Monthly Archives: January 2017

Connoisseur NER Birdcage Brake Van – final details

Posted on by

Not much modelling done over the weekend due to a combination of not feeling well on Saturday and a trip to Pontefract show on Sunday. Which was very enjoyable even if I did come back with etches for 4 Pullman coaches which Chris spotted and encouraged me to buy that I hadn’t planned on…

A few hours last night had the first van almost complete (I had thought it complete until I remembered that I hadn’t fitted a couple of hand rails or any guard irons under the brake yokes.

 

Modified by CombineZP

Connoisseur NER Birdcage Brake Van – Hand rails fitted

The hand rails that are missing are the two small ones above the wrap around rails in this view – the other end should have similar fitted about a quarter of the way up the windows.

Modified by CombineZP

Modified by CombineZP

I didn’t fancy trying to drill out the rather nice cast chimney because it’s very slender so I scratched a pair of replacements from telescoping tube and a cover plate from the spares box, completed them.

I also noted on the drawing that the sliding doors had a hasp so I made a couple from scrap etch.

Modified by CombineZP

Connoisseur NER Birdcage Brake with Side Cotes

Posted on by

Last night, the procrastination was over and I got on with removing the end from the other van.

Like a lot of things that you worry yourself about it was really quiet an easy job in the end.

Using a few aluminium hair grips and self locking tweezers as heat sinks for the steps and lamp irons I managed to get the end off, remove the offending bits of metal (with a combination of piercing saw/ rotary sanding drum and a cylindrical burr grinder in the dremel finished off with files) and subsequently soldered back on without anything coming adrift, Yeay!!!

Connoisseur NER Birdcage Brake with Side Cotes

And for completeness these are the photos of progress on the other van that I forgot to post last night….

Connoisseur NER Birdcage Brake Van – Hand rails fitted

Connoisseur NER Birdcage Brake Van – Hand rails fitted

Connoisseur NER Birdcage Brake Van – Hand rails fitted

 

Connoisseur NER Birdcage Brake Van – Hand rails fitted

Posted on by

The last couple of evenings have seen further work on the Birdcage brakes.
Monday saw some of the hand rails and the end posts fitted. – Chris bought me a Proxxon Mini Pillar drill and a Proxxon Bench Vice for Christmas and they have been invaluable in doing these especially drilling out the cast end posts for the handrails.

 

Connoissuer NER Birdcage Brake Van

Connoissuer NER Birdcage Brake Van

Connoissuer NER Birdcage Brake Van

Connoissuer NER Birdcage Brake Van

Then last night saw the remaining body side handrails fitted along with the upper ones on one end. The drawing and photo from the Sadler book that I am working from has a different layout of the hand rails on the end than Jim shows in his instructions with the end rails passing through the end posts rather than attaching to the outer face of them.

The interested may wonder why I am just working on this one at the moment. That because I think that the only way to be happy with the one with duckets is going to be to remove the end with the birdcage and then cut out the intrusive sides of the ducket and I am still building up the courage to have a go at it….

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

Posted on by

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

 

Turning wagon building into an art form – or is it just the photography…..

Posted on by

Aside from doing some detailing work on another Kirk coach, last weekends task was to add transfers to the various Parkside builds that I have been working on recently.
Starting with the LMS Beer Van.

Parkside LMS Beer Van (Diag D1817)

Parkside LMS Beer Van (Diag D1817)

Parkside LMS 12 ton van (Diag D1664)

Parkside LMS 12 ton van (Diag D1664)

Parkside LNER 12Ton unfitted Van

Parkside LNER 12Ton unfitted Van

Parkside LNER 12Ton unfitted Van

Parkside LNER 12Ton unfitted Van

Parkside NBR 4 plank Open modified into a coke wagon

Parkside NBR 4 plank Open modified into a coke wagon

Slaters Gloucester 5 Plank Open with Skytrex Sack load

And finally an arty shot that was created by accident as I was preparing the photos

Parkside LNER 12Ton unfitted Van

More work on the Aviaries…..

Posted on by
In between messing about getting my DCC working I have made further progress on the two NER Brake vans. I have been quite impressed that I have managed to add almost all the detail to sub assemblies before making up the main units and adding the solebars. The only things to add to the upper bodies are some corner plates that fold around the corners, some handrails that also go around the ends, the cast end posts and the lower footboards which I need the W Irons in place before I can cut the supports to final length.

7mm Scale Connoisseur Models NER Birdcage Brake Vans

The roof is still loose. Jim recommends leaving it loose to glaze and making it clip on afterwards I need to explore how I can do this yet.

7mm Scale Connoisseur Models NER Birdcage Brake Vans

7mm Scale Connoisseur Models NER Birdcage Brake Vans

Although I have the birdcage for the second one assembled it’s not soldered to the roof yet.

7mm Scale Connoisseur Models NER Birdcage Brake Vans

7mm Scale Connoisseur Models NER Birdcage Brake Vans

Paul Gallon over on RMweb kindly reminded me that the example that I am trying to reproduce with this one also had windows in the birdcage end.
In the photo above you can seem my error. I cut out the windows using those at the other end as a template but didn’t think about the fact the the side duckets have sides which protrude into the van internally and that the sides nearest the end windows partially obscure it. – Why is it that you never notice these things until you have made nice job of soldering the body together, made much more difficult by the fact that on this end I couldn’t get to the inside so I had to solder it from the outside and clean up.

7mm Scale Connoisseur Models NER Birdcage Brake Vans

Connoisseur NER Birdcage Brake Vans

Posted on by

Connoisseur NER Birdcage Brake Vans.

First a bit of preamble. Back in 2011 for Christmas Chris bought me a few of Jim McGeown’s van kits. At the time I built an LNER Refrigerator van but didn’t get to the others, which were an NER Birdcage Brake, a Perishables van, and a 6 wheeled brake coach.
Around the same time we were sat having lunch in a little cafe in the village of Rosedale Abbey on the North Yorkshire Moors when I saw a picture of one of the NER Birdcage brake van’s at Rosedale but this one had “Side Cotes” (duckets to me and much of the world I suspect) as well as the birdcage on top. I decided that I would like to build one so a couple of years later at a show I bought a second kit and asked Jim if he by any chance had any duff etches that contained the duckets from his NER V4 brake van and he said that he did and duly sent me them.
Having been up north for Christmas we planned a week at home before I go back to work so I dug out both of the brake van kits and modified the sides on one to take the duckets. The duckets were too tall to fit directly so I had to modify those too.
Here’s where I got to the night before last.

Modified by CombineZP

A bit more done yesterday, alas nothing done today…

Connoisseur NER Birdcage Brake Van aprts

Connoisseur NER Birdcage Brake Van aprts

Connoisseur NER Birdcage Brake Van aprts

 

 

Newbould Models 8′ Gresley Bogies.

Posted on by

Taking advantage of a few days at home in Wakefield in between doing battle with DCC I have been building a few items in brass.

The first is a pair of Newbould Models 8′ Gresley bogies. These are destined for another 51′ full brake, this time a gangwayed version.

Don Gillam, the gent who bought the non gangwayed version that I had for sale back in August, asked if I would build another Kirk kit that he had bought but not started on on his behalf.

This is where I have got to.

Modified by CombineZP

A Little IMP!

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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.