West End Workbench

[UpDistant]

JW
Apologies for posting this here as it isn't strictly LNER: your alternative self on the "other" side has shown the fruits of a weekend modelling demo, you might want to post your second photo here as well.

It's not just the wheels that are missing from your 16T mineral, the LMS D1661 cattle wagon should be at least green carded for a visit to a wagon repair shop or issued with a Not to Go ticket (inoperative brakes!). The brake push rods should be right over left at the brake shaft otherwise . . .

I think it's an easy mistake to make with that Parkside brake gear as both sides of the brake blocks are detailed unlike many other kits where the inside is just flat. Hope you haven't got any further than primer.

John

[jwealleans]

Hmmm. I hope whoever I was talking to as I did that hasn't gone away to copy. Now reversed. The new moulding only attaches at the ends so it was easy enough to remove.

Thank you for spotting that. One of the great things about these forums is that so many eyes are cast over what you do, any errors are soon picked up.

[jwealleans]

I've been reminded that despite the above display of incompetence and due to them not being able to find anyone better at the last minute, I shall be demonstrating weathering at Hartlepool Show the weekend after next. Information here.

Please come along and say hello if you're attending.

[jwealleans]

For those waiting patiently for teak, please bear with me - I've stuck all the bits onto the carriage, but am likely to be busy preparing for Hartlepool show this week. In the meantime it's had a coat of Halfords Filler Primer and then a further coat of grey on the roof. I still need to make up and fit the ducket.



I made up a couple of gangway end covers for existing carriages in the Grantham set this week as well. These are the Mike Trice etched corridor connectors stuck to an Ian Kirk gangway moulding. The lettering is from the HMRS LNER wagon sheet. They're held on with a spot of PVA so it's easy to remove them if required. Lamps should be the next focus of attention, I think. This also shows that I missed the jumpers off the TK on the left - that was in the rush to Barrow Hill and I hadn't noticed until tonight.



The D & S brake van is also complete and will probably be one of the weathering subjects at Hartlepool next week. The guard is a ModelU fireman. He'd probably be sent home for a haircut in 1938. Is he a reader of this forum as well?



LNER Cattle wagons (and the LMS one above) only need couplings and weathering.



Also destined for the Grantham stock, I acquired a rake of these petrol tankers. The first one is part weathered - this will serve as an 'after' on the stand along with a pristine one.



Finally the 16 tonner. Thanks to Cambridge Custom Transfers for supplying the lettering by return. This will have a very light dirtying as it will be in almost new condition on Wickham Market.

[Danby Wiske]

For those waiting patiently for teak, please bear with me -

No hurry! Hope Hartlepool goes well...

[jwealleans]

Hartlepool seemed to be a success, I thought - I certainly had enough interest and did enough talking to keep myself more than amused all weekend and hopefully some people will have been persuaded to go away and try it for themselves.

Stock testing up at Grantham this weekend, so one or two new items are being readied. It had been observed that we didn't have many A3s, only A1s and also that almost all of them towed a GNR tender. Hopefully these will redress the balance a little.



Spion Kop is from a Hornby Flying Scotsman. Tender top (new type non-corridor), dome and single chimney courtesy of Mr. King.



Enterprise started out as a second hand Book Law without most of the problems which seem to have affected them. The front has sat high again when reassembled, we'll have to have a look at that. Right hand drive, but not much else done apart from that. Plates on both are from 247 Developments.

This isn't for Grantham, just something I can now get on with. I built this GNSR brake van some time ago (page 114, in fact) and have been looking for suitable buffers for it ever since. I settled on LNWR ones which have the correct ribs at 45 degrees. They only have them on the outside, but that's a compromise I can live with until something better is available. David Geen kindly brought these into Hartlepool Show specially on Sunday morning.



Finally the brake 3rd which has been moving through the finishing process over the last couple of weeks:



Some more varnish and an interior and it will be ready for Warley.

[Dave]

Excellent work as usual, sorry I could not make Hartlepool, I do like that show.
I always make a trip to the hanging site when in town, my parents always took us there as they were monkey hangers.

Oh where has that old smell of sulphur and brewing gone, always glad to get back to the clean air York as a kid.

[jwealleans]

As regular readers will have noticed, the last teak carriage is almost completely finished externally. As requested, I've kept a record of the stages of the painiting process. Hopefully this will give an idea of how I do it. I wouldn't say it's definitive - the finish Andrew Teale achieves on his carriages for Leicester South is better, IMHO and I wouldn't even presume to compare to the professionals. Mike Trice has also managed a lovely deep orange teak on his carriages which I'd recommend readers to look at as well.

When we came together to start building up the Grantham stock, what was pleasing was how similar in shade all our attempts at teak were. That made it very easy to mix stock from all four of us who provide carriages without the resultant rakes looking odd or unmatched.

So, to the D178. This is a fairly new carriage in 1938 (built 1935/6, I think) so I was after a finish at the lighter end of the range of shades I produce. To start with, a coat of Halfords Filler Primer. I apply this to almost everything I build, most especially whitemetal kits as it levels the surface and provides a nice smooth finish. With brass kits, unless something has overetched or you've had an accident building it, it's not so critical. What I'm really interested in here is the garish yellow colour.



If I were aiming for a darker finish for an older vehicle I'd apply a coat of Halfords Red Oxide primer at this point and then carry on as below.

