MOTW - 123

101 was always one of my favourite FR carriages - it was the first model I scratch built 20+ years ago - so I was delighted when it was given a reprieve and reincarnated as a 3rd class, top end, observation carr.

I didn't waste any time creating a 4mm version of 123 (as it now is known) to run on Dduallt and Bron Hebog.

Apart from the obvious difference of being turned 180 degrees to face Blaenau, 123 had a number of alterations to the bodywork which meant it wasn't an option to merely recycle one of my existing models of 101 (As we did with 100 when we modelled it in its final days as a mess coach on the WHR construction.)

There were some extra windows cut into what were previously blank panels in the guard's compartment and when the old windows were replaced with double glazed units it meant they lost their rubber seals which gave them rounded corners, and instead became square.

The interior was completely re-designed with 3rd class seats replacing the swivel seats and Pullman armchairs from its days as a 1st class carriage.

The sight of an Observation Carriage at the top end of an FR train set still takes some getting used to, especially with a Double Fairlie at the head of the train as in this scene from Chris Nevard's photo shoot with Dduallt. At first glance you could be forgiven for assuming you're looking at a Down train.

Picture copyright Chris Nevard / Model Rail magazine

The best time, perhaps, to be sitting in 123 would be on an Up train hauled by Linda when you'd get a perfect front row view of all the action on the footplate - even better when she's eventually converted back to burning coal.

It would also be the best place to ride when an FR set is being used on the WHR, being at the back of the train as you travel towards Caernarfon.

Lemon Aid

One of the great things about building your own models - as opposed to buying them off the shelf - is that you never stop learning, and so much of the new knowledge that comes your way is from exchanging ideas and experiences with other modellers.

And so it has come to pass that after more than 20 years of scratch building I have discovered a new glue.

Limonene may be old news to you, perhaps, but I have to confess I only came across it for the first time a couple of weeks ago when reading a new 'how to' publication from fellow modeller and blogger Phil Parker. (There's a link to his blog at the side of this page.)

He wrote about how it was a much milder form of solvent which was ideal for laminating styrene because it wouldn't attack the plastic so much and cause it to curl as it cured.

Until now I've been using Mek Pak and other similar chemicals for bonding styrene and have got quite accustomed to my workpieces bending like prize bananas within a few hours, and I  have adapted the construction of my models to anticipate this tendency.

I read what Phil had to say, thought: 'that's interesting', and did no more about it until I was buying another consignment of resin casting goo from Hobby Holidays' website, saw them offering bottles of Limonene and made a spur of the moment purchase.

(Incidentally, I must record what fabulous service I've always had from this firm. Place an online order at 4pm and you'll find your consignment on your doorstep the next morning!)

I've used Limonene for the first time on the masters for the B wagon kit and I have to say my first impression is that I'm very impressed.

It's non-curling properties are all that Phil promised they would be, although on the flip side it does take considerably longer to fix the parts to one another and you do have to be careful not to disturb the bits you have just glued as you continue working on the piece, unlike with more aggressive solvents like Mek Pak where you get a good, solid bond within seconds.

As its name suggest it is a product derived from citric acid, and unlike most other modelling solvents which can give you a headache, this has a very pleasant aroma of orange / lemon zest, as does your model until it is fully cured.

B Different

I've started work on my fourth kit, for the ex-SAR B wagons found on the WHR.

There is already an etched brass kit for the B wagon on the market produced by Worsley Works, but being the WHR nothing is ever straight forward.

South African wagon spotters will be all too aware that there were two kinds of B wagon imported to Wales - and it is the revised type which I am going to be offering.

Here is one of them seen getting a makeover in the goods shed at Dinas.

Picture: M Ingram

There are numerous detailed differences but the most obvious are the extension to the sides with the angled cut at the bottom and the two big thick bars across the ends.

There are also fewer rivets in evidence on the frame and the vertical L section straps are fixed the opposite way round to the earlier type.

According to reports from unofficial sources another six of these design of B wagons are in the process of being imported from South Africa for the WHR so by my calculations that means there will be an equal number of both types on the railway.

Below is a shot of initial progress on the master for the side of the wagon,

You have probably noticed the absence of the drop / swing doors in the centre.

Having the door as a separate casting means modellers who wish to show this type of B wagon being employed to carry coal for the locomotives on the FR can easily chop off the top set of swing doors from the casting before assembling the sides.

I hope it may prove as popular as the DZs and the NGY kits have been.

Dduallt On TV - Monday 9pm

Our 009 layout - and Himself - will feature in a programme on BBC4 on Monday night.

Dduallt was filmed for the programme called The Golden Age of Steam Railways a few months ago.

The programme will tell the story of the revival of the Festiniog Railway and the great Deviation project of the 1960s and 1970s. The producers asked to use our layout to explain how the spiral was constructed by the Deviationists at Dduallt and give viewers a better appreciation of the scale of what was acheived soley by volunteer labour.

The camera wasn't just trained (geddit?) on the layout because they also filmed interviews with Himself, and he'll be watching nervously to see how much of his contritbution made it through into the final edit.

You can read more about the prgramme here on the BBC website.

Please do let us know what you thought of it.

MOTW - Bug Box 4

I've got one of the more lurid FR liveries for you this week.

I suppose some people with a more casual association with the FR might presume this purple colour scheme is a result of modeller's licence, but it is not. Here is the proof:

It's quite remarkable how in two decades the FR made the transition from a railway that gave BR's corporate blue livery of the '70's a real run for its money it terms of dullness and monotony to one which, for a short period in the late 90's, appeared to be painting its rolling stock in all colours of the rainbow.

Small Birmingham number 4's post-rebuild livery was certainly one of the more unusual.

The situation has settled down a lot more in recent years with most rolling stock either wearing the regular maroon / ivory livery or one of a more rationalised range of heritage colour schemes.

Today number 4 wears the rather unremarkable green with red ends scheme of the Col. Stephens era - not a personal favourite, I must say - so I'm quite glad that our Chris Veitch brass bug box looks a little more interesting.

Going Dotty

A little experiment while I am between bigger modelling projects.

There's not much more can be done on the ballast wagons until the bogie etches and other bits arrive and the second batch of DZ wagons has been cast and posted off to customers.

So I'm having a play about to see if there is a way of using resin transfers on a master for a casting.

Using the resin transfers isn't difficult. In fact they are a complete joy. No, the issue about whether they are any good or not is because I fear they will be ripped off when I come to peel the silicone mould away from the master.

It's perfectly possible that I could dig the rivets out of the mould, one by one, but I couldn't then use the master again until I had re-riveted it. That would be rather tiresome, to say the least, because on a popular kit I may have to manufacture three or four moulds.

So I'm going to pour a little RTV over these and see what happens.

I have applied the transfers in the usual way, brushed fixing solution over them twice and also now given them a coat of clear varnish.

So, blog-readers of the world, what are your predictions for what's going to happen?

Xmas Bonus

As we begin Advent I've come up with a stocking filler for 009 modellers - a kit for some of the WHR's fleet of DZ flat wagons.

Following a request from some of the customers who've bought my first kit for the DZs, I have made some simple alterations to the existing masters for the drop side wagon to represent the others at Dinas which have been stripped of their doors.

As usual with FR / WHR matters these wagons have many variations. This kit shows the examples which have retained the cast door stops. Others have more basic bent plates to perform the same function while some now have none at all!

As ever you can contact me on the Boston Largs Works email address if you're interested in this kit.