On The Pugsley Workbench
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Pugsley
Western Thunderer
It's time for another infrequent workbench update!
The steel carriers have been given a coat of primer (probably about this time last year
):
I used the Ammo One Shot primer, which is an absolute sod to spray. If you get a reasonable flow going through the airbrush it runs, hence the sanded areas in the pic above. If you dust it on to avoid runs, it clogs the nozzle! To be fair though, it sticks like the proverbial to the surface of the model, so once I've worked out how to use it properly I'll continue to use it. These will need another coat, before spraying the final colours.
Model Engineers Laser (who I'd thoroughly recommend) cut my design of inner frames for the bogies, which I'll use with the frames from the bogie kits that I've already got. Those are going to need milling down, which I plan to do in the next few weeks.
Just got to cut these out now and solder them together!
I've also finished weathering the rest of my Heljan van stash and will put those up in another post shortly. You wait for ages and two come along at once...
The steel carriers have been given a coat of primer (probably about this time last year
):I used the Ammo One Shot primer, which is an absolute sod to spray. If you get a reasonable flow going through the airbrush it runs, hence the sanded areas in the pic above. If you dust it on to avoid runs, it clogs the nozzle! To be fair though, it sticks like the proverbial to the surface of the model, so once I've worked out how to use it properly I'll continue to use it. These will need another coat, before spraying the final colours.
Model Engineers Laser (who I'd thoroughly recommend) cut my design of inner frames for the bogies, which I'll use with the frames from the bogie kits that I've already got. Those are going to need milling down, which I plan to do in the next few weeks.
Just got to cut these out now and solder them together!
I've also finished weathering the rest of my Heljan van stash and will put those up in another post shortly. You wait for ages and two come along at once...
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
The last few weeks have been spent weathering these three Heljan VAA vans. They're nice models, even if the detail on them is a bit chunky and parts have a habit of falling off.
Most of the body weathering is water mixable oils, the underframe airbrushed with Lifecolor Frame Dirt to varying degrees, then washes with Tamiya Flat Earth mixed with black in varying proportions to highlight the details. All are loosely based on pics of the wagons that I've found on the internet.
For the first one, I wanted to capture the reasonably recently repainted but well used look.
The staining under the door mechanisms is a mix of Lifecolor Dirty Grease effect paint, and a grimy black weathering powder. The roof and side are washes of Tamiya Flat Earth.
The next one is a lot more faded - the fade being white oil paint. The roof effect is also the oils, with a mix of various colours with varying quantities of talc brushed on to give the faded/peeling effect.
The last one is a little contrived for my 1991 period, in that I can't find any evidence that any of these wagons made it this late in the maroon. Some VDA's definitely did, so I've used a little 'what if' modelling licence on this one, just to break the red and grey up a bit.
I'm pleased with the way that the running lettering has come out - for some reason the maroon ones seem prone to this, from the pictures I've found. The Railfreight is the original lettering cleaned off with a cocktail stick when I painted the wagon, the data panels are from Railtec Transfers, as are the other two.
Most of the body weathering is water mixable oils, the underframe airbrushed with Lifecolor Frame Dirt to varying degrees, then washes with Tamiya Flat Earth mixed with black in varying proportions to highlight the details. All are loosely based on pics of the wagons that I've found on the internet.
For the first one, I wanted to capture the reasonably recently repainted but well used look.
The staining under the door mechanisms is a mix of Lifecolor Dirty Grease effect paint, and a grimy black weathering powder. The roof and side are washes of Tamiya Flat Earth.
The next one is a lot more faded - the fade being white oil paint. The roof effect is also the oils, with a mix of various colours with varying quantities of talc brushed on to give the faded/peeling effect.
The last one is a little contrived for my 1991 period, in that I can't find any evidence that any of these wagons made it this late in the maroon. Some VDA's definitely did, so I've used a little 'what if' modelling licence on this one, just to break the red and grey up a bit.
I'm pleased with the way that the running lettering has come out - for some reason the maroon ones seem prone to this, from the pictures I've found. The Railfreight is the original lettering cleaned off with a cocktail stick when I painted the wagon, the data panels are from Railtec Transfers, as are the other two.
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
Thanks Steve. I've not had any issues with the original finish - I'm using the water mixable oils though, so that might make a difference.
