I managed to do the lettering on this this week. It was a very old Powsides transfer I hoovered up on Ebay - in two parts, the white lettering and black shading on different sheets. I've learned to deal with Powsides transfers over the years; though I still hate them, there's not much better for getting right into the contours of wagon bodywork. I had a small tussle with the 'I' of Ipswich, which decided it would rather be on my finger than the wagon, but otherwise it'll be a bit of a shame to weather it.
I have started to prepare some wagonry to keep myself amused over the Christmas week. There's a bit of a theme here:
I picked up what were then the new wagon kits from 247 Developments at Expo EM North in August and they've been waiting for me to order the correct buffers ever since. One was an LSWR Machinery truck (K416) which is the top vehicle above. The other (not shown) is an LSWR Lowmac. Beautifully formed parts and the quality of the prints is excellent. If you're tacking this one, don't fill the underside with lead shot until you've fitted the brake gear. Don't ask me how I know that.
Underneath it is a Ks Lowmac which I am going to finish as an approximation of a Mac N, the ex-GC vehicle. I got hold of some 51L Caledonian heavy duty buffers as they're more or less the right shape if you trim the webs off. The brake lever had been replaced with a better onw, again using 51L components. There's a little bit more detailing to add and then this too is ready for primer.
I thought this might be of interest as I'm often asked about wagon loads. I had to fit a new battery to a tractor and it came with these covers over the terminals. I thought they might come in so I kept them and found they would be within gauge on a Lowmac. The circles of lead are to give a bit of weight and also allow me to screw them to the wagon. Since this picture I've painted the bottom of each one with a metallic Humbrol paint which will polish up to look like steel. The idea is to have them sheeted but with the bottom showing so they look like some sort of casting. We'll see how that works out.
Finally I lettered the cattle wagon I was working on; it needs to be weathered and then I can fit the roof permanently. After that, thanks to a very kind gift, I have a tanker to weather....
