5 Of 1

The start of the new year is much like the end of the old one, with me producing a fresh batch of kits.

Most of the supplies I sent just before Christmas sold out almost immediately so it's time for another run, starting with the parts for the body of Van 51 which fits onto a Dundas Models quarrymans carriage chassis.

Runs are small - I cast just five of each kit in a batch to combat boredom.

Once they're finished and sent off these will be available to buy through the rebranded Light Railway Stores website.

2020 Review - Part 2

April

I finished off the previous post saying we had plans for an old England engine kit and a dead chassis which were lying around in the bits box, and this is what we turned them into.

I've got a real fascination with the FR of my childhood in the 1970s and 80s.

While Princess may look splendid now in her lined out maroon livery, this is how I first remember seeing her, when she was freshly liberated from a plinth in Blaenau Ffestiniog.

This model is an unpowered tow-around which may make the occasional, fantasy trip up and down the line.

Himself also finished off the construction work on our own version of Van 51 using one of my kits, improved with a brass roof, resin ventilator and railings on the balcony.

And we started another one of my wish list projects, to create a model of Livingston Thompson at its nadir, when the remains of the locomotive were removed from storage in Minffordd yard.

The donor in this case was Langley white metal kit which had been donated for the purpose many years ago.

May

Out of the blue were were offered the chance to buy another Backwoods Garratt kit at a knockdown price.

As you can see from the picture it was a bit of a wreck, and we had no intention of getting it going as a runner, but it came with a Farish 08 chassis - which is always handy - and we had an inkling of an idea of what we could do with the very battered body...

 

I'd finished making and fitting the interior on Gwyrfai and by this time Himself was well advanced with the painting, which is an epic job on these observation cars.

The paint job was also complete on Van 51 which looked very smart and was just waiting for the glazing to be fitted.

June

Some running repairs were required on Bron Hebog when we noticed one of the crossing gates was damaged.

Himself knocked up a replacement out of styrene strip.

The very intricate transfer work on Gwyrfai was complete and all it now required was a coat of varnish.

And so while he was in the mood for tackling tricky transfers - and getting through incomplete projects - Himself started re-doing the lining on Conway Castle which hadn't been touched since before he moved to Scotland.

The Green Van

A little progress update on Van 51 which Himself has been finishing off.

It looks good with the FR crest applied on the side but until it is sprayed with satin varnish it obviously looks too shiny.

I’m still not convinced by the current infrastructure livery, and although in this livery it apes the plain green which some of the four wheelers spotted in the early years of the revival - including new Van 1 as was - I always thought the red suited it better.

Still, regardless of the colour, another brake van is always a handy thing to have in a fiddle yard, the challenge will be to make sure our 3 different versions of number 1 / 51 don’t appear at the same time....

Smuggling

Construction of Van 51 is finished and its been handed over to Himself for painting.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the package was hidden in amongst a delivery of supermarket food I had fetched for them, along with some nameplates for Princess kindly supplied by Narrow Planet.

It’s fortunate that he also lives on my route home from (essential) work so all rules are being obeyed.

The final pieces I added were the brass roof (already shaped and cut by Himself) and a vent I adapted from my casting for the lamp holders on the vintage carriages.

It should look quite smart in its green livery and will be just the thing for the Engineering Consultant’s bridge inspection train.

Brew Up

I don’t normally go into micro detail inside our rolling stock but I thought I’d make an exception with  Van 51 and try to make something to represent a kettle on the hot plate in the corner - surely the most important piece of kit on any working party!

Rooting around in my spares box I also found a plastic wheel which will do for the handbrake.

There are just a few bits left to put on the outside - like a vacuum pipe and an air vent in the roof  and then it’s ready to join the ever-lengthening queue for painting.

Inside Story

A few week ago I received the vital information I needed to complete the interior of Van 51 more accurately.

The Engineering Consultant managed to grab a few pictures of it while he was in Minffordd yard on business.

I suppose now I’m going to have to try and make a tiny kettle.

Van Production

Part of the weekend was take up with fulfilling the first orders for Van 51 kits.

The castings provide a body for the van in its current condition after many rebuilds over the last half century, including the balcony steps and fits neatly onto a Dundas Quarryman’s carriage chassis - which is what the real one used.

Builders can choose to make a roof out of styrene or brass and fit their own balcony rail.

Let’s Put This Van Into Action

Its been taken much longer than I would have liked but I’ve decided the time has come to start taking orders for castings for FR infrastructure Van 51.

The kit is designed to run on the Dundas FR quarryman's carriage chassis - as is the real thing - which is available as a separate unit from Dundas Models.

I had hoped to provide a bespoke etch for the handrail on the balcony but this has not been possible to arrange yet, but I’m going to go ahead with offering the body casting anyway.

What you get with the kit is the four sides of the main body, a floor which locates a cut-back Quarrymans chassis, a balcony steps casting and a casting to help you form a styrene roof skin (but there is nothing to stop you using brass if you wish.)

I’m offering these castings for £25 + postage - please email us at the Boston Largs Works address if you would like to place an order.

Tell Me I’m Wrong

The title is an invitation, not a challenge.

You see, I’m starting work on the interior of Van 51 but I still have very scant information about what’s inside it, other than from what I can glean from photos taken from the outside.

