Chas Levin

Good morning to all on a sunny Thursday . This morning's vehicle is a 7 ton mineral wagon from the NBR, with dumb buffers. It's a Model Wagon Co white metal kit; transfers were from Railtec and the real coal continues to be supplied by a crushed up piece that came years ago from a heritage railway...

Today's model is another D&S kit, the LNER Pigeon Brake (I know there has been some debate about whether this was the correct name and purpose of these vehicles, but I think it sounds attractive). Built according to the instructions except that like the ECJS Luggage Brake above, I discarded the plastic roof in favour this time of a Comet extruded aluminium one - I think it has a better profile and also promises to remain that way for more years than the plastic might do. Teak once again from Phoenix Precision paints; white roofs I do using Halfords white primer, followed by one of their slightly off-white car shades - I think this one was Rover White - with a coat of Railmatch matt varnish on top. No flickering tail-lamp this time I'm afraid - it was done before I'd discovered Train-Tech. A very elegant vehicle (as was almost everything Gresley had a hand in), a pleasure to build and to run Happy modelling, Chas

Hi Jonathan, I have indeed seen your 1938 ECJS train on your workbench thread, so please excuse me for pointing out which HMRS sheet has ECJS: grandmothers and eggs, etc! No, I haven't found anyone else doing ECJS transfers yet, and I have looked as I do particularly like the livery and style, which has a slightly more ornate and old-fashioned look than those that superseded it. Regarding the 6 plank wagon's cargo, no need to apologise, you were perfectly clear and I realise now how I confused myself: its quite obvious what you meant in referring to 'sheets'! For that wagon, I actually worked from a photo of another modeller's wagon with a similar cargo in (I think) an old issue of the LNER Society Journal. He had the sheets folded flat as I do, and I rather liked the random pattern of numbers, dates and 'LNER' lettering that resulted; I'm afraid it didn't occur to me at the time that it might be inauthentic practice! Were I to do another one I'd adhere to prototype but I'm too fond of this one to change it now . To Paul, thank you for the reply, nice point and yes, if the sheets for refurbishment were themselves sheeted, we certainly wouldn't have seen photographic evidence. The question of 'how they sheeted the sheets' makes me think of 'who shall guard the guardians'? Or, in these strange lockdown times, how shall we wash the soap?

Thanks Jonathan In answer to your questions: Do you mean does anyone do the ECJS passenger stock as 4mm transfers? I used HMRS - sheet 40 (GNR & ECJS) has at least two styles of crest from memory. I don't quite understand your question though about the sheets being transported flat or folded and rolled - if you mean the 4mm transfer sheets, I've never seen them displayed or delivered as anything other than flat. If you mean full-size ones as applied to prototype coaches, I'm afraid I don't know... though now I'm thinking about it, I do have a dim memory of seeing some vintage film online of full-size crests being applied at a coach works and seeing them unroll something...?

Thanks Mick; I can't remember where the vac pipes on the 15 ton fish van came from - it was built a couple of years ago. There has been some size variation in the vac pipes I've used to date because they've come from different sources, so I'll have a look at Lanarkshire's ones which I haven't tried. I just finished my first loco build recently (pics to follow in due course) and tried Markits turned brass vac pipes (in order to solder the pipe to the underside of the white metal kit's front buffer beam for strength) but once I'd finished it I did wonder if that one didn't look a bit oversize too... Interesting point about decals and thickness+strength versus flatness: I use HMRS for the most part and much prefer the look of them to other brands (especially where multiple colour layers are present) but I was worried here that the thin sections left in place on the slats might look odd if they were too thick. In the event the cutting was pretty touch and go, precisely because they were so thin!

Here is an ex-GCR Bogie Fish Van in LNER livery. It's the Brassmasters reissue of an R&E kit and went together very nicely, including the multiple side overlays to produce the slatted sides. The 'N' & 'E' on the sides were delicate work: I used waterslide so they would sit as flat as possible and once fully dry, the sections between the slats were cut out with a razor blade. The red oxide paint was Railmatch, the roof Humbrol. I should also say that on all my brass and white metal builds, everything's soldered other than the very tiniest detailing. I think one of my main faults is a tendency to apply too much paint, from a fear of insufficient coverage; the thickness of even two coats (plus varnish to protect the transfers) builds up very quickly - I know it's something I need to pay more attention to on future builds. I am gradually building up a fish train, so other fish vans will appear from time to time. My fondness for fish vans is borne of a fondness for eating fish - seeing wagonloads of it going by on the layout always turns thoughts to dinner...

