INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with some inspiration and ideas as to how to go about creating wagons for their layout through conversion of commercially available kits. When putting together the notes for this chapter, it occurred to me that the most appropriate way to demonstrate how to go about converting kits was to provide a selection of worked examples of kit conversions to show what can be achieved in a series of relatively simple steps.
I have undertaken a number of conversion projects and I have selected a series of five examples, which are described in this chapter. Some of these examples are based on a number of short articles that were published in Railway Modeller. I have taken these articles, and revised and expanded the text to demonstrate ideas for techniques that could be used on a wide variety of projects.
The principles discussed in the examples provided in this chapter, with respect to conversion of kits, can be widely applied to other prototypes and scales. In addition, it is also possible to consider conversion of RTR models and so, at the end of the chapter, I have also included a worked example of how this process can be applied to converting RTR rolling stock.
CONVERSION 1: CREATION OF A SMALL CATTLE WAGON
BACKGROUND
The inspiration to build an example of this type of small cattle wagon came from a photograph I spotted in Beck (1986: 93) whilst reading about the history of the railway lines around Oswestry and Gobowen, specifically the lines of the Cambrian Railway and Great Western Railway. The photograph of this unusual prototype was intriguing and represented something a bit different to the standard cattle wagon available from the RTR manufacturers and existing kit suppliers. I will describe how I built a model version to 4mm scale and will provide some useful hints and tips should anyone wish to try a similar exercise.
Fig. 122 Two completed examples of the short cattle wagon conversions of Cooper Craft kits, showing the application of decals and weathering on the finished models.
My first step was to carry out further research on this particular prototype and I began by referring to a copy of Russell (1971) to see if this book had any further information about this prototype. Researching through this text, and some of the other books in my collection, I found several different photographs of a similar prototype, as well as a line-drawing of a similar version of a small cattle wagon.
Kit and RTR versions of the larger W1/W5 cattle wagons (GWR telegraph code Mex) are readily available from various sources. What is not readily available at the time of writing is a version of the small cattle wagon described above, presumably because there were not as many prototype examples.
I had considered scratch building from raw materials, but an alternative to a complete scratch build was to undertake a conversion of a readily available cattle wagon kit. To achieve this conversion, I made use of the Cooper Craft kit (ref: 1010W) as a starting point, a kit that is particularly attractive for the detail on the parts and which is suitable to be used for the planned conversion.
There was no scale drawing for this specific version of the small cattle wagon in Russell’s book, however, there is a drawing (1971: 28) showing an earlier type of cattle wagon, albeit with external framing, but of a wagon of similar size to the subject prototype, indicating a 9ft wheelbase. Studying both the photographs and the available drawings for some time allowed me to determine how the conversion could be achieved. I settled on using a 9ft wheelbase and altered the sides of the Cooper Craft kit accordingly, to create a wagon with an overall length of approximately 14ft (equating to about 56mm in 4mm scale).
As part of my deliberations as to how to carry out the conversion, I made notes of possible materials to use and where and how to make the cuts to the kit to obtain the relevant sections required to complete the modified wagon. The following kits and components were assembled before any of the work could proceed:
Fig. 123 The conversion requires two separate Cooper Craft kits to make one wagon. A standard cattle wagon kit and the 9ft underframe kit provide the main parts.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNDERFRAME
To begin with, all of the parts from the two kits were laid out on my work bench and studied to identify which items would be required for this conversion project and what could be recycled to the spares’ box for use on other future projects. The sides, ends and roof sections were required from the cattle wagon kit, whilst the wagon floor, sole bars/ axle boxes, brake gear, buffers and hooks came from the underframe kit. For the purposes of this project I decided to retain the plastic buffers and coupling hooks supplied with the kits, instead of replacing them with white metal prototype reproductions, as I felt that the items supplied were good enough, but that can be left to personal preference.
Comparison of the dimensions of the sole bar supplied in the underframe kit to the photographs of the prototype indicated that the length of the sole bar on the prototype was only slightly longer than the point at which the suspension springs join the sole bar at the outer end of each side. No scale drawings were available to confirm actual dimensions in the literature that I had researched, so I decided to cut the sole bar at each end and reduce the overall length to about 54mm (approximately 13ft 6in in 4mm scale).
This appeared to compare favourably with the photographs of the prototype in terms of proportions and relative distances between the leaf springs/ axle boxes and the back of the buffer beams. Once happy with the dimensions of the modified sole bars, both sides were placed back to back to ensure that the axle boxes lined up and any fine adjustments were made with fine files. The sole bars were then offered up to the wagon floor section, which was marked accordingly and cut to match the length of the modified sole bars, using a razor saw.
Fig. 124 The first stage was to shorten the floor and sole bars to match the length of the prototype wagon.
MODIFICATIONS TO THE SIDEWALLS
The next task was to modify the sides of the cattle wagon to match the length of the shortened wagon floor. Before any cutting took place, a careful examination of the parts as supplied with the kit showed that the wall panels either side of the central door were divided into two sections, separated by vertical strapping and with a diagonal strap running from the bottom of the door to the top of the sidewall at the wagon end. The small Mex prototype shown in the photographs that I used for this project only had diagonal strapping from the bottom of the door to the top of the wall at the wagon end and did not have any vertical strapping in this area.
Fig. 125 The sidewalls were cut and angle iron detail was removed using a chisel blade craft knife.
Fig. 126 The shortened and then reassembled sidewall at the bottom of the picture compared to the partially shortened sidewall at the top demonstrates the surgery required to the kit.
The access door to the wagon needed to be central to the body side, so the wagon sides needed to be shortened by the same corresponding amounts either side of the door to match the modified floor. At the same time it was important to remember to allow approximately 1mm overhang each end to tie into the mitred joint with the wagon end walls. To carry out the shortening exercise I opted to make vertical cuts in the walls on the door side of the vertical strapping, as shown on the enclosed photographs (see Fig. 125). The diagonal strapping was then carefully removed with a sharp chisel blade knife/scalpel and the surface filed flush, after which the planking was re-scribed as necessary with a sharp craft knife.
From the removed section I then measured approximately 6mm from the outside end in order to retain the end detail strapping and mitred joint. A second vertical cut was then made in the sidewall at this location. When carrying out this type of procedure, it is important that the precise length of section needs to be checked against the wagon floor, as there is bound to be variation depending on the accuracy of cutting. I found the use of a fine tooth razor saw essential for this work.
Fig. 127 The use of plasticard microstrip is useful in many ways when kit and scratch building. Here it has been used to form the new diagonal bracing to the wagon body. One piece was laid flat on the wagon body and a second piece was fixed at 90 degrees to create the impression of angle iron detail on the wagon.
Fig. 128 With the modified sides re-assembled, the wagon body and underframe can be constructed as for a standard kit, with brass bearings added to the axle boxes for the replacement wheels.
As shown in the photograph in Fig. 126, the two modified sections were then glued together and left to harden off. The retaining bars at the top of each side were then cut and shortened accordingly to match the walls. This whole process was subsequently repeated for each section of wall either side of the central doors.
Once the modified sides had hardened off, new diagonal strapping was fashioned from plastic microstrip to form an ‘L’ section to match the existing strapping profile. This strapping was added to the walls, as shown on the photographs of the model, during construction. Etched brass wagon strapping could be used if preferred for this process, instead of the plastic strip.
Once happy with the modifications, construction of the parts could then proceed in the normal way for a kit of this type. Brass bearings were installed in the axle boxes before the sole bars were attached to the floor. The wagon ends and sides were then fixed together and checked to ensure that the structure was square, before attaching to the floor. Scrap pieces of plasticard were used on the internal surface of the walls to strengthen the modification joints. To ensure good running, additional weight (scrap white metal) was glued to the floor inside the wagon before the roof was fixed in place.
