dj_crisp

This is true. You can do alot with the old Lima efforts. My 117 and 156 were my favourites when getting into this railway modelling malarkey which is probably why I have a soft spot for DMUs.

This is my last heritage DMU cut n shut project (ever) and being honest I'm not sure if this will turn out ok. I only have doing a 205 centre car as my true final MU hack project. This is probably pushing my cutting abilities too far! Originally I had planned on a 116 DMBS but seeing as I've run out of Dapol 122 victims for roof domes I thought I'd be selling this on. However hacking the DMS for the 116 centre car meant I had a few spare sections.... And who doesn't like a knackered hybrid DMU? So against my better judgement and after a beer the hack saw came out (usual disclaimers when having a beer and sawing,.... many DMUs get hurt under such circumstances). It looks a mess but thought I'd share a few test shots of the hack prior to applying filler on the roof and mistakes. Talking of filler.... as my modelling gets through alot of the stuff to hide my mistakes I'm quite impressed with White Tamiya Putty - just started trying it out and it sets rock hard and files well. Although don't be too liberal with it as it melts Bachmann's plastic (as evidenced above on the first roof join) and being rock hard takes an age to sand. So best laid plans in trying to join up not needing much of repaint has been thrown out... One side the ex. DMS and DMBS lining is a good match... the other not so! Never would have noticed the DMS having different heights for lining and grey printed on each side until you come to try and line the things up. Looking forward to fixing that.... not! The large white section is me attempting to remove the grille and on these occaisions I prefer Dapols printed approach ;) But for a refurbished 117 and 121 I much prefer Bachmanns moulded grille so can't really complain. I haven't studied the 115s much so if there are any glaring errors please shout as i have a fighting chance of fixing at this stage! I'm assuming the roof vents are above the doors like the 117 and also have been debating if the headcode box is slightly different? I'm wondering if the top of the headcode box is a little flatter rather than a gentle curve? So the one big error i think I have is that I've lost just under 1mm in length - measuring is clearly not my strength. I'm hoping that its not too obvious when i rejoin it to it's chassis... the interior is easy to fix as that needs a hack! Worse case is saw off the rear buffer beam and re-attach and hopefully it looks passable. This book is dangerous ;) Happy Modelling all!

Not my photo but a link to the real ones. Thanks thats quite a neat solution! Thanks for sharing. Clearly the compromise is to hack down the middle plough. I did similar on a Heljan 33 but as i mount kadees to the body I mounted mine on a bit of brass and attached via the kadee bolt. I found it hard to get them to look ok to sit like the prototype and am still not sure they look good. Could be a trick of the photo but can you change the angle of how the Accurascales are mounted? They look a little on the small side but I'm wondering if they're leaning forward? Some thinning of the edges and some black paint then they could look quite nice. Still think there's a market for some nice brass versions though.

Thanks. Interesting - I'd have expected the centre plough to foul the coupling so have they reduced the height of the centre plough to fit?

Some decent ploughs will be ace and as I use kadees I'll have to come up with a way of fitting them all in. Not sure the Accurascale would work with Kadees? I think something in brass would work and look better.

They were a bargain Rich ;) I've got some Accurascale PCAs but have struggled to get them to run well in EM. I also think the Bachmann PCA is probably more suitable so will probably change at some point. I look forward to seeing how these turn out.

Looks amazing!

Hi Fran It's great you're taking on this excellent model. I'll be interested in hearing what you've changed on the rotating axleboxes to make them work? To my eyes the rotating axle boxes look the same as the Hattons versions and can see in the photos they look different in how each one fits (ie proud of the bogie)? Is that sideplay or to allow a bit of movement? Also I think its on your list of improvements but the change you've made to the moulding to allow a removable roof looks like it could so with some improvement in fit. The exhaust silencers also look like they have a bit of extra height over the Hattons versions but again that's probably a preproduction example? Thanks and I look forward to these hitting the market.

A bit of TC progress. I noticed I missed an interior partition so this has been added from plastikard and then primed with a halfords rattle can. The DMBS & DMS have also been primed so the set will be coloured the same... and hopefully look consistent when the interior lights are on. I'm not sure what the colour should be so I reckon I'll go for a blue. Prior to priming I also hacked the interior about a bit so the body fits where I added some strengthening bits (and handrails!!). Which pleasingly it does fit; The body has had handrails and roof vents fitted as well as some tidying up around the joins. Hopefully it looks ok! The other side; The roof has had 3 primes and two sand and fill and I think its at the stage where my brush painting will make it look consistent with the DMBS and DMS. I've also added the extra steps (but left it with only one support as i think i could really mess that up), and removed the waste pipes. Thats all the differences I'm aware of between the 117 TSL and 116 TC but there's bound to be more I've missed. The handrails are my guess from the two photos I've found on the internet. On those that I've found the step end and one handrail and the other end without steps had two.... makes sense eh ;) No idea if it's right for mine but I'm going with it. Also as this is a full respray I've added a door grab handrail replacing the moulded version. I'm going to have a short modelling break of a few weeks and those of you off to DEMU showcase - Enjoy!! Will

Looking good! I'll be interested in your thoughts on the EM wheels as they could be useful for other projects (assuming they have 2mm axle diameters) Cheers Will

Looking ace! They could simply be on an ex-works run in doing a gentle clay turn ;)

I've been enjoying researching WR signalling and I know there will be plenty of gaps in mine but I'm going to have a go! (My effort will be a bit more modern set in the 80/90s mostly)

