4mm Wessex Wagon.

Another addition has been found to add to the local area wagon collection.

Number 134 in the series , 160 of this wagon was produced in January 2010.

This reduces the list but makes finding examples harder.

How I would like to find one of the O Gauge wagons that Wessex produced!

7mm Skytrex Ventilated Van.

At the South Coast Modellers Exhibition I picked up this van by Skytrex for a very reasonable sum.

It is screwed together and so all that has been done is to Mek the sides together and give a coat of matt varnish.

My usual Sprat and Winkles have been fitted onto a piece of plasticard glued across the chassis members.

7mm Cringle Street Goods.

When I made the PLV, I was disappointed to find that there was insufficient clearance for it to pass under the bridge!

So a knife was used to slice off the top of the bridge and a filler piece fitted to increase clearance.

The join has been masked with a self adhesive strip.

It now means that the PLV can pass under the bridge although side clearance is tight.

A new addition is a GW Tevan made from a Parkside kit.

The only mistake was the 16T transfer folding itself in half making it unuseable- must find a replacement

7mm Cringle Street Goods shed guttering.

 I used some half round plastic about 3.5mm diameter for the gutters, The ends had plasticard glued on and when set shapedwith a file.

The downpipe had a piece of twin and earth cable copper threaded into hollow tube and bent to shape- the end was left proud of the tube and a hole drilled in the gutter to locate and provide a mechanical connection.

Thin strips of brass were formed to mirror the shape of the gutter and used to fit in place.

4mm Petite Properties.Teacup Cottage.

This kit has been lurking in the to do tray for some time. Petite Properties was a new name to me.  Laser cut MDF forms the main shell with similarly cut card the detailing parts.

Using a quick tack glue the main parts were quickly assembled. Weights were used to tightly hold it all together.

When cured the detail parts were attached before spraying in white primer to give a whitewashed finish.

 The windows and doors have been secured with tacky glue and curtains fitted to the glazing.

I did consider using individual slates on the roof but decided to us a Superquick sheet instead.

Just the coping stones to fit and its just about finished.

After the next couple of exhibitions my 4mm layout- Woodlands- will have Teacup Cottage located.

009 Baldwin named.

The latest addition to the fleet has been named after my newborn Grandson.

CODY will make it's debut with Hillbrow at the South Coast Modellers Show at New Milton next weekend 27th/28th July 2019.

3mm Worsley Works Pullman.

 It is some time since I worked on the Pullman.

I always fought shy of the roof which looked a bit of a challenge.

However, after cleaning up the work I had completed I looked at how the roof could be shaped.

My answer was to file away the cantrail  at each end so the roof fitted between the vestibules. The excess over the doors was filed away with the result that a deep burr formed where filed.

 The roof then looked as the pic on the right. Removing the roof and packing with filler over the vestibule it was refitted and left to set for a couple of days.

When fully set the roof was carefully removed to make sure the filler stayed in place. Once refitted the end profile was filed to shape and then, when I was happy the roof was undercoated with Army Painter white undercoat which gives a slightly rough surface.

The corridor connectors were glued in place and the body and chassis sprayed with red primer. When completely dry the roof was glued in place with impact adhesive used wet.

The bogies were assembled, the MJT compensated ones, and sideframes fitted.  So just the underfittings to be attached and then the Pullman colours can be applied.

009 Bus under the Bridge!

Everyone bangs on about buses on bridges. Well, to be different here is a bus under the bridge.

It is a Shamrock and Rambler Bedford OB to be precise.

I remember these outside the S & R premises on Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth next door to Charlies Cars with Excelsior European Motorways a little further down the road towards Central Station.

Lynton and Barnstable Builders Plate.

 I'm not going to reveal where I saw not one but two of these.

Suffice to say- I want one"

Moors Valley Railway Open Day and Model Railway Exhibition July 2019.

First is Hayling Island in 00 gauge featuring a myriad of Terriers from many eras.

