lancer1027

Quick up-date. Seats on the mk2 TSO being glued into position, which will leave the partitions around the toilet area and the centre partition. I will also start to make the tables. D1033 Western Trooper is having its lights done. It has had its radio control equiptment fitted and tested but is running slow so may have had the wrong gearset fitted. This will be sorted hopefully by the weekend. Rob

Well not so much progress as i thought today. Firstly the positives. I have made and fitted the couple of little bits on the underframes of the Mk2 TSO and FK's. I think the underframes are pretty much done now but i will double check later. The seats for the 2 x TSO's have been cleaned up (resin ) and their first coat of paint has gone on. Now onto the Peak class 45. I have started to mark out the positions for the fuel tank etc. but that is all the positive news on the peak. I still need to file out the apperture where the motor goes on the chassis forming an arc when the bogies pivot. I have just spent about an hour trying to make up and solder a bracket / support that sits on the underside of the body where the bogie pivots ( haven't a clue what these are.), but failed miserabley as i had 5 fillet pieces soldered to a strip for me then try and solder a piece of L angle to it for it all to fall apart. I have 8 x these to make. I might have a go with plastic next. Ok i am now off to paint the corridor connection doors green for all four mk2's. ( At least this should be straight forward ) Rob

Yes i may do. I need to speak to Steve to see what he suggests. Rob

Cheers 2MS, As regards the 121 the running of the bogies was no problem. I have a gearbox that sits between the axleswhich was made by a friend. This is so that i could use the guards/luggage area for batteries as it is radio controlled. I will still be working on the headcode boxes as i am awaiting a special pcb board with 4 flat leds on. This is ( hopefully ) the size well just shy of the headcode box. There will be more on the 121 once i have these lighting gizmo's. Rob

Some very inspirational pics CME excellent. The detail is very realistic. Rob

Progress report on the big big Mk2 convertions. First up is a pic of the differences between a FK underframe and a TSO. Mainly the positioning of the vacuum cylinders. Then we have a general pic of the 2 x TSO's and 2 x FK's that i am working on at the moment. It shows one TSO at the back. This is almost ready for primer. I just have to finish off a couple of small bits on the underframe . Then there is the 2 x FK's. One has had its grey sprayed on and i was hoping to get the blue on before the damp /cold weather but it will have to wait now. The other FK shows the body with window etches but still needs the doors doing.Then the holes pre- drilling for the hinges. Then i think it is ready for primer. The last one in the pic is the other TSO showing the underframe and i also need to fit the doors. I still need to do quite a bit on this plus the bogies This is a pic of the FK awaiting doors and then primer. The next two pics show the FK that has its grey on awaiting blue and the start of the interior detail. I have had a friend cast me some resin seats from a master i made out of plasticard. I am very pleased with the results. My next job on the interior will be the sides of the compartments. Im thinking of using clear plasticard and masking off the windows as i dont fancy cutting out windows and door windows for 7 compartments. This will be a while before i progress as i need to order some clear sheets. In the meantime i will carry on with the partitions around the doors and toilet. Plus do the small bits on the underframe. Hope you like. Rob

Hi Phill, Great work, those benches look excellent. How many benches do you get in a pack? or are they bought individually?. Rob

I have made a bit of progress but unfortunately no pics. I have cut and filed the ally floor to shape and the bogie pivot holes have been marked and drilled. A centre line has been marked so positioning of detail will be easier. My friend has also milled out a rectangle where the motor will go. This i will open up with a couple of arc's so the motor doesnt foul when the bogie pivots. I am now studying photos of underframe detail ready for scratch building various parts. As for the body i am still working on the lighting for the cabs/ headcode and tale lights. I have also started the seating on the Mk2 FK and have also marked out and started to cut the plasticard for the partitions to the compartments. More on this later with some pics. Rob

Hi Phill, Just caught up with your last few postings. The station building is looking excellent. You have done a really great job and the painting has really brought it to life. I too have made forward progress on the radio controlled front. I have just left one of my westerns at his house for work . Rob

Hi Ray, From the pictures i would be inclined to replace the bogies with Easybuild. I know its more expense but at least you have control over the performance when you have built the bogies. I look forward to seeing some more progress on the body soon. Rob

Again you might be able to get some detail underframe parts off Shawn at Easybuild. If you explain your situation he usually tries to help. Not sure of cost though. I am in the process of building and Easybuild Class 121 Bubblecar so i have enclosed a pic to help you see if there is anything on there of use to your project. I know these pics aren't very good so appologise for that i thought i had some better one. Hope this helps Rob

A great idea Phill, i will be watching to see if it works ok and on further postings. Rob

OK i have found some pics that i took ages ago . These are of one of my favourite types of coaches. Mk1 Sleeper These are built from Westdale kits and are very nice kits to build. I have 4 at the moment but hope to build this rake up to 7 plus the BCK that they often ran with.( This i have ) This next pic is a scratch built ( not finished ) POS Post Office Sorting Van. I will be scratch building a full rake of TPO's at some point, as these are another of my favourite types of coaches. Rob

