BernardTPM

The longest lasting normal service Hawkesworth's were the BGs, many of which ended up in blue and lasted until the late 1970s. There was also the Dynomometer Car, converted from a Corridor Second (Third) in 1961; that ended up in the Research blue/red livery (Test Coach 4?). That might make a couple of interesting 'Retailer Specials'.

I think you've got about the right balance there; it's looking good!

Hi Missy, I think you've made the right decision, though I think you may have taken it out a bit too much. I think they should have a slight dip in the centre, possibly about this much: (hope you don't mind my altering your pic to show) It's a tricky one and I wouldn't like to say quite where 'the truth' lies!

The original LSWR units were shorter than the later SR units (and IIRC were later lengthened on new frames) but the same cab shape was used on the first series of 3-SUB for the Western Section. All later units had a less bowed front. While the old Farish coaches do have a reasonable semblance they are a little tall in the body and the compartments rather too long for typical SR units. If you can get them, the 4-wheel coach bodies have usefully lower windows and can be further reduced in height by taking a little off the wide eaves above the doors. This is particularly useful if you want to fit an eliptical roof as it keeps the overall height down. Of course a lot of units were rebuilt from older coaches so you can end up with all sorts of roof profiles as well as panelling styles.

Hi Missy, Your link picture is one of the earlier Gloucester cars (5-7); basically the same, but the waistline rises up under the cabs in a bow-shape. Quite why they did this, I don't know 'cos it just looks wrong! It agree that the middle cab windows on the Worsley etches appear to dip a bit too far, more apparent now the rainstrips are in place. The end of a plastic fibre-optic can be made into a larger lens by carefully heating with a soldering iron - not quite touching of course, just close enough to make it start melting when it will bell out slightly. Incidentally, you can also make very small air horns from 10 thou." plastic rod the same way! Not that strong though. Bernard

Part of the problem with the drawings is that they show a number of 'round things' along the cowling front which may be lights, air horns or something else! And many of these drawings only show the original intention (at best) and then they got altered piecemeal over the years. Sadly no 'Gloucester' bodied units survived so we are reliant on photos and other sources. Not that preserved stock is always 100% reliable as a source of information!

As the bogies are to scale you should just about be OK for clearance, but I'd think about solding some milled angle ('T' section?) to the back of the valence edges, possibly before cutting. The later railcars had four lights, one of which (on the front crease line) was red. On the pre-war cars there was possibly another red light towards the centre lower down; it's shown on some drawings, but there are few clear photos to confirm it. However, I've not seen any BR period pictures with them in use. In fact they seemed to carry the standard white tail-lamp on the back (standard rear bracket, not GWR headlamp side bracket) and nothing on the front. There was a good colour picture of W12W in BackTrack 22/1 January 2008, though the platform hides all the bogie details - not to worry as there's W17W on the opposite page fully exposed!

I'm not sure why he says you'll need to extend it as the dimensions are right as it comes for 2mm scale. Perhaps that will be clearer once it arrives. AFAIK the Tomix unit is fairly low and drives one bogie so it should let a good deal of daylight through the windows. You're doing a great job on one of the more difficult steam era shapes; they're really stylish machines and quite a change from the usual Farish angular type. If you're doing it in Crimson & Cream you perhaps should look at loosing the bogie covers; I don't recall seeing any in place in post-war photos, though saying that might bring up a suitable exception! Keep up the excellent work

Here is the Tomix chassis I was referring to: TM-06 18m (9th one down). The 14mm wheelbase bogies at 80mm centres exactly match the prototype's 7ft at 40ft in 2mm scale, but is some 2.4mm too short on the centres for 1:148 scale. It doesn't sound much, but there were covers over the bogies that tended to be left off in later years and the bogies have to line up with them or they'd look wrong and move the panels and everything along the side wouldn't line up where it was supposed to. As you're doing it to 2mm scale you couldn't get more accurate for the basic dimensions! Good luck with that roof - basically the centre part from about where the inner wheels are is a simple parallel eliptically curved profile roof (failrly flat over the centre), then it starts to dip down as it approaches the cab, still maintaining the same profile then finally tapers with the centreline curving gently to meet the line through the cab driving windows. Sounds like a job for plasticard, filler and templates (to keep both ends identical - and the roof ends any more railcars!). Regarding the area below the cab windows, this should meet the rising bufferbeam fairing with a fairly sharp creaseline; in effect two shapes that only resolve at the very centre below the 'GWR' roundel.

