NBR/LNER Bogie CCT Van

In between building the Kirk coaches I have also been assembling the other exNBR bogie CCT. This one will be finished in LNER livery for my own stock.

In NBR and LNER days the side panels were all half beaded this has been added using 0.8mm half round Plastruct strip.

NBR-LNER Bogie CCT

Although I will be making the sole bars from plastruct strip they are too long to make it out of one length so it will need to be joined.

In order that this isn’t visible on the finished model I plan to draw up and cut some 10 thou overlays. Which I plan to rivet in the same manner as the tar tank. This is in the hope that it will save me from drilling, cutting and inserting the many stubs of rod that would otherwise make up the multitude of bolt/rivet heads visible on the sole bars.

Scratch Built 7mm Scale Tar Tank – Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Tar Distillers

Another one that rolled of the work bench this week is the scratch built tar tank that I made the tank body for some time ago.

I am particularly pleased with the way that the pipework has come out.

 

Scratch Built Tar Tank

Scratch Built Tar Tank

Scratch Built Tar Tank

Scratch Built Tar Tank

Scratch Built Tar Tank

Scratch Built Tar Tank

Scratch Built Tar Tank

Scratch Built Tar Tank

LNER A Type Container – Scratch Built with the aid of a Silhouette Cutter

While taking photos yesterday I completely forgot the LNER Container. I managed to get the body painted a couple of weeks ago but I wasn’t happy with the colour so I mixed some more. While I had the transfers out I applied some. The photo that I am working from has the container on an ex GER OCT which was before dedicated container wagons were produced. On that basis I am going to leave the paint work fairly pristine although I will no doubt weather the OCT when I get that far.

Silhouette Cut LNER A Type Container Lettered and Painted

Silhouette Cut LNER A Type Container Lettered and Painted

Silhouette Cut LNER A Type Container Lettered and Painted

 

A Little IMP!

I had thought that I had brought everything up to date as to my Christmas progress but I had forgotten the NER Implement wagon until I spoke to Graham Beare this morning.

When I began to do more work on it I realised that I had stuck the wrong axlebox/spring castings on, in my haste I had taken those from the Lowmac kit not the IMP. Fortunately I had stuck them on with Rocket Gel Superglue and I managed to prise them of without causing any damage to either the wagon or the castings.

This is where it’s got to so far.

Scratch Built NER Implement Wagon

Further works on the OCT’s

More progress was also made on the Great Northern Railway Open Carriage trucks. All of them now have brakes and yokes etc.

 

Scratch Built GNR Open Carriage Trucks

Scratch Built GNR Open Carriage Trucks

Sadly I ran out of parts so didn’t get any further with the 6 wheeled North Eastern Railway truck but I did make good progress with the Great Eastern Railway Open Carriage Truck.

 

Scratch Built GER Open Carriage Truck

Scratch Built GER Open Carriage Truck

The W Irons and spring arrangement fittings are all either cut on the Cameo or styrene rod – a bit fiddly but immensely satisfying when it all came together.

Tar Tank Travels onward

Another of my last week’s endeavours was to make up and underframe for the tar tank.

My spares box yielded axle boxes/ springs and brakes while the “cameo” spares box yielded W Irons and Crown plates. I will need to cut more of the other washer plates for the solebars but since I already have an assortment drawn for other wagons that should be a simple matter.

Scratch Built Rectangular Tar Tank

Scratch Built Rectangular Tar Tank

 

One thing that I did notice when checking my drawing for making up the underframe is that this wagon has a 10′ wheel base whereas the Slaters version has either 9′ or 9′ 6″. Which will account for the the differing overall length and the reason that the transfers fit without adjustment.

It makes you wonder whether Slaters (like other manufacturers) developed the kit around reusing some existing underframe parts in their range and then adjusted the tank length to fit. But subsequently someone else developed the transfers around the longer wheel based drawing.

I can see lot’s of sound business reasons for doing this.

Silhouette Cut NER Implement Wagon

Inspired at the time when a gent called Adam built a 4mm scale scratchbuilt Lowmac on a couple of forums that I frequent, I recalled that when buying NER Implement wagons and Lowmac kit’s from Jim in the past he packed a couple of extra axlebox/spring castings. With that in mind and wanting to expand the wagon fleet in this direction I ordered and collected another of each kit from Jim at the Keighley show. This gave me a spare set of axlebox/spring castings for each type of wagon.

So when I was ill a couple of weeks or so ago I drew up the parts for an implement wagon to see how it looked.

Then last weekend in between working on the GER OCT and the A Type container (I was a busy boy because I also finished fitting the handrails to the Parkside unfitted van) I assembled it.

