macgeordie

There should be a few spare kits available once I have sent out the ones people have ordered if you want any more Phil.

Most of them are fine but apparently they had to make a new mould for the bogie side frames so that is probably what is causing the delay.

Nice one Rodger, the hinges is the worst (most boring) part of the build, once you get that done the rest is very straightforward. I have got the etches for the O.11's and they are all wrapped ready to go now. I'm still waiting for some castings from MJT which I ordered 6 weeks ago but I have few sets of castings in stock so I will be sending some kits out this week to those who have ordered them. Ian

I have now contacted everybody on the list to advise them of the cost etc. I expect to get the etches in about 4 weeks so I'll be in touch with everybody then. If you haven't heard from me, you are not on the list but I did order a couple of spare sets just in case there are any latecomers. Ian

The chassis is now complete apart from the vac and steam pipes, I'll leave those off till later as they are easily snagged and broken off. Apart from the misplaced vac cylinder holes everything else was fine although I did adjust the position of some of the rivets on the solebar overlays slightly. I have ordered the etches for everyone on the list plus a couple of spare sets in case there are any latecomers. Once I get the quotation back I'll be able to work out a final price. I will contact everyone on the list after that to confirm their orders and let them know the anticipated cost. Ian

Unless it’s a long wheelbase vehicle fixed is normally perfectly adequate for OO and EM but P4 modellers often prefer sprung axles as the wheel flanges are a lot smaller than OO. Unless your track is very uneven fixed axles will be fine. With long wheelbase vehicles a rocking axle at one end is worth fitting.

You could always try this I did it as a kit for the less experienced modeller and as one of the comments above points out, etched metal is far more forgiving than cast metal Ian

Yes you are right Mike but you know me by now, I won't sell anything I'm not 100% happy with. We've both built enough kits that are a real struggle because there are errors or things don't fit. I always try to get things right so anybody who builds one of my kits knows that it is at least buildable without significant work. There might be the odd small error due to lack of information at the time the kit was developed but at least the model will go together. Ian

The new chassis build is going well but I have somehow or other managed to move the two holes which take the vacuum cylinder wire out of position on this drawing. It's an easy fix but it's very annoying as it means I'll have to have another tool made which adds to the cost. It won't delay the release of the kit though unless I find something else which is major but everything else looks fine. You can see the error with the incorrect holes behind the vac cylinders. I have no idea how I managed to get them out of place, they were correct on the last build so I must have inadvertently moved them when I was altering something else. I'll make a start on the brake linkages etc next then post another photo or two. Ian

The new test etches have arrived, this is the one with most of the chassis parts on it. The big rectangular piece at the bottom left is the roof. I'll remove these and pre-roll them before sending out the kits. I'll try to get this built over the next week or so and post a few photo's. Ian

O.K. I'll knock a drawing up this evening and send you a pdf copy so you can get some idea of dimensions etc. I've fitted the lamp irons and also the buffers and pipes etc. but I'm not happy with the buffers so they will be coming off and I'll do some new ones. There isn't (as far as I am aware) an oval buffer in the GWR Square Shank style available so I have had to cut down some round ones but they need reworking, or more likely putting in the bin and replacing !!!. The coupling is one of my own frets which I did a while back. It's pretty easy to assemble. The shackles are bent around the shank of a 1.5mm drill to get the shape and then it just clips together. Ian

I could but I don't think it would be worth it Phil. The one on this model is part of one of the frets so I would need to make a new drawing (easy enough) and then get a tool made (cost about £40) so there would have to be sufficient sales to cover the tooling plus the etches themselves. On a small etch like this there would only be a couple of quid profit per unit so you need to sell at least 20 just to cover the cost of producing it and I doubt if there would be that much demand for it. I'm just another modeller, not a business so I don't advertise anywhere, consequently, apart from those on this forum hardly anybody would know the etch was available. If you think you can drum up enough demand, let me know and I'll take a closer look at it. Ian

A bit more progress, the roof and roof details are in place. The van end handrails and the footsteps are fitted. I've assembled the parts for the corridor connection but that won't be properly fitted until after the model is painted. I have also been able to source a supply of laser cut bellows as I did for the earlier versions. I had lost touch with the guy who makes these but fortunately I was able to make contact again recently. His bellows make a much neater job than the ones I have had to supply recently which needed to be cut out with scissors. This is the corridor connection which I have temporarily assembled. I just need to fit the lamp irons to the body plus the remaining castings and couplings on the chassis now to complete this one. Once the new test etches arrive I'll build the chassis again and if that is O.K. I will be able to supply kits to those who have requested one. Ian

That's the same as the one I have built which is the first photo in the post above. Take a good look at the photos on Ebay and you will see what I mean about needing to add your own details. I had to supply new bogies, new truss bars, new corridor connections and loads of small items. All you really get is the basic body shell and a basic chassis. The kit shown is part built, the body assembly is one piece and has already been folded up. It looks like whoever bought it way back when started it and gave up on it. The best thing about that kit was the cast buffers which are oval and really nice, nobody does those now as far as I have been able to tell, I have only found round ones with the GWR square shank body.

