7mm On Heather's Workbench - wider and longer

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
No photo, because nothing really shows, but all four coaches are now weathered on sides and ends. Next job, making those darned curly end handrails - thankfully just a pair for each coach - and find a spare door T-handle.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
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All done. Just the semi-permanent fixing and paint to sort out.

For a change, I’m fixing the rails to the roof, leaving the bracket end on the coach as the bit that can be pinged out if needed. I managed to scratch paintwork twice :rant: but I hope it’ll be lost in a bit more weathering. No matter how careful I am, I will cause damage somewhere. Ho hum. There will need to be some remedial roof alignment work on the longer vehicles, something I ought to have sorted out before.

Nearly there.
 

paulc

Western Thunderer
Hi Heather , what might seem like a dumb question but what material do you use for the end handrails ?
Cheers Paul
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Hi Heather , what might seem like a dumb question but what material do you use for the end handrails ?

There’s never a dumb question. It’s just common or garden 0.7mm brass wire.

Each rail is bespoke. I started with a hole in the top of end of the roof, inserted the wire and marked where to begin the upper loop. A pair of round nose pliers were deployed to form the loops, followed by a pulling the wire across my thumb to form the larger arc. A final bend to get the wire into the hole in the coach end.

It sounds hard work, but probably took a couple of minutes for each one. I had one failure, which I think is a record for me!
 

paulc

Western Thunderer
There’s never a dumb question. It’s just common or garden 0.7mm brass wire.

Each rail is bespoke. I started with a hole in the top of end of the roof, inserted the wire and marked where to begin the upper loop. A pair of round nose pliers were deployed to form the loops, followed by a pulling the wire across my thumb to form the larger arc. A final bend to get the wire into the hole in the coach end.

It sounds hard work, but probably took a couple of minutes for each one. I had one failure, which I think is a record for me!
Thanks for that , i usually use steel wire for handrails and tried a couple of times to make the end h/ rails . The results weren't good , hence my question . I finally have something to use up those rolled up coils of brass wire that come with kits :rant: You know ,the ones that will never flatten out .
I agree about asking questions and have made it my life mission :rolleyes:
Cheers Paul
 

simond

Western Thunderer
I quite like steel piano wire for loco handrails, it's horrid to do, but at least, once done, it never needs doing again...

Definitely brass for coaches etc.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Well, here we are. Almost finished. I have a spot of roof fettling to do, but I’ve contacted the client with regard to getting these coaches transported to the other side of the world.

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They’re an impressive sight, and I look forward to being able to take proper photos for the gallery soon. That’ll be a job in its own right, as the nice length of BG permanent way I commissioned doesn’t fit my light box! Things will have to be posed on the bench with something behind to hide the clutter.
 
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LarryG

Western Thunderer
Can't you photograph them outside against a hedge or sky Heather? A length of white uPVA about 8" deep or more is useful for making a makeshift white background on which you can drop a sky blue in Photoshop afterwards.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
I’m afraid there’s nothing round here that works for me. All our boundaries are fences, and loads of modern rooflines abound. :(

I’ll manage on the bench. I’ve a backdrop I use for plane photos which will work, plus I have a length of "embankment" to pose the track on.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
The Coaches do look grand.

The coaches look wonderful. fantastic job.

Their magnificent, Heather.

Beautiful work

Thanks chaps! They look great from normal viewing distances. Closer in, you can begin to see the artful bodgery that’s had to take place.

Case in point: plastic strip roofs.

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You can see how I failed to match the curve of the coach end when constructing the roofs from plastic. I think there’s also a degree of settling and twisting as the materials have had time to, shall we say, mature on the shelf. It’s not so much a twist or a bend, since the roof seems to be mostly as flat as when I built it. If anything, it’s pulled itself inwards along the long edges, where the clerestory fits.

Anyway, what to do about it. No amount of persuasion was going to pull the centre section down and keep it there. I pondered.

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It struck me it would be helpful to make a curved "blind" which attached to the roof but outside the coach end. It would look like part of the bodywork beading. The question arose how to make the correct shape to fit, and I dredged up an idea of how to create a simple template. Plain copier paper, with a frilly bit cut into it, and carefully pushed into the roof/body angle.

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Rough and ready, but sketching in the line and trimming off the excess gave me something to approximate the roof curve. This could then be transferred to some thin styrene sheet.

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I chose black material. It won’t shine brightly if the paint is chipped off. Dividers gave me the optimum width of the blind.

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With some additional reinforcing strips, but before painting to make good, this is how it looks. A terrible bodge, and I hate it, but at least it avoids having to completely rebuild the entire roof.
 
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