Tales from the Tinkering Table - Brinkley Works

[Nick Rogers]

Once again, thank you for the 'likes' everyone.

In between finishing off wagons over the past week, I started to part-scratch build a BR shock-absorbing van. Two days ago, I wasn't aware of the exisitance of the Red Panda plywood shoc-van kit.

Having read Geoff Kent's The 4MM Wagon Part 2 and having a stash of spare BR van ends and plywood doors, I thought I would go about building one of the Diagram 1/209 vans built at Darlington in 1956/57. This van is currently destined to work on Horrabridge and will be built in OO gauge.

This van isn't perfect, far from it, but this is the first time I've ever attempted to 'scratch' build something. One thing I have learnt is that glue causes things to bend - more on that in a bit.


This is the prototype.


Spare Parkside BR van ends being cut down.


2othou styrene sheet formed the body sides, with 5thou overlays. The ironwork was made using Evergreen 101 & 102 strip. I gave the sides a gentle sand after this, which removed a lot of the sharp edges.



Riveting underway. Unfortunately, glue on the inside caused the plastic to buckle slightly, which is annoying. Lesson for the future, be very careful when using 2-part epoxy.





Coat of primer. Citadel (Games Workshop) Mechanicus Standard Grey: I prefer Games Workshop primers, they seem nicer than Halfords and they are about the same price.




The next job is to create the chassis and then a full paint.

I'm quite pleased with it for a first go. As I said above, I've learnt a lot doing it and know what not to do the next time round.

Thanks for looking, please do comment!

Best wishes,

Nick.

 

[Nick Rogers]

Once again, thank you everyone for your comments and likes.

The sun came out today!! As a result, a collection of vans and wagons have been primed this afternoon.



One van (insulated meat van) has been primed using Games Workshop Citadel Skull White Primer. Four have been primed using Halfords Red Oxide and the rest were primed using Games Workshop Citadel Mechanicus Standard Grey.

The next job will involve painting this lot, a mixture of enamels and acrylics dependent on the prototype. I get on well with both mediums.

More later with any luck!

Best wishes,

Nick.

 

[Nick Rogers]

Hello everyone,

I managed to get quite a bit completed today, including the plywood shock-van. I'm rather pleased with it and have enjoyed the experience so much, that I've decided to build a GWR version, built by BR in the early 1950s, of the same thing!











Best wishes,

Nick.

 

[Nick Rogers]

Hi everyone,

A little bit more progress was made today on some BR standard vans.



I brush painted the four several years ago, but sprayed the underframes with Games Workshop Chaos Black primer yesterday. A BR insulated meat van lurks in the back ground: the body was painted using Skull White Games Workshop primer, chassis in Chaos Black and the roof received a coat of Humrbol 165 Medium Sea Grey through a rattle can.

The two planked vans are some of the original vehicles built by BR in the early 1950s. B755729 was built at Wolverton in 1951 and is a very old Parkside kit bought from the Bring and buy stand at Scaleforum. Again, it follows the standard mix of Masokit's sprung W-irons, Rumney Model axle boxes, Ultrascale wheels, Lanarkshire buffers and Smiths couplings. It was painted using Humbrol 133. B761329 is another Wolverton built van, but built 3 years later in 1954: again, Humbrol 133 was used.



Bit too close!



The two fruit vans are from two different lots. B875640 is one of the original batch built at Darlington in late 1953/early 1954. B875659 is one of the later built vehicles being built in early 1956. Both vans were painted using Phoenix P127 Bauxite.

I used Fox Tranfers for the lettering and numbering and applied them using Micro Set & Sol. Weathering will take place at some point in the future and I will fit the buffer heads.

Best wishes,

Nick.

 

[Nick Rogers]

Greetings all,

Well, it has been a little over a year - I have actually made and completed quite a few models in that time but have deliberately avoided spending too much time online. However, as it is a wet day and someone might find this useful, I thought I'd share a couple of days' work.

For my (very) long-term Launceston branch project, which involves building a model of Horrabridge station to P4 track standards, I need several pannier tanks. In the post-war period and into the 1950s, several freight turns were in the hands of Laira's panniers. 3629, 3686, 4658 and 4678, to name a few, all were photographed working various freight trains along the branch. Using photos and written records from Philip Rundle's A Laira Fireman book, I set out to model 3629... over 13 years ago!

I actually couldn't believe I started this 13 years ago, but I found a photo, and the date stamp on it was April 2010! There are a few things I would do differently now, but I wanted to get it finished and in traffic. Some of the original detailing parts were removed replacements have been fitted. The conversion to P4 was relatively straightforward using Ultrascale wheels. Ted Scammel wrote an article on CLAG's website, which was very useful.



The locomotive is a modified Bachmann model. Originally purchased in lined black, I carefully removed the lining using T-Cut and cotton buds, avoiding the nicely printed early BR cycling lion emblem. I tidied up the front using flexible sanding sticks.


3629 heading out of North Road with a freight during April 1955.

