Being bored with bogies, and currently unable to see them through their first coats of primer, I have turned my attention to the insides of the coaches.
First, one of my favourite bits of our hobby, doing the research. The coaches I'm modelling are meant to represent vehicles travelled on by Richard Carr around 1981. They form part of a specific train he's trying to recreate. The problem is while we can be fairly sure of what the outsides looked like, and we have a good overview of what the insides
ought to look like, it's very hard to pin down actual facts. As you can see, from my scribbles, at best all I can do is make an educated guesses from Harris' book, personal recollection and online image resources.
Here's what I think it should be finished like inside (bearing in mind a lot of the finer points won't be visible so at best we're looking at an overall impression):
- Floor - olive green linoleum.
- Tables - glossy black laminate, with wooden edges.
- Seats - GRP backs in lightish battleship grey; cushions blue and green check; headrests and arms probably dark grey.
- Passenger compartment walls - probably pale grey laminate, though the odd veneer panel might exist.
- Vestibule ends - vibrant orange red.
- Gangway doors - pinky red/salmon.
I crack out the seat mouldings. JLTRT obviously uses some mechanical means to trim off sprues and so on.
Working over the tissue paper the seats were wrapped in, I use a nice fat bristle brush (mine comes from the Early Learning Centre) to clean off all the shavings. At the same time, each moulding gets inspected for damage, and remaining mould release agent is scraped back. Sadly, there were one or two where the armrests had been broken off. I marked these with a black X so I could pick them out of the storage boxes quickly. I am assessing whether to repair or simply call JLTRT for replacements.
The seats will then be carefully cleaned up with a sharp blade to get rid of flash, and a nice big flat file to remove moulding pips and so on. Then they'll be cleaned with the bristle brush in warm soapy water, popped in the airing cupboard to dry thoroughly, and then the painting shall commence.
Now, the supplied seats are not right for the period I'm modelling. They appear to represent the later MK2F and onwards, and refurbished vehicles. As with most things, it's probably a compromise. It's correct for the 1990s and quite probably correct for Mk3 coaches, but incorrect for the 1970s and 1980s. I'm not going to worry about it. Once things are painted and behind the glazing I doubt anyone will complain.
Warning! Organised modeller ahead!
Sorry. I don't like to muddle things up, so keeping them in tubs like this means I know which seats go with which coach. Note the marked seats that need repair/replacement. Behind, you can see the tubs containing the bogies and wheelsets. I wish I was this organised in real life!