CHANGES TO THE KIT ROOF
The roof supplied with the cattle wagon kit also needs to be shortened to match the length of the modified wagon, unless a new roof is made from raw materials, such as brass sheet or thin plasticard. The actual length of roof required is likely to vary slightly depending on how accurately you have cut and reassembled the parts. So I would, therefore, strongly recommend that the roof is modified after the modified wagon body has been fixed together. To do this, the roof should be offered up to the completed body shell, marked as appropriate, taking care to retain the roof detail at each end, and then cut accordingly.
Fig. 129 The original roof has to be shortened to match the new body. To do this the roof was laid alongside the converted body and a pencil used to mark the cut lines.
Fig. 130 Using the moulded ridges on the roof as a guide, the roof was carefully cut using a fine razor saw.
On the example that I built, this was accomplished by making two cuts in the roof to remove the central panel and one of the central ridges, as shown in Figs 130 and 131, reducing the overall length of the roof by approximately 16mm. The two roof sections were then sanded and re-joined to form the new roof, with the ridge conveniently disguising the new joint in the roof.
Fig. 131 The roof was cut into three sections and the central section of roof discarded. The cut joints on the two end sections of roof were cleaned up and bonded together with liquid polystyrene cement.
Fig. 132 The new, shortened roof was test-fitted to the wagon to check for correct length and fit to the end walls. Fine adjustments can be made using needle files at this stage.
FINISHING TOUCHES
Before affixing the roof to the body, the whole body and underframe was painted in GWR freight wagon grey. The internal sides of the walls and floor were painted off-white and weathered to represent use of lime and general wear and tear. The roof was painted white and then fixed to the body shell. The model was completed with HMRS Pressfix transfers, as shown in Figs 133 and 134.
Fig. 133 The completed wagon was then painted internally and externally. Note the application of white weathering to the inside and around the sidewall vents to represent the prototype practice of using lime wash to disinfect wagons after use.
CONVERSION 2: SHORT PYTHON FROM A PARKSIDE DUNDAS KIT
BACKGROUND
This second conversion project was stumbled upon whilst looking through my collection of books for a prototype photograph of a Siphon F for reference during construction of an old keyser kit. I came across a couple of photographs in my copy of Russell (1990) of an intriguing vehicle, referred to as a ‘very short “Python” to DIA. “P.7”’. One photograph was of a vehicle used as a CCT (Covered Carriage Truck) and the other was noted from the caption to be in use as a ‘Loco Accumulator van’.
I already had an example of the Python A, constructed from a Parkside Dundas kit some years ago. A quick check of the existing model I had with the photograph indicated that there was a possibility of using the standard Python kit as the basis for a conversion to create this shorter version. Another Parkside kit was thus duly purchased and the following notes and accompanying photographs provide some guidance as to how to carry out this kit conversion exercise.
LIST OF MATERIALS REQUIRED
The following kit and component items were sourced and collected together before attempting this conversion project:
Fig. 134 The application of appropriate decals was completed with reference to photographs of the prototype and then the painted roof was fixed to complete the model.
Fig. 135 An unusual prototype spotted in a copy of Russell (1990) led to the construction of this example of a very short covered carriage truck (CCT).
Fig. 136 The contents of the Parkside CCT kit with additional white metal replacement buffers and hanging vacuum pipes formed the starting point of this conversion idea.
The Parkside kit came complete with metal wheels and brass bearings, so there was no need to source new ones, unless one wishes to replace the plain 14mm disc wheels with the Mansell-type disc wheels. I used replacement white metal long fitted wagon buffers in lieu of the brass buffers supplied with the kit, because in the photograph of the prototype it was coupled to an open wagon and the buffers appeared to be identical to the standard wagon buffer for fitted vehicles, not standard coach buffers.
Comparison of the kit parts to the photographs suggested that the wheelbase for this vehicle was about 9ft, possibly slightly less. This is based on the following two assumptions: first, the vertical planking used on the prototype was the same width as that represented on the model; and, second, that this vehicle was fitted with the standard coach wheels as the Python A, which in 4mm scale are represented by the 14mm disc wheels/Mansell disc wheels. Comparing these elements with the photograph seemed to suggest the correct proportions.
The vertical planking on the prototype, as shown in the photographs, comprised ten vertical planks either side of the central double doors. When checked against the dimensions of the axle springs supplied with the kit, this compared favourably with the position of the wheels and springs in the photograph. The prototype had no windows in each sidewall or in the side doors, and furthermore had no vents in either the end doors or over the doors in the sidewalls.
MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED TO THE BODY
Once happy with the assessment of the suitability of the kit parts for this conversion, I then set about deciding how to shorten the sidewalls and remove the windows. I decided to start at the central doors, which I assumed to be the same width as the Python A version, from which I counted out three planks each side of the door and marked the next vertical joint as cut lines. Next, to retain the end bracing detail of the sidewalls of the model, I counted in four vertical planks from each end and again marked the next vertical joint as cut lines. This provided seven planks either side of the door, so to ensure the correct number of vertical planks I then marked out a three-plank section between the pair of side windows each side of the door.
Fig. 137 The original kit required shortening. The sidewall was careful measured and marked prior to cutting with a fine razor saw.
Fig. 138 Each sidewall was cut into nine pieces, from which five pieces, including the central door section, are required. The windows in the doors are in-filled to match the prototype.
Fig. 139 The five pieces are reconstructed to form the new and shortened sidewall required for the kit conversion.
Fig. 140 A comparison of original sidewall, marked prior to cutting, with the reconstructed shortened sidewall, showed the significant difference in length of the two wagons.
Before cutting the walls, the vents above the central doors were carefully removed with a sharp chisel blade craft knife and use of fine files, so that the area was flush with the surrounding walls. The next job was to blank off the windows in each of the doors. For this a small piece of 20thou plasticard was cut, approximately 11.0mm by 5.5mm, to fill each hole. Each blanking piece had the corners rounded off with a file and checked for fit before fixing with liquid solvent. Once fixed in place, the surface of each blanking piece was flooded with solvent to flow into any gaps between the window side frames and the filler piece.
The cuts in the sidewall were all achieved by first using a sharp craft knife and steel rule to score the cut lines. Then, a fine-tooth razor saw was used to make the cuts. As you can see from the accompanying photograph (Fig. 138), you should be left with five sections of wall, including the central doors, to make up the length of the modified body. The rest of the pieces of sidewall were not required for this model and were placed in the spares’ box for future use.
Each of the joint edges was carefully filed and checked with a right angle to ensure that they were square before joining using a liquid solvent. To ensure the re-formed sidewalls are flat and true, the use of a flat glass tile on which to place your work is essential during this process. To strengthen the joints in the sidewall, a piece of 20thou plasticard, approximately 5mm by 50mm, was cut and glued along the back of the wall sections at the level of the top of the doors. The bottom edge of the sidewall was strengthened when attached to the wagon floor.
As can be seen from the accompanying photographs, because of the number of cut lines and thus joints that are necessary to form the sidewalls, a combination of cutting and cleaning of the joints will probably result in minor variations in the wall length. To overcome this I found it necessary to use some microstrip added to the outer ends of the walls to ensure that both sidewalls were the same overall length. The amount of microstrip required will depend on the degree of accuracy achieved during cutting of the joints. Place the walls back to back to check dimensions and add the microstrip as required.
The modification to each end wall of the model was less arduous to complete. The vents at the top of each door were removed in the same way as described above and the planking of the doors re-scribed over the modified area with a sharp knife. The buffer mounting plates were filed flat, the holes in the buffer beam were widened out with a 2mm drill bit, and the replacement buffers fitted and held in place with a dab of impact adhesive on the inside face of the wall. The coupling hooks supplied with the kit were also added at this stage.
