West End Workbench

jwealleans · Post by **jwealleans** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 9:12 am

Now all but complete. I'm pleased with the way it's scrubbed up.

jwealleans · Post by **jwealleans** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 10:29 pm

Some more stock almost complete: LDEC horsebox (D & S refurbished) and Great Eastern SCV (likewise).

I see the roof has started to pull off the SCV. The tiny transfers in both cases were done for me by John Peck.

Next up is the new Roger Chivers kit for the BY 4 wheel pigeon van/full brake. This arrived while I was away on Monday or Tuesday and so far I'm impressed. It's gone together very well up to now - the roof fits like a dream - and the pattern making on the solebars is very good indeed.

It won't be a 'vanilla' build as I have removed the door and grab handles to replace with wire and will also be compensating it. I can see this being a very popular model, though.

jwealleans · Post by **jwealleans** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 10:47 pm

More progress on the BY tonight - fitted the compensation unit and built up the brake gear.

The vac cylinder and brake shoes are as supplied - very nice and fine castings/mouldings in both cases. The rest is wire and bits from the Mainly Trains brake gear etch.

I've also been building up the underframe for another Thompson coach.

This one will represent a full third built after 1948, when they started to have rounded corners on the windows. I've taken the basic side moulding, stuck a small square of plastikard in each corner then filed it back. Of course, no-one does glazing so you then have to cut out and file each window. I'm sure it's proper modelling and good for the soul but it was unutterably tedious.

It goes without saying that Comet have just announced a kit for this very vehicle in the rounded window version.

Frazmataz · Post by **Frazmataz** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 5:16 pm

Fantastic job on those wagons, especially the horsebox

jwealleans · Post by **jwealleans** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 10:39 pm

Cheers, Bass. I've not updated much over the holidays but that doesn't mean I've not found some time for the workbench...

The first BY was finished just after Christmas and has come out quite nicely.

Today I pressed on with the other, which is for use on Thurston - 1950s GE for those who haven't seen it. The idea with this one was to try to represent the pigeon shelves, which was done with a cheap sieve chopped up and sprayed white. The sides had to be painted and lettered first, then glazed as the shelving fits behind the glazing. I decided this was all better done in the flat.

Here the grille epoxied inside the side..

... and here from the other side. Transfers are Cambridge Custom Transfers.

I then pressed on to build it up, which took longer than it might because I fitted a compensating unit to one end as well as adding brake rigging detail and my usual little extras. It goes together very well, though:

It's much easier to paint the solebars if you don't stick the footstep on until afterwards. That also allows you to have a teak solebar and a black footstep, as on my LNER one above.

The rest of the day was spent lettering and varnishing some more Thompsons. These are not for me - I've seen quite enough Thompsons now, thank you. Once I find some carriage prints in one of the local shops these will be ready to enter service.

Frazmataz · Post by **Frazmataz** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:34 pm

They all look fabulous

You're very good at applying the teak livery!

jwealleans · Post by **jwealleans** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:17 pm

Many projects on hold at the moment awaiting various bits, so I've dived into another one...

This is a Bill Bedford body kit for a Great Northern Milk Brake. I've started looking at some LNER 6 wheel tanks to go with it but they're nothing more than a pile of bits at the moment.

This is a fairly basic set of etched parts, with no instructions. There isn't a lot you can do wrong with these, though. What I have done here is have a brass roof rolled in advance by Dave Smith (Blacksmith Models). The brass is quite thin and I want to build the body as five sides of a box, with the underframe in plastikard. The more rigid the body the less likely the whole thing is to warp.

I'm looking for a drawing as this is not the diagram illustrated in Nick Campling's book. I know they were gas lit and had more rooflights than the D.310 version but that's about all.

It went together quite well - a bit of fettling required as some of the tabs and holes didn't quite match - and looks nice when a side is completed.

The body is now drying after washing and will have to wait a couple of days while I locate some brass angle for cornices. That will also help
stiffen and straighten the sides and give me more to solder the roof to.

mick b · Post by **mick b** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 11:37 pm

Hi
Excellent work J

Mick

jwealleans · Post by **jwealleans** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 1:01 pm

Thanks, Mick. It's moved on slowly since then: I received the brass angle for the cornices and so the roof was dressed and fitted.

It's made for a very solid shell. I've then added handrails and steps. The shell is also braced across the centre and there are brass strips each end with captive nuts which will hold it to the underframe. I did have to laminate a brass strip on the back of the buffer beams as they were just too delicate.

The Thompsons are also coming on: these are the very fine window transfers from John Peck (Precision Labels) which make quite a difference to the finished model.

jwealleans · Post by **jwealleans** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 8:52 am

Rather belatedly, some pictures of progress on the GNR van. I'm still waiting for the NRM for a drawing for roof detail, so this is actually stalled at this point for the moment.

Floor from 60 thou plastikard and solebars from 1/8" Evergreen channel. Steps from 2mm evergreen strip. Truss rods were just 0.7mm and 0.45 mm wire soldered together. Fixing screws screw into captive nuts on a brass strip soldered across the floor at each end. There's also one in the middle to prevent the floor sagging away from the body.

Gas tanks made up from some tube, plastikard and evergreen strip for the straps. Brake gear from the Comet pack - vac tanks were left over from their LNER underframe pack. Bogies are the Coopercraft Fox 8' ones.

Buffers are filed down from an L & Y type from 51L. These pregrouping vans had quite long buffer shanks so sprung buffers are really essential.

rob · Post by **rob** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:35 pm

Lovely job here Jon,delighted to see the Coopercraft bogies working out,I would plan to use them for any similar projects.Much as I love D&S coach kits I often wish the bogies were a bit less complex!I'll stick to Coopercraft when I tackle Bills etches!What livery is planned for this van?
Cheers,
Rob

jwealleans · Post by **jwealleans** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 3:19 pm

Cheers, Rob. This will be unlined teak when done - it's intended to run on Pilmoor with some milk tankers I'm converting from the Hornby at the moment.

jwealleans · Post by **jwealleans** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 1:02 pm

Attention has switched onto a pair of 50' GE coaches from the Worsley Works etches. These are sides, ends and floor only. The roofs were rolled up for me by Dave Smith (Blacksmith Models).

This is an all 3rd

and a brake 3rd, which is not far from primer.

These are a bit of an assembly of different parts; brake components are mainly Comet and Mainly Trains; end jumpers are Comet; bogies are Coopercraft Fox with scratchbuilt steps; the rest is bits of wire, brass strip and plastikard.

I've had a bit of a time researching these and have come up with almost as many variations as sources. As I intend to build a couple more to make up a full train, that gives scope for variety.

Frazmataz · Post by **Frazmataz** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 1:56 pm

Fantastic work there, jwealleans

I assume Dave Smith asks for payment for pre-rolling roofs?

jwealleans · Post by **jwealleans** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 2:39 pm

I assume Dave Smith asks for payment for pre-rolling roofs

Indeed he does (he has to make a living!). The princely sum of £2.50.

You also have to send him one end (to get the profile) and tell him how long it needs to be.