airnimal

I have fitted the lamps on the side with epoxy after drilling a couple of holes in the upright timber. I made a pair for my own model while I was at it. I drilled a a couple of holes in a bit of wood to hold them so I could spray them. Looking at the photo's I will have to revisit the poor attempt at the tare weight letters. i am pleased with the paint but I will weather it down quite a bit. The roof is just a temporary until I cover it with tissue paper. Still to do are the windows and one or two bits to finish it off. I have sent a photo to my friend of this model but he will have to wait for the restrictions to end before he can take delivery.

With the weather being so kind to us I have varnished all the ballast wagons and painted the basic shell of this latest ballast brake van for my friend. I have had to borrow a roof of one of my own vans because I have run out them. I am about to start on painting the red ends. I am using Citadel paint from Games workshop.

Guy, this brake van is a ballast brake. They were according to Vol 3 of L.N.W.R wagons, were converted from Dia 16 vans with the end panels were removed. I have built a N.L.R brake van about 15 years ago for a gentleman in London. It was scratch built before I did my kits for the L.N.W.R. Managed to do about 18 mile bike ride today in the lovely sunshine. It was a pleasure with the roads being so empty.

I should finish all the nearly built wagons before starting something else but where's the fun in that. In times of stress I will be doing a ballast brake van for a friend from my old stock of resin bits. So I have cut the end panels out and made a new sill from Evergreen strip. I have also made a couple of lamp brackets from brass tube with some brass bolts. With the weather bright and sunny I will get out on my bike later today, must keep as fit as possible with not being able to walk to the pub anymore.

Lady luck has paid me a visit. I stuck the cast letters down on a piece of cardboard and sprayed them with white primer but they were horrible. So I dropped them in some stripper and when I took them out they were fine without any glue on the back but with the paint still good. So I use some Epoxy to glue them on the ends. I think they look reasonable.

There has been a small amount of progress on these ballast wagons. They are nearly finished but I wouldn't like to build 3 wagons together at the same time again. With all problems going at present I think I will have to reassess what my future holds in modelling terms. I cannot see us moving house this year now so I may have to build the small layout here with what available space I have. I tried to paint the cast letters that go on the ends of these wagons without success. They are so small that they impossible to hold so I have put them in paint stripper and will try a different method next time.

Very impressed. Although I have been building for a very long time I still blunder through without you precise planning and execution. I would love to have more control then perhaps I wouldn't scrap so much. Just shows we are all different and there's more ways to skin a cat. Looking forward to learn something new. Mike

Compound2632, I have used some old Colin Ashbury springs that I bought many years ago from him at the old Blackburn show when it used to be in the town hall. They were 50 pence for 4 and the same for his w-irons. I have now used all the springs but I have plenty of the w-irons left which I probably will not use. I have nearly finished the first these ballast wagons with just the brake block to paint. It has been a long journey and I wouldn't want to build too many more. The dust covers were a good idea but a pain to get right and I think I need to try a different glue to fix them to the wagon with.

I have just started to experiment with covers for the axleboxes to keep out dust. I have obtained some wine bottle top foil in black from a friend. I then smoothed them out and glued some black tissue paper on top with resin W. This looks as though it has promise and will prove the answer but before I can do any more I have had the call to wear my grandad hat and go and rescue my daughter with two sick children.

Well I have removed the label clip and attached the plates and put the diamond tranfers on along with the tare weight. I couldn't get the tare weight in the right space because the tranfers are slightly oversize so I may remove them and try and paint them by hand as I have done with the letters H.D which was Holyhead district.

Richard, I may try to flatten them as you suggest. I made a few more than I needed so I will try some of those away from the wagon first. In the meantime I have been trying the finish the ballast wagons. Here my observation skills or lack of them have let me down once again. I tried to clean the plates to leave the white letters proud but ended up taking the plates back to the nickel underneath. I think they still look good untill I placed them on the wagon only to find I have put the label clip in the wrong position even though I have a clear photo of the wagon in question. Worst was to come because I have made the same mistake on both of the small ballast wagons but only on one side. How bizarre. Its not the end of the world because it is easy to remove them and touch the paint up. You would think after 40 years scratch building I shouldn't be making these elementary mistakes but they keep happening. Is modern life to stressful or are we trying to pack to much in ?

