Atlantic's works: Portable layout - Scenic details next

[Atlantic 3279]

A final look at the V4 van for the time being, with roof now in grey and underframe details touched-in with black paint. Substantial toning down of the red oxide body colour and application of transfers will take place some time later.

This afternoon I decided to have a go at my wrongly completed Toad D. I began by cutting some strips to fill the apertures in the upper halves of the doors, filing these to a snug fit, scribing on plank lines and then bonding them in place. I then plotted mirror-image positions for the roof fittings and drilled pilot holes before cleaning of the existing chimney and ventilator mouldings. I had thought about taking the roof off for better access to the cabin doors and to allow me to fit a thinner new roof, but decided in the end that the work involved and the risk to the rest of the model was unreasonable.
Taking time and care I have also managed to saw off most of the thickness of the "concrete" end platform weights. Even after cleaning up with a file I haven't quite got the level down flush with the top of the solebar channel, but I think the effect with a thin new capping plate in place will be quite acceptable. I also hope that my approach, which has preserved the framing below the end platform, including the heavy central longitudes, will provide a solution to the problem of upturned solebar ends that Jonathan encountered when building his Toad D.
I've also trimmed back the ends of the stepboards to something like the proper extent.

New roof fittings, new lamp irons, and a load of new handrails (including those infuriating little lower grab rails each side of each verandah entrance) should complete the job. I do not look forward to drilling all those holes and bending up loads of separate pieces of wire to fit

[Atlantic 3279]

Reversed roof details fitted, platform ends reinstated in thin plastikard and still horizontal 24 hours after application of solvent, stepboard ends tidied up with new leftmost bracket made for these each side, various cracked or broken bits stuck back on , and original handrails/lamp irons cleaned off. The latter operation was much easier than on the Bachmann bodied V4 project, the rails in this case being finer and of much softer plastic. Bachmann, please copy good old 1970s Airfix......

[Atlantic 3279]

I hope I might make some more progress on the Airfix/Dapol Toad D this evening. In the meantime, just to stimulate thought and comment if appropriate, it has crossed my mind that the Lima version of this vehicle is dimensionally accurate and much of the body has appropriate details. It even has a separate, thin, roof moulding, with LNER layout of chimney and ventilators, shallow-arc rainstrips and even the little grab rail adjoining the stove pipe. The chassis certainly lacks many details, including the whole upper set of stepboards, but does have the "open" LNER type W irons rather than BR plate type. Has anybody had a go at more fully detailing one of these (as a pre WW2 LNER Toad D or other variant) rather than using the Airfix/Dapol kit version?

[jwealleans]

I'm almost sure I have one from the dim and distant, repainted but not much else. I'll try to dig it out.

[Atlantic 3279]

At last I've more or less finished the surgery on the Toad D kit. Below decks I added a spare V hanger to the second solebar, plus a cross-shaft and lever to link up the rudimentary brake gear to the vacuum cylinder. The rest of the brake rigging will have to be imaginary, and the wrong-pattern twin brake shoes will remain.

The body is now fully fitted out with handrails (I think) including the one-side-only extra rail for access to the chimney, which now has a square-with-rounded-corners "baseplate" on the roof and further small grabrail on that roof. Perhaps the twin grab-rails adjoining the duckets are slightly too close to those duckets but they were already in place from when I first built the van possibly twelve years ago and I don't think they are far enough wrong for me to bother to change them. At least their positions leave plenty of room for large NE letters. The rainstrips have been replaced with new ones on a shallower arc, new lamp irons added to the ends, and my erroneously coloured riding lamps have been stripped off. After repainting and re-numbering (with a suitable number this time) black riding lamps will probably go on, at the opposite end of the van to the chimney. I realise that I haven't replaced the moulded hanging safety rails for the verandah entrances. I am inclined to leave those as they are. I must thank various forum members who have supplied me with information or pointed me in the direction of suitable sources whilst I have been tackling this van. It has been very enlightening!