The hinge detail of the end doors on the prototype was different to that represented on the Parkside kit of the Python A vehicle. On the two photographs that I have of these vehicles, the end doors were full length, each with three hinges on each door. Plates over each buffer, similar to that seen on the Serpent-type open carriage wagon, were present on one prototype vehicle but not the other. The detail on the kit was representative of the more standard Python vehicles, in that the end doors were shorter, had only two hinges per door and there was a lower drop-down section that fell over the buffers.
Fig. 141 After re-constructing the sidewall the joints were filled, where necessary, using liquid polystyrene cement. The vents above the doors were removed using a chisel blade knife and sanded smooth with fine grade sandpaper.
Fig. 142 The end walls of the CCT required the removal of the vents at the top of the doors and the installation of correct pattern replacement buffers.
After examining the kit parts, and in particular the depth of moulding detail for the lower drop-down section, I was not confident that this could easily be modified other than by completely removing this section and replacing with new plasticard, suitably scribed with plank and hinge detail. Given that there were already a number of joints in each sidewall, I wanted to keep the end walls in one piece to provide some strength and rigidity to the body of the model. On this basis I decided that it was an acceptable compromise, in terms of accuracy, to leave the end door arrangement as per the original kit and provide rigidity to the body of the wagon.
MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED TO THE FLOOR SECTION
The floor section from the kit needed to be shortened to match the modified body. I would recommend that the modifications to the floor are carried out once the alterations to the sidewalls have been completed. Before making any cuts in the floor section, I found it helpful to check how the original kit goes together before making any changes, and to keep this in mind during the construction of the modified parts. For example, it is important to realize that the floor should be shorter than the length of the sidewalls, as the ends of the wagon kit sit inside the sidewalls.
With this in mind, I offered up the modified sidewalls to the floor and marked accordingly. Looking at the bracing detail on the underside of the floor, I decided to start from the mid-point of the long axis of the floor and mark out the length of the modified section. On my example the cut lines for the shortened floor fell just within the second cross-bracing counting out from the centre of the floor section, giving a modified floor length of approximately 57mm.
Fig. 143 The van floor was measured against the new sidewalls and marked accordingly. The floor was cut to length with a razor saw.
The floor was then cut using a razor saw and the new ends of the floor cleaned up with a file. Some minor trimming of the longitudinal bracing on the underside of the floor at each end might be required to enable the floor to butt up squarely against the end wall sections. As with all kits of this type, a dry run with the joints was a useful way to see if any fine adjustment was required before fixing.
MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED TO THE SOLE BARS AND UNDERFRAME
The sole bars of the modified wagon were approximately half the length of the original kit and the same length as the modified floor section, at about 57mm. Examination of the photographs of the prototype showed that there were no DC brake handles on each side of the wagon, as per the ‘standard’ Python vehicle, as the axle springs extended to the ends of the sole bars and butted up against the back of the buffer beam. I followed the instructions from the kit for the installation of the brass bearings and then the fixing of the axle boxes and springs to the sole bars.
Fig. 144 The original sole bars from the Parkside kit with brass bearings fixed in axle boxes.
Fig. 145 To get the correct alignment of axle boxes for the new van, the sole bar was cut into five pieces.
Once the springs were stuck to the sole bar and had hardened off, I cut each sole bar into a number of pieces, as shown Fig. 145. This comprised the sections where each axle box/spring assembly was located; a central section from each side that had the fixing points for the steps, ‘V’ hangars and underframe detail; and finally two short end-pieces, from the original end of the sole bar to the point where the outer end of the axle springs met the sole bar. The two short end-pieces and the central section are not required for this modification, with the exception that the detail from the central section of the original sole bar was carefully removed with a sharp knife for re-use on the modified kit. The two pieces over the axle boxes and springs were measured and cut to be approximately half the length of the new floor (approximately 28.5mm).
The photographs of the prototype that I have do not clearly show the detail of the underframe. Therefore, I assumed that the ‘V’ hangars and vacuum cylinder were used on these vehicles as per the layout on the original Python kit. In terms of the brake connecting rods, the photographs of the prototypes showed that the brake connecting rods were external to the underframe. The rods passed across the front of the axle boxes, with short connecting rods to each brake shoe. These could be replicated with fine wire on the model, but I was concerned that this might be impractical and prone to damage during handling for use on my layout and, therefore, I opted to omit these fine details from the model.
MODIFICATIONS TO THE ROOF SECTION
As with the floor, I would recommend that the modifications to the roof are carried out once the body of the vehicle have been completed. I wanted to retain the end profile on the roof as supplied with the original kit, as this sits over the end walls and there was a lip on the underside of the roof that butts up against the inside face at the top of the end wall.
The internal dimension between the inside faces of the end walls should be the same as the modified floor section, but to check, this was measured and found to be approximately 57mm. I then measured half the length of the distance between the end walls (approximately 28.5mm) from the lip on the underside of the roof at each end. This gave two cut lines and the roof was cut with a razor saw.
Fig. 146 With the body completed, the roof was marked and then cut with a razor saw. For this cutting job, the roof was held securely in a bespoke cutting block for the razor saw.
The two end sections were then joined using a liquid solvent to ‘melt’ the plastic either side of the joint. When hardened off, the roof joint was lightly sanded to smooth out the line of the joint flush with the rest of the roof.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE MODIFIED PARTS
Once all of the modifications had been completed, the parts of the kits were then put together using the instructions from the original kit for guidance. The walls and floor were fixed together first to form the body, before adding the sole bars and underframe detail. When it came to adding the sole bars, I started at one end of the floor and fixed two sections of sole bar with the axle boxes attached to both sides of the floor at the same time, making sure that the bearings were aligned squarely with each other. The wheel set was inserted at this point to check that the wheels ran freely and that the axle was perpendicular to the sides of the wagon. I then repeated this process, fixing the other two parts of the sole bars, as shown, and inserting the second wheel set.
Fig. 147 With the body under construction, bracing was applied to the internal face at the top edge of the sidewalls to support the wagon body.
Fig. 148 The modified body and underframe construction completed, showing the required use of microstrip at the ends of the sidewalls as described in the text.
Fig. 149 There was little prototype information available on the detailing of the underframe. On the model the underframe detail is largely guesswork based on studying the detail on numerous other wagons and vans.
Fig. 150 After the roof has been cut to remove a central section, the two ends were bonded together and test-fitted to the van.
Hanging-type vacuum pipes were fixed to the buffer beam with a spot of super glue, making sure that the hanging pipe would not interfere with the coupling. Adding the individual brake shoes for each wheel required minor modifications of the pieces as supplied with the kit, to ensure that they could be accommodated around the floor bracing and be in line with the tyres of the wheels. The vacuum cylinder and connecting rods should be added after the brake shoes, as I found that the cylinder required some minor modification to sit over the part where the brake shoe assembly was fixed to the floor.
The final piece to complete the underframe was the addition of couplings. I use tension lock couplings on my rolling stock, but found that the ‘Hornby’ -type mounting block supplied with the original kit could not be accommodated on the underside of the model as there was insufficient room between the wheels/brake gear and the back of the buffer beam. I, therefore, used cut-down small Bachmann couplings mounted on a modified block that sits between the wheels, as shown in the accompanying photograph.
When completed, the wagon body was painted GWR freight wagon brown, with matt black underframe details, whilst the roof was painted GWR coach roof white, as shown in Fig. 152. HMRS Pressfix transfers were then used to complete the model. The tare figures are my best guess from the information I had, as the quality of the photographs was not great and the numbers hard to read, even with a magnifying glass!
Although I had to make a number of compromises in terms of fine detail, when compared to the photographs of the prototype that I have, I was pleased with the overall impression of the converted model.
Fig. 151 The provision of access steps adds to the creation of a representative model. Steps from the original kit were adapted and fitted to the underframe.
Fig. 152 Application of the appropriate paint scheme, with GWR freight vehicle brown (Phoenix Paints) above a matt black (Humbrol) underframe.
Fig. 153 Pressfix (HRMS) decals added using photographs for guidance. The roof was painted white and fixed in place.
