It Has a name...

Well I have started on the Head gear after studying the A4 pages of instructions , And it aint for the faint hearted…So off I go.

I started with the wheels.


The next step for me is the legs. As I do not have a folding machine but do have about 7 x steel rulers and a vice I managed



After a few days parts start to come together.



Another view just to see how it looks on the layout…..



Another view



Now it's all made I gave it a good wire brushing then a soak in Caustic Soda overnight. Then when it was dry I gave it a coat of Red oxide primer…



I decided on Royal Blue as the colour for the Headgear , and I must say I think it looks quite striking (no pun intended)



Now I decided to make the supporting builings…






These are only positoned for taking photo's



Over the Festive season I managed to get a couple of hours here and there to escape to my 'Man Cave'



I got four of these coal tubs from Gaugemaster, They are HO…I think they look the bussiness?



I opted not to buy narrow gauge track to cover it up, so I went for plastic sheet scored…



Then using a very old engineers dividers I scored out tracks to give the illusion of points…

Now is the time to fit the wheels and I decided to make them Red after seeing a couple of Pits with Rad wheels on line. Red, White and Blue…






I really wanted flood lights on the top of the headgear. And after pondering I came up with a idea.
 The main structures have to be removable and made to locate in the same place everytime. Lights must be able to be plugged in for easy removal and connecting structures must wherever connect together ie: the conveyor to the screens.

and the result…



Oh yes I did say "The Pit has a name…What do you think?




Slowly but surely and I am learning all the time.

Thats is one super drop of scatch building Sapper.
Its going to be a great colliery model.
Thanks for the photo,s.
Derek.

I think the whole thing looks fantastic, Alan.   :thumbs

Couldn't agree more with the above comments. Great work on the model, well done. :thumbs 

Cheers, Gary.

Brilliant. Do like that night time picture :thumbs


Ed

Absolutely fantastic build. A great centre piece.

Toto

That really is a remarkable piece of scratchbuilding Alan. The night scene is brilliant!

Just caught up with this one Alan,what a fantastic job you've made of that pithead.

WOW!!!!!! Iv,e just come across your topic and it has just blown me away! your pit head gear is amazing I,ve had this idea for a colliery themed layout for a while now but have been put off by the unconvincing ready to plant models available, and I don,t have the skill to scratch build the pit head wheels, I did see an N gauge kit built head gear on a layout and I was told the manufacturer of the kit also made it in 4mm scale but I,ve not found out who makes them, is yours a kit or have you scratch built? either way it is brilliant!!thumbs:patheadPete.

Hi Jakesdad..
                     The  Pit Headframe came from Wrightscale..Burnside, Aboyne, Aberdeenshire,  AB34 5ES…Tel: 013398 86494…Email: aboyne@abel.co.uk…..The price  inc postage was £128 ….It's in my book .Modelling Further Aspects of  The Coal Industry by Rob Johnson…….Trust me 'It's Not for the faint hearted' The 4mm comes as 3 x A4 etchings containing hundreds of parts


REgards…Alan

some great modelling there, would look good on any layout  :doublethumb
thumbs;-):cool:

Hi Alan, thanks for the info, must say it was money well spent, I forgot to ask in my first reply when are you going to build the other down shaft head stocks? :mrgreen::mrgreen: he he, just kidding. Pete.

Never mind the head stocks , how about the sub level baseboard with a cutaway view on the mine itself ?

Coal face with workers, 009 track with mine carts ….all them pit props…go on. Ya know you want to !



Cheers


 Matt

Hi Jakesdad
                   I was thinking about having ago at scratch building a set of headstocks using Evergreen styrene profiles, as in one of my books by Rob Johnson (of which I have both) are 4mm scale drawings of headstocks. We will have to see as the wife would like to see me sometimes…

REgards…Alan

Hi Matc6911
                   In answer to you post regarding sub levels, I cannot do that as there is a tunnel under the