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#Post#: 79024--------------------------------------------------
Model Railway wagon-building masterclass
By: Dave Date: November 6, 2013, 2:42 pm
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[quote author=espacekiller link=topic=7119.msg78978#msg78978
date=1383729324]
Dave you should start a thread teaching the various skills
involved in building and painting these the detail is superb.
[/quote]
OK. Are you sitting comfortably?
Then we'll begin...
Starting with something simple - a plastic kit. I shall be
building this up and then painting and weathering it...
What we have here is a plastic kit in "O gauge" or 1:43.5 scale,
a.k.a 7mm (7mm=1ft.) by Parkside Dundas.
History bit.
The 16-ton mineral wagon was originally designed in the 1940s
and but went into mass production for British Railways during
the 1950s. At the time millions of tons of coal were mined in
the UK and the home market consumption was huge - over 185
million tons being used in the year 1950.
World War 2 had taken its toll on the railways and the fleet of
wooden-bodied wagons that had been acquired by the nationalised
British Railways were no exception so a large wagon-building
programme was put in place and tens of thousands of these and
other wagons were turned out by BR's own works and those of
private wagon builders. The 16-ton bit refers to the payload,
the wagons themselves weighing around 7-tons. This was an
increase of around 4-tons more load than the old wooden-bodied
wagons but in time the 16-tonners would be superseded by larger
capacity hopper wagons for bulk loads and, of course, the single
wagonload became extinct along with the market for coal for
domestic heating. The number of these wagons dwindled and by the
late 1980s those that remained were no longer in revenue-earning
use, although some remained in use by the civil engineers for
carrying spent ballast and other spoil from railway engineering
works.
[URL=
HTML http://s92.photobucket.com/user/soddit36/media/soddit36012/16t1.png.html][IMG]http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l5/soddit36/soddit36012/16t1.png[/img][/URL]
A 16-ton mineral wagon in the National collection. The grey
livery was the standard colour for unfitted* freight stock and
the stripe indicates which end the end door is at.
[URL=
HTML http://s92.photobucket.com/user/soddit36/media/soddit36012/16t2.jpg.html][IMG]http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l5/soddit36/soddit36012/16t2.jpg[/img][/URL]
After a few years service the newness tended to wear off and
this is the sort of look I intend to portray in the weathering
of the model.
* Unfitted meaning no brakes other than the parking brake were
fitted. The entire train relying on the locomotive brake and
that of the guard in the brake van at the rear of the train.
This was the case for the majority of freight stock in the up to
the 1950s. Some 16-tonners were built and others later converted
to vacuum brakes, which were operated as a continuous brake from
the locomotive. Fitted stock was painted in a colour known as
Bauxite, which is a reddy-brown.
You! Wake up at the back!
Right...
The Kit
The kit represents a Diagram 1/108 wagon, that is one without
bottom doors and with a top flap over the side doors (this was
to make it easier for a man to stand inside and shovel coal out
as would have been done at a coal merchant in a goods yard). All
16-tonners had side doors and an end door (the latter for end
tipping apparatus at industrial concerns or at staithes and
docks for loading into ships or canal boats).
What's in the kit?
[URL=
HTML http://s92.photobucket.com/user/soddit36/media/soddit36011/16tonner-003.jpg.html][IMG]http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l5/soddit36/soddit36011/16tonner-003.jpg[/img][/URL]
Plastic mouldings for the body, frames, brake and running gear.
Steel-tyred plastic wheels, brass bearings and couplings.
Basically it goes together much like an Airfix kit. I use
superglue for speed and also a liquid solvent called MEK.
Tune in for the next exciting episode!
