Finished oil bowser

Job done - a nice simple kit that looks nice and wouldn't tax even the newbie-est of builders. 

I fancy that the oil drum will be changed regularly, so it's not as dirty as the rest of the wagon. It also adds a nice bit of colour to the model. 

The hose is supplied - a fat wire with solid enough core that you can bend it and it stays bent so it can droop properly. 

The only change I made to the model is replacing the little plastic hooks on the end with nails so the coupling chain won't fall off. I've also filled any gaps under the chassis rails with lead shot and superglue to give a bit more weight to the model.

Anyway, another addition to the 32mm gauge rolling stock consist. One day I must build a railway for them!

Random rust spraying

The oil bowser needs to be a sort of rusty black colour and so for speed, I took it out in the garden to point aerosol primers at it. If that numpty Nevard can make a good job of painting like this, I'm sure a quality modeller with a nice tweed jacket and a full set of Model Railway Journals like myself can produce a masterpiece.

Armed with red oxide and matt black, I started with the later, giving everything a rough coat. Then, while the paint was still wet, shot some rust colour.

This looked too read so I came back with more black and it looked a lot better. Two more rounds and I was happy.

The trick is to work from a distance. I sprayed from between 12 and 24 inches away and it worked well. Coming in closer gives a better coat, but that's not the effect I was looking for. The finish is a little gritty because the paint has partly dried when it hits the surface, but as I plan to dab some weathering powders on later, this is A Good Thing. 

You also don't blast the components all over the scrap bit of MDF I was working on. Yes, I know I should fix them down, but that cramps my artistic style.

Get your glue out

Out with the Super-phatic for the MDF parts, which works really well. So well that when I realise that there are two options for the cross-pieces (with and without the upright to hold the hose), it's hard to separate them to put the one I wanted in.

I used the skip chassis as a jig while the glue dried, the slots are a bit sloppy but this way it's easy enough to get everything square. Once dry, the MDF is superglued to the glass-filled nylon chassis.

The turned wooden oil drum is a bit odd but coated with sanding sealer, it should be OK. I considered replacing it with a resin version but decided that I'd make do. Anyway, I'm not sure where they are.

It does need an extra flange on one end as this is plain, intended to be used as the base. Since the drum is on its side, a ring of plastic was cut out and glue in place.

Finally, the barrel retaining straps get a couple of plastic bolts on top. That's the thing about these cheap kit, the fun comes in detailing them.

Oil bowser

I'm trying to work my way through a box of kits that have been acquired over the last couple of years. It's a mixed box, but I'm keen to get some of these smaller projects out of the way.

Anyway, first up is this oil bowser wagon kit from Phil Sharples. It's based on a Binnie skip chassis with some laser-cut MDF bits to provide the body.

There's also a turned wooden oil barrel and some lengths of wire. Not bad for around a tenner.Garden railways can be bargain railways!