richbrummitt

I'm thinking about blue diesels: can I have a Euro?

Thank you Pete. I do like them, hence the Jester.

I've only come back to this because I was forced to find the content I follow link instead of using VNC. Much better for following blogs I looked at the deck again as I scrolled down and thought about whether dark or light would be how the wood would age. I think that unless there is something to stain it as it wears I think it would probably stay quite light? Darker when it was wet and if rotten then that changes things, but it is inside so not so likely to be wet or even damp.

Yes, some proper modelling: these blue boxes don't really count as models, do they?

That method also sounds crazy - what was his prefered method to skin cats? I only met him once. It was he who convinced me that I should remove both feet from N gauge modelling, in one go. I never look back.

They need to be square too. I bought a drill press because it makes it much easier. I use my piercing saw a lot, but some things are far too much work - anything with springs needs to be etched or added later as castings. I'm not sure that I'd be able to match that time (especially forgiving that the wheels and chassis must be painted separately before assmebly imo) but I would imagine that a couple of hours would be plenty after the first one. There isn't actually a lot of work involved. It is better to get them the right size in the right place though... That method is crazy. I think I have seen this man (or another like him). My piercing saw is used a lot, but not nearly as much as the range of small pliers, and tweezers, I have accumulated: I couldn't produce anything without the ability to hold things.

Me too :biggrin: If you viewed it from the other side it has a hint of The Bay at Farthing in a more recent setting. I'll look forward to more of whatever you're producing - it rarely fails to be of interest.

I reckon that since you have laid track and are undertaking scenic work (I can't see any wiring on your thread) it could be time for a locomotive.They really are not too difficult to get together. Until you try you'll never learn

I'm pleased someone could confirm this. The style shouts Bob Jones - an artist can often be identified by his work, even when the name is not present! I also have built one of these vans, but yours looks neater, John.

Mikkel, I'm intrigued: Some of your coaching stock has what looks like a red oxide colour for the wheel centres. A few others are much darker (almost) black. Richard.

If it is it has the wrong number painted on it. You can make out 50020 from the photo. Edit: I've looked again at the original on a better screen and have changed my mind. I agree with Pugsley and TomE: it's 50010

Cheers Don. Turns out it's not quite as finished as I thought: whilst looking in a box earlier today I found an offcut of etch sheet with the lamp irons and the remainder of the brake rigging! It would be rude not to add them...

We got PL-L down our road this year.

In between eating, drinking, partying, visiting, more eating, more drinking, more... (I shan't go on because I imagine we've all had to go through the same thing) I've wangled a day off and managed some time at the workbench. I really wanted to get the underframe finished on this milk brake van so that it was at the stage for painting. The roof and details will be added after the body has the base colour on. This allows me to easily paint the inside - essential where there are windows present. Last time you saw this vehicle here it had little more than the contents of the kit assembled. After sitting idle for about 5 years I had just rebuilt the W irons with some spares that included the brakes and added the trussing. This used nickel silver strip. Next on the list were the lower footboards. I wanted to devise a method that would allow easy and accurate spacing of the stirrups for soldering whilst ensuring they were upright. An off-cut of Tufnol and a few hours on the newest addition to the workbench (a Proxxon MF70 milling machine) produced a simple jig to do just that. First I drilled a series of holes down the centre of the edge spaced according to the stirrup positions. Afterwards I ran a milling cutter to form a groove down the centre for the upright of the step board to sit into against the wire inserted in the various holes. I hope the picture of the jig mounted in the vice explains it better than I can in words. An short length of the reduced angle used for the footboard is sat in place ready for the stirrups, bent from nickel silver wire, are inserted into the holes and soldered up. The ends can be trimmed to length once the soldering is complete. The holes are drilled vertically in the mill and ensure that the wire is upright when soldered on and the spacing will be the same for every one. Various additional holes exist so that I can use it again for coach bogie footboards and horse box steps, which are shorter and have different stirrup spacings. Before fitting the assembled footboards I fixed the whitemetal axle boxes (2mm Scale Association 2-473) and looked at the springs (2mm Scale Association 2-464). I realised that I couldn't fit these around the trussing, and on further observation of the line drawings in Slinn & Clarke to ascertain the size and position of the longitudinal tank I realised that the vacuum cylinder was on the wrong side and that I had soldered the floor in the wrong way around all those years ago (the instructions turned up as a page marker in one of the Russel volumes and were found to be misleading). Major surgery was needed! I unsoldered some items to enable a chunk of floor to be removed for re-insertion with the correct orientation. Before refitting on a new section of 0.010" nickel silver, making a complete floor for the vehicle for the first time, I added the footboards followed by the springs. Lastly the cylinder was added. I had some dowel the correct diameter so it was cut from that. It is cross drilled in two positions and slid onto a U shaped 0.5mm wire. This makes adjusting the vertical position easy. You will see the ends of this wire cut and filed flush in the underside view below. The model is now rested off the workbench with various other items awaiting the arrival of warmer drier weather so that I can get outside with the spray cans whilst I get on with the next item. Greetings of the season and all the best for 2012.

Okay. Brown, I think. Lake was 1912 onwards (or maybe it didn't happen ). Edit: They were originally Grey

Are you sure? According to Atkins et al. the first ones were built in Edwardian times. I had to have 4 made to meet the MOQ so at least two are going spare. The W4 would have been a rare beast.

There are also some 4 wheeled coaches available from scale link. They work out expensive though compared to other options. Last time I spoke to the person developing the Mex kit it was still in progress i.e. not available yet.

I just read your latest posting. I think that whatever roof is the right length is fine. I'm sure I used an LMS/SDJR cattle wagon roof for a GER passneger cattle box recently. I'm not even sure why I had the roof in the first place? If you haven't got anything to hand ensure you have some 0.005" nickel silver sheet to cut to size.

Aargh! You fill my head with too many ideas of things to make and do. A couple of observations but most noticeably I would not consider a diagram with around 100 vehicles in to be particularly rare, even though the most common had several thousand. On almost the same theme I am currently building some W7s.

They look gert lush. As the first comment suggests they will look even better once painted up and weathered running underneath the body. Dark colours can hide a lot of detail!

Do you have a body too? I didn't like the look of the dean goods from Nick and I'm not convinced of my ability to make a belpaire firebox that extends as far as the running plate rather than a pair of tanks as yet.