2996 Victor

Thanks, chaps! The accolades need to go to Ken @KMCE really - he's the real craftsman! Cheers, Mark

Hi everyone! Welcome to my new Workbench thread which will be focusing on DW&WR/D&SER wagons. I was recently delighted to receive from @KMCE of this parish some of his rather excellent 3D-printed wagons, namely three cattle wagons, two convertibles, two opens and one Ashbury box van. The plan is that these will be 21mm gauge/P4 standards, with sprung buffers. I still haven't decided on couplings..... Ken has done a really superb job on these wagons, and if you haven't got any yet then I'd really recommend them. So, as a preliminary, they were all washed using fairy liquid and gently scrubbed with an old toothbrush, and then thoroughly rinsed off. The water was kept to a tepid temperature to avoid the risk of distortion. Here they are drying off: Nice, eh? Following this, most of them were treated to a couple of thin coats of my favoured primer/basecoat, which is Tamiya's AS-29 IJN Grey-Green in a rattle can. I think it makes an excellent base wood colour. Unfortunately, as you can see I should have bought two cans..... The eagle-eyed among you will notice I've already put the bars into the rearmost cattle wagon. Which brings me to: The bars in the cattle wagon are from 0.020" phosphor-bronze wire, and the printed-in holes needed just a little help with opening out: Following which, the PB wire bars could be inserted: The cut inner ends located nicely in the printed-in holes so they didn't need any work. Once all the wire bars were in place, a tiny dob of extra thin CA glue was used to secure them: And once the glue had cured, the excess wire was trimmed back with a set of side cutters, and then carefully filed flush with the wagon framing. Here is the set again, with the cattle wagons and the Ashbury Van (top right) having received their PB wire "bars". In the case of the latter, 0.015" wire was used. That's all for now. As soon as I can get buffer housings fitted, it'll be time for painting and lettering. The choice of shade of grey is, as always, perplexing in the extreme! Cheers, Mark

Splendid! Perhaps an interior light to show off your work, perhaps not too bright as would befit a gas mantle? Cheers Mark

Hi, Yes please, that would be incredibly helpful, thank you! I'll PM you my email address. Cheers, Mark

I'm actually quite relieved that it's not just me.....! I've also had some great stuff from Shapeways, notably Coastline Models Cambrian stuff, and several other suppliers. Our own KMCE's DSER wagons are superb. This is one approach I'm looking into. I've had a look at silhouette cutters and they certainly have some uses, although as I understand it they're not really suitable for materials over 1mm thickness. But the layering approach has a lot of mileage in it for elaborate coach panelling and even outside framed wagons. Cheers, Mark

Thanks - I'm aware of these, but I've had a few items from there and, while I don't like to berate a fellow modeller's efforts, I was really quite disappointed. Some wagon bodies were significantly in error when compared to known dimensions, and the print quality was rather poor. I recently ordered a couple more items but the print quality wasn't improved. Best regards, Mark

Brilliant, thank you!

Dear All, this is a tentative enquiry of my fellow modellers, and nothing may come of it. However, I'm thinking in terms of typical 6-wheel carriages and full brake, and 4-wheel goods wagons such as an open, a cattle, maybe a convertible, and a goods brake. I'm thinking primarily of 4mm/1ft scale with 21mm gauge, but of course if the designs prove feasible and can be scaled up or down, then that's something to consider as well. I'm considering the various options for making these, 3D-printing being an obvious candidate, but also laser-cut wood similar to the freight car kits from America from manufacturers like LaBelle, Bitter Creek and Leadville. All quite vague, I know, but at this stage I'd like to know if I'd be going it alone or if I might be over-whelmed with folks who could be interested. Let me know! Mark

Very effective! More, please! Cheers, Mark

Thanks, Ken, that's extremely helpful! Not ever having tried this before, it's truly bewildering - obviously, the lower the gear ratio the slower the speed for a given rpm, but having reference to motor speeds is essential. Greatly appreciated as always! Mark

What a beauty! Absolutely gorgeous and looking resplendent in her green livery. Cheers, Mark

Hmmmmm.....not sure if 80 or 108, then! Have to think about that

Hi John, many thanks for this: your thoughts on the TMD/SSM kit are very welcome! I'd noticed the High Level Chassis Kit and that they do a package with a gearbox and motor - next question is what's the best gearing....??? Almost unanswerable, I know, but I suspect of the three available, 60:1, 80:1, 108:1, that 60:1 or 80:1 would be the most useful. And which motor? Cheers, Mark

@KMCE, @Galteemore, @Andy Cundick - chaps, I'm convinced - I'm going to give it a go!

