jackson Sharp > Leek & Manifold coach bash

[Big Jim]

They look smashing. I do like the brake end. Any plans to line them?

[Peter Butler]

They do look good together. Well worth the effort for a unique rake (for now!) but I bet someone else will follow your lead before long as they lend themselves to modifying so well.

[ge_rik]

They look smashing. I do like the brake end. Any plans to line them?

Thanks Jim.
I hadn't thought of lining them. I've only ever used Trimline tape for lining and it's OK but not brilliant. I'm not really confident enough to use a bow pen.

Rik

[Andrew]

Lovely stuff, they look great together. Although, that said, I liked the light railway mix'n'match look of the first L&M carriage and a conventional compartment coach ion your recent snowy video too. Looking forward to film footage of this lot in action...

Andrew.

[ge_rik]

Looking forward to film footage of this lot in action...
Andrew.

Thanks Andrew
Yes, me too. Looks like snow is forecast tonight, though it could turn to sleet very quickly. I'd like to get some more snowy pictures and video if I can and if I crack on with the build I might have them ready for tomorrow. But then, my builds always seem to take longer than I anticipate. Sometimes I know I over-complicate things. I keep forgetting the KISS principle.

Rik

[ge_rik]

Looking forward to film footage of this lot in action...
Andrew.

Took a little longer than anticipated ....... but I managed to get the exteriors finished off today. They all now have 'riveted' underframes and headstocks. I may fit some cosmetic buffers when I get around to detailing the interiors.

Here's all three


This is the first one I completed. It has a raised ridge on the roof and the steps are flush with the coach body.


Here's the second open. No raised ridge and the steps are away from the body. Whereas the first coach had hand-drawn stained glass toplights I did them on the computer for the last two coaches (I live and learn).


And here's the brake end.




As promised, I videoed their test run. It was beginning to get dark towards the end - but I think you can get a feel for how they run - including rounding a couple of my sharp curves.

http://youtu.be/6DgshtOSbJ4

Hope you enjoy!

Rik

[MDLR]

I did!

[ge_rik]

I did!

Thanks Brian
It was a bit of a voyage of discovery. You may notice they round the tight curve in the fourth shot rather like Bruce's conveyor. From above, the corners of the roofs just touch each other - another couple of mm longer and each would have levered the other off the track.

Of course, that was carefully planned .........  :?

Rik

[Peter Butler]

Congratulations Rik... they do look great!
I was watching the roof corners during the film and thought they were close, but they do the job and that's the important bit!
Your line looks good too, even at this time of year.

[GTB]

I hadn't thought of lining them. I've only ever used Trimline tape for lining and it's OK but not brilliant. I'm not really confident enough to use a bow pen.

Hi Rik,

Meant to reply earlier....

Using a bow pen, or tubular pen, is easy enough, getting the paint the right consistency is the trick. Like any technique you get better with practice.

A couple of alternatives you might also consider for lining.

- paint markers like the Eddings 780 paint marker, which is claimed to draw a 0.8mm line (equiv. to 5/8" wide in 16mm scale). The colour range is a bit limited though.

I haven't used paint markers in this scale, but successfully lined a 12" gauge loco some years ago using car touch up paint pens.

- waterslide transfers. Fox Transfers have a range of coach lining transfers for 2 1/2" gauge stock (Gauge 3) which would be near enough in size for SM32/45.

In the past I've made my own single colour lining transfers for HO stock by spraying some clear transfer paper with the required colour of paint and cutting strips with a scalpel, using a sheet of glass as a cutting board. I was able to get strips as narrow as 0.030" with a bit of care.

Regards,
Graeme

[ge_rik]

Congratulations Rik... they do look great!
I was watching the roof corners during the film and thought they were close, but they do the job and that's the important bit!
Your line looks good too, even at this time of year.

Thanks Peter.
Fortunately, most of the vegetation around the railway is evergreen and so it looks OK in close-up. The rest of the garden is looking a bit sorry for itself, though.

Using a bow pen, or tubular pen, is easy enough, getting the paint the right consistency is the trick. Like any technique you get better with practice.

A couple of alternatives you might also consider for lining.

- paint markers like the Eddings 780 paint marker, which is claimed to draw a 0.8mm line (equiv. to 5/8" wide in 16mm scale). The colour range is a bit limited though.

I haven't used paint markers in this scale, but successfully lined a 12" gauge loco some years ago using car touch up paint pens.

- waterslide transfers. Fox Transfers have a range of coach lining transfers for 2 1/2" gauge stock (Gauge 3) which would be near enough in size  for SM32/45.

In the past I've made my own single colour lining transfers for HO stock by spraying some clear transfer paper with the required colour of paint and cutting strips with a scalpel, using a sheet of glass as a cutting board. I was able to get strips as narrow as 0.030" with a bit of care.

Regards,
Graeme

Thanks for the info, Graeme.
I'd like to learn how to do decent lining. I've got that Wild Swan publication on painting and lining which in some ways put me off. I know my limitations unless bow pens have improved since I did my O and A Levels in Technical Drawing...... However, maybe some of these other gadgets might be easier to use - and I like the idea of using transfers as there's some wriggle room to compensate for my ineptitude.

Rik

[Andrew]

Great video, thank you. The carriages look lovely, as does the whole railway - attractive, understated and with that undefinable essence of "right-ness"...

All the best,

Andrew.

[ge_rik]

Great video, thank you. The carriages look lovely, as does the whole railway - attractive, understated and with that undefinable essence of "right-ness"...All the best,
Andrew.

Wow, thanks Andrew. Must admit that my choice of vegetation is more with railway in mind than flower borders. Fortunately, my better half is very happy with that.

Rik

[ge_rik]

For anyone who might be interested (or just curious), I've detailed my approach to the construction of these coaches on my blog.
http://riksrailway.blogspot.co.uk/2015/ ... sharp.html

I am certainly not purporting to be any kind of expert - there are plenty on this forum who are far better skilled than me - but hoping that it might help others who want to have a go (even if it's to say, well I wouldn't do it like that!).

Rik