Silhouette Cut NER Implement Wagon

Silhouette Cut NER Implement Wagon

 

I didn’t get any further with it because I had left the relevant volume of Tatlow at home in Wakefield….. Which seems to be the story of my life just now – I hadn’t been able to assemble the container the weekend before due to leaving the information at home.

Ex GER Open Carriage Truck and LNER A Type Container

Last weekend saw further progress on the GER OCT and the completion of an LNER A Type container to go on it. – Thanks must go to Jonathan Wealleans for supplying me with the information that allowed me to draw the container ready for cutting.
Containers are the perfect thing for creating with the Cameo. I have also made a start on making up W Irons and springs from my home produced examples. No photos at present until they are finished.

ex GER Open Carriage Truck

ex GER Open Carriage Truck

7mm scale LNER A Type Container

7mm scale LNER A Type Container

7mm scale LNER A Type Container

I have also made a start on making up W Irons and springs from my home produced examples. No photos at present until they are finished.

And then there were Five, Open Carriage Trucks

And then there were five…

Although last week was a bust from a modelling perspective due to being ill. When I started to feel better I did get a bit of drawing and cutting done which allowed me to make a start on what I think are the last two open carriage trucks for now.

First I made up the body and basic underframe for the GER OCT that I was enquiring about the origins of on various forums

Modified by CombineZP

Modified by CombineZP

Modified by CombineZP

Modified by CombineZP

 

The plan is to finish this with an A Type container (which I have made start on drawing up in Inkscape).

Last but by no means least (because it’s a bit of a beast at 34′ 8″) is a former NER 6 wheeled OCT. Apparently in 1917 these had their sides removed and bolsters added for the conveyance of Aeroplane parts.

NER 6 wheeled OCT

NER 6 wheeled OCT

NER 6 wheeled OCT

NER 6 wheeled OCT

NER 6 wheeled OCT

NER 6 wheeled OCT

 

Further progress on the GNR Open Carriage Trucks

I made more progress on the OCTs now having two 21′ and one 18′ examples in similar states of build.

GNR 18 and 21ft Open Carriage Trucks

GNR 18 and 21ft Open Carriage Trucks

GNR 18 and 21ft Open Carriage Trucks

GNR 18 and 21ft Open Carriage Trucks

GNR 18 and 21ft Open Carriage Trucks

GNR 18 and 21ft Open Carriage Trucks

 

and finally a photos of the star and some modified spring hangers. The cast W Irons and springs were kindly cast for me by Kerry Viney in Australia but nice as they are they didn’t quite match the spring hangers on my drawing but some time ago when I was experimenting with drawing up springs and hangers in Inkscape I had drawn up and cut some hangers which I hadn’t used. I found that If I glued 3 layers together by inserting them on a length of brass wire to index them I could them cut the loop end off and insert them on the bottom of the solebar like you see in the close up below. Not perfect in that they could have been a little wider but now I have the proof of concept adjusting with will take moments before recutting. I will do this for use with the next half dozen that I have, which I plan to use on an NER 6 wheeled OCT

GNR 18 and 21ft Open Carriage Trucks

GNR 18 and 21ft Open Carriage Trucks

Ex GNR Open Carriage Trucks take shape

As alluded to earlier, the last couple of weekends have seen some more scratch building going on.

Having painted up my cars I need something to carry them on and Open Carriage Trucks fit the bill as being a little more in keeping than machinery wagons or Lowmac’s. A look through my trust Historic Carriage volumes gave me examples of GNR and NER so I made start on a couple of GNR examples.
First the 21′ version whose Diagram number I cannot recall and I left my book up north.

7mm scale Scratch Built ex GNR OCT

7mm scale Scratch Built ex GNR OCT

7mm scale Scratch Built ex GNR OCT

7mm scale Scratch Built ex GNR OCT

Followed by the earlier and shorter (18′) Diagram 375

Ex GNR 18 foot OCT

Ex GNR 18 foot OCT

Ex GNR 18 foot OCT

Ex GNR 18 foot OCT

Ex GNR 18 foot OCT

Ex GNR 18 foot OCT

 

I have another 21 footer started too. All the hinges and details were drawing in Inkscape and cut on the Cameo.

Cracked Tar

In between other jobs I managed to get a squirt of black paint, the transfers and some weathering on the tar tank.

What was interesting having built an lettered a Slaters kit, is that I took the measurements for this from a Skinley drawing. That drawing must relate in some way to the Slaters transfers because unlike the Slaters’ kit the transfers went on in one piece without having to make any adjustments to letter spacing to take account of the panel size and layout of the rivets.

My Slaters example took several sessions/hours to get the transfers on whereas these went in in about 15 minutes tops for both sides.

