Spitfire2865

Oh wow! Long pause. Been very busy with school and all. Though I have been trying to get some modeling in once in a while. Last night I finally finished something Ive been working on since the summer. The Midland long low is now finished. Building this wagon has taught me I hate brass brake levers. They just seem too flimsy and vulnerable. But it looks good now. I just wish I didnt warp the floor during assembly. Oh well. The wagon still needs weathering but I figured Id wait. No rush anyway. Well theres the short update. The brake van is still coming along. Doing stepboards...or at least trying to. Dont have the best materials for it currently. May try soldering some up.

Im no expert on the resale side of modeling, but isnt that a decent price seeing as you get a chassis kit, detailing kits, and apparently the Dapol kit though not pictured along with the plow kit? But yes, odd combo

Oh wow. You got those handrails off clean! The cabin walls look good as well.

Thats not even rtr. He just threw it together out of bits of wire. Why not advertise it as scratchbuilt?

Wow, except for the spring, your cutting was perfect. Though getting the spring out intact would be a trial of patience and concentration that even the most dedicated modeler couldnt handle. Very nice work. I await to see what you make of this.

Quick update. Doors and w irons put on,. Next is roof, stepboards, brake shoes, and underframe detailing.

Hmm interesting technique. Though me being me a load should be held down in the prototypical way and no cheating with glue or such. I do believe I am crazy.

Its honestly surprising they moulded plank detail into the floor, and yet moulded the lettering into the side.

Yay! My first all train update in a while. The brake van is finally coming together. These windows are flush with the wall. I was too lazy to do that differently. The glue frosted it but its ok. With a roof on, you wont see it well. The veranda end has inset windows. Due to the open veranda, I decided to take the time to cut a small groove on the bottom of the frame, fit the window in the frame, and used watered down white glue to secure the windows around the edges. I think this gives it a good look, and I just have to manage not to knock them out. I gave the roof ribs to help stop sagging when I put the roof on. Sorry for the blur. Didnt see till I couldnt retake it. The underframe with w iron packing. Still need to sort out the brake shoes but Im thinking to cut the castings up and gluing them individually onto the floor. I forgot to cut a hole for them when I put the packing bits in. And the w irons all painted. I may have gummed them up a bit with superglue while trying to secure the spring wire on the ends, but a quick rub with acetone seems to have solved the problem a bit. And I weathered a couple wagons. I finally weathered the 7 plank. Its very light, not sure how it looks to all of you. And I lettered the other half of the bolster wagon. Finished with quick weathering. Still would like to secure the load but unsure how to. Its hard when the load likes to shift as soon as you touch it. I was thinking to use a technique Ive seen used on an American O gauge log car, where a chain has springs on the end, and the springs keep the chain taught. Though Id need to find fine chain and small springs... Well, theres the update. Lots got done, and I have a good bit of school work this week. So updates will be nonexistent this week.

Ok, to start, I apologize for the poor photos. Couldnt get enough light on my desk. The brake van is moving very slowly...as usual. I primed and painted it, just remembering I forgot to glue the corner plates on before priming so I have to prime those separately. The W irons were primed and are waiting spraying black. Ive just been lazy and busy. But a considerable amount of work has been done to the Swordfish. The cockpit is complete, including dash panel decal. Just needs gun which will be done later. The floats are half painted. Camo done on one side and bottoms painted. Bottom fuselage and top wing tops. All painted and ready for assembly. Bottom lower wings and horizontal stabilizer. Inside the fuselage, just need to glue the forward gun and window panels in. Fuselage sort of put together. Needs plenty of felting to get a good fit. And main fuselage sides. All painted and finished. I love that Airfix moulded the sides and bottom separately. Less masking for the 4 colours on the sides. The camo pattern is also very simple on the fuselage as it only matches up at the nose. Every other colour change is over the cockpit so theres a lot more room for error. Im happy with the work Ive put in this kit so far. I do need to get back to the brake van. Or the long low...or finish the lettering on the double bolster....Im a butterfly...

I just love how "professional weathering" defys chemistry and rust forms on wooden planks.

At least we have his fingerprints!

I personally think you could use more grey wagons. Though the C class looks amazing.

Well. I havent had a chance to do any modeling in almost a week. Good to sit at the desk again. The past week has seen many decals going on the P51, a sort of start on the Swordfish, and continued work on the brake van. Tonight saw the building of the brake vans inner wall, addition of diagonal strapping, and the fabrication of corner plates with bolt head detail and the roof(needing bending). Since no one on here has given me any information on the brake vans inner wall and veranda door, I want no complaining that I did it all wrong. I had two images and a side drawing to work off of. Corner plates cut from brass and punched with a small nail and hammer. And continued work on my Mustang. Tons... And tons... Of decals... The checkerboard was next to impossible, I dont see anyone doing that better. I soaked the decals through with microsol. Nothing helped. Id have had an easier time if I masked the pattern and hand painted it. Well. Almost all basic decals have been applied plus the checkerboard, pilot name, tail number, and kill stencils. And a small start at the swordfish. Well theres my update. Feels good to be back working.

Honestly, if posting modelling work in your workbench thread is against the rules, Im guilty too. Keep it coming. I dont mind. Rather enjoy seeing it. We all need breaks from trains every now and again. What better than to just change subjects? Honestly, if posting modelling work in your workbench thread is against the rules, Im guilty too. Keep it coming. I dont mind. Rather enjoy seeing it. We all need breaks from trains every now and again. What better than to just change subjects?

Nice tank. I like the mud weathering

Well, I would say I did a good bit of scratchbuilding today, as well as a bit of kitbashing. Over the course of today, I added buffers, coupling hook plate, v hangers, end supports, and a start at side strapping. The buffers were as I said earlier, modified NER buffers. Theyre not perfect but the best I could do. Also, in those photos you can see the coupling hook plate which I took off some extra cambrian headstocks. The V hangers as well were from cambrian extras. Then the end supports were glued. These required a good bit of dexterity to measure correctly as the whole van had to be held together and then measured and marked out on the wood which I made them from. Then I did the side strapping. I like how the angled straps came out, but hate the horizontal ones. I tried first cutting thin strips of plastic but these were too uneven and were a pain to make, so I tried this brass wire. Still dont like it. But I may be stuck with this as I have nothing else. And finally, it all together sort of. Those horizontal straps are bugging me. I dont know what else to use but they just dont look right as is.