Observer Core

Another day at the workbench for me, and yet another Barn. This time it's a model of FR Observation Carr 102 for a client.

102 was built to replace the pioneer Observation Carr 100 which saw out its last days on the Welsh Highland at Dinas as a mess coach for the track gangs before the rotten bodywork was turned into firewood.

Its main difference from the 1960's carriages was having two large windows at the end of the observation compartment divided by and single pillar instead of three windows. However it retained the guard's compartment at the other end although the sliding doors of the original design were done away with.

So after a few hours work the basic core bodysides were fabricated..



And as I write this one of the sides has been given a secondary layer of beading detail and window droplights.



With the latest Barn designs not having the rounded rubber glazing seals that 105 has this build is simpler and swifter.

The Joy Of Lyd

I've been waiting a wee while to write that headline!

Himself has been busy with the business end of our Backwoods Manning Wardle, and it's not been a wholly joyful experience so far.

He reports that the valve gear has been fitted and is working one side, although it did fall apart once! He also had to ask Backwoods Miniatures for a new set of cranks as he could not get rid of a bind on one side.

Here it is with the valve gear in place.



And here's a shot of the joy valve gear assembly itself..



I think perhaps Himself is being too hard on himself. Some other esteemed 009 modelers consider the Joy valve gear to be all but impossible to assemble and build their models with a simplified version.

It's also worth recording the great customer service we have always experienced from Pete McParlin of Backwoods Miniatures. As mentioned above, we've always found him willing to help out when customers have a major c*ck up assembling one of hits beautiful and intricate kits.

Romanian Red

A little more airbrush action to show you all.

The Romanian ballast wagon has had a coat of red primer.

The top coat colour for the hopper will be a little more towards the maroon end of the spectrum, and the frames will be black, but it gives a much better impression of how the finished model is going to look than white styrene and bare brass.

Birth Of Another Barn

Not another Barn! Don't you make anything else? That's what can hear you all saying.

Yes, I'm afraid so. Boring this blog, isn't it?

This time its FR 106 (V.2002) which was a total scrapping / rebuild of the original 1960's bodywork and set in train the new generation of FR Barns such as 107, 102, 100, 124 and the Super-Barns 103 and 121.

Here are the component parts ready for assembly into a bodyshell..



And with a basic floor and roof structure keeping it all nice and square...



This model is for keeps. It is a replacement for our existing 106 which is modeled with the original bodywork and in the 1980's all-over red livery, and so not really suitable for using on the 21st Century Bron Hebog.

Incidentaly, in an idle moment the other day, I was totting up how many Barns I've built over the last 20 years, and it's rather a lot.

2 x 100 (original condition) 1 of them is now rebuilt / repainted as the WHR mess coach 1000

2 x new 100 - one for me and one for a client

2 x 101 - a second model was built to replace the my first ever scratchbuilt carriage.

2 x 102 - one for me, one for a client

2 x 103 (buffet car) in original and 1990's rebuilt condition

2 x 104 - again, a replacement for a dodgy early scratchbuild

4 x 105 - 1 dodgy early example, a second in red, another with a toilet for me and a fourth for a client

3 x 106

1 x 107


That's 20 Barns, and that's not including the models of 124 and Super-Barn 103.

Am I alone in spending two decades making the same models over and over again??

And before long I'll be making this one...



If it looks familiar it's because it is. It is old Observation Carr 101 which has been rebuilt and turned 180 degrees for a new life as a third class, Bleanau-facing Observation Carr with proper wheelchair access. In true FR style it's gained a new number, 123.

It will soon become my third 101 and my 21st Barn.

KMX In Colour

Himself has been getting straight on with the task of painting the latest batch of models sent down from Scotland and he's emailed a couple of snaps of the first coat of paint on the KMX tamper.

My first reaction on opening the email was, wow!!



Now I've been building this thing for the best part of three years and that's a long time to keep looking at a model in virgin white styrene so I was stunned at how good it looks it its proper yellow livery. (I hope that doesn't sound big-headed.)

The roof has been sprayed in dirty black, which is not quite as black as pure black. You'll just have to take my word for this because it looks pretty black in the pictures.

There's at least another coat of yellow to be sprayed on and then it'll be a case of picking out details in other colours, mainly black and gunge, on the tamping head and the tines and all the other mechanical bits.

For comparison here's a shot of it all in primer.



I would like to hope we'll have it finished in time for Dduallt's appearance at Railex in Stoke Mandeville in May when the tamper may be making its first foray up the FR mainline (aside from testing on the Cob, that is).

Pretty Pictures

Himself has been sending me some portrait snaps of his handiwork over recent months and I thought it was perhaps time to gather them together in one place.

So over on the right you'll now find a link to a gallery of ex-works photographs of some of our latest locomotives and wagons fresh from the paint shop.

Riveting Stuff

While I've been blogging about building various Barns over the last few weeks I've also been continuing with another long standing project: the 7mm ex-SAR ballast wagons which are being made for a continental client.

The final stage of construction / detailing is to add the rivets, which are mostly found on the frames and the operating platforms at each end.

For these I've decided to use an ingenious American product - rivet transfers. Basically these are tiny blobs of resin stuck onto ordinary waterslide transfer film and you apply them just like any other waterslide product. And quite brilliant they are too.



You can buy them online from the manufacturer Archer Transfers

They release from the backing paper as easily as any transfer I have ever come across needing just a second or two in the water before they can be slid off the backing paper.

The downside is they don't seem to stick to the model that well and I've been brushing them with decal fix solution in the hope they will soften and stick a little better.

Some other modellers apply them after the model has been primed, but in this case the primer will also be the top coat so they are being applied straight onto the styrene, which may well be a factor in how well they are, or are not, sticking I suppose.

It's taking a while to do them because I find after a while the little spots begin to swim in front of my eyes!

What do you reckon so far, then?