Fabulous, and inspirational! Cheers, Mark

Good to know I expect a combination of the two will be good for a six-coupled tank locomotive! I think this is what has put me off for so many years, making the transition from raw materials to finished object. It's difficult for someone with no experience to visually break down, even compartmentalise, the various parts of a locomotive and approach them as discreet entities. I had never thought in those terms literally until I read your post! Lol! Yes, I can imagine that..... Thank you for your encouragement, Ken, I'm feeling quite excited to give it a go! Cheers, Mark

Thanks, Ken, that's good to know! I'll probably want both tender and tank locomotives, long term. So, both it is!!! Cheers, Mark

Brilliant, thanks! I'll start with that one I'll probably end up with them both..... Cheers, Mark

So I'm finding two books: Scratch-building Model Railway Locomotives and Scratch-building Model Railway Tank Locomotives. Are they complimentary or does one repeat what's said in the other? Do I need both??? Thanks for any advice!!! Cheers, Mark

I will! I haven't heard of these - quick Google search needed! Thanks for the pointer Again, thank you! I'll check out Metalsmith as well! Cheers, Mark

Hi Andy, Many thanks for this - it makes perfect sense and given that the difference in wheelbase is a scale 5" it's really not going to be noticeable. I'll have a look for the Mainly Trains chassis kit and get one ordered. Thanks for the tool suggestions, as well, I imagine Eileen's would be a good place for the reamer. I've also sent an order to Poppy's WoodTech for one of their chassis building box thingies - I'll need all the help I can muster Many thanks once again, Mark

The E Class wheelbase is 6'3"+7'0", while the J72 is 6'8"+7'0", which is 1.66mm in 4mm scale. I'd guess you might have to fudge the front splasher slightly? Gibson does custom milled frames, so I've just sent them a message asking what the likely costs might be, and giving them the wheelbase dimensions. Not sure if they'll need any other info before providing an estimate, but I'll post it here when they get back to me. Cheers, Mark

Hi Andy, many thanks for your reply, that's extremely helpful and very encouraging, thank you! You've convinced me to have a go at scratch-building in brass as you say, its a fairly straight-forward loco, shape-wise, and appears to be flush-rivetted, too. I've been having a look at the current Gibson catalogue and there's a nice selection of parts available. I've had a quick look for Model Railways October 1976, it seems a bit shy but hopefully I can find one. Thank you very much indeed also for your kind offer of the original-pattern chimney and smokebox, which I'd very much like to take you up on, please. I'll drop you a PM. Kind regards, Mark

For some reason I can't quite now remember, I was looking for a Wrenn R1 a couple of years ago and they were still quite easily find-able on fleabay. There were also brand-new body mouldings, too. I have a strong hankering for a P Class, they have real "presence" and with names like "Giant", "Giantess", "Hercules" what's not to like? One would be completely out of place on a minor branch-line in Galway, of course, so I'll have to invoke Rule 1 Cheers, Mark And why not, Ken? Speaking of which, I'm hoping this weekend to be able to make a start on those wagons you sent me Cheers, Mark

Hi Andy, may I ask which E Class kit you've built? I'm wondering whether there is any real merit in chopping up the J72, particularly as I'm going 21mm gauge and it'll need a new chassis, or whether to bite the bullet and either scratch-build or attempt a kit. The latter option is a bit fraught as my previous experiences with etched brass have resulted a heavy defeat and a hasty withdrawal on my part Thanks, Mark