roof on last is a bit daunting as I have not built in that sequence before. As the kit came without any castings it is going to have to be the version with the plated over ducket area if that influences any advice that can be given. Do you think I would get away with painting this one up as all-over brown for a 1930’s period? Once again, thanks in anticipation. Pete.

This caught my attention whilst I was browsing the thread and I could do with some assistance if possible. In the hope that no one minds, I'll move it to a separate thread titled E78 though as my questions relate to a kit build rather than being creative with a RTR Collett.

And here’s how it went since my last post… The body shell was sprayed all over in cream from a Railmatch aerosol and as I started to mask up for the application for the brown I realised I had somehow forgotten to prime the thing. I was also uncertain about the final livery I wanted it to carry. The real thing carried “buffet” branding on a cream panel below the waistline and was also double lined in panels. All of this seemed a bit beyond my skill set, but I did contact Precision Labels to see if they may be able to assist as they offer cream coach roof destination boards with a choice of script. John Peck was very helpful, but said that he could only achieve what I wanted as a transfer and that I would have to paint in the cream panel and that he would need exact dimensions including the lining panels. He indicated a figure of around £10 for the order, which seemed quite reasonable even if it had come out at a few pounds more. To go down this route was therefore going to need me to find time to take a trip to Steam at Swindon to have a good look at the real thing and also do a bit more masking up and re-painting. I’d got lucky when I had stripped off the masking tape so far, I had lost just a little cream paint around the waistline and most of it would be hidden by the lining transfer. In the end the H41 got shoved into the “too difficult to contemplate” box. Nine months on and I find myself “furloughed” due to the Coronavirus situation with way more time on my hands than I am used to. Several projects have been pulled out of the “I’ll look at it when I get time” draws over the last two weeks, including the H41. It’s all very well having the time, but of course we are not allowed to travel and Steam is almost certainly closed anyway. I decided to push on with the H41 with a simple livery; I needed a buffet coach to complete a train formation but there was no need for it to be specifically an H41 and indeed a coach that was (as I understood it) associated with the Bristolian service would probably not have been seen around the West Midlands which is where my layout is theoretically set. It was therefore inevitable that immediately after I had applied the roundel, single waist lining and a couple of coats of satin varnish that I would find this: https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrbh25.htm - a full liveried H41 on a service destined for Wolverhampton. Hey ho. I now have something that whilst not a model decorated as the prototype is a least a “credible” buffet car for my train formation, it will do for now. Once I had got going again I have enjoyed the build. The chassis is a standard Comet / Wizard etch and was primed (I remembered this time) and sprayed with a satin black aerosol paint – I find the likes of The Range or Wilkinson’s very useful for these basic paints. The chassis is mounted on RTR Bachmann Collet bogies which of course run perfectly and come with wheels and tension lock couplings. For the step boards I find the Comet method of bits of brass soldered to wires projecting from the solebar a bit too much of an ordeal and they strike me as being over delicate. My preferred method is to glue some 3.2mm plastic angle into the web of the solebar and this looks good enough to me from above. Gas cylinders were also Comet castings but the mounts needed a little cutting back to get them to sit side by side in the available space. The body as per my OP was formed from sides produced for me by Worsley Works with Comet ends and end castings, everything married up quite nicely. As noted it then received a couple of coats of Railmatch cream and brown onto bare brass (don’t try this at home kids!) followed by two coats of satin varnish once the roundel (HMRS Pressfix) and lining (Fox) had been applied. As is my usual practice the droplights were pre-painted and put to one side until the rest of the body was sprayed up and then a little adhesive was spread with the end of a stick around the rear of the apertures, the droplights were then placed on my fingertip and offered up behind – for me, this gives a much neater result than trying to pick them out in their reddish brown colour and getting it all over the cream afterwards. If I have one criticism of the Worsley etch it is that the droplights seemed to be a bit on the small side and all too easily drifted through the window apertures when I was trying to fit them. The roof is a bit of a best guess affair with gratitude to the assistance of others who have posted above. I’m still not sure what the “vent” should look like, at the moment a stud from a Peco stud and probe set has been glued in to represent something. As evidence suggests, there are two tanks at one end and a single at the other. I have not yet done anything about the little red warning signs on the roof. I may yet revisit this as they do add something to the uniqueness of this coach – I could possibly fashion something from some plastic Tee section that I have with a touch of red paint, but any sort of wording would be beyond me. The interior is also a bit of a “representation” rather than an accurate model. It is almost impossible to discern anything through 4mm scale coach windows unless you go to the trouble of lighting, but I hope what I have built gives the casual viewer and impression of a buffet interior even if the milk churn and keg which masquerade as catering equipment would never have been installed by the Great Western. I’ve seen several photos of buffet car interiors including the ones kindly provided by Coach Bogie above, I suspect that some of the images of GWR buffets that I have found have been of different diagrams or maybe earlier decorative schemes, but on one I noted the chequered tiling to the floor, so I have thrown some in simply because it appealed to me. As I suspected I got no help from the wife with the curtains, so these were sketched up and knocked out of the printer. Still to consider are the end / roof grab rails – I have built a dozen or more coaches now and none of them have any – I need to see if I can create a bit of a jig and turn a few sets out, but I am unsure of which type of wire to order or where from. I want something that will retain its shape one formed and the copper or brass stuff supplied with the Comet kits does not look up to the job Another thing lacking from the majority of my builds is the brown lining just below the cantrail. I have not found a way to achieve this satisfactorily with my limited talents. Best results so far have been by applying some 3mm vinyl pin-striping used for cars, cut down to roughly 1.5mm; it is a little too shiny but better than nothing being there, or any of the other methods I have previously tried. . I’ll have another think about the warning signs for the roof and maybe in the more distant future consider a repaint to the correct livery. For now I’m relatively content with what I have done with this one and it will now go into service despite its shortcomings. There are four builds currently in progress so it is time to move on. Once again, thanks to those who have contributed. Pete.

