West End Workbench

[mick b]

The van is Railmatch LNER red oxide, Mick - I don't know whether it's the light making it look brown or the undercoat - I used that Halfords filler primer which is bright yellow. It looks ok in daylight and once it's weathered I don't expect it'll look out of place.

Cheers Mick

[jwealleans]

I was on my travels last week, with a whole week away working then a weekend with Thurston going back to its roots.

Exhibition photos first...

GE rake almost complete - I just need to start the BG which is hanging around the edge of my WB. I'd have liked to weather these now I can do them as a set, but I was as sick as a dog the weekend before the show so those plans went out of the window.





The grain vans also stuck out a bit, but ran OK (which is probably more important).



The WD did look the part. I've now been entrusted with a 'Britannia' to 'lightly' weather, which is going to be a severe test of my self-control.



I also met Mick, though neither of us realised it at the time. Hopefully we'll repeat the experience at some point in the future.

[jwealleans]

Split postings as I couldn't get all the attachments onto the first one.

Through the week I dug into a few plastic kits I had in the stack.

Parkside 12T van back dated to an unfitted diagram. This came to me browsing Tatlow one evening, as bashing Parkside seems to be becoming a bit of a theme. The centre bar is shaved off the door, lamp irons removed (although some were fitted with them), body fixing brackets added and brake gear discarded. I can make that up from the Iain Rice/Mainly Trains etch. There are also bolt heads from internal bracing on the far side of the door which need to be shaved off.



Stelfox GE open, built as supplied. These had the very distinctive double strapping on the sides. Kit showed its age, but it's quite crisply moulded nonetheless. This was an Ebay buy and they do still crop up on there from time to time.

[Frazmataz]

Fantastic stuff all round jwealleans, brilliant!

[Bill Bedford]

Kenline GE open, built as supplied. These had the very distinctive double strapping on the sides. Kit showed its age, but it's quite crisply moulded nonetheless.

This was by Stelfox. AFAIK Kenline only did white metal casings.

[jwealleans]

Quite right, Bill. His name's even printed under the floor to remind me. That's what you get for writing one thing while reading another. Post now corrected.

[jwealleans]

Moved these forward slightly and even found time while visiting Aberdeen to start a pair of Ian Kirk kits which I've had for I daren't think how long.

The van benefited from one of a new (?) range of brake levers which 51L/Wizard have started to do. Shoes, etc from ABS.



The open is very much as supplied. It makes up into a nice vehicle.



This NB van was a bit of a sod to put together. I replaced the two part floor, but ended up with a plank-sized depression at each corner which I had to use Evergreen strip to fill. I've just noticed one of the axleboxes is cockeyed as well.



This Boplate has had a new floor, interior planking scribed in, replacement trussing and brake levers, additional brake rigging and most prominent the door springs (Masokits) which are very prominent on the prototype but neither provided nor mentioned in the kit. They need cutting down a little but they do make quite a difference to the appearance.

[jwealleans]

Some loose ends to tidy up tonight. GC van had broken the brake lever. 51L do a very nice etch of that sort of thing which was just the ticket.



Then a Chivers Loco coal wagon which was missing a solebar. A bit of plastruct, plastic offcuts, rivet transfers and you'd never tell the difference (in a very poor light and facing away from it).



As the other solebar and bearing were already in place, I cut a Comet (I think) W iron unit in half and used that to hold the wheelsets. The Brassmasters jig is to hold it all square, although their 12' and the kit's were slightly at variance. I had to tweak it when almost set.



Here with MJT RCH axleboxes, some springs I had left over and buffers, end grab rails, etc. I found some Parkside brake gear of the right wheelbase and once levers, etc and the bar between the W irons are in place it won't be far away.

[jwealleans]

After a lengthy break I hope to have a bit of a burst of activity on the WB over the holidays. Over the last couple of evenings I've been catching up some half-started projects. I have two more milk tanks to put together from the Hornby original. Here I've used the Mainly Trains etch of LNER vacuum brake gear to add brake shoes, rigging, etc to the chassis.



