nsl714

Thanks for the kind words Julian. The brass kits have been very satisfying to build, and I can heartily recommend them (particularly the Connoisseur ones) if you want to make the next step. After a few weeks of working here and there on the Siphon F, it's in one piece. The number of laminations on this model really give it some depth, and I've been real careful not to unsolder those which I've added! This was a particular challenge when attempting to solder the sides and ends into one piece. I was also somewhat trepidatious about the roof. Some careful bending sorted that, and it's happily soldered in. At the moment it's just at the ends, I'm not sure how easily I can get under the eaves to solder the sides. It seems solid enough as is, so that may not be necessary. Having made the trucks/bogies ahead of time made it real easy to sit the Siphon upright and work on the roof without messing with the V hangers. Overall it's been very pleasant to build so far and suitably challenging/rewarding for my skill level. And for good measure a cruel closeup of one end. Lots of neat detail incorporated here. That's all for now, more soon. -Zach

Thanks Hal and Dave for the information, it is much appreciated! I will admit the Collett's are mighty tempting... Hi John, thanks for the compliments! I agree it's nice to know more and more folk over here who are doing O gauge. You have a rather nice layout going yourself by the looks of it. -Zach

The toplights were from Steamline Ltd. I think they may have a trio of Collett high waist carriages still listed. Would Hayward be Haywood Railway by chance? I see mention of them occasionally but have never found solid information on their range or contact details. Thanks, Zach

Long time no update, but lots has happened recently, so up from the depths of time comes this thread. First, the Siphon F safely made its passage and arrived about a month ago. I've started on it a little at a time over the past week or two. As with the Macaw H, I elected to assemble the trucks first. I've also started the body, laminating the various bits together on the sides. No complaints so far, it's been quite nice to assemble as I work out the various techniques. That strapping on the left looks to need more solder/fixing... The HMRS transfers also appeared out of the postal ether. All three Connoisseur wagons and a Slaters Siphon O4 have been lettered. And though it may not look like it, the Toad has been glazed. Next will be a touch of weathering on all four. I'm also continuing to build upon the timber load for the Macaw. Also just in shot to the left is something I didn't build, but couldn't resist when found, a pair of JLTRT/MM1 Toplights, already built/painted. They are built to an okay standard, about as well or better than I could probably do now, and are said to be professionally painted by Warren Haywood. For now its just a D47 Brake 3rd and C31 All 3rd, but I plan to expand the rake eventually. That's all for now. More soon as the Siphon F progresses. -Zach

Another data point: a small parcel from Wales on April 14th made it to Indiana this past Wednesday, May 6th. Still waiting for a book from another shop in Wales mailed on April 8th.

Hi Ade, that’s nicely done on 9659, very effective. The glossy bits for water runoff I always like, that’s quite clever. -Zach

Hi Hal, that makes sense when you say that. Without trying to mentally reconstruct the linkage too much, its probably there to translate the rotation on that auto fitting to the same orientation as that in the cab and on the bunker end. Thanks, Zach

Hi Jeff, no worries, I was glad to talk with with your dad the other day. I also appreciate you all continuing in the current situation, it gives me and others something to do! Not to worry on the postage, it will get here when it gets here. And thanks for the kind words on the kits built so far. As I have said elsewhere it's been an interesting and rewarding journey thus far. Thanks, Zach

That’s very well done Hal. It puts me in mind to similarly prepare for the eventual arrival of my sound fitted example. What is the equipment/linkage under the brake pipe? Thanks, Zach

Thanks all for the kind words! Generally, I'm pretty happy with how they came together. The rails on the Toad took some work in particular, so I'm glad their straightness shows. As to the load on the Macaw, I suppose I misspoke. I entirely agree that they should be removable. I do intend to glue each together though so they stay as rather solid piles of balsawood. Pending the GWR freight book arriving I think I will approximately double the height of each pile before lashing down. The book cover shows a rather nice load of some sort of timber stacked high on a Macaw, so I have cause to proceed down this route at least. I need to get more balsawood I think.... I did successfully phone Scorpio today for the Siphon F, so that should be turning up at some point. Mr. Ennis had commentary similar to that which I've seen elsewhere, that kit sales are on the up as folk are looking for something to do. So that's one small bright point in this whole situation. Although I get a feeling I need to work on my "English" English a bit, we both struggled at times to understand each other! More to come soon. Thanks, Zach

