A Tramcar Doodle

It seems like only yesterday, but turns out to be a number of months ago (four to be precise), I was looking at ideas to build an O9 railcar on a Kato bogie chassis. I had hinted at another design to come, which would essentially have been a pastiche version of my Dapol railbus conversions. That has not been drawn up, however with time on my hands I had another look over the various ideas and parts to hand and drew up something that ticks many boxes.

This is very much an evolution of the tramcar-like "Chivers Jubilee" design but actually incorporates the Avalon Line coach sides as well. The large windows would be split in two by the (scratch built) divider between balcony end and saloon. The ends are envisaged as the Chivers coach ends with the planking plated over, and the roof the Dundas VoR moulding. The chassis will be better hidden in this configuration and there is the potential to maybe have mesh panels in the end doors rather than solid, or even to leave them open if it looks OK and is strong enough.

A number of people had echoed my thoughts that the previous design was rather Volks-esqe, this continues that theme but is none the worse for it. I can envisage it jollying around sand dunes or in a private garden!

Colin

Do not move - an abandoned wagon in 009

Abandoned wagons are a theme that I seem to return to from time to time, there seems to be something quite intriguing about a vehicle that should have a purpose, sitting idly doing nothing, perhaps forgotten by all but the keenest observers.

This 009 project was inspired a rebuild of the new RTR Peco Snailbeach wagon that featured on the NGRM Forum where the top of the hopper was altered from three planks to a two-planked version. My interpretation uses my second Dundas kit, with appropriate modifications to the top sections of the body. On the underframe I carried out the same frame end modifications as my operational example and wishing to create a wheel-less wagon up on blocks, I removed the axle boxes by making a horizontal cut with a fine razor saw across the top of the axlebox, then a vertical cut up behind the axlebox leaving a flat piece behind. The pin-point was then drilled out from the back and opened below to create a slot, which I neatened with a file.

Having removed the original mouldings before reworking the underframe ends, I added new bumpers either end from Evergreen channel section, and all the strapping between hopper body and underframe, a fun job if ever there was one! Rivet/bolt details carefully cut from the discarded top plank sections were added to detail underframe end strapping and holes drilled to represent mountings for the vanished brake lever. After final cleaning up it was given a scrub up ready for painting. 

A coat of primer brought all the elements together and revealed little need ready for further treatment before moving on.

I'd give a step by step account of the paint job, except that I laregely just made it up as I went along and didn't have time to take photos...

To summarise, I started with washes of Citadel 'Nuln Oil' and Penhaven weathering paints, followed by dry brushes of wood colours, light greys etc and further washes to tone different areas. I then masked-up and painted the metalwork in Vallejo black-grey. That was followed by another wash using a brown shade and more dry brushing. The interior was treated to various shades of rust, some stippled using a stiff brush, representing the metal lining of these wagons. In a sense this was all pre-weathering for what would follow.

In order to set the wagon onto 'The Old Quarry Line' I created supports from a couple of different coffee stirrers and squares of Basswood strip. These had a wash of 'Nuln Oil', a brown wash and were then dry-brushed with a beige/grey shade. After drying they were glued together to create the support stacks. They were them glued and weighted in place on the layout.

Before installation the wagon acquired a significant amount of 'grot', in the form of paint and weathering powders. Again, no step-by-step but a lot of the load remnants are a mix of acrylic paint and filler, stippled in place in the base of the hopper and around the top edges, and on horizontal surfaces of the underframe. To this was added sand and earth weathering powders to add to the colour and texture. On the black ironwork I had previously added a few areas of Citadel 'Typhus Corrosion' paint and I added some rust colour weathering powders in these areas - all very subtle! The somewhat ironic 'Do not move' inscription is from an old Replica Railways sheet of chalk markings - it didn't rub down correctly but that adds to the effect. Once the stacks of wood were firmly fixed in place on the layout the wagon was fixed in place on it's perch.

At the far end the wagon is slowly starting to vanish into the undergrowth, I had to re-arrange the bushes a little to push the wagon closer to the baseboard edge to create enough clearance at the end of the operational siding. I think this scene is closer to what I had in mind here when I added the disconnected siding, the Penrhyn Fullersite wagon looked far too useable to be in there and will be recycled into the operational fleet.