So this is my initial best guess, but I am open to correction and modification, so readers, do your worst!

It’s Something

When you haven’t done any modelling all week then even a few snatched minutes feels like an achievement!

I picked up the Van 51 prototype and inserted some small blocks to fix the level of the chassis / floor.

I was intending to do more but the hoover exploded and so fixing that became the priority...

End Of Year Bonus

Himself has done a very quick turnaround on the balcony handrail for Van 51.

He’s also knocked up a brass roof, which is just resting in place at the moment, and attached a vac hose.

There are still some handrails to be made up, and of course the interior to make.

First, though, I’ll need to uncover some pictures to remind myself what’s actually in there...

2019 - Part 4

We rounded off the year with a first showing of Bron Hebog in Scotland at our own club's show in Greenock and with the debut of our new set of WWHR carriages.

Unfortunately only Russell is able to pull the whole lot up the hill. Gelert and the Baldwin have to have the load reduced....

130 is really starting to come together, although once again Himself is waiting for the real one to be finished so we can be completely sure about all those little details.

I'd finally got round to making a start on the second WHR Pullman observation car which is being given the name Gwyrfai.

November

Progress on the carriage has not been rapid but did get most of a day to myself to start adding the beading to the side pieces.

Himself decided that after many years broken on a shelf it was time to get our original Blanche back into running order, a major operation which required the strip down of the chassis and replacement of a gear wheel.

He was also getting on with the very intricate task of lining out the FR Observation car 152, the completion of which has taken most of 2019.

December

To bring the review up to date, as you've been reading in recent weeks I've been making an effort to complete the first model of van 51, which has sat for many months looking like this.

And Himself celebrated the completion of 152 with a line up of our three Pullman obs, hopefull to be joined by a fourth next year.

Thanks for reading our updates during 2019 and we look forward to sharing more of our modelling with you in 2020.

On Hold

I had marked today down in the diary to get some modelling done, but a couple of things got in the way.

Firstly, a combination of the General Election and an acute staffing crisis means I'll have to spend the day in the office rather than on holiday.

Secondly, Himself made me send Glaslyn back for a photoshoot (see previous post) meaning I've lost my vital reference for Gwyrfai, which still needs the end pieces made.

It reminds me that there's another project which is on hold, which is my Van 51.

I cast the body shell parts with the intention of being able to produce it as a kit, but it has been stalled for a number of months while I wait for an etched part for the handrail to be made for me.

I'm getting to thinking that the best thing might be to pass it over to Himself who'll be able to knock up a bespoke one with his soldering iron and we can at least get one new model for Bron Hebog even if the kit never ends up going on sale.

It'll go very nicely on our Bridge Inspection Trains, so beloved of the Engineering Consultant.

When he's not helping us operate Bron Hebog he can be found organising the real trains around Porthmadog Harbour Station.

It's a good job the person who signed him off as a signalman never witnessed the chaotic state of the fiddle yards on Bron Hebog and Dduallt when he's left in charge of them....

Test Build

I've made quick progress in getting the masters for Van 51 turned into rubber moulds and cast the first copies, which I've now cleaned up and glued together to see how it looks as a body shell.

At this stage I haven't established a design for the floor / chassis, so I've put the four sides together as a box with only a very small contact area on each corner, which is a little tricky.

When I come to write the instructions for the kit I will most likely advise builders to fix either the sides or the ends to the floor first, which will make it a lot easier to put together.

Compared to an injection moulded plastic kit these resin sides are a lot thinner, but because I used open back moulds there is always likely to be a tiny variation in the thickness from cast to cast.

I am very pleased with how the front balcony step has cast, and it looks good fixed in position.

The biggest outstanding issue is the handrail on the front edge of the balcony, but I have a plan for that.

Van Parts

I've finished making the masters for the body of Van 51 and will soon bury them beneath silicone rubber to make the moulds.

I'd spent a lot of time considering how best to deal with the balcony.

I had to decide whether to try and cast it as a one-piece as part of the end of the van or do it as a separate casting.

As you can see, in the end I decided to make it a piece on its own which can be glued in place.

One of the reasons for this is I will put both the ends in the same mould box, and if the steps were attached to the end it might increase the chances of getting reject castings.

What I hope will be noticed when the finished model is put together is that I've put brass chequer plate onto the balcony steps and platforms, which should be a nice little detail.

Now to make the moulds, cast the first set and build a prototype.

Bottom End

I’ve been working steadily on my Van 51 project this week with the first of the ends made.

These are quite tricky to fabricate because you have to cut a blank piece with a curved top, then slice it off and fix the pillars with very precise spacing, chop them to the correct height (ensuring it’s level) then bond the top piece in place.

It’s rather flimsy to begin with but the second layer of beading makes it all nice and solid.

Resumption

My Van 51 project has taken a back seat in recent months while I’ve been making interiors for various carriages, but now the Gladstone Carr is done there’s no reason not to pick it up again.

I’d got so far as to make the basic outlines of the sides, and the next stage is to add the beading, which I’ve just completed.

My plan is to make a resin cast body which will fit onto a Dundas Quarryman’s Carriage chassis, and I’ve got one of them on order to help with the design.

The railings on the balcony will, I think, have to be an etched part.