First attempt - Dapol C34 Tanker

[aramand]

Attempted my first plastic kit this evening and so went from this :

 

 

 

To this :

 

 

 

Still only about 90%, (not fully glued and brakes shoes not on yet) plus couple of things still to sort so have a few questions if anyone can help..

 

1. Anyone got a closeup of where the 'vacuum brake cylinders' are supposed to be attached ? Instructions were a bit limited in that area I thought

 

2. Other part I had some trouble with were the brake levers, I only have one side on as I'm not sure what the other one should really look like - if anyone has a closeup would be great.

 

3. Couplings - the couplings that come with it are a bit fiddly so may replace these - any recommendations ?

 

4. Weight ? I havent glued on the end on one side yet so still option to add some weight - do you normally do this and how much ?

 

I decided to wait and get an airbrush so wont be painted till that arrives but overall I'm happy with it as a first attempt!

 

Any comments, advice welcome.

[gm171 kk]

Nice. I might get a few of them myself.

[irishtrains2730]

that's a tidy job for a first attempt.can help with the questions apart from the weight

did read somewhere that you can get small(lead!)weigh in balls that can be glued with pva.

should keep the weight low down.

[Guest hidden-agenda]

Great job and your on the right road try this link here http://thecentralstation.myfreeforum.org/archive/dapol-class-b-tank-wagon-kit-review__o_t__t_934.html and when you click on the pics they enlarge so this should help with sorting the hand brake levers .

[Mayner]

The Dapol (former Airfix) wagon kits date from the early 1960s and are a great starter kit even by present day standards.

 

These wagons were originally used by ESSO in the UK who imported a batch into Ireland for the North Wall Sligo & Oranmore-Claremorris oil trains.

 

The tops of vacuum brake cylinders attatch to the shorth chassis cross members.

 

 

 

Long lever side.

 

 

 

Short lever side.

 

I have lengthened the barrel to represent the Type A wagons used to transport petrol and diesel. I extended the tank by chopping up a spare kit.

 

John

[RedRich]

Excellent work John, how did you manage to fit 28mm pin point axles, or have you used an inside bearing set up.

 

Rich,

[RedRich]

Attempted my first plastic kit this evening and so went from this :

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]596[/ATTACH]

 

To this :

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]597[/ATTACH]

 

Still only about 90%, (not fully glued and brakes shoes not on yet) plus couple of things still to sort so have a few questions if anyone can help..

 

1. Anyone got a closeup of where the 'vacuum brake cylinders' are supposed to be attached ? Instructions were a bit limited in that area I thought

 

2. Other part I had some trouble with were the brake levers, I only have one side on as I'm not sure what the other one should really look like - if anyone has a closeup would be great.

 

3. Couplings - the couplings that come with it are a bit fiddly so may replace these - any recommendations ?

 

4. Weight ? I havent glued on the end on one side yet so still option to add some weight - do you normally do this and how much ?

 

I decided to wait and get an airbrush so wont be painted till that arrives but overall I'm happy with it as a first attempt!

 

Any comments, advice welcome.

 

That looks great for your first attempt at a kit Declan . That cutting mat won't stay that clean for long once you really crack on.

 

Rich,

[aramand]

Thanks for the replies - looks like I got the brake lever completely wrong on the one side I did!! I'll try fix it tomorrow if I can.

[Mayner]

Excellent work John, how did you manage to fit 28mm pin point axles, or have you used an inside bearing set up.

 

Rich,

 

A bit of cheating by packing out the solebars with plasticard.

 

I built a rake of 10 but had a lot of trouble in achieving reliable running with a rigid chassis as some of the Dapol solebars were quite badly twisted.

 

I had a similar problem building a rake of OO Presflo Cement wagons, so its worth checking that the solebars and chassis are straight before assembling one of these kits.

 

To ensure that everything is flat and sqquare its worth assembling this type of chassis on mirror or small piece of plate glass.

 

John

Edited May 12, 2012 by Mayner

[aramand]

Fixed up the brake pipes and added the brake shoes, the patience (or lack of!) got the better of me so decided not to wait for the airbrush to arrive and instead decided to chance a straight spray paint from a can - probably not recommended but as it was all black it seemed like an option, it if all went horribly wrong it was only €6 kit and you have to learn somewhere...

