Bron Hebog Review Of The Year Part 1

There were no complaints about our following the media fashion at this time of the year for a look back over the preceding twelve months so I shall repeat the exercise with a look back at the Bron Hebog modelling year.

January

I began with a burst of activity on a long term project to make a 2nd model of the WHR KMX tamper for a client - one of the designers of the conversion of the real machine in fact - and gave my finger tips some heat treatment soldering up these hydraulic looms from offcuts of brass and untwisted picture hanging wire.

This project has taken so long that when the model was commissioned the client was living in Australia but has since moved back to Yorkshire. Oops!

In January I also completed the first of my B wagon kits - in this snap you can see one completed as a WHR bike carrying wagon posed next to an example of the 2nd generation DZ wagon rivet details added to the master.

We also made some progress on our model of Super Barn 121 with Himself getting round to putting a brass roof on it.

February

The early months of the year saw us finally delivering on another long term outside contract - a pair of 7mm scale WHR Pullmans which I scratchbuilt in styrene and Himself painted and lined out with Fox's transfers.

They are a stunning pair of carriages, even if I do say so myself, and it was hard to let them go.

March

I caught up with another of my 7mm carriages at the Model Rail Scotland on the layout Rhyd which was on show at the SECC.   It is a model of the original FR Barn Observation Carr 100.

I also began work on the first of the models of the houses in the modern estate which is a feature at the south end of Beddgelert station, working on designs drawn up by the Artistic Director.

April

Having spent many months casting kits to sell and making carriages for clients I had to submit to the urge to make something for myself and started work on a model of the WHR tool van.

The real van was built up on the chassis from a DZ wagon and I used one of the chassis castings from my DZ kits as the base for the model, scratch building the van body from styrene.

I also paid a visit south to Bron Hebog HQ to observe progress on the layout and took this snap of our set of DZ wagons - all of them slightly different - which Himself had painted and lettered.

May

I was making steady progress on the build of the first two houses.  

By May this one was almost complete with the roof in place and just awaiting some finishing touches such as the guttering and the ridge tiles.

Having got accustomed to the nature of the complicated design of the buildings the second house came together quite rapidly.  Here they are posed together.

June

I was thrilled in June when the news I'd waited a lifetime for was confirmed - a decision to go ahead with the restoration to steam of FR Large England Welsh Pony.

I have very fond memories of playing on the engine as a child in its days perched on a plinth outside Harbour Station dreaming that one day I would see it steam again.

I immediately announced a pledge that a proportion of turnover of sales from my WHR wagon kits would be donated to the appeal fund.  The total donated is into three figures already.

Inspired by the restoration announcement Himself recommenced work on our model of Welsh Pony which he is building from a rather flawed Mercian Models kit. It has been rather a saga as regular readers of the blog will know...

I was also able to finally sign off on the NGY ballast wagon kit with the arrival of the test etches for the brass parts of the kit and it was able to go into production.