Hello all, I have a small update to the Conniosseur wagons after some months away. All three have now been painted and await transfers from HMRS, which may be a while given the current global situation. I ended up shrinking away from custom mixed paint for the time being, and instead opted for Humbrol 67 "Tank Grey" on the Loriot and Toad, which I think look perfectly acceptable. These will of course get some weathering once transfers are applied. I'm also contemplating a load for the Loriot, on which I think a 10 Ton Aveling and Porter roller may fit if my research of these wagons and their capacity is correct. The Macaw on the other hand retains the Railmatch GWR wagon grey, of which there is more in the pot left than I first realized. I also made a start on a timber load for the Macaw. The initial attempt is two piles of ~16' timbers in 6"x6" and 6"x12" sizes. I'm not 100% certain if these would be appropriate loads, particularly with the smaller 6"x6", which may be better suited for one of the Parkside open wagons. As a result nothing is glued yet, and any thoughts/suggestions are certainly welcome! I have found a copy of Russell's book on GWR wagon loads, so we shall see what information that holds as well. As to what's next, I certainly feel the itch to continue on with something else in the meantime. I have managed to contact Scorpio Models, and golly they have a nice GWR selection there that I would of otherwise not known about! I'm thinking a Siphon F may be a good next project... Thanks, Zach

A bit of paint makes everything look much better...or reveals all the imperfections! Primer is now on all three wagons, and the quest begins for GWR Wagon Grey. I have a pot of Railmatch Acrylic (one of about a half dozen I imported at great cost), though the pot is sort of depleted after the Parkside wagons. I did make a sample card for it (along with a nice selection of others. GWR Green, Coach Brown and Cream, Southern Olive, etc). I'll probably go to a local hardware store and experiment with an acrylic of some sort. The grey does not need to be exact in this case, but the hope is I can settle in on a decent tintable paint that works before I need to paint something requiring more precision, like say an engine or carriage. More to follow... Zach

That's a good idea Ian, I might use that one on a Slater's Siphon that is also proving difficult to keep the roof on. The Toad finally was finished these past few nights. Upon examination, the buffers at the veranda end were a bit wall-eyed. Now filled and re-drilled, they're much better. That completes all three Connoisseur wagon kits I initially purchased. It's been a very enjoyable experience and I'm itching to tackle some more brass kits. Hopefully I'll find a time when it's relatively warmer in the next month or so to get these three primed and painted. In the meantime, it's time to go back to the gaggle of Parkside wagons, finish weathering them, and try to add a bit of weight. Hopefully the Dapol 48xx isn't too far off on the horizon either. Thanks, Zach

It's a new year and there's more building to be done. I foolishly broke one of the stanchions off the Macaw, so they've been replaced as suggested in the instructions with brass rod.I've been moving slowly forward on the Toad as well. It was a new challenge to get the thing square, but in the end it has paid off. The handrails were surprisingly therapeutic to bend and fit. I have also attempted to do as the instructions suggest and make the roof fit like a snuff can lid. It's made out of scraps of the edge of the etch, so it's not pretty, but it does the job. Some more adjustment is needed though. I'm contemplating adding a bit more brass to the sides in the same manner the ends have been done, that might stay it on better. Thanks, Zach

Hi Ade, That’s a real nice building you’ve made there, it seems perfectly suited to the layout. Does the layout take up most of the length then? Zach

Over the ensuing week I've completed building the Macaw. Not many photos taken, but this generally followed the instructions. The lamination of the solebar overlay was somewhat challenging, but after some liberal flux application (and retinning of the soldering iron tip), they eventually stuck. The lashing rings are a neat trick with split pins that work really well. The underframe also went together relatively easy. This photo was before I realized the brake pin guides were slightly in the wrong place. And finally, the finished wagon. It's been another fun build, and my confidence is definitely rising on the soldering. The Toad will be done sometime after the holidays. At that point I can think about painting. I'm also contemplating where to go from here with kits. An engine sounds awfully nice... -Zach

Thanks for the tip on weight Martin, I was previously unaware of the UK weight standards. All the Parkside wagons will need it, as they are quite light. I think I can fit tire balance weights or similar under all of them to get them to the proper weight. I'm back at it attacking the next Connoisseur kit on the (albeit very small) pile, a Macaw H. I sort of eased into it earlier this week by cleaning up the whitemetal trucks and buffers. Those are now soldered together and ready for the body. As the instructions point out, it took some adjustment to get the wheel bearings into the sideframes and let the stretcher sit neatly between them. Luckily I didn't go through the front of the journal boxes with the drill! After soldering those tonight, I started the body. I do not have the bending bars made yet, but I can definitely see the virtue of having them. These were pretty tricky folds, and some of the first ones still aren't the neatest. You can see the waviness in the upper lip all the way around. Still, it got better and I figured it out as it went along. Brass soldering should continue tomorrow. -Zach

That's a handy tip for the buffers Simon. I have one buffer on a Parkside van (coincidentally a Mica A) which I foolishly glued solid while attempting to secure that little nut to the back of the buffer shank. I'll give your method a try to get the spring out. Luckily I anticipated supply issues across the pond for such specialized items as the springs and especially the BA nuts. I have a few spare sets of the parkside buffers on hand just for the springs and nuts. If I may also ask, what do you mean by trapping the solvent? Is it that some vapors from it may get sealed in the body and have long term detrimental effects to it? Thanks, Zach

