Review Of The Year - Part 4

For the last post of 2017 I'll bring our modelling review of the year up to date.

October

Himself was steadily getting on with the top coats on the Superbarn 118 between other jobs.

He had many tasks on the go including fixing the last two bungalows in place and beginning the task of landscaping around them.

It was such a relief to have finally got all the houses built - a project which had taken many years to bring to fruition.

We also got round to purchasing a chassis to put our 3D printed Lilla body on.

At this stage it still needed some material cleared away from beneath the saddle tank which explains why it is sitting at a very racy angle.

November

There was still the need to paint the bungalows before they could be fixed in place on the layout.

The last of them was the most challenging of the lot because one wall has stone cladding which was very well represented by Himself.

The only shame was that this effect is mostly hidden from the viewing public at exhibitions because this is the side which faces the operators.

There was more work on Lilla.

The Minitrains chassis was improved with some new slidebars from RT Models and Himself also carefully filed down the fly cranks to remove the very large balance weights.

While he was doing all that I was busy earning a little money fulfilling a promise to build some of my resin SAR wagon kits for a customer.

December

As we moved into the final month of the year Himself set to with the task of painting Lilla which we're going to finish in its Penrhyn Quarry Railway lined black livery.

Currently he is engaged in the very careful and patient task of lining it out.

The project on my workbench at the moment is to bring our WHR carriage fleet up to date with the latest of the saloons 2047 which I am building from scratch in styrene.

So all that remains is for us to wish you all the best for 2018 and thank you for visiting the blog or keeping up with what we're up to by following us on Facebook or Twitter,

We'll be taking both Bron Hebog and Dduallt out on the rode during the year ahead and we look forward to seeing you there - full details are on the Exhibition Diary page.

Black And Grey

It's not been all about casting this week, I've been doing a few more bits on the wagon kits I've been building for a customer.

While I'm waiting on the wheels arriving I put a coat of paint on the roofs of the two brake vans.

They're still not fixed in place because I've still got to make and secure the glazing to go inside, but you get a good impression of what they're going to look like when they're finished.

The foot boards have also been painted black now as well.

Once these are off the workbench, and the current batch of kits I've been casting sent off to Narrow Planet, I can get cracking on another project of my own which I think will have to be the Welsh Highland saloon 2047 - I'm in danger of falling behind the Boston Lodge carriage works again....

Yellow Lines

It's only a few brush strokes but the bits of the SAR wagons which are picked out in yellow make all the difference to how they look.

The most challenging bit is the stripes on the end of the brake van.

It takes quite a while to mask it off, and then inevitably there is some touching up to be done afterwards.

(The photographs are still cruel, though.)

Primed But Not Ready To Go

The weather conditions have, at last, materialised to allow me to spray the SAR wagons I'm building for a client; dry, mild, calm and low humidity.

Being calm and dry is most important because the models have to survive the journey to and from the nice warm house to the garage, to be sprayed, and back into the house again to dry.

If it is windy at all then there is a serious risk of them being blown off the tray that I'm carrying them on.

The problem with the rain is obvious.

There are some details to be picked out in yellow, such as the brake wheels and the handrails as well as the stripes on each end of the guards van, but that's about all I can do at the moment until the new supplies of wheels turn up.

In the meantime I need to get casting again because I've received a request to replenish the stocks of kits at Narrow Planet.

Waiting For Wheels

Nearly all the construction is done now on the batch of SAR wagons I've been making for a customer.

Since I last posted I have made up the roofs for the two brake vans, added the handrails, all the brake gear below and the footsteps.

At this stage the roofs are just resting in positon because they will need to be painted inside and have the glazing fitted before they can be fixed on.

There's nothing to stop me spraying them their red oxide colour, but I have not done so yet because I was waiting for slightly milder weather as I usually do it out in the garage, and this week has been rather cold up here.

I am also waiting on the delivery of the Romford wheels to fit to the bogies which the reconstituted Dundas Models (our preferred supplier) are expecting to get back into stock imminently.

Vantastic

I am plodding on with the order I have for a rake of SAR wagons which includes a pair of the V-16 brake vans.

