Simond

I tend to use ready-mix filler (something like Polyfilla, other variants are available) wiped over the brickwork with a sponge, and a couple of moments later, wiped off again with the same sponge soaked and wring out. This technique can leave mortar lines filled, but also seems to give a dead matt finish to the bricks which I find helps enormously.

Well, maybe, though I think that isinglass is a thing of the past.

I do hope you visited the brewery! (the beer will be vegetarian, if not actually vegan!)

Ray, thanks for the reminder, I meant to pop up a picture there will be a bit more weathering mix sprayed around the solebars, but we’re there or thereabouts. cheers Simon

We can hope the buyer took a photo of the boot from which they were sold, and the number plate thereon…

Fantastic news. I do hope the trader (who should be praised for his initiative) was lucky enough to have paid by some means that identifies the seller. And further, I hope the local constabulary are able to make further enquiries. atb Simon

I have seen arrangements like this (maybe Liverpool docks?) where an intermediate floor had fold - out side guard rails and a sort of drawbridge that could fold down once the load had been hauled above it. You could model this closed in the door recess, I guess?

If you want “large” white (or yellow) letters, you could create the artwork on a suitable graphics or cad program, spray the transfer film, then use a silhouette cutter to cut individual letters out. This might be possible in 4mm, I have successfully used the approach in 7mm.

That’s a good idea, and probably worth doing. I have a pack and a few Blacksmith ones left over from a coach building spree some years back, and used them. They’re close, but slightly larger. re the dynamo, if I can find one in the bits box, that’ll be ideal, if not, I’ll measure one, model it on CAD and 3DP…. If I had / could find a drawing, that would be quicker still! cheers Simon

Done quite a bit to mine. The number’s wrong (apparently 1270 was experimental, and had horizontal planks but I’ve not seen a photo to confirm this), and it’s missing two door handles on each side, along with the hand holes that you reach out of to open the door if you get shut in. Drilled out the hand holes and added T handles as required. I’ve painted out the number on each side and will put new transfers on tomorrow or Wednesday. Changed the couplings for Premier ones as the springs are far too weak, fitted battery boxes, trying to find a spare dynamo in my bits boxes, painted the wheels with track grime, and sprayed similar over the bogies, ends and lower sides, and gave the roof a gentle dusting of soot. it’s nice to personalise something like this. I’m very pleased with it, despite a couple of fairly minor issues. I’ve got a couple of Ian Kirk Siphons too. Might get another one, make a train of it!

And I note that the current Modelu Patreon offer includes oil cans and other paraphernalia. I’d already 3D printed myself some loco buckets, but I think they’ve also done some. I’ll compare :)

Very pleased with mine. The wheels are high on the list for some weathering. Dark rust… that, and the inside of the corridors, which is a surprising shade of … white!

I felt that 5 sovereigns in 1905 must have been an impressive amount of money, but the Bank of England inflation calculator suggests it was "only" £495, so marginally more than a day return nowadays. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator frankly I think the BoE calculator is not telling the whole truth... If one assumed a constant 6% inflation, it would be more than £5440, and I imagine it would be possible to get a helicopter to Aylesbury for that.

I have not yet got a solution, but I do have a plan…

I agree. I suspect we will have to assume some kind of cross-beams inside the roof. Either directly beneath the strips, or “square on”. I could imagine them being below the strips on the roof. Unless anyone has access to a container in a museum or similar to confirm or correct this, I guess we’ll not know, but at least, the good news is that it makes no difference to the models.

it’s good practice to use spreader bars when lifting stuff like this, to prevent the top collapsing inwards - the diagonal pull of ropes or chains in an “X” is not insignificant. The actual force is dependent on the angles of the triangle and the weight. I see the nearer container in Mike’s post has some kind of reinforcement on the roof, perhaps to prevent the sides being forced in if spreaders were not used/available/commonplace, but that none of Nick’s photos show spreaders. I guess the containers were built to be lifted without.

Is she any good at wagons?

Well sorted, Mike. it’s a pretty reasonable assumption that the material should be /do “what it says on the tin”! For t’other side, if you cut the first 7 planks on each side as pairs from the same (7?) strips, then flip one of each over, they have to match - well, “have to” if the strips are consistent along their length. The ones that reach from top to bottom are less critical, though you’ll still need to be careful so they look right when you get to the ends. atb Simon

That’s annoying. Could you have a “strip sizer” made from brass that you can check the strip width on before going further? You could go the whole hog, and fit a scalpel blade to plane the strip to size, but I reckon a bit of sharp glass paper on a piece of glass would do the needful. When did this kind of container traffic start? atb Simon

Dave, you’ll need to speak to Pete Stevenson. They have castings for the levers, and the frame. My mate John, who used to own SSS made the masters about fifty years back, and I regularly use a couple of his frames on our weekly running nights. Fully mechanically interlocked too!

You might find precisely what you want at Scale Signal Supply, though I can’t vouch for the price. Not pennies I think. i thought I had contact info, but can’t find it. Try the Guild Gazette.

And given the provenance of the materials from which it's built, mine is named after the M-i-L

Thank you both, much appreciated. Halfords to prime, and something a little darker to finish. thanks again Simon

Hey guys, sorry for thread resurrection…. Would Halfords grey primer be reasonable? tia Simon

Dave, that’s really very sweet. Beautiful work. I guess mine would float, but I doubt for very long, and certainly not the right way up! Yours raises an interesting omission on mine, I’ve not fitted a doghouse to get down into the forepeak! I’m sure I’d have included it had it been on the plans, and it’s daft that it’s not there. Particularly as I included the decklights to give the crew a bit of illumination when the Tilley wasn’t lit. Wouldn’t be too hard to make, though matching the paint at this distance in time may be a challenge. Mike, sorry about the marine intermission! atb Simon