Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
I've officially started the 2013 7mm modelling season (finally), so I thought I'd share progress on what's happening on my workbench.
Currently, I am batch building coaches for Richard Carr. I've built four JLTRT Mark One coaches for Richard over the past couple of years, and he has now asked me to knock together three JLTRT Mark Twos. To be precise, I am building a brace of MK2b Second Opens and a Mk2c Brake Second Open. The coaches will be completed in BR blue/grey as they carried in the early 1980s. I deliver the finished and painted coaches to Richard, who then letters and weathers them.
I am starting the build with the wheels and bogies. Slater's don't produce a 3' plain disc coach wheel, so I am used the 3'1" 3-hole wagon wheels. A custom etched disc is glued over the front face, while the holes are filled on the rear.
The first stage was to chemically blacken the etched discs.
I used Birchwood Casey Brass Black, liberally applied with a cotton bud after cleaning each etch with an abrasive rubber. Each disc was then cleaned up with a fine file to remove cusps from the outside and inside edges. I have a thing about removing etched cusps.
All the wheelsets were degreased to remove the sticky tape residue used in packing, and checked for concentricity and back-to-back. I then used a sharp blade to remove the moulding pips from the backs of each wheel. I also twiddled a square needle file in each hole to give some roughness for the filler to grab on to later.
The inserts were superglued to the fronts of each wheel, trying to ensure the etched lifting holes roughly align on each side. The holes were bunged with Squadron White filler. Once they're dry, I suspect a second application of filler will be required to account for shrinkage.
The next stage is to clean up the filler, run a 0.9mm drill through each lifting hole (so you can see the little pinpoints of light as the coach runs by ), chemically blacken all the steel parts, and finally coat everything with my proprietary underframe gunge colour.
The next phase is to break open the B4 bogie bits, and see just how much cleaning up the castings will need this time.
Currently, I am batch building coaches for Richard Carr. I've built four JLTRT Mark One coaches for Richard over the past couple of years, and he has now asked me to knock together three JLTRT Mark Twos. To be precise, I am building a brace of MK2b Second Opens and a Mk2c Brake Second Open. The coaches will be completed in BR blue/grey as they carried in the early 1980s. I deliver the finished and painted coaches to Richard, who then letters and weathers them.
I am starting the build with the wheels and bogies. Slater's don't produce a 3' plain disc coach wheel, so I am used the 3'1" 3-hole wagon wheels. A custom etched disc is glued over the front face, while the holes are filled on the rear.
The first stage was to chemically blacken the etched discs.
I used Birchwood Casey Brass Black, liberally applied with a cotton bud after cleaning each etch with an abrasive rubber. Each disc was then cleaned up with a fine file to remove cusps from the outside and inside edges. I have a thing about removing etched cusps.
All the wheelsets were degreased to remove the sticky tape residue used in packing, and checked for concentricity and back-to-back. I then used a sharp blade to remove the moulding pips from the backs of each wheel. I also twiddled a square needle file in each hole to give some roughness for the filler to grab on to later.
The inserts were superglued to the fronts of each wheel, trying to ensure the etched lifting holes roughly align on each side. The holes were bunged with Squadron White filler. Once they're dry, I suspect a second application of filler will be required to account for shrinkage.
The next stage is to clean up the filler, run a 0.9mm drill through each lifting hole (so you can see the little pinpoints of light as the coach runs by ), chemically blacken all the steel parts, and finally coat everything with my proprietary underframe gunge colour.
The next phase is to break open the B4 bogie bits, and see just how much cleaning up the castings will need this time.