CONVERSION 3: ADAPTING A PECO WONDERFUL WAGON KIT
BACKGROUND
The PECO Wonderful Wagon kits have been around for many years and I am sure many readers will have had a go, at one time or another, putting one together. The kits are relatively simple to make and provide a free-running and nicely weighted wagon, which if you wish to build straight from the box would probably take no more than about an hour to put together and run on your layout.
I described the construction of the Royal Daylight version of the PECO tank wagon kit in Chapter 3. Here I describe how I took one of the milk tank wagon kits and, through a relatively simple conversion process, created a tank wagon more prototypical for my home layout.
The inspiration for this conversion project came from the desire to recreate a Great Western Railway tank wagon to run on my branch-line layout, using a readily available kit as the source material. Researching the prototype, in particular with reference to my copy of Russell (1971: figs 169 and 172), this indicated that the kit could provide a reasonable basis for recreating the GWR prototype.
The conversion process described makes use of the kit instructions as provided and I have indicated where deviation from the standard instructions is required should you wish to reproduce the modified wagon shown in the accompanying photographs.
Fig. 154 Milk tank wagons provide an atmospheric addition to a branch line layout. In model form this has been recreated by the adaptation of a PECO Wonderful Wagon kit.
To undertake this modification you will need the following kit and component parts:
CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHASSIS
Commence construction of the wagon kit as per the supplied instructions and make up the buffer beam and coupling sub-assembly with your choice of couplings; I used the tension lock couplings as that is what I use on my model railway. The parts go together well straight from the box with little or no fettling required, just a dry run, then fixing with the appropriate adhesive.
When assembling the sprung buffers, I found that when put together, a tiny drop of super glue between the end of each buffer shank and the buffer spring helped ensure that the two parts did not separate, without hindering the performance of the sprung buffers. The next stage was to attach the metal ‘W’ irons to the main chassis component and then the sole bars, as directed in the instructions.
Fig. 155 On the prototype, the bottom of the tank was boxed in, unlike the donor kit used here. To achieve this in model form, longitudinal slots were cut into the underframe to accommodate plasticard strips.
Fig. 156 Plasticard was cut to fit to form the boxing-in around base of tank body and fixed in the slots. The wedge pieces at each end were shaped to match the curvature of the tank body.
DEVIATION 1 FROM STANDARD KIT INSTRUCTIONS
The first modification of the kit was to take a fine fret saw and on the main chassis section, locate the central tank supporting ribs and cut 1mm-wide slots, as shown in Fig. 155. The purpose of cutting the slots was to allow the addition of a piece of 20thou plasticard strip, approximately 4mm high by 66mm long, to represent the boxing in around the bottom of the tank, as per the prototype and as shown in Fig. 156.
Fig. 157 Tie bars were added to the axle boxes using microstrip to match the profile of the metal ‘W’ irons provided with the kit.
The slots should extend through the ribs, so that they are flush with the cross-member of the chassis, such that when the box section is added it sits flush along the chassis, as shown in the accompanying photographs. Small wedge-shaped pieces of the 20thou plasticard were then cut to fit at each end of the tank, as shown in Fig. 156. I found that the cutting and shaping of these pieces was a bit of trial and error to get a neat and flush fit to the base of the tank.
The box section and underframe and chassis, as well as the end supports for the tank, were then painted matt black, to provide a uniform base colour for the wagon chassis. When dry the tank body was fixed in position, as described in the instructions, and the end frames added. The filler cap on the tank was painted black as per the prototype.
DEVIATION 2 FROM STANDARD KIT INSTRUCTIONS
The second main change to the standard instructions was to add a tie bar between the ‘W’ irons to match the prototype arrangement. I used a piece of plastic microstrip to the same dimensions as the ‘W’ iron metal frame (see Fig. 157), fixed with a spot of cyanoacrylate (super glue) at each end and then painted matt black to match the rest of the chassis.
DEVIATION 3 FROM STANDARD KIT INSTRUCTIONS
The third modification to the kit was with regard to the installation of the tension rods along the long axis of the tank body. The kit has both horizontal and diagonal tension rods provided, whereas the prototype that I was attempting to construct only had diagonal rods. The horizontal wires were thus omitted from the model.
The finer grade wire for the diagonal bracing was then inserted through the pre-drilled holes in the end frames and fixed at the sole bar as per the instructions. Leaving approximately 1mm of wire protruding through the end frames, the wire was then cut and a drop of super glue used to hold in place, as shown in Fig. 158.
COMPLETION AND FINISHING TOUCHES
The wagon was then completed as per the standard instructions, adding the ladders, strap buckles and inserting the wheels. In addition, I chose to add hanging-type vacuum pipes (ABS white metal or similar) as per the prototype, as well as adding a fine horizontal tie rod between the end frames, as shown in Fig. 159. I opted to use the plastic wheels supplied with the kit, but should you prefer you could replace these wheels with fine-scale metal wheels, such as the eight-spoke wagon wheels supplied by Gibson or Romford.
Once the construction and painting were completed, I then added appropriate decals using the photographs in Russell (1971) for guidance, as shown in Fig. 158. On reflection, this is a relatively quick and simple adaptation of a free-running kit that gives a pretty fair representation of the prototype.
Fig. 158 A side view of the tank wagon showing the layout of the diagonal tension rods and the underframe painted matt black to hide the plasticard modifications.
Fig. 159 An additional end tie bar was added to the tank framing using brass wire to match the prototype.
CONVERSION 4: CREATION OF A GWR SHORT 13 TON BRAKE VAN (TOAD)
BACKGROUND
The next two conversions described in this chapter show variations on the construction of brake vans, specifically GWR vehicles for my layout, making use of the Ratio GWR 20T brake van kit as the source material. These sections are based on short articles that I have previously published (Tisdale 2012c and 2013), but expanded here to provide more details and photographs to show the processes followed in each example.
Looking at photographs of GWR layouts in the modelling press, at exhibitions or as generally depicted in texts on the subject, the ‘standard’ GWR brake van, referred to in the telegraphic code as a ‘Toad’, is typically represented by a van with a veranda at one end, albeit of varying dimensions. This is the image that one normally associates with the tail end of a GWR freight train. However, variations to the standard Toad did exist, but these do not seem to be often modelled or, if they are, not often seen.
Fig. 160 A short 13T brake van based on a Ratio Models kit of the standard 20T brake van.
RTR models available at the time of writing follow the standard Toad structure, usually the 16T or 20T varieties. Examples of the short wheelbase, the six-wheel heavy (24T), or the odd non-standard Toads, either built away from Swindon or absorbed into the GWR fleet as a result of Grouping, are not readily available as RTR models in 4mm scale.
A number of different kits are available for some of the variations of the standard four-wheel Toad. The six-wheel version is also available as a brass kit (supplied by Falcon Brass), but to my knowledge there are very few, if any, for the non-standard vehicles, with the exception of a couple of examples produced as brass kits, also in the Falcon Brass range. From a commercial point of view, I suppose the argument would be that these models would have limited appeal and thus are not viable to produce in large numbers. Therefore, this means that to model one of these non-standard vehicles, one has to either scratch build or modify an existing kit or donor RTR model.
The conversion project outlined here describes the creation of a 13T short-wheel base (9ft wheelbase) brake van, converted from a Ratio 20T Brake Van kit. I used the prototype illustrated in Russell (1971: fig. 243) and the respective line-drawing (Russell 1971: 135), as the principal source of research information. The purpose of this project was to see if it was possible to produce a reasonable representation of this particular prototype in 4mm scale using relatively inexpensive, commercially available, plastic kits as the starting point.
The following kits and components were assembled prior to any work commencing on the conversion project:
The parts from the Ratio Brake Van kit and the Cooper Craft underframe kit were examined and the appropriate parts removed from the kits necessary to complete this project, as detailed above. The remaining parts were put in the spares’ box for use on future projects.