Hi Roy I know of three versions of these vans, all dating from the 1970's. Kemilway, George Alan and Mallard. I have built all of them for a friend of mine who I believe purchased them mainly from Ebay. The kits were superb for the time but are not really up to the standard of modern kits unless you add a lot of your own detailing, which I did for my friends kits. Here are a few photos. This the George Alan version These are a batch of vans I made with the O.11 at the far end. This one is the Mallard models version. The corridor connection on this one is the Roxey models version. I've done more work on the test build, the roof is on and the roof fittings are in place. I'll post more photos later today. Ian

Most of the detailing parts are now fitted to the body sides. The bodywork has been assembled The roof rain strips are in place and the holes drilled ready for the gas lamp fittings etc. I fitted the strips with the RSU but it is possible to sweat them on. The other alternative is to use superglue after all of the soldering work is finished. Next job is to attach the roof to the body and then fit the gas lamps and piping. Ian

Get the Bulldog Clips from Ebay, they are very cheap. Just search for Bulldog Clip Letter Clip 22 millimetre.

You have mail. Ian

I've managed to get a bit of work done on the body of the van today. These are the parts which have to be assembled although the van ends and partitions are not needed till later. The outer layer has to be tinned on the back around the outer edges and on the sloping sections before clipping it to the centre layer of the sandwich. Alignment is achieved by putting some pieces 0.3mm wire through a few of the door handle holes. If you look carefully you can just make them out. Solder around all of the edges and along the sloping sections with plenty of liquid flux. If you have an RSU you can use that but this was done with a conventional iron and is just as easy. The third layer which is actually the van side proper is attached in the same way. The only place you don't want any solder is along the vertical edge where the van end will eventually sit or it will be difficult to fit the end neatly. I'll try to get a bit more done tomorrow, but 'Life' keeps getting in the way. The next job is to fit all of the detailing parts as shown in one of the photos in the first post of the thread. I have an RSU so I will use that to fit them. If you don't have an RSU they are best left until all the soldering is complete on the body then fit them using superglue. Ian

The bogies are now assembled, the castings are from MJT. I've fitted Hornby wheels to this one simply because they were sitting on my workbench. Alan Gibson wheels are a better choice, especially for those modelling in EM or P4. This is the bogie etch The brake operating mechanism is all in place And finally the buffer beam overlay with the extra steps is fitted. This effectively completes the chassis so I'll get another tool made and a test etch with the changes which have gone into this one. I'll assemble the body of the van over the next week or two and post the photos as it progresses. Once I get the new chassis etch back I'll build that and if all is well I will release the kit for those who have requested one. Ian

I've managed to get a bit more done, the solebar footsteps are now in place. I've also fitted the gas cylinders and the little filler valve along with a couple of bits of 0.7mm wire to represent the pipes coming out of the end of the cylinders. and finally the brake vacuum cylinders are fitted. Ian

After the first of my posts above I had a message from one of our Forum members who knows a lot more about things GWR than I do who told me that the early Siphons (including the O.11) had deeper truss bars (i.e. longer Queen posts) than the later vans and that the brake cross shaft sits above the truss bar rather than below it as on the later vans. I had based the chassis for this one on the O.33 and O.62 vans which I have already produced so a change was needed. After studying as many photos and drawings that I could find I came to the conclusion that the Queen posts need to be 6" (2mm) longer. I decided to start on the chassis for this build first and modify the relevant parts to accommodate the changes required and alter the drawings to suit. These are the original parts These are the modified parts with the new Queen posts in place. I had to adjust the lengths of the V hangers as well and solder them back into place One other thing I am going to change before I send off for another test etch is the solebars. Currently they have a load of rivets which need to be pressed out which is frankly a pain if you don't have a good rivet punch such as the GW models one, but even with that it is still a slow job. I have decided to add an etched overlay with the rivet detail etched onto it to simplify the job as I have done on a number of my other kits. These are the original solebars which I have had to use for this model build. An overlay also has the added advantage that it hides the relieving slots needed to allow the lip of the solebar to be folded up. I'll post more photos as the build progresses. Ian

Gents I have put the names of those who have requested one of these kits so far on the list but if anybody else want to go onto the list please message me as it is much easier for me to keep track that way. It will be a while before I release the kit as there are a few little niggles that still need sorting out and I won't release anything until I am happy myself that everything goes together well. Obviously that means new tools and test etches which takes a bit of time. Ian

It's certainly easier with an RSU but it's not essential. You start by tinning the back of the outer layer then hold it against the centre layer with some strong clips. Alignment can be ensured by putting some 0.3mm wire through the holes for the door handles. Apply the iron along the edges of the two layers along the top and bottom edges and then the sloping sections and they will be sweated together. Repeat the procedure by attaching the assembled pieces to the van side proper in the same way. The sections are further held together when the door handles and hinges are soldered in place as solder will flow through the hole as the parts are fixed. The detailing parts can be attached with an RSU or simply fixed in place with Superglue when all of the soldering is complete.

I've been working on this kit for quite some time now, it's progressing well but like most of us, 'Life' keeps getting in the way. Having already done kits for the O.33 and O.62 a lot of the development was already done so I thought the O.11 would be a nice addition. As the O.11 is outside framed I had to make the sides from three layers of brass which adds to the cost but I'm quite pleased at the way it has come out. Here are a couple of photos of the first test build. The O.11 has a scissor gangway rather than the later suspended gangway so I decided to make it operational and it works well. The second test build is nearly finished so here are a few photos of the build up of the sides. Some of the detailing parts in place. Roof gas lighting detail. A section of the underframe with the gas tanks for the lighting. I'll make a start on the next build during the week and post a few photos as the build progresses. Ian