Brinkly

Despite being a Devonian, I do it the other way round 😂 Dad has the prefect solution mind - butter, jam and then cream 😂 and he’s more Devonian than I am!

I forgot to add this photo to the previous post - one van is built from the original V23 batch (vacuum fitted). The other represent V33, which were non-vacuum fitted but subsequently fitted by BR during the 1950s. This one has the LMS/LNER pipe style, with buffers that have had collar extenders fitted.

In between liberally coating the transfers on 14 box vans and 2 cattle wagons with Micro Sol, I completed the chassis on a trio of box vans. These three are all Hornby bodies and while while not as fine as Parkside, Ratio or Bachmann products, with a bit of work I think they still fit the title of ‘layout stock’. The BR standard and one of the GWR vans had their fictitious liveries liveries stripped last summer and a coat of dark grey primer applied. I airbrushed Precision Bauxite over the top. These were purely going to be an experimental project to see how using a dark primer would provide shadowing in the planking; however, I felt they were too good not to compete properly. They were sealed with varnish and then transfers applied (all from fox). I’ve completed the chassis this afternoon. The two GWR vans have some spare Ratio 10ft RCH fitted, with black modifications to the brakes and a scratch built buffer beam. LMS buffers and vacuum pipes completed the build. Each weighs about 40grams. White plasticard strips were fitted to provide a ledge for the chassis to sit on. Very crude closeup showing the modifications to the BR chassis (all left over parts from various kits which didn’t require them). 0.5mm wire was slotted through to represent the brake rodding. Buffer beams under construction using plasticard strip and an Exactoscaled etched buffer beam as a template. Excuse the clutter in the background but essentially a finished van - I tend to fit the couplings after painting the buffer beams. One trio sat almost ready for revenue earning service… And if you have got this far, thanks for readying! Please do feel free to comment or ask anything. Best wishes, Nick.

Peco fourth radius, so 22.5 inches I think.

A few more photos of my test track. Laser cut by Tim Horn, with the usual high-quality finish one would expect from him. The photos really speak for themselves construction wise, but a the reinforcement between the top and bottom pieces runs along as a zig-zag. There are also different finishes to top and bottom. The top has holes pre-cut to enable wiring to be slotted through. The top section is made up of 2 sections, each 1/8 the side of the overall radius of the circle. The bottom is made up of 3 sections; this provides a lot of strength within the boards. Ends - great alignment. Internal cross section. Outer view. Top surface - with holes cut for wiring. Bottom surface - no holes and in 3 sections. I haven’t attached the track yet, simply as I stack these and without track means they sit better in the cupboard. Hope this is of interest. Nick

No need to apologise for interrupting. Years ago, I was discussing the possibilities of making a forth radius 00 test track with Maurice Hopper. I had wondered at the time about using blue insulation board that many a good layout have been built from. At the time, Tim Horn was in his early days and Maurice had a quick conversation with him at a show. Maurice then produced a set of drawings and Tim very kindly drew it on CAD and produced this superb little circular layout. It has cabinet makers dowels for alignment and corresponding holes for bolts to slide through to secure each section. Truth be told, I have never used bolts simply as I usually put it on the floor when testing stock, but it means it isn't on the carpet or laminate flooring and keeps it up a bit (essentially away from pesky dog hair!). I'll take a few more photos of it later and post them. I believe Tim still has the CAD design - Maurice and I certainly don't own it as an idea and we were very happy for Tim to produce more for other modellers. Maurice has built an N gauge German layout on one set and retained a second as a 00/HO running in circuit. Best wishes, Nick. Edit - Typo

She was indeed! It was a rather nice Southern liveried IoW Terrier.

The District Supervisor (Lily) observers some running in trials… and I wonder why I don’t get much done! 🤣 How do you say no to a 15 year old collie? Anyway back to transfers.

My pleasure! I still don’t think I’ve fully caught up but I will continue to look through. Very inspiring stuff. Nick.

Stunning! I’ve been slowly catching up with threads and the frame on yours is amazing. Memories of a recent look inside Par signal box on a work visit have come flooding back! All the best, Nick.

I position it with the L wrapping around the W-iron, so flat side showing, with the other flat side facing the track if that makes sense. Excuse the very crude close up (taken on my phone). The wagon isn’t bent!

Yeah. Once it’s weathered, I don’t think the gloss will show through, plus a Matt varnish to seal the weathering in. I hope… 😬

Tim was telling me about these vans earlier. Lovely job converting them from HO to 00 gents and then the subsequent weathering. Who would have thought that a pair of Italian vans would turn up in North Wales of all places! Quiet extraordinary! Best wishes, Nick.

What he said! 🙂

Use of 1mm x 1mm brass L section as a tie bar representation. I do file away the molded detail before fixing in place with a bit of super glue. Hope this is of use, Nick

Hello Rob, Thank you for your kind words. It is 1mm x 1mm L shaped rod. I think mine came from Eileen's Emporium . I bought a stash from them several years ago. Tim @Captain Kernow put me onto the idea. I do use 0.45 wire sometimes, but generally 1mm x 1mm L section is my go-to now. Best wishes, Nick.

