Scratch Built Wagons....

What is your latest project?
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FWLR
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Re: Scratch Built Wagons....

Post by FWLR » Fri Apr 29, 2022 11:57 am

Soar Valley Light wrote: ↑Thu Apr 28, 2022 8:07 pm On the Midland Railway wagons were painted grey. Even as new that could vary between a pale grey and a dark grey. The reason was that the wagon paint was 'stretched out' by mixing in all the scraps of paint from the paint shop, so the 'colour of the day' depended on what other vehicles were being painted and how much paint they had over from the job! I imagine similar things must have happened on many 'low budget ' railways, which includes a great many narrow gauge enterprises. I've frequently placed great reliance on that practise for some of the colours my wagons have ended up being painted in. :roll:

SVLR Andrew
Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your reply explaining a little bit more about the colours for rolling stock. So it was simply what paint was available at the time. I did wonder why there were different variants of colour on wagons and vans. I suppose that was the case for coaches also. But I suspect that wasn't the case in the really early years of railways. :dontknow:

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Re: Scratch Built Wagons....

Post by Seb_N&BLR » Mon May 02, 2022 3:13 pm

I really like your wagon, it’s great to scratch build as the satisfaction afterwards is greater than simply assembling a kit in my experience.

Echoing what others have said, don’t fret about the colour. The thing about painted timber (or metal for that matter!) is that it fades in the sunlight. Therefore a wagon that has spent its time predominantly outdoors, would end up fading quicker than a wagon that has been stabled in a goods shed, under a canopy / tarpaulin or even just in natural shade. Equally a previously faded wagon might have been repainted and now look darker than the others. Or, if the railway is thrifty/broke, only damaged panels might have been painted so you end up with a patchwork effect, or even a different colour!

In terms of overall colour, if you don’t want to standardise on your first attempt, just paint some letters or initials on the side (e.g. β€œS.J.B. Coal” or something) and designate it a private-owner wagon. Your line might not physically own all its own rolling stock? I made that exact choice with my own first scratch built wagon - painted it red and decided that was a rubbish standard colour choice, so now it’s assigned to a local merchant who regularly ships barrels via my railway. This also helps to develop the overall narrative 8)

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FWLR
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Re: Scratch Built Wagons....

Post by FWLR » Tue May 03, 2022 7:31 am

Hi Seb,

Thanks for your kind comment. I also would like to thank for your input on the colours of rolling stock. It is very welcome indeed. :thumbright:

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sjrixon
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Re: Scratch Built Wagons....

Post by sjrixon » Sun Oct 23, 2022 8:38 am

That's a really nice wagon, the 3D printed chassis looks very neat and tidy.

Question - Where are you wheels from? They do look good.

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Re: Scratch Built Wagons....

Post by big-ted » Mon Oct 24, 2022 3:41 am

Those look great! I'm most impressed with those axle boxes. Did you 3D print those a well? I've found it really tricky to draw leaf springs in CAD. I think your efforts might inspire me to try again.

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Re: Scratch Built Wagons....

Post by FWLR » Mon Oct 24, 2022 8:26 am

sjrixon wrote: ↑Sun Oct 23, 2022 8:38 am That's a really nice wagon, the 3D printed chassis looks very neat and tidy.

Question - Where are you wheels from? They do look good.
Thank you for your kind comment.

The wheels are Slater's Plastikard, which I use a lot. They are really good and come with brass bearings.
big-ted wrote: ↑Mon Oct 24, 2022 3:41 am Those look great! I'm most impressed with those axle boxes. Did you 3D print those a well? I've found it really tricky to draw leaf springs in CAD. I think your efforts might inspire me to try again.
Hi big-ted,

Thanks for your kind comment.

The chassis is all printed as one. Done in Tinkercad. I can't get my head around any other program on 3D, although I have tried to download one that is used a lot be other members, it just won't on my MacBook Pro. There are one or two members who also have a MacBook and they seem to be able to use other programs, but it keeps on throwing it out on mine... I get by with Tinkercad, though it's not has versatile when it comes to doing a complicated build. :scratch:

Still, the chassis is something I am a little bit proud of and I can improve it if members think it needs something or not. I don't get disheartened now. I have learnt to be more relaxed about things and take things easy. That's why my builds are so slow in doing. :roll: :roll:

I still haven't stopped doing other builds before I finish what I started with though. At the moment I have 4 builds on the go and I run out of filament really quickly. :lol:

Anne did buy me one of those model table saws, bless her, for my 70th in September and I am going to start using it for future builds in ply. It can hopefully reduce the height of the blade, so I can cut indentions to look like individual boards.

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