4mm An EM Workbench: Mineral allsorts

[AJC]

Thanks Justin, sad to say that I've built so few open highs over the years that I only noticed this feature very recently. When next we audit the stock boxes we'll have to check accordingly for stragglers.

The other activity just recently has focused on steel covered hoppers from Bachmann, both subject to first pass weathering. The unfitted covhop will be heavily streaked but in relatively good order.



The grain hopper will be somewhat more battered; this follows the prototypes' general appearances; steel grain hoppers always seem to appear somewhat woebegone...



Adam

 

[Lyndhurstman]

This particular pair of wagons are now complete and have been snapped in the sunshine. There's a grain and a covhop to finish weathering now but they're a little way off, awaiting paint to dry.

Adam

As ever, lovely stuff, Adam. You have a marvellous eye for characterising such mundane beasts. When it comes to weathering, I think it's best to work from reality - and the research involved in tracking down a suitable prototype serves as a mojo plaster for me.

By the way; whats your livery colour for the GW Opens? Is it proprietary? It has a richness and depth that I covet

Cheers

Jan

 

[AJC]

As ever, lovely stuff, Adam. You have a marvellous eye for characterising such mundane beasts. When it comes to weathering, I think it's best to work from reality - and the research involved in tracking down a suitable prototype serves as a mojo plaster for me.

By the way; whats your livery colour for the GW Opens? Is it proprietary? It has a richness and depth that I covet

Cheers

Jan

Thank you Jan. I quite agree that - though I didn't have the opportunity to see the era I'm modelling - I owe Paul Bartlett, my dad, and countless others who took photos an enormous debt. That said, there's no substitute for observation. Take this grain hopper for example; the roof panels on these seemed to keep their paint better than the sides, perhaps because rain simply ran down the curve?

You can see the early effects here: BR Grain welded Unfit Diag 1/271 CGO | B885068_BR_GRAIN__m_

It's a bit more pronounced here which is roughly the condition I'm going for: BR Grain welded Unfit Diag 1/271 CGO | B885068_BR_GRAIN__m_

I think the roof probably wants another coat before reapplying rust on mine. What do you think?



The red oxide is simply Halfords primer. The depth, I suspect, comes from the varnish applied (Johnson's Klear) to bed down the transfers. Even with a matt coat applied over the top the depth this lends remains and I like the way it looks.

Adam

 

[Lyndhurstman]

Thank you Jan. I quite agree that - though I didn't have the opportunity to see the era I'm modelling - I owe Paul Bartlett, my dad, and countless others who took photos an enormous debt. That said, there's no substitute for observation. Take this grain hopper for example; the roof panels on these seemed to keep their pain better than the sides, perhaps because rain simply ran down the curve?

You can see the early effects here: BR Grain welded Unfit Diag 1/271 CGO | B885068_BR_GRAIN__m_

It's a bit more pronounced here which is roughly the condition I'm going for: BR Grain welded Unfit Diag 1/271 CGO | B885068_BR_GRAIN__m_

I think the roof probably wants another coat before reapplying rust on mine. What do you think?

View attachment 56644

I think you're right. The curve of the roof meant that water didn't stick, so it was more uniform than the sides. I wonder if there was thicker paint on the roof, too.....

Having said that, there's a nice variation on on Jaimrail's Flickr site B885280 Grain Hopper [BBR5-127]

...and if it all goes wrong, there's always this.... 48390 approaching Kings Heath

The red oxide is simply Halfords primer. The depth, I suspect, comes from the varnish applied (Johnson's Klear) to bed down the transfers. Even with a matt coat applied over the top the depth this lends remains and I like the way it looks.

Thanks for the info. I have some Johnson's Klear. I'll have to give it a go. It does look bonzer.

Cheers

Jan

 

[AJC]

So here we are, one complete hopper (the grain), one near complete (the covhop), and one started (see below). First, fresh from the paintshop:



The better of the two sides - I've just done a bit of remedial work on the other. Transfers are a mix of CCT and the usually useless HMRS sheet. The 'GRAIN' branding is actually usable, and resembles the real thing!

Two sides of the covhop next. This needs to harden off properly for a few days before being treated to a bit of dust from its load. Nearly there, however.





And finally, a Parkside 21 ton hopper which will be based on that part of the fleet branded for Charringtons. The prototype is interesting in that it had all the fittings for vacuum brake bar the crucial ones: a hose and a cylinder! This picture, used only for illustrative purposes shows what I mean:



Here's where we're at. First the chassis:



And here's the body:



That's all for now, must get back to work...

Adam

 

[hrmspaul]

The instructions for repainting BR wagons in 1959 made no special mention of painting for the grains. They didn't carry a corrosive load so no reason for special preparation (unlike SALT, PRESFLO and COVHOP).

Paul Bartlett

 

[AJC]

The instructions for repainting BR wagons in 1959 made no special mention of painting for the grains. They didn't carry a corrosive load so no reason for special preparation (unlike SALT, PRESFLO and COVHOP).

Paul Bartlett

Thanks Paul - I suppose that, so long as the wagons were watertight, there would be no great problem. Are these painting instructions in the public domain (online or at Kew, for example) or part of your own collection (or that of say, the HMRS)?

Adam

 

[AJC]

Here's an exemplar of the detail combination intended courtesy of Paul Bartlett (thanks again Paul):

BR 21t coal hopper - welded bodies HTO HTV ZDV | B430946__m_

That said, it isn't quite the complete set of details intended. As well as that, they'll be brake levers with a reinforcing rib and fabricated open steps, like this one (again, thanks to Paul for recording these wagons and for making these pictures available):

BR 21t coal hopper - welded bodies HTO HTV ZDV | B422576_HTO__m_

This isn't exactly what the Parkside kit provides for but the modifications are quite simple. The brake gear tumblers have been thickened and drilled out to take a 0.7mm cross shaft and 0.8mm angle subbed for the moulded plastic supplied. The end supports in the kit are the plate type, and those required were, I think, angle or channel. They'll be Evergreen strip on mine.