My main reason for building this was to do further experiments with the crackle medium to see if I could reproduce cracked tar runs on the tank. I am pleased with the results so far.

7mm Scale Scrtach Built Tar Tank

7mm Scale Scrtach Built Tar Tank

7mm Scale Scrtach Built Tar Tank

7mm Scale Scrtach Built Tar Tank

7mm Scale Scrtach Built Tar Tank

7mm Scale Scrtach Built Tar Tank

7mm Scale Scrtach Built Tar Tank

7mm Scale Scrtach Built Tar Tank

 

Primer hasn’t covered the “rivets”

A quick squirt of primer later and the “rivets” are still visible.

Scratch Built Rectangular Tank

Scratch Built Rectangular Tank

Scratch Built Rectangular Tank

Scratch Built Rectangular Tank

Scratch Built Rectangular Tank

Scratch Built Rectangular Tank

 

A lot will depend on the results of my ongoing painting experiments using Crackle medium but it’s looking more like I will build an underframe for it by the minute. – Like Horseboxes, you can never have too many tank wagons.

Scratch Built Rectangular Tank.

In between while the brain can’t cope with anything too involved I wanted to do some more experiments with Crackle medium because I want to weather my Slaters Tar tub. Like when I did the doors I would rather put my efforts into something useful as opposed to just testing things on a an offcut of styrene. As I was looking for something else a couple of weeks ago I came across a Skinley Drawing for a rectangular tank wagon.

I scanned it, imported it into Inkscape and very quickly cut out some 10 thou overlays for the top, sides and ends. A search in my spares box dug out a spare filler cap. The drawing has a deep filler neck so I glued it to a spare Parkside Vacuum cylinder which was the right size.

I then glued the overlays to some pieces of 60 thou and assembled it all to make up a tank body – I am still not sure as to whether to leave it as a grounded tank or to knock up and underframe and add it to the stock list. I suppose that will depend on how happy I am with the weathering job.

 

Scratch built Rectangular Tank Wagon

Scratch built Rectangular Tank Wagon

Scratch built Rectangular Tank Wagon

Scratch built Rectangular Tank Wagon

Scratch built Rectangular Tank Wagon

Scratch built Rectangular Tank Wagon

This is straight from the cutter, I haven’t drilled out the rivets and added stubs of styrene rod.

The next step is to put a coat of primer on and see how it looks then.

No Business of old is complete without a few tattered Enamel Signs

The sign bug seems to have bitten….

No business of old is complete without a few enamel signs.

enamel-sign-prints
They started as images downloaded from the web, resized and printed on my laserjet.

Then they were cut out and stuck with pva, to some offcuts of 20 thou styrene sheet. I have an old washing up bowl under the table where my Silhouette is into which I place offcuts. Besides being a tight Yorkshireman, such is the ability with Silhouette Studio to place the object on the cutting mat where you like, you can do test cuts on the smallest of pieces.

Once dry, having cut them out and stuck them last night, I then stuck a strip of sellotape over them as being simpler than messing about varnish something so small. I then trimmed the excess sellotape and cut the signs from the strip that I had stuck them to.

Finally I really wanted them to show their age a bit, because one of the signs has a date of 1911 on it so by grouping they would have been around a while.

The aging was done with the aid of a strong light, a magnifier and a very fine brush along with an enlarged online image of a battered enamel sign as a guide. – My eyes still ache…

 

7mm scale scratch built enamel signs

7mm scale scratch built enamel signs

7mm scale scratch built enamel signs with a ruler for scale

7mm scale scratch built enamel signs with a ruler for scale

I scanned them again including a ruler to show just how small they are.

7mm scale scratch built enamel signs with a ruler for scale

7mm scale scratch built enamel signs with a ruler for scale

And finally I scanned them a third time at a lower resolution to give an idea of how they will look from normal viewing distances.

Sign Boards, A Little bit of Local History

 A project that I am working on in the day job is coming up to go live on Monday so I haven’t had much in the way of head space for modelling during the week for the last couple of weeks. This means that I am quite happy to report that a little more progress has been made on the sign boards if not on anything else.
Diorama Sign Boards Ready for fitting

Diorama Sign Boards Ready for fitting

Both are/were genuine local companies, Startrite are still in existance about 6 miles away on the outskirts of Leeds

Sign Boards, in the beginning…..

I drew up some sign boards in Inkscape then didn’t have time to cut them out so having spent much longer at Hartlepool show than I originally intended, I resorted to good old scratch building for them. – too busy catching up with people.

The biggest shock of all, apart from drinks and sandwiches for lunch I didn’t spend a penny. – Worth noting for the future, the food and drink was excellent quality and value for money. I am not sure what the attendance was like on Sunday but Saturday looked to be very well attended.

