(Nearly) finished coach

 

OK, for the moment, I'm going to call the Roundhouse coach kit finished. 

It needs people inside, but I'll pick those up at a show. It's nice to go with a shopping list as this reduces the amount of random "stuff" will buy. Because you simply must buy something at a show. 

Screwing the roof down has worked, and from normal viewing angles, isn't as horrible as you might think. Once I glue the top down, I'll give it a coat of tissue - being able to see the wood grain is far worse than four small screws. 

The "quick" project took a little longer than expected, but it was fun, and if I can pick up another couple of kits for the same price, I'll happily make a three-coach train. My little improvements made a difference to the outside, and I'll certainly do those again to add a little life to the sides. 

Right, now what next?

Roof matters

Things I am not very good at Number 10423: Bending wood. 

My first go, with the roof piece supplied in the kit, spent 12 hours soaking, and was still as stiff as it had been when dry. Trying to force it into anything like a curve resulted in a splintering sound, and a handful of fodder for the fire. 

Fortunatly, I have plenty of spare, thin plywood, so I cut another piece out, rounding the corners using a 10p piece, and dropped it on to soak again overnight. 

After making my breakfast, I pulled the wood out, and strapped it to a large can of varnish using elastic bands collected from the Post Office. The ones they generously leave on the pavement. 

A few hours later, and the wood was released, and proved to be just as flat as ever. All that soaking being a waste of time. 

Still, the material was bendy, so I decided to fix it in place anyway. Prior to this, I'd lined the top edge of the coach with obechi stripwood just under 10mm wide. This would provide a decent area for glue when the roof was stuck down. 

Another issue is that the coach needs passengers, and I don't have any. I know I can order online, but it's not that far to the Midlands show, so I'll pick some up there with a bit of luck. For now, the roof is held down with four self-tapping screws. Not pretty, but not as objectionable as I expected. 

The good news is the plywood has bent pretty much as I want it to, so when there are people inside, I can glue the roof down, and use the screws to hold it while the adhesive dries. Then I'll fill the holes and give it a fresh coat of paint.

Paint on

 

Sometimes, an evening of modelling can generate several posts. Not this time. Getting the paint on the Roundhouse coach has been a bit of a mamoth effort, taking several sessions. 

First thoughts on the livery involved white above the wasitline, and so I put on some fresh Revell Matt white. But it didn't look right.

Next, I changed to Humbrol 121. This creamy colour looked nicer, but took four coats applied with a flat brush. To be honest, I've never really got on with flat brushes, but didn't have a big enough round one. Yes, I could have sprayed, but it was cold in the garage so I didn't fancy it. In my head, avoiding the masking and airbrush cleaning is a good thing, but in truth, it probably would have been quicker. If Humbrol would put 121 in a spray can, I'd defintely have used it. 

The green is another Revell colour. I'd visited the excellent hardware shop in Bourne and picked up some fresh. This only required two coats, but again, that's time. The black bits were all one coat Revell anthracite. 

Window frames were stained with some Coach & Wagon Works walnut colour, and then individually glazed. I didn't do a great job with the Glue'n'glaze as there are bits on the plastic, but I doubt anyone will notice with the coach is in a train. 

Every frame needed a little adjustment, but they are now in. Phew!

Balcony

 

The kit balcony rails aren't bad - at least for laser-cut wood. Round metal ones would be nice, but I'm not in the mood to make a set, and anyway, I doubt anything I produce would be that much better. 

What I can do is round off the top and end rails. Hopefully, this will look OK when painted. I'm not dodging in and out of the fancy curved bits with a sander though!

The plain walkway didn't look great either, so I scribed a piece of plywood, and then notched it to fit around the handrails and dor moulding. If I can keep this natural wood colour, then it will look a lot better. A small detail, but worthwhile. 

The only other job was to make some steps to save my minature passengers leaping up from the platform. I can't find the photo of these, so you'll have to wait for another day. Don't get too excited, we're talking a couple of rectangles of wood in each corner, nothing fancy. This is supposed to be a quick project.

Recycled underframe details

 

Getting back to the Roundhouse coach kit, the underframe details are basic in the extreem. OK, there are axleboxes and W-irons, of a sort, but nothing much. Now, I know that you can't really see much under there, and this is a model designed to stand the rough and tumble of garden operation, but I thought it deserved a little better. 

So, casting around for some wood to make axlebox covers from, I found a lollypop stick. This was quickly chopped down into squares, and these fixed on the pre-cut wooden parts. Incidentally, one of these had lost its hanger, which was replaced with a slice of coffee stirrer, that happens to be the same thickness. 

Waste not, want not!

Up on the wheels

 

Time to flip the coach over and fit some running gear. 32mm gauge wheelsets are included in the kit - and nice heavy metal ones they are too. 

Brass bearings are provided, and these are fitted into holes in some somewhat square supports. The holes are a smidge larger than I would like, but a dollop of superglue fixes them well enough, and I left the parts alone overnight to dry so the bearing didn't drop to the top or bottom of the hole. 

After this, the supports are glued into place with wheelsets trapped between them. Sadly, the tabs fit very losely in the holes, so you have to leave the model upside down while the glue dries, or they simply fall out. 

I did this, then when the glue had grabbed, flipped the mode back over, and stood it on a mirror. One support needed to be shoved down half a millimetre to ensure all wheels touched the glass, but after that , all seems to be well. The supports might benefit from a little extra woo glued around them to beef up the joint, we'll see about this.

Stripwood details

 

Straight from the packet, those coach sides look far too plain. No problem, I have a big bundle of various sizes of stripwood, and I know how to use it!

Some square section around the door, and flatter stuff for the ends and sides. It's not a lot, but I think this looks better. Less cheap box, more proper model. 

It also justifies all those materials bought on the offchance they will come in handy one day. Well, I can't be the only one who thinks like this can I?

Sides on. Mission creep starts to set in.

 

According to Roundhouse, the first job should be to push all the window frames into their openings. To me, this seems odd, as the big benefit of seperate frames, is they can be stained a contrasting colour to the bodywork. Which means the body has to be painted first. Already, I'm starting to plan improvements to the coach, not the quick job I anticipated. 

While I'm on improvements, the inside of the doors have been scribed with a heafy knife, as you'll be able to see the backs clearly from outside the body. And I'm also thinking about providing some seats. Oh, and I've cut the door glazing too, and put it aside for later.

Apart from that though, the sides fit well enough, although the clamps make life easier, as there aren't any positive locations for them, unlike the ends, which slip over the floor. Normal PVA is being used here, so it need drying time, hence the clamps. I did try to hold things, but it quickly became apparent that this was a bad idea. Juggling gluey parts is not a recepie for quality modelling!

Roundhouse coach

 

I've been stupidly busy since the run-up to my Swiss holiday (did I mention I'd been to Switzerland, many times...) and there hasn't been any time for my modelling for weeks. However, there is a tiny hint of optimism that I might be able to get some me time now. 

Logically, I'd get back to one of the many projects that have stalled. But instead, I spotted an interesting kit at Lapworth, and decided that it would be fun. And quick. Yes, I know...

To be honest, I don't really need a 32mm gauge coach, but that doesn't mean I don't fancy building one. As far as I can tell, these were a short-lived Roundhouse project. I certainly remember seeing them on one of my visits, but they aren't listed on the website, so perhaps this is a valuable collectable. 

Tough, I'm going to build it.