4mm An EM Workbench: Mineral allsorts

[AJC]

A bit of a hiatus in coverage owing to a camera failure. Still, now that's sorted, this is where the Catfish has got to:



There's nothing too much to show from this angle, barring the handrails and brakeshoes, but from here:



You can see that I've overlaid the end platforms with 5 thou' sheet and pushed the handrails out a bit having drilled new holes, of course. Pretty much all that's left to do is detailing (vac' pipes, couplings, lamp irons, brake safety loops), the main wagon is all there.

Adam

 

[AJC]

And now - so soon - the Catfish is almost finished. It does go to show how good a kit this is, in terms of detail and mostly, in terms of fit as well, that the additions made are so few. I need to sort some handwheels out for it.





Also on the bench is yet another Coil J which has moved on in its own small way. This is one of the batch of iron ore tipplers that had the full 8 shoe brake gear, the fittings for vac' cylinders but not the cylinders themselves; most were retro-fitted for the Mendip stone workings but some found themselves chopped about. Brake levers are the next bits I think.



Adam

 

[AJC]

Thanks to the good services of Steve at Railtec, I have made one big step towards completing my Rumney Models Strip Coil, last mentioned here. For the last year or so it has gently matured under a coat of gloss varnish awaiting transfers. These have now arrived and been applied. For anyone contemplating buying one of Justin's kits, proper lettering is now available for either of the diagrams it produces and also the later (and heavier duty) similar vehicles used in Scotland. Justin't kit won't stretch to these but the option is there as part of Railtec's range: http://www.railtec-models.com/showitem.php?id=1874 - for reference, Steve is aware that the lettering should read SC. R rather than SG. R and this will be corrected in subsequent batches...



These are really very good. Here's a close up:



Here's the real thing courtesy, as ever, to Paul Bartlett (thank you Paul): http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brstripcoil/h294aa921#h294aa921

Adam

 

[SimonT]

Adam,
there's lovely! I look forward to seeing the rusty, battered version. Do you know if Steve can do the transfers in 7mm?

Simon

 

[AJC]

Adam,
there's lovely! I look forward to seeing the rusty, battered version. Do you know if Steve can do the transfers in 7mm?

Simon

Simon - if asked, I'm sure he could oblige. The artwork is there now.

Adam

 

[SimonT]

Adam,
small delay in that the model is still in the virtual workbench! I must talk to him about other Coils and see if we can get them in both scales.
Simon

 

[AJC]

Both Catfish and Coil J have reached the stage where the only additions are paint. The physical changes from the last update are brake actuation bits; wheels in the case of the Catfish (from Colin Craig) and levers (spares from Rumney Models chassis kits) for the Coil. All very nice components.

The Catfish wears Gulf Red - in fact, Humbrol #73, matt wine, subject to several coats of Klear to provide a gloss surface for trasnfers - with #98, matt chocolate, underframe.





The Coil is only in the first stage of painting with a bit of matt chocolate applied to the underframe. The quality of the brake lever etches are shown to good effect.



Adam

 

[Dog Star]

Very tasty, good looking 7mm models...

 

[AJC]

I take that as some kind of compliment Graham, but as I've said before, in 7mm I'd have to include all the detail... Anyhow, I've been tidying up some loose ends last night and this morning so here we are. First, the fully lettered Catfish - the yellow stencilled lettering is prototypical as this Paul Bartlett shot shows: http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brcatfishzev/h7792c18#h7792c18 - and the Dave Larkin picture this wagon is based on makes the difference between white (which shows up well) and yellow (which doesn't) nicely. The Modelmaster transfers, however, were all white so I spent a little time overpainting the white with yellow. It might look a little ragged here but in reality it is quite tidy and will vanish under weathering.


Here it is with the Herring, which has had a first pass of weathering. Note that the Herring is the wagon with the higher capacity...



Meanwhile, here's another thing, a Rumney Models chassis, much like that under the Shocvan featured earlier. This will go under something a little different but you'll have to wait and see.



Adam

 

[AJC]

On the wider wagon theme, I've just posted something in the 'Resources' part of the forum that might be of interest to other wagon modellers:

"Old King Coal [Adventures of a '60s Edinburgh Coal Yard]"

I've made a few notes in that thread, but here's one of the films:

Adam

 

[Pugsley]

An interesting video, thanks. He couldn't have picked a more inappropriate backing track, though, IMO!

 

[AJC]

I hadn't actually listened to the soundtrack until you mentioned it. No, I can't say that works for me. Still, it has prompted me to do some work on my slope sided mineral. Pictures once the paint is dry and the sun comes up.

Adam

 

[AJC]

After a certain amount of thrashing about with paint brushes, several wagons have inched further towards completion. The strip coil may have almost got there but the interior might benefit from some powders?





The Chas Roberts mineral still waits on lettering, but the paint finish is otherwise just about right.



Adam

 

[AJC]

And from the paintshop, the refitted Dogfish emerges, ready for weathering.



The silver stocks to the OLEOs will be done after weathering is complete. Otherwise, the arrival of a brown envelope from Bodmin resulted in my repainted Hornby shunter's truck - clearly an early post-Nationalisation repaint - gaining an identity. A set of lamps and some bits and bobs and it will be ready for service.



Adam

 

[AJC]

Evolution of a Hornby hopper using leftover parts from a Dave Bradwell hopper chassis etch based on detail from this picture, taken at Shilbottle colliery. Rap plates, new hopper door catch levers and the usual cat's cradle of wire for the handrails at the end. It's quicker than the alternative options (Parkside, Airfix/Bradwell) but is it as much fun?





As I said, the ends are *interesting*: there are more variant on these than can be easily described.



Adam

 

[iak63]

Whooosh!

 

[AJC]

Three wagons - all Cambrian kits of varying vintages - finished.









Adam

 

[AJC]

Anyway, one more completed vehicle. The last Coil J for a bit.



The transfers were commissioned by me from Railtec and the wagon is based on this picture from Paul Bartlett (thanks again Paul):

http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brcoilj/h3ff3ae8f#h3ff3ae8f



Time for something different, but what?

Adam

 

[Overseer]

Time for something different, but what?

Adam

How about a MMP Catfish or Dogfish in S7?

 

[AJC]

How about a MMP Catfish or Dogfish in S7?

Ha! It's not happening, or at least, not this side of the winter and not a hopper and not in S7 (all the O gauge modellers whose trainsets I have easy access to work in finescale). I have built the odd O gauge vehicle and find them frustrating: they fill a lot of storage space and use a lot more paint than I expect. Maybe something with a motor in it; not many wagons move themselves.

Adam