I have made the 5 link coupling from some .8mm brass wire to finally finish the N.S.R. one plank open. Looking at the photo of the real wagon I may change these because the smaller links look much the same as the 2 outer links only shorter. I have made them more round on my model. I have also cut out the number plates for the L.N.W.R ballast wagons and mounted them on some 15 thou plastkard and sprayed them white. I will let the paint harden for 24 hours before attempting to paint the background black.

CKPR, thanks for the comments. When I do the floors I put some texture in the plastic with coarse sandpaper or a wire brush. I then use a series of different foam backed abrasive clothes to smooth out the flat surface. A quick brush with a old toothbrush gets rid of the waste out of the grooves. When the wagon is finished and washed and painted with the base body colour put on I give it a couple of thin coats of Humbrol 103 or 121 and leave to dry for a day to go hard. Just recently I have tried Tamiya XF-57 with similar results but I prefer Humbrol. After a day I then brush dark coloured powders in to the surface. That's all. I have tried to do wood other ways including following Martyn Welch's The Art Of Weathering but without success. This wagon has had a couple of thin coats before the powders being applied.

Although I haven't done the 5 link couplings I have more or less finished this N.S.R wagon. For a simple wagon there has been a good few hours in it plus a few wrong turnings along the way. I should now finish the L.N.W.R ballast wagons now I have the etch plates by by Chris Brown.

Not having cast axleboxes or springs I have had to modify some Midland one from Slaters plastic kits. They are not 100% correct but under a coat of paint they will be hopefully pretty near. One slight problem is that the springs are very slightly off centre, not that many people will notice.

I decided to letter the other side of the Buxton Lime Firms wagon today but with a bit more of a worn appearance. This will still need a lot more lime stains on the interior.

Kit PW, I am pleased that you find my rambling of interest. I do try to show different aspects including blunders and warts because not everthing goes according to plan. I am never afraid to scrap something that I don't feel comfortable with. This wagon is going reasonable well but I have just made a mess painting the interior woodwork. Two steps forwards and one step back. So I have rubbed most of the paint off and I will try again tomorrow.

Well I have had a go at the small letters ( about 15 attempts ) if the truth be told. I don't think I am going to get it any better. I think l will have accept this and give a good dose of weathering to hide my sins.

Thanks Ian, I may try and turn a old pair of wheels down at some time. I have a small Perris lathe with a face plate that I have only used a couple of times. I am sure I could rig something up and have a go. In the mean time I have had my sheet of Methfix tranfers out to letter this N.S.R wagon. Unfortunately I have only enough to letter one side so I will have to get the brushes out for the letters on the other side. I will have to do the small letters with the brush on this side also. I have put a white mark down where the small letters will be with a pencil that can be used on glass. The second photo is of a 3 plank wagon that didn't make the grade. This was scraped and the buffers used on this latest wagon. It does look nearly finished but there is still a good few hours left in this yet.

This book on The New Radnor Branch by Nicholas de Courtais has more information about the Old Radnor Lime Co. It doesn't give a date for the accident but suggest that the steel framed wagons were obtained in 1910. There is another view of the accident in the book along with a drawing of the steel frame wagon with different lettering styles.

Thank you Ian, there doesn't look like there is a lot to play with. I think I will just trim the excess plastic where I can, I don't want to risk any breakthrough. I have had the rattle cans out this morning and given a quick coat of red oxide and black. Still have to paint the brake block a wood colour.

Got it. No 245 and 253.

Barry Norman did an article in M.R.J not long ago doing this very build. I am not sure of the issue.

One little improvement I always do is run a scalpel around the inside of the wheels before I blacken them and remove a small amount of plastic. This makes the wheels appear a little slimmer. The wagon photo I am working from has the wheels with tyres so worm that they look almost as they are about to wear through. I would like to be able to turn the tyres down but I am unsure how far I could do this safely without breaking through the rim. I wonder if anybody has tried to do this and what was the outcome ? The wheel on the right has been treated with the scalpel. You can see the black plastic is reduced near the rim.

I decided that the brake pivot bracket was a little on the small side. So I have made a new one from the same piece of brass T section but only bigger that looks more like the photo. I blacken it before fitting .