Using the only pictures of the engine I could find, I set to work copying the position of the lamp brackets, sanding gear and whistle shield. The cycling lion emblem was a bit worn, so I carefully removed some of it using a bit of T-Cut. It was then cleaned up and sealed in varnish to ensure further removal of the logo couldn’t happen. I wanted to keep the worn logo, as I felt it gave the engine a bit more character.

Turning to the body, numerous aftermarket detailing parts were fitted. Etched lamp irons from Martin Finney (now under the Brassmaster’s banner) and Mainly Trains cab grills were the first bits to go on. Followed by the sanding gear linkage (another etch from RT Models). Then a Modelu whistle and whistle shield were fitted – the original Bachmann one was far too chunky for my liking. A turned smokebox door from Comet was installed.


The top lamp bracket is now straight. This was a test fit.


New numberplates to change the identity (Model Master plates from stock were used).


I quite like the etched smokebox numbers. I know some don't but I quite like them but I think they look more prototypical compared to a transfer. An etched shed plate (83D from Fox) was also fitted, along with a smoke box dart.


The rear was a bit of a pig to do. I removed the moulded grills years ago and fitted the etch. There is one small area that needs some attention with the filler. The lamp brackets are all by Finney - also a pig to remove!


It is much easier to remove the keeper plate when converting. The brake rods need thinning down to enable the wheels to freely rotate and for balance weights to be fitted.


Wheels in and a quick test. I thinned the brake shoes down a bit and filled some of the plastic away from the sanding gear to, providing greater clearance.


A few bits of detail are still needed to finish 3629 off. Coupling hooks front and rear, balance weights, and checker plate on top of the buffers will be fitted before touch painting and then weathering.



Having put the pair side by side, I need to tidy up the front of 4658. Possibly the removal and re-fitting of the smoke box door plastic.... do I remove the Mainly Train's lamp brackets on her? Another dilemma! In storage, one of the pipes has come adrift. I'll look at that soon.



I'm pleased with the side-on look. One thing it has highlighted is to check the transfer on 4658, which might not be on straight. D'oh!



4658 also needs a buffer beam repaint (she had a total repaint). I haven't used Mainly Trains lamp irons since fitting them to this loco - they are a bit thick (too many sneaky portions of pie and chips, me thinks!).

Anyway, hopefully, this will be of use or interest to someone.

Not sure what I'll work on next. I'm not planning on taking a year for my next post, though!

Thanks for reading,

Nick.

 

[Nick Rogers]

Greetings,

A little over a year ago, I purchased six Bachmann BR standard box van bodies from eBay. Each cost £1.50 - a real bargain. I decided to convert these to P4 but kept them ridged. A combination of Ultrascale wheels and 50 grams of weight seems to be a good combination for smooth running.

The weather was reasonable for airbrushing over the past couple of days, so I decided to fire up the Neo and make four of them look as though they work for a living.



I only used three colours to weather these. Humbrol 33 Matt Black and 29 Matt Earth, with a little waft of Precision Track Dirt. My process is very simple, but I find it works. I mix up a dirty mix (roughly 40/60 paint to thinners) using 29 and 33 (more Matt Earth than black) and spray this over the body sides. I try to get into the nooks and crannies and vary the amount I apply. I then darken the mixture quite a bit and spray the roof and top of each vehicle - the idea being soot and crud. Then using a flat brush dipped in thinners, I then remove a fair amount of the mix from the body sides.


Chalk lettering are transfers from Railtec.





Once thoroughly dry, I'll do a bit of dry brushing and powder weathering to add a little more, but I am quite pleased with my work.

More to follow! Please do add any thoughts - I'm happy to receive feedback!

Nick.

 

[Nick Rogers]

Greetings all,

A few days ago, a good friend discovered a part-built Ratio Bogie Van B. He brush-painted the model, but all the brass detailing parts had been forgotten about (the model was started quite a long time ago). Brian tried to fit the parts but found it very tricky as his hands have never quite been the same since his carpal tunnel opp. I very quickly offered to finish the model by way of thanks as I have used Brian's lathe a considerable amount turning 00 wheels to P4 profile over the past few months.

Some of the photos aren't quite right as I used my phone, and it doesn't like close-up work like a proper camera.

I thought the best bet was to strip the paint off the model and start afresh.

The first job was to strip the paint with Super Strip. I then used a knife to carefully remove the clogged planks (that was a labour of love!).


The etches are very small. I decided not to use the handrails as they were just too flimsy.


I used my Bill Bedford Jig (the Scalefour Society has some of these if anyone is after one - very useful!)


End handrails on.


Bar the guard's handrail, the detailing was complete.


Into the spray booth and a coat of Games Workshop Mechanicus primer - a great undercoat for green paint.

Using my Neo airbrush, I gave the van a coat of Precision Post-War SR Malachite Green (Brian models the Southern circa 1947). I spray at 20PSI and thin the paint 50/50 with their general thinner.


The body ends were painted Humbrol Matt Black - I realised I forgot to fit the vacuum and steam heating pipe. D'oh!

