Father Dougal

Several parcels arrived today! My second set of wheels for Denise so I can crack on with the chassis and also my PGA kits. These look lovely and shiny. The Ladders have been specially recast which is a nice touch. They have been designed for batch building. I am not in a rush, but I like the idea of having a little production line going. I really must discipline myself to finish Denise before I start these kits Dougal

So today I dismantled the bogies and I put the body shell in a Dettol bath. I will let this soak for a good week or so. Dettol is a great paint stripper and it doesn’t attack the plastic. No photos as not the most exciting images. Dougal.

Wheels arrived.... time for a confession. Forgive me Father, fo I have made a mild cock up. I ordered the wheels as specified in the instructions, but they only work with a branch line motor, which has a slimmer axle. (I am using a 2 stage Slaters gear box and Mashima motor, because I have these spare.) So I ordered some other wheels instead, which were a bit of a guess. I couldn’t find any specifically listed as for a Sentinel. luckily my guess worked and they are exactly the size I need. When it said two, I assumed this was 2 sets, not 2 wheels! I need to order more! Doah! oh, I also sprayed the first two vans. I have deliberately gone for the darker grey and red combination on these as they will be in (nearly) new condition. I will add decals and some light weathering tomorrow. The other 3 vans will be Railfreight sector yellow and dark grey. I will do these next month I expect. not sure how the wheels came out upside down! Dougal

Happy Birthday to me! my Hymek arrived. Looks complete, but only comes with one motor bogie. I have a spare in the shed which should be ok, or I may just go single motor. I think some of the white metal parts have been glued. I prefer to solder usually. This should be a fun project. Dougal.

One thing I admire most about your work, is that you have made bespoke, teeny weeny parts and you have got everything to run. Dougal.

Very nice. If I make two, I think I will be tempted with a green one. However the Hymek in Dutch livery in preservation is tempting too. Dougal

I have got as far with Denise as I can until the wheels arrive, so after a tidy up I began dismantling the vans and masking them ready for a repaint. I bought 5 of these from Hattons for silly money. I guess they were not popular in EWS. I had always planned to repaint in Railfreight and sectorisation liveries, but I did dally for a while with running them in EWS colours. These vans come apart too easily, a fact I learned one day when I shut the shed window and a pot fell on one and it dismantled itself! Dougal.

Whilst waiting for wheels to arrive for Denise, I had a tidy up. Here are the two Hymek models I already have. I only appear to have one battery box. I can easily knock up another with plasticard at some point. My Hymek with the detail kit should come tomorrow, which would be nice as it is my Birthday.

Always nice to see some proper modelling. How many hours has this build taken so far? Dougal

I have 3 Hymek models. I really don’t need 3. You can have one if you like. PM me, I bought mine dirt cheap, so you could have one. Make me an offer. Dougal

Today, I have mostly been building the cab interior. Does anyone have an image of inside a Sentinel? I also made the exhaust port and I found some suitable hinges in my bits box to fit to the engine compartment doors. Still waiting on some wheels. Dougal.

Very nice. Hopefully mine will come out similar, but Blue. Dougal.

Ok, a bit later than planned, but here we go. I should have a new arrival in the post in the next day or two of a Hymek and detailing bits. I picked this up for silly money on feepay- less than a third of the price of buying the detail kit new. I already have two other Hymek’s that have been waiting for an upgrade for a few years. I plan to use the best body shell. If this goes well, I may do another one (or two). more to follow soon. come on Postie!

I like the way the Sun catches the rust on the underframe. Dougal

More progress today. I resorted to surgery. The kit comes with two LONG cabsides, but Denise has 1 long side and 1 short side. On the long side, there are 2 cabinet doors towards the nose and 3 grill style doors around the middle. The roof to this middle bit is at a 45 degree angle and it comes above the cab window line. So, after a bit of cutting and rummaging in my bits box I have the body shell almost done. I will make mine removable. This is a slight change from the kit design, but I thought it would making painting much easier, as the cab and engine areas are all the same colour. Hopefully these photos help. I have yet to add the exhaust or clean up my clumsy soldering. for anyone wondering, these modifications make Denise from 1987 onwards, when fitted to pull CDA’s Dougal.

Having been entertaining grand daughter number 2 this morning, I needed a bit of time in the shed afterwards to restore my sanity. I have done more work on the Outer frame today. Starting to come together now. (The inner frame includes the axles, motor, etc. I will do this when my wheels arrive.) I added pipe work to each end and also added a few more rivets as ‘Denise’ appeared to have these. I had to modify the frame slightly so that my sprung buffers worked correctly. a few photos. Not the most exciting but still....

Aha! My Sentinel kit arrived today. I have made a start on the frame, but I can’t do much on the chassis until the wheels arrive. Hopefully the Slaters motor and gear box I have will fit as the kit suggests a Branchlines RU 30:1 gear box and motor. It doesn’t look like the branch lines motors are not easy to get hold of. The instructions are helpful, but I find a photo of the real thing helps- I can’t read a technical drawing for love nor money. More to follow Dougal

If your layout is set in Wales, I would leave the rain setting as a default.

I like the scenic verge in the foreground. I wonder if the little people need some sort of barrier installed, like a fence. just a thought. Dougal

Hello, I had a Similar query with one of their Pecketts. I emailed EDM models and they replied promptly. I’m assuming your model was sound fitted by the same company. Go to their website. Dougal

Ok, 1 Sentinel kit ordered and 5 PGA kits. I expect the PGA’s to come in several weeks, but all being well the Sentinel should turn up next week, ready for construction to begin the week after when I am on leave. Dougal.

Very neat job.

Today D2860 has been busy shunting the siding with a GUV and Mogo, whilst also working the clay dries. I replaced one of the couplers on the clay wagons with a Dapol set. I prefer these and I am slowly replacing all my stock. Dougal.

Hi, PRMRP. They have been on my to do list for a while. Dougal

Order placed for 5 PGA kits. These will be in ECC blue and serve a local quarry (not modelled) This rake will be my main wagon project for the winter, whilst I also build my Sentinel. I had fun just running trains today. My Railfreight class 20 was great. Until I noticed I had somehow managed to put both power bogies on incorrectly and one was also the wrong way around so the ladders were in the wrong place! still runs well. Job tomorrow, unscrew and refit. ho hum. Dougal