 

So here is how it progressed, a coat of primer to start :

 

 

 

Followed by the coat of black :

 

 

 

and onto the layout to see how it runs...Ok so it looks like it just arrived from the paint shop (which it has ) but overall not too bad I think. When I get the transfers on it should be pretty OK. 1 down 7 more to go I think. BTW the 2 holes dont look quite so obvious in real life but I might try get some more filler and patch them a bit better or maybe the transfers will cover them.

 

[Guest hidden-agenda]

Nice finish to it and well done, get some revell filler and some 1000 grade wet and dry sand paper and you can fill any holes or cracks but do this before you prime and after the first coat of primer has dried if required as the primer tends to show any thing you dont want to see.Another tip for you that John Mayner mentioned earlier was the sheet of glass so watch out in Tesco for a glass work top protector i got one for £3.00 and i removed the rubber feet from each corner so it sits flat and i find it invaluable for building when you want a chassis to sit properly on all fours.Enjoy the rest of the kits and remember to post a pic of the rake when your finished.

Regards Gareth.

[irishtrains2730]

that's not a bad finish at all.all that's needed now is lots of weathering.

[aclass007]

Grand job. Well done!

[Mayner]

Interesting piece on assembling these kits in RM Web which basically recommends buying the old Airfix version of the kits on E-bay, supposed to be cheaper too!

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/56338-dapol-wagon-kits-made-from-re-cycled-plastic/

 

John

[Guest hidden-agenda]

The Dapol version has metal wheels and proper couplings as against the old airfix version so from a starter kit point of view its ideal.I have found that the dapol packaging leaves alot to be desired as every kit i ever bought has damage to it and airfix kits version was in the standard small box they used so that was a plus.

[aramand]

The rake is expanding!

 

Have 2 complete now - painted and transfers on, 4 more assembled (90%) but not painted, 1 waiting to be assembled and 3 more on back order!

 

 

 

I have to say the quality of the kits is not great and varies quite a bit (including colour of the 4 which I've assembled now they are all various shades of gray! ). I've had one broken underframe, a broken solebar, one kit completely missing the metal wheels and couplings! However I guess for the price they are not too bad and you get what you pay for.

 

Hope to get them all painted up and complete by end of the week.

 

Will be looking then for some advice on basic weathering to make them fit in a little better!

[scahalane]

Looking good, a bit of weathering would really help to set them off alright.

[aramand]

Thanks, no where near your level of skill but I have to start somewhere!

[Sulzer201]

Hi aramand,

Well done and great work its a great looking fleet of tankers, brings one back to the days of the Sligo oil trains.

Tommy

[Sulzer201]

Hi aramand,

Sulzer201 her, I was so impressed with your work on the Esso oil tankers, I decided to have a go and have purchased 3 dapol kits. Can you please let me know the location for the vacuum brake cylinders (7, 8) please? I'm stuck on this bit.

Many thanks, Tommy

[aramand]

Hi,

 

I found the instructions a bit vague on that also but basically there are 2 short cross beams on the underframe and these fit into the grooves on the top of the cylinders. They hang down like that underneath, I'll try get a pic up later but not at home at the moment.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Declan

[Guest hidden-agenda]

A close up pic of the frame and vac cylinders. I hope this helps.

Regards Gareth.

[Sulzer201]

A close up pic of the frame and vac cylinders.[ATTACH=CONFIG]967[/ATTACH] I hope this helps.

Regards Gareth.

 

Hi Declan and Gareth many thanks for that help. I should be able to proceed again.

 

Regards, Tommy

[Sulzer201]

Finally got the first one built. I better not say how long it took me and I know there are probably lots of errors but it is my first attempt and I'm delighted to have it done. Two more to go and thanks all for help. I know they recommend you paint prior to construction, I do not have a sprayer,ATTACH] so any suggestions for best method of painting the tanker? Thanks again in advance, Tommy.

[ciarang85]

Hi Aramand,

 

Can i ask you where did you get the IR transfers?

 

Thanks

[aramand]

There are available to order from here :

 

http://www.studio-scale-models.com/TFreight.shtml

 

The guy who runs it is also on here as user 'Weshty' so I guess you would either PM him here or contact via the details on the Studio Scale Models site itself.

[ciarang85]

Thanks very much for the reply:banana:

[Sulzer201]

Found the following in MR, Dec 12 - on detailing the Dapol oil tankers