Nothing was difficult, apart from wrangling the transfers for the sides. My efforts aren't perfect, but will do for a wagon that will be part of a train trundling past.
Here, I found a little work with reamers was needed to ensure the plastic buffer head and shank slid freely in the casings. Nothing more than a couple of twists, but worth it as they won't "wear in" in operation. Not unless you push the things endlessly anyway, and that's not my idea of a hobby.
Even with the other collar on the end of the casing, the shaft and spring will go in from the front, being retained by a metal nut on the back. I added a little superglue to this once assembled, we don't want it unscrewing itself and falling on the track, never to be recovered.
Coupling hooks just slide through the headstock, the spring goes on the back, and is retained by the split pin. This slides easy though, and is a little bit fiddly to open up so it stays in place. A two-plier job.
This is the fun bit. Plenty of big, chunky parts, all of which go together really well.
Everything was given a coat of Revell 9 the evening before, so it was all nice and dry before I broke the glue out.
The W-irons have a lump on them, that locates into a hole in the back of the solebar. No messing around, lining things up. They are solid, but having fought Parkside 7mm kit moving (if you keep the glue out of them) axleboxes, I don't have an issue with that. There are some slippery plastic bearings to fit in the back first, which are a tight fit, but I added a little brush-on superglue to be on the safe side.
A piece of wire is provided for the cross shaft, but it seemed a little anaemic to me, so I replaced it with 0.9mm brass. That might also be a bit thin, but I've never measured one of these parts. A job for another day. Replacing the wire was in no way informed by me losing the supplied length either...
I did have to use a small broach to open out the holes in the V-hangers a touch, but there's plenty of meat for this.
An hour saw the whole job done, and I wasn't rushing. I need to touch up a few bits of the paint, but the wheels rotate freely, and the wagon sits flat, so I am happy.
After letting the transfers dry, I wasn't happy. I'd reduced the silvering as much as I could, but there was still some. Also, between the big letters, you could see that the clear transfer sheet changed the background colour.
So, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and safe in the knowledge that a healthy dose of weathering could cover all badness, I very lightly cut along the edges of the letters.
Then, using a damp brush, I removed the clear sheet. Some of it could be lifted by sliding a scalpel blade underneath. I've not managed to completely remove it, but most has gone, and I think the effort was worth it.
A quick coat of matt varnish, and I'm pleased with the results. Now to do the other side. I hate picking out the ironwork...
Each part was cut out from the sheet, and then I dunked the main name in some water, that had a tiny drop of washing-up liquid in it. After a couple of minutes, the print started to slide on the backing sheet, and I slid it off on the body.
What followed was much patting with a kitchen towel, some Micro Sol being brushed on, and more patting.
Reasonably happy, the other transfers went on, using the box art as a guide,
There is a hint of silvering, but it's not bad. The transfer sheet changing the colour of the background slightly is probably more of an issue, but I can live with that. Some of the raised bolt detail has poked through the sheet, but touching that up with either black or white won't be hard. I'm leaving it to dry fully before this stage however.
Then it's time to turn the model over and do it all again!
As it is, I have to spray in the garage, setting some of the equipment up each time. The smell escapes into the kitchen, and it's the coldest room in the house.
Which is why the first coat of Humbrol Wine (73) was applied to the wagon using a brush. The second coat on one side and the end was applied the same way.
Then I caved in, stopped being lazy, and fired up the airbrush. Even allowing for cleaning, a task I hate, painting this Gauge 1 wagon this way was far, far quicker than manually slapping it on with the brush. The finish is much better too.
I still wish I had a suitable spare room though.
I didn't, and very nearly got my corners on the Manvers wagon mixed up. There is an end door, and this should go at the end of the wagon without corner plates. It took me a little while to twig this, as I sat wondering why the corner joint wasn't as neat as I'd expected. Fortunately, this was at the dry-fit stage. Which is why you do it of course.
With all the parts in the right place, the corners are neat. Even the floor is the right size, not always a given in smaller scales. I've sanded a couple of mm from the sides and ends before now, so the thing would fit in the bottom.
Pawing at the components, something in me wanted to break out the plastic glue and stick the thing together!
Northern Finescale kits as injection moulded plastic models, a bit like a larger Parkside model, and since this isn't the first one I've built, I'm confident that it will be nice and easy to put together.
I appreciate that this isn't the first model from this manufacturer on the blog, and as I have half a dozen more to build over time, it won't be the last! I will try and find something different to say each time to avoid boring you too much...
Anyway, in the box, which is big enough for the finished model (do they still say that in Railway Modeller) are the parts moulded in greay and black. Only the pastic axle bearings are supplied on the sprue, everything else has been neatly cut off. Only a tiny suggestion of nib remains, nothing that a few strokes of an abrasive stick can't deal with.
Now, where's the glue?
