Combine me feeling reasonably flush (not loco buying flush, but not bad) and an excellent second-hand stall, and you won't be surprised that my rucksack was pretty full.
Like any proper modeller, my first stop was the stand, and I pretty quickly worked out that stuff was priced to sell. A Bachrus rolling road for a fiver? That has got to be the bargain of the year. I already have one, but it only has three supports. Add these three, and I can test bogie locos properly.
An 80s Hornby Post Office kit - you'll see that one in The Collector at some point. Kenline chassis? Cheap, and a little nostalgic. There is also the possibility of a project that might make use of it...
Grass and flower tufts are handy scenic standbys, a 7mm scale whitemetal fitter kit likewise.
Grafar wagons can wait for another post, there is a bit of a Beatties backlog to get through.
Petite Properties barge kit? I wanted one as soon as they announced it, but they don't normally take dolls house stuff to toy train shows. Unless you ask nicely, which I did.
Rolls of silicone-covered tool wire at a fiver a pop save me buying the stuff elsewhere, as I've nearly run out. Mind you, they certainly weighed my bag down for the rest of the day!
And then, possibly the most Phil thing I could buy.
I've had a look and still can't work out if I've just bought a box of random wooden bits, or a proper kit. As far as I can tell, the complicated bits for the chassis are there, as is the roof. All the metal bits (trucks, wheels etc.) are present, but I can't see all of the sides. Maybe they only paint the ends, and the rest is left to the modeller. Not to worry, I think there will be enough material there to build a wagon. One day.
7 comments:
Crikey...Ambroid, that's a blast from the past! I would also have had difficulty resisting this, even though it's to a scale I have (almost) nothing else for. I remember seeing, and being impressed by, some of their kits in the "History of Model and Miniature Railways" partwork when I was about 10.
I think you may be right about the decorated panels being confined to the ends, though I'm sure the photos I saw had full, one-piece decorated sides. A production economy perhaps?
I bought some Peco grass tufts on Saturday, I thought they seemed pretty good value compared to making the things yourself.
Simon.
Hi Phil, I think the decorated parts are the sides, or at least the ends of the sides. Look at the lettering as shown on the plans. It's hard to tell from your photo, but on most of these types of kits I've built, the modeler needs to paint the ends. This one might require you to paint some of the sides. Piece together some of the wood siding pieces you have over the plan and see if they add up to a side. Then see if you have any remaining to make the ends. Sometimes the end siding is thinner because it will be glued directly to the sizing blocks.
Good luck,
Jamie Bothwell
S Scaler from across the pond
That would be why the paint code is listed in the instructions, so the modeller can match the colours. Thanks!
Jamie's advice is sound; these kits tended to pre-paint only the pieces of wood that needed silk-screened lettering. The plans are excellent and prototype photos of the.watermelon car can be found, so you should be able to figure it out with a little time and thought (I'm presuming that your kit is really complete, of course.) I should add that these kits were well-engineered (spectacularly so, for their era) and the wood qualtiy was outstanding. I built the Ambroid [made by NE] Russell snow plot kit in S scale when I was in college around 1970. After over 50 years, there has been absolutely no shrinkage or warping of the wood; the model looks just as good as when it won a contest back in 1973!
Jim Whipple
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA
President, National Association of S Gaugers
Phil, Ambroid sheet for HB-5 Watermelon car - https://www.northeasternscalelumber.com/pub_data/1/cms/pdf/HB-5-Watermelon-Box.pdf . best wishes Bill
S gauge is popular in North America but rarely seen in U.K.-there have been one or two exceptional layouts. Good luck .
Duncan
I'll admit that a little part of me thought that the stand selling the S gauge models had enough to build an interesting short line layout. Not for me though, too much else on! But if you wanted something different for shows...
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