Diorama Sign Boards

Diorama Sign Boards

Playing about with Pattress Plates and Doors

A particularly busy week at work didn’t leave much energy or enthusiasm for modelling last week. I did get a few bits and pieces done though.

The first relates to my last post on the occupied arches. Chris asked if I could make some Pattress Plates that were used to strengthen buildings and bridges to further enhance the arches. Inkscape to the fore and I soon had some parts draw up and cut out.

They are made up from multi layers of 20thou sheet and sadly I didn’t take photos of the finished articles before sloshing on the paint but here they are before fitting to the arches.

Silhouette Cut Pattress Plates

Silhouette Cut Pattress Plates

On my long term “want to try that” list has been Vallejo Crackle medium, which is used to represent peeling cracking or flaking paint. None of the usual haunts that I normally buy my supplies of Vallejo paint from seem to stock it and I am far too tight to pay postage to get some from eBay. Which pretty much doubles the cost.

Having done a search for it on eBay I noticed that Jackson Art supplies stock it and they are one of the places that Chris uses for her art supplies. I asked if she would add some to her order the next time she placed one which she did last week. – She waits until she needs enough supplies to qualify for free postage…. We are from the People’s Republic of Yorkshire after all.

When I knew it was on it’s way I thought what shall I use to test it and I could have used a square of styrene but no… I though perhaps I could could a couple of door sized pieces and cut some grooves to represent planks.

Which I did, then I thought I could add rails and stiles (I think that’s what they call them?) to the back and perhaps a couple of hinges on one to look like a door that’s been taken of for disposal or repair. Then I thought ah yes but the type of doors that I am representing have “Snecks” (or that’s what we call the round ‘ere) which meant that I would need to add a couple of pattress plates (see the theme developing).

Finally I got around to doing some actual painting and testing of the crackle medium. I have read various reviews and it seemed that many people didn’t really get on with it. I suspect that in the main that’s because the instructions are sparse to say the least – paint surface with acrylic paint, don’t shake the bottle, apply to the surface and allow to dry thoroughly (small cracks) over paint with a contrasting colour. For larger cracks overpain while still tacky.

Now peoples biggest issue seems to be that while overpainting you can have a tendency to drag the paint off removing your nicely cracked surface – see the brown door.

Having done the brown door and experienced just that effect albeit that I think that it looks okay bearing in mind how much magnification there is on the images.

On the second (blue) door I watered down the paint quite significantly and did the cover in a single stroke making sure that I didn’t touch it again with the brush once an area had been covered this gave a much better effect that does look like well worn paint work.
I plan to do some more tests but using the airbrush to apply the second coat to see what effect that has.

 

Scratch built 7mm scale doors

Scratch built 7mm scale doors

Scratch built 7mm scale doors

Scratch built 7mm scale doors

I tried variations of the above techniques on the backs and to be honest I am not that happy with any of them.

Scratch built 7mm scale doors

Scratch built 7mm scale doors

and finally the “sneck”

I couldn’t resist distressing the bottoms of the doors to look like they have rotted away like so many outside toilet doors of my youth.

NER Vans to the fore.

This weekend was a busy one so I didn’t get much in the way of modelling done. I did manage to make a little progress on the NER vans getting some door furniture and a roof on the G1
7mm Scale Silhouette Cut NER G1 Van

7mm Scale Silhouette Cut NER G1 Van

It looks a little flat in the middle which I think is a trick of the light because it doesn’t look flat in the flesh.
I had previously put “canvas on the roof of the G2 but took it off because I hadn’t got the supports for the opening canvas roof in the right place. I moved them inwards and then re “canvassed” the roof ends using the usual lense tissue and I also made up the opening section with two layers of tissue and some 0.75mm square section rod carefully cut to length and spaced out. This when coated with pva and stretched onto the roof has given a very good result when compared to the photos of examples with canvas roof hatches in Tatlow.
7mm Scale Silhouette Cut NER G2 Van

7mm Scale Silhouette Cut NER G2 Van

7mm Scale Silhouette Cut NER G2 Van

7mm Scale Silhouette Cut NER G2 Van

7mm Scale Silhouette Cut NER G2 Van

7mm Scale Silhouette Cut NER G2 Van

7mm Scale Silhouette Cut NER G2 Van

7mm Scale Silhouette Cut NER G2 Van

7mm Scale Silhouette Cut NER G2 Van

7mm Scale Silhouette Cut NER G2 Van

Those with longer memories than me will note that one of the V hangers is missing. I have removed it to make this one of the vacuum fitted examples for variety since I have a brass kit for a vertical planked version which is unfitted in the stash to build.