Enfys_Rainbow

18 minutes ago, SteveyDee68 said:

Probably at £70 a pop! 🙄

 

I’ll stick to cheaply upgrading the various Lima versions I’ve picked up over time!

 

Nice work on your upgrading. Do you mind me asking what buffers you used, please?

 

The bogies look fine, too - mine are going to be “faked” as ferry wagons so I don’t need to be 100% accurate, but the bogies look much better than the original Lima jobs!

 

Steve S

Hi Steve,

Buffers are from Lanarkshire Models - sorry can't remember which ones off the top of my head right now. Will let you know...

Bogies make a big difference - even the wrong ones!

I'm sure Hornby will re-release these with a "current" price - I've had this one for a while and picked a second up for £8 the other day!

Matt

8 minutes ago, ColinK said:

I thought that the fertiliser wagon was going to be reissued fairly soon?

I've heard that too - not sure by which manufacturer though.

Matt

Hi all,

The PWA van has progressed quickly.

I'm aware there's an etch available for the underframe trussing however I thought I'd attempt to scratchbuild it...this time at least. I'm planning on doing some more of these in the future and would probably use the etch for convenience and speed if possible.

Either way, it wasn't too difficult but note my efforts are not 100% accurate!

The only details left to add are lamp irons and handwheels.

Not too far away from being ready for paint now.

Matt

45 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Despite what some on RMweb say, superglue is perfectly adequate.

 

Mike.

Don't worry Mike, there's plenty of superglue and Araldite in there too! But basic soldering is something I'm trying to improve at - until recently I avoided it at all costs. Now I'm able to solder basic items like this.

Matt

Morning all,

A bit of weekend PWA progress. The vans been stripped and the bogies disposed of.

I can't get totally accurate replacement bogies (the only accurate ones are 3d printed and out of my budget) so I've used some Will's Workbench/Stenson ones. They're close enough for me and really easy to build, even for a hopeless solderer like me!

Next up will be some new underframe trussing.

Matt

Hi all,

Firstly another random wagon project (in amongst all the other half finished wagons)...

I recently found an interesting thread about PWA vans on FB which sparked my interest.

One of my favourite ever layouts is Pengwynn Crossing, and I remember the RM article had a photo of one of these vans. I'm going to use the classic Lima model and the work will be limited to some basic detailing (improved underframe trussing, new bogies, replacement buffers plus a new paint job). 

I've had one of these packed away for many years - might as well do something with it finally!

Secondly, all this reminiscing about Pengwynn Crossing has led to me deciding to turn the layout into some sort of simple clay works. I've always had a big interest in anything ECC related, and have harboured a desire for a clay layout for many years. My track plan isn't a million miles away from Pontsmill either.

I'm not planning on making any major changes, and am planning on using all the existing buildings that have been built. Having said that, I've decided on a primitive canopy in front of what was the warehouse... again shades of Pontsmill.

Apologies for the incredibly poor photo. If nothing else, hopefully it highlights that the extra effort in detailing the Code 75 track to match the Bullhead was worth it - it looks decent once weathered.

Matt

Nice layout - I love anything China Clay related!

I'm struggling to get my head around the trackplan - is the station on the high level and the clay sidings beneath?

Matt

I managed to place not one, but two incorrect, duplicate orders today!

Credit where credit is due, I received excellent service from Hattons to rectify the issue.

Now, if only the service from Avanti Trains, who I was travelling with at the time, was as efficient!

Matt

6 minutes ago, SouthernBlue80s said:

 

Hi Matt

 

Thank you for information on the paint.

 

I agree the wipers were not the best, I toned them down for the eye is not drawn to them. I also almost sold it on like you.

 

If 25s are your favourites then perhaps see if you can get a Sutton Loco Works one as they look great and with your weathering it would end up looking really good.

 

Steve

Tempting...the SLW bit I mean...but out of my pric£ rang£ at the moment.

1 minute ago, NHY 581 said:

Yey ! Good to see you Matt. 

You too! All your latest projects are looking great as usual!

Matt

Hi Steve,

Mine's repainted using colours I mixed myself. Started off as Lifecolor Rail Blue and went from there.

You're completely right about the 25. Mine had distorted cab front handrails too and I was less than impressed with the wipers. The ends are very non-warning yellow - I find this odd because my Heljan 26's are a much better shade of yellow. I normally don't mind doing cosmetic work to my locos but for some reason just did not have the patience with this one so sold it. A shame because 25's are probably my favourite locos.

Matt

Very nice Rob, good to see more of your work!

Matt (was matto21 on WT)

Good work with the Heljan Class 25, makes me wish I hadn't sold mine now!

Don't give up with the 08, I've been repainting mine for about 6 months now and it's still not finished!

Thanks for the comments! A slump at this time of year is pretty normal for me, always a shame though because I'm usually pretty productive in the winter.

Too many competing interests at the moment!

Matt

Hi all,

I've lost all interest in modelling, I'm having my customary Spring slump - pretty normal at this time of year for me.

I've learnt there's little point forcing it, far better to wait. Meanwhile, I have made some small steps with the BR Ferry Open wagon.

More soon...once I get my motivation back!

Matt

29 minutes ago, CovDriver said:

I can only echo Jim's kind words, It would be such a shame to see this layout scrapped as I was going through my dvd collection the other day I came across a railfreight today (1980/90's)  dvd covering North Wales in particular the Amlwch branch.

I would be tempted to do something similar to your project perhaps in the future. 

 

Cheers 

Colin 

Hi Colin,

Without taking the thread off course (sorry Caz) which dvd would that be? I'm local to this line so any footage of operations are of great interest to me.

Matt

On 28/02/2023 at 19:59, 33063 said:

Really nice what you've done to this and how it's been built. What are the couplings and buffers you used?

Sorry, missed your comment!

Buffers are from Lanarkshire Models and couplings are regular Smiths to fit in with my other stock as opposed to being prototypical!

Matt

Hello all,

The Cambrian OBA from a few posts ago is now almost ready for painting.

Question now is do I do another grey/red RF wagon, or something else instead...?

Matt

36 minutes ago, BrendanPKaufmann said:

Does anyone know what is going on with Fair Price Models?  I put in a substantial order from their eBay shop  (from Australia) in late October of 2022, and there's been no sign of it - setting aside the Christmas period and some recent issues with Royal Mail, I've had no issues with anything else I've ordered from the UK during this period.

It's February now, and I've politely asked the gentleman concerned to follow up, or resend my order - or initiate a refund - but after some initial reassurances that he would chase up my order through the postal service, I've heard nothing back, for nearly a month now. I've contacted him several times through Ebay, but I've had no response.

I very much want to give him the benefit of the doubt in case something has happened and he's not currently attending to business, and it seems his eBay shop page is still running - short of trying to contact him through his Instagram page, I'm at my wit's end. I've always tried to be supportive of small suppliers, so if there's a reason why he's not responding I'm prepared to be patient - he's had consistently excellent reviews for his service, so I'm wondering if this is out of character.

Thanks for your advice! BK

He posts fairly regularly in the Fair Price Models FB group - as recently as 5 days ago. No idea if you're a FB user, but perhaps you could try contacting him via that group?

I'm local to the area and found these a fascinating couple of articles, with many photos I've not seen before.

Thank you for sharing.

Matt 

I have a very similar compressor to the first one you linked. No issues at all with it and perfectly suitable for modelling work.

I know a lot of people like the bigger versions with a tank, but I've never seen the attraction personally.

Another random wagon!

Parkside Shock Open Wagon - surplus to requirements though so it's future is undecided!

Very nice work. I've done a couple of these myself and they scrub up really well with a bit of effort.