EWS60065

@WCML100 Thank you 😊 I'm really happy with how the prints have turned out - they look even nicer now I've sprayed them in blue! They run as part of the NTC train which has a variety of interesting machinery based on FEA-Ds at either end. They carry the sleepers which are lifted off in some way. However more recently the seem to have been used on their own, whether that be going to a yard to be refilled or sometimes even to a possession like Salmons. Think there is a photo of a pair of them mixed with KFAs and YWAs etc.

@JackB95 Thanks very much Jack, glad you've found interest in my thread!

NTC FEA-B Wagons I've been doing some more work on my Balfour Beatty FEA-B sleeper carriers recently. As previosuly shown, these are made from the Dapol model with 3D printed modules. These have now arrived and the photos show a rough test before I spray them and permanently fix on to the wagon. These have come out very nicely . I sent off for them to be printed in resin - a more costly option but it gives a far superior finish and detail level compared to PLA. The wagon has been painted prior to fitting the panels to make things a lot easier. I was able to use my grey primer for this since the prototype wagons carry a grey livery. The weathering was then applied straight over the primer and decals added once dry. I've got to say that the Dapol FEAs are stunningly detailed models, especially given their age! I now need to clean up the modules and get them sprayed into blue. There are also some extra details to be fabricated from plastic and balsa wood.

I look foward to seeing progress continue in the new year, particularly the MLAs. The 159 project sounds cool, I would love one of these myself but with the current prices of them that may not happen! Nice idea with the body shell swap. Let us know how you get on with the unifrogs too.

@Bearwood West YardThey're 3D printed and painted from scratch, looking at photos new sleepers tend to be quite bright and grey so that's the effect I went for

@Bearwood West Yard Thanks! Hopefully won't be long until I can show the printed track panels. Regarding the sleepers, not quite sure what you mean as they are already painted?

@sb67 Thanks, no airbrushing - most of the fading is drybrushed.

@jolt5 Thanks very much for the kind words!

Class 08 EWS Weathering As a random aside, I have finally completed the weathering on one of my 08s - a Bachmann 08683. I've gone for a heavily faded appearance as seen on EWS class 08s later in their life. Whilst not a wagon, I thought I'd still share the photos here!

@Shaun66 Thank you - the Salmons aren't too bad to build, helped by the single piece bogies. You can't really go far wrong with the weathering as there is such little wagon to weather! I would recommend starting with a smaller wagon but from experience the Cambrian wheel units on those is much harder to build! Good luck with the Ospreys

@Steadfast Thanks for the info! Interesting to know about how they work, I think that would work well with an LDC layout idea where they could come in to be reloaded on their own.

@The Fatadder With the wheels use 33'' for Salmon etc. and 36'' for OCAs, PNAs etc. I recommend the Gunplay font for stencil lettering - can be downloaded and installed from several websites

@The Fatadder Thanks, they're designed in Inkscape and printed on layout paper which is really thin (but holds ink well). They work particularly well on a Salmon where the edges are easily disguised. Looks like the Hornby ones will be a good few months yet so Cambrian still a good option. Regarding wheels I use the Evemodel ones on ebay - they come from China and work out about £1 per axle if you want to save money. They're very nice quality.

