West End Workbench

[Robpulham]

Looking good Jonathan, I hope to make it to Hartlepool to see them in the flesh. I was talking to a gent at the Ormsby railway weekend who was very enthusiastic about the Hartlepool show.

[jwealleans]

He might well have been one of the organisers. It is usually a good show, though and there are some good layouts there this year - Uppingham and Longcarse West being among my favourites. I'm looking forward to seeing Saltburn as well.

[jwealleans]

First of the K3s ready. I was trying for a 'looked after but in service' look - I had to stop polishing the cabsides when I started to take the numbers back off. The tender has got it better, I think.







No sign of the buffers for the other one as yet.

[Autocar Publicity]

They look good to me. From your photos it seems as if the weathering has really worked as you intended it to.

But you didn't do the track! I know you were improvising for the photos, but when you've a loco looking like that, it wasn't until I looked at the piece of track that I could decide what scale it was.

If the rest of your modelling is to that standard, you could place the locos on your layout and take some pictures which you can later 'discover' as being from the 1950s...

[jwealleans]

Well thank you. I am quite pleased with the way it's come out.

But you didn't do the track

It's pinned to a length of batten and balanced on a dustbin on the lawn for the picture. Weathering it seemed a bit excessive.

you could place the locos on your layout

Errr... if I had one. This loco isn't mine and is for use on a club layout. My projected layout will be set around 1930 - once I've done enough home improvement to be able to build it. Most of the stock I built at the moment is for use on different exhibition layouts.

[jwealleans]

Bit of a major weathering and finishing session this weekend. I shan't bore you with most of it as it's all been in these pages before, but some of the more recent stuff:





Transfers for these are in the post from Precision Labels using his excellent bespoke service and I hope to have them applied by the end of the week. I am still awaiting springs from Dart Castings for the second one.



This was built for me as a raffle prize. Now the transfers for it are also in the post, I've started painting it. I used Halfords Triumph Russet Brown as recommended by Peter Tatlow in an MRJ article. I'm quite pleased with it so far. It's a GE CCT from a D & S kit.

Finally, I have to confess to severe pangs of conscience when it came to weathering this GN milk brake, which I have become very attached to since building it. In the end, though, I swallowed my objections and it went under the airbrush with everything else. I'll post a picture of the completed train when I get the chance to photograph it on Pilmoor.

[Atlantic 3279]

Fear not, I love the weathered milk van

[Tom F]

I love those K3s you have made well done!

I'm really enjoying what your doing, look forward to seeing more

Tom

[jwealleans]

I returned from a trip to the Costa del Romford to find two packages on the doorstep. Firstly the estimable John Peck (Precision Labels) had again come up with the goods, this time for the Great Eastern CCT and the German vans.





This is the prewar livery.



This one carries the postwar markings. These seem to have been a bit of a moveable feast but I worked from a photo which was fairly shortly after the war. Note that it's still branded 'Brit - US - Zone' - how long did that last?

The photo I worked from, kindly supplied by the German Railway Society, showed the van carrying a label for McCormick Tractors. Maximum respect to McCormick for coming up with an image of the label. This one is a rough print attached with blutak but I'll have some better quality ones done by Hartlepool.



I also found an envelope from Dave Smith at Blacksmith Models which brought the Spencer Moulton buffers for the other K3. Hopefully I can get this one weathered in time for Hartlepool as well.



One benefit of a trip away was that three days in a hotel offered the chance to make a start on another scratchbuild. I've been wanting to build some of these for a while and made satisfying progress.



As the man said, can you guess what it is yet?

[mick b]

Hi
Milk Van and CCT are excellent. The Ferry Vans are top notch and the decals are great. Costa del Romford !!! if thats the Essex one you were only up the road from me !!

Mick

[Robpulham]

Those ferry vans seem to have grown as you have painted them. It's probably just a trick of the photography but they seem even longer.
I must say I like the milk brake, the weathering looks quite authentic - I haven't dared to travel this route yet, it's still under the heading of black arts. Will you have it with you at Hartlepool?

[jwealleans]

Cheers, Mick. It was the one in Essex, but I don't think I'll be going back - it's too damn hot. I was pleased to get back up north to the cold.

Rob - that usually runs on the layout at Ormesby, but I can bring it to Hartlepool if you'd like a look. What day are you coming? I was going to suggest that if you want to bring your Claud and turn up late-ish in the afternoon we can give it a run out for you. Although my children may be operating by then, so be warned.

[rob]

Jon-that weathered milk brake-magnificent,I can see why you might have been hesitant but....
And still overawed by those ferry vans!
Rob

[jwealleans]

Cheers, Rob. I did like it shiny, but it's growing on me. I hope to photograph it this weekend. I seem to have been ready for Hartlepool a great deal sooner than usual so have been trying to clear the bench a bit. This has been hanging about for ages waiting for me to get my proverbial finger out and have a go at making the transfers.



Built by the Ince Waggon Works for the ROD during WW I, sold to the Belgians in advance of the opening of the ferry service in 1924. Some of these had an open brake platform added. I have a drawing but no photos - anyone know of any?

This is a Slaters kit, door rubbing plate moved, new buffers (Andy Hart), extra V hanger (51L) and replacement door spring (Masokits). Vac pipes (through air pipe if you want to be pedantic) are MJT. It should have safety chains but I want to have room to be able to couple it up. Lashing bars are just bent up from .45 wire.

The transfers were made by taking a photograph of the original, cutting out the letters using GIMP and then printing on Crafty Computer Decal Paper. The very small printing I did using a similar font and typing it in. The larger text and the crest had to be done manually as they're clearly hand lettered. I'm really pleased with the way they've come out. The 'Hired by LNER' text is John Peck's - left over from the Italian vans - and although the Crafty paper is coarser it compares well. White corner markers were cut from Modelmaster stripes for a 16 tonner. The transfers were just printed on my (very average) inkjet, varnished, left to dry and then applied as you would any waterslide transfer.

According to a Belgian correspondent of mine, the originals vanished - along with much Belgian railway equipment - towards the Eastern Front in the later stages of the Second War.

Hope to see a few of you at Hartlepool this weekend - please come up to Thurston and say hello.

[Atlantic 3279]

Another nice result Jonathan. Thanks for describing/confirming the technique for producing "Crafty" transfers too - it agrees with advice I've had elsewhere, clearly gives a good result, and is something I may well want to try some time - although it looks at first glance as if the RTR manufacturers have actually done the job properly for me on my latest acquisition which I had thought might be the first candidate for a custom lining transfer.....

Can you clarify at all what you mean about the coarseness of the Crafty paper?

I've "only" got a very average (old) inkjet printer too but it works very reliably most of the time I'd hate to have to swap it for some fancy, temperamental, modern, slow photo printer whose multiple ink cartridges cost an arm and a leg! My increasingly favoured maxim is K.I.S.S. = Keep It Simple (Stupid).