Before I joined the sides together on the chassis block I had fitted the handrails while I was still able to handle the pieces on their own which makes it a lot simpler to file down the backs to make them completely flush so you don't have any problems fitting glazing.

It's not in view in the picture but when I designed this kit I came up with an idea for making it easier to form the roof and stop it sagging.

There is a solid block of resin which is the size as the interior of the van and has its top surface curved to match the roof line.

All you have to do is cut a very thin piece of styrene sheet the right size and stick it onto the top of the resin block.

Then you simply glue it in place with the block sitting inside the top edges of the body.

Not only does it mean that the roof cannot sag it also ensures that the top of the body won't bend inwards either.

Yes, there is a small weight penalty and you might be concerned about the effect it has on the van's centre of gravity but I've had no one reporting any problems to me so far.

Winter Work Programme

The pace has slowed a little after our return from Dinas and the flurry of activity in the weeks leading up to it.

Himself will be taking an extended break from modelling and right now I've got my commercial hat on to meet an order for more SAR wagon kits to restock the FR shop.

I have decided to make a strategic reinvestment and have cast a fresh set of moulds for all the components of the four kits, expect the main chassis pieces which get 50% less use.

These are just a small selection with the rubber curing in the moulding boxes...

Casting a couple of dozen kits is going to keep me busy for a couple of weeks.

There's the Cwm Cloch farmhouse to finish as well

Then I'm going to push the boat out - and break my biggest golden rule - and cast another couple of MkII Super Barn carriage bodies.

Photo courtesy of FR

That's carriage 117 which is fast approaching completion at Boston Lodge and work on a replacement 118 is already underway.

The insiders who whisper information into my ears are utterly insistent that these two carriages will be identical - note the word, identical - to 119 which was rolled out last year.

When I made a model of that last year you'll remember I very optimistically made styrene masters and cast the body sides in the hope that I would be able to use them for the following carriages.

The moment of truth is nearly here and if I should subsequently discover any significant difference between the three carriages.......

Following on from those, and something that I'm really going to have to be in the mood for, is the fancy new Observation Carriage 150.

It was on display in the bay platform at Dinas during Super Power: Great & Small II so I had a good chance to poke around it and take lots of research pictures.

I've got a fair idea how I'm going to go about making it.

That's my mid-winter project I reckon.

And finally, more houses...

After the carriages I shall crack on with the end row of properties in Oberon Wood.

As you can see they are as idiosyncratic as the rest,

Lucky me!

Wagons Roll (Off The Production Line)

This week I've finished off the latest batch of SAR / WHR wagons I've been building for a client - these are the ones fitted with the PECO couplings which I was posting about a couple of weeks ago.

If you're tempted to have some of these wagons on your OO9 layout our kits are stocked in the FR's shop (at Harbour Station and online) and some of the proceeds of each sale will be donated to the fund to restore Welsh Pony to steam.

Review of 2014: Part 2

July

The second half of the year began with Himself starting work on the very final scenic board of the layout which leads into the fiddle yard at the southern (Aberglaslyn) end of the layout.

In a matter of a few days it had progressed from bare Mod Roc to the top coat of plaster and walls and grass being added.

While that was going on I was working on a 5th SAR / WHR wagon kit, this time for the V-16 brake van.

This shot shows one of the masters for the sides made out of styrene with the waterslide rivet transfers being added.

August

Although we had now built all the scenic boards which make up the complete layout the fiddle yards at the back were still outstanding.

With just a few weeks to go until the exhibition in Woking Himself got down to work designing and constructing them.

He was also starting to add some of the finer details on the other parts of the layout like these complex gates around one of the farm crossings.

They were all made up from styrene strips.

I was also making up more of my resin wagon kits for clients who wanted them ready to run.

This is a pair of NGY ballast wagons.

September

For the first time in a while I was able to start work on a model for the layout, having spent a number of months fulfilling an agreement with a client for a rake of wagon kits.

The subject was the WHR's latest carriage produced at Boston Lodge, 2046.

Here are the major component parts fabricated from styrene before it was assembled into a body shell.

