7mm F*** Parkinson's - Occasional 7mm Workbench

James

Western Thunderer
JSW_9302.JPG

I really like the Dapol BR vans, very little needs doing to them - I replaced the troublesome hook and added chalkboards at either end and it still needs vacuum pipes.

The latest mineral wagon has had a coal load added.

JSW_9298.JPG
 
Last edited:

paulc

Western Thunderer
I've been fitting Dapol screw couplings to various things recently and they look rather well.

View attachment 261019

However when coupled...

View attachment 261016

The gap is rather big.

Three links give a better gap.

View attachment 261017

And with the instanter link upright the gap is pretty much correct.

View attachment 261018

I just need a screw couplings option which doesn't break the bank!
This may be a dumb reply but can't you screw the couplings up to close the gap ?
 

simond

Western Thunderer
The only ready-made adjustable ones I’m aware of are Premier. According to the website, they’re a tenner a pair. I know Billy offers trade packs but I don’t know the price.

LG miniatures do a set of castings which don’t adjust but perhaps could be made to, they’re £18.

I expect Ragstone do something similar.

I‘m sure most if not all the kit suppliers would sell the castings

i guess it’s a question of what breaks the bank, or DIY which I fear looks like hard work.

if you do go with Premier ones, nip the end of the screw to prevent the trunnion coming off. You can imagine how I know.

best
Simon
 

James

Western Thunderer
I really like both CPL and LG couplings - I use them on locos.

i guess it’s a question of what breaks the bank

That's the key thing for me - I can't justify £15 or more for every vehicle requiring screw couplings.

I could do with a larger version of the 4mm Masokits screw couplings.
 

James

Western Thunderer
I bought this some time ago, a second hand kit and it's been hard going as some of the sprues are moulded in incredibly brittle plastic for some reason. Beyond the very careful handling it's been quite pleasant so far.

JSW_9524.JPG

I'm not bothering with the cabin interior as it it'll never be seen and a good chunk of lead occupies the interior instead. Similarly much of the brake gear has been omitted as the weight boxes would hide it completely!

I'm working from this photo -


You might notice the end differs from the Slater's kit, there's an extra panel line at the nearest end - repair perhaps?
 
Last edited:

James

Western Thunderer
My wife Kerry is taking part in Walk for Parkinson's 100 Mile Challenge to help fund specialist care for people with Parkinson’s, uniting with thousands of others, all passionate about improving life for people with Parkinson’s.

Wedding.jpg

I was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson's in the summer of 2023 aged just 39 - this is a cause very close to us.

Please do consider sponsoring Kerry.

 
Last edited:

Neil

Western Thunderer
I bought this some time ago, a second hand kit and it's been hard going as some of the sprues are moulded in incredibly brittle plastic for some reason. Beyond the very careful handling it's been quite pleasant so far.

I wonder if Slaters had a bad batch of plastic. I had some Slaters 4mm brick sheets that were so brittle as to be virtually unusable. The sheets were shinier than usual and it looks as though your brake van has a sheen to it too.
 

James

Western Thunderer
The sheets were shinier than usual and it looks as though your brake van has a sheen to it too.
That could certainly be the case - the main sprues do have a translucent sheen to them.

The footboards are on these sprues so they're a bit of a nonstarter so I've replaced these with 5mm x 2mm brass L section from Hobby Holidays.

1000036367.jpg

With Slater's providing brass supports the can be soldered in place which makes a very robust assembly.

1000036368.jpg

I'm quite pleased with how solid it feels.

Handrails next.

JSW_9663.JPG
 

James

Western Thunderer
It's been a busy week or so.

Modelling was curtailed by the heat wave - a common symptom of Parkinson's is an inability to regulate one's body temperature. In the heat wave I was overheating, I had a very high temperature. Another half a degree's increase and the advice was to get straight to hospital.

Thankfully it didn't get that but it was horrible - felt like head was going to explode.

So not much progress with things but here is a new roof.

JSW_0068_1.jpeg

The Slater's roof is slightly too short and my chosen prototype has different rain strips so I decided to replace it. I'd intended to use 20 thou brass sheet but didn't have anything to hand.

I did have 20 thou Plastikard so cut a piece to size and curved it with GW Models rolling bars.

To avoid warping I thought about laminating strengthening pieces on the underside but then I thought about a base of 5 thou brass. Once glued together with epoxy the result invert story. It also helps capture the composite nature of the real thing.
 

James

Western Thunderer
Not a huge amount of modelling recently, we've been a little distracted by our new resident.

We lost our cut Toby about a year ago, he wasn't too well towards heart failure was the main issue he had which affected a lot of other things including his eyesight. I'd had him from being a feral kitten all the way through the him being 15. I held him right to the end which is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

If not really been ready to have another cat as Toby it had such an impact on us all. He was a lovely cat but was also an absolute dick head. He caused carnage wherever he went!

A couple of weeks ago bro I saw a post from a local charity called Hull Street cats where an old who'd been out on the streets for some years was in need of a home and having had older rescue cats before just something in me thought we could give him a really good home.

So may I introduce Arthur :)

IMG_20260706_104841_PORTRAIT.jpeg

We think he's about 10 years old, he's clearly had a home at some point earlier in his life as he's domesticated and house trained.

Being an older cat and a black cat as works against him and he's been at the rescue centre for some considerable time. So those who passed him by have really missed out. He is one of the most affectionate cats I think you'll ever meet, he loves to be fussed and he's a very gentle creature.

JSW_0184.jpeg

He's quite a character and settled in very quickly. We think he knows that he is fallen on his feet, he certainly seems very happy :)
 
Top