Fig. 161 The starting point of this project is the standard brake van kit and instructions.
Fig. 162 The shorter version of the brake van had a wheelbase of 9ft. A 9ft wheelbase Cooper Craft kit was used as the basis for the new underframe.
Fig. 163 In addition to the standard kit parts, replacement wheels, brass bearings, buffers, coupling hooks and tension link couplings were required.
The following items were taken from the Ratio GWR 20T Brake Van kit:
The following items taken from Cooper Craft kit:
CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNDERFRAME
The underframe kit was assembled in the normal way, except that the ‘V’ hangars were removed from each sole bar before construction began. Brass bearings were installed in the axle boxes before fixing to the floor and then the sole bars fixed to the underside of the floor. The wheel sets were installed at this stage to check alignment and that they were free-running.
Fig. 164 The wagon floor and sole bars were modified by comparing the kit parts to 4mm scale line-drawings of the prototype and cutting as appropriate.
A 1mm diameter hole was drilled in the veranda end of the floor at this stage to accommodate the hand-brake stanchion after the body had been completed. A ballast weight was added to the floor recess, as is normal with Cooper Craft kits, and a further two wagon weights were glued together and then fixed to the floor directly above the recess to provide additional ballast, these being hidden within the van body of the finished model.
Fig. 165 The underframe was then constructed as per the standard kit instructions and replacement wheels added.
The running boards from the brake van kit had to be shortened to match the length of the new wagon. I have described the process of modification here as they form part of the chassis, but when building the model I found it easier to construct the body first, then return to fit the running boards and axle tie bars.
I found that starting at one end of the running board, the existing cut-out for the axle box can be located over one axle box. The overall length of the running board can then be marked, as well as the location for the second cut-out. The running board was shortened and shaped at each end to match the prototype.
The second axle box cut-out was formed by scoring the back of the vertical component with a sharp knife and then scoring along the joint with the horizontal section between the two vertical cuts. This small piece can then be removed and the horizontal section carefully filed with a small square-section file to the correct depth to sit squarely over the axle box. This was a slow repetitive process as the plastic part is fragile and can be broken if the cutting and filing is too vigorous!
Fig. 166 The running boards were modified by shortening and cutting new slots to sit over the axle boxes. New fixing points are shown as white pieces of plasticard microstrip cut to fit and fixed to the underframe, as appropriate.
Fig. 167 The modified brake van with new running boards attached and showing how they need to sit squarely over the axle boxes.
To fix the running board to the side frames, vertical brackets are provided on the brake van kit and these had to be replicated on the modified wagon. To achieve this, vertical strips were added to the sole bar at the locations to match the fixing brackets on the running board. To get these strips in the correct locations, the modified running board was offered up to the sole bar and marked at the three locations of the fixing brackets. Representative ‘bracket’ fixings were then formed using microstrip plasticard to the correct length, shown as small white sections in the accompanying photographs (see Fig. 166). The running boards were then fixed to the strips and the axle boxes as per the normal way following the kit instructions.
The photograph of the prototype showed that the axle boxes on each side were connected with a tie bar. This is not present as part of the 9ft wheelbase underframe kit, so I used some 0.5mm diameter wire cut to length and super-glued to each axle box to represent this part of the wagon, as shown in Fig. 168.
Below the door on each side of the veranda, the brake van kit has an access step part that fixes to the sole bar. I found that these needed some minor modification of the vertical strips to fit in the sole bar, as shown in Fig. 167.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE WAGON BODY
Examination of the position of the floor in the underframe kit, compared to that in the brake van kit, indicated that the floor level was slightly higher and thus the sidewalls had to be modified internally to fit around the underframe floor. This required the removal of the lip on the internal sides of the walls that are used to locate the walls correctly to the floor/sole bar components of the brake van kit, as shown in Fig. 169.
The first decision to be made in the construction of the body shell was whether to retain the moulded hand rails, as provided on the brake van kit, or to remove and replace them with fine wire. The vertical bracing on the sides was to be retained, so this would require at least four cuts in the sidewalls to reduce the length of the wall. On this basis I opted to retain the moulded hand rails as otherwise this would further complicate the modification process and weaken the walls of the final model.
Fig. 168 In this side view of a modified van, the axle box tie rods formed from 0.5mm diameter wire have been added and fixed in place with cyanoacrylate adhesive.
Fig. 169 The use of the Cooper Craft underframe and wagon floor required internal modification of the sidewalls to remove the floor lip so that it would sit flush on the new floor.
Fig. 170 The sidewall was marked after laying on a line-drawing of the prototype. The walls were cut and then re-assembled in the shortened form, with the discarded wall sections shown above.
Scaling the dimensions from the line-drawings, the walls were marked with cut lines at the appropriate locations. The cuts were made by scoring each line with a sharp craft knife on the external surface and then cutting the internal wall surface. The vertical joints were subsequently cleaned up with a fine file and the sidewalls reassembled in the correct order in the shortened form to represent the modified wagon.
Using a piece of scrap plastic sprue, I formed a bracing bar to strengthen the walls and this was fixed along the internal face of the walls towards the upper edge, as shown in Fig. 172, of the partially completed body; the joint with the floor providing the bracing at the lower edge of the walls.
The van end wall of the wagon and the veranda end wall can be used unaltered from the kit, as well as the access half-door/gate to each side of the veranda. The sidewalls of the veranda were modified in the same way as the sidewalls of the van section. I opted to retain the moulded hand rails and removed a central portion of the wall by making two vertical cuts and then fixing the two ends back together to form the shortened wall, as shown in Figs 173 and 174.
Fig. 171 A comparison of original and shortened sidewalls gives an indication of the reduced length of the modified wagon.
Fig. 172 Plastic wagon kits are light and require ballasting to improve running, even more so for a brake van at the end of a train. In this internal view of the wagon under construction, additional ballast weights and wall bracing can be seen.
The internal end wall of the van section had to be modified to remove a small amount from the base of the wall to fit with the floor of the underframe kit and this modification should be undertaken once the sidewalls have been fixed in place so that the piece can be marked to match the sidewalls.
Construction of the body began with the van end wall and then the two sidewalls. Once happy that these were square and vertical, the internal van wall was checked and trimmed to fit accordingly, as per the brake van kit instructions. I found it useful to insert a small piece of scrap plastic bar at the midpoint of the van section to ensure that the walls remained vertical and to prevent later risk of bowing of the sidewalls, as shown in Fig. 177.
Fig. 173 A close-up of the shortened veranda wall shows how the handrail detail was retained and carefully cut.
Fig. 174 A view of a veranda under construction showing how the parts fit together along the new wagon floor.
Fig. 175 The internal wall of the van body had to be modified to fit on top of the wagon floor and retain the correct roof line.
Fig. 176 The replacement buffers and coupling hook were added to the veranda end wall before fixing to the wagon body.
Fig. 177 After completion of all of the modifications to the bodywork, the van was ready for painting.
Once the van section was completed, the veranda doors and sidewall were then fixed in position and, finally, the veranda end wall, as shown in Fig. 177. I would like to add a note of caution here when utilizing the veranda end wall and frame. The frame for the upper section of the veranda end is extremely fragile and easily broken, as I found to my cost, whilst carrying out this project. From my experience, it is best to leave this part of the body off whilst all of the rest of the upper bodywork is completed and the running boards, steps and wire tie bars for the axle boxes added, so as to reduce the risk of damage. Once all is complete, then add the end wall and after this has been fixed in place, add the sand boxes and hand brake stanchion.
MODIFICATION OF THE ROOF
The final major piece of work was the modification of the roof to meet the dimensions for the new wagon. The roof from the brake van kit needed shortening and modifying. Specifically, the incorrect chimney, as moulded on the kit roof, needed to be removed and a new chimney added in the correct location, as shown on the line-drawings and the images from which I worked. The chimney was carefully removed with a sharp knife and the roof smoothed with a fine file. A piece of scrap plastic was shaped and cleaned up for use as a new chimney.
