Noel

TPO went to paint shop. Masking took a little longer than normal due the recessed sliding doors used on the TPO. Masking tape over the white and orange bands. Black sprayed over the lot. Slightly apprehensive about possible paint bleed under the tape. One hour later carefully removed the masking tape using a tweezers. Masking the recessed doors was fun Next up weathering, varnishing, decals, varnishing, glazing and grab rails, etc

Excellent restoration, and liked they way you iterated solutions for bringing her back to her original splendour.

Looks fabulous Tony. Love the station and the grass bank. Nicely blended colouring.

I'm looking forward to them

I weathered a 'supertrain' coach yesterday for a WMRC pal who joined me while we used weathering powders and airbrush to match his preference for level of dirt. Personally I've never been a fan of modern era stock such as the Supertrain livery but I could now be tempted. Weathering certainly helps tone down the shade of orange on MM roofs. I'm going to go back and touch up the roofs of some of my own 'tippex' mk2s. Always something to learn and things I want to tweak afterwards!

In honest reality they most probably cost significantly more to buy than your RTR version will, but still need to be finished with paint, decals, bogies and couplings. But I had to "collect" at least one as an example of some outstanding Irish 3D work. True cost for one unpainted was 25+13+7+3 = €48 (wagon print, bogie inc wheels, postage, couplings) which I'm fairly sure is a lot more than IRM's may be standalone (i.e. without container load). Ok if you were doing say 7 of them the postage would be the same binging the unit cost down to €42 but that's unfinished without a box and not very heavy! But it does show what can be achieved with 3D in FUD.

Close up of one of Neil's 3D FUD prints. The detail and finish is stunning. I'm going to add lead weight to the underside of the bogies to ensure these will run ok unladen on all of my track work. It seems a shame to hide this open structure with container loads. I know IRM will be releasing their 42ft later this year but I had to have one of these for now.

Prep for spraying. Used masking tape to create a wind brake (spray curtain) so I could spray the white and orange in the one session without overspray. These are sprayed in approximate positions prior to reverse masking over them and finally spraying black. The edges of the white and orange don't have a ridge so when spraying black later there won't be a visible ridge line where the other colours ended. Will leave this for 24hrs and then put 2mm masking tape over the white and mask over the the orange.

42ft Container flat in FUD. 3D print technology is continuously evolving and seems to have a viable use for one off unique models that are not available RTR. Its expensive but can be worth it. Materials such as FUD rival injection moulded plastic for quality if not cost. If you have CAD skills its a very useful tool. Below CIE 42ft container flat designed by Neil over on RMweb (Myner Models) and printed by Shapeways using FUD (Frosted Ultra Detail). The detail is stunning, everything on this model is part of the print, brake wheels, brake pipes, vacuum pipes, coupling hooks, etc, no bits were added on afterwards. https://www.shapeways.com/product/VHDMTBHW3/cie-42ft-ly-container-flat-wagon-round-buff?optionId=65000132&li=ostatus

Absolutely stunning layout Gerry. The life scenes are superb. Love the supporting photos and research material. A master class on life like layout scenery.

Cheers Jason. The supplied gangway was good quality, it was just I had a spare Keen one left over from other projects and recent kadee conversions made the Keen systems sprung outer door an attractive proposition to minimise gaps between coaches. The instructions with this kit are clear, concise and were easy to follow with good supporting photos.

I'm just loving this Irish Freight Models CIE Bogie TPO kit. Very straight forward and easy to do. Got stuck in this evening with some tweaks before painting later this week. I had a spare set of Keen systems suspended sprung gangways so reluctantly replaced the excellent ones that came with the kit. As I'm modelling a late incarnation of 2977 (photo Paul Haywood) I've made just a slight modification panelling over where the automatic collection apparatus would have been. Can't wait to run it with 3185 and even with a mk2d rake as regularly happened on the Galway route - strange but true, and it will equally be at home mixed with other B&T era coaching stock. Keen systems suspended LMS gangways with sprung covers will aid close coupling and reduced gap between coaches As I am modelling a late incarnation of 2977 the apparatus doors have been panelled over Tomorrow running trials with kadee's before painting and transfers over the coming days. I'm enjoying this kit so much I'm tempted to do another in CIE flying snail green variation.

