Spitfire2865

I rather like the MR. Their small engine policy really appeals to me as I love smaller freight workings. (Any loco over 6 coupled just looks wrong to me) And it shaped the LMS far more than any other constituent company. My personal interest is in freight locos and wagons of the LMS and constituents. Any info on MR wagons would be nice. Im always on the lookout for odd wagons which would make an interesting build.

This is looking good.

Hello again! The past few days Ive been hard at work trying to finish the Airfix Swordfish kit that I started months ago. I stopped due to me wanting to incorporate rigging, but then forgetting about it until I glued the wing halves together. Well. I figured I could get a half decent model out of it, and decided to finish it. And just my luck. Working on the last main decal, the right side roundel, and I make a mess of it. Too much microsol, too much prodding trying to get it to sit flat and even. Well, an email to Airfix and Im still waiting for a reply. . If anyone has a 1/76th RAF roundel decal from the Airfix swordfish? And last night I was bored and figured Id add brake rigging to my parkside brake van. I understand how the rigging works in general, so its a representation just to have something under there. Nothing advanced or accurate. Also, while adding the brake rods, I somehow tightened the w irons and the axles werent free spinning. I had some lubricant oil, so I tried some on the eye of a needle, put it to the bearing, and spun the wheel. Very nicely free spinning wheels, but on second thought, regret it due to...brake van needing to be a brake and all... At least I know Remington lubricant works well in bearings.

Ive seen videos of people riding scale coaches. And yes screw couplings, 3 links, i didnt want to say couplings again in the same sentence.And thats what I said with the differences. If its a wagon designed to seat a person, its engineering, but if its a scale coach for riding, its modeling.

I would love to try my hand at 5" gauge, but I have none of the neccesary skills, tools, materials, knowledge, or time. I actually considered just building a wagon for display purposes but buying wheels, castings, bits I couldnt hope to produce, would cost me far more than I would get enjoyment outof. Id say in the larger scales, its model engineering but if applied right, its railway modeling. A discerning difference could be seen as what its pulling. Scale stock or people sized seats. Though, can anyone explain why some people dont use prototypical couplings in larger scales? If you go so far as to build a working steam engine, why not put some 3 links on it?

A decent first weathering. But remember, weathering reflects the life of a wagon. A coal wagon would be blacker than a general goods wagon. From experience, go easy on rust if you want a running wagon. Too much rust just looks orange. The darkened sides look good, but the solebar and brake gear are a little too orange. Remember, thats a wooden wagon. And wood doesnt rust. Though, you got the darkened letters perfectly. It does look like its coated in coal dust. Well...coke dust..now that I actually read it.

I turned the little freelance spacer wagon into a single bolster. It even has a movable bolster. My next project is a LondonRoad Jinty. Itll be my first attempt at a loco. I hope I dont make a mess of it.

Hello. I did quite a bit tonight. Figured it would be a good post. The LNWR diag 103 is done. Yes one sides axleboxes are crooked. I realized this after the glue set...which was about 2 seconds after I pushed them onto the bearings. I figured Id forgo the LNWR lettering due to budget and time. Though this specific wagon did exist, it did so with standard LMS axleboxes rather than the rarer pointed front ones. And the L&Y van got grab rails. When I started this van, I hated the colour, shape, and blandness. Then I realized I forgot to pick out the ironwork in black, and after adding the irons, this looks like a very nice van. It now just needs proper lettering, which I will wait for. I had a specific van in mind when I started. I even used the same axleboxes, mismatched the wheels, and even bent one of the horizontal grab rails(though not enough for it to actually show) Here is the photo I referenced. As usual when it comes to prototype photos, this does not belong to me. I tried to replicate this 1925 photo as best I could. There are a few inconsistencies such as the tag on the left side, lack of securing chains, and brake safety loops. Though I think I followed it well. Next lettering, then the dirt. Edit! I just realized the headstocks are differently shaped. (May need to take care of that.)

Wow...thats..really good. Shame about the tender lining though. Though with the dark colour, is hardly noticeable. Those fire irons look perfect as well.

Well then. I just spent the past 2 hours picking out th ironwork in black, then a quick touch up of any overflow. It looks neat and clean from a foot away, but as you all know, the camera shows all faults. A quick shot with the other wagon currently being worked on. I need decals for L&Y and LNWR. Anyone know where I could buy just enough decals for one wagon? The letters are the important parts. The numbers on both could be substituted for ones I already have. All thats needed now is handrails and both wagons are fully built!

Well then. Finally this wagon is completely built. Glued the wheels and brakes on the other day and just tonight, glued the brake levers on. A lot of procrastinating and waiting. I still need to touch up the paint before lettering. Though...not sure how to letter it. I was thinking old and faded LNWR livery as found in some photos... But I would have to hand letter it all if I wanted it to look faded and worn. 4 letters doesnt sound hard but making them look good is hard. Well. Any ideas? Maybe somehow stamping it and then scraping off the ink a bit. Hmmm...how to make rubber stamps... Or using decals and aging them... I dont know. All I know is this took FAR too long to get built. But once this and the L&Y van are finished, Im thinking of taking a break from wagons and going for either my micro inglenook OR my first loco kit. Need suggestions though. I have some ideas but I cant decide.

Wow. Two updates in three days. Havent managed that in over a month. Well. Day off from work saw quite a bit of work. Body was glued together. Ive started painting the buffers and I attached the couplings.(temporarily, as initial measurements show that I can once again have sprung couplings on a wagon, Im not ready to bend the pins as on a built wagon, theyre a bit of a pain to remove cleanly.) I attached the springs and thinned the backs considerably. It is "almost" flush with the solebars. Solebars have been thinned even more, though it hasnt helped fit the axleguards. Im considering thinning them, or at least removing the paint on the bits where its too tight of a fit. Ive also given it another coat of paint. The floor has been cut to shape and a piece of plasticard cut to size for a start on wheel packing. And Ive done a lot of wrestling with the CA glue which keeps gluing itself shut. Ill let the pictures say the rest. Just a loose fit together. And thats that, back to work tomorrow. I may have gotten my modeling spirit back finally! Edit: yes I realize the damn glue frosting. Ill fix that in my touch up painting. Also, the floor is not yet glued on.

Wow. Its been a while. Not done much. Started on the LNWR diag 103 last night and its half glued together at this point. Though, Im not using Davids unsprung design, but using some sprung units so the solebars need quite a lot of thinning to get everything to fit between them. I need to cut even more for the spring castings as I just got the sprung units to sit between the frames. I do believe my skin now has quite a bit of ground whitemetal embedded in it.

Even though I know exactly where the seam is, I cant see it. I do like the simple livery. Are the coal rails broken or is there just that gap in then?

Oh wow! Ive been wanting a model of this. If a kit does get developed, Id seriously consider buying one.

Looking good. Your conversion came out wonderfully.

Well it only took me 3 weeks but I finally stuck the roof bit to the wall bits. And here you can see my "door hatch". I figured it would look fine even if I didnt cut an actual hole. At this rate Ill get the next kit done by next summer.

I think it looks better with the black ironwork. But prototype wins I guess.