I would recommend that the roof is not cut until after the body has been constructed, so that the measurements can be made from the completed model. Two cut lines were marked on the underside of the roof by measuring the distance between the internal edges of the two end walls, so that the overlap arrangement of the roof is retained at each end of the wagon. The central section of the roof was removed and the two ends re-joined and the joint flooded with liquid polystyrene cement. The roof was then placed on a flat (glass tile) surface to harden off before being gently sanded to blend the joint line, as shown in Fig. 178. The new chimney was added on the roof centre-line and positioned such that it was between the central vertical bracing strips on the sidewalls, as shown in the line-drawings.
FINISHING TOUCHES
The body was painted GWR wagon dark grey and the roof matt white and then lightly weathered to give an ‘in service look’ rather than a fresh out of the paint shops look. Once the paintwork on the sidewalls was dry, windows were cut from clear plastic sheet and glued, using PVA, to the external rebate of the window openings in each end of the van section walls. PVA was used here as it dries clear, so any excess glue does not unduly detract from a clear window finish on the model. The hand rails were picked out in white using a fine brush. Once the paintwork was completed, the roof was then added to the body and Pressfix transfers applied.
Fig. 178 The roof was shortened similar to that described previously for vans and then test-fitted to the body.
Fig. 179 The wagon was painted in GWR wagon grey and the roof painted white to represent a newly completed wagon. In service the roof would have quickly discoloured to grey or even black.
Fig. 180 On this model the decals added are to the correct style as the prototype, but the depot name is the modeller’s licence to allow the wagon to be accommodated on the author’s layout.
It should be noted that the allocation to ‘Bala’ shown on the brake van is purely fictitious, as it is for use on my layout, rather than as a historically accurate model.
Depending on your personal preference of couplings, these can be added during the construction of the wagon or when it is completed. I use tension lock couplings on my layout and, therefore, fitted Bachmann small couplings, fixed to the tension lock coupling mounting block supplied in the Cooper Craft kit.
CONVERSION 5: CREATION OF A GWR SIX-WHEEL HEAVY BRAKE VAN
BACKGROUND
This conversion project describes the creation of a 13ft wheelbase 24T brake van, which, similar to the conversion described in Conversion 4, was achieved utilizing a Ratio 20T Brake Van kit. Prototype research identified good photographs of this wagon in service, as illustrated in Russell (1971: figs 247 and 248), and the respective line-drawing (Russell 1971: 135) provided useful dimensional information for the project.
The purpose of this exercise was to see if it was possible to produce a reasonable representation of this particular prototype in 4mm scale using a relatively inexpensive, commercially available, plastic kit as the starting point. This conversion records my attempts, together with a series of photographs, to provide some hints as to how the model was completed.
Fig. 181 At the opposite end of the scale to the previous example, this model is of one of the six-wheel variety heavy brake vans.
LIST OF MATERIALS REQUIRED
The following kits and component parts, as shown in Fig. 182, should be sourced prior to commencing the conversion project:
Fig. 182 The basic kit’s parts required, but also the replacement components required, as well as the additional central axle boxes and springs to a different pattern from the outer ones.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNDERFRAME
The length of the six-wheel Toad was approximately 20ft, about 4ft shorter that the four-wheel 20T version on which the Ratio kit is based. Therefore, the underframe had to be shortened to match the prototype, while retaining a scale 13ft between the two outer axles. To accomplish this, I found it best to join the two halves of the underframe/floor section of the kit together, as shown in the kit instructions, and then mark and cut to length. Prior to cutting the floor, the plastic tie bar and the central hanging points for the running board were removed from each side of the assembly and put aside for re-use.
Once the joined halves had hardened off, I marked up the correct length of underframe by measuring the same length in from each end and marking two cut lines for the removal of the central section of the floor, as shown in Figs 183 and 184. The underframe was subsequently cut using a fine-tooth razor saw and the two ends cleaned up and re-joined.
Fig. 183 A close-up of the additional central axle box and spring showing the difference to the standard arrangement.
Fig. 184 The floor of the standard kit was too long for the wagon being modelled when compared to the line-drawings. The floor was subsequently fixed together and cut lines marked for shortening.
When the modified floor section was set, brass bearings were installed in the two outer axle boxes and the wheel sets installed to check alignment and that they were free-running. The additional central axle boxes/springs were then fixed to the sole bars to match the layout shown on the prototype. These additional axle boxes/springs were derived from my spares’ box and I believe came from a Parkside Beetle kit. They have the same visual appearance as the prototype, but have no ‘W’ irons. I therefore used microstrip to form the ‘W’ to match the line-drawings, as shown by the white plastic pieces in Figs 185, 186 and 187. Once these details had been completed, the central axle was installed and checked for alignment and free-running.
Fig. 185 The shorted chassis reassembled and central axle box added to show wheel arrangement.
Fig. 186 A representation of the ‘W’ irons for central axle and tie rods was fabricated from plasticard microstrip.
Fig. 187 An underside view of the wagon to show the detail of the axle configuration.
Fig. 188 Additional steel ballast weights were added on the underside of the floor above each axle to improve adhesion to the track.
Fig. 189 The completed underframe after modifications and testing to ensure that the three axle arrangement could negotiate layout curves and points.
The choice of wheel set for the central axle had to take account of the need for lateral movement on curved track and points. Whilst there are all kinds of technical solutions to this problem, I was looking to achieve something simple. I used Alan Gibson fine-scale pin-point wheel sets, with brass bearings inserted in the axle boxes on the outer axles, but set to allow some slight lateral movement on each axle (approximately 1mm either way).
For the centre axle, I omitted the brass bearings from the axle boxes and used a plastic wheel set from my spares’ box (uncertain origin), suitably cleaned up and fine sanded so that the pin-point axle ends were able to move side to side and up and down within the axle box, thus providing lateral and vertical movement on curves. Not a very technical solution, but this seems to have worked well on my layout and the main layout at the local club.
Ballast weights (Cooper Craft) were added to the underside of the wagon floor above each axle as shown in Fig. 188. The brake shoes for each wheel were then added and I found that due to the presence of the ballast weights, the brake gear parts supplied with the kit had to be cut into individual brake shoe components and glued separately, either side of each wheel. Brake shoes for the central axle were formed from parts cut from spare wagon brake gear sets, suitably bent to shape. The advantage of fixing the brake shoes in this manner was that they could be glued in position with the wheels in place and so ensured that they were correctly aligned and checked as the work proceeded.
The running boards from the brake van kit had to be shortened to match the length of the new wagon. Careful study of the prototype photographs and line-drawing showed that each running board was held in place by three hanging points: two below the van end and one at the veranda end of the wagon. I found that, starting at the van end of the wagon, the running board could be lined up with the outer axle and was marked and cut at the mid-point of the central axle.
A second hanging point was formed from microstrip plasticard at the appropriate location to match the prototype. The section of running board was then modified to provide the ‘cut-out’ around the centre axle. The process was then repeated starting at the opposite end of the wagon, so that the join in the running board was at the mid-point of the central axle. The running boards were then fixed to the hanging points and axle boxes as per the normal way following the kit instructions, as shown in Figs 195 and 196.
The photograph of the prototype showed that the axle boxes were connected with a tie bar. So I carefully cut the plastic tie bar (removed from the kit at the beginning) to the correct length and fixed it, as shown in Fig. 187. This part is very fine and prone to breaking, therefore, if preferred one could use 0.5mm diameter wire cut to length and super-glued to each axle box.
