Mikkel

Yes, it deserves the name on it. If you already have one of the HMRS transfer sheets, the name can be composed from the lettering - either the alphabet provided or from bits of the other wording. But it takes a bit of time of course.

Very nice work, David. And all done with basic components, without buying in special items (save buffers and hooks). The L sections for the handrails are particularly impressive. And the lamp irons are ingeniously simple, but effective.

There's a magazine article here, I think.

Very neat. And exclusive - mahogany sleepers are new to me! Is that a traditional approach or are you innovating as usual? 

Very informative, Mike. I find these early engines quite instructive, because they show off more clearly the fundamentals of a locomotive.

And I like those external suspension arms, very stylish actually - especially in your rendering. 

On 26/03/2024 at 18:01, Keith Addenbrooke said:

 I still have the buildings for a US switching layout - add a transload / team track facility and there’s more than enough for a portable Inglenook:

 

 

That's a good idea. Bud's Trucking Company looks very suitable as one of those buildings that both give a purpose to a couple of sidings and at the same time serves as a facto backscene. A good choice by Walthers for a kit.

 Hi Keith, some remarkable buildings to be seen here, the Grain Elevator not least!

I went through a similar downsizing exercise some years ago when we moved to a 91m2 flat, and if by "no space" you mean no dedicated layout running space then that's been my situation for 5 years now. I've been pleasantly surprised by how quickly I adapted. To give you an impression of how it works:  

I have a desk in our living room and some shelves in a cupboard. I can fit a a light (foamboard) layout on the desk and the larger table top layouts go temporarily on the dining table (which can be extracted for greater length). I use water based paints, non-odour glues, plus a handheld vacuum cleaner and a wet cloth to constantly remove plastic dust from filing etc.

We do have a small attic space two floors up where I store the layouts, but for convenience I usually keep one or two of the layouts in one of those plastic boxes that go under the bed. If you keep the structures detachable then they can go in the cupboard and the layout module will be flat enough to fit under the bed. 

It does require a small-layout or modular approach of course. And it probably helps if you're the kind of modeller who likes to work on just one or two projects at the time on your desk. With your interest in structures, that seems to match though. Although I admit it would be hard to fit the grain silos under a bed - and that it's a bit more complicated when there are kids around!

Very nice, Neal. And with well positioned passengers too.

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 I realised that I havent finished adding the door handles!

I know that one, it's particularly bad when you realize that you've forgotten one whole side of the coach.

This is looking very good. The overall roof is impressive, a very substantial kit-bash!

I never know what's next on your blog Mike, except that it's always fascinating and informative.

The prints looks good, I wouldn't have relished creating those domes by hand! I like the door too, looks the part even without painting.

They look good Tim, proper workhorses. They also illustrate how elderly kitbuilt locos can still compete with all the shiny new superdetail RTR locos.

I like your approach to improving them, it reminds me of the Repair Shop where the approach is to retain as much of the original soul and patina as possible (unless the customer wants otherwise). That seems to me a very sound philoshopy.

It's such an interesting van, horseboxes tend to be elegant but restrained affairs, this one has a lot going on - a whole little town in itself! 

The bowing and brittle nature is frustrating but, I hope, just the usual teething problems of a new technology that seems to be progressing fast. I've been carving away at my Bulldog body this week - made (not  by me!) from Siraya Tech 'Build' resin - and it doesn't feel brittle at all.

22 hours ago, magmouse said:

Thanks for the additional info, Mikkel - I'd forgotten about the drawings in Janet Russell's book. I wonder if the 1920 picture of 583 actually shows a replacement vehicle, given the same number (as with wagons). The shape and construction of the 'china box' (the lowest part of the body, between the wheels) is quite different. If they are the same, the rebuild would have been substantial, with few original parts in the new version (also seen with wagons and locos, of course).

 

Nick.

Thanks Nick, I had the same thought but Tony Atkins also says it's the same vehicle - and he knew his GWR cartage. The GWR seem to have been quite free in rebuilding their motor vehicles - some of them extensively and several times - right since the earliest examples. So the notion of rebuilding road vehicles wasn't foreign to them.

That said, the cost/benefit ratio of rebuilding a horsedrawn vehicle isn't necessarily the same as that of a motor vehicle, and Atkins may be wrong of course. His GWR Goods cartage book vol 2 has the fleet list for motor vehicles, but unfortunately not for horse-drawn ones.