I am pleased with how this project has turned out from a kit that was likely to have become a source of 'bits' and is now the generous donor of a spare set of Greenwich wheels!

Colin

Pushing the Bo-Bo towards the paintshop

In my last post I left the MicroTrains coupler hanging below the bufferbeam of the A1 Models 'Royal Anchor' look-alike, looking for a way to make this look more realistic. My initial thought was to use an extension plate to the centre of the buffer beam, based on the arrangement of ex-Fairbourne 'Rachel' (left below). However in practice this did not look so good with the chunkiness of the MT coupler box. What was desirable was something more like ex-Fairbourne 'Katie' in Haigh Hall/Cleethorpes condition (right) where the angle-sections remained from former Fairbourne arrangement of "cow catcher" either side of the coupler.

One problem, I had no Plastruct 'L' section and slicing it up from channel did not look right. I was also concerned that plastic section here would be quite vulnerable during construction and painting and could snap or just become unstuck from the brass bufferbeam. Make that two problems, I had no brass 'L' section small enough either. After some rummaging I found some brass fence posts, etched with a join down the middle which would fold nicely to 'L section of about the right size. If only I could have soldered them to the bufferbeams before I glued them to the loco, that would be super-strong! Oh the benefit of hindsight... However, what I could do is solder them to a backing plate the of the same strip as the bufferbeam and glue that in place, giving the advantage of a greater glued area. It was a fiddly soldering job but I got there in the end (inset).

One of the completed coupler units was offered up to the loco and I was pleased with the result. This did however show up that it really could do with is some empty boltholes for the other bits of ironwork and where buffers may have once fitted.  I made up some templates to allow marking and drilling of the brass but this was proving very difficult to make it look how I saw it in my minds eye.

After some thought I cheated and made up 5 thou styrene pre-drilled overlays and superglued them in place. Job done! I also added tiny bits of Plastruct hex rod to the brass angles to emphasise what might have been bolted in the holes. By the time this photo was taken I had blackened some of the exposed brass areas ready for the painting stage

After a wash down I then applied a light coat of primer to the body. As I suspected it might this revealed a few areas that need attention before moving on. Also, a little nagging doubt started to form, was I really happy with those curved lines over the windscreens? I started to delve deeper into 'Royal Anchor', because whilst I wasn't actually modelling her, most of the inspiration was coming from that direction. It started with looking at liveries, from the original two-tone grey with red trim (very 50s!); R&ER dark blue; and the various schemes work at Carnforth, such as two-tone green. What was clear is that the line on the drawings that I had scribed into the body was just the paint line of the R&ER livery and was not there in reality other than perhaps being the point the curvature started.

 

As I was not really happy with the way the lines had turned out this prompted me to fill the "furrowed brow" and once smoothed out re-apply the primer. I now have the freedom of choice between a curved paint join or straight across as per the Carnforth repaints. I then masked up the bufferbeam areas and sprayed them with red primer to give a base to the bufferbeam red in due course. This is a bit rough around the edges but will be lost in the final paint job.

As per my usual rule I don't generally take photos of paintshop progress, so you may have to wait for the next update!

Colin

A firmly 'Anchored' chassis frame

Although I have the Bachmann chassis that the A1 Models diesel is designed to fit (in my case a U36-B) I have opted to instead use an Atlas GP7 chassis to power the model. This is a slightly more sophisticated chassis and has a smaller die-cast section and allows for a figure (of sorts) to be represented in each cab, whereas the Bachmann chassis would only really allow something at one end. This particular chassis was previously used under my original Dapol railbus loco conversion and it was still in the chassis frame from this era. This proved useful as a blueprint for the new frame that would be required for the A1 body.

The new unit is largely 40 thou styrene, reinforced with Evergreen strip where required. Through careful measurement it and the original clip onto the Atlas chassis block using four dimples drilled into the inner sides of the upright sides. Between the bogies I have added a section that hides the fuel tank area of the chassis but also reflects the design of 'Royal Anchor'.