The pony truck on mine was also a constant problem at various sets of points that other locos managed perfectly well. Even adjusting back to backs and using another manufacturer's wheels did not help. I found the cure for mine eventually - just make sure that the small screw retaining the pony assembly is no tighter than it has to be; this allows it to "float" a bit better and follow the track. Never had a problem since. Give it a try, it may be worth it for half a turn back with a screwdriver. Otherwise as you say it is not a bad running model even if you have to do a bit of butchery for DCC use. Pete.

It’s terribly unfashionable (and somewhat frowned upon) to say “nothing for me”, so I won’t for fear of being put in the Naughty Corner. I seem to have been waiting for eternity – well at least the span of two Prime Ministers and governments – for my Bachmann sound fitted Earl, only to find that having given up on it and blown my pocket money on another Dapol Railcar and Youchoos decoder it has immediately turned up in the shops. Oh well, maybe next month if there are still any around. It is understandable why Bachmann are proposing to announce as they are; I’ve resisted jumping in on the Long Delay Joke bandwagon as they are generally unfunny like references to Germans, sun loungers and beach towels, however it is a fact that the way they have announced previously and failed to deliver has caused exasperation and loss of credibility to their business, it needed to be brought into line. I like Bachmann product, the locomotives generally run smoothly and reliably. Three of my four purchases last year were from other manufacturer’s ranges and all of them seem unable to circuit my layout without repeated poking in the bunker. The Bachman stuff is pricy but I wish they had made the 1363, Dean Goods and 48XX, I’d have been happy to pay an extra 15-20% to watch them go round without human intervention. As for price, I try to apply a little context. The discounted figure for the sound fitted Earl is a tolerable £220 but as others have suggested on here I will be looking to write off that cost over perhaps 20 years of ownership. One could spend the money on: Two and a half sleeves of Chesterfield Red King Size (will last about 25 days) A ticket for you the wife and two kids to a Premier League match (will last about 90 minutes plus a break in the middle to consume a pie*) An evening at the opera (will last about 3-4 hours unless you cop for Wagner’s Ring Cycle in which case you may have to shell out for counselling afterwards) About eight tank-fulls of fuel / days out on a Kawasaki GTR1400 (lasts around 64 hours including doing tourist stuff when off the bike. This is my favoured British Summer Time hobby, the model railway gets left alone but these days, deep down I am wondering if I am really running round burning fossil fuels for my own pleasure or just to annoy Greta Thunberg). Happy Bachmann Day to all, I hope there’s something that you want at a price you are prepared to pay. Pete. *Pie not included in price. Terms and conditions apply.

I wonder if one of those clver people who produce CADs for 3D printing could be a good friend to the Great Western enthusiast here? Maybe a cab and jib runner (or parts to adapt an RTR flat wagon) would be worth someone selling via Shapeways if (understandably) it is all too specific for a volume RTR manufacturer.

