West End Workbench

[jwealleans]

Coaches now painted and drying. I didn't find any Vallejo varnish so I went cautiously with the Games Workshop and haven't had any disasters as yet. The composite is almost at the same stage as the brake; I'll finish them off in parallel.



While those were drying I made a start on the B1s. One has had a total repaint and lining - I spent much of my extra hour (and the rest of Sunday) cursing Mr Fox and all his earthly works. I wish I'd known the early BR version was going to be flogged off cheap when I bought this one. The camera doesn't show it up as badly as I expected. This is the worse side.



I've started the Klear treatment on this one and it is beginning to acquire a nice shine.

For 61058 I studied the picture in LNER 4-6-0s at Work and concluded that it had been relettered but not repainted. The LNER style lining is visible, most conclusively on the buffer beam. I've also copied Tim's idea for making the curly 6.



We're moving into a loco phase AM as I have an Ivatt 2 on the way to renumber for Thurston. As I'm in that sort of mode I thought I'd have a go at a K3 I was going to convert for Pilmoor. It seems Tony Wright has done a similar conversion in BRM this month although I haven't read that article yet. What gave me the idea was reading that some of the K3s with Darlington cabs were not converted until after 1939. These seem to have included Nos 52 and 53, both York engines. For those who don't know, the second batch of K3s built at Darlington in 1924 had an NER type cab with very low side windows. I can't find a picture now I want one, of course.

Crews in other regions complained about the window height and so they were altered by Doncaster, twice in fact, until the pattern which the Bachmann model carries was arrived at. The SEF kit contains etches for all the different patterns and I intend to build it with the GN cab, so this was effectively spare.

The K3 strips down very readily into it's component parts:



The SEF etch with the selected parts removed. I have misplaced the kit instructions so we're proceeding by common sense and photographs from here on in.



The cab loosely positioned on the body. The side sheets are about 1mm shorter than the Bachmann cab but the curve is wrongly shaped and puts the cab too far forward.



I've lined it up with the back of the footplate which I think is where it ought to go. I'll have to make up a small boiler extension piece. I expect I ought to shorten the backhead as well but we'll see when I go to refit it. A thin layer of filler at the bottom of the side sheets will also be needed.

[Atlantic 3279]

Liking it so far.

[earlswood nob]

Evenin' all
I like the style. Those SEF etched cabs are too good to waste. One can easily have a fleet of K3's: GN cab, low windows, high windows etc.....
Interesting thread
Earlswood Nob

[jwealleans]

You're not wrong, EN. The kit I have will be a GN version with London Road tender, when I happen across the appropriate round tuit.

In the meantime not much from me as I have failed to shake off my cold this week. I have been doing a bit, though, while the drugs lasted:

Coach interiors. Humbrol 186 and gloss varnish so you get a bit of a shine visible through the windows.





Seats are from Coopercraft. On the compo each alternate partition has to be made up from plastikard so there's still a bit of painting to do. Dan supplies some black plastikard in the kits so I've made up floors as well, to avoid unwanted light showing up from below. Today's homework is a scan through the GE Society Journal CD to see if I can find an interior photo of one of these compartments.



K3 has had the boiler extended and it now needs cutting back to the right length. As you can see it raises the cab slightly as it is. Then I can get on with the other bits of RHD conversion, new buffers and the like. I have no short handrail knobs so unless I can get hold of some at Newcastle next weekend it'll be an order to the AG workshop.

[Tom F]

Looking very nice Jonathan!
That LNER lined, BR branded B1 looks very interesting. The K3 looks like it's coming along nicely!

[Atlantic 3279]

round tuit.

If you discover a plentiful supply, I'll have several please.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

I reckon we could ALL do with a plentiful supply of "round tuits." My kit pile has increased by one this week - a partly built Cotswold Midland Compound. LHD, so an LMS built version.

[jwealleans]

Been quite busy just recently, mainly work but I did have a fun weekend at Newcastle as can be seen elsewhere. I was also able to pick up the handrail knobs I required (Nairnshire Modelling Supplies - worth a look at a show or online, they do all sorts) and a flared coping tender top from Dave Alexander.

So last night I took to the K3 again and this lunchtime I put the tender together (really - it took about half an hour).