I found two suitable figures to sit in the loco, they had to get head and shoulders within the width of the chassis upright as this slots into the A1 Models body (there are substantial strengthening ribs along the bottom edge). The figures are actually glued in place as they will only get require minimal painting to give an impression of colour. The chap at this end looks rather bored, he must be awaiting the right-away!

Having been reminded by an observer of the absence of any Dapol kit parts so far in the build, I delved into the railbus and drewery shunter bits boxes in order to maintain this tradition. Space constraints ruled out my initial thought to use the part from the railbus kit that represent the side of the engine block, visible through the side window. I considered Drewery shunter vac pipes but in the end I resorted to a railbus air tank under the bufferbeam at the far end and a box of some sort at the the closest end. 

The next step was to make provision for MicroTrains couplers. As luck would have it the bottom of the bufferbeams is 7mm from rail level, and there is just enough material to drill a 1mm dia hole to screw the coupler into. There is just one problem... it looked tacked onto the bottom of the bufferbeam!

This would take some thought to resolve, we shall see how next time.

Colin

A new spin on 'Royal Anchor'...

On return from a week in Scarborough I cast around for something to do model wise, and my eyes fell upon the A1 Models O9 3D printed Bo-Bo locomotive I had completed the initial preparation work on some time ago. Although clearly based on the former Ravenglass/Carnforth locomotive 'Royal Anchor' I wanted to put my own spin on the model. I had discussed this model with John Flower at the Mansfield 009 Society members day and now had a clearer idea of what I might like to do to it.

A reminder of how it looked...

The first job was to get a little drastic with the windows. This is not as drastic as I had initially envisaged as I had pondered creating a single windscreen with a slightly curved top edge, reminiscent of the former Dudley Zoo Bo-Bo machine prior to rebuilding at Cricket St Thomas. I think it would be do-able but I am never sure just what modifications a print will withstand so as it stands I have just opened out the cab front windows to loose the chunky surrounds. Each window is perhaps only 0.5mm bigger each way but it does change the look a little. The wobbly dividers in the door windows have gone and will be replaced when the glazing is installed. The body side windows have lost their frames completely with a resultant colour patch where sanding down has occurred. The circular opening (fuel filler?) has also been reduced in the same way.

The biggest change is the new bufferbeams. John admitted that he had totally forgotten to add these to the design. Brass etch waste 3.5mm deep was Araldited to the bottom of the cab fronts and once set I scored a line along the bodysides at a corresponding height to represent the rest of the underframe. This line was deepened and neatened using an Olfa-style cutter. Two vertical panel lines were also added to the bodysides, all corresponding with 'Royal Anchor' despite this not being a model of that machine. Milliput was used to fill the corners behind the new buffer beams, being brass these exposed corners are now very robust.

Using a template (actually an old A1 Models cab etch) a line was scored above the windscreens, which will eventually be the colour join between cab front and roof colours. Again this follows 'Royal Anchor', but helps break up the large area above the windscreens, which was in danger of looking like a slimline Metro-Cammell DMU! Above this line I have smoothed back the join between front and roof to a more rounded profile.

There are still a few details to add, such as door hinges and some roof detail, but at present I am concentrating on getting a chassis under there, which isn't going to be the Bachmann one the manufacturer envisaged...

Colin

 

More Makeovers (Red is the new Grey)

Not so long ago I realised that my 009 stock was a little bit, well, grey in colour. The main reason for this on the kit built stock is pure laziness on my part, working the colours up from primer grey. In the case of my modified Dundas WHR brake van, it is also a symptom of hurried completion to meet an exhibition deadline. With it's seasonal use on 'Christmas Tree Halt' in mind I decided to give it a bit of a makeover... 

As the dedicated Christmas wagon is green, the obvious other Christmas-compatible colour is red, but not too bright a red. The ideal colour came in the form of the Citadel 'mephiston red' as used on my recent O9 loco. The intention was to just repaint the grey areas but in the end the only original paint remaining is the roof and veranda floor. These areas were masked off, the grey areas sprayed with red primer and then a couple of coats of the citadel colour applied.

