I bought a third hand Coopercraft GWR 3 plank wagon from a fellow O gauge modeller in Ontario.  The price was right and I wanted to see what these kits are like.

As delivered the model has parts for Dean Churchward (DC) brake levers but brakes for the standard lever system.  I know this now because of a discussion on RMWeb: 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/49132-dc01-brakes-after-1948/

Only after I reworked the brakes for DC did I learn that these 3 planks had lever brakes  :roll:

So, I spent a fair bit of time making new brakes from parts in my spares box.

The result:



The kit comes with horrid solid buffers but I put on my hair shirt and modified them for springing - quite a learning experience.  I had a set of Slaters buffers.

The couplings supplied are also quite dreadful so I used Parkside 3 links.

Safety loops are from 1mm phosphor broaze strip as are the brake handle guides.  Levers are from my spares box.



The prototype wagon was probably built at the turn of the last century and when built was fitted with brakes on one side.

In 1912 (I think) the Board of Trade mandated that wagons have brakes on both sides and I've built this to reflect compliance with that order.  There's only one brake on this side and each side is independent.

Some good info here:

http://www.gwr.org.uk/nowagonbrakes.html



A shot to illustrate the interior weathering.  The mouldings don't have bolt detail so I took an idea from Barry Norman and made them from blobs of PVA.

John

I've been working on another GWR wagon, this time a covered goods for my friend.

It's a Parkside kit of a Dia. V33 - 9' WB, unfitted.  However, I felt that to be plausible for BR service in 1962 it had to be fitted.  This meant conversion to V21.  Even so we are in Rule 1 territory because 9' WB stock was ruthlessly culled in the early 60s.

Further discussion here:

Parkside PS24 GWR Goods Wagon, Dia V33 - 7mm+ modelling - RMweb



I used Slaters instanter couplings and GWR coach vacuum pipe.

Tie bar is 1mm phosphor bronze strip.



Lamp brackets, which would not be fitted to an unfitted vehicle, are Slaters.

John

I put the lettering on the above two wagons yesterday:



This is a shot from the cylinder side.

I had to make a composite number from individual numerals which was a PITA.

Vacuum braked stock was supposed to have red pipes and all the pictures I've seen had this.  Through piped vehicles were supposed to have white pipes.



At least the Coopercraft instructions had some info on numbers and Tare.  I used Fox transfers.

John

Five star workmanship as usual, John. And, as I've noticed, not very many arggggs lately !

A masterclass on how it should be done if ever there was and completely wasted on me !


Allan

Thanks Allan.  Actually the 3 plank was nothing but "aaarghh" as I struggled to understand how the brakes were arranged.  The kit was useless in that respect having parts for DC and lever brakes all mixed up.  Had I made the kit (instead of a model of a 3 plank) I would have ended up with a farce.

John

I gave up on a Slaters wagon, John, for much the same reason.

This is how it ended up.


Allan

:shock:   :hmm   :Red Card

Don't really know what to say.

John

If I could be so bold, Allan . . . I think that you might have overdone the weathering a touch.

Just a touch, mind you.   

I felt the same way, Max, and have toned it down somewhat since that photo was taken.

Allan.

[user=1427]allan downes[/user] wrote:

I gave up on a Slaters wagon, John, for much the same reason.



This is how it ended up.





Allan

Actually, I think you've been feeding it the wrong kind of mineral supplement!

Readers will recall that I started an MMP kit of a LMS Dia 2109 Mineral Wagon some while ago.  The chassis proved to be a bridge too far so I cut my losses and put it to one side.

Never one to surrender and recognizing the goal is to obtain a model of said wagon, I went for Plan B, which is a Peco Mineral Wagon chassis.

I've been working of the wagon and here's where I am:



At least I was capable of soldering the body together.  A fiddly job with laminations and individual gussets.  I'm quite pleased with the result.

I'm also extremely happy with the Peco chassis.  I made a few modifications to make it look more like the LMS wagon.  Everything fit nicely and it is sprung by virtue of squidgy plastic springs.

It took me two hours this morning to remove the brass floor and fettle it so as to fit over the Peco floor.  Must think about that for my next one.

These were built in 1947 in two lots totaling 2,599 examples.  They had independent manual brakes on both sides.

I've also been building a Parkside mineral wagon.  The model is supposed to be a BR Dia 1/108, but as the kits notes say, the kit can be made into a LMS Dia 2134 by making a few mods.


These were built in 1948 and 1949 with 3,500 constructed.  Again, they had independent manual brakes.

I've been reading Martyn Welch's The Art of Weathering and will try his method.

Next step is an overall coat of spray matte black, followed by a coat of brushed on rust.  Then, you dab on blobs of Maskol, let that dry and brush paint the wagon grey.  Next you tweeze of the Maskol to reveal patches of rust and peeling paint.  We'll see how that works.

John

Looking good John,
I have  diag 2109 myself that I bought by mistake by not paying attention on the old MMP website. I really ought to put it in the small ads because it's really too late for my era.

Yep, who hasn't done that.  Or buying a kit of a prototype that was extinct by the time of your modelling era.  The 3 plank almost certainly was extinct by 1962 but Rule 1 applies here.

Thing is, the level of effort to produce the MMP body was pretty high, while the Parkside kit fell out of the box and went together like a breeze.  There's not a lot to choose between the two. 

John

I sprayed the two mineral wagons black today so I need to leave them to cure overnight.  Did anyone notice that I put the brakes on the Dia 2134 wrong.  I only noticed as I was reviewing the post.  They are now correct.  Really!  Brakes can be a minefield and you need to have your wits about you.  Sometimes mine seem to go walkabout.

Anyway, I thought I'd have a go a weathering the 4 WR wagons that I recently finished.  I've sprayed all 4 using my airbrush.  I start with a light dusting of earth and follow with a light coat of black.

I have done the 3 plank though:





I think the weathering really brings to life.  It didn't really thrill me when I took the earlier pictures but now I think it's super.

I use three powders; rust, umber and black and layer these.

I start with rust on the axleboxes, springs, brakes and solebar.  I then follow up with umber in the same places but also on the metal fittings of the body.  Finally I apply black to finish off.  Powder is one of those things that you want to be careful not to use too much.

I used the fiberglass pen to polish the buffer heads and rub a bit of the weathering off the black patches (I reckon these would have got a clean now and then) carefully!  I also rubbed the weathering off the brake handle, again this would have been kept cleanish.

I used a silver pencil to highlight the door pins.

Happy days!   :chicken

John

That looks very convincing, John.   :cool:

OK, let's see if this one is convincing:





As the body was steel and it carried water, I gave it a rusty patina.  The weathering has disguised the ropy lettering as I had hoped.

John

Yep.  Nice.   :thumbs

Top notch, John.

But then would we expect anything else ?


Allan

More powdering this morning, arguably getting as much on me as the model:



I forgot to polish the tyres - tsk.



John

Last weathering project for now:





These are ready for delivery to their owner now.

John