4mm Jan's 4mm WB: Hello, Old Friend

[Lyndhurstman]

Scraping Along

Buses, eh? Herd beasts, if ever there was.

A rapid move on from the Open A sees an O29 (Ratio) getting the ‘life worn’ treatment. It’s something of an experiment. Here, I’ve gone for the ‘lateral peel’ seen sometimes when topcoat and undercoat fall out with each other. Having let the Railmatch acrylic dry for several days I used a small watchmaker’s screwdriver (not the screwdriver of a small watchmaker…) scrapped laterally along, exposing the rattlecan grey underneath.

There’s a nice pic of an O29 (W118334) in Geoff Kent’s Wild Swan volume dealing with Opens. It has the 2nd plank up at the righthand end split into two - obviously a replacement. I did try to score a line in, but it really needs doing before assembly, so I filled it in with Ammo Mig Arming Putty (no Putty’s were armed in the process) and scraped it back. I might try again. Or I might not.

Cheers

Jan

 

[John57sharp]

Looking good that Jan

John

 

[Lyndhurstman]

Looking good that Jan

John

Thank you, @John57sharp. Very kind.
I now have to put the metal strip on the top edge. And the lapel clip holder on this example was actually mounted on the lefthand bottom board next to the number, for some reason. We’ll see how that goes…

Cheers

Jan

 

[Lyndhurstman]

Trayed Off
A week or so of converting a Bachmann 3 plank into something a bit more down at heel. The chassis was Morton 4 shoe, so I chopped one side off. It was all relatively straightforward; a bit of a fiddle getting the cross shaft out, but the plastic is quite accommodating… The painting - and the cut and shut of the transfers from some RailTec BR(E) van numbers - took the longest of all. I’ve guessed at the number; most of the ones available on the web are either BR Engineering or preserved.

It’s painted in Railmatch Early Grey acrylic, which comes in slightly darker than the Bachmann grey. The inside wa painted in a variety of washes, with a quick grub up to suggest something that has carried spoil recently; I wanted to have something that gave that London clay vibe, and I’ve made a thin paste of some acrylic mixed with weathering powders and worked it into joins and corners.

The last work was putting the ironwork on the insides of the drop-down side panels, and a representation of the locking bars in each corner. And Exactoscale coupling hooks and 3 links - dipped in blackening fluid, rather than painted. Topped off with a few washes of varying dirty greys and browns over the planks, and a waft of Dullcote to seal it all up.

It’s taken longer than is decent, but I like to think it’s as authentic as it can be. And that my weathering ‘skills’ are getting to be something that I don’t fear as much as I did.

Cheers

Jan

 

[Lyndhurstman]

Strapping, Lad
The tops of the GWR O29 have had their protective ironwork added. Evergreen 10 x 20 thou plastic for the top edges, and retaining clips cut from 5 thou plasticard, and all painted with Railmatch frame dirt acrylic (RailMatch 2402).

I’m toying with getting Steve at Railtec to do me some custom BR WR numbers, weights, and tares; I have several WR wagons to do, and I don’t feel up to a repeat cycle of the Cut & Shut and shuffling of individual digits right now.



I’m running out of storage boxes, so this may well be the last wagon for a while!

Cheers

Jan

 

[jonte]

They look suitably antique, Jan.

You shouldn’t have worried

Jon

 

[Lyndhurstman]

They look suitably antique, Jan.

You shouldn’t have worried

Jon

Hi @jonte
Thank you. I’m all worry! All the time!

Cheers

Jan

 

[steve50]

Some fine work there Jan, what blackening fluid do you use for the 3 links?

 

[Lyndhurstman]

Some fine work there Jan, what blackening fluid do you use for the 3 links?

Hello @steve50
Thank you. That’s very kind.
The links came pre-blackened. I have a bag of them that may have come from the EMGS. But it would have been over a couple of decades ago. I’ve looked recently, but can’t find anything similar. Sorry.

Cheers

Jan

 

[steve50]

Hello @steve50
Thank you. That’s very kind.
The links came pre-blackened. I have a bag of them that may have come from the EMGS. But it would have been over a couple of decades ago. I’ve looked recently, but can’t find anything similar. Sorry.

Cheers

Jan

Ok, thank you Jan.

 

[Lyndhurstman]

Ok, thank you Jan.

Hi @steve50
I’ve just seen these; they might fit the bill

Coupling hooks and chain

www.brassmasters.co.uk

Cheers

Jan

 

[steve50]

Hi @steve50
I’ve just seen these; they might fit the bill

Coupling hooks and chain

www.brassmasters.co.uk

Cheers

Jan

Thanks Jan, they look spot on.

Steve.