Next up, something simpler, an ABS Models white metal 6 plank LNER wagon, carrying wagon sheets back to the depot for cleaning and re-use. I realised I should have said that I model in 4mm, and I'm not into weathering - I guess that's obvious . Also, I hope those who dislike them will overlook the RTR-style tension-lock couplings: I run kit-built stock alongside RTR so I've become 'coupling-blind'!

Hello all, while spending time on these pages over the last few years and replying to the occasional thread, I’ve also been building my own kits and I thought I’d share some pictures of them, along with a few words about each one: I hope you find them interesting. I’ll post pictures of ongoing builds in the future, but for now here are some pictures of finished models. My builds are about equally divided between the LNER and it’s Pre Grouping constituents (in particular the GNR and ECJS), with an occasional visitor from earlier or later periods, or from continental Europe. To start us off, here’s a D&S kit of an ECJS 46’6” Luggage Brake Van, made as per the instructions, except for substituting a brass roof for the plastic one supplied, to allow bolting of the brass clerestory to a brass sub-structure, for strength and possible future maintenance. The side lamps are hollow-bodied 3D prints from Modelu (very kindly supplied as test prints to try out for this project by Alan, who hopefully intends including them in the standard product range), with red and white lenses fitted either side and a 1mm warm white LED inside, connected to a Train-Tech motion sensor unit that’s mounted inside the coach body (with the battery accessible from underneath). The transfers are HMRS, the various constituents of the teak are Phoenix Precision Paints and the lining Humbrol enamel, done with a bow pen. This was the second D&S Fox bogie coach I built and they both run absolutely beautifully... I'll put up some pictures of another project tomorrow, Chas Levin

Thanks Stewart; I have various small / needle-nose pliers from electronics work too, so I'll investigate further; that being said, I have now got a G W Models wheel puller to try too, so there are a few items of stock I shall tweak, including the N7

Hi Peter, apologies if my choice of words was a bit strong, but that was the feeling I got. You advertise as "Repair specialists" so I assumed that must mean that something as relatively simple as altering a B2B would be catered for and I was a little surprised by your response. Also, with respect, we have never spoken by phone about this or anything else; I emailed you to ask if you'd look at the N7 B2B and you replied (cut and pasted from the emails): "Hi there, If it’s new and wrong I would get oxford to rectify it under your guarantee." I replied that Oxford had said they don't undertake Service work and to ask again if you'd consider having a look at it - you replied: "Well we could try but e have no parts availability and if the wheels are scratched we would have to repaint them. Try getting it swapped where you got it from for one that may have a better back to back gauge." I was about ready to give up but emailed one more time to ask if you could recommend a suitable wheel-puller and you replied: "I don’t know where to get them from. Thanks Peter". I have now got a G W Models wheel puller and once I've tried it out on some thing less pretty I'll tweak the N7

Thanks Jason, about to send off a cheque for the wheel puller. I've dealt with GW before, for a set of long bend bars, very happy. The bars are also very useful for things like scribing straight lines along both sides of sheet brass and exactly opposite each other, so that the marked off section can be easily bent and snapped off cleanly. Chas

Hi, thank you 34theletterbetweenB&D, that's an interesting suggestion; I like the precision of that and the fact that it wouldn't disturb the wheel seating - might try that this weekend... Meanwhile Jason, I have ordered a GW Models puller, to see what they're like to use. And yes RAYTHEROCK, long-term spares & repairs may be an issue...

Thanks Stewart; how do you ensure even pressure though? I'd be concerned that I might be applying slightly more force to one side (the side near the pliers' handles I would think) than the other and might distort the centre hole of the wheel, perhaps loosen it or put it off the perpendicular to the axle? Is it just a case of practice + confidence = success? Thanks Jason; there is a need for more than one, this is just the most troublesome one right now. I'd pretty much decided to give the GW models one a try and your recommendation has confirmed it . When building wagons, coaches etc where I have the bare wheelsets before install, I use a combination of finger pressure and gently forcing (if that isn't an oxymoron?) an OO wheel gauge between the wheels (I know this is frowned on by some but have had no problems so far), but I'd prefer to leave this loco un-dismantled if poss.

