dseagull

Thanks Tony (and all others!) - it's been a while. You've had new wallpaper since I was last in!

Morning all. First time checking in for many moons. This morning I have had the first panic of 2019 (Woke up at 7.10 with all 3 kids still asleep and 20 minutes to get two of them (left eldest in bed!) in the car to pick wifey up from work (Care homes don't do bank holidays!), and also the first disappointment (McDonalds didn't open until 8, scuppering plans for a Sausage & egg mcmuffin breakfast), but more pleasantly, a very enjoyable first coffee and now cuddles with my girlies (5 and 1) whilst they watch the Cbeebies panto. Hope the new year brings all what they are hoping for.

Heads up for the early risers... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071JBRHFH/ref=gbps_tit_m-5_d2ce_c88eac26?pf_rd_p=5584e25c-1eca-4d7c-9232-2e07801bd2ce&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=14354652031&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=ZE7DPNW5TSY9GGM93QRK Having never bought (or used!) an airbrush before, I have no idea if this is any cop, so apologies if it isn't - however it will be on the Amazon Lightning Deals at 6.50AM GMT on 06/12/18

Have had a fair few bits from Boot Sales over the years. I also remember once buying a Ratio van kit at Longleat Safari Park many years ago! Facebook selling pages are worth keeping an eye on too. Unfortunately I saw this lot about an hour too late earlier this week...

Where can I buy the red tippex you painted it with? EDIT; In relation to https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/323210202337?ViewItem=&item=323210202337 , obviously selected the wrong quote option!

Thanks Gary, that works for my current line of thinking! - Cheers, I may well take you up on that kind offer at some point too.

Skinnylinny; Your 4 wheelers look great, and I'm wondering if they could be the answer for me - what sort of timescale would they have operated?

I would agree with Mike that you could go for some cheapies that can be moved to suit. A rather inspirational thread from the past - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/60731-the-100-project-a-complete-layout-build-described-in-9-days/page-3&do=findComment&comment=772928 - even showed it is possible to make elderly 'train set' wagons and vans blend in. If they are just for the background of photos, you could even keep the plastic wheels!

Echo this. So much so that I've taken one (D209 emerging from behind the signal box) as desktop wallpaper!

Worth a try! - This particular rod is the second thinnest Plastruct do (the thinnest wasn't on the stand at my local shop), and cost 40p a section. Yes, I'm certainly looking forward to getting done!

Thanks - so would you recommend square section for future builds?

Some more work on my LBSCR van. With the real thing having plenty of prominent rivets I was wondering how best to represent these. Trials with plastruct rod sliced and then manuevered onto the side of the van proved both very tricky and frustrating, so I bought myself a pin vice and some 0.5mm drill bits from Hobbycraft and set to, carefully drilling holes then pushing the rod through and cutting off. It still takes time but has produced a much better result - I've done about half and it is something that I can pick up, do a few and then put down again. Apologies for the slightly ropey picture; When they are all done, I will try to make sure they are all the same height before priming. I've also made the Axleboxes from Plastruct - this time 3.2 x 2.3 mm Deep Channel, filed slightly to remove the taper inside and then pushed over the exposed ends of the bearing. A sliver of 10 thou then provides the 'top'. Again, I'm pleased with progress so far - once I've finished the riveting springs will be next.

Bearings arrived this morning, Solebars and strapping now on. Axleboxes, springs, couplings, roof and buffers still required. I'm sure there will still be challenges to come, but I'm really quite pleased so far

I should warn you, I had Sebastian's last sheet of 10 thou on Saturday morning... In my defence, I have been using it for strapping on a scratchbuilt LBSC van! Looking good though, impressed at the level of finesse you can get from the silhouette.

When I looked before for something similar there wasn't a lot about. You might get more luck looking at American sites - http://www.hobbylinc.com/woodland-farm-machinery-steam-engine-hammer-mill-kit-ho-scale-model-accessory-229 for example.