A 1mm diameter hole was drilled in the veranda end of the floor at this stage to accommodate the hand-brake stanchion after the body had been completed, as shown in Fig. 184. The larger holes in the floor of the kit, intended to take the support for the PECO-style coupling were also filled with spare bits of plasticard at the same time.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE WAGON BODY
The first decision to be made in the construction of the body shell was whether to retain the moulded hand rails, as provided on the brake van kit, or to remove and replace them with fine wire. As I had decided to retain the vertical bracing on the sides, this would require at least four vertical cuts in the sidewalls to reduce the overall length. On this basis I opted to retain the moulded hand rails, as otherwise this would further complicate the modification process and weaken the walls of the final model.
Scaling the relevant dimensions from the line-drawings, the walls were marked with cut lines at the appropriate locations, which resulted in removing 2mm from each end section and 1mm from each of the two inner sections of each side, as shown in Figs 190 and 191. The cuts were made by scoring each line with a sharp craft knife on the external surface and then cutting the internal wall surface with a sharp craft knife. The vertical joints were subsequently cleaned up with a fine file and the sidewalls re-assembled in the correct order in the shortened form to represent the modified wagon, as shown in the photographs.
Fig. 190 Modification of the sidewall was required as for the previous example. Cut lines were marked on the internal face of the walls and a sharp craft knife was used to carefully score and cut the plastic body.
Using a piece of scrap 2mm-thick plastic card (in my case off-cuts from a Wills embossed plasticard sheet), I formed a bracing bar to strengthen the walls and this was fixed along the internal face of the walls towards the upper edge, as shown in Fig. 193; the joint with the floor provided the bracing at the lower edge of the walls.
The van end wall of the wagon, the internal partition wall and the veranda end wall can all be used unaltered from the kit (as seen in Fig. 192), as well as the access half-door/gate to each side of the veranda. The sidewalls of the veranda were modified in the same way as the sidewalls of the van section. I opted to retain the moulded hand rails and removed a central portion of the wall by making two vertical cuts and removing a section about 7mm in length from each side. The two ends were then glued back together to form the shortened wall, as shown in Fig. 194.
Fig. 191 After re-assembly of the modified sidewall a comparison of original and shortened sidewall shows the small reduction in length.
Fig. 192 The end walls were modified with replacement white metal buffers and coupling hooks. Care needs to be taken with the veranda end as the arch is extremely fragile and easily broken.
Fig. 193 Brake van assembly almost complete, showing the inclusion of internal bracing on the sidewalls using scrap plastic sheet and sprue to prevent bowing.
Fig. 194 A close-up view of the veranda modifications showing the detail retained and the installation of the top step on the sole bar.
Construction of the body began with the van end wall and then the two sidewalls. Once happy that these were square and vertical, the van partition wall was then glued in position as per the brake van kit instructions. I found it useful to insert a small piece of scrap plastic bar at the mid-point of the van section to ensure that the walls remained vertical and to prevent later risk of bowing of the sidewalls, as shown in Fig. 193.
Once the van section was completed, the veranda doors and sidewall were then fixed in position and then finally the veranda end wall. After the end wall was fixed in place, the sand boxes and hand-brake stanchion were added. Further ballast, for which I used steel nails cut to length, was subsequently glued to the floor inside the van end of the wagon to add more weight, before the roof was added.
MODIFICATION OF THE ROOF
The final major piece of work is the modification of the roof to meet the dimensions for the new wagon. The roof from the brake van kit needed shortening and the chimney modifying. The incorrect chimney moulding was removed and a new chimney added in the correct location, as shown on the line-drawings and the images from which I worked. The chimney was carefully removed with a sharp knife and the roof smoothed with a fine file. A piece of scrap plastic was shaped for use as a new chimney.
I would recommend that the roof is not cut until after the body has been constructed, so that the measurements can be made from the completed model. Once the body had been completed, the internal measurement between the end walls was found to be 78mm. Two cut lines were marked on the underside of the roof by measuring the distance between the internal edges of the two end walls, so that the overlap arrangement of the roof was retained at each end of the wagon.
Fig. 195 The running boards were modified by retaining one of the original cut outs at each end and then marking and cutting two new cut outs for the other axles.
Fig. 196 The roof was shortened by removing a section from the centre to retain the rain-strip detail. A new chimney formed from waste plastic sprue was added in the correct location.
The central section of the roof was removed and the two ends re-joined and the joint flooded with liquid polystyrene cement. The roof was then placed on a flat (glass tile) surface to harden off before being gently sanded to blend the joint line. The new chimney was added on the roof centre-line and between the first and second vertical bracing strips on the sidewalls, starting at the van end, as shown in the line-drawings.
FINISHING TOUCHES
The body was painted GWR wagon dark grey and the roof matt white and then lightly weathered to give an ‘in service look’ rather than a fresh out of the paint shops look. Once the paintwork on the sidewalls was dry, windows were cut from clear plastic sheet and glued, using PVA (that dries clear), to the external rebate of the window openings in each end of the van section walls. The hand rails were picked out in white using a fine brush. Once the paintwork was completed, the roof was then glued to the body and finally Pressfix transfers applied, as shown in Figs 197 and 198.
Tail lamps and side lamps can be added, according to preference, and on this particular model I also added vacuum pipes, painted red to signify through piping as described in Mr Russell’s book (1971), as I understand that Toads were not fitted with vacuum cylinders as a rule, just the piping and a brake setter handle being provided.
Fig. 197 Brake vans were not generally vacuum braked vehicles. However, in this example a capacity to provide through vacuum braking from the locomotive was catered for and the pipe work was clearly identified by being painted red.
Fig. 198 The finished model painted and identified as a Wolverhampton depot vehicle from the decals.
LESSONS LEARNED
As you will have gathered from some of the points noted in both this conversion and the previous example for the short wheelbased vehicle, there were a number of useful lessons learned, things that may be of use should you want to replicate these kit conversions:
CONVERSION OF READY-TO-RUN ROLLING STOCK
The previous conversions in this chapter have shown what can be achieved by a number of conversion projects using commercially available kits as the starting point. Although this book is focused on the building of kits and scratch building, I thought that it might also be useful to include a quick look at what can be achieved from converting RTR rolling stock as an alternative to using kits as the donor parts for your project. The following worked example is based on a short article (Tisdale 2012b), which I have extended and provided with further details; it describes how I attempted to create a non-standard version of a GWR brake van, or Toad, through modification of a RTR model.
The inspiration for this transformation project came from the desire to create something a bit different to run on my layout Llanfair; to create a version of a brake van that was not the ‘standard’ GWR Toad. Reference to Russell (1971: 119–120) indicated a non-standard GWR prototype with a Welsh flavour, perfect for my layout. Initially, I contemplated scratch building, but having spotted a Bachmann 20T BR Brake Van model on the sale stand at the Jersey Model Railway Club Exhibition I thought that this might be a good place to start. The following notes and accompanying photographs describe my attempt at the conversion of the 20T BR Brake Van into an alternative GWR Toad brake van.
Fig. 199 At the time of Grouping in 1923, the GWR absorbed a number of pieces of rolling stock from various smaller railway companies. This example is a representation of a Cambrian Railway’s brake van.
LIST OF MATERIALS REQUIRED
Before describing the approach that I took, it might be useful to summarize the materials that I used, should you wish to consider trying the same process:
The first step was to remove the body from the chassis. This was achieved by removing the screw on the underside of the model and gently prising apart the four lugs that hold the body to the chassis. The screw should be put somewhere safe for re-use when the conversion work has been completed.
Fig. 200 A model of the Cambrian Railway brake van has been created from a conversion of a RTR BR 20T standard brake van model made by Bachmann.
Fig. 201 The body is removed from the chassis by unscrewing the locating screw on the underside of the wagon and then gently easing the retaining lugs clear of the underframe.
The modification process can be divided into two distinct sections of work: first, the work required on the body and roof; and, second, the work required on the chassis. I have divided these notes up on this basis.
