Skyblue's workbench

[skyblue]

Thanks Paul. They're really cheap from Replica railways if you fancy a go yourself. I think you could get a whole coach for around £15 which is around half what Bachmann charge. I actually only bought the body, windows, interior, corridor connectors and buffers because I'm using a chassis I had already.

[skyblue]

Here's a quick picture update of two coaches I've just finished; a Lima CK repainted and given new windows and my lightly kit-bashed GWR-esque clerestory coach from the Ratio MR coach kit (started for the June competition).







Thanks for looking.

[skyblue]

It's been a while since I've updated my workbench (most of my modelling time has been taken up with the cottage I built for the August competition). I'm currently building two wagons - first is a BR Banana van (Ratio):







This is being built as intended, per the instructions, and is going together nicely.

Next up is something a little more unusual. A while back I built a Parkside Dundas Mink wagon and it came with spare ends for a ventilation variation. I decided to use these ends in conjunction with a spare Hornby wagon chassis and scratchbuilt sides. The chassis is slightly shorter than the chassis of the Mink and the ends are slightly too wide but they still fit together nicely. The sides were made from sheets of plasticard and the struts were made from the finest slithers of plasticard I could make. I used much the same method for my AA7 Toad (April Competition).

Sides completed:



And stuck to the chassis, with roof added and painted:





The colour shown here won't be the final colour, it's just a good base-colour for GWR wagon grey and saves using lots of the (rather expensive) Phoenix paint, which I am running low on.

Thanks for looking.

[skyblue]

The BR Banana van is almost finished. All that needs to be done is to add the buffers, couplings and vacuum pipes and possibly another coat of matt varnish.





(It looks very shiny here because of the flash).

The GWR Mink look-a-like is also nearing completion, requiring just a coat of matt varnish, couplings, buffers to add, and some modifications to the underframe.



Thanks for looking.

[Dad-1]

Very nice work there skyblue.
I like the idea of using up 'spares', getting a full van is a real bonus !!

Geoff T.

[skyblue]

Thanks Geoff. I have a few more Hornby open wagons (they were originally in novelty Hornby liveries) which I may modify in a similar way.

[Dad-1]

I may have to follow your lead in that I want 2 crane match trucks and
there's nothing like my needs in RTR. I shall start making the timber bed
and jib supporting structure to match the Dapol 21 ton hopper chassis
measurements, without destroying my hoppers !! Then obtain chassis
with my next Hatton's order.

Geoff T

[skyblue]

I have decided that I will attempt to do a bit of model building this term at university. I will be building the Scalescenes free weighbridge kit - boring yes, but I'll be doing it with only a penknife (with a rounded end to the main blade) and a tube of UHU glue. The results could be interesting to say the least.

NOTE: This is not my challenge entry. If it was I would certainly come last! I still have to decide what my challenge entry will be, but it will have to wait until I get home in 5 weeks time.

[skyblue]

I have started work on a GWR Python CCT I got for Christmas. Unfortunately I can't get the image to appear here. Will try again later.