While it all goes together fairly well, as the last couple I built did, but the interior will need a fair bit of filler.



By the by, Hornby's most recent effort - for one of the riveted versions of these hoppers - does all this rather well. The weathering was simply a series of enamel washes, matt 100 and metalcote gunmetal, followed up with black weathering powders. I'm still quite pleased with it. The same method probably won't work with a welded body, but we'll have to wait and see.



Adam

 

[garethevans1986]

Lovely wagons!

 

[AJC]

Thank you Gareth. Just to flag up (for those of you like me who don't generally read the popular prints) that featured in the latest Model Rail is the layout that I grew up with, Yeovil MRG's South Junction. It may not be the most technically refined layout, nor the most prototypical, but it looks pretty good, even now. Model Rail have featured a shot on their Facebook page (Ivatt tank by dad and Bachmann, following wagons, LMS CCT apart, by me): Model Rail magazine - Timeline | Facebook

The pictures are by Chris Nevard and are worth a browse in their own right. I'm not sure what I'll do with the remainder of the magazine... Here's my favourite angle on the thing.



Adam

 

[AJC]

The end of a rather protracted project is always satisfying and so it is with this pair of rod coil conversions. These Coil S have led me a merry dance over the last few years requiring rebuilds, rethinks and several bouts of despair at ever starting the wretched things. The most recent round was brought about by the loads; coils of steel rod are the very devil to model and, having toyed with mucking about with fuse wire, I gave up and bought some very reasonable resin mouldings from DUHA (courtesy of P&H Models - usual disclaimer, but excellent service). These are designed for HO but are about the right size for my purposes.

Here's one as supplied - the colouring is less than convincing as I'm modelling new coils!



An idea of what they should look like can be had from Paul Bartlett's galleries: BR Rod Coil S - open merchandise conversion KSV | E275264 KSV

I've spliced several together and repainted them with Humbrol no. 53 gunmetal followed up with dark and rust coloured washes with a bit of dry brushing to follow. My pair are modelled shortly after conversion in 1970 so are - relatively - clean.







I've only just noted that the screw coupling has gone and tied itself in knots. Oops.

Adam

 

[SimonT]

Very convincing. Thankfully I don't need any for Aber but it does remind me that I have a similar conversion to finish. At present it is stuck on the brakes. May be this afternoon ....
Simon

 

[AJC]

Very convincing. Thankfully I don't need any for Aber but it does remind me that I have a similar conversion to finish. At present it is stuck on the brakes. May be this afternoon ....
Simon

One of the plate conversions Simon? This is one project where I'm absolutely certain that 'never again' will be too soon. That said, coil loads do look good in highs and so on and melding the DUHA mouldings was fairly painless so perhaps one day I'll do something like that - I have about 2/3 of a wagon worth left over.

Adam

 

[SimonT]

One of the plate conversions Simon?

In a sense that this one is remaining a plate, or there again it might become a conversion. I have already built one with LNER vac brakes and this one has the BR Vac system.
Simon

 

[AJC]

It's a hot day with good light and I'm working from home. So in my screen break, I've done a little weathering on things that are to be presented as 'clean' because recently built or converted. The Coil Rs, following running trials, have gained some rubbing blocks to level the bogies at one end and thus to keep the buffers level too. They seem to have been converted in the very late '60s and the Thomas Hill 0-6-0DH built from c. 1970 and thus exist at the very margin of my modelling period.



The weathering consists simply of washes of matt chocolate, metalcote gunmetal and a touch of matt leather, applied and then mostly cleaned away.

Adam

 

[AJC]

Since I'm on a bit of a roll, here's yet another long-running project which has reached completion which is all the more embarrassing since so little needed doing to it! The subject is a nice little Oxford Diecast model of a Bedford J1, Lomas-bodied ambulance, produced from the mid-60s for a decade or so. Matchbox did a version and it's remarkable, by the way, how conservative ambulance design was since near identical vehicles were produced in the late '50s and the late '70s. This was done up in St John Ambulance colours because I was a volunteer with them for about 10 years until, for a variety of reasons - commuting mainly - I had to give it up. Now, living in London, the siren call of free Lord's Test Matches may win me back! Anyhow, the livery was rather specific for Royston division so that had to be painted out and the elaborate double lining removed. I'll probably replate it at some point, but a coat of Halfords matt lacquer, some wing mirrors and some 'Glue 'n' Glaze' lenses for the lights will do. I've also fixed the axles and trimmed a flat on the bottom of the tyres to give an impression of mass. All this took minutes spread over three days: I've had the model for about five years!





Adam

 

[AJC]

And after a bit of weathering (this SJA unit being a bit slipshod on their external polishing):







I'm quite pleased with this. Time to do something else.

Adam

 

[AJC]

And so, 'something else' turns out to be hoppers again. The Parkside version inches onward:



And is joined by a Hornby version. As can be seen, this has been subject to a bit of redetailing so as to represent a Metro-Cammell-built vehicle with different plating arrangements and reinforced corners.



The end handrails are a treat as well and will hopefully look a bit like this:



North East trip 1966 by David Harvey, on Flickr

Adam

 

[AJC]

And after an hour's work this evening, some Archer's rivets and a start on the handrails:



The Parkside hopper has also gained the first of its handrails and the vac' pipe. I made this in two parts with the joint hidden by the centre vertical. It was less fiddly than I suspected it might be.



Adam

 

[iak63]

That Hornby reworking is a corker Adam.
And food for thought...
Mind, having some Bradwell Etches about does give me options.