Best way to unwind after a days work on the PC.... hack a few centre car interiors about! A trial fit before i glue everything together and prime. I had a spare interior from the 121 DTS build so I've combined the two for the 116 TC. I won't be able to use the pin connectors for the interior lights so will use some oldschool wires and hot wire it (well hopefully!) I had to remove a partion wall on the long stretch of the standard class but while not strictly correct in it's seat layout I think the 3 parts will be passable when painted. Now i just need to add a step in and work out what bits are different on the underframe. It's a pity but there seems to be hardly any photos of such things so I'm going to guess it's fairly similiar excluding the waste pipe

Hi Rich Sadly not - it's an exhibition that I'm going to put in the diary for next year as it looks great and I really want to go... mostly to catch up with everyone! Hope you have a great time - Your layouts looking brill and i'd like to see your china clay wagons someday soon :) Will

The point rodding looks rather splendid! It's inspiring me to have a go on mine :)

Class 116 update: Well I've decided to have a go at doing a second TC but this time using only Bachmann shells so a TCL & DMS has been hacked. i have questioned my sanity doing a second one but it does mean the hinges and door bangers line up ;) The challenge was removing the window frames and keeping it all smooth. An ok job sitting in the garden with a beer but I'm never removing frames again! Only the first coat of primer has gone on to help highlight areas for improvement but I think this will be the TC for the 116 set. Not sure what I'll do with the spare as I have no plans for a second 116! The DMBS still needs extra work around the vents so will be smoothing that off, resanding and priming, but i did get the airbrush out the other day and spalshed about some yellow. As my preferred precision yellow has dried up unexpectedly I've mixed up a a new shade based on what yellow paints i have left. My phone camera has made it look a bit brighter than reality! And a rarity for me - deliberate (!!) damage applied to the DMS! I plan on modelling the last BR Blue 116 set which managed to stay blue until its demise in the late 80s. However sometime in the 80s it got a whack so I've had a go at representing this. Haven't decided to make it look rusty or leave as is as it did seem to get repainted over. The markers will get tidied up but I've been unable to remove the light guides so rather than break them (as on my NSE 116) I'm leaving them in and will paint the edges at some point. Will

I'll put it in the diary... might be a little far "north" for me. But hopefully catch up soon Cheers Will

Some blue ones.... I've put some EM wheels in just to see how they look on the layout. Will do a proper conversion soon... which basically means aligning the brake blocks. I'm quite pleased with them :)

Absolutely! I'm trying to do the last all over blue 116 set ;) Just need to decide which shade of Blue to go for! Cheers Will

Layout looks stunning! I'm gutted I didn't get to go to Railex and see the layout but hopefully next time it's out and about. Will

A quick update on a few DMU projects on the go.... all are my first prime test shots which show loads of areas needing lots of improvement! I'm attempting a 116 TC bash using a Bachmann 117 centre car and spare Dapol 122 bits. I'm debating on how successful this is going to be. One side is a nice tight fit; The other is strangely about 1mm different so I've used some plastikard to fill in the gaps; Initial primer blast shows lots of tidying up needed but i think there could be a chance of an ok centre coach. If not i may have a 2nd go with some more spares. The windows seem the same size which is important but there are small differences in height positions of door bangers and hinges which you don't notice until trying to match them! I'm not sure (well I'm hoping) these will be that noticeable when on the layout though. Also started is the 116 DMS and DMBS. Bachmann 117 bodies with Dapol domes; The DMBS has the most work... I might have a go smoothing the join between the dome and the rest of the body but overall I'm quite pleased. Mods include drilling out the Guards door handles, filling in the side vent, changing the vents and thinning the front cab windows. And the big question is.... is t worth removing the window frames from the sides....! A couple of windows need a bit more smoothing but hopefully its not too noticeable that I've filled them off.... and while doing this i did question my sanity as I've now done 3 coaches! Problem is I always seem to create extra work due to knife slips, dropping bodies etc so theres been plenty of fixing my errors too! And hopefully a fairly straightforward project is a early 70s bubble as I've always wanted to do a blue one with two-character route indicators. I don't have any dimensions but those supplied with the Dapol body don't look tall and thin enough. So a little filing later and I think they look a bit better (original at the bottom); Thinned as much as i dare! Usual mods is an improved roof, new vents, thinned front window ends and the body is hacked down ready to fit a Bachmann chassis. And finally the oddball.... First couple of coats of paint on the roof - I'll paint at least one more coat after it has had a day or two to dry so it won't end up this patchy.... until weathering! I like using acrylics to attempt to get a little bit of texture on the roof as Bachmanns factory finish looks too smooth to me. Well thats the excuse for the brush strokes showing! Original plan was for a super quick n simple conversion with no respraying needed (other than primer on the roof. But removing the old headcode box caused the front to crack above the windscreen wiper casuing the front to crack. So thats been filed and filed ready for some yellow blending in although my shot of the unit at Penzance on flickr is pretty scruffy so may get away with some weathering! On the other side there is a knife slip which following alot of swear words (to myself ;) ) has been sanded and filled. I seem to have got away with the light grey part of the scratch so just need to feather in some blue. Typically it's on the curve of the lining though so that won't be fun painting that bit. But weathering the roof might be! Lots of stuff to keep me busy over the next few months! Enjoy the sunshine! Will

Excellent. Many thanks! I'm very tempted with a blue grey one!

An interesting release! Anyone know which of these were used much in Devon/Cornwall in the late 70s/early 80s? Finding photos of them while in BR use is a bit tricky. Thanks Will

Oh I couldn't resist sneaking in a 50.... And left one hiding ;)

I finished off my regional railways 122 this week by adding in some glazing. While it's not as good as laserglaze hopefully it looks ok! A little out of period for Oldshaw but Guy let me run it in! Cheers Guy! Overall I think it needs a good session on the rolling road as I felt the mechanism was a little tight. Will also tone down the lights too. The 122 is close to being my favourite DMU. Overall I'm quite pleased how this has turned out. A final shot of the bubble sneaking past on of Guys rather splendid signals!