MMP 16 ton mineral wagon kit

Simon Varnam

Simon Varnam

Active Member
Comments on this and other threads have made me wonder if there is a way of running an online group build of a kit to help people improve their soldering skills, with everyone involved building the same kit at the same(ish) time.
Click to expand...


Depends on what you are trying to teach – The finer points of soldering or the finer points of kit construction or maybe both.

How about something like this.

Pick a night that everyone is available on

Someone will have to take the helm and that person needs to know what they are talking about and be able to put it into practice.

Pick a kit. – As DJP says simpler will be quicker and it needs to be a good kit that fits together well. As per my comment above it depends what you want to teach.

Everyone meets up online on WT on the agreed night and whoever is taking the helm sets out a plan of what is to be achieved in the session. The sessions need not be too long, a couple of hours would be good with the option to extend the session if everyone has the kit building bug and wants to do more.

Everyone pitches in with comments and photos as things progress in the session which will slow the build down but allow commenting and a visual representation of where everyone is up to and problems can be addressed along the way

To kick it off before the build starts, how about a look at what everyone is using in the way of tools and soldering equipment.

Just my ideas on the subject
 
Overseer

Overseer

Western Thunderer
Connoisseur's GWR Loriot M looks like it could be a good kit to start with. The similar LNER wagon would also suit but it has 2'8" wheels which are not available in Scale7 so the GWR one would be easier to finish for more people, as well as being Western. I thought Simon Varnam's suggestion of the MMP Catfish or Dogfish, before he edited it out, was a good one. The LMS road stone wagon, although more obscure, could also be good - practice on the removable skips and when it is finished you can still see the all underframe members.

Any other suggestions for kits to build or how a group build could be run are welcome.
 
S

SteveO

Guest
It would be so much better with a live feed video that could be recorded for future use. I would have no idea on how to implement that though.

I'm pretty sure I have an LNER LowMac kit in the loft somewhere, and to see a live demo by someone who knew what they were doing and knew how to show what they were doing would be invaluable.
 
S

Simon Dunkley

Guest
Overseer said:
As I will be a long way from Bath this weekend this will have to be a 'virtual display' for Larkrail. The MMP kit is now painted and weathering commenced. I decided to go with grey livery, fairly recently repainted from its original bauxite so in quite good condition. The beaten panels are subtly visible, mainly when the light catches them.

I am happy with the way the wagon is turning out. I will probably leave the final bits of weathering until some of the other wagons are ready and finish them as a batch.
Click to expand...
That looks really good.
Any chance of a photo with it posed next to one built from a Parkside kit?
 
D

djparkins

Western Thunderer
Overseer said:
Connoisseur's GWR Loriot M looks like it could be a good kit to start with. The similar LNER wagon would also suit but it has 2'8" wheels which are not available in Scale7 so the GWR one would be easier to finish for more people, as well as being Western. I thought Simon Varnam's suggestion of the MMP Catfish or Dogfish, before he edited it out, was a good one. The LMS road stone wagon, although more obscure, could also be good - practice on the removable skips and when it is finished you can still see the all underframe members.

Any other suggestions for kits to build or how a group build could be run are welcome.
Click to expand...

Overseer -

I think you are extremely modest about your modelling skills!!! I do not think it is safe to assume that all modeller's here have your skill level and thus, would find an MMP kit easy.

I really do think it better to have something everyone can build with confidence such as one of Big Jim's kits and then - if they like this etched kit building lark, they would have a better basis in tackling one of ours or something else.

Regards,

DJP
 
Overseer

Overseer

Western Thunderer
Simon Dunkley said:
That looks really good.
Any chance of a photo with it posed next to one built from a Parkside kit?
Click to expand...
The Parkside kit shown in one of the photos in post 39 is still unfinished, as are my few other Parkside 16 tonners. They all still need brakes and small details. I do have some Lionheart diag 1/109 wagons straight out of the box if that helps the comparison. I can take a few pics tomorrow.
 
Heather Kay

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
SteveO said:
I would have no idea on how to implement that though.
Click to expand...

