Chas Levin
Western Thunderer
Nice job; it reminds me that I sometimes think we don't use wood often enough, we're so focussed on metal and plastic. And the irony of how much trouble we go to in trying to represent wood but using metal and plastic...
7mm Rob's Rolling Stock Workbench
- Thread starter Rob Pulham
- Start date
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
Before I put the finishing touches to the V1/3 brake vans I finished off the V4
This included adding LNER lettering and then glazing and detail painting. When I built it I had drilled out the buffer stocks to accept proprietary sprung buffer heads, which I put away safe. Sadly in the intervening years safe morphed into lost although I am sure they will appear again at some point. So I did a first for me I turned some replacements from one of the many pieces of steel rod recovered from scrapping a printer. There was one length of just the diameter I needed so off I went.
Thankfully, I did find the couplings that I had made up at the same time so they were fitted too.
Just a reminder of it’s full interior before I stick the roof on.
This included adding LNER lettering and then glazing and detail painting. When I built it I had drilled out the buffer stocks to accept proprietary sprung buffer heads, which I put away safe. Sadly in the intervening years safe morphed into lost although I am sure they will appear again at some point. So I did a first for me I turned some replacements from one of the many pieces of steel rod recovered from scrapping a printer. There was one length of just the diameter I needed so off I went.
Thankfully, I did find the couplings that I had made up at the same time so they were fitted too.
Just a reminder of it’s full interior before I stick the roof on.
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
Way back in 2011 (on page 3 of this thread) I started to build a D&S Kit for an NER Diagram 67 horsebox that I had bought at Halifax show. It turned out that there were some castings missing and some parts not included and so it got put aside. I bought brake yokes from Laurie Griffin and some time later while ordering other kits from D&S, I explained about the missing castings to Danny Pinnock and he kindly sent me some replacements. The missing castings were for the spring dampers.
Also back in 2011 when I put the body together despite having scratch built a groom's seat I soldered the roof on. A couple of years ago I realised that I would never be able to properly paint the groom's compartment so I removed it again.
As can be seen from my earlier photos it was built before I started using lens tissue to represent canvas on roofs. I wanted to add it and the simplest way to do it was to remove all the roof vents, stick on the tissue and then re-add the vents. I left the two grab handles in place ad worked around them.
I am not sure whether it was because I had removed the roof after originally soldering it on but it no longer fitted as well as it did. In order to improve the fit I soldered a strip of quite thick nickel to the top of each end which filled up the slight gap that was there.
I then started thinking of how to refit the roof after painting. Initially I added a framework using my small vertical belt sander to quickly create the curves to match the roof profile with some angles to brace them apart at the correct distance. On one end I added a fold to hook under the strip on the top with the other end slipping inside the inner wall of the groom's compartment. It worked but it was not as tight a fit as I would have liked.
While conversing with another modeller who is also building a horsebox from a Gladiator kit I had an idea. It's not the clearest in the photo below but I soldered a curved length of 1.6mm rod to the underside of the roof tight enough so that it would snapp over the end strip and hold in position below it - think of a reversed percent sign %
That works a treat and is something I plan to develop for fixing other van roofs on going forwards.
Also back in 2011 when I put the body together despite having scratch built a groom's seat I soldered the roof on. A couple of years ago I realised that I would never be able to properly paint the groom's compartment so I removed it again.
As can be seen from my earlier photos it was built before I started using lens tissue to represent canvas on roofs. I wanted to add it and the simplest way to do it was to remove all the roof vents, stick on the tissue and then re-add the vents. I left the two grab handles in place ad worked around them.
I am not sure whether it was because I had removed the roof after originally soldering it on but it no longer fitted as well as it did. In order to improve the fit I soldered a strip of quite thick nickel to the top of each end which filled up the slight gap that was there.
I then started thinking of how to refit the roof after painting. Initially I added a framework using my small vertical belt sander to quickly create the curves to match the roof profile with some angles to brace them apart at the correct distance. On one end I added a fold to hook under the strip on the top with the other end slipping inside the inner wall of the groom's compartment. It worked but it was not as tight a fit as I would have liked.
While conversing with another modeller who is also building a horsebox from a Gladiator kit I had an idea. It's not the clearest in the photo below but I soldered a curved length of 1.6mm rod to the underside of the roof tight enough so that it would snapp over the end strip and hold in position below it - think of a reversed percent sign %
That works a treat and is something I plan to develop for fixing other van roofs on going forwards.
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
Unlike most of the castings in the kit which are really good the Westinghouse and vacuum through pipes were not so good so having checked my stock and finding that I didn't have any cast ones to hand, I decided to make some. Once fitted and painted they should look the part.