Edit: I've just had a look in Kelley's Great Western Road Vehicles, and found on page 255 a 1926 drawing of No. 2079, which has an outline that looks identical/very close to the original outline of 583 above (with upper body panels stepped out above the wheels). So either the original 583 was renumbered 2079 and the number 583 reallocated to another vehicle (but why?); or there was at least one other GWR horsedrawn pantechnicon to that original design, which seemingly survived at least into the 1920s.

I do have some EZ line, but thought it would not have weight enough to drop naturally. Still, worth a try though - thank you!

This is a later shot of the same vehicle, taken in 1920. Smaller wheels with thicker spokes have been fitted, and the sides are now straight.

There are a couple of drawings in Janet Russell's "Great Western Horsepower". She implies that the GWR made different types of these, but it is also possible that the drawings show the same van in  different configurations. The best drawing says 8 ft high (and a bit, not quite legible).

Tony Atkins GWR Goods cartage Vol 1 also has one of the drawings, although quite small.

8 hours ago, richbrummitt said:

I’ve been playing with this as an idea with some thin lead foil, and failed:

 

First the handling destroyed the printing very quickly. This probably not helped by the printer being a laser type. I varnished the transfers before cutting out on a subsequent attempt. The transfer did not adhere well to the foil and came away once trying to put the bends in around the ends of the sheet supported and wagon. The transfer also  to broke up on some folds and began disintegrating. I’m considering some self adhesive foil - the kind used for fly tying - on the next attempt in the hope the transfer will stay together better. I’ve found some 0.15-0.2mm thick but nothing thinner. That’s way above scale thickness for me but maybe it will work. I don’t believe it would be possible to fit the sheet made with foil to the wagon and then add the transfer onto it afterwards so the extra stress of bending two materials fixed together is unavoidable with the method. 

I hadn't heard of the self adhesive foil, thanks Rich. Another disadvantage of using transfers that I found is that they can be difficult to weather properly.

This is thin foil laminated to a printed paper sheet, which is a tad thick but does have the advantage that it's easy to shape.

Thank you. Looks like it focuses on creating gaming environments, you've made nice creative use of it.

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This was meant to be a "quickie"

We all know that one! 🙂

Another excellent build, Nick. It looks so crisp in that photo with the primer! The trick with the former is a nice one, I had not considered that it could be used for down-sloping sheets like that. And that rope must be the tightest I have seen, very impressive.

I always feel compelled to paint the whole thing, whether sheeted or not, but from a rational point of view it is pointless of course.

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the raised window frame detailing was inked in using a silver Sharpie permanent marker

That must have been painstaking work. Impressive stuff.

I like the presentation with drawings in the background. Can I ask what software you use?

On 09/03/2024 at 15:47, wenlock said:

Thanks Duncan🙂  You’re quite right the River class was always the plan to pull this rake of coaches, it’s next on this list unless I get distracted by a rather lovely LB&SCR family saloon that’s in the kit stash!
 

BW

 

Dave

This is the problem with the LB&SCR, it's always there in the wings, waiting for the next opportunity to lure innoncent men away from their chosen company.

A family saloon is a nice excuse though. Must give that some thought, thank you.

Thank you very much, Nick. That Archer's photo is indeed quite a sight!

BTW, Paddington have been in touch, asking why on earth there has been no mention of the company's own Pantechnicons. Here is an 1894 specimen. Tempting subject for a scratchbuild.

On 08/03/2024 at 16:53, Northroader said:

I did a Duncan Models pantechicon in 0 scale, and used it as a load on a LBSC machinery wagon, which is how it would go by rail. The wagon had a flat deck, not a well, and the pantechnicon was a tight fit inside the wagon. The poster boards above the roof have to be removed, the drivers seat folded down, and the pole at the front removed. If it is loaded dead central on the wagon, I found it is just within load gauge limits, nothing to spare.

Your comment made me realize that the prototype photos I have seen of Pantechnicons all show them on flat wagons, not well wagons.

@magmouse, can you think of photos that shows them on well wagons? (I looked in the HMRS collection but only found photos of them on the ground, but probably my error).

I know the feeling. I often make a mess with powertools, and then have to remedy with good old manual tools.

Your end results look neat, nice save.

What a sight, Dave, they are beautiful. With layouts like yours we can see what it was like. Of course it wasn't always summer, etc, but there must have been moments like this nonetheless.

The U14 is one of those six-wheelers that could have been a four-wheeler (perhaps it even became one, can't remember). Which makes me wonder why six wheels were chosen in the first place. Better riding?

Out of period but for inspiration 🙂 I have noted "Ascot" with this photo (no date).