Colin parks

Hi Bernard, The rivets are so small (inverse to their visual impact) that I am going to try 800 grade wet and dry to flatten them to half the height. As you say, the fixings were not pointed in reality. it looks as though just the merest touch would 'bruise' the Hornby 2 BIL rivets, so an experiment will be done on part of the body which is not so prominent - I don't want to lose them altogether. The 2 BIL roof domes were riveted though - just my luck, as it will be difficult to preserve the rivet detail around the moulded-on cab ventilator as it is removed. Masking tape should offer some protection if the needle file strays slightly. All the best, Colin

Hi Bill, Thanks for your comment re. the Kirk 2 BIL. It is in its second guise, having previously been painted too dark a shade of green. The paint is Precision Paints' BR Southern region EMU Green, though I forget the number. It was dusted down with some black Tailors' chalk to take the brightness away somewhat. The knobs are unbranded from the local model shop, but they probably are of Gibson manufacture. For the Hornby BIL, the knobs will be reduced by holding them in a pin-chuck held in turn in a lathe and turned at the highest speed setting. A fine needle file will do the job of removing the shoulder at the base of the knob as well as gently filing the knob itself. This was not done for the Kirk BIL as I had not worked out how to perform this process back then. All the best, Colin

One last one for now showing the horns, water strip down-pipes, driver's door grab handles, horns and MU cables removed. There is some residual paint left from the handles on the door reveals. Bit of careful sanding to be done there. One of the main reasons to re-paint this 2 BIL is to tone down the rivetted look. I am absolutely certain that the steel sheeting on these units' bodies was fixed with screws, which were more discrete. The extra coats of paint should submerge the 'rivets' a bit. All being well, I should be able to buy some brass knobs today for holding the grab handles. The centre MU cable will be made from .009" guitar string i.e. much thinner. The left and right hand MU cables will probably be replaced by ones fashioned from 0.5mm plastic rod. The air horns will be my usual turned brass affairs. The wiper will be set level. I don't think my plastic driver would want it across his field of vision like that! Colin

Hi Ian, This might be of interest to you! http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/73651-2-bil-or-not-2-bil-that-is-the-question/?p=1089070 All the best, Colin

Well as mentioned above, the glazing in the motor coach (DMBS) put up more of a fight. This coach had more glue around the body clips which are part of the glazing. Broke one clip(and the tip of the knife)! In the top corner above the toilet window another small piece of the glazing strip was left behind, but nothing that will cause problems. On the corridor side of the DMBS, there was very little glue above the widow line , with the top edge of the strip just held by lugs protruding down from the underside of the roof. This accounts for why some of the windows were at a slight angle to the side. For anyone really wanting a 'blue' BIL, levering up the glazing strip with the point of a knife half way between the bottom edge and the window, then working along the glue line as it breaks worked for me. As shown here. The glazing is already carefully tacked onto paper with all-purpose glue and will be stored away, but you get the idea. The yellowish patches of remnant glue can be made out. The glue will be carefully scraped away before re-fitting the windows post-painting. Colin

Hi SRman, The windows are now all removed. The DMBS ones were more difficult to prise away from the body, as the person who assembled the model had used more glue. Having said that, no windows are cracked and the only damage to repair is one broken clip which has parted company from the driver's window on one side. I wouldn't recommend removing the windows of the 2 BIL to anyone, because it seems each model will have differing amounts of glue attaching the glazing. If you do decide to have a go, levering upwards with the tip of a sharp knife just above the lower glue line is best. Hornby have quite helpfully left vertical expansion gaps in the glazing strips for the blade to go into. All the best, Colin

After sitting for some number of months in its box, the Hornby 2 BIL has come under the knife for a few changes. The model is basically very good and can be happily left alone without any of what is about to befall this particular example. The underframes need little attention other than the adding of air brake pipes and screw-couplings. The body sides will be largely left alone. I am not going to carve off the commode handles, but might excise the driver's door grab handles and replace them with slimmed-down Alan Gibson knobs and 0.4mm brass wire. The roofs will come in for the most attention/destruction! Here we go then: First on the list of 'to-do's' was to see if the glazing could be removed - with a view to ultimately re-painting this model in BR Blue, taking the opportunity of flattening the 'riveted' side detail down in the process. With a deep breath, the trusty old Swann-Morton was applied to the fenestration of the trailer coach. Good start: the glazing came away without cracking any windows. I have a Kirk 2 BIL which has far more detail inaccuracies (all added by me in ignorance of the facts) than the Hornby model. The Kirk 2 BIL (its motor coach is on the left) is destined for Oldlugger's work bench soon, minus its 00 gauge bogies and wrong-for-unit-number heavy duty buffers. The back of the cab interior has an accurate representation of the conduit and switch gear/ fuse boxes. The cab interior will be re-painted in the strange hue of green which the BR(S) painted these interiors in due course. One change unexpectedly to be added to the 'list' is changing the air horns. Two of the same size would just go: "di-di", not "di-dah"! So these items will be swapped for two pairs of long/short horns(1 set for each cab). The DTC has an 8'9" motor bogie fitted. This will be changed for an 8'9" trailing pick-up bogie. (Shown is my Kirk model, incorrect as it has straight guard irons instead of cranked ones.) The main differences between the two types of bogie is that the traling pick-up bogies had shallower side frames and the brake linkage was between the wheels rather than in front of them. There are also a tie-bars between the W-irons, but this is hard to see behind the shoe beams. (Note the disparity in depth of the beams - also to be dealt with on the motor bogie.) Colin

