Boxing Clever

There's still very little action at the O9 Modeller workbench, however I have made a major change in the way the bench itself is set up, dropping it 6 inches in height from worktop height to a more conventional desk height. This does undo some of the original premise but needs must for ongoing comfort.

As part of these changes storage is being revised, and I have built this seemingly unassuming box.

The sides and back are some 9mm ply a friend kindly supplied in lockdown, whilst the top and bottom are some 3mm ply recovered from furniture that was otherwise headed for the skip last year. Lots of clamping and waiting for glue to dry has resulted in a reasonably square box... The strengthening strip of material across the top of the opening is left over from strengthening 'Shifting Sands' back in 2019. The box is now being varnished ready for use.

Its purpose directly relates to moving the desk downwards, those 6 inches gave access to vital storage space under and behind the desk. I've had to rejig several things to make up for this, such as moving a few things out to the workshop. My year-old work tray has been abandoned for now as it has nowhere to store as it too sat in the 6 inch gap on top of some stacked crates. I had balanced out these consequences with my desire to change things.

The photo above neatly shows how with the desk lower the top of the "work from home" monitor is clear of one of the shelves, where before it had obscured it. In the middle of the shelf there is a distinct air gap above my box of adhesives and I don't need all that space to get things out of the box, so the new construction will act as a 'riser' to push the box upwards and use the space underneath to slide things in and out. 

Looking at other things as a result of these moves, there may be a few disposals to ease space a little and having moved a few things around I've decided that 'The Headshunt' diorama should get a scenic makeover and a protective box along the lines of that I made for the Christmas Pizza - there is plenty more ply and hardboard available!

Colin

Railcar Doodles II - A Potential Chivers 'Bash'

Whilst I rather liked the Avalon Line conversion drawing in the last post, I had rather come to the conclusion that it would be better as an item of coaching stock, 4w or bogie, rather than a railcar.

Prior to looking at the Minirail railcar I had looked at the Chivers O9 coach kit as the basis for a railcar. I had rejected this idea as I thought it would require similar modifications to those I carried out to create a semi-open coach using some Dapol railbus window parts (indeed I did consider rebuilding the coach a bay shorter to convert it...). After some thought I decided to take another look and realised that by rearranging the parts and using a spare 'high' end, something quite railcar like could be created.

The Kato chassis will fit nicely between the outer ends of the seat sections, the dotted line in the centre doorway is the top of the casing and it may be that half-height doors are required on this opening. The trick I have employed in this design is to use the high ends as the seat backs, therefore giving a sturdier support to the roof than any use of plastic section could achieve and a better bond with the sides than using brass. Rather than use the end based on the floor level of the part as supplied, I envisage it with the top of the vertical planking at the height of the kit seat backs, adding another crucial 2mm into the height. It will require more modification of the part but as a cut-out needs to be made the clear the motor casing it isn't too much in the grand scheme of things.

Internally seats would have to be raised over the motor casing and at the outer ends the space under the seats will be filled in, potentially using the original seat back pieces. It will be tight and any potential passengers in the centre section need to be aware that they are at risk of leg (and maybe hip) amputation to clear the motor casing!

The roof is envisaged to be a Dundas VoR moulding, which is again a sturdy moulding that will hold it's place. Looking at the drawing again there maybe needs to be some support at the upper ends of the uprights, maybe not complex scrollwork but there are some right-angled mouldings in the Dapol railbus bits that might suit, and keep another tradition going...

Colin