The starting point is a Hornby GWR vehicle as it's the cheapest I could find. The replacement vac cylinder is a Parkside leftover.

Another idea I've been holding onto for a while was a conversion of the LNER cattle wagon into a GNR one. First job is to remove the doors and that's presently as far as it has got.

[Frazmataz]

Nice work there jwealleans =) I was going to had a go at the GN cattle truck conversion, but I haven't got round to getting hold of a donor kit I eagerly await the results of you work

[jwealleans]

Moved the cattle truck on a ways yesterday. I made up a new door and then cut the sides to fit. I had meant to make the door slightly over size to compensate for the side panels being slightly short, but I forgot. By a triumph of luck over judgement it's finished up 3 mm shorter than the LNER one, which is about right.



The kit also gives you the end posts as a separate component so I've stuck all of the Parkside ones at one end. That way there won't be such a contrast with the ones I'll have to make for the other.



Here it is with two LNER ones from the same kit to show the differences so far.



Today I went back to the Bill Bedford BG which has been calling to me for months to build it. This is the last of the rake of GE 50' coaches I started last year. It's interesting to compare manufacturers as all the rest of these which I've built have been from Worsley Works. Bill's etches are on slightly thinner brass and there were one or two ragged edges on droplights and panelling. You do get more components, though, and ultimately the body you produce is more detailed. To be fair to Allen Doherty he only professes to produce aids to scratchbuilding, while Bill's is the body only option from a full kit. So far I'd be hard pressed to choose between them.

[CVR1865]

jwealleans: What colour did you use on the ex ger coaches?

All looking really good by the way.

[jwealleans]

The first two were basically Precision LNER coach teak P60 with a little Humbrol brown (I don't quite recall which one) mixed in just to vary the shade slightly. I then read something by Dan Pinnock in which he described the shade as close to Humbrol 133. The second two are much more that kind of colour, though again I mixed different Humbrol browns (62, 186, 98) with it to vary it. I also tried picking out doors and some panels in a different shade to simulate patch painting. I'm less happy about the second two although it may be that I just don't like the colour. I shall be weathering them soon and that should blend the different shades more and help the effect.

[jwealleans]

Various things on hold awaiting bits... I turned my attention to ferry vans, which I have been researching for a few weeks as a kind of project. The first one I decided to have a go at is the ex-ROD 20T design which were acquired after WW I by the Belgian 'Societe Belgo-Anglaise des Ferry-Boats' and used on cross-channel traffic. This will be my first completely scratchbuilt vehicle. The prototype build has revealed some errors in dimensions when I've scaled it from drawings and photos so it has been a worthwhile exercise.








I have, thanks to the generosity of a number of contacts, accumulated quite a collection of drawings from different countries so I may have a go at something Continental once I'm happy with this van.

[jwealleans]

A few things I've been fiddling on with this week - a weathered 'Britannia' for Thurston - it's the new Hornby one and hasn't had anything done except a severe application of muck, which was them removed with a cotton bud and T-Cut to try to give a cleaned, in service look.





While I had that out I took the opportunity to run the GE rake with the new BG included. It is higher than the others - Bill's end etch is more domed than the Worsley Works one - but once that attractive yellow colour has gone and especially in a mixed rake I don't expect it will show. Photos on the Ormesby Hall layout Corfe incidentally.



I've also found time to have a go at an Italian ferry van - an Hgb insulated van from 1931 if you want to be precise - and for a first scratchbuild I'm pretty pleased with it. I've had to do some unspeakable things to the contrast settings on this shot so the white-on-white detailing shows at all.



Incidentally these carried painted lettering reading 'On hire to LNER - Not in Common User - Return to Harwich (LNER)'. I have also seen some requiring return to 'Dover (LNER)' - presumably there were sidings and/or an office there for handling this traffic?

Finally ands just to show I've not forgotten it, the GN cattle van now with end posts. From 60 thou square strip, glued and allowed to set and then all filed down together as suggested by John Hayes. It certainly works.