Scratchbuilt van

This photo contains both one of the first, and (if I remember correctly) one of the last items of rolling stock I built for Hellingly. 

Furthest from the camera is a whitemetal kit from 51L. Lovely crisp moulding that show metal kits aren't all lumpen things. Pedants may wonder how a Hull & Barnsley wagon has found it's way so far south of course. 

The LSWR van is scratchbuilt from plastic sheet and strip sometime in the 1990s - one of the few complete scatchbuilt vehicles I've made. The prototype was picked for east of construction rather than it being useful for the layout. I think this came along afterwards. 

Running gears is probably Kenline, because I built up stocks of the stuff at bargain prices, and still have them. Well, bits like that might come in useful one day. 

Power comes from a High Level Models Black Hawthorn - the first of their kits I'd built and one that impressed me. There's a lot of components, and you do need to pay attention, but the result with its 108:1 gearbox, is a slow running model, perfect for a short layout.

Fun with wagon names

While Hellingly is out for some video work, I can't resist taking a few photos on the layout. It's been a busy week anyway, so progress on other projects has been non-existent, so they give me something to post. 

With the layout set in 1900ish, I get to run private owner wagons with pretty liveries. I'm sure the purists will object, but it's my layout, so the wagons are partly chosen for colour and the name on the side. I think this makes the layout more interesting (there is a local wagon, and it's black) and since it's my trainset - my rules. 

At the top, you see a wagon that was a definite for me, because it's nearly got my name on it! We'll assume that Cedric Edward was a distant relative, which makes it all right. 

Loco nerds will be interested to know, that 'Angus' is a K's Taff Vale 0-4-0 kit, although all the chassis parts have been replaced with a scratchbuilt version that isn't made out of armour plate thickness metal. 

Now we have a really terrible joke - the wagon containing wood, is named 'wood'. Well, it's my model and this makes me chuckle. As a bonus, it's the only yellow wagon on the layout. 

Motive power is a High-Level Models kit which runs very sweetly. I wrote about building this on the blog in 2010.

Vallejo varnish test

 

There's a discussion going on over at RMweb on replacements for Testors Dulcote - the fantastic American varnish which isn't imported any more, and will no longer be made as it's contains all sorts of terrible chemicals. 

Army paint from Games Workshop has been suggested, and last week I found a local boardgames cafe/shop that stocked this and the Vallejo range. Since my stock of Dulcote is down to a can and a bit, I thought I'd try the stuff on those Hornby Dublo models mentioned last week. 

Needless to say, they had sold out. Apparently, it flies out of the door as soon as they get it in stock. Good news for the shop, not so for Phil. 

What they did have, was Vallejo matt and satin varnish, along with the appropriate thinners - so I bought some out of curiosity. 

First up, the VW van. I felt that satin would be appropriate for this, and so mixed up a little 50:50 with thinners in the airbrush cup (yes, I know).  

It sprays beautifully. A fine coat that went on really well and dried quickly even without the attention of the hair drier. The result is a soft sheen, that looks great on a clean road vehicle. 

Next, the matt for the Scamell. Again, this was mixed in the cup (I'm such a rebel) and certainly sprayed well. However, it's not really matt, or at least as dead a finish as I expected. OK, this was a high-gloss model, but it's still got a little shine to my eyes. Not badly, but not as flat as expected. 

Having said, this, the ease of use of the paints scores well. I still need a rattle-can paint as I'm usually too lazy to use the airbrush, but this isn't a bad alternative.

Coaling up

 

Digging in a cupboard, I found some old photos, including this one of coal being coveyed into the bunker of a loco on the Dartmouth Steam Railway. 

There's a nice little modelling scene here for someone modelling a preserved line.

Saturday Film Club: Batteries Included

Electric locomotives aren't a new thing and this short film gives a brief background before focusing on one on my "to build" list - Staffordshire No.1.There's even a kit from High Level Models to make life easier. 

One day...