I am very pleased with the paint work. It has gone on very smoothly, with no gritty feeling or orange peal. I also was very happy with the Tamia masking tape!

More to follow on this one soon. The next job will be to fit the missing pipes, brush paint the chassis and then varnish.

Thanks for reading,

Nick.

 

[Nick Rogers]

Greetings,

I've really made the most of the last couple of days of good weather. Whilst painting Brian's Bogie Van B, I thought I would take the opportunity to paint a few models of my own.

A few years ago, I purchased three Bachmann PMVs for a very reasonable price from a friend who gave up 4mm modelling. My own interest have moved more towards the late 1940s to early 1950s, so I thought I would wind the clock back a few years and repaint the trio in SR Post-War Malachite from their original BR SR Green.



The first job was to remove the glazing. I carefully cut the glazing down and then slid a plectrum between the body side and the glazing pieces. These then just 'popped' out. No damage to the glazing - result

Before painting, I removed the lettering with a cocktail stick. Then primed with Games Workshop Mechanicus primer.


The bodies were painted with Precision SR Post-War Malachite through the airbrush.

The ends were painted in Humbrol Matt Black 33. I masked the ends off with Tamila tape, which produces a fantastic barrier.

The next stage will be to detail paint the lamp brackets, then varnish. That should be towards the end of the week if the weather holds...

Thanks for reading,

Nick.

 

[Nick Rogers]

Greetings,

Over the weekend, I made the most of some good weather, and with the airbrush set up for Brian's Bogie Van B repaint, I decided to get on with the Maunsell P-Set I started during the first lockdown.

Originally, these coaches were destined for my Cornish clay layout, but I have opted not to proceed with that project for the time being. With their original purpose abandoned, I didn't really know what to do with the coaches but equally didn't want to part with them as I had already detailed up the interiors. Reading one of the Launceston branch books one evening, I discovered a couple of photos showing SR stock in use on the line. This seemed to be quite a regular (I think daily) working on the Launceston branch after Nationalisation through till the mid-1950s, so empowered with this knowledge, I decided to get on with them.

To save a bit of work, I masked the ends and roofs up and applied Mechanicus Primer (Games Workshop).




Precision SR Malachite was applied with the airbrush.


I will need to change the coach set number, but my goodness, what a saving masking the ends and roof off proved to be.


BSK/BCK ready to form a P-Set.


Finally, a second BSK part-way through the paint shop. I picked up this coach for £5! The downside was it had a hideous weathering job. So it was fully stripped and then primed with Grey Seer - I wanted to see if there was much of a difference with the undercoat colour.

There is a fourth Maunsell coach, a second BCK, about to undergo an identity change, which means I'll have two P-Sets. More than enough for Horrabridge.

The next job will be to varnish the models and then apply the transfers.

Thanks for reading; any feedback is welcome!

All the best,


Nick.

 

[Nick Rogers]

Right, as many may have read, I had a bit of a crisis of confidence with my modelling. It's already discussed in another thread, so I won't rehash it here.

I thought if I wanted to build both Peter Tavy and Horrabridge to P4 standards, I needed to prove to myself that I could build locomotive chassis. I opted for a simple 0-6-0 57xx chassis. Over the years, I've acquired a couple of Perserverance chassis kits so thought it would be a good starting point for a newbie.


4679 was a Laira locomotive for a long time, so I selected her to be the locomotive.


Armed with Iain's chassis book and the MRJ articles, which are almost as old as I am! Set about building the chassis.

I fitted the bearings first with a simple solder tack and set up my Avonside Jig to the wheelspacing of the chassis before cutting out the hornblocks. I wanted to compensate the chassis, but Tim and others advised doing this first, which helps ensure a true chassis.


Hornblocks cut out with a piercing saw.



Rods assembled. The hornblocks were fitted at this point. I used the original Perserverance ones, which are alright, but next time I would certainly use High Level ones. These are very much of their time.


Chassis assembled. Yep, The screw spaces will need an extra bit! Never mind, I can solder that on at a later point.


Ultrascale wheels fitted just roughly at this stage to check it ran smoothly, which it did.

Stupidly, I didn't take any photos of building the gearbox or quartering the wheels with the GWR jig. But I found the GWR wheel quartering jig was incredibly useful.

The gearbox is a High Level RoadRunner+ with 45:1 gearing coupled to a Mashima 1626 motor. It seems to run very smoothly. The chassis hasn't had any running in. The gearbox and motor had a few hours on the bench, which I really think helped bed them in. I had planned to use a Portescap, but there was no way it would have fit in the space behind the cab. I think this was quite good, really, as it forced me to build a gearbox.

Ultimately, I'm extremely proud of what I've achieved with my first compensated chassis. It runs smoothly, with very little noise. The next stage will be to fit the pick-ups. I think I will go for simple wipers, but I'd be interested to see what other people have done. Please do feel free to comment and share stuff on here. I think we all learn!

Thanks for reading. More to come soon!

Best wishes,