David_Belcher

I have an early Rovex 9F (the rarer black 92166) and a Dublo 8F that should look the part. 25s were common in later years so a green Hornby one might have to be bought secondhand...

You're right about the articles...it was even earlier than I thought!

If you're going for the retro angle, the short Hornby clerestory coaches (although ostensibly GW) can be bashed into arc roof LSW stock...RM ran some articles in the early 70s??

So...I did manage to get hold of those bogie ore wagons in the end, with a view to a freelance wagon a bit like the Summers/ICI Tunstead ones. First example before painting, with metal buffers, Ratio plate frame bogies and Dapol metal wheels fitted. Needs ladders, chequer-plate platforms plus vac cylinder/pipes before a coat of dark blue and ICI decals go on. The novelty door gear is isolated but could be made workable again. I'll probably drop in a dummy stone load. David

Probably altered brass signal ladder for the steps or else soldered up from wire/office staples. I think the top feed came from Phoenix Precision in the end. I'll need to do some thinking about the lubricator linkage. The bulk of the project seems to be coming together easily though.

Steam pipes fabricated and in place then made good with Milliput. Sandbox fillers also added...and some decals have appeared!

Mostly unmodified original versus bashed version... (it does highlight what a pig in a poke the original Rovex tender frame was)

Now have a set of 4 on their way to me in the post, so no longer hunting for any. Although if anyone has any Ratio plate-frame bogie kits going spare... David

I'm after a few of the above in 'spares or repair' condition as they seem rare/expensive on That Well Known Auction Site - it's for a modification project so as long as the plastic bodies are intact, not fussed about things like couplers, bogies (Ratio ones would get fitted regardless), decals or operating doors. Trying to build a small rake of Anglicised ones as semi-freelance wagons in the style of the ICI/Summers hoppers. Thanks in advance for replies. David

My mistake - misread 'GWR' as 'WR' and thought it referred to the HD one! The Hornby (Margate) TPO is similar to some small-batch 57' TPOs based on reference to Essery & Jenkinson's books on LMS coaches when I was building mine some years back. Although they had the net recess, not all were kitted out with bag exchange equipment. David

GW, I think, as Stanier TPOs had the thin toplights high on the bodyside like the Rovex model. Unlike the latter, the HD coach also has the offset gangways that many TPOs had. I have a non-working ex-LMS mail coach made from a Rovex body on an Airfix underframe which does away with some inaccuracies of the original chassis (also the Airfix roof vents supplanted the cruder originals). No offset corridor connections though!! David

I only had the one but remember it vividly - Sammy got covered in advertising boards in an attempt to make it look like a Bulleid air-smoothed casing!! David

Cab and front-end handrails added plus some piping and cylinders attached. Long way to go yet... David

Did the Kitmaster Duchess come first, or their TT Rebuilt Scot? If the latter, I wonder if they just scaled it up from the existing Scot tender blueprints etc.? David

Latest progress! The cab now has a floor, front footplate edges have been extended back and a Jackson-Evans cast dome has appeared. Running boards are fixed in place and the boiler skirt made good via a lot of Milliput, styrene sheet and patience. Incidentally, if you work in a science lab for your day job, a stainless steel Chattaway-type spatula (those spindly flat ones with one bent-up end) makes an ace Milliput sculpting tool!! The Mainline tender now has a coat of black spray paint, not before it fell off the bit of cardboard I'd put on the lawn though. All of the grass clippings stuck to it were carefully picked off with tweezers! Those shiny wheels will be toned down later... David

Sounds a bit leftfield, but has anyone tried fizzy cola? IIRC the phosphoric acid turns the rusted bits from iron hydroxide into insoluble ferrous phosphate, like that 'Rust Eater' stuff from car accessory shops but in weaker form. David

That big hole where the top feed once was is now filled, likewise the scars from carving off the original steam pipes. Footplating properly reattached now, styrene sheet supports added to both stabilise them (although the bits under the smokebox saddle will need paring away to accommodate new cylinders/steam pipes) and act as a base for extending the firebox and some of the under-boiler area (that X04 means some of the dreaded 'skirt' will have to persist) with Milliput plus boiler banding. The middle splasher stands further out than the others (presumably as it was the nameplate one on the Hall) but not by too much so it'll stay as it is. Does anyone know of a good source of not-too-expensive metal castings or 3D printed plastic bits for top feeds (plural as the one off my Fairburn tank got damaged during paint stripping!!), sandbox fillers and lubricators? I've managed to find a suitable dome on eBay but struggling for the other bits and don't have much in the way of good model shops close by. David

Brilliant photo, very atmospheric and full of interesting little details like the wicker baskets etc. on the platform. David

It's a bit of a funny one. There's something about the Kitmaster tender that looks a bit odd (it seems more like a Scot one) plus the front end of the loco has a curved footplate which is wrong for 46225...but the deflector plates are the right sort for that name/number combo!! David

P.S. The Trix Commonwealth bogies are good (you can just about get away with them in 4mm; I've used them under Tri-ang Mk1s in the past) and absurdly free-running. David

This is mine, bought 2nd hand from the unfortunately defunct Modellers' Mecca in Wall Heath - the previous owner added the dirty roof and metal wheels; fuse wire window bars (fiddly!!!) by me. It might get oval buffers one of these days... David

The HD MK1 BG is the correct length (and for years was the only off the peg one that was), unlike the rest in that range. The only downsides to it are the lack of footboards and the wrong shape buffers. David

Current state of play: Keen buffers/beams added, gangway ends (butchered old-style Hornby Gresleys) fitted and gaps made good with Milliput, underframe detail fitted - Farish trussing/battery boxes on Iolanthe, chopped-about Triang (brass wire trussing still to do) 'shortie' Mk1 battery box etc. unit on the brake. Still need to fathom out how to get the Hornby 6-wheel bogies to fit the latter!! 4-wheel MJTs on Iolanthe should be easier to do. David

IIRC the Corridor or Open Seconds are easy-peasy using a couple of RMBs as donors? David

Running plates/splashers temporarily attached to check fit (smokebox saddle needs extending downwards), cab side sheets reduced in depth. Looks crude, but getting there...