Nile

The most recent release was a set of tank wagons, in N and OO. http://Bachmann-collectorsclub.co.uk/products/00-scale-products/00-scale-rolling-stock/oo-scale-14-ton-tank-wagon-triple-pack.html

Six were superheated in 1922 - 300/4/5/11/13/14. I have a photo of 702 in LSWR livery after it was superheated in may 1923 , another 16 were converted in 1923 at Eastleigh (including 119), so a simple renumber may produce a historically correct model. There are other potential pitfalls, 702 had sandboxes on the front splashers, others had wider cabs, six wheel tenders.

Buffers! That's what's next. For these I used some 51L LNWR carriage buffers (whitemetal). The coupling hook is from Ambis. Next, some underframe detail. I made some basic framework from bits of 0.8mm plastic rod. A brake cylinder from the bits box, plus some more odd bits of plastic. The gas cylinder is 6mm plastic tube with the ends blanked off. None of that new electrickery here. Nearly there.

I've not got any LSWR oaches (yet), and Wyndal isn't really big enough for this sort of thing, but here goes. My local 'smiffs' is more interested in being a post office and selling calenders than selling interesting magazines. The last GBL is saw in there was Mallard! Just as well the two ASDAs here stock them.

Here is the result of my lunchtime raid of the local ASDAs. And they are mine, all mine!!! A bit of a mixed bag quality wise. It should be possible to get one decent model out of them, in this livery. The rest will be modified and repainted anyway. As for getting them back on their display bases, I've never had that problem as all of mine have gone straight into a bin.

Thanks for your likes and nice comments, all appreciated. On with the show, and the roof. Having finished with painting the body I glued the seating inside. After a bit of a think I decided to remove the rain strips from the two roofs and replace them with new ones. Here is the model with one roof unit refitted. With the other roof fitted I tidied up the join with filler. New rain strips were made from 10x20 thou styrene strip.Fix it in the middle and it naturally forms the right curve, with little adjustment needed. Then it was on with the light grey paint, being careful to keep it off the sides.

Form an orderly queue here, behind Smiffy.

To show what is possible with 3D printing I've dug these models out of their boxes. These are OO and HO scale narrow gauge models on 9mm gauge track. The 009 Porter locomotive uses a Minitrains chassis, the body parts are printed in FUD by Shapeways, designed by 'Koala Creek'. Additions by me are the whistle - made from brass rod and tube, the bell and headlight - designed by me and also printed in FUD, and the Dapol knuckle couplers (N gauge). The HOn30 wagon was also printed in FUD. I don't know who designed it, or if it's still available. It was designed for HOn3 wheels (10.5mm gauge), I've modified it to take N gauge wheels. It can have Microtrains couplers fitted, I've since removed them. This is the set of parts for the Porter, I will eventually build another one. FUD = Frosted Ultra Detail , is the highest resolution material offered by Shapeways (apart from casting wax). [now known as Fine Detail Plastic]

From the news item in the new BRM, the tooling will be capable of producing plenty of variants.

I made some extra seats from Ratio parts to match the existing ones in the blue coach. And painted dark green. The inner (double) units are shorter than the end ones, to allow for the glazing. The body was painted using the same method as the previous coach. The interior is painted dark earth. Transfers are mostly HMRS pressfix.

With 3-link couplings fitted, the shaft of the coupling hook holds the chassis in place. The completed model, with glazing. Here it is alongside a recent RTR conversion.

I made mounting points for the bogies from some plastic tube and off-cuts of plastic. The tube matches the holes in the bogies. The different orientation of the supports should allow some degree of compensation. With the bogies fitted. They will be retained by screws that screw into the floor, the hole is hidden by seats. Compared to a Ratio coach it seems about right.

Unlikely, as no 1Fs are due any time soon.

Footboards made from 20x80thou plastic strip were glued to the axleboxes. I then added supports made from square micro-rod. I then painted the new bits black and brown. Nearly there.

It would seem things have got a bit out of sync with my various topics. I blame the clocks going back . Now where was I? Bogies! I have some Triang mk.1 bogies that cost me nothing, so I've used them. I've replaced the wheels with new Hornby coach wheels, and removed the couplings. A trial fit to see how they look. Gauging the ride height with some Ratio coaches. It needs to be a little higher, about 1mm. Now for the underframe. The holes in the middle of the floor were filled with black plastic card, as these would be visible. For the frame I used Evergreen strips. The long ones are 1x2 mm, the ends are 1x3.3 mm and the footboards are 0.5x2 mm (20x80 thou).

Your last sentence is interesting. When it comes to new technology such as 3D printing one can take several stances: 1. Ignore it and carry on as before. 2. Watch and wait for it to develop to a usable level. 3. Get involved and push the limits of what is possible. While it's sensible for most to adopt no.2, if everyone did the technology may never develop. Its still early days and better methods may yet emerge. Until then we continue to experiment. The rough finish of the WSF material (used here) can be smoothed with painting and sanding. The external framing on this van prevents this, so it's not a good example of what can be achieved. Here I am just making use of bits I found in a box (that went missing for months) as an experiment. It may not be as good as a plastic kit or scratch-build, but may be ok at 'normal viewing distance' (with imperfect eyesight).

Maybe I should post smaller photos, these are about double real size on my 17" monitor. As with most things, you gets what you pays for. This model was printed in the cheapest material, and it shows. It is now only available in the higher quality FUD material, and costs about 3 or 4 times as much.

The result of my painting. I added a chimney from some plastic rod, and buffers from plastic kit leftovers. I then added some pressfix transfers. And some lead weight. I've removed the paint from the axleboxes so I can add some foot-boards next.

With all this interest I'd better get on with it. The plan is to stick the two coaches together. The inner ends need filing smooth to allow this. Before. After. Bringing the two together. The slight miss-alignment shows that the bodies are not perfectly symmetrical. We now have one, multicoloured, coach body. The size of the compartments indicates these were originally first class coaches, long ago. Over the years they were downgraded to second class, and with this rebuild will become third class. In the future I will do a proper third class coach with bits of Ratio coach sides that I have in stock. As for the chassis, all will be revealed in time. In other words, I'm making it up as I go along, although I do have ideas. The combined coach body is 43 feet long.

Nice one Spitfire, proof that boredom produces creativity. Those wagon sheets look interesting, could be just what I need.

Glazing comes after painting. There are some recesses on the inside for the glazing.

The result of much bending and cutting of 0.4mm brass rod is this. It's ready for some paint now.

For my next project I shall emulate what some railway companies (such as the GER) did, combine two old 4 wheel coaches to make a 'new' bogie coach. This is a way of making use of the Hornby 4 wheel coach, which isn't much use on its own. The first donor model is this, one I painted and added seating to many years ago. The second is still in original condition. This gives an idea of what I'm going to do. The chassis' won't be reused.

For the brake gear I've used various bits left over from plastic wagon kits. The photos show how they were modified and used. The result One last touch, a bit of brass rod for the actuator. The brakes are operated from inside the van.