I'd say after folding overlay the lower parts with plasticard, around 20 thou." at a guess, then file them into arc profiles. A little filler to blend the joins and hopefully they can be made to 'flow' round in a continuous curve. The large 'skirt' top could be made from filler, using the valance sides to help shape it while still wet. I suspect it was quite a prolonged job in real life, hence the wartime angled version. The roof will be fun because of the dipped ends. The obvious r-t-r chassis choice must be a Tomix unit because of the short 7' w.b. bogies; I think there is even one with the correct wheel centres for 2mm scale (from when I was looking at the possibility of a N Gauge kit for the Parcels version - didn't find one with the right centres for 1:148 though).

It's looking well! I must try out a frost grille on the next test etch.

Probably...

I think the open day Morris is a Marina, rather than an Ital as it has the original style door handle (as used on Range Rover, Lotus, etc.). The very last Marina van's had the Ital door handles shortly before they got the Ital grille. The high top is interesting. Was it done by the same people who did the wheelchair carrying versions?

They were a quite widely used type from the early '70s to early '80s so they would be suitable for both the Oxford Mk.3 Cortina and late Capri, depending on variant of course! I believe they replaced the Rostyles on the Cortina GXL around 1971/2 (probably to save cost).

I'm not sure. There's nothing suitable at present, but I did have centres etched for Ford's 'steel sport' pattern wheel as shown here that might suit some late Cortinas.

Most Mk.3 Escorts had a rubbing strip along the lower flanks, apart from the base models and early 'L'. They tended to be thicker on the more expensive models, particularly the Ghia, and there was a tendency 'uprate' the lower models as time went on. If you add one, don't forget to gap the rubbing strip at the doors! The Escort wheels I do are really suited to base/L models. I might do a proper set of 'cloverleaf' wheels specifically for the Oxford XR3i. Correctly there's a spoiler cast into the front that flares down ahead of the front wheels and up the leading edge of the wheelarch, but isn't normally picked out. The black window area should extend to the gutter lines. This is a really clear view of the front and here the back too. Note the middle metal part of the bumper is body coloured. By way of comparison, this is the version my kit covers. Much less black trim.

That's the 'Douglas' kit, the second GEM 009 kit, introduced around 1970. Basically it's an Andrew Barclay industrial with a filled-in back to the cab, added by the Talyllyn when they aquired the loco in the 1950s. It runs on the old Arnold 0-4-0T chassis, but it can be a bit back heavy. Taking off the TR additions (which makes it more like the standard Barclay design) helps with the balance.

Drawings for just such an engine were prepared: two uprated Hymek engines in a Western bodyshell (it's in the David & Charles book on W.R. hydraulics).

I thought that location looked familiar. It was cold last weekend

It's not to stop the wagons over-riding, it's to stop a second Class 70 from over-riding when double-heading or crashing head-on at low speed; nothing else is fitted with them at that height. In other words, they're to mitigate the most unlikely of events (one would hope that the ordianry buffers deal with any shunting incidents around depots!).

They list their sheet BL54 as having Fruit D (Y11/Y14) numbers, but reading the introduction at the top it's likely they are for the earlier BR period.

That looks quite nicely weathered. Regarding transfers it's possible that Woodhead might have covered some of these parcels vehicles but you'll only find those secondhand these days, if at all. The boxed style wasn't common on NPCCS, more for freight stock. Actually I miss the old smell of humbrol enamels; the current ones don't smell right.

Minor little point on the Bedford HA; you shouldn't have the small red double arrow on the back, just the small 'British Rail' in black on the RH doors. Same applies to other vehicles too, according to the BR Spec.

Hey Bryn, don't worry; it'll be great when it's done and it'll be done when it's done! All the best, Bernard

LCC no.1 might also pass for some of the Liverpool cars of the early 1930s as well as the more obvious London and Leeds settings. Good luck!