From here on what you largely have to do is break the rules of painting. Everything is brush painted because you want to use brush marks and the transparency of the colours to achieve the final finish. Some of it is almost drybrushed as you will see.

Once the primer has had time to harden, the carriage has an overall coat of the base colour.



You can buy a teak base paint, but I find it too yellow. This is my own mix, based on a tin of Humbrol 24 with shades of red and brown dripped into it and mixed until I liked it. I can't really offer any more exact advice than that, I'm afraid, it's a case of experimenting until you reach something you like.

After that coat had dried, I picked out panels in lighter shades of yellow and cream.



Again these were Humbrol yellows and Precision Tourist Stock Primrose (I think that's what they call it). Because I want a fairly light finish i lightened panels rather than darkening them - for an older carriage I'd do the opposite, adding darker orange and brown patches.

Once that's ready, we give the whole thing a coat of brown.





This is done using an array of colours: Humbrol 9, 62 and 186, Precision Coach Teak and their two shades of Teak topcoat and Track Dirt. I also used a very little Humbrol 10 in this one which gave a nice graining effect if used very sparingly. Humbrol 9 and the Precision teak colours give an orangey finish, 62 and 186 are more mid brown and the Coach Teak and Track Dirt are more dark brown. You're looking for very poor painting here - streaks, incomplete covering and don't clean your brush between colours so they merge. I use a flat brush to do this, with a small one to work in the corners of panels. You do want a colour distinction between panels, but a blending within them. Also, work in the direction of the grain - vertical for the upper panels (it's easiest to do these first) and horizontal for the lower. Mainly in straight lines but with the odd kink and twist to give a slight grain effect.

That's the main part of the job done. You can go back and rework panels you're not happy with while they're drying and if something's really catastrophically bad a cotton bud and white spirit will remove most of what you've done. A spot of white spirit on a small brush will also allow you to blend and soften brush strokes and colour patches within panels.

The body is then lined with a Bob Moore pen.





The beading on this one was a really nice width to line on - some of Bill's carriages have a very fine beading which doesn't take the paint so well, while Comet panelling, for example, is very wide. I managed to get the paint flowing really well on this one as well, it was a pleasure to do.

Approaching the end now: the lettering is applied and the roof painted. This is a mix of blacks and greys with talc added to give a slight texture to it.





It's still wet in the photos above, hence the shiny patches.

Lastly the Klear, to give that nice overall shine.





Klear also darkens the colour, so bear this in mind when applying. This is also brushed on - it's self-levelling so don't be alarmed when it comes up in loads of bubbles. It will sort itself out. I have a special soft flat brush I use only for this. I'll give it two or three thin coats to seal and level the surface and then it's ready to be glazed and have the interior fitted.

Does that tell you what you wanted to know?

[Danby Wiske]

Many thanks JW - much appreciated!

[drmditch]

Likewise, many thanks.

Just one little thing (although I'm sure it's been mentioned somewhere or other) - what is the current name/brand of 'Klear'?

I've looked up Bob Moore lining pens. I think one might to wait until Christmas!
(Never mind - I won't have anything ready before then anyway!)

[jwealleans]

A very good point, David. I had intended to take a bottle to Hartlepool and then forgot. This is the latest packaging I have, which may well last me a lifetime:

[jwealleans]

As one or two of you may have heard, there's a show in Birmingham in a couple of weeks. Grantham will be there and so there's a little bit of preparation going on.



BTK above now has an interior and a full set of grab handles. Just a coupling to make up and it's ready to go.



There's been an outbreak of C1s as well. 3275 has been in service for a while, but has finally had a front coupling added, a better coal load in the tender and will gain some fire irons as well. The other two, 4401 and 4413, have been at the 'almost complete' stage for a while but have now been tested and fettled on the layout. Front vac pipes and coupings, builders plates, fire irons all round. Crews are on order from ModelU but may not be ready in time.

There's been some weathering as you can see in the background of the photo above and also below. Not a great photo, I'll try to have some better ones taken at Warley.



Finally, not at all for Grantham but I do like to finish things once started, the GNS brake van. A bit different and an interesting little kit to build.

[jwealleans]

Quick trip up to Grantham last night to do some final testing and while I was there I took some pictures which I thought you might all like.

This is the 6 wheel GN brake van Dan Pinnock released earlier in the year.



This one might well make it for Warley - a resurrected 8 wheel van made up from the bits of two Ebay wrecks bought separately. Dan, bless his cotton socks, has kindly provided the missing bits to make up the second one so eventually they may both be seen.

[Atlantic 3279]

Let's hope our eight-wheeled goods brakes don't all have the same running number. I think your pair will bring the total up to four. It could be increased to five if I bring along my second example too.....

Interesting to see just how much the colour rendering in an image is affected by simple things like range and auto-exposure. The brick colour on the warehouse changes completely.

[jwealleans]

That colour change may also be down to how high/far away RL or I were holding the floodlight. Camera settings weren't altered between the two shots.

According to Mr Tatlow, with that configuration of handrails that 8 wheeler could only be that number (he speculates it was a prototype). Others seem to have had the door at the inner end of the verandah per the 6 wheeler. I expect I'll get round to altering the other one while I can still get at the side in the flat.

If we do all have the same number we'll just have to make sure they don't all appear on stage together.