November Update So, I have a lot of interesting projects going on at the moment! First things first, the layout is still being planned and technicalities etc. being sorted. There is nothing to show unfortunately! While the Bass wagon from a week or so ago was great fun, I'm now looking at some more in depth wagon ideas as well as expanding the important rakes such as Salmons and Falcons. Cambrian Salmon DB996970 October's update showed a completed Cambrian Salmon kit and this has now been through the painting and weathering process. A little different to my others, DB996970 has a bright yellow ends and a very grotty appearance on the solebars (at some point these were yellow too!). This is what I love about modelling Salmons - there are so many weathering variations you can model within one small rake. I enjoy making these kits so it's likely we'll see more of them even when Flangeway and Hornby have their's out. My first stage is to give the wagon a spray of aersol black as a primer. This is a far quicker way of covering the trusses than hand painting. The weathering then goes straight on top of this, with drybrushing followed by a black wash on the solebars. Weirdly, Cambrian don't supply quite enough ratchets with the C88 kit to model the most common arrangement nowadays. However, I had some spare from a previous model so all 22 of them could be done! Balfour Beatty BDA 950412 An iconic colour scheme seen on engineering trains is the Balfour blue and white - I'm sure we've all seen pictures of the impressive YOB and YJB cranes. However, I recently discovered some other wagons carrying this livery, one of which being this BDA. It is apparently used to carry crane spreader beams. With a couple of Bachmann BDA wagons gathering dust, I decided that this would be a great modelling project to take on. The inspiration for this came from Watermills Yard who has built the same wagon - I highly recommend checking their Youtube out. After removing the old bolsters, a new floor was constructed from Slaters treadplate. New bolsters have been added in the correct positions. These are made from plastic 'I' section and spare Cambrian bolster tops. This is how far I have got, with most of the important details added. I knew those Hornby MHA ladders would come in handy! The beams are plastic box section with various details added. These will be painted seperately and glued on at the end. See here for the real thing https://www.flickr.com/photos/86734924@N03/11924683155 NTC FEA-B Wagons This is something I'm quite excited about. The FEA-B sleeper carriers form part of the New Track Construction train as far as I'm aware, however they are sometimes seen on their own carrying concrete or metal sleepers. Fortunately, the FEAs that they are based on are exactly the same type as produced by Dapol. With some 3D printing I figured I could create a decent representation of these wagons. See here https://www.flickr.com/photos/66737297@N06/23219838165 I'm starting out with just the one twin set to see how it goes. Updates will follow. Above is the 3D CAD for one of the panels, simplified a little. Three will fit on to each wagon. Full Salmon Rake Whilst photographing the new YWA, I thought I'd put together the whole rake complete with loads. Unfortunately the lighting isn't great and shooting outside was certainly not an option today! It still gives you an idea though. The whole set in order consists of: YWA DB996970, YWA DB996216, YWA DB996230, FDA 621532, and FDA 621520. Thanks for reading and be sure to look out for more

@WCML100 Thanks for the explanation. No, I haven't started but I want to go code 100 as I have used code 75 and found it too flimsy - however I do like the variety of types e.g. bullhead and metal. I'll have to wait and see on the unifrogs, they do sound easier. Worst comes to worst I will just have to modifiy electrofrogs though as we could be waiting a little while before the full range of unifrog appears.

I would like to use them too but not enough options for code 100 unfortunately. Yeah point switches (I'm guessing the motors automatically change the polarity so that's catered for). So does your system replace the traditional SPDT switches connected to the motors?

Great work, will you be using unifrog for all your points and what kind of switches will you use? Thanks

@WCML100 Thank you, firstly I used a paint on wipe off method as with my previous OCA. This created the larger streaks. The scratches are done with a 0000 brush. On the first side I did them randomly and the second side I tried to do them on top of the existing streaks and marks which looked better. All I did to the underframe was a black wash all over and rust weathering powder around the suspension hangers.

Weathered OCA 112209 Well that was quicker than expected! I've spent time today ploughing away at the weathering for this Bachmann OCA mentioned previously and I'm very pleased with the results. This was originally in EWS livery and has received a full repaint into faded and rusty ex Railfreight Red. This is typical of many of the examples seen more recently. No progress pictures unfortunately, just the finished thing! You'll have to excuse the NEM pockets - I use Kadee couplings for a quick set up and reliable running. I went to town on the interior of this one, adding an old strip of timber, a couple of ratchet straps, and various deposits of ballast. My new ballast type is Attwood Aggregates 'Mendip Limestone Fine' which I highly recommend. Thanks for viewing!

@Bearwood West Yard I was under the impression the new FEAs did have Osprey-like stanchions as an option? Unless they are just for rails

@WCML100 Thanks very much - I only discovered the FEAs recently and they luckily run in twin sets like the Dapol ones. I am also looking at the Balfour BDA 950412 as I have a couple of Bachmann BDAs gathering dust!

@virginhst539 Sadly that's true. It's still exciting to see new wagon types enter the engineering scene and to be fair a lot of the older types do look life expired! I feel by modelling these wagons we are in a way immortalising them so that they can be appreciated for years to come.

@Bearwood West YardNeither was I - let's hope we hear some more Salmon related news soon whether that be Flangeway or Hornby

@virginhst539 Thanks, haha that's a weird one, so many different examples to model you could spend a lifetime recreating them!

@Bearwood West Yard I had a look and there is a video which clearly shows the Hornby cabinet at GETS and as @WCML100 said there is definitely an ASF version of the Salmon. Hasn't been officially announced yet, hopefully it'll come not too long after the others