Hi Lee, Looking forward to seeing your take on the weathering of the 09s. These models are indeed remarkable in their detail and durability. All the best, Colin

Hi Lee, I have much less experience with an airbrush than either you or Jon, but seems that Humbrol gloss thinned with white spirit, tends to 'flatten' down to something akin to a satin finish if applied at low pressure and not too thin. I once used Railmatch BR blue and that was so thin that I tried a third coat too soon: The paint crazed in places, which is not desirable on the sides of a class 73. The job was rescued by sanding with 800 grade wet & dry carborundum paper, wetted with water. So that was literally flattening down the finish. It did leave a rather unintended but realistic look of paint that was wearing off through too many visits to the washing plant. All the best, Colin

Hi Andy, Just catching up with your thread. You have been busy! The Terrier looks nice and a lot chunkier than its southern cousin with the extended tanks and almost solid wheels. The photos of your mould-making are interesting. Can the moulds be re-used or are they one-offs? All the best, Colin

Hi Lee, Nice work. The term 'production line' comes to mind! All the best, Colin

Hi Rick, Those latest photos of your layout reminds me of a holiday in Cornwall in the nineties. We travelled down to St Ives on a unit like that 3-car unit shown in post #601. The droplight window rattled so much I had to wedge a folded leaflet in the side of it! Amazing to think your layout is an outdoor one. You couldn't do that here! All the best, Colin

Nice work on those pantographs James! Looking forward to seeing pictures of the finished unit. All the best, Colin

The coach is looking nice Pete. A coat of paint always blends together all the elements of models made from diverse materials. All the best, Colin

Hi Lee, That is a brave conversion! All the best, Colin

Hi Sean, The work on the underframe looks good. You deserved the views you got for such an interesting transformation (of what could only be described as a well-proportioned toy before you started). Glad to hear we haven't lost you to 7mm completely though. It is an interesting paradox: the larger scale makes work on a model easier but also obliges more detail to be included. Stick to the magnifying glass mate! All the best, Colin

Hi Pete, That is a really nice old-time coach you have produced. The birdcage tops it off perfectly. Rather you than me with the lining-out though. All the best, Colin Edit: You can work your way through that plans book now!

Hi Sean, The coach body is looking very nice. The end detailing looks very neat and tidy. All the best, Colin

Hi Sean, Found them! Colin

Hi Sean, I should have described the tool in question as 'proportional dividers'. I never used them, but my father did occasionally. You wouldn't need any calculations if you had some! Still looking for them..... (2.8mm) Colin

Hi Sean, Nice work on the underframe detailing. I have never built anything in 7mm, but I do wish I had kept my two Big, Big Train coaches now! The coach is going to look very handsome when finished and painted. Re. scaling up 4mm to 7mm, my father made me a pair of dividers which did make scaling up a lot easier (well up to as certain length, which depends on the size of dividers you make). I think essentially, the pivot is set at say, 4cm from the 4mm points and 7cm from the 7mm end and that's about it. The only thing is to have the pivot tight enough so that the points do not move when transferring measurements. You could knock up something out of Plastikard. I will dig out the dividers and post a picture of them. All the best, Colin

Hi James, I seem to have missed your recent Loftus Road posts until now. The pictures are very good, I especially like the work you have done on the car park markings. The VEP weathering certainly improves the basic model and those shots of the class 377 are inspiring me to have a go at one before long! All the best, Colin

Hi Andy, Re. webbing, it would not need to touch the model, it was meant as a surface on which to lay the ruler -lino would not have the same grip. I have heard of cork-backed rulers being used for lining-out, but I just a heavy steel one. All the best, Colin

Hi Andy, Fifteen pallets sounds like enough timber to make a cradle! Smooth planed would be best. As for anti-slip, it is sometimes on sale in Lidl. Failing that, carpet shops sell packs of it. A piece of Pirelli 2" rubber chair webbing would make a nice stable base to rest you hand and ruler. You would only need 12" of it. I could send you a bit. Re. chamfered rulers, the width of the nib of the pen keeps the paint clear of the edge of the ruler. With the ruler upside down it would be harder to maintain a straight line. It does sound like I'm an expert, which I am most certainly not, but it can all be learnt given enough practice. All the best, Colin

Hi Andy, Do not give up on the bow pen. My lines looked like that at first. Sandy is right, the paint is too thin. It ought to be gloss too - perhaps it is thin gloss. Leave the lid off the tin, pour off some of the oil or the 'nuclear option' (which might dull the paint if over-done) is to add a little talcum powder. This last tip was given to my brother by Precision Paint's original owners as a way of getting some body to red paints in particular. Too much talc = matt paint though. As for holding the model steady, why not make a wooden cradle with two lengths of timber as high as the width of your coach, say, 38mm inc. handles and set about 52mm apart, screwed to a board. Something similar is to be found pictured in Ian Rathbone's book. Of course, a cradle with one sliding side would be even better as you could clamp the model gently in place. There is a picture of something similar on the Alan Gibson website used for holding models while drilling out holes for axle box bearings. Now if the lower length of wood had a layer of anti-slip (such as the material used under rugs) and you used a ruler broad enough that it still rested on the rubber-topped surface even when ruling at cantrail level, that ruler would be going nowhere whist you worked along the coach side! All the best, Colin