7mm Rob's Rolling Stock Workbench

[john lewsey]

Very nice Rob I like it something quite different

 

[Rob Pulham]

Very nice. What is called, I think, a characteristic prototype. I wish more kit manufacturers would provide etched corner plates, as it much easier to get them to look like what they are supposed to be, a single folded piece of metal. Usually, with the plate in two halves, much filling, filing and rubbing down is necessary to get it right.

Thanks Brian,
I have obviously done a good job on them then because these corner plates are in two partsI have to admit like you I would have preferred one piece and folded, but they did go on quite well.

 

[Rob Pulham]

Very nice Rob I like it something quite different

Thanks John, that's what attracted me to it when I saw it on Jim's site.

I have built a few of the Majestic models kits and by large they are pretty good. The castings in the original kits are superb even the quite big ones.

 

[Rob Pulham]

Since finishing the build of the tender truck at the weekend I have spent some time playing with additional details. I have also primed and started the top coats of paint but I haven't taken any photos yet (not much to show to be honest).

First I got a bit carried away and made a few more shunting poles.... I found that the pin shanks bent so much better without annealing first.



Then I had a rummage in my scrap etc box to see what if anything I had in the way of tool boxes or something that could be made into them.

First off I came up with this it was a bit fiddly to make up and the first wash lost some of the bits of rod on the sides.... The oil can is one of the Peter Roles castings.







Next up I really wanted an open toolbox. A spare etch and some scratch built straps etc. gave me this which I am quite suited with.





With tools inside.....


Jim also supplies a few cast details in the form of buckets, upright oil cans and shovels so I made a start on painting some of them.



I am not too sure about the buckets......

 

[Dikitriki]

Hi Rob,

The buckets need a load of sand or something. They don't work as solid.

I really like your coupling poles and open tool box

Richard

 

[Rob Pulham]

Thanks Richard,

I did contemplate trying to drill them out for all of half a second. I will have a go with some sand and see if I can improve them. If not I will look for some that are a bit more bucket like....

 

[Dog Star]

If not I will look for some that are a bit more bucket like....

Peter made some by rolling lead foil around the pointed end of a pencil (with the point flattened to the width of the bottom of the bucket)... and then cut the top / bottom of the foil cone (whilst on the pencil end) to the required height of the bucket. As the bucket was lead he was able to solder a "bottom" and a "handle" to the cone. At least one of those buckets lives in a hole in the floorboards of a LNER 8-wheel tender.

 

[Simon]

Which reminds me of a hilarious spoof article in MRC from the Seventies (it was a yellow one I think) covering a P4 approach to fire buckets, left handed, right handed, Drummond, Urie - you get the picture.....

Nice to see that this shunters truck is going to be AWS fitted(!)

I need a sticky out tongue cheeky emoticon here but I'm on an IPad so you'll have to imagine it.

Simon

 

[Rob Pulham]

Nice to see that this shunters truck is going to be AWS fitted(!)

I need a sticky out tongue cheeky emoticon here but I'm on an IPad so you'll have to imagine it.

Simon

Ahh so that's what it is, well it's going to be a box of junk in the bottom of the wagon..... Rule 1

 

[iploffy]

The curly bits on the end of the shunters pole are called pigs tails. Shunters would refer to the whole pole as a pig stick or curly.

 

[Rob Pulham]

I took up the building reins again in between bouts of weathering over the wet and dismal weekend.

Next up is another simple project in the form of a pair of CR/LMS 8 ton Timber and Ore wagons. One is the original Majestic Models kit and the 2nd is the same kit as produced by Dragon Models under the Celtic Connection banner. The kits are a little basic but form the basis on which to add some additional details if you wish and come in as a very cheap addition to the stock box - £8 for the first kit via eBay and £20 for the second from Dragon.

The sides are formed from two layers of etch which have separate hinge detail applied (I also added some rod to represent the hinge pins)and the ends and sole bars are whitemetal castings. There was a sheet of brass supplied with the Majestic kit for the floor but Dragon supply a sheet of planked plasticard. I replaced this with a bit of scrap nickel etch from the 8F kit which was just the right width. This allowed me to solder all the way making for solid construction - they weigh a bit too!

 

[Rob Pulham]

Meanwhile I managed to finish painting, weathering and adding the details to the tender truck.





The pieces of timber are coffee stirrers cut lengthways, and I am particularly pleased with the bundles of rope which are made from 4 strands of 32 gauge brass beading wire, twisted together in a couple of pin vices. This was them wound around a lolly type stick to get the length of coil and further wound around itself then it was blackened and dipped in the mix of paint that I used for weathering the inside of the cattle wagons featured earlier.

The lamp is by Slaters and the hammer another one of the Peter Roles castings.







I have also taken a few pictures of the various stages of the weathering process on this and a couple more vans that I am on with and will post then to my weathering thread later.

 

[john lewsey]

Rob the tender truck is superb
Regards John

 

[Rob Pulham]

Thanks John.
It's been one of those quirky kits that have needed a bit of work, but the scope for extra detailing has made it infinitely satisfying

 

[BrushType4]

Awesome

 

[lancer1027]

Excellent Rob

 

[Ressaldar]

just the ticket Rob, well done.

cheers

Mike

 

[Rob Pulham]

Thanks all.

A bit of time over the last couple of evenings has seen the two timber and ore wagons up on their wheels and the buffer stocks fitted. I had to drill out the hole for the buffer shanks on the Dragon castings but this didn't present any problems.





The next bit of fun is going to be the brakes because at the moment neither sets of brakes will line up with the wheels so a bit of improvisation will be needed - watch this space....

 

[Dog Star]

Robin,

I can see how these two models fit the idea of timber wagons - how do the kits build into ore wagons?

 

[ZiderHead]

Lead Ore perhaps?