Squirrel Rail

Work on the Class 90 this afternoon. Starting with the buffer beam replaced the buffers, removed the coupling, fitted the valence plug, air pipes and screw link coupling Decaling is now complete, etched arrows, works plates and falcons on and freightliner branding completed. Should move into the queue for weathering soon.

Hi Ben, have you got a pic of it you could post - I’m on the same loco at the minute and be interested to see how it looks, cheers Jerry

Tug time this morning, grey to the rest of the body - wrote down two different mixes yesterday and neither looked the same today - message to self -mix up one big lot of paint and store for next bit of spraying! Colour looks totally different away from bench light but here it is so far: Work now started on the blinged up bogies...two pipes down lots to go

I was working on diesels but didn’t know that about the Castles - I’m now curious!!

We had the same debate and settled on the frames and whatever was left on it! Our reasoning was cabs, bodywork and bogies could all be changed but the frames were the equivalent of the chassis number!!

Little bit of activity this evening on the 90, signal box and 60074. First up the signal box which now has the fascia boards fitted- they need a bit of filler in the end joints but after that it will go into mothballs pending the interior: The 90 has had the windscreen pillars put into black and the rubbing plates on the buffer beam have been removed - holes need filling before adding the detail pack: Lastly 66074 has gained new yellow warning panels as those on the donor didn't reach far enough around the cab side. Hopefully some more progress on these tomorrow.

Latest on the workbench is 60074 in the new Puma Energy colours. I have spent the afternoon mixing and test spraying different greys and my scrap 60 body is literally 50 shades of greyThe challenge is to try and get it so it looks grey and blue in different lights and think I have got something I am happy with. Laid a coat on the roof of the "proper" loco so waiting to see how it dries before deciding whether to alter the mix.

Hi Rob, mixture of cocktail stick and a “scraper” I made myself from the end of a pair of tweezers- it can be lethal but after years of practice it works for me -luckily Bachmann is still fairly easy to work with unlike Heljan! Thinners, T-cut work too but more likely to leave big variations in the paint- I think stick to whatever works for you!

Freightliner Grey 90. One of the liveries not (yet) covered by Bachmann is Freightliner grey. The donor model is 037 in RFD and will become either of the two below, either fairly clean with the Crewe Falcons and etched arrows or without these and a few more patches, both pics taken by me at Ipswich - sorry for the quality but screen shot off the PC Another temptation is to do a 90/1 but haven't yet made my mind up. Anyway first job completed and the branding has gone giving me a blank canvas to work from - Before After..... Hopefully start the numbering and weathering over the next few days.

Lot of progress on signal box today. The bands on the staircase have been replaced with plasticard and clumsy clot managed to clout one handrail that will be repaired.. Biggest job today has been brickwork and glazing. I used a wash for the mortar and when that was dry steadily dry brushed the brick faces and added a few individual bricks. Camera hasn't really picked up the detail but very pleased with it and the corners have come out really well This afternoon has been spent sorting out the glazing and adding window frames and painting the doors and door frames. The box will have an interior (sometime in the near future) so provision was made for a lighting unit that will sit inside the base. The wiring up into the cabin will be hidden when the interior goes in. The handrail repair mentioned earlier isn't spot on so that will be a job for tomorrow. Here's a test fit and trial of the lights and another to give a general idea.....

Many thanks for the pic and the offer but not sure it would fitI see there are a few “interior” kits on the market and I will make a separate floor so at some point I can build it and it can be dropped straight in! Cheers Jerry

More work this evening on the Type 19 Box. Pre-painted the window frames and the doors which I had assembled earlier. Coat of grey on the steps. I used the kit parts that fit under the handrails to disguise the joints but wasn't happy at the time and definitely not happy when painted. The ones in the Hornby article look much better so i must have cocked something up Test fit following paint has gone OK so it can sit and fester overnight - more work hopefully tomorrow and a few locos will be back on the workbench - enough of carpentry! Here's a general idea of progress... and those bits under the handrails - I will also lose the grain on the stair sides

More signal box build this morning and tonight. I added the front and rear brickwork panels. I was aiming to get a better fit by doing them on the constructed box unlike the Hornby build which followed the instructions and "bricked" the individual panels. I think the result below showed this to be a success I will tidy these up more later, I also substituted the kit supplied brick work for some Slaters sheets I had in the stock pile: Rest of the time has been spent fitting the steps and the top platform, fiddly but fairly robust and with top platform: Thats about it for tonight but a couple of pics of it resting together....