I had also masked off the axleboxes and underframe but the black-grey that looked fine against the light grey body colour now looked too light, so I repainted these areas in a darker shade, using the same shade on the bumpers at either end and the steps. A wash of Citadel 'nuln oil' over the red sat nicely in the plank lines and door recesses, although some dry brushing of the body colour over the planks was needed to get the desired effect. Feeling the red needed breaking up I added numbers either side from an old dry-print sheet of GWR locomotive lettering.

The Meridian Models TR brake handle had been removed prior to repainting and was reinstated prior to varnishing with Humbrol matt acrylic. For the first time in ages I experienced 'blooming' of the varnish coat and had to again dry brush the body colour over in places. The lamp and guard figure were glued in place and the roof (and integral partition) glued back in place, and finally the wheels added and couplings refitted. 

In other makeover news, I have been able to complete the area under the new tree on 'The Old Quarry Line'. 

Filler was used to create an impression of the roots and once dry the new roots, trunk and lower branches were painted, attempting to match the Hornby colour. You cannot actually see the roots now as I have cleared the grass away and added a small area of treated coir hanging basket liner before adding more recycled foliage material.

On the other side of the layout I have added a felled tree trunk, actually the remains of an early home-made tree I started during the construction of the layout. This wire framed tree was chopped at the roots and branches using a cutting disc in a hobby tool. Some touching up of the cuts with filler and paint was required to complete the cut timber "look".

There may be a few more additions or changes to make in due course, watch this space...

Colin

Summer Scenic Makeover

I had been planning to give my O9 diorama 'The Headshunt' a scenic refresh and to create a storage box for it, but rather unexpectedly I have ended up giving 009 layout 'The Old Quarry Line' similar scenic  treatment. Whilst this had been on the cards it has well and truly queue jumped! 

This started one idle weekend moment I was looking at ways that I could add an abandoned siding to hold a couple of wagons, potentially around the curve at the left-hand end of the layout. Common sense eventually prevailed and I opted for the more reasonable location in the yard alongside the workshop building. Two channels were cut into the existing scenery and blackened/painted rails placed within, held in with PVA and bedded back in using DAS stone modelling clay. Once dry this was blended in with various paints, fine turf scatter and Silfor grass tufts. The Meridian Penrhyn Fullersite wagon has taken up residence, in the past it lived at the end of the main siding . This will be fixed on place using a wire wound around the axle, through a hole in the board and secured below. It would have been glued by now if the subsequent days weather hadn't been so warm.

Suitably in the swing of things I decided to look at refreshing and enhancing the scenic treatment of the layout using materials that I didn't have available at the time of the build, including coir matt hanging basket liner, Peco 10mm tufts/strips and Martin Welberg tufts. One area that received new additions was the area around the drain outlet. The new areas of vegetation were created using the coir hanging basket liner, prepared off-layout by being teased out, sprayed with hairspray to fix and when dry sprayed with two shades of matt brown paint. This was glued in place on the layout and once the glue was drying, sprayed with hairspray again and foliage material added. This was actually the original material recovered from the two trees that I re-worked earlier in the year. Further hairspray and other layers of scatter were added to add variation and a small patch of Woodland Scenics purple foliage - another recent purchase!

Looking around the curve I have added the Peco long tufts around the bottom of the fence and on the opposite side of the line. In places I cut the strips lengthways, sometimes a tough job as the glue layer can be quite thick. The skip body that used to be by the workshop has now moved here, with the vegetation encroaching over it. Additional vegetation is provided by the dark green Martin Welberg tufts.

On the far side of the layout there is a new tree located on the embankment. In line with three of the other trees on the layout this is a metal-framed Hornby Skale Scenics tree - R8907 Oak. This was purchased last year with the intention of maybe using it on a 7mm scale project, where it would represent a small tree! This has been glued in place but not yet blended in, I think there may be more vegetation to go in around the base. I did add some additional foliage using hairspray and Woodland Scenics loose material in a close-enough shade. Some areas around the middle of the layout have been enhanced with more areas of the coir hanging basket liner and recovered foliage. The Snailbeach hopper seems quite at home, the other kit may yet see the light of day in one form or another!

It is always good to revisit scenic projects from time to time to update the materials and techniques used and to refresh tired areas. There are still a few jobs to do here once the weather cools a little - the workshop is rather hot at times lately making sitting in the shade daydreaming/planning a nicer option!

Colin