[Atlantic 3279]

Whilst looking for parts, I also found the original kit box, confirming my belief that I had built from an original Airfix kit, whose plastic did not as far as I recall show the determination to bend/curl as per Jonathan's recent Dapol version. I wish that price label were typical of today's wagon kits.........

And here is my Lima Toad D, which I previously thought too shoddy to to be worthy of a picture, but in many ways the body is actually quite good. I added the missing upper step board years ago (still too long for LNER diagrams) and some representations of the stepboard brackets, and gave it a rudimentary re-paint. Armed with new-found knowledge fresh in mind I feel I may as well now improve it further. The roof simply unclips (and has been turned round the right way since I took these pictures!) revealing inner ends that will probably just pop out of their glued locations in the body. Unlike those on other models the inner ends are not modelled with features whose width has been squeezed in order to make the end fit between unrealistically thick corner posts or assembly slots in the main moulding. These are full width, and have very nice "fully 3D" representations of the safety bars. Of course, the doors need to be altered to the solid type, and planking needs to be scribed in on the inner ends - and for that matter on the plain patch above each side ducket. Just as with the Airfix van, the concrete slabs on the platform ends will have to be removed too....which reminds me that I ought to think about putting a pattern of rivet heads on those end plates. Damn, I knew there would be something that I had forgotten!

[PGBerrie]

I wish that price label were typical of today's wagon kits.........

I seem to remember in the early sixties Airfix kits sold for 2/- at Woolworths, and new-design tensíon lock couplings from Triang were 4 1/2d per pair!

Peter

[Atlantic 3279]

Two bob sounds even better. I'll squander a ten bob note and have five please!

[jwealleans]

Prompted by Graeme I dug out my Lima van which I must have refurbished lord knows how long ago. I haven't checked over the dimensions but if I do anything with it the handrails will be the first thing to be replaced. Roof details awful, no upper footstep... I haven't even replaced the wheels. I was quite pleased with the repaint, though, even if I do say so myself. Shame I may now be carving lumps out of it.







It does break down fairly readily and so could be dealt with easily enough, I imagine. I see I stuck black paper inside the windows - presumably the interior is very visible. I shall hang onto this and see what you do with yours.

Edit - I see we've crossposted. I also forgot to mention the concrete weights which may also have to go.

Edit again - some of the pictures were a bit too 'in yer face'.

[Atlantic 3279]

Looking at your first picture JW, I see that I was not the only one to fit my roof the wrong way round after the repaint some years ago

[jwealleans]

Looking at that first picture, Graeme, that would be well down the list of nits I'd pick.

[scottiedog]

David Geen has some 4mm/1ft cast whitemetal "wooden" NER/LNER guard duckets available. They are suitable for both the (NER) V1 and V4 brake vans, and probably the LNER "Toad B" They don't appear on his list and I don't know what the stock situation is. However, I will be seeing him shortly and will find out. The last time I got some from him - about 6 months ago -they were £1.00 a pair. Interested? If so PM me and I will see what's what.

[Atlantic 3279]

If those duckets are good, and as little as £1 per pair, it makes me wonder if the effort of casting my own in resin was worthwhile.......although it does all help to provide experience in preparation for possible attempts to cast larger pieces.
I may be in touch at some time.

[Atlantic 3279]

If anybody is seriously bitten by the "what if" Gresley 4-8-2 bug (as featured on this thread some months ago, but in streamlined form), then this link may entertain. I won't be bidding on this one.....
http://www.vectis.co.uk/Page/ViewLot.as ... 4518&Sub=0

[Atlantic 3279]

Just in case anybody else is detailing a Lima brake van, beware those inner ends. They may look so thin and "full width" that you'd imagine them only to be sitting in a rebate either side, but as I have just discovered it IS a slot, and they can be firmly stuck in place especially (I guess) on a repainted van. The edges of the inner ends will be damaged if you try as I did to lean the inner end outwards to break the joint. Some easing outwards of the van sides to crack the joint, followed by easing upwards using a broad blade under the base of the inner end is possibly a more harmless way to get the pieces apart undamaged. Maybe a soak in plastic-safe paint stripper first might help too.
I will now repair the edges of my inner ends - at least that won't be TOO difficult .