Thanks Phil. I've not massively messed up anything so far, so I have high hopes to keep it up. There's lots of talented folk on here for wisdom and inspiration. I managed to get all the whitemetal castings on the Loriot, and I didn't melt anything! So that's now done. This was certainly a fun learning experience, and I look forward to doing more. It was a straightforward and well done kit. I like the way Jim set up the sprung buffers in particular, that works well. I'm probably going to wait until all 3 brass wagons are done to attempt painting, so the Loriot will stay this way for a little bit. The Macaw will be next, starting sometime in the next week or two when I have some spare time. I also need to think about what to put on the Loriot...maybe a traction engine or roller? -Zach

Hello Simon, The Micas are quite nice. I agree that the color contrast is very striking in a world of grey wagons. It must have been a sight to see a block of 30+ plus of them in one train. How do you plan to remedy the non-working buffers on the Mica A? Thanks, Zach

Thanks for the note Ade, I appreciate it. Your Malmesbury thread is one that I've been following for a while, it's a neat little layout. I finished the brass work on the Loriot today, and tinned all the areas ready for the whitemetal castings. Tomorrow I'll see whether I can solder the castings on or melt them off! Thanks, Zach

Hello and welcome to what I hope becomes a documentation of my adventures in attempting to model the Great Western Railway in 7mm. I've been lurking here for a good year and a half watching the goings on while nursing along my own modelling, and a major step forward I think warrants coming out of the shadows. I suppose I should introduce myself to start. My name is Zach, and I'm a Civil Engineer in Indiana, USA. I've had more than a passing interest in the GWR for a while now. In fact, almost a decade ago, I wandered in here as a student seeking to build a Springside 14xx on a Lionel 3 rail chassis. That obviously never went anywhere, but now I'm older and (hopefully) wiser. I saw in passing last year that Dapol was making the 14xx in 7mm, and thought that it and an Autocoach would make a nice display for my desk at work. With the 14xx being a long way off at the time (hopefully in the next month at this point!), I saw a 57xx was a lot more imminent. That of course snowballed over the past year and now I'm knee deep in attempting to model the GWR in 7mm. I've built a number of Parkside kits and a Slater's Siphon to date, as well as rebuilt a Slater's Milk Tank bought off eBay. The end goal is to build a layout of the GWR c. 1934 once I have somewhere to actually put it, but for now I'm accumulating and building stock. These open wagons are 3 of 10 of the Parkside kits I've built and weathered. The weathering is a dry brush of the base color to fade the lettering, followed by an acrylic wash of brown/black and a brown dry brush for rust. A Parkside meat van, weathered so far with just the acrylic wash. This is the Slaters milk tank came to me built, but rather poorly. It was unpainted but decaled, and held together with electrical tape and a glue that had yellowed badly and became brittle. With the confidence of the Parkside wagons under my belt, I tore it down and built it back up the best I could. It's not perfect but definitely a lot more presentable than it was before. A part of why I chose 7mm is the implied necessity of having to build anything I want to have. I can't just order up a fully built and painted Castle or a King like one can in OO; I have to build it. The making of my own models to eventually create a railway appeals to me greatly. That also means that I have to eventually face building in brass or whitemetal, something I'm not entirely familiar with. After much research about various kits for the past year I finally jumped in a month ago and called Mr. Jim McGeown of Connoisseur Models. He happily supplied a trio of brass kits: a Loriot, a Macaw H, and an AA3 Toad. I hope to get to a point of building engine kits, but for now this seems like an appropriate first step, as it appears many have also done. I started on the Loriot this past evening. Starting in the realm of Brass has been my main impetus for starting a presence here. As I am bound to run into trouble eventually with it, any and all advice is greatly appreciated! I also hope that I can share my journey of modelling here as I go on. It's been a lot of fun so far, and this all is just the beginning. Thanks for reading, Zach

If I may interject a brief question here, this seems like the best place to ask. I've noticed on some older coaches (and brown vehicles, Siphons in particular), what appears to be the brown body color is carried up from the top of the body over the edge of the roof to the first drip rail. The T47 on the previous page is painted similarly, albeit with what appears to be grey below the drip rail. This appears on some vehicles but not others. Is there a rule for when this was/is applied to the roof of a coach or brown vehicle? Thanks, Zach

Connor, I also live overseas, in the US. I reached out Kernow about ordering most all of the colors which you list. It is true that they cannot ship any paint (acrylic or enamel) via Royal Mail, but they were able to ship a number of pots to me via courier. If you contact them before placing the order, I reckon they would be happy to accommodate you. Bear in mind that it will be relatively expensive, £50 is what it cost me to have 8 pots of paint mailed. Hope this helps, Zach