I don't tend to varnish on top of the final finish either, to leave a range of finishes. That does mean that the powders are vulnerable to handling damage but as these will probably spend another few years in a box, until I get round to building a layout, I'm not too concerned
I don't tend to varnish on top of the final finish either, to leave a range of finishes. That does mean that the powders are vulnerable to handling damage but as these will probably spend another few years in a box, until I get round to building a layout, I'm not too concerned
steve50
Western Thunderer
Thank youThanks Steve. I've not had any issues with the original finish - I'm using the water mixable oils though, so that might make a difference.
I don't tend to varnish on top of the final finish either, to leave a range of finishes. That does mean that the powders are vulnerable to handling damage but as these will probably spend another few years in a box, until I get round to building a layout, I'm not too concerned
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
Thanks Josh. The water mixable oils are all from the Winsor and Newton Artisan range and I tend to use Raw Umber, Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna mostly, with Black and White, mixed to whatever looks right based on the photos I'm working from. It's not particularly scientific!
I also tend to use greys and blues for adding some subtle streaking. The Maroon was just mixed to what looked right again, I think using Alizirin Crimson, Black, White and Burnt Umber.
The buffer grease is acrylic black gloss, with some dirty brown/black weathering powder stippled on.
I've also assembled the first of the bogies for the steel carriers:
There's a couple more parts to add, it needs a little tidying and I'm having to file the tabs down on the crossmember pieces as the slots have come out a little undersize. It's gone together a lot easier than the original kit though! Just 3 more to assemble and then the sideframes from the original kit to mill down.
I also tend to use greys and blues for adding some subtle streaking. The Maroon was just mixed to what looked right again, I think using Alizirin Crimson, Black, White and Burnt Umber.
The buffer grease is acrylic black gloss, with some dirty brown/black weathering powder stippled on.
I've also assembled the first of the bogies for the steel carriers:
There's a couple more parts to add, it needs a little tidying and I'm having to file the tabs down on the crossmember pieces as the slots have come out a little undersize. It's gone together a lot easier than the original kit though! Just 3 more to assemble and then the sideframes from the original kit to mill down.
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
There's a small amount of progress to report - the steel carriers now have paint! It's only the main colour though, with the blue stripe and black underframe still to paint. The body colour is Tamiya XF-19, Sky Grey and I wish that all paints sprayed as nicely and cleaned up as easily!
The masking for the blue is going to take some time! No bogie progress yet, I'm hoping that the sight of a painted wagon, ready for weathering, is going to spur me on to get them completed...
The masking for the blue is going to take some time! No bogie progress yet, I'm hoping that the sight of a painted wagon, ready for weathering, is going to spur me on to get them completed...
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
As I'm not yet able to face masking the steel carriers for the blue stripe, this has made its way out of its box and onto the workbench:
Bought off ebay nearly 5 years ago
and converted to S7 by Mr Eastsidepilot of this 'ere forum a long, long time before he retired! It's now been fitted with a soundchip and speaker and I couldn't resist shuffling it up and down my little photo plank. All 18 inches, or so of it.
I enjoyed that, so much so I thought I'd throw a wagon into the mix:
Some weathering required, although the loco had been repainted reasonably recently in 1991 so it's going to be relatively restrained. The Dogfish, on the other hand, will probably end up pretty heavily weathered... Shuffling was reduced to about 7 inches by this point, but was still very enjoyable, so I think I'm going to have to refine my layout plan and make a start on it this winter.
A little subtle weathering should bring it to life!
Bought off ebay nearly 5 years ago
and converted to S7 by Mr Eastsidepilot of this 'ere forum a long, long time before he retired! It's now been fitted with a soundchip and speaker and I couldn't resist shuffling it up and down my little photo plank. All 18 inches, or so of it.I enjoyed that, so much so I thought I'd throw a wagon into the mix:
Some weathering required, although the loco had been repainted reasonably recently in 1991 so it's going to be relatively restrained. The Dogfish, on the other hand, will probably end up pretty heavily weathered... Shuffling was reduced to about 7 inches by this point, but was still very enjoyable, so I think I'm going to have to refine my layout plan and make a start on it this winter.
A little subtle weathering should bring it to life!
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
It's a Zimo MX644D, with stay alive capacitor, plugged in to the loco decoder socket. I got it from Digitrains, along with a speaker designed to fit behind the radiator grille of the Dapol 08:
www.digitrains.co.uk
The hardest parts are probably soldering the speaker wires to the Dapol circuit board (blue wires in the pic) and the capacitor to the decoder (red and black wires). You need to ensure the capacitor polarity is correct and the only other thing you need to do is line up the decoder with the plug properly.
