I asked this question on RMWeb to deafening silence; can anyone tell me anything about this set of etches?
They were given to me by Tony Wright, who knew nothing about them. The label says 'David Gray, East Haddon, Northamptonshire', but whether that's the manufacturer or a previous owner I have no idea. They make up into either two 6 wheelers, one BT(3) and one T(5) or a twin. W-irons or trussing are provided depending which you want to make.
One of them had been started and glued together and has been kicking round on the edge of the bench for months, so I disassembled it last night and remade it properly. No idea how I'll do the beading as yet, but it was nice to get the soldering iron hot again.
Last edited by jwealleans on Fri Dec 21, 2018 7:35 am, edited 2 times in total.
I cannot immediately recognise the diagram but the etches appear to represent a BT/T twin. If you look carefully at the BT, the first compartment has been blanked out and there is no provision for grab handles or door handles which is consistent with the re-use of old six wheeler bodies in the period 1905 to 1920.
I have not seen these etches before, nor have I heard of their originator.
That's a shame, Nick, you were one of the people on here I thought might recognise or have heard of them.
I would want to build it as a twin, but there's no immediate rush as it's not something I'm aware we need for Grantham and I can wait until the GNRS book covering the twins is published.
I would assume that you are supposed to use wire or fine plastic rod/strip inlays in the half-etched beading lines. If using plastic, I'm sure the flat styrene microstrip will be miles easier to persuade to stick in place (just using Liquid Poly or MekPak) compared to the shiny, adhesive-resistant round micro-rod that Slaters seem to produce. I wonder if that is why these kits never caught on? I'm sure it can be done, but the time required in order to produce a really neat result may not be to everybody's liking.....
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I was going to have a go using Evergreen 20 thou rod and flattening one side off before gluing it. Thick superglue should wick up the sides and do away with any undercut. These won't be lined, so it should be easier to disguise any which aren't dead straight.
Maybe I will finish them - one can be 'Annie' and the other 'Clarabel'? I'm sure Sir will approve.
After a quick look I thought they had been the original ex Rod Neep stuff, but a more careful look says no.
What is confusing is the number of ends with duckets on them, which is clearly not prototypical.
Those aren't duckets, they're tags which fold round 90 degrees to allow the side to securely bond to the end.
In point of fact they then block the slots for the actual duckets (one visible top right half under the label) but with soldered construction that's not a showstopper.
I actually have that set of etches as well. I got them from a deceased estate of a former member of the British Railway Modellers of Australia who lived in in Melbourne abut 2-3 years ago. They're not on my list to be built for many years.
Mine didn't come with bogies just W irons and spring/axleboxes to be built as 6 wheelers but have got the tie bars for articulated versions. I'll also build them as a twin eventually, but I have 3 D&S 6 wheelers to make into a triplet first then The Louth quad that you also have.
They came with Slaters plastic rod for the lower beading but I was also thinking of using Evergreen plastic rod.
From the instructions it appears that he did the compo and full brake as well.
I thought these couldn't be the only ones around.... There were no bogies, or any sort of castings, with these, just two sheets of etches, the one you see and the one which has been started.
If it's not too much trouble, could I see the instructions? I'm sure I can see how they go together, but for completeness I'd be interested to see what they say.
Last edited by jwealleans on Fri Dec 21, 2018 7:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
Predictably, given that I have other things to be getting on with, what have I done this evening?
It's a journey back into the beginning of etched kits - brass too thin, no half etched folds, no allowance for the thickness of metal in a fold, slots for the duckets which are then blocked by the tabs on the ends....but I am enjoying it.
I do have the GNRS book on Howlden twins, but it only covers sets with composites in, with one exception. If anyone can direct me to any drawings/photos of this pair or one similar, I'd be grateful. I'm still in the dark about footsteps, end furniture (there are some steps on the etch, but some missing) and roof fitments. If all else fails it will be intelligent guesswork based on similar vehicles.
Last edited by jwealleans on Thu Nov 29, 2018 4:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Happy to scan instructions which also include a drawing of a twin set - will pm these to you.
Some of the castings that came with the kits are ok (lamp tops and torpedo vents), the gas cylinders are like nothing I've seen before for Howlden coaches - but of course easy to make replacements. The 6 wheel arrangement (not that I intend to use this) relies on the centre axle sliding in a slot in a whitemetal casting. Buffers are the old large head brass coach buffers that used to be supplied with most kits at one time. Axle boxes/springs might be ok if I was to use them. I should have a spare set of D&S buffers to use once I've made the triplet, the other spare set will go to the Louth Quad.
Interestingly the instructions recommend using Gresley bogies as apparently some twins had these - at the time the kit was made Fox bogies probably weren't available.
I have not seen any of the GN Soc books on Howlden coaches - are they worth having? Do they include drawings and associated details?
The book I was thinking of getting from GN Soc is the late Malcolm Crawley's book on GN tenders.
I should have mentioned the roofs in the kit - they appear to be of the vacuum formed style in white plastic sheet but don't match up very well with the end profiles. When I bought my Louth Quad I also got a spare set of 3D printed roofs with this set in mind for one thing.
Thank you for those, Andrew, received and printed. I have some of those brass turned buffers but I'll probably fit the L&Y sprung ones from 51L which aren't far off the GN ones. I can pick up some 8' Fox bogies from Dart at Warley, I don't seem to have any left. Roofs I'll make up from brass sheet and solder on, it strengthens the whole thing greatly.
Some of the construction ideas make you raise your eyebrows - plastic footboards glued along the solebars? I wonder how long they lasted. There are more steps on the fret than are shown in the instructions as well.
The GNRS books are worth having for the background they give - (re)numbering, withdrawal dates, areas of operation - but from a purely modelling perspective these instructions you've sent me are more use. What there are are photographs, which are always worth it, but the drawings are all the diagrammatic ones (like the Harris carriage books) which don't show the kind of detail you need.
Hinges and then the roof next, but that's probably for next week as I'm at Wakefield show from tomorrow with Uppingham (LNWR c. 1910). Please come and say hello if you're visiting.