 

[Lyndhurstman]

Heir to the Thrown

The mechanics of cheap as chips point operation, courtesy of the late Iain Rice and his short-lived Modelling Railways Illustrated (V1, No. 1). Mostly made from scrap bits (etched fret, nickel silver wire, and sleeper strip) and garage footling (nails, screws and washers). The microswitches (for crossing polarity) came from eBay, and cost 85p each.
Iain fitted bump stops. I haven’t. Yet.

Cheers

Jan

 

[jonte]

Recognised it as soon as I saw it, Jan

My sort of modelling but sincerely doubt could make work

It must give you immense satisfaction as well as pleasure, Jan, especially knowing how little it cost to make.

Looking forward to seeing it connected up

Keep us posted, Jan

Jon

 

[Lyndhurstman]

Recognised it as soon as I saw it, Jan

My sort of modelling but sincerely doubt could make work

It must give you immense satisfaction as well as pleasure, Jan, especially knowing how little it cost to make.

Looking forward to seeing it connected up

Keep us posted, Jan

Jon

Hello @jonte
Thanks for your comment. And encouragement. I’ve been running from thr black dog of late, and this was a useful little moment of escape. This is the point hard up at the edge of the quay, so leftward travel will be limited by the quay wall. So a bump stop in that direction might not be needed. I’m calling this a Mark 1: the next will have the retaining nails further outboard of the centre line (at the moment, the travel inboard is restricted by the solder joint of the dropper tube). I’ve since added a bit of precision tube to the top hole to remove a bit of wobble in the omega arm.

Thanks again

Cheers

Jan

 

[jonte]

Hello @jonte
Thanks for your comment. And encouragement. I’ve been running from thr black dog of late, and this was a useful little moment of escape. This is the point hard up at the edge of the quay, so leftward travel will be limited by the quay wall. So a bump stop in that direction might not be needed. I’m calling this a Mark 1: the next will have the retaining nails further outboard of the centre line (at the moment, the travel inboard is restricted by the solder joint of the dropper tube). I’ve since added a bit of precision tube to the top hole to remove a bit of wobble in the omega arm.

Thanks again

Cheers

Jan

I was wondering where the black dog had gone, Jan, having recently just stopped chasing me

Good luck with the adjustments; it seems that railway modelling is never that straightforward for any of us

Take care,

Jon

 

[Lyndhurstman]

More Of The Same

This is an ex-Cooper-Craft GWR iron N13. As previously, put together incorrectly by an Unknown Assembler, with the floor below the supporting pips rather then above, so it had to come apart. Also, the floor of the kit is represented as wood, and these wagons - apparently used for loco coal at small sheds - had metal floors, so I’ve made a new one from 20 though plasticard. This means chopping down the extended meat of the solebars to suit, of course. Another thing that needs to happen is the rounding of the external corners; a notable feature that will wait until I’ve reinforced the internal angle with some acrylic putty. I’ve neglected to represent the internal strengthening around the doors, so I’ll try to differentiate with paint.

Not sure - opinions differ - if these were DCI or DCII brakes, so if anyone can help, I’d be grateful.

Cheers

Jan

 

[Lyndhurstman]

I Sing The Mournful Song Of Distant Stars

Well now, that pesky Yellow Wood is full of pratfalls, misdirections, and miasmic pits of dubious unfathomable depth. Next time, take the motorway, Jan..

It seems (thanks to Richard Spratt (aka Penhros on RMWeb) via the GWR-Elist-2019.groups.io account) that there's a distinct dimensional discrepancy in the rendition of these wagons; as delivered, they are 60 thou too narrow. Richard identifies this on his GWR Loco Wagons page. Other sites - such as the very useful GWR Modelling Page - identify the need to round the corners of the body to suit, and adding corner capping.

All in all, a lot of work. I may just sling some 00 wheelsets underneath, and put them on eBay next time a seller discount offer comes up...

In constructional conflict, I remain

Yours

Jan

 

[John57sharp]

Just to clarify, my reading of Richard’s article suggests 2x60 thou extensions (one either side of the ends).

Thanks for the info though, mine is in limbo trying to source suitable buffers. Any suggestions?

Thanks John

 

[Lyndhurstman]

Just to clarify, my reading of Richard’s article suggests 2x60 thou extensions (one either side of the ends).

Thanks for the info though, mine is in limbo trying to source suitable buffers. Any suggestions?

Thanks John

Hi @John57sharp
Thanks. I’ve checked in Atkins et al, and the N4 (20 ton, iron, with rounded corners), is 7’ 9” over headstocks. This equates to 31 mm at 4 mm scale. The kit is 29.5 mm as built, so a single addition of 60 thou (1.5 mm) would make it right. As to buffers, I’d suggest a perusal of Lanarkshire Models website. Failing that, I’m not sure… things GWR (especially things of this age) aren’t my strong point, I’m afraid.

Cheers

Jan