Thanks for that, thoroughly enjoyed it. I think one of my earliest Railway Modellers must have been the one featuring Chee Tor, as I distinctly remember a cover with a Blue Pullman coming round a hill. Being about 6 at the time, I don't remember a lot else from it, so it was great to watch this. Inspirational modelling.

Thanks that's very useful. Vernier also on shopping list!

Some more done on my Van Looking at a picture of the prototype, I noticed that there is a vertical part of the support before it begins to taper in. Once I noticed this, I thought the easiest thing to do would be to get a straight edged bit of plasticard, cut along this for a short while, then rotate the knife to a 45 degree angle and allow it to run off the side - this worked well. Unfortunately it wasn't until I'd done one end by the more complicated method of cutting a rectangle then cutting it diagonally in half that I noticed this, meaning a fair bit of sanding to correct the taper! - Despite my changing of methods, I managed to produce 8 more or less the same, laminating them together for strength and to get the right thickness. The bar above the door and the door bangs(?) were simply 30 thou plasticard filed on the edges to try and represent the slight taper of the prototype. Also put in a couple of internal supports to help keep the shape, which, now it's all stuck together, is pleasingly staying square. It does seem very light, so I've currently got 6p on my desk in penny pieces and am toying with gluing them together to make weights which can then fit inside the van at either end (needed or overkill?) Solebars and roof strips are cut - as are some rather ropey W Irons - I'm hoping that by the time they are painted and the axlebox covers are fitted they will look Ok and do the job! So - next jobs are to fit the solebars (I could have done this already but am a little nervous about getting the gauge correct!) and W Irons, then decide whether or not to weight internally or find something afterwards to weight underneath, and then fit the roof. A pack of 50 top hat bearings is waiting on eBay for a cheque (or a Paypal payment, either's good!) to clear, and I'm hoping to pick up some 10 thou for the strapping and wheels at the model shop on Saturday. All feedback more than welcome!

Sorry yes, missed that bit off!

Cheers - has confirmed my two thoughts on the subject!

Looking good! Can I ask how you would do uprights on the end of a van which get thinner from the bottom upwards? - Like these; http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/75/entry-14178-lswr-10-ton-sliding-door-van/ When looking at pictures of the LBSCR Van I'm doing, I noticed that they do this - not convinced just leaving them as a straight, flat piece of plasticard would look right. Thanks!

Thanks for the encouragement! I used a scalpel and steel rule - a Vernier is on the shopping list, but suspect I may have scored too hard. on the first side. Second side looks better and the ends better still, so moving in the right direction! Excellent tip for the roof curves - and by some kind of miracle, the first item I compared against the drawing (a lid from one of the kids' plastic cups) is a bang-on match!

Well after the superb workmanship displayed in your last post I was a little reluctant to post my initial efforts, but it is your encouragement and clear explanations which has encouraged me to give it a go - so here we go. LBSCR Van from Terry Gough's article in the October 1970 Railway Modeller. As you can see, I've got no further than the basic box marked out and assembled as yet, as I haven't got the plasticard strip I will need for the strapping (10 thou) or the underframe I was a little concerned that the side in particular seemed to be flexing quite a bit after I'd scored the planking, but the floor seems to have sorted this out. I think next time I need to either not quite score quite so hard, or not use the cutting end of the scalpel blade. I'm also not overly happy with the top curve of the end, but think I should be able to fix this with the roof. I'll pick up the bits I need to complete over the next few weeks, then try another couple before moving on to something a bit more complex.

Heh, was going to ask last night if you were making the brake gear yourself - should have guessed! Looks excellent. Are the rivets slices of rod, or do you use a tool? Third & final old magazine of my order arrived today, but I obviously got the wrong reference, as it contains an article on building a Roxey kit of the 54' Brake Third, rather than building it from scratch. Never mind, it's a useful article as some of the details have been added, so will be filed for future use. Hopefully the Plasticard turns up tomorrow.