Dapol Water Tower kit C5

[Graeme Leary]

I have just assembled this (possibly old) plastic kit and realise it is rather austere looking. Not sure where to track down photos of the real McCoy to get some inspiration to give it some lift so any suggestions would be gratefully accepted. Had thought of 'cladding' the main tower part with something like Wills corrugated panels or else a coating of sand - painted - to give a stucco effect. Would either be appropriate and also the 4 legs; would they have solid concrete or metal or for my Big 4 era layout would painted wood have been more likely?
Many thanks.
Graeme Leary
New Zealand

[cctransuk]

Graeme,

The original was cast iron or steel - additional surface texture would not be appropriate.

When first installed, such structures would probably have been painted in the owning company's colours.

Under BR, if repainted at all, it is likely that the all-pervading, slightly metallic grey would have been used, as it was on so many railway bridges, etc.

Regards,
John Isherwood.

[65447]

Latterly under the LNER the tank would have been painted either Graphite & Oxide (a brown) or Graphite Green, all LNER-specific colours. It depends how far into the Big 4 era and which region as to what colour(s) might have been used for repainting - ER tended to hold on to the LNER colour scheme until c1965 whilst the NE Region was granted different colours and was keen to apply them, as was the Scottish Region. See http://www.stationcolours.info for details, but note that it has some inaccuracies WRT the LNER.

Supporting columns and ironwork could have been painted the same as the tank, or Dark Brown, or unlikely but possible in station colours with bases Deep Brunswick Green and the rest Brilliant Green.

Rust and the odd water leak residue, particularly at joints, would figure too.

ISTR the old Airfix kit was based on a GWR example.

[Graeme Leary]

Many thanks for your replies (and the link to the Station Colours book). I bought this Dapol kit a few years back without giving any thought then to the company that its design might have been modelled on. My layout covers a wide range of the years that LNER existed so, as long as the design of the kit itself is 'acceptable', from the detail you sent I should be able to come up with colours that were appropriate for LNER at some time or other between 1923 and 1947. (Reluctantly - as this is the LNER Forum after all - I have to admit that I do have an LMS 'fall-back as due to some interesting LMS locos and rolling stock I have, part of the layout covers this company as well so, with a change of colour if the water tank design requires, it could be moved from the LNER side to the LMS section on the layout). If any of you know the Dapol kit C5 you might be able to identify its 'provenance' for me. If not correct for either company it will have to be passed on to my mate who is a Southern Railways man, or possibly more likely, one of the modellers of 'Great Way Round').
Graeme Leary
New Zealand

[Kestrel]

Hi Graeme

I can't tell you its provenance apart from the fact that I think it was GWR. I had one given to me in the early 60s as an Airfix kit. It cost 1/-, ie one shilling, ie 5 modern day pence, as did all the small railway related kits.

An alternative use of the tank part of the kit is shown here http://scalescenes.com/products/R025-Water-Tower

http://www.airfixrailways.co.uk/History.htm

http://glostransporthistory.visit-glouc ... Centre.htm

[Graeme Leary]

The plot doth thicken as over the weekend I have spoken to another of my 'advisors' (another ex-pat Yorkshireman living in New Zealand) who said exactly the same but the 4 'legs' rather than the more common stone/brick base threw him. Maybe Airfix a few years back took a bit of artistic license which has been perpetuated by Dapol. More ideas would be muchly appreciated.
Thanks, Graeme

[Kestrel]

I've just spoken to Dapol and asked about the origin of the water tower but they didn't know although they could tell me the signal box was Oakham and the church was St Boniface's on the Isle of Wight.

Someone must have a answer.

I've just found this https://picasaweb.google.com/1060361275 ... 5510151746

[Kestrel]

Hi Graeme

Since we last spoke, I emailed a chap at the Airfix club about the origin of the water tower and he came back with:

The Airfix Water Tower was first issued in 1961 as pattern number 206
The mould went to Dapol when Airfix went bust in 1981.

During its Airfix days it seems to have been issued in two packaging schemes -
the plastic bag and then in those hideous yellow boxes in about 1979 (as pattern number 03605-8)

A couple of the Airfix Trackside range were based on real stations or buildings,
but I can't find any reference to the Water Tower, so I guess we must assume
it was simply generic.

For a complete history of all Airfix / Dapol Trackside & Loco kits, I highly recommend the two
books by Steve Knight - Let's Stick Together and also Let's Stick a Little Bit More. Both
available from Amazon, I think

regards
Dave
Revelstone Models
shop.revelstonemodels.com


I'll continue looking for you to see if there is an alternative answer. Here's some to be going on with https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=railw ... d=0CEQQsAQ and look along the fifth row.

Regards

Phil

[Graeme Leary]

Thanks Phil and Dave. I think from the link you sent (this must just about be every old water town in the UK) the 2nd row down, 4th shot from the left might be what I'll run with and, without checking back to earlier responses, this might just get me close to LNER colours - but happy to be corrected as always. (Interesting to see that the actual Dapol kit appears occasionally on this link under its number C005, how would they have organised that?)
Regards
Graeme

[Kestrel]

(Interesting to see that the actual Dapol kit appears occasionally on this link under its number C005, how would they have organised that?)
Regards
Graeme

Don't understand. C005 is Dapol's catalogue number for the water tower.
see here http://www.newmodellersshop.co.uk/dapol-kits.htm

[Graeme Leary]

Yes, that's correct Kestrel - C005 for Dapol Water Tower which is the kit I am referring to (and the one I have and asked the original question about finish/colours etc).
The kit appears illustrated on the link that Phil sent mixed in with the other actual photos (see 3rd and 17th rows, but didn't go any further).
Graeme

[65447]

It probably has a 3 digit number with leading zeroes for 'technical computing' reasons, normally so that number 3 does not come after numbers 20, 200 and so on.

If there is a provenance for the original of the model it's more than likely mentioned in the product review in the 'Toddler' when Airfix first released the kit - in those days under CJ Freezer's editorship and articles just about everything was GWR...