I've put the backhead in - as Graeme forecast it projects a bit too far into the cab but not so far I can't live with it. Nothing is glued down yet - there's packing under the cab floor and also down the sides where the brass is much thinner than the Bachmann plastic. The tender also needs levelling and a buffer beam adding at the back - I bought the version intended to go onto the Hornby tender drive as it was always my intention to reuse the chassis. Dave's kit also had the rear coal plate over the water scoop dome. Mine needs to be further forward so I've made a filler piece for that.

[Atlantic 3279]

Further to me recent PM - better now that the images have appeared .

[jwealleans]

Well, I had almost a full day at the bench today and did all sorts. To continue from my previous post, the K3:



I stuck body onto tender and added rear buffer beams of Friday evening. There was some pitting on one tender side so that had a few coats of filler primer. The photos are showing the cab tilted back - that must have been a side effect of fitting the boiler after the cab, which was probably a mistake. I hadn't noticed it on the model but it will have to be attended to. I made all the holes to make it RHD, then read that this batch were all converted back to LHD by 1937 so I had to open out all the original holes and fill in the new ones. I will have to fit a new steam pipe anyway as I've moved the cab back about 2mm and it's no longer long enough. I've also mislaid the Spencer buffers I know I have somewhere - Graeme, do you recall where we got the last ones from?



A coat of paint brings it all together very nicely. As you can see, I've added the cabside step I forgot about as well.

While we're on locos I started weathering the two B1s today as well. They've had a dirty wash over which has then been cut back and some powder applied to the tenders. The wheels have also been painted but the motion is awaiting some more Humbrol 53, my last tin having inconsiderately dried out.





Also on the bench today this rather pretty little Ivatt 2 which will run on Thurston. As per the owner's instructions, I've added the cab doors, vac pipes, screw links and lamp irons. Front steps have also been put on although I give them about 5 minutes, there's no real firm mounting point for them. I was considering tender pickups, but I failed to get the body off, not wanting to apply the amount of brute force apparently required to a loco which isn't mine. As this isn't a DCC ready model there's no existing loco-tender connection I could use. As you can see I'd already renumbered to Cambridge's 46467.



The coaches are coming along having been stuck for 'E' transfers for a week or so. I didn't find any interior shots so I went with two pictures and a mirror which is my default setting. The shells can now be glazed and the whole things reassembled.



I can't go a week without making a wagon and a few have crossed the bench lately: I was given some Ks kits which had been donated to Ormesby Hall and asked if we could use any of them. These two are clearly in period for Pilmoor.





I think they've scrubbed up rather well, as long as no-one asks what an odd banana van is doing wandering the LNER.

The ex-Ratio Gunpowder van is all lettered up and awaiting weathering after some more varnish and a bit of curing time.



Best until last and the sort of thing the forum would benefit from more of; one of a number of kits I have to build for Scottiedog, all D & S and which I'm looking forward to working my way through.



I started it Friday night and finished off the detail this morning although it awaits the arrival of its' vac pipes. Wheels are also a query - Dan says 14mm Mansell but all the photographs I have show spoked wheels and the buffers are the right height with the 12mm wheels I've fitted. I'll have to revisit that.

[mick b]

Branchlines do Maygib Spencer buffers.

The K3 still leans backwards in the painted picture ?, hopefully the photo.

[jwealleans]

Thanks, Mick, I've emailed them. I hadn't even noticed the K3 leaning until I saw the photos so I haven't had chance to do anything about it yet. I might pop up there this morning and have a go at it.

[45609]

Hi Jonathan,

I'm liking what you are doing on the K3 and B1s. In particular the livery of 61058 is an interesting variation. Is the curly '6' a complete decal or has it been put together out of 2 pieces of decal?

Cheers....Morgan

[jwealleans]

Hi Morgan,

Thanks for that - 61058 is a bit of guesswork, although what lining I can see in the photo is LNER and the 'BRITISH RAILWAYS' is beyond doubt as is the curly smokebox '6'. I can't claim credit for the cabside number it was an idea Tim Easter posted on here some time ago. It's made from most of a 6 (or 9) and the lower part of a 5.

I have straightened the K3 cab as far as I dare - ignoring the faintly worrying cracking noises. Against a set square now it's a fraction of a millimetre out but to the eye it's fine. We'll see what the camera makes of it later in the week.

[Atlantic 3279]

Sorry to be slow off the mark. I was laid low by a cold (another !) for most of the weekend.
I'd have suggested Branchlines as the best bet for the Maygib Spencers too.