Enfys_Rainbow

1 hour ago, Gilbert said:

You're like me...easily distracted.....

Chris

Too easily distracted....I could have built two layouts by now!

Hi all,

Here's another old, recycling project. Originally built 3 - 4 years ago and repaired and given a bit of TLC today.

No purpose, I may try to sell it, but it was an enjoyable few hours of work!

Matt

Hi all,

Back on track with some wagons. The stripped down Vanwide has been painted and weathered. Just needs markings now:

And this BR Fruit Van is on the go - no real reason why, mainly just for some variation in my van fleet:

Matt

6 hours ago, bradfordbuffer said:

Is that a 9ft or 10ft wheel base underframe?

9ft, it's the same as the original van.

3 hours ago, Ian Holmes said:

Great work! I’m really enjoying this thread

Thank you Ian! Very much appreciated!

I enjoyed the last so much, I made another!

Matt

One aspect that has been annoying me was the background low relief building. Shape and size were fine, but what purpose does it serve - no obvious loading/unloading given how close it is to the siding, so I decided I needed to add a loading bay of sorts, just to give some context.

If you've visited this thread before, you may remember I built a garage for the front of the layout. Plans have now changed and this building is surplus to requirements. I really liked the door though, so after a bit of destruction...

And a bit of cutting...

I have a primitive loading bay (not yet finished obviously).

Matt

Freelance grounded van body made from some leftover Parkside bits and pieces:

Matt

On 30/06/2022 at 15:40, 26037 said:

Matt I do like the work you are doing with old wagons and kits. It's always great to see some recycling of these wagons and vans.

Many thanks @26037 , thanks for stopping by.

4 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

My personal preference, but, I always replace the plastic buffers with white metal equivalents from LMS/MJT/Wizard, I find it adds to their longevity!

 

Mike.

Me too normally Mike - I do it in 99% of cases. I just don't have the correct type at the moment and buying them goes against my recycling efforts.

Hi all,

I'm back with another random wagon project!

I've mentioned before that I enjoy recycling older wagons, and here's another. This is a Parkside Vanwide, built a couple of years ago and I was never very happy with the paint job (you can see it in its original condition on page 1 of this thread if you can be bothered!). Stripped down, a few simple details added, and it's ready for the paint shop.

Matt

On 22/06/2022 at 08:23, Enterprisingwestern said:

Very nice, apart from the livery of course!

Allowing for your mods the Airfix kits scrub up well for nigh on septuagenarians.

 

Mike.

Thanks Mike, these old kits more than hold their own - probably why an improved kit has never been produced.

4 minutes ago, westernviscount said:

Excellent modelling. I particularly like the speckled rusting on the end panels. Very nice. 

Thanks for noticing!

Hello all!

I missed my weekend deadline, but I've finally managed to finish the brake van off. I'm even happier with this one than my last bauxite one.

I'll add couplings at some point!

Matt

Progress has slowed to a crawl, but I've managed to get the main colours painted. 

Hopefully get this one finished over the weekend (if possible!)

Matt

The layout, aka the Brake Van display, is still being worked on slowly. 

I'm contemplating a slight change to the concept of the layout at the moment. 

Matt

16 hours ago, sb67 said:

Lovely work on the brake vans. All very inspiring, I've got an ex LMS brake van and I'm looking for a new project! Replacing the handrails fills me with dread though! 

Thanks Steve, go for it I say, makes a world of difference to an old model!

Grey wheels with Parkside kits sounds unusual. I take it they'll need painting?

Finally ready for painting! The roof slowed me down but I got there in the end!

Hello all, 

Despite the setbacks, I've made rapid progress. 

One aspect of my other van I wasn't happy with was the veranda doors. As they come, they're really thick and glazing such small openings is a faff to say the least. I didn't bother, and regretted it. This time, I remade the doors from clear plastic sheet and built the frame around it. Much easier to do the glazing this way and has the benefit of being flush glazed!

I'm not too far away from the painting now, just need to fit the handrails. 

Matt

This hasn't gone to plan.

I had to ditch my plan to recreate roller bearings - after gluing everything together, it developed a wobble that I couldn't fix, despite my best attempts. 

So off with my scratchbuilt solebars and pilfered w-irons and on with the kit ones.

No wobble, but I'm still a bit frustrated/disappointed. 

Random close up pic:

The grey line is filler. When removing the moulded handrails, I managed to gouge the bodywork so it had to be filled.

Matt

Got mine today - very pleased!

Matt

Not quite finished yet: still the roof to paint, weathering to do and a few more markings to apply but I wanted to share this photo. Despite the fiddliness involved, I hope this shows the improvement that can be gained from sorting out the handrails. 

Onto the next project, and it's another brake van!

Again an old Airfix kit forms the basis, but with modifications that include representing an example with sheeted ends and roller bearing axle boxes.

Nothing fancy here, just plastic sheet and other bits!

Matt