Sorry to hear the strips don't fit. It's shaping up nicely now you've got the door gubbins on. May I make a recommendation for the door grab handles?
Cheers Tom! It's not your fault the strips don't fit. They are, after all, designed for a different type of coach from a different kit maker. Rest assured, if Mr Carr has his way, the fret will be consumed and then some in the coming months!
As to the handles, I like the idea. Best Beloved has recounted tales of the apprentices at Wolverton being tasked with filing and buffing the handle castings. I like the idea that every handle is subtly unique and not identikit mass production. Having said that, I won't be bulking the handles out. I agree they may look a little flat, but in brass I can reproduce the wear pattern from handling by just running a glass fibre brush over them. With filler on them, they'd need painting, and it never quite looks the same to me.
Mind you, compared to the JLTRT castings, at least these handles are pretty much the same in size and shape!
Today has been about corrosion strips. The material chosen is Evergreen styrene strip Item No 102, 0.25 x 1.0mm. This is a pretty close match to the width of the real thing, although perhaps a micron or three too thick.
Study of the real thing shows the strips are cut to fit around handles and hinges. To replicate this I used individual lengths, starting with the grab handle area one being cut to fit around the handle fixings. The remaining strips butted up to the handle. Some coaches had the handles refitted onto the strips, but most of the ones I've seen of late appear to have handles left in place and the strip fitted around them.
The hinges were a little more complex. In the photos supplied by Mr Parkins in the kit, there is a close up which shows how the strip was shaped to fit neatly around the butterfly hinge baseplate. Each short section of strip had a tiny triangle cut from the end to suit. It's very fiddly, but very effective.
To fix in place, a smear of cyano was applied to about half the strip length. Carefully placing the end, holding it with a finger nail, the strip was then guided down to align with the door opening. The unglued end was then carefully lifted and more cyano smeared in before pressing home. I left the strips at top and bottom of the sides over long, partly for ease of handling, but also so I could trim hem back after the glue had set.
I guess it's the roof next. If all goes well, primer will get blown over the body shell soon.
Oh, by the way, the kit includes some lovely detailing for train name boards and coach number frames. Sadly, it seems by the early 1980s the brackets and so on had been removed, so I won't be fitting them. The tiny slots will be filled before painting begins.
Good luck with the origami on the door tops.
