Liver & Fry's workbench

[Liver & Fry]

In my last post I erroneously said I'd have nine unfinished wagons on the go - Turns out I'd forgotten how to count as three M&GN, four GER and an LDEC makes eight open wagons... So I figured I should probably rectify that!

Whilst diving into the world of GNR 6 wheelers and deciding whether to give Diagram3D a try, I noticed they also produce wagon kits. One that caught my eye (as I'd previously been eyeing up the Mousa kit before it disappeared) was a kit for a GNR outside framed covered van. The GNR has over 1500 of these on their books and many found their way on and off the M&GN, amongst other routes.

So as well as ordering a Dia.245 coach kit, I also ordered one of these, which arrived this morning:





Included is an "etch" of wooden body parts along with some 3D printed components and what appears to be replacement card roof sections?

The 3D printed parts aren't the best quality, having a fibrous/"hairy" finish to them whilst lacking in detail (I'm not au fait with the different methods being 3D printing but I've not experienced this previously) and as such I'm planning to source detailing parts from elsewhere.

The focus of today therefore was on the body, which went together like a dream!

All the parts were easily removed from the etch and required minimal clean up.

I started by attaching the ends to the floors and ceiling sections:



Followed by the sides:



The outside framework:



And finally, the end stanchions and roof membranes:



Sufficient time was given between each stage to let the wood glue dry and in the instance of the outside frames I laid the body on it's side and weighed it down to keep everything together over lunch.

The result is quite pleasing!



In some ways (me being awkward?) this is as far as the kit takes you, as I plan to fashion my own solebars using spare wood from the etch frames and then the underframe will consist of MJT w-irons plus break gear etc.

That said, for what is a fairly inexpensive kit, you get a sturdy and well detailed van body out of it, that also makes for a genuinely therapeutic and pleasant modelling experience (it sounds cliché but it was a nice relaxing way to spend a few hours) and so if anyone is in the market for a GNR van, I can highly recommend it!

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

Not knowing when to stop, I continued working and made up some solebars!



The floor piece sits slightly lower than the inner side section (which is where the 3D part is meant to sit) so I used the outer frame of the floor etch to make the solebar as it has the notches in the correct place to straddle to lugs of the floor, as seen below:



I've then fitted a thin plasticard floor to cover the holes and allow me to attach w-irons in the usual fashion.

However, in doing this I then considered how much space I had between the solebars and it would appear they're a tad too chunky to allow w-irons (particularly a compensation unit) to be fitted, so I've gently reemed the inner faces back to make the necessary space:



Which thankfully doesn't detract from the external look:



All in all, a successful day!

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

This will seem somewhat random given it'll be a little while before I build any M&GN (ex-GNR) coaches, however, when I ordered the Dia.245 kit from Diagram3D, I also ordered two carriages worth of seating from Isinglass Models.



These are 3D printed bench seats suitable for Howlden stock. They actually come as a double unit (with a plasticard partition) but as the Diagram3D kit has wood partitions as part of the kit, I cut these in half to make individual compartment seating.

Diagram3D advises that "GNR third class coaches had green rep upholstery". The preserved examples I've found on the internet appear to be have red, however, that may well be a preservation thing and who am I to argue with the instructions given?

Handily, I have a friend who completed a college certificate in chair upholstery, so I asked her what an appropriate shade of green for the late Victorian era might be and this is what we came up with:



I have no idea if this is "correct" but I quite like them!

The coaches will follow eventually...

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

Having made up some w-irons, I've started on my wagon completion tour by working on finishing the last thing I started.



Some springs, GNR axleboxes, buffers and drawhooks have all brought the wagon to life. I just need to figure out how to do the earlier style of GNR brake gear and then I can begin painting.

I've also filled the inside of the body with liquid gravity:



- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

I feel like I'm on a roll now - Well, this wagon certainly is!



(I'll show myself out!)

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

The M&GN wagons come with some 3D printed buffers that are rather chunky. However, I believe these are modelled off of the earlier L&F/E&MR buffer heads, as seen on preserved L&F brake van No.12 at the NNR:



As the ballast wagon has been demoted to departmental use, I decided to use the buffers supplied for this, and the two still in revenue service will have metal buffers fitted. If nothing else it adds a bit of variety!



- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

No.2/3 complete (brake gear aside):



Having one wagon a night to add wheels and details to is proving a nice therapeutic routine for an hour or so!

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

Forget everything I said at the end of my last post - I got carried away!



Still, one less job to do!

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

Been twiddling my thumbs whilst waiting for some brake components to arrive. I'd expected them to arrive today but luck was not on my side so instead I turned my attention to the roof.

Previously I stated that the roof piece didn't have the correct profile from the ends, but to perhaps be more accurate, there was a notable air gap between the end of the van and the curve of the roof.

Further inspection showed that this was actually down to the van itself rather than the roof:



As can be seen, the ends sit lower than the roof trusses.

