More mine hutch wagons

 

Late in the afternoon of the NGRS, I realsied I hadn't bought any toys. This will never do, so since the first Harecroft Mine Hutch wagon had run so well earlier in the day, I decided a couple more would be a good idea. 

With bank holiday Monday nice and clear, I sat down and built my kits, and asside from a few issues pinning the axleboxes to the solebars, they went very well, and my little train looks nice. 

Now, I had taken photos for a build on the blog, but when I come to post them, realised that I'd already produced a detailed build! So, no point in repeating myself. It does leave me very short (read: completely out) of content for this week I'm afraid to say. 

Mind you, I have enough photos for a Garden Rail article...

Harecroft Mine Hutch - Part 3: Adding the wheels and job done

And there we have it - job done. I've painted the chassis with Revell No.9 to match the ironwork. While I'm not sure if this is prototypical, but it looks good. 

A dose of weathering powders followed. These work brilliantly on wooden models and with little skill, a variety of shades are produced from just dark brown, black and a touch of rust. 

I have made one change - according to the manufacturer, the axleboxes can be glued in place. I tried that with superglue, and didn't feel they were likely to stay attached very long. 

Digging out the pillar drill, I popped holes in them so I could use brass pins for extra support. Driling the plastic was tricky as it melts if warmed up. I should have used the drill with variable speed, but didn't. Never mind, all bu one od the pins were fitted and those 'boxes aren't going anywhere. 

This is a lovely kit to build, and produces a very cute item of rolling stock. In the back of my mind, I've always wanted to build a 16mm scale 32mm gauge micro layout, and a few of these would be perfect as the basis of the rolling stock. 

Harecroft Birkhill Mine Hutch kit.

Harecroft Mine Hutch - Part 2: Building the body

 

As expected, all the body parts slot together perfectly with no fettling. I intended to use PVA glue for assembly, so treated the wood to a couple of coats of Weathered Woodstain before starting. No matter how careful you are, some glue will escape onto visible wood, and that stops the stain taking. This then stands out like a saw thumb. 

I also scribed the planking on the inside of the wagon. A small touch, but this is a tiny model so details matter. Also, I feel I've make it "my" model with this quick upgrade. 

The laser-cut wooden "ironwork" was sprayed black, then lightly sanded to hide the woodgrain. Bolt heads were stuck in place with superglue and the whole lot sprayed black again. I need to pick up some Revell No.9 Anthracite spray really, as the colour suits a weathered model. I quickly brush painted it though, which looks fine and hides the grain even more. 

The sides are etched with guides for the ironwork, so a bit more PVA and the body is pretty much ready to go, and looking good. I know Harecroft's version is sign written, but I'll make a pigs ear of that, so my model will be unbranded. Know your limits!

Harecroft Mine Hutch - Part 1: What's in the box

 

I'm embarassed to admit, that Harecroft's Birkhill Fireclay Mine Hutch kit has been in my stash for at least three years. Bought long before Covid, it's been knocking around the office in it's lovey, tidy box, for far too long. However, it's time has come as I look for more simple kits to build to distract me from  doom-scrolling the news. 

First impressions are good. This is a more detailed model than many 16mm scale kits. Most of the parts are laser-cut wood, plus some acrylic. Wheels come from Binne and bolt heads from Cambrian. A good move - why re-invent the wheel (or bolt head) when there are people making these things out there who will happily supply another kit-maker? 

Three A4 sides of instructions compliment the model. Printed in colour, they provide a prototype photo and some in-build shots, although this is such a simple prototype, you could probably get away without them. A dry-run slotting the major bits together gives the builder confidence that this model isn't going to be abandonded half-way through the build through frustration.