There's this social network thingy called Google+ that no-one, apparently except me and about a bazillion photographers around the world, uses. It has a feature called "Hang Outs" where a number of people can link up using audio and video and discuss or show stuff live. It can be recorded and is then available via YouTube.

I have never participated in a hang out, but they do seem to work as advertised.
 
Overseer

Overseer

Western Thunderer
djparkins said:
Overseer -

I think you are extremely modest about your modelling skills!!! I do not think it is safe to assume that all modeller's here have your skill level and thus, would find an MMP kit easy.

I really do think it better to have something everyone can build with confidence such as one of Big Jim's kits and then - if they like this etched kit building lark, they would have a better basis in tackling one of ours or something else.

Regards,

DJP
Click to expand...
I agree that if a tutorial (or similar) proceeds it should be tackling a kit which fits together. MMP kits do fit together with very little filing or alteration, I don't think I have said they are easy but they are not difficult - just lots of parts. I have no experience of Connoisseur kits so can't comment on how they fit together but I have built several kits from other manufacturers which didn't have many parts but were difficult to build because the parts could never fit together without lots of filing or making replacement parts. The current WT thread building a GER brake looks like an example of a difficult to build 'simple' etched kit - just what should be avoided by beginners.

I enjoy soldering because I have learnt how to do it. Once a few basics are understood soldering is straight forward and a very rewarding way to stick things together. I think anybody can learn to solder with a bit of guidance and some application.
 
Overseer

Overseer

Western Thunderer
As requested a photo with a Parkside kit, but as warned the Parkside kit is unfinished. It might get finished in the next few weeks but it has been in the state shown for about 3 years so no promises. Also partly visible is a Lionheart riveted 16T which will shortly be repainted, mainly because the lettering is too heavy and looks a bit odd against the Fox transfers on the MMP kit.

MMP comp2.jpgMMP comp3.jpg

The noticeable differences between the etched and plastic kits are the relative thickness of the sides and ends when looking from above, and the plastic end door angles and upper gussets look chunkier. I think both are accurate enough to be able to coexist on a layout.

Also a 3/4 photo which shows the etched split pin in the end of the brake shaft, probably my favourite part of the MMP kit but it is not really visible most of the time as the door spring gets in the way. All the smaller detail etchings must be pushing the limits of etching technology, the various rings and eyes all fit through where they should without any opening up, although they are fragile until assembled.

MMP diag2134 p7.jpg
 
Overseer

Overseer

Western Thunderer
While looking through some magazines I noticed that Issue 3 of Archive (date?) has a photograph from the British Coal Archives taken at Brodsworth around 1955 which shows what looks like a couple of all welded Diagram 2134 16 ton minerals (second and fourth from right), in amongst the Diag 1/108 minerals, in the condition I was aiming to represent with the MMP kit. The wagons have slightly bulgy side panels but the paint is in reasonable condition - better than the adjacent 1/108 wagons. An interesting point is the lack of black patches for the bottom door markings, not sure how common this was but I won't be repainting the wagon to match this photo. The photo seems to support the hypothesis of poor quality original paint on the 1/108 wagons - the 16T and number are on separate black patches instead of on a single patch as the repaints nearly always were. The detail of the corner reinforcing on the 1/108 wagons is also useful as it shows the diagonal shape on the top surface.

Part of the photo-
broddy 1955.jpg
 
SteadyRed

SteadyRed

Western Thunderer
Overseer I have been watching this thread with much interest, I have a couple go MMP 16t wagons, which I am about to start.

What wheels did you use?

Dave
 
Overseer

Overseer

Western Thunderer
SteadyRed said:
Overseer I have been watching this thread with much interest, I have a couple go MMP 16t wagons, which I am about to start.

What wheels did you use?

Dave
Click to expand...
Dave
I used Slaters Scale7 three hole disk wheels. There is not much choice in Scale7, but at least what is available is good.
 
alcazar

alcazar

Guest
For some reason I can't open that link, it says I'm not logged in and won't accept my password. Bah...as Denis the Menace used to say.
 
daifly

daifly

Western Thunderer
Bizarre. I tested it after posting and it worked fine. I now find that I can only log on using the Error page but not link directly to the page.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
What's New?
Top