ADK92

The instructions say that some were withdrawn between 1927 - 1929 and some between 1932-1936. Number 600 was withdrawn in 1937. Number 603 was converted for tunnel inspection and lasted until 1961. Considering it was built 1889-1891 that's an impressive life span.

A Day at the Races anyone? The above image just shows how small this N6 horse box really is. I'm really enjoying sharing my modelling adventures and appreciate all the feedback and advice. Whilst setting up the above shot I was sorting through my collection and thought I'd share some of my kit built GWR coaching stock. Slaters GWR C10. This was my first attempt at lining with a bow pen. At normal viewing distance I'm pleased with the results. Fair to say more practice is needed. Slaters GWR C28. I love the Slaters carriage kits, they go together really well and make up into really nice models. Just a shame they are really difficult to get hold of. Blacksmith GWR A7. Comet GWR C60/62. ADK

I've managed to get some GWR brown on the horse box and I've also added glazing, applied transfers to one side and lightly weathered the under frame (not yet done the buffers). If anyone is interested my methods for painting are as follows: 1) I'll spray paint everything with etching primer. 2) I'll then spray paint everything with matt black. Recently I've preferred painting onto a black base colour as opposed to a lighter one. The Duke and DG in the first two photos on this thread have been done in this way. 3) I'll then brush paint the main colour, making sure the paint is thinned down so as not to clog up the finer details. Normally two coats seems to be enough. 4) Transfers applied and then everything gets a light brush of satin varnish. 5) Weathering. Here is a shot of the under frame, I must say I'm impressed with the level of detail this kit offers. Lastly a shot of it with the 'Duke' next to a "still under construction" DNSR goods shed. ADK

Small update. The horse box has had the under frame and body painted. The body just needs painting brown and then lettering can begin. Whilst I had the primer and black paint out I sprayed the under frames on the coaches I've been detailing. They've all been put back together and are awaiting some light weathering. Here's the brake comp. The pictures don't really do it justice. Also the postman came with some etched plates and the DG finally has a number. Rather pleased with how it's turned out. I've also started on some bespoke buildings for my planned future layout of the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway. The prototype I've chosen is Upton and Blewbury Station which is the first station visited on the run south from Didcot. Anyway, more to come on that. ADK

Not had a great deal of modelling time recently but quite a bit seems to have been achieved. Firstly the end details, roof and roof fittings have been added to the horse box. It has had a good clean and is awaiting its turn in the paint shop. In the mean time I've been finishing off a little r-t-r detailing project. There's a chapter in the Wild Swan book 'The 4mm Coach' by Stephan Williams where the author takes a Bachmann Collett coach and takes it to impressive levels of detail. Inspired by this I thought I'd give it a go. I already had a couple of coaches kicking around, an All Third, a First/Third Comp and a Brake Comp. I've decided not to do too much work on the bodies as they are perfectly fine in my eyes. The only modifications being the replacement of the guard window grills and the addition of the suspended corridor connectors. Most of the work is on the under frame and involved cutting out all of the plastic parts and replacing it with brass angle and and cast/etched parts from MJT and Comet. This is where I'm at so far and once finished they'll join the paint shop queue. Also took delivery of an Oxford Rail Dean Goods. I opted for the BR Black version*. On first impressions I was impressed by the loco but slightly let down by the level of detail on the tender. Plus there were a few quality control issues with regards to paint finish. I know the OxRail Dean has been subject to a lot of discussion on RMWeb but I feel Oxford have done a good job. Saying that I have made a few modifications. 1) Got rid of all the splasher rivets 2) New chimney 3) New smokebox door dart 4) Remove moulded cab side numbers 5) Repaint *I prefer painting GWR locos with a black base coat. The BR version also came without numbers on the front buffer beam so it was only the tender crest that needed removing. End result? Still need to decide on a number for it. With regards to the tender, when it came to fitting the fire irons I noticed the the support didn't line up with the fire iron tunnel. I think Oxford had fitted it the wrong way so that was pulled out and turned round and it all lined up. Not sure if anyone else has spotted this. That is all for now. ADK

I agree it does look a bit on the wonk. I placed it on a piece of track and measured the height from the top of the rail to the centre of each buffer and they all seem to be within 0.5mm. I'll blame it on my poor photography skills... I eventually finished off the chassis and then began making up the sides. The sides come in two separate bits, you get an inner piece which has all the door hinges that fold out and an outer overlay with all the detail on. The inner sides were made up first. I then fitted the footsteps to the grooms end and soldered it all up into a nice box. I added some scrap etch to the inside with some nuts attached so I can separate the body and chassis for painting and glazing. The instructions then said to fit the overlays and then add the door strapping. I decided to ignore this and fit all the strapping first. The strapping is really delicate and easily bent out of shape. The bits on the inside of the strapping are meant to fold over to double the thickness but I couldn't see a way of folding them with out distorting everything. In the end I chopped them off and then soldered them in place. This is a before and after shot. All the strapping was fitted to the overlay. Overlays were then fitted and the whole thing is starting to take shape. One thing I have noticed so far is: A) My soldering needs improving B) Close up pictures are cruel C) Pictures never actually do the model any justice. Also can someone offer some advice on the safety chains. The instructions say they were removed at the start of the 20th century, as I'm modelling this near the end of its life (about 1930) the chains would have been removed. Would the loops, that the chains attached to on the buffer beam, still be there or would they have been removed also? ADK

Progress on the horse box is going well. The brake gear is proving to be quite fiddly so I gave up for this evening... One of the axles is pivoted to provide some form of suspension, although how effective it is remains to be seen. Some of the instructions are a bit vague as well so a bit guess work is going on. It's currently having a bath in the ultrasonic cleaner. ADK

Hi Ric, the lettering is made up of HMRS & Modelmaster transfers... The sleepers and chains took a while to do, but were worth it in the end. ADK

Right... My first proper workbench post is going to be on this, a GWR N6 horse box. I've done plenty of brass kits before, but this should be a simple one to get this workbench topic going. ADK

This afternoon was spent finishing a Cambrian GWR Sleeper wagon. The sleeper load was made up of some spare C&L sleepers and chairs (been experimenting with building my own track). I then set about making the shackles. They were then painted and fitted to the wagon. Thats all for today ADK

I've been lurking on RMweb for a while and have been inspired by many topics, so thought it about time I started to share some of my own models and hopefully inspire others. I currently don't have room to start building a layout, but my plan for the future is to build a layout depicting part of the old Didcot to Newbury line. Being from Didcot I use to enjoy going for walks along the old track bed, especially in the summer. Anyway, the layout will have to wait, but I have started building up some of the rolling stock. First off is a kit built Martin Finney 'Duke'. Thanks to Brassmasters for re-introducing the MF range, this is the second MF kit I've built, the first being a GWR 47xx. I have only just finished the Duke, although a coal load still needs to be applied to the tender. Next is an old Hornby Dean Goods with a High Level Chassis. Much fun was had building this as it went together really well. Now a couple of wagons, the brown vehicles are from Parkside and the PO Wagons are from POW Sides. That should be enough for now, I have a few projects on the workbench and will update more soon. Cheers ADK