West End Workbench

[mick b]

Isinglass may have a drawing

[boeing757]

Thank you Bill and Mick for your replies. I'm starting to get there now, have bought a copy of Nick Campling's Historic Carriages
LNER Vol 1 so at least have some reference material.
Have also sourced most of the detailng bits and pieces except the shell ventilators for the doors. In photos they are very prominent but Highfield's vacuum moulding is very 2 dimensional. At the time I started the model, a quick look in C Covey's catalogue would have sorted it but now I am unable to find a supplier. Any ideas out there? (7mm scale)

[Robpulham]

Hi Boing, you could try Sidelines http://www.sidelines.freeserve.co.uk/for shell vents, they do some really nice lost wax castings. I had some torpedo vents from them for a 7mm coach

[boeing757]

Thanks Rob, I've checked their site but no ex-GE shell vents. That said there are loads of other attractive items, looks a good source.

Bob

[jwealleans]

In these RMWebless days there ought to be more modelling time but it doesn't seem to work out like that. I did get an afternoon in yesterday, though and moved a few things on.



The coach just needs door handles and then it can await the next weathering session. It's been a bit of a trial with all the painting problems I had with it but I'm pleased with it now it's done. The contrasting 'E' (Fox where the rest are HMRS) has worked well, but the rest of the number shows how difficult I find it lining up those LNER numbers.



One for Rob here; this is the new Jubilee coal wagon from Andrew Hartshorne. I built it last weekend but hadn't got round to photographing it. It does still need the interior painting.



The main project now is these Belgian ferry vans which I hope to complete for York. Here the body casting is shown with the floor mounting arrangement. The body shells aren't quite square - I'm not sure whether this is a casting flaw or the resin working slightly. I have seen the master and it looked square to me. Anyway, the floor is mounted on two large plastruct angles secured to the sides. They're set slightly further up the interior than the top of the solebars; this is to help set the ride height of the vehicles, as it's easy to pack the W iron assemblies down, but would be very hard to move the whole gubbins up if they rode too high.



It's only one step in the process, but getting them rolling feels like a huge step. I now have three mobile and three more to go. They're mounted on Bill B's springing units with brake shoes from the LNER fitted etch from Mainly Trains attached.

[mick b]

Hi JW
I use a 6 in steel rule to line up numbers normally works ok !! Nice vans well done

Mick

[Atlantic 3279]

I don't know if you've noticed this Jonathon, but when using the HMRS Pressfix sheets, if you at first only lightly press the transfer in place and then dampen but do not soak the backing paper, the backing becomes much more transparent but still reasonably adherent to the transfer, and the whole lot is still capable of being adjusted for position on the model by means of nudging/poking with the tip of a suitable small implement. The greater transparency of the backing makes it easier to judge final alignment, before the final firm press/rub down and soaking off of the backing. A line of masking tape lightly applied (in a carefully measured or judged position) to the model in plain areas serves as a good alignment guide too - as suggested to me a few years ago by my teenage daughter!

Maybe that's all familiar to you anyway?

The one thing that I find still causes real difficulty with alignment of LNER HMRS gold or yellow numbers, despite all of the above, is that just like real old-fashioned "hand made" signwriting, many of the numbers are actually different heights above or below the imaginary base-line, in order to supposedly make them "look" the same!?*!?*!

[jwealleans]

Thanks Graeme and Mick. What you've described is pretty much the way I do line these transfers up - in the case of the coach I had the panel line to work to rather than using tape. In most cases the HMRS transfers are pretty forgiving and you can, with care, adjust them for quite some time after you've stuck them (witness the drunken '8' on that tare weight on the Jubilee wagon, now straight). I only really have a problem with these letters and I think it's just that a lot of the colours are very close to the background, especially on a teak coach and you tend to line up the white bits because they're the most obvious through the backing. Add in the effect of them being differently sized, as you observe, Graeme and you end up with a bit of a roller coaster. The Law of Sod then dictates that the ones you need to move are the ones which have stuck most firmly. The other side is better - perhaps I should have pictured that.

I shall live with it and reserve the right to assault anyone who points it out.

[Alpineman]

I use the edge of a post-it note - not so sticky as tape and easier to peel off.

Alpineman

[mick b]

The one thing that I find still causes real difficulty with alignment of LNER HMRS gold or yellow numbers, despite all of the above, is that just like real old-fashioned "hand made" signwriting, many of the numbers are actually different heights above or below the imaginary base-line, in order to supposedly make them "look" the same!?*!?*![/quote]


I always line them up from the black border edge at the base otherwise "they end all over the place"

[boeing757]

Coach looking really good Jonathan, Just got round to painting the clerestory vent covers on mine, I just naturally assumed they should be brown to match the bodywork. Having revisited the photos you sent I can almost convince myself they do match the roof more than the sides, are you 100% sure they are grey? I don't care about repainting, I just want them right.
B

[coachmann]

jwealleans, Being new on here, I've just added your thread to my favourites so I can read through the 17 pages at leasure tomorrow. LNER and constituent company coaches are just my kettle of fish at the moment.

Larry

[jwealleans]

Welcome aboard Larry; I'd noticed you'd joined us. I have been keeping an eye on what you've been doing with those Hornby Gresleys and they do look top drawer.

The coach above is painted using your tip of railmatch sleeper grime, incidentally. I rather like the colour.

Bob - I'd kind of gone on to autopilot with those vent covers - because they're attached to the roof rather then the clerestory they became grey. I may pick them out in brown and see how it looks.

[rob]

So thats the Jubilee wagon,looks great,thanks for adding it.I have a few other projects to clear up then I'll be onto one-as a matter of interest Jon where does it fall in the weight stakes,up there with the old ABS range or more D&Sish?

[jwealleans]

Hi Rob,

Took 5 minutes off soldering more brakes for more Belgians to weigh it; it scales out at 44g. I don't have either a D & S or an ABS handy to compare it to but that should let you do it for yourself.