Morning all, Thank you for the feedback on the previous post(s). A little bit of work completed this morning. Using Fox FRH4811 transfer sheet, I’ve cut several 22T transfers down and then added a 1 infront to create 12. It actually wasn’t as bad as I thought, so that was a bonus! About 45 minutes work saw 6 sides completed. It is more time consuming than just a straight ‘12T’ but it does make use of the rest of the sheet. Good old Micro Set was used in the application and Micro Sol will be applied after lunch with a certain Captain in a bit. All the best, Nick.

Not a bad idea about the transfer exchange. I’m not aware of one, but it’s certainly got a lot of merit. I’d happy donate ones I don’t use/need.

Absolutely! And the Modelmaster ones have a lot of carrier film behind them. Shouldn't moan - at least we have transfers! I suspect I will do a bit of 'cut and shut' with the rest of that sheet.

That is rather nice, John! I do have some open wagons in the maturing box and now I have a reason to build them for Balcombe!

Thank you. That is the sheet I have 😁 If needs be, I'll order another one but unfortunately I don't need 99% of the other transfers on the sheet. I really should learn how to make my own transfers. Thanks again though for the link.

As I cannot find 99% of the photos from this thread, I've decided to start a fresh one. If anyone is interested, the new thread is located here. Perhaps @AY Mod you could lock this one, please? Best wishes, Nick.

BR Diagram 1/208 12-Ton Van About this time last year, I purchased (rather cheaply) six Bachmann BR 1/208 van bodies. There was one slight catch, though - they were all in a plethora of colourful liveries! So armed with some Precision Super Strip 2, each had a quick dunk and, once back to bare plastic, were washed and received a coat of Games Workshop Citadel primer. Repainting to BR Bauxite then was the next step in the process, which was achieved using Precision enamel paint applied through my Neo airbrush. After this was completed, the rooves were painted grey, and a small amount of talcum powder was liberally sprinkled on the roof to represent the canvas. The jury is still out on this step in my mind... usually, I create the 'weave' of the canvas using sandpaper, creating a 'cross hatch' effect. On Youtube, I follow several superb military model makers, and if memory serves me, this is where I picked that idea up from. Once weathered, I will compare it to a fellow van with a sanded roof to see if the idea is worth repeating. Anyway, back to the build. Under constructions, with new floors being added. Four of the vans have Bachmann 10ft chassis fitted to them. These were all liberated from the spare box, but I did try a small experiment with two. I used Comet's 10ft wagon wheelbase, attaching this to a suitable-sized piece of plasticard to represent the floor and then the solebars were attached to this. These little bases ensure that the wheelbase is perfectly parallel, and early running trials have shown that these do glide along. Will I repeat it with future projects? Who knows. The Comet floors provide etched brakes, which do look, to my eye, quite acceptable. When all is said and done, I'm building layout stock, not showcase stock, so ultimately I imagine I will reserve the remaining bases for cast white metal kits, where the W-iron can be stuck over the top. Lanarkshire buffers, vacuum brake pipes, 1mm 'L' shaped brass to create the tie-bars and Smiths couplings completed the basic underframe ingredients. I also swapped some of the Bachmann wheels for more refined Romford equivalents. Comet underframed pair. Bachmann chassis (note the GWR one to the right - weathering will hide this!) I do like the chalk markings from RailTec. Each of the vans received a coat of varnish. I use Daler Rowney acrylic varnish, thinned 50/50 with IPA and sprayed through the airbrush. Transfers were then applied, which are a mixture of Fox and Railtec. Unfortunately, I have run out of 12T ones so I will have to source some more. Does anyone know if there is just a sheet of these? Or are they mixed in with others? I also fitted some chalk markings to give them a little more character. Once I've removed more of the transfer film with a cocktail stick and some thinner, I will give them another coat of varnish and weather them. Anyway, thank you for reading. Please do feel free to add any comments or suggestions on. I don't want this to be a dull thread. All the best, Nick.

Greetings, With the forum outage a few weeks ago and me not knowing where 99% of the photographs are anymore (I cannot for the life of me locate the old photos on the previous thread), I thought I would start a new workbench thread. New year, a fresh start. My interest remains primarily in 4mm finescale modelling, dabbling in 00 and a small amount of P4. The P4 modelling is based on several outstanding rollingstock projects, which are required to meet the needs of Rod and John’s Ouse Valley and Balcombe project. Long-term suffers know that I am interested in the former GWR and SR lines on Dartmoor and the South Hams, with a particular station in West Devon being the ultimate future goal. I plan to get back into doing something weekly if I can, as since the first lockdown in 2020, I haven't done much modelling. Please do feel free to comment and share on this thread. I'm always keen to learn and develop my skillset. Best wishes, Nick

This photo is stunning - was a beautiful model. Full of character. All the best, Nick