Steady Progress

Casting of the interior parts for Gwyrfai continues steadily.

I’ve managed to get a couple of sets cast each day.

The bucket seats for the front are almost done but I’ve got a way to go with the armchairs.

I need 16 in total and before they can be fitted I have to make the arms from pieces of styrene and glue them all on.

Where It Begins

Now that Christmas guests have long-since departed the spare room at Himself's can return to its role as the training ground for the next generation.

Being something of a hoarder, like myself, he still has a large collection of OO stock amassed through the 70s and 80s before I was responsible for diverting our attention to modelling the FR, and the rest, as they say is history.

Once upon a time all this was part of an extensive loft layout complete with multiple aspect signalling.

Back in those days we were content to use SuperQuick card buildings and tarting up ready to models with a bit of paint detailing was as far as our modelling went.

It was a far cry from scratch building stock and assembling intricate brass loco kits, but it seeded a lifetime interest in model railways for me.

Many people would be rather sniffy about things like these old Lima models now - some of them are still used as the basis for Hornby's Railroad range - but if you're going to be playing about on carpet like this (never recommended of course...) then there's nothing better.

I was also reminded how once upon a time I raided a couple of Pullman cars for the table lamps for our Bodysgallen model....

Seating Production

I’ve begun casting the seats from the new moulds for the interior of Gwyrfai.

These are quite tricky to cast perfectly.

The tiny legs of the armchairs are very liable to trap tiny air bubbles which have to be chased out with a cocktail stick before it cures - it’s not always possible to get all of them out in time.

Fortunately, the armchairs - which are the most numerous of these pieces - are the most reliable to cast.

Think Pink

Until the brass work on the front is done there’s not much more I can add to the body of Gwyrfai but I can start work on the interior.

I will use the same castings for the seats as in the latest FR observation cars, but I think it would be wise to make some fresh moulds first.

I have a master for each of the parts which is fixed at the bottom of a styrene box.

They then get buried beneath an RTV silicone rubber which takes roughly a day to set.

It’s a very simple 10:1 ratio mix with a catalyst which is handily coloured red so you can see it’s mixed through properly.

Plastic Meets Metal

With three quarters of the body pieces for Gwyrfai made I can begin to glue them together to start assembling a carriage.

The hardest bit is still to come, which is making the curved front of the obs end.

On Glaslyn I did this all in styrene, and on the FR carriages I made a master for bottom piece and then cast it in resin.

This time I’m going to try a brass former with a styrene skin.

The plan is for Himself to solder in the window pillars and add on a cant rail at the top, but obviously that has to be done before I can add and styrene, and before it can be attached to the rest of the body.

In the meantime I’ve made a floor piece and a temporary clamp to try and keep the rest of the body in shape as much as I can - it’s very flimsy and delicate at the front just now.

The Thin End Of The Ob

I’m on a roll with Gwyrfai with two sessions in a week!

The second layer of detail has been added on the end piece including the corridor connections which are made up from strips and shaped to look like folded rubber.

The big test now is to make the curved front end piece.

At Last The End

The festive season has been a bit of a washout for modelling, but on the last day of the year I found half an hour to have a go at making the basic outline of the corridor end of Gwyrfai

It’s a fabricated piece and the first job is to assemble the pieces I will need, including the solid lower piece and the top piece shaped to the roof profile.

A really good tip is to use a sheet of glass as your surface and use a metal ruler as a guide to make sure your joints are square and straight.

Also make sure you place only the tiniest drop of solvent on the joint - capillary action will do the rest for you.

As well as the ruler I like to use a couple of very precisely measured off cuts as guides to make sure the windows either side a precisely the same width.

Finally, chop the pillars to the exact height you require and glue the top piece in place.