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Evening Justin, Oh dear so I suppose this one is also wrongly numbered as well, Still whats 10 minutes with a glass fibre brush and some new transfers. Martyn. P.S. So regarding the lot numbers only 9 to that diagram were ever built ?

Hi Mike, Every photo I have ever seen ( and that's not many ) of a fruit D were all covered in dirt and grime, and I'm sure one would fit in on a local goods without standing out. I have built the older version with gas lighting but the kit gives you the choice of battery as well. Although they carried fruit, out of season they were used on parcel and newspaper trains, you should try one they are great to build. ATB, Martyn.

Evening Rob, I have never come across that version of compensation before, and especially as it gives you a choice of using whatever wire thickness you want. That just about sums up my luck to get the solid axle boxes !! Martyn.

Morning Rob, Sorry if this is a bit photo intensive but hopefully it will give everyone an idea as to the differences between plastic or etched wagon kits, they have both got their place in our hobby , but in my opinion NOT white metal castings. If we start off with the Parkside kit, easy to build and you could build one of these in a day no problem. The downside is the brake lever and linkages are wrong and the brake safety loops are very fragile, so I have replaced the safety loops with some scrap brass strip. If I do decide to keep this wagon I will do something about the brake gear, apart from that not a bad wagon. Now the Welcome wagon this kit will definitely take more than a day to build and I have not got a problem with that, but I feel that more of this kit should of been made of brass. The brass etched sheet supplied has plenty, and I mean plenty of space left to of done the brake gear, end bracing irons, door closers, side bracing irons, etc. rather than over thick ghastly white metal !! The white metal axle boxes will need drilling out for the wheel bearings, you have to be careful here as if you drill them off centre you will end up with a wobbly wagon. The W iron/axle boxes do not have any location markings behind the solebars and these all need to be placed exactly or yet again you could end up with a wobbly wagon !! What I did was to mix up some Araldite and leave it until it starts going off and then offer up the castings so there is less time for things to slip out of place, I do not use super glue for any main structual parts personally. Now once you have the wagon level on all 4 wheels then you have to fit the white metal brake gear all in one piece, well I was not happy with the fit as the brake shoes were not near enough to the wheels. So I cut the link arms and soft soldered them closer, and at the same time replaced the WHITE METAL safety loops with some more scrap etch. I could go on but I will let the picture tell the story, just note the thickness of the castings. And both together for comparision. And just to show what can be done with an etched kit, this is a WEP fruit D that was a joy to build and with loads of detail, and you will certainly need more than a day to build it. Hope this is of some help to you Rob, and good luck . ATB, Martyn.

I built a couple of these a while back but I cannot remember off hand as to what diagram they were, Martyn.

Hi Rob, I would be interested to find out if the axle boxes in my kit were a one off, so if you could let me know it would be appreciated. There were a few more mods I made to the kit but most were personal preferences, hope to see a few photos of the build on here if you would be so kind. And tomorrow in daylight I will put a couple up of the two wagons together if you like. ATB, Martyn.

Evening Rob, I have just noticed that you solder your coupling links, now that is attention to detail. Good luck with the pipe wagon, I have just finished one of those ( except for painting ) the 4 brake shoe version and also the Parkside version just afterwards for comparison. Not one of the most enjoyable wagon kits I've built but with a bit of work it does build into an acceptable wagon, I do not know if I was just unlucky but the white metal W iron/axle boxes were a solid cast with not even a witness mark or hole to show exactly where to drill out for the axle bearings. This sort of thing I use to come across 20 years ago, you do not expect this nowadays . ATB, Martyn.

Hi Brian, A while ago I built a JLTRT GWR B set, and in the kit you are supplied with a single casting of the vacuum and steam pipes all connected up. It took a while to figure out how to fit them ( no instructions as usual ) but I got there in the end, and I personally think they look the biz, just adds that bit more of realism. Just waiting for some better weather and I will spray some grime on them, bit to shiny at the moment. ATB, Martyn.

Hi Sandy, Really starting to take shape now and it's what I call a " well balanced looking loco ", very nice. ATB, Martyn.

And a very merry Christmas and a happy New year to you Ken.

Hi Ken, To be honest I am not really sold on this " outside compensation beams " idea, and also surely the beams will restrict the amount of side play and being a 2-8-0 most of us need as much side play as we can get. It's a pity they did not offer the option of some thin overlays with rivet detail so you had the choice of fitting hornblocks and inside beams like the Finney kits, this is only my opinion. Apart from that it looks quite a good kit so far. ATB, Martyn.

I agree it's a good rendition of the official drawing and the vacuum cylinder is transverse, looking good so far Ken and I'm with you with regards the centre axle hole already oval. ATB, Martyn.

Hi Ken, Can I be cheeky and ask for a well detailed build topic on here, as one of these is high on the shopping list especially as no other supplier does the 2884 at present. ATB, Martyn.

Hi Ken, Thank you for spending the time to explain how you go about spraying in cold temperatures, this is something I will have to try. I usually build up a variety of stock over the winter months and then have a blitz once spring is here. ATB, Martyn.

Hi Ken, Can you pass on any tips as to painting in these temperatures, do you keep the model and aerosols in the house at room temperature and then rush out to the garage and give them a quick blow over, or is there another way ? Martyn. P.S. Personally I think the USA tank is kind of cute, in an industrial way that is.

Hi Sandy, You should think yourself lucky, I built an Oakville WD years ago and the slide bars were " white metal " . In the end I drilled out the " white metal " rear cylinder casting and replaced the slide bars with some nickel silver, going right through the cylinder and then soldering them in place. ATB, Martyn.

Hi Jeff, You would get the same result with say a 100W iron, but if you think of the amount of heat sink in the chassis sides and the thick axle bushes you would have to keep the iron in place longer than you would with a torch. And it would be a much more "local" heat so you do not have to worry about adjoining parts suddenly dropping off . Martyn.

Hi Jon, That's another thing I like about 7mm is that the loco's actually have to work under power, I personally add weight to all my stock even the coaches as this gives you that added perspective of mass which in my opinion is missing in the smaller scales. ATB, Martyn.

Hi Jon, Just to say I'm enjoying the build and they are starting to look the biz, a tip I learnt off an old boy years ago regarding bending sheet brass or nickel which has always worked well for me, is to borrow the wife's rolling pin and use an old Yellow pages or phone directory ( if you still have any ! ) to roll the piece of sheet on. You will find the phone book has just enough flex in it to help mould the sheet, works every time. ATB, Martyn.

Hi Chaz, Oh dear, I see what you mean now and the fact that my one is now weathered and varnished I think I will put that one down to modellers licence ( life's to short ). I have also got one of Jim's on the go what a coincidence !! and like you say the bracket is part of the side ( see below ). This particular brake van I am very pleased with as it is being built by my 26 yr old son who up to now has never shown an interest in railways, and this is the first time he has ever used a soldering iron and a fine job he is doing under my watchful eye ( David take note ). It started off with him bringing round his laundry as usual and he popped his head round the door of my workshop to say hello and he noticed I was soldering a joint on a WEP fruit d, and he was amazed at how the solder flowed and reacted and the strength in the completed work. So I said would you like to try so he started with two pieces of scrap brass and since then has never looked back . ATB, Martyn.

Hi Chaz, I have one of the Slaters brake vans but I did not know about the error and I cannot see the error, so can you please put me out of my misery . ATB, Martyn.

Fair comment , and I did not realise you were into oON30 as well. Martyn.