Hi all, my recently purchased N7 is a beautifully smooth & quiet runner but doesn't like some of the points or the diamond on my admittedly coarse track and non-prototypical layout: investigating, I found that the wheels are significantly under standard OO back-to-back. I spend a lot of time building kits and am happy to repair older RTR stock but one decent tool I lack is a wheel-puller that could back the wheels off a tiny amount without needing full dismantling. Given how new the loco is, I asked Oxford whether they could help rectify and was told they have no servicing or repair facilities. Peters Spares didn't want to know either. Has anyone else experienced this? And can anyone recommend a suitable wheel-puller for this job please? Thank you in advance, Chas

Hi, I do this regularly with Halfords, Tamiya acrylics, art sprays etc. I take the can (well shaken) outside and spray for a few seconds (depending on how much I need for the job) into the unside-down plastic lid, aiming down into the join between the flat top and the sides. A pool of paint will form and, keeping the lid at an angle to stop it spreading out over the flat surface of the upturned lid and drying out too quickly, you can then use a brush on it. It'll tend to dry out quicker than can paint - I assume because the propellants are deliberately far more volatile - but it's certainly do-able. I do it for those situations where you need to touch in small areas on something where the same paint has been previously used to spray, for instances after gluing detail to a painted vehicle: touching in with anything other than the sprayed paint would be too visible. One thing - it's worth wearing a disposable latex glove on the hand holding the plastic top, as it'll inevitably get 'spray-back' on it... As to brush cleaning: some cans tell you which solvents can be used to clean the paint; otherwise, I resort to cellulose thinners which deal with most things. I also keep a couple of small brushes just for this purpose, in case I use a spray paint I cannot afterwards clean from the brush properly. Hope this helps, Chas

Hi, I haven't used the MAS but I have several other Heathcote boards on my layout and they all work perfectly so I'd vouch for the reliability of design and build quality. Also, Clive Heathcote was very helpful by email when I was first installing them and had a couple of issues I wanted to ask about so I'd suggest dropping him a line... Chas

Hi Mike, I'm not sure if posting pictures of finished models from the kit on your own thread is the done thing, but I thought you might like to see a completed model (please excuse coarse track, couplings etc). I used the Brassmasters Cleminson Truck, partly just to see how it was to build - very easy and runs like a dream, though the very short wheelbase (20') helps of course. I can live with the loss of underframe detail (whcih is partly hidden by the low double stepboards) for the nice running - many thanks for producing these great kits!

Hello Brian, sounds intriguing but I'm having difficulty visualising - I've never added a picture yet to an RMWeb post but it looks like it's the same as other forums I've used - if you look down below the windoe you're typing in, there's a section headed 'Attach Files' and a button marked 'Choose Files' - click on that, find the pic you've hopefully already taken and put on your computer (by email, USB, Bluetooth or whichever method) and select it and it will upload to the forum, then use the 'Attach this file' button... Chas

Brilliant - thanks very much Mick! I thought that must be how it worked, but couldn't quite summon the courage to proceed without confirmation just in case I'd missed something... And thank you again Steve for the superb diagrams and pics, which are very interesting to study in themselves, aside from their help in correctly making up the bogies. The GNR Diag. 310 Milk Brake will now be finished considerably sooner, which is a good thing as my NPCS needs boosting urgently Happy Easter modelling to all

Hello Steve, thank you so much for your replies! I had a couple of pics of full-size Fox bogies but none that made clear without explanation the nature & position of the bolsters - I now see it entirely and I shall wield the soldering iron quickly (before the in-laws arrive for Sunday lunch!) One thing though - I'm still not clear about the correct usage / positioning of the threaded shouldered bearing (hope my terminology is right there, I mean the item shown in my first picture, protruding upwards from the folded etched bogie mounting). The hi-res pic of the D&S 250 instruction sheet you posted is a great help too and I realise the answer should be there but in spite of studying it I'm still not sure. Or, are you saying that my original picture sequence about the mounting system is in fact correct? Looking at the pic of the bogie pair you're building though, it looks as if you've used those threaded bearings on the bogies themselves but I'm confused by that as they're threaded on the inside. Or are the two sort tubular things protruding from the bogie tops in your picture part of a different mouthing system? Without wanting to put you to too much trouble, could you perhaps post a pic or two of how to do the D&S bogie mounting/bearing side of things please? Thank you very much, Chas PS - just joined the GNRS a couple of weeks ago, reading through the GN News back numbers currently

Hi, just bumping this thread - if anyone can help, I'd be really grateful Happy Easter to all, Chas

Hello, building my first set of D&S GNR Fox bogies, very pleased to find this thread! Thank you to micklner for the photos & Baldyoldgit for the instructions, very helpful! I'm still a bit puzzled about the way the bogies attach though - please could someone take a look at these photos and tell me if I'm right? Stage one - shouldered threaded bearing is soldered, protruding downwards, inside the bogie mounting (part 8) which will attach beneath the underframe: Stage two - mainframe (or pivot unit for pivoted end) sits on top with it's lower side just shy of flush with the bearing surface: Stage three - securing bolt goes through washer & up into threaded bearing: If that's correct, can someone please tell me how these parts (no. 7 on the etch) are used: Many thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer, Chas