WORK REQUIRED TO THE BODY AND ROOF
Once removed from the chassis, the first part of the process was to compare the model against the photograph of the prototype and to determine what needed to be changed to achieve the transformation. Removal of the guard’s lookout duckets on each side of the van body and the removal of the existing moulded hand rails were the most obvious requirements in respect of the body sides; whilst on the roof, the rain-strips, ventilators and chimney all needed to be removed.
Starting with the roof, the chimney was removed carefully with a sharp chisel blade knife flush to the roof surface and retained for re-use on the modified model. The moulded ventilator and rain-strip protrusions were then removed using fine files and fine-grade glass paper until a smooth roof profile was obtained, as shown in Fig. 202. Once I was happy with the roof profile, new rain-strips were added to each end of the roof using plastic microstrip.
Fig. 202 The moulded detail on the roof of the donor wagon for rain-strips above each doorway and chimney roof detail was carefully removed with a sharp craft knife and fine-grade sandpaper.
Fig. 203 The handrails and guard duckets were also removed from the RTR wagon.
Along each side of the roof, I marked out the arc of the rain-strip using a pencil line and a suitably sized tin lid. As with the ends of the roof, plastic microstrip was then used to form these rain-strips along the marked lines, which were fixed in place with liquid polystyrene cement. The original chimney salvaged from the model was then re-located at the mid-point along one side of the wagon between the rain-strip and the roof edge, as per the prototype. This completed the work required to the roof prior to painting.
Fig. 204 The modified areas on the sidewalls were subsequently scribed using a craft knife to provide a representation of planking to match the remainder of the wagon body.
On the body sides, the guard’s duckets were removed with a fine razor saw, followed by sanding with glass paper and then the use of fine files to remove the profile of this protrusion on the body. Fortunately, on the Bachmann model, the body side at the location of the duckets is a solid, thickened section of the wall, rather than a moulded extruded section, thus removing the ducket did not reveal a hole in the wall that would require filling as I had originally feared.
After dealing with the duckets, the moulded hand rails were removed with a fine file and the smooth areas where the numbers and lettering were located on the model were lightly sanded to remove these transfers and roughen the surface slightly. Once each side of the body had been treated as described above, I then used a sharp craft knife, steel rule and fine razor saw to re-scribe the vertical planking over the modified areas to match the existing planking. It should be noted here that the prototype had wider and thus fewer vertical planks than that reproduced on the model. I contemplated sanding the sides completely flush and scribing the correct plank widths, but in this instance decided to accept the incorrect planking pattern as a compromise, to reduce the amount of work required.
Fig. 205 Microstrip and plasticard sheet modifications are shown in white, comprising doors, new chimney, rain-strips to the roof and angle-iron bracing to the sidewalls.
Fig. 206 The end wall modifications included the addition of plastic microstrip bracing detail and cosmetic coupling hooks. Hand rails were added using staples and fine wire.
The next stage of the process was to re-create the vertical bracing of the prototype on the model. On each side of the body, bracing was added to subdivide the wall into three sections, with the central section slightly narrower than each end section. Plastic microstrip was used to create the ‘T’ section bracing, as shown in Figs 205 and 206. If preferred, one could use a pre-formed plastic ‘T’ section or etched brass bracing strip as an alternative to the plastic microstrip.
Doors were then added to each of the openings at each veranda end of the wagon. A piece of 0.5mm thickness (20thou) plasticard was cut approximately 10mm wide to match the width of the opening and 11mm high to match the profile of the end walls. Each ‘door’ was scribed with vertical planking to match the body walls and thin strips added on each vertical front edge to represent the recessed door. Plastic microstrip was then used to create the overhanging top edge beam across the doorways and open veranda ends, as per the prototype and as shown in the accompanying photographs.
This completed the work to the body prior to reassembly with the chassis. The bracing on the end walls had to be added once the model was re-assembled, as the bracing continues down to the level of the coupling hook on the buffer beam, to match that shown on the prototype.
WORK REQUIRED TO THE CHASSIS
The main area of difference between the model and the prototype was the side steps. On the production model there were two steps on each side, extending the full length of the body. However, on the prototype, there was a lower step extending the full length and two shorter upper steps at each end where the access doors were located. As the detail on the model was all one moulding, work to modify the steps had to be undertaken carefully.
The main requirement was to remove approximately two-thirds of the length of the upper step from the moulding and the central support for the steps. I started with a sharp knife to mark the position of the cut lines and then used a fine razor saw to remove the central section of the upper step between the axle springs. This was the relatively easy part.
The next step was to work on the section of upper step that extends across the front of the axle springs, to a point approximately above the centre-line of the axle boxes. This section was removed, a small piece at a time, using a combination of sharp craft knife and a selection of grinding tool bits on my mini-drill and fine files to smooth off the cut surface.
As you can see from the photographs taken during this stage, I chose not to completely remove the step all the way back to the front face of the axle spring. Instead, I decided to stop once I had removed the step back far enough to reveal the vertical support that was present on the inner edge of the axle spring, so that the chassis moulding wasn’t weakened. Once this had been smoothed and painted I was satisfied that this was a reasonable compromise in terms of the overall impression.
Fig. 207 The chassis of the RTR model was generally left untouched, except for the removal of the upper running board.
Fig. 208 An additional central support to the lower running board was formed from a staple suitably cut and bent to shape.
When the removal of the parts described above was completed, I then used a couple of large staples, suitably cut and bent to shape, to create the ‘new’ vertical supports to the lower step, located at the mid-point of each side, as per the prototype. Thin pieces of microstrip were then cut and glued in place to fill the gaps in the lower step across the front of each axle box, to match the prototype.
On each end of the chassis, I chose to retain the tension lock couplings and mounting blocks as supplied, as well as the moulded buffers, although the latter were cleaned up using a fine file to remove the flash and mould lines. If preferred, the couplings could be unscrewed, mounting blocks removed and replaced with couplings of preference. In addition, the moulded buffers could also be removed and replaced with more prototypical examples. Coupling hooks were super-glued to the buffer beam, as shown in the photographs.
The modified body and chassis were then reassembled and the two sets of vertical bracing on each end wall were added. These sections of bracing were formed from microstrip in the same way as described above for the sidewalls. As noted above, this bracing extends from the top of the veranda wall to the bottom of the buffer beam, across the joint between body and chassis and can only be added once the body and chassis are joined together.
For the hand rails, I used large staples to form the short horizontal handle on each door and the vertical grab rails on each side of each door. The two long horizontal hand rails on each side were formed using 0.45mm diameter wire. All of the hand rails were fixed with super glue and small pieces of microstrip were used at each end of the horizontal hand rails to represent the fixing points. This work completed the addition of new detail prior to painting. I chose to retain the three-hole disc wheels as supplied on the Bachmann model, but if preferred these could be changed to spoked wheels.
Fig. 209 The fully modified van re-assembled prior to the application of paint and decals.
The body and chassis were painted all over Great Western wagon grey, except the roof and hand rails, which were painted white, as per early 1930s practice and which fits with the time period of my layout. HMRS Pressfix transfers were then used to reproduce the lettering and numbering. The final touches to the model included the addition of tail lamps and a guard figure leaning out over the veranda, for which I used the figure produced by Dart Castings.
I found that the transformation process required a series of compromises to be made in terms of prototypical detail to achieve the overall goal. As I have pointed out above, a number of deviations from the prototype detail have been accepted in producing this model, but the aim was to demonstrate that it is possible to produce a piece of distinctive rolling stock relatively easily from a commercially produced RTR model without necessarily resorting to a complete scratch build.
I am pleased with the result achieved and hope this has inspired others to try. I accept that purists will point out the errors in the model produced and for this apologize; however, I did not set out to produce a 100 per cent accurate reproduction of the prototype in 4mm scale.
Fig. 210 The wagon was painted in the standard GWR colour scheme, with hand rails picked out in white. The decals indicate a Towyn-based vehicle. The R.U. designation signifies that it was restricted to operating within the Towyn locality.