Hi Phill, That looks excellent. Is there another part to the building ? or is it just adding detail etc. Rob

Great work Phill I look forward to the next installment. Rob

I agree with Ross, really looking good. I look forward to seeing the next installment on the station. Rob

Likewise Sean, your work has been an inspiration. You will be missed. Rob

I have been making steady progress over the weekend. Firstly i have been doing some more work on the scratch building of the underframe on the Mk2 FK. Also i have been adding detail to another TSO underframe. This TSO only needed one Kadee coupling as it will have screw coupling at one end so it can be attached to a loco. I have also done a little more work on Peak D23 . I have added some front end detail and work on the cab detail too. I have been looking at the lighting for the split box headcode and cabs. Sorry no pics as it was too dark really to take any. Hopefully tonight i will continue with these projects Rob

Wow a man after my own heart. Modelling Penzance in the 1970's i will watch this thread with my full attention. I will be eventually ( when i get my shed built ) be modelling PZ during the late 60's / early 70's in O gauge. I would love to see some pics of your rolling stock as well as some pics of your layout . Rob

Today i have been doing a little scratch building of the underframe to one of the Mk2 FK's. The underframes a slightly different from a TSO . Most noticable is the position of the vacuum cylinders. On an FK they are next to each other where as on a TSO they are much further apart. I have fitted various bits including vacuum cyl, battery boxes, air con unit plus other bits. I haven't taken any pics and now its too dark so i will take a pic as soon as i get chance. Also on my workbench is a Easybuild Class 121 bubblecar. This is fitted with radio control and has directional lights. I am in the process of sorting out the lighting for the headcode but here is a couple of pics so far. Rob

Hi Randall, Thankyou for those nice comments it is much appreciated. The Easybuild kits are a pleasure to make. You can build a really nice vehicle and take it up a level with extra detail if you wish.. I have a Class 121 Bubblecar which i will post some pics of soon. This is a really enjoyable build, although its took longer than i thought it would but this is because its radio controlled and i have had to wait for various people/bits to move it onto the next part of the build. At the moment i am working on the led's for the headcode box. It already has directional lights. The Westdale GUV is also a very enjoyable kit. The body being all resin with only handrails and end detail to add. The chassis is a little more complex requiring either soldering or glueing solebars and detail to an MDF floor. I have 4 of these GUV's and wholely recommend them. However the Model Express CCT on the other hand is different. Its cheap enough ( £45 ) but its very basic and by the time you have bought wheels , detail parts , other odd bits of plastikard / sections it was closer to about £80. Plus a lot of work. In hind sight with the time/effort spent on this and how much it ended up costing i woild have gone for a JLTRT CCT at £90. ( I have a friend who has one and he built it in a couple of evenings ). The BG is Westdale which was a nice kit but with the Westdale you need to buy the bogies as they dont come with them in the kit. The next BG i will buy will be Easybuild. Would love to see some pics of your Class 108. Rob

Ah i have found a few more pics of the peak, so here they are. The soldered ( cruedly soldered ) pipework from the air tanks. The difference in level from body side at the bottom edge and the bottom edge of the cab was too big so i added a strip of plastikard to reduce and i filled to shape. Then the final two pics are the centre headcode been opened up on D185 and some detail added to the front of D23. Rob

I have recently bought 2 x Skytrex Peak bodies. These will be altered and detailed and eventually become Class 45 D23 with split headcode boxes and the other will be Class 46 D185 with centre headcode. Work starts on adding filler to the bonnet as it was too curved, then scribe round all grills and remove. This was because they stuck out too much and needed to be set back slightly. Also you can see that i have removed the split boxes ready for me to open up for the centre headcode ( D185 ) Once all the grills were removed and tidied up then they were put back in but set back more. They were then filled with filler all round the edges to hide the cut line. ( these probably need a little more work ) Then i needed to remove the cover plates and open up where the steam heat water filler hatches go. I also needed to make the fuel tank and air reservoirs. I also soldered some wire together to represent the pipes from these tanks. I have done some more on these peaks but as yet i haven't took any more photos. But as soon as i get some time when its bright enough i will. Rob

Heljan Class 47 re-painted as 47 262 Heljan Class 47 re-painted as 1660 City of Truro A couple of my UCV clay open wagons. These were CooperCraft which is now Slaters Now a bit more on the Laira Breakdown train. First shows a bit more progress on the Ian Kirk/scratch built Staff / Mess Coach Next , this is a scratch built Jib carrier for the 45ton Ransome & Rapier steam crane. This is one of two wagons ( well the start of scratch building ) that go either side of the crane. I hope this isn't too boring, if so please say and i will stop. Rob

A few more The SO is an Easybuild, the2x Westerns are JLTRT , the CCT is Model Express and the GUV and BG are Westdale. Rob