#Post#: 79025--------------------------------------------------
Re: Model Railway wagon-building masterclass
By: mr.scruff Date: November 6, 2013, 2:48 pm
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:thumbs:
#Post#: 79026--------------------------------------------------
Re: Model Railway wagon-building masterclass
By: prof-pat-pending Date: November 6, 2013, 2:52 pm
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looking foward to it already :thumbs: :thumbs:
#Post#: 79034--------------------------------------------------
Re: Model Railway wagon-building masterclass
By: kev Date: November 6, 2013, 3:22 pm
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Dave, don't buy MEK, I can get it for nowt. :-*
#Post#: 79037--------------------------------------------------
Re: Model Railway wagon-building masterclass
By: Dave Date: November 6, 2013, 3:30 pm
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Save me a bottle, Kev. I'll call in at the SRR sometime and
collect it! :thumbs: It's horribly smelly stuff though. I
normally use Plastic Weld, which is a differnt and less stinky
solvent.
#Post#: 79040--------------------------------------------------
Re: Model Railway wagon-building masterclass
By: kev Date: November 6, 2013, 3:37 pm
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I'll put some to one side.
#Post#: 79043--------------------------------------------------
Re: Model Railway wagon-building masterclass
By: Wooden Date: November 6, 2013, 3:53 pm
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Best Anorak thread in ages. Going to watch this one.
:popcorn:
#Post#: 79052--------------------------------------------------
Re: Model Railway wagon-building masterclass
By: espacekiller Date: November 6, 2013, 5:55 pm
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:popcorn: :thumbs:
#Post#: 79089--------------------------------------------------
Re: Model Railway wagon-building masterclass
By: Dave Date: November 7, 2013, 1:40 pm
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Part Two.
Yesterday evening I got it to this stage:
[URL=
HTML http://s92.photobucket.com/user/soddit36/media/soddit36013/16tonner-004.jpg.html][IMG]http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l5/soddit36/soddit36013/16tonner-004.jpg[/img][/URL]
Body built up onto the floor and solebars fixed to the floor.
The leaf springs are non-working and are moulded as part of the
solebars. The axle guards or "W irons" have been fixed to the
solebars.
I've done a bit more this evening...
Although the springs do not work the axles can move up and down
in the guards so all 4 wheels remain in contact with the rails
despite uneven track or any twist in the chassis.
[URL=
HTML http://s92.photobucket.com/user/soddit36/media/soddit36013/16tonner-007.jpg.html][IMG]http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l5/soddit36/soddit36013/16tonner-007.jpg[/img][/URL]
The photo above shows the brass bearing, the plates that go
either side of the axle guard and the plastic-moulded axlebox.
On the real thing the axlebox would be split top and bottom and
contain a bronze bearing on the upper side only and a worsted
pad that sat in the lower half to absorb oil and lubricate the
bearing. Earlier wagons used grease lubrication, which increased
drag, especially in winter. All rolling stock now uses roller
bearings.
The wheelsets, as supplied, use steel axles, plastic wheels and
steel tyres. These are, of course, very shiny and unrealistic so
they are given a dose of chemical blackening. You really don't
want to be painting the tyres as it will come off and create
dirt on the railheads, which causes problems with current
collection on the model locomotives.
[URL=
HTML http://s92.photobucket.com/user/soddit36/media/soddit36013/16tonner-008.jpg.html][IMG]http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l5/soddit36/soddit36013/16tonner-008.jpg[/img][/URL]
Above pic shows wheelsets before and after treatment. The
chemical is pretty much the same stuff used for re- blueing
rifle barrels.
This is where it's up to at the moment. The wheels and brake
gear are fitted and it's built bar the couplings.
[URL=
HTML http://s92.photobucket.com/user/soddit36/media/soddit36013/16tonner-010.jpg.html][IMG]http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l5/soddit36/soddit36013/16tonner-010.jpg[/img][/URL]
The interesting part is painting and weathering it...
#Post#: 79095--------------------------------------------------
Re: Model Railway wagon-building masterclass
By: a twig Date: November 7, 2013, 1:55 pm
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Surely you could whip the moulded leaf springs off with a dremel
or some such, then whip up some real ones? >rock<
All joking aside, good thread so far, my old man has a huge
amount of O gauge stuff (most clockwork) kept in an old military
trunk, I used to be allowed to get it out to play with at
Christmas as a kid (under strict supervision), really must try
and persuade him to do the same again some time...
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