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

Slidin' down to the Workbench

Picking up from where the last post left off, the shelf riser is now varnished and in place above the workbench. A slide-in box has also been created that sits within. It lifts out to sit on the desk whenever modelling is envisaged. This is constructed with a 5mm ply base and 3mm sides, which use the same recycled material as the top and bottom of the riser.

The slide-n box performs two useful functions, firstly holding the 'Really Useful Box' that holds my smaller "essential" tools, and on the other side of the divide provides a space for "work in progress" projects to be stored between sessions. In the past I had simply left both the tool box and anything in build on the work board whilst it was put away, so the new box is essentially part one of its replacement. Part two is a 3mm MDF board to act as a desk protector, this was coated both sides with  a couple of coats of emulsion and has a trim strip along the front edge to prevent it being pushed backwards.
 

All far to clean so I have now actually done some modelling on it before giving in to the heat. However, before I go into any detail there is the matter of investigating this recently unearthed archive photo which appears to show the presence of hitherto unknown abandoned rails buried in the yard by the 'Old Quarry Line' workshop...

Colin

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