Signal Box coming along nicely. This morning I assembled the windows, got a bit confused on the 1 or 3 piece sill option, chose 3 should have gone for the single but it did make it easier to add the end pieces:- It fitted very snugly into the box so a tiny bit of sanding loosened it up in preparation for painting, A few coats of Tamiya white primer via airbrush to follow. The grain in the ply became apparent but I will leave it to see how it settles and if needed give it another coat. Rest of this evening spent getting the brick work panels on the ends which are taped in place whilst the glue sets overnight. Made a start on the stairs, followed the instructions putting in the top and bottom steps to square it up then added a couple more for good measure, Here's everything just sitting loosely together to give an idea what it will look like, Have to say I've been impressed with the quality of this kit so far and have really enjoyed building it, hopefully get some more done over the weekend.

Type 19 Signal Box - this is a new one for the Squirrel Rail workbench - I have never done one of these kits before! I saw the build in the Hornby Magazine and have deviated a bit in the construction and from their notes. The main thing I noticed is that in the kit instructions and the picture supplied is the door is on the left hand side as you look at the box. The Hornby build (Pic 2 in the article) starts with the door on the left but by the time it is complete the door and the steps have migrated to the right?! The article and instructions have you build the basic box and then disassemble it to apply the plasticard brick work on individual sections. My thinking (may be wrong) is it's better to build the box and then cover it to try and get a better corner join in the brickwork. I found there was very little clean up and test fitted the four sides and floors together,literally 10 minutes work. Everything fitted perfectly and nice and square. I didn't want to separate the pieces with such a good fit so used a brush to apply Gorilla wood glue internally along the joints and in the joints on the faces. Deviating a bit from the instructions I then decided to build the roof - mainly to practice on the thinner wood sections - and used the brush glue technique again. Here is the progress so far -the roof frame made of nine pieces is standing upright, bit of a crap pic but will try and do better tomorrow :- So far so good, I will crack on with the window frames tomorrow and work out where to run a lighting unit into ceiling, another challenge will be the interior which so far doesn't exist!

Hi Rob, Hopefully you should be fine - I just don't get on with acrylics, must be my age but I prefer the enamels! Will have a look out for the results on your thread, Cheers Jerry

Hi Jules, Many thanks for the kind comments and I have sorted the data panel! Cheers Jerry

Sorted!

Cock up alert - schoolboy error - I must have been standing on my head when I put the data panel on - Muppetry - silly Squirrel

At the same time last few details on 66597 so another one finished - left the same two old boys in the picture!

Last bits on 47207 this evening. Glazing from a donor body, silver buffer edges and a bit of buffer grease, replacement handrail and a quick couple of pics for the archives. Couldn't resist the fitter and foreman, especially the old brown workshop coat - how many times was I told to "p@@s off" by this old boy when i asked to look round the shed

Hi Rob, I replied and now it seems to have not posted so hope this isn’t a repeatIt’s a mix of brush and airbrush. I put a couple of dots of black/ exhaust at the top of where I want the streak. I then use a flat brush dipped in white spirit and drag the “dot” down. I then use the airbrush to tie the top of the streak to the roof. Great thing is if you don’t like the streak then wipe it off and start again- do it before you do the other weathering as the thinners will remove it! IMO Looks good and better than some of the zebras you see going around!!

Forgot:- 66 Exhaust little bit more soot from the mix for 47207, think we can safely say it looks a bit better.....

Managed to start the weathering on 47207 tonight. First up were a few streaks from the roof: Followed by frame dirt to the bogies and the fresh buffer beams and a little body side weathering Next up a mix of exhaust, roof dirt and dab of black in the mix and lastly here's the other side. The spray bench has managed to eat a cab side handrail so that will be a job for the morning - crawling round trying to find it!

Funny to see the difference in size between the shed and the duff. Nice projects the pair, one a bit of a rescue mission and the other turning a green box into a working looking loco- variety is the spice so they say- hopefully something new in the dray at the weekend!