The Imposters Return - In Colour!

Sorry, despite the name this is not a forgotten ITC TV series from the 1960s! 

I cannot quite believe that it was September when we last saw these two wagons. In mid December my attention returned to them and I decided to reverse the earlier decision to fit a simple coupling system of loops and hooks, opting instead to fit MicroTrains couplers after all. This would entail a little surgery to the headstocks in order to accommodate the draft boxes.

With the openings cut at the correct heights Milliput was used to create a level, solid area behind the headstock of both wagons. On the longer one this is key to giving an area that can be drilled to take the mounting screw, on the shorter wagon it is just to stop the draft box tipping backwards. Once set, holes were drilled centrally 1mm back from the front face of the headstock, taking care not to drill through the floor... On the longer wagon part of the hole is in the styrene headstock, part in the Milliput, no doubt a bit in the lead weight and then into the styrene floor! The holes were crudely 'tapped' using a MicroTrains coupler screw ready for when couplers are fitted.

Before Christmas the two wagons progressed through the paintshop. The shorter wagon in Humbrol red-brown and the longer one in grey. New Years Eve again provided the opportunity to apply Humbrol matt varnish from and aerosol. There is still some weathering work to do, notably on the coupler pocket on the grey wagon! 

The shorter wagon has brown couplers, from a pack I picked up in desperation at some stage. The previously completed "matching" wagon carries the other pair. This set had been on my Chivers Theakston wagon, but had never looked quite right. I had fitted this wagon with Bemo 7mm wheelsets that I had acquired from 009 sales at a Mansfield members day a few years ago, but it always looked a bit tip-toed and out of balance with other stock with the couplers hanging under the buffer beam. Playing about I popped a set of Peco wheels in and sat it alongside the short wagon it had donated it's coupling to.

It now seemed to sit a little happier alongside the other stock, so I may look at fitting different MicroTrains couplers (1023's) and it may have a place on the future layout. I have previously conjectured about using a Black Dog mine tub in an agricultural setting for the disposal of manure etc, but rejected it as it looked out of place with other vehicles. The Theakston could fulfil this role... 

A wagon assured a place alongside the new stock is my tool wagon. Probably last seen on the blog in Exmoor on Tour as a coupling adaptor. The chassis already matches that on the new grey wagon and the opportunity has been taken to refine the strapping detail and add Grandt Line hinges on the roof doors to match the open wagons. 

With all that work a repaint was necessary, this gives a chance to change the colour and I have chosen to go down the route of something a little more unusual...

Colin