Love the light touch and especially the chassis weathering. Really blends the bubble and chassis together nicely.

Mein Gott! Fear not Sir Richard - the IRM logo was replaced on top after gluing on the kadee. Lest this wagon appear on BBC antiques road show around 2170 as a sample of outstanding early 21st century model manufacturing - its provenance will surly be known and bound to fetch quite a few guineas at auction.

Hi Jason. And if you choose to glue them under the NEM pockets you can effectively shorten the existing supply of no 20s to similar length to the 18s by gluing them inboard a little. You'll need to file the IRM logo flat under one NEM pocket per wagon. Please bare in mind no 18s suit the radius bends on our layout. Suggest running test with just two wagons on your tightest radius curve or point work to be sure 18s will work on your layout, before committing to change all the wagons. Have fun. Noel

Photos?

Your are too kind sir I've a serious backlog to catch-up on.

A stunning new level of model building architecture and layout concept

As others have confirmed the UK railway modelling market is vast compared to Ireland. I've heard it estimated that the entire Irish model rail market is only between 1% and 0.5% of the size of the total UK market at present. Due to aging demographics I've heard a few pessimists refer to the hobby market as a sunset industry. I'm impressed with IRMs pricing for bogie wagons such as the Tara's compared to the Ballast/Cement pricing. It actually reflects a significant price reduction for what you receive.

You need a tiny gap for expansion and contraction between winter and summer including baseboards that absorb moisture during the winter and some movement. The width of a disc is almost perfect.

33 wagons and 24 coaches converted so far. Only the cement wagons to do and then I'll take a pause and get back to other outstanding workbench projects. Before starting I had just a hint of scepticism about kadee's, but the more stock I converted and test ran the more pleased I was that I'd taken the plunge. Chart below summarising kadee's current product offerings. Their web site is so confusing and they seem to have gazillions of versions of their products, but the list below may help some. It's not definitive and the choice of coupling lengths suited the 3ft radius curves on our layout. IMHO the 237 trip pin pliers is an essential tool for tweaking the odd wagon or coach where you experience a marginally drooping trip pin (i.e. track snag and derailment hazard). Was very happy how close I was able to couple the old Bachmann wagons below and how 100% reliably they ran after conversion from the old tension lock couplings. PS: One rake of mk2d's was converted using Hornby/Roco but with kadee's at each end of the rake for loco coupling (i.e. I have one fixed rake of mk2d). PS2: Also in the mean time most of my locos have a kadee at one cab end and the original TLC at the other end so I can operate them with converted and unconverted stock.

Cheer Jason. I've only one set of three cement wagons left to weather. I'm debating if I should keep the last set pristine or weather them up. Being pristine they kind of stick out like a sore thumb at the end of the rake.

Stunning scene.

25yo Bachmann wagons converted to CIE mixed with 3D beat wagons, Bells and assorted stock. Close coupled thanks to Bachmann's 25yo design recently converted to kadee couplings. I found copies of the long defunct 'Signal Box' mail order invoices showing these wagons originally cost me £3.75ea. So far I've managed to convert the couplings on 33 wagons. Really pleased how well they are running being hauled or pushed. CIE Black'n'Tan era is nostalgia gold Imaginary 1969 I love the way these old Bachmann wagons can run so well close coupled. I lightly weathered these pair of baby GMs last winter. I have kadee couplings at one end and TLCs at the other so I can run them with converted and unconverted rolling stock for now.

Thanks for info Fran (@Warbonnet). Will you be selling the B&I containers separately?