On the layout, Himself had painted the two new houses I made earlier in the year and fixed them in position in the estate scene just south of the station.

As you can see there are many more houses still til be designed and made...

And so finally, towards the end of the month, the big reveal!

Bron Hebog made its debut as a complete (but not finished!) layout at the exhibtion in Woking.

Take a look back through the blog to find more pictures from that weekend.
 

October

I didn't get to join the team at the exhibition and would have to wait until Hull in November for my first glimpse of the completed layout.

By this time I'd more or less finished my model of 2046.

My next project was something which had been on the To Do list for many years - the Match Wagon which carries the tools for the KMX Tamper.

The basis for the model was a OO9 Society kit for ex RNAD wagons which had a new superstructure built out of styrene on top of the chassis from the kit.

It took it with me on a visit home to set the height of the coupling against those on the Tamper.

I also carried with me a 2nd model of the KMX which I'd been slowly building over the last couple for years for a client who was involved in re-engineering the machine for the WHR.

I couldn't resit the chance to photograph the two of them together.

November

The main focus on the layout was completing some of the finer scenic details such as the livestock grids which protect the many level crossings around the layout.

Unable to find some styrene sections of the right profile for the job I ended up casting many dozens of lengths of section out of resin.

This is just one half of one crossing - there are many more to go...

By this time I had also completed and painted the Tamper match wagon

And so to the exhibition in Hull...

Once again there are lots more pictures elsewhere on the blog if you want to go looking for them.

December

So in the last few weeks of the year I've been working on another carriage, this time the brand new updated design of Super Barn 119 which has recently entered service on the FR.

The word is there will be more of these emerging from the carriage works at Boston Lodge very soon so I've taken the precaution of making masters and casting this one in resin in the expectation it will be easier to make subsequent ones.

If the FR alters the design in the meantime there will be trouble!

The shape and arrangement of the windows are the major change from the original 3 Super Barns so I was able to use my castings for the seats and tables from the earlier carriages with no problems.

And currently Himself has started work on the backlog of incomplete carriages which has built up over the last couple of years while he's been concentrating on locomotives and the layout.

 

So there are the highlights of our modelling during 2014. Many thanks for visiting the blog and taking a look at what we're up to, we hope you'll stick with us and maybe come along and see us out on the road in 2015.

Happy New Year.

The Customer's Right To Be Wrong

The new FR Super Barn isn't the only project I've got on the go at the moment.

I'm building a trio of my SAR wagon kits for a client who wants them ready to run.

The build is in abeyance at the moment because I am waiting on some couplings arriving and I cannot go further in case there is any butchery required to fit them.

You see the client has decided he wishes to standardise and have all the rolling stock on his layout fitted with the NEM pocket 009 couplings which PECO have developed for their new RTR range.

Not only is he supplying me with the couplings but also with a wagon so I can ensure that the coupling heights match - which is most important in 009.

Now the old saying goes that the customer is always right, even when he's wrong.

In this case experience with operating my wagon kits on Bron Hebog teaches us that it really is best to have the coupling attached to the bogies - there is an extended shaft on the brass bogie frame for just this purpose - and we solder the excellent Greenwich brass couplings to them.

However we have a few brass Worsley Works B wagons and a V-16 brake van where we fixed the coupling onto the body.

Big mistake!

It makes it so much harder to get the wagon on the rails properly when the bogies are able to spin unrestricted, and even more so if you have one in the middle of a rake which derails while out on the layout.

When there is a coupling on a shaft attached to on end of the bogie you are able to grab hold of it and keep the bogie straight and this makes it much easier to get all the wheels back on the rails.

Unless my client wishes to have a large NEM pocket hanging down from this brass shaft he'll have to have the pocket, and the coupling, attached to the body with the bogie swinging free.

However you pays your money and takes your choice, as they say....

New Van Unveiled

I've finished putting together and painting the first of the the V-16 brake van kits which was commissioned by a client.

It compares very favorably to the brass Worsley Works version we use on Bron Hebog. This resin kit, however, shows the van in its current condition on the WHR following an overhaul which saw a pair of windows cut at one end and the single door blanked off - the Worsley version has a window.

