Wayne 37901

Excellent find there Paul. SPAs were also used in slab traffic, I've seen a shot on the South wales episode of the Railfreight Today series of DVDs and it shows a Ravenscraig - Llanwern/Margam slab working mainly made up of BAA/BBA with the odd SPA thrown in. Not related to SPAs but I've also seen shots of BDAs in coil traffic due to a shortage of BAA/BBA, these were loaded with only two coils one over each bogie due to the wooden floors on the wagons. Cheers

Good evening, As I said yesterday I have two class 37s in the works and the first is this former Kernow model of 37670, the other is a 37/0. Some work needs to be done to this including changing the bonnet side grilles as they're incorrect for this loco. Some underframe detail will be added and it will be backdated to Railfreight 'Red Stripe' livery. Rather than go through loco projects stage by stage I like to do a before and after as loco detailing has been covered many times before. So here's the before photo. More on this one soon, but right now it's time for a cuppa and some cookies! Cheers Wayne

Two updates in one day... Shows how I'm really getting on with the things in the run up to a show in January, more details here http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/111081-2nd-small-cardiff-show-saturday-21st-jan-2017/. I thought I'd show one last photo of the Clayhoods, this time three together to show the variation in lettering patches on these. I dread to think of the number of hours spent trawling over photos both in books and the ones I can manage to find online to look at the different styles but I hope it'll be worth it in the end. I promise not to show these anymore until finished. Another item of stock I'm working on is two Bachmann VGA vans for bagged clay traffic. These are the standard RTR model but I've completely repainted them and added new lettering to prototypes using Railtec transfers. It's my first time using these decals and I have to say they're excellent quality. I'm also replacing the w-irons with Bill Bedford sprung units, the main reason for this is to add sprung 'suspension' but also upgrade the axleboxes as the Bachmann version looks nothing like the prototype Timken roller bearing ones and it's a shame they carried this over onto the newer VAA/VBA and VDA models. I also have two class 37s in the works but more on those next time. Cheers

Looking good sir. Will look forward to seeing this at the show and to more photos from Norman if he's not too busy chasing Molly. Cheers Wayne

Cheers fella. More progress on the rake of Clayhoods in between other things. As I said earlier these are the first wagons I'm modelling in EM gauge and as such I've been looking at what others do and decided to pay a little more attention to the detail side of things, especially where the underframe is concerned. The w-irons on both the Bachmann and Ratio models have incorrect axleboxes as well as looking on the skinny side, so I've replaced mine with etched BR ones and added new cast axleboxes and they look much better when compared to photos. I've also added some relief to the brake rigging, nothing fancy just some of the moulded and missing items replaced with brass rod and strip. I'm not going the whole hog as most of it cant be seen when the model is upright but here's a couple of pictures showing how the improvements look. Once this is done on the others it will be time to tackle the hood and then my favourite part of any project, lettering and weathering. More soon. Cheers

Hi John, Came across this thread after doing a search on these wagons and they look good Have you had any progress with transfers and would you happen to have any sheets of bits left? Got two PGAs waiting in the wings. Thanks in advance,

Hi muddy water, I've made a little more progress with the Acid TTA but not enough to warrant a new picture yet. The next stage is to start the loading hatch and ladder/walkway detail and that's a bit of work. At the moment I'm concentrating on stock for the layout as I have a show in January. The drawing for this came from the book Modelling The British Rail era. The one in the book is for a Chlorine tank wagon but as some were converted for Sulphuric Acid traffic the wagon is pretty much the same apart from the loading hatch details. I built mine using a plastic tube and the ends came from scrap Airfix/Dapol Esso tank wagon kits. HTH Hi John, Thanks for the kind words. Yes the grilles do jar quite a bit but it's nothing an hour or two at the workbench cant fix. Another thing that stands out is the open lifting point where there should be a cover, again parts are available for this but in this day and age when the internet is full of research photos manufacturers really shouldn't get these simple details wrong. Having said that it's still an excellent model. Cheers

Hi steggy 1990, Sorry I missed your post somehow, the etched w irons are some spare Comet Models ones I had. Been a bit quiet on here but I've been busy getting stock ready for a show in January. The rake of Clayhoods has progressed since the above picture and the current state of play is shown below. These are proving quite a nice little project since I've not modelled 'traditional' revenue earning wagons before and they're also the first items of stock I'm doing to EM gauge so I'm making more of an effort on the detail with these. I've since progressed them further than this photo which was taken Sunday morning. Cheers, Wayne