Next is Hembourne a GWR layout in EM. This was its first outing having been built for the Cameo Layout Challenge

The 009 Tarrent Valley Railway from the Wimbourne club,

This is North Ealing in 3mm Scale by Nigel  Cullimore.

Then a trio of shots of Woody Lane on its second outing.

M&M Models 7mm BR 20T Brake Van.

This kit was purchased earlier this year as a long term project.

However, curiosity has gotten the better of me and so out came the bending bars and soldering iron and battle commenced.

That is probably a little harsh as this is my first O gauge brass kit I have attempted.

The hard part was butt soldering the balcony ends to the centre cabin- nearly didn't make it!

This is a far as I have progressed and next have the chassis to assemble.

3MM Worsley Works Maunsell 1959 Pull-Push conversion.

 The shell has been laying about waiting to be completed- I think I have dreaded the forming of the driving end waisting.

As I had some filler mixed I crammed a load into the gap where the waist occurs and lo and behold it doesn't seem to have come out too bad.

This one may have handrail and door handles fitted if I remember to ream out the holes before painting!

Still some work to do as well as starting the trailer.

Parkside 7mm scale GWR Tevan.

 This is just about finished now and as ever it is difficult, for me anyway, to get a decent shot of a white van!

Transfers are supplied for both GWR and BR branding. As can be seen all red lettering for the GWR

Just need to fit Spratt and Winkle couplings and this one is ready for service.

009 Woody Lane at Moors Valley Railway Open Day t13th/14th July 2019.

Woody Lane will be making its second appearance at Moors Valley this coming weekend 13th & 14th July. We will be situated in the train shed so please say hello if you pass through.

My co-operator Nigel will also be there with his 3mm layout North Ealing.

3MM Scale 8ft MJT compensated bogies.

I have lost count of the number of these I have made.

Finely etched in brass by MJT these are asimply fold and solder or glue together .

The Southern bogie frames were sourced from the 3MM Society secondhand sales many moons ago.

On part of the clip is soldered beneath the coach and the other in the centre of the bogie. This makes removal for cleaning simple.

Not more 3mm Bulleids?

I'm getting used to building these now. All sourced from Worsley Works they go together really well.

This corridor 3rd is the later large vent build, I found that I had three of the large and small vent type which will give enough for a rake of three of each type. 

The bogies are all of the MJT compensated type which clip on so can easily be removed for wheel cleaning .



So- next up will be the Maunsell coaches plus I need to complete the Pull-Push 1959 conversions.

O Gauge Parkside GWR Tevan.

 Recently I had occasion to travel east along the south coast and had the opportunity to visit Gaugemaster.

Among the vast array of models was a small selection of O Gauge kits by Parkside and Peco.

I decided upon the Tevan as it fits with the GWR stock I already have.

Nice and easy to put together as all Parkside kits are, such was the speed this kit can be made that I forgot to take photos.

It is also difficult to take pictures of white subjects but any way I had a go.

Seen here with the chassis and wheels fitted awaiting the brake gear to be added.

The great thing with O gauge is that I can see each part and actually hold the parts whilst assembling without half of it ending up on the floor.

Minimal cleaning up is needed, mostly a quick swipe with a fine file or abrasive strip- disposable nail shapers are great for this and is an inexpensive present to ask the Grandchildren for on Birthdays and Christmas.

The axle boxes can be assembled to move thus giving a modicum of compensation- it is worth checking that the axle bearings fit snugly into the axle box parts before assembly.

So- brake gear , buffers and the rest of the detailing before a visit to the paint shop.

 As all parts are pretty much moulded in the correct colour it may be possible to add microsol to the area for transfers to be added then a coat of varnish.We shall see!

4mm Oxford J4 van.

 I collect models of vehicles I have, in a previous life, worked on.

It is quite a diverse collection ranging from Austin 7's to Thames Traders and many more in between.

The J4 virtually had anything to do with the power unit worked on from inside the cab which could be challenging- not as accessible as todays offerings which is just a diagnose and change culture.

So- when Oxford released this model it had to be added to the collection and may appear on a layout one day.