I don't mind admitting the yellow stripes on the end were a complete pain to mask and paint.

There is still scope for extra detail to be added to the basic body kit, such as footsteps and vac pipes.

Should you wish to have one kits are available now in the FR Shop at Harbour Station or by mail order from Festshop

Prototype Approved

I've reached the stage with the development of the V-16 Brake Van kit where it's time to glue together the first set of castings and see if they all fit as they should.

The bodyshell went together just as I'd intended...

Now for the new innovation (for me) on this kit.

All my resin kits so far have been for open wagons, but this van, of course, requires a roof.

Long experience shows that unsupported styrene is not a good solution because sooner or later it will sag in the middle.

The ideal solution is a roof made from metal sheet, but my conscience tells me it's too cheeky to sell a kit that includes only 5 sides of the box, so I've come up with a compromise.

On my scratch built carriages I install a false ceiling with longitudinal ribs to support the roof skin. For the kit I've come up with something similar but easier to cast.

It is s cast block with the top profile that matches the roof. It is sized to fit inside the bodyshell.

All you have to do to get a perfectly formed, non-sagging, styrene roof is to glue this to a piece of thin styrene sheet, starting along one edge and then when that's set bending it over and gluing down the other side - super glue works best for obvious reasons.

And there we have it - a van with a roof!

Now, there is a downside to this solution, and that is the weight of the roof casting which sits very high in the vehicle.

To avoid it being top-heavy and wobbling excessively it will probably be necessary to add some weight to the floor to compensate.

I've quite satisfied with it, though, and see no reason not to press ahead with a production run for the FR shop.

All Set For Silicone

The masters for the new V-16 brake van kit are finished - I hope.

After adding all the rivets to the other side piece - they're on a double-sided styrene base so you can't see it here, but it is - I've made the two ends and a chassis.

The chassis is adapted from the master I designed for the B wagon kit.

It is the same length but it is considerably wider so I made a cast and then beefed it up with styrene strip.

The biggest difference, though, is that the vacuum reservoir tank in a different position on the brake van so I had to carefully hack away the one on the casting and make a replacement by pouring just enough resin into the hole in the mould to make a spare and glue that on in the correct spot.

Now I shall have to make a set of moulds and cast a prototype and we can see if it really does fit together as I planned.

Dotaman

Scottish TV viewers of a certain age will get the pun - for the rest I'll explain later on.

I've been working on applying the resin transfer rivets to the SAR brake van masters. I use the excellent product from the US firm Archers for these. They're available from traders in the UK but I usually order them direct from Archers in the States and they arrive very swiftly.

I'm not doing all the rivets and bolt heads on the van - life's too short for that - but I've tried to include all the main ones along the frame and those holding the angle sections in place at the bottom, plus the run of bolt heads on the upright at either end.

I'm having to make a master of each side of the van because they are not a mirror image, so that's another reason not to challenge my sanity by rivet counting.

* Dotaman was a very long running Gaelic kids TV programme in Scotland. A sort of Playschool with subtitles.

Kit Development Again

If you follow my Boston Largs Works blog then you'll already know that I'm planning on releasing a fourth SAR freight kit - this time it's not a wagon but a van.

A client asked me to make him a model of the WHR V-16 brake van in its current condition with the windows at one end and the window on the doors covered over

I reasoned that it would make sense, as I was scratch building the parts anyway to make them as masters so I could produce a kit if there proved to be demand for it.

John at the FR shop has confirmed that he would like to have a batch and that was enough for me to commit.

The sides are not symmetrical and so I am having to make two. There will have to be two masters made for the ends as well because only one end has windows.

A new floor / chassis unit will need to be designed as well because the vacuum reservoir is in a different place and the van is wider than the B & DZ wagons, although it is the same length.

You can see in the picture above that one side is more advanced that the other with the L section frame detail added on.

I was unable to get hold of my preferred Evergreen styrene strip for the L section and was up sold a Plastruct alternative at twice the price! Ho hum.