They are made from 1.6mm brass rod, brass beading wire, some 2.2mm nickel rod drilled out to create the collars at each end of the wire bound section and some 10 thou nickel sheet riveted and cut into strips with my guillotine.
The door dampers also need some way to retain them once the body is fitted to the chassis so again 10 thou nickel sheet riveted and cut into strips.
It needed a bit of experimentation with the rivet spacing because I needed the hollows at the back of the rivets to fit over half etched rivets already in place on the body side.
They are made from 1.6mm brass rod, brass beading wire, some 2.2mm nickel rod drilled out to create the collars at each end of the wire bound section and some 10 thou nickel sheet riveted and cut into strips with my guillotine.
The door dampers also need some way to retain them once the body is fitted to the chassis so again 10 thou nickel sheet riveted and cut into strips.
It needed a bit of experimentation with the rivet spacing because I needed the hollows at the back of the rivets to fit over half etched rivets already in place on the body side.
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
It's now ready for paint (actually I primed it last night and added the top coat this morning).
Buffers and couplings are just pushed into place for the photos and the axle boxes still need to be stuck on.
Buffers and couplings are just pushed into place for the photos and the axle boxes still need to be stuck on.
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
Here we are with a coat of paint. I still need to paint the solebars and buffer beams brown but it's coming along.
Chas Levin
Western Thunderer
Lovely job, Rob!
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
having gone to all the trouble making it and having the devil's own job of painting it, I forgot to add one of the seat.
Now I am struggling to find a photo of the LNER layout of the lettering. All the photos that I have found so far are either of the later diagram 196 or in NER livery I have also found a couple in BR livery where the lettering is under that much grime it's not visible and no use in determining where the lettering might be.
Now I am struggling to find a photo of the LNER layout of the lettering. All the photos that I have found so far are either of the later diagram 196 or in NER livery I have also found a couple in BR livery where the lettering is under that much grime it's not visible and no use in determining where the lettering might be.
Chas Levin
Western Thunderer
Seat looks very comfy!
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
Well I managed to make a complete cock up of the transfers on the first side.
I hadn't got the surface glossy enough and the transfer refused to be nudged. In the end I was a bit vigorous with the cocktail stick that I use to finally position transfers and gouged a bit of paint off.
Here I am trying a partial repaint of the damaged side. As I was stripping the paint from the affected panels I also noted that somewhere along the line I had lost a hinge from the feed/harness compartment so I stripped that door too and soldered on another hinge. Time will tell as to whether I get away with it or I have to strip the whole side or even the entire body.
I hadn't got the surface glossy enough and the transfer refused to be nudged. In the end I was a bit vigorous with the cocktail stick that I use to finally position transfers and gouged a bit of paint off.
Here I am trying a partial repaint of the damaged side. As I was stripping the paint from the affected panels I also noted that somewhere along the line I had lost a hinge from the feed/harness compartment so I stripped that door too and soldered on another hinge. Time will tell as to whether I get away with it or I have to strip the whole side or even the entire body.
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
Thankfully, it looks like I got away with the partial repaint. I have also added an additional coat of Johnsons Klear so now I will wait a couple of days for it to fully harden.
Chas Levin
Western Thunderer
Nice save, Rob!
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
Thanks Chaz,
I confess it was a relief.
I confess it was a relief.
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
I haven't done much in the way of modelling over Easter, because I plan to give my website a long overdue update. Working towards that I have been taking updated photos of the models that I still have that I've built since taking up 7mm scale.
While taking them out for photos, I noted that one of them an MSE S&D Horsebox was looking a little worse for wear. Although it doesn't get run much, I do take out to shows on my demo stand quite often. During it's outings it had lost a buffer head and some of the glazing had popped out.
While I had it in bits to refit the glazing I decided to upgrade the step boards by adding some veneer as I did on my recent brake vans.
While taking them out for photos, I noted that one of them an MSE S&D Horsebox was looking a little worse for wear. Although it doesn't get run much, I do take out to shows on my demo stand quite often. During it's outings it had lost a buffer head and some of the glazing had popped out.
While I had it in bits to refit the glazing I decided to upgrade the step boards by adding some veneer as I did on my recent brake vans.
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
Further work also ensued on the NER Horsebox. I got the sole-bars and headstocks painted brown, added the axleboxes and decided to veneer the steps after all. I note that I still need to paint the hoses.
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
A little more done today, stepboards aged, black touched where the brown had strayed and a bit of 'bone' white on the hoses.
timbowales
Western Thunderer
"bone" white???
Please explain, Puzzled of Llanelli
Please explain, Puzzled of Llanelli
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
Sorry, I should have said Vallejo Game Color Bone White. It would have made more sense then.
It's not quite white, not quite cream, for us none fantasy folk.
It's not quite white, not quite cream, for us none fantasy folk.
'Off' white - the colour of bone.