OK then, I thought, maybe I will give it a go. But what of the roof itself?



Well, as you can see, the print would require a clean up to remove the print lines which were deeply ingrained in some parts. I used an emery board for this, and a little patience, before giving it a coat of paint:



Whilst that was drying, I turned my attention back to the ends of the van. If I could just plug the gap with something, maybe that would work? Well, thankfully I have lots of polystyrene strip from my various planking adventures, so I cut a short piece and a longer piece and placed them over the ends:



Et violà! One test fit later:



It's not perfect, but it'll be fine once painted and it's far better than seeing daylight through the end!

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

My brake components finally arrived! So it was only natural that I cracked straight on after I'd done my tasks for today:



The shoes are a 51L Midland pair cut in half to give one shoe hanging and one that will sit above. GNR vans had one shoe each side, working on opposite corners, but with the levers both pointing to one end only. I chose the fixed axle as the lever end:



And a view from each side:



I've also used some of the detailing parts from the MJT w-iron frets to detail the solebars.

All that remains now is to paint it! Almost seems a shame to; there's something oddly satisfying about it's appearance in this as-built state!

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

It wasn't just parts for the GNR van that arrived today either...



These will feature a hybrid of MR style brake levers and NER shoes for a 8'6" wheelbase (the wheelbase is meant to be 9' but I found corresponding parts to be too tight a fit) - The NER parts I ordered, however, match prototype photos quite well!

This is as far as I'm going with this one tonight, but it's getting late and I feel I've done enough for one day!

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

This one took a little longer than expected as I had to rework a few bits and shape the brake levers to match reference photos, however, I feel it was worth while:



- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

These wagons are like buses ("three come along at once..."), but it had to be said, once I'd fathomed out how to make the first one go together, the other two flew along like a dream!



Now all that's left is painting the black and touching up some of the bodywork. I'm probably going to add some weight underneath too!

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

Weight was added overnight but otherwise no progress as I have an exam tomorrow and an essay deadline looming. The joys of doing a post grad a decade after you went to uni!

Anyway, here they be...



The eagle-eyed will notice that they have shoes on one side only when compared to my previous post (#237). I had my doubts when I did the first one and following a chat with @Herb Garden we concluded that one side only was the way to go. Removing the one I'd already done was an easy enough task, thankfully!

I hope to get the painting done before the weekend (it's handy having something to distract and unwind with after a whole day of critical analysis of the use of VFA in Bone Densitometry - This essay will be the death of me!).

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

Well, as promised, here they are!



The lack of source material has made these some of the more frustrating builds, but equally I'm pleased with the outcome and the fact I finally have some M&GN stock.

I've ordered an M&GN brake van from Pre-Grouping Railways so when that arrives they'll have something to go behind them. What will go in front is an entirely different question!

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

Not had much time this weekend as was at a wedding, however, this afternoon the GNR van has received its first coat of brown:



I say first because the outside frame sections seem to just absorb the paint and so will need going over again to give a consistent colour.

This one is quite straight forward in it's livery application so I don't see this taking too long to finish (coursework commitments aside).

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

Something was bugging me about the M&GN wagons - Namely the two revenue examples. Most reference photos are post 1919, when bodyside wagon numbering was pretty much abandoned (the only reference to a number being the plate on the solebar), but of of course, these are meant to be Edwardian era wagons. The lack of a number (or anything other than M&GN) made them look unfinished when sat next to, say, the GN opens with their tonnage and tare etc.

The main problem I have is not knowing what numbers are appropriate, as I have no clear reference photos. In the end, i referred to the original drawing I'd looked at, which was numbered 287. As a result, this happened this evening:



The other wagon is going to be numbered 711, based on the Ken Werrett drawing on which these kits appear to be based on. Again, whether the number is correct is unknown, but as these are my only references, who am I to argue?

I shall not be numbering the ballast wagon, in keeping with what I understand to be correct practice for such relegated wagons.

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

And as an addendum to the last post, here is 711:



It certainly improves the overall look I feel!

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

Yesterday saw the second coat of brown applied, with the black done tonight along with a light varnish on the body ready for transfers. It's coming along quickly now!



As a side note, whilst it is a cliché that typically only happens whenever you finish, or get close to completing a wagon build, it was pleasant to see Rapido announce the later style of GN vans yesterday. I have pre-ordered the fruit variant as it is specifically allocated to Wisbech and, well, how could I say no? Ignoring the local angle, it will add a nice bit of variety alongside this example!

- James

 

[Liver & Fry]

Almost there now...

Tonight saw both sides receiving lettering (with thanks once again to @Overseer for the transfer sheet provided previously!)

I decided for this one to go with the earlier styling of lettering (small G.N.R), just to add some variety (and because there was plenty of these on the sheet!)



The roof is rested on for illustrative purposes. Both sides will be varnished tomorrow and then the roof will be stuck on properly.

- James