Yes I've got one, it's a nice model apart from the grille issue. If it wasn't for that I would backdate and repaint mine in red stripe livery but hey ho. Cheers

Hi Adam, I've been reading back over the thread about modelling hoods. I've got a rake of Clayhoods in works at the moment and thinking about the hood, would you think the Milliput method would work on those? Having said that the hoods only cover the two top planks so I'm not sure there would be enough 'area' to do it. I know you haven't done any Clayhoods but have you any thoughts? Wayne

Hi Rob, Glad to hear the show went well, just coming away with a repair to a vehicle to do isn't bad. I was tempted to go to Thornbury as I enjoyed watching Peafore last time I saw it, but I have two shows in the new year I'm getting stock ready for so weekends (when I'm not working) are spoken for really. Quick question for you though and sorry if I've missed it, but what size points do you use in the yard, they look quite small? handy for a short yard layout but do you get any problems running longer locos like 47s etc through them? Just thinking about an idea for a small project which will be a BR blue era yard. The idea was kicked off when I saw an inspiring photo on the forum. Cheers

Hi James, Yes all good here, just busy getting ready for a show I'll be exhibiting at in January. There is some nice stuff on there, I spent an hour last night watching his video's instead of working on stock for the layout . 66113 looks good. The americans do things much bigger and bolder than over here. I've enjoyed looking at the Loftus Road scenic progress, With the Girlfriend being a former student she saw the row of shops and said it looked just like a street she lived on sharing a flat with some other girls, especially with the Chicken Cottage. Look forward to more. Wayne

Hi James, hope all is well. While I don't go for it myself as you didn't really see a lot in the era I model but I know you're a fan of doing graffiti work on wagons. Recently while browsing some weathering video's on You Tube I came across one channel by an american modeller. He does some really nice weathering work and I might try out a few of his techniques, but I came across this video of a bogie van wagon (americans call them box cars) with a full side tag on it. Must have taken some doing. Cheers

Hi 37672, Just found this, looks like a nice little layout. Any further updates? As owner of another small china clay based layout it's nice to see another different approach. Cheers Wayne

Looking good so far Baz. I've been scribbling some plans down for an EM replacement for Dragon Steels now that stock is slowly being converted. I have a few ideas, plus a plan for a small blue era shunting layout which was going to be based in the Bristol area but has now moved. Cheers

Hi Phil, Those Falcons look good and nice to see some scrap rail modelled in them as opposed to the fresh ballast everyone does. Quick question, how did you do the dark spoil in the others, is it just 'cinders' ballast or is there more to it? Cheers,

Not been to the this Thornbury show before, is it reachable by public transport? Cheers

Started working on a rake of Clayhoods this evening using the Ratio kit with etched w-irons and got as far as a rolling chassis before I decided to call time. More on this over the week. Cheers,

Who told you that? It's all lies! But seriously, yes I'm sitting here typing this while Trevanna sits under the stairs and I must say I'm very pleased with it. Look forward to seeing more of Victoria. Wayne

Hi Dave, I've just found this and I have to say it looks good, one thing I like about small layouts is that photos can make them look bigger if taken from certain angles. Look forward to seeing more. Wayne

I have to agree there, You would think they would have contacted you first via BRM as they're both part of Warners.

Good evening, With work on the SPA wagons well advanced now that a couple of niggles have been sorted I've started on a loco I've wanted to model for some time. This is the base for what will become 47350 'Scorpion' which is one I've wanted to do for some time but have been waiting to pick up a model with the correct boiler plating. A few bits and bobs will be added to this one but the main job will be to change the battery box area to include boiler water tanks. More soon. Cheers,

Hi Tinsley, Are you a member of DEMU at all? Over on the forum a member has done the SDA conversion. Cheers,

Spent this evening working on the SPAs again to get them ready for underframe painting. Replacement springs and axle boxes are now fitted so nearly ready for the brake gear to go on then it's painting and weathering. Cheers,

Hi Marcus, Thanks for the kind words. No special methods used on the removal just the usual method of a sharpened cocktail stick and thinners. The running numbers came off quite easily but the sectors were a bit stubborn and on these I used T Cut and cotton buds. I did have a little paint fade away but luckily the new sector logos took care of that, as the base model I was using wasn't named (56127) I didn't have to try and remove the printed plate while trying to preserve the paint. Hope that helps. Wayne