The speaker is held in with blu-tack at the moment and it seems to work well.
It was a really straightforward job, completed in about an hour.
ALZ42X30X17 42mm x 30mm x 17mm 3 Watt 4 Ohm Speaker
Alz Soundz 42mm x 30mm x 17mm 3 Watt 4 Ohm Speaker Designed to Fit Dapol O Gauge Class 08 Order Number : ALZ42X30X17
www.digitrains.co.uk
The hardest parts are probably soldering the speaker wires to the Dapol circuit board (blue wires in the pic) and the capacitor to the decoder (red and black wires). You need to ensure the capacitor polarity is correct and the only other thing you need to do is line up the decoder with the plug properly.
The speaker is held in with blu-tack at the moment and it seems to work well.
It was a really straightforward job, completed in about an hour.
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Pugsley
Western Thunderer
We have bogies! Well, to a fashion anyhow. The first one was a bit of a sod to assemble, the second one is better but still not perfect. By the time I've assembled the fourth one, I'll have it down to a fine art just in time to never build more...
They're free rolling and more or less the right width. I now need to slim down the original sideframes and get them glued on after cutting out and assembling the other two bogies. After that's done, I'll have run out of excuses and will have to start masking for the blue. It's fair to say that I'm not looking forward to it
They're free rolling and more or less the right width. I now need to slim down the original sideframes and get them glued on after cutting out and assembling the other two bogies. After that's done, I'll have run out of excuses and will have to start masking for the blue. It's fair to say that I'm not looking forward to it
James
Western Thunderer
Do you have any schemes in mind?
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
It's time for the approximately annual update!
I've managed to get round to milling down the whitemetal bogie side frames and have stuck them onto the brass bogies. They look alright!
This terrible photo shows that the bogies are more-or-less in the right place relative to the wagon frames, so I'm calling that a success. There's more work to do on enclosing the ends of the bogies, which may feature in next year's update
Also, this has turned up:
I knew it was going to be big, but I wasn't prepared for just how big it really is. There's another 3 of them in the standard Cargowaggon livery as well, which will make quite an impressive train if I can find a layout big enough. This particular one is out of period for me, it was blue by 1991, but I remember seeing these as a child growing up near Taunton and I lived the near the factory, after it closed, for a while so I couldn't resist.
Conversion to S7 appears to be quite straightforward, removal of a few screws to remove and disassemble the bogies and swapping the wheels for S7 ones.
I've managed to get round to milling down the whitemetal bogie side frames and have stuck them onto the brass bogies. They look alright!
This terrible photo shows that the bogies are more-or-less in the right place relative to the wagon frames, so I'm calling that a success. There's more work to do on enclosing the ends of the bogies, which may feature in next year's update
Also, this has turned up:
I knew it was going to be big, but I wasn't prepared for just how big it really is. There's another 3 of them in the standard Cargowaggon livery as well, which will make quite an impressive train if I can find a layout big enough. This particular one is out of period for me, it was blue by 1991, but I remember seeing these as a child growing up near Taunton and I lived the near the factory, after it closed, for a while so I couldn't resist.
Conversion to S7 appears to be quite straightforward, removal of a few screws to remove and disassemble the bogies and swapping the wheels for S7 ones.
paulc
Western Thunderer
Huge is the word you're looking for . I'm sure that I've seen layouts smaller than that wagon .It's time for the approximately annual update!
I've managed to get round to milling down the whitemetal bogie side frames and have stuck them onto the brass bogies. They look alright!
View attachment 263892
This terrible photo shows that the bogies are more-or-less in the right place relative to the wagon frames, so I'm calling that a success. There's more work to do on enclosing the ends of the bogies, which may feature in next year's update
View attachment 263894
Also, this has turned up:
View attachment 263895
I knew it was going to be big, but I wasn't prepared for just how big it really is. There's another 3 of them in the standard Cargowaggon livery as well, which will make quite an impressive train if I can find a layout big enough. This particular one is out of period for me, it was blue by 1991, but I remember seeing these as a child growing up near Taunton and I lived the near the factory, after it closed, for a while so I couldn't resist.
Conversion to S7 appears to be quite straightforward, removal of a few screws to remove and disassemble the bogies and swapping the wheels for S7 ones.
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
You'll see me before that. Whether you see any progress before then is another matter...