I wouldn't argue with the basics of your point, but I do wonder if it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Whilst some like me have a specefic period in mind I think a greater number just want a 64XX (or whatever). If the GWR is produced first the market absorbs them and then the second batch with a Sirtbutton or Great Western" does not shift so well as those who just wanted the model in any livery are now out of the game. Look at Hornby's recent Collett bow-enders - Released in the Shirtbutton first, to the best of my knowledge they flew of the shelves. It would be interesting to know if those of us that bought them bought a lesser number of the following releases. I'd always assumed that the GWR fixation was down to a "living memory" thing, probaly in the '80 modellers had mermories that they wanted to recreate and as age starts to claim us all this may well be less so now. Pete.

Excellent! Were the grab handles picked out by hand? Not being critical, but do you dodge applying running numbers too? Although I have HMRS Pressfix sheets I have never attempted applying them to the dozen or so Comet kits I've built as I'm pretty sure that they would looked worse being all displaced at slightly different heights than they would be with no numbers at all. Hints & tips on this from anyone would be much apprecaited.

Agreed - i've already mentally marked down one of those for all-over brown treatment - happy to accept the accuaracy compromises as an "absorbed" vehicle for odd duties. (I Wish it was a proper O13 Milk Brake beinfg produced though....) Pete.

Interesting stuff. I've got some Hornby clerestory coaches (long) which I tend not to run as they look dated with all that lining and old insignias when next to my other stuff. Would some of these be suitable to take an all-over brown finish to "modernise" them into the '30s? That would seem more like the sort of paint job I could handle. Pete.

This frustrates me as well. I quite fancied the Bachmann 64XX which I think has had two releases now in GWR livery both of which I've shyed away from as I'm focused "sometime in the '30s." I don't think they even realise they are missing a sale. Many people will have got over this doing thier own paint job but personally I don't have the skill or time.

Well, they are what they are, but that's OK. I'm not sure if I'm excited enough to pre-order tonight ,but I'm definately interested. Agreed, a full brake would be a useful addition - and something I would actually order staright away as a general utility vehicle. At the moment I've no experience of caoch lighting; the idea is nice but would it have to be a decoder for every vehicle? That would knock the price out of sight for me. Would it be possible to fit one coch with a decoder and then wire through the rake? If so (and I accept it would add to cost), would it be possible for the semi permanent coupling to conduct the supply through the train? I can't see a situation where I would run a train with only one or some or the coaches lit, it would be all or nothing for me. A good innovative annoucement though, I wish Hattons luck.

Does anyone know of an off-the-shelf plain lining transfer in brown? I'm just getting near compleion on my latest three GWR coach builds and something I always struggle with is the painted line just below the cant rail. My skills don't run to masking and painting a neat line and I thought a transfer might be the answer. A look at what I would consider the main transfer suppliers has not resulted in anything jumping out at me. I think I am probably looking for somthing 1.0 - 1.5mm wide. Given a choice I would lean toward a "heavier" line as anything very fine can get lost at 4mm : 1' Other suggestions would of course be welcome. I have previously purchased some vinyl self adhesive car pinstriping, but results in ripping it down to with are a bit mixed. Pete.

Times change... I bet there is a good chance that he enjoyed a cigarette on his train journey too Perhaps you should model a Senior Service using a bit of wire poking from the corner of his mouth before it gets air-brushed out of history by modern attitudes! I'd love to see your H41 when it's done if you don't mind posting up a photo -it would be interesting to see our different interpretations of the information kindly provided by Coach Bogie and K14. Pete.

Thanks very much for that. Most is pretty much as I would have guessed, but it is good to have some confirmation. I hadn't realised what those little signs were, the text may be a bit too much of a challemge for me! Now I have to see what my wife feels about running up seven pairs of curtains.....

For what it is worth I have been perfectly content with the Stafford Road Models bogies available through Shapeways. They are perhaps not a cheap option but I like the NEM coupling pocket and they run very well on the Hornby R8218 wheels that I usually drop in - much better than anything I could build from a kit. I'm building a couple of "Toplight" brake thirds at the moment that I have purchased 3D print bogies for, I've also brought a pair to swap out the ones on a LIma siphon although I have not got round to that yet.

I’ve started a build of an H41 buffet coach, the sides have been provided by Worsley Works – although not in their standard 4mm range they have up-scaled them for me from their 3mm scale offering. Could anyone point me in the direction of a book or image that would show me what the roof layout may have looked like? I have the Russel Appendix 2 which seems to suggest a large or double roof tank at one end and a single at the other. Apart from this I’m a little unsure of what is going on up there. Any information about what is fitted to the chassis would also be helpful; the gas cylinders are nice and clear in the photos but is that four battery boxes down there? There is no problem in principal with me shelling out for a reference book, but I’m not sure that I can afford to assemble a whole library before I find what I want! Failing that I suppose it is a trip down to Steam at Swindon and jump really high with my camera in my hand…..