Been a busy few months, but I have found time to tinker with a few things while work and other distractions have been getting in the way.
This is the next addition to the
Grantham stud - 2744
Grand Parade as released into traffic after rebuilding, with a GN tender.
Loco is from a Hornby/NRM
Flying Scotsman, the one with the white roof. Replacement dome courtesy Graeme King, washout plugs resited and extraneous OHL flashes, etc. removed. Plates are from 247. The tender was from Tom Foster, already lightly weathered, so the loco will be done to try to match.
I've painted the Howlden BG and I have to say I'm quite pleased with it. Very characterful vehicles, these.
I had a spate of acquiring wagons in May - I picked up a couple of D & S rarities in small job lots on Ebay and also had quite a few from a collection being sold at Middlesbrough show. Some of these have been refinished and will need loads and weathering before too long.
ex-GE Lowmac. I'm going to make a crated load for this rather than the more common vehicle.
More ex-GE; I have a couple of the unfitted 10T vans, but not a fitted one until now. Look for this appearing from time to time in the Scotch Goods on
Grantham. The ex-GN coal wagon is a Mousa resin kit.
ex-GN refrigerated van - that in itself was worth more than I paid for the lot it came in - and an MAJ ex- L & Y van.
I think the next few are all K's - LMS vent and later GW Mink, then below ex-GE sand wagon and MR 3 plank.
I don't have a great many K's wagons but the castings on these are very crisp and well detailed. Once disassembled and the glue removed they all soldered together very well. On the vans I replaced the cast roof with a plastic one as they are very heavy. The sand wagon does still have the original roof.
The PO wagon - Slaters, I think - came to me painted and nicely weathered, but with black solebars and one or two details missing (door spring, for example). I've touched it up a bit and added a little to the weathering. The GW Mite needs a bolster making.
I think I posted a picture of this scratchbuilt Flat DV when I acquired it. I'm led to believe it's the work of John Judson, although there's no marking on it. I've added the body to solebar brackets, not that you can see them and repainted it the correct colour for a fitted vehicle.
GN brake van with altered handrails and a ModelU occupant and the new Parkside Toad E kit.
A few long term projects almost completed now.
I think I built this German wagon around 2012, together with another without brakeman's hutch. When I had the lettering made I managed to omit two complete panels worth and it's taken until now to get enough together to make it worth having some more transfers made.
The lettering for this was part of the commission and I've also started to weather it. The green was hurting my eyes.
When I was researching and building ferry vehicles, one of the tenets of the interwar period was that the UK provided the ferries for the service and the Europeans provided the rolling stock. I was surprised therefore to find a drawing showing lettering for a ferry fitted bogie bolster of the type Parkside offer. These vehicles were also fitted with European drawhooks and formed part of the ferry stock. I have no idea how they came to be in that situation unelss they were service stock for Great Eastern Train Ferries Ltd. and acquired with the other assets of that company by the LNER in (I think) 1932. Whatever the reason, it's a variation on a fairly common kit. The lettering was quite a fiddle to make up - it's based on scans of the HMRS goods lettering built up letter by letter. The closeup is merciless - I think I got the other side nearer level.
Finally a vehicle which isn't quite finished as I need to order up some axleboxes for it - ex-NER refrigerated wagon from a Hornby body. These are best known as the Thomas Circus Van, but as Mr. King showed some years ago they can be made into a very accurate model of these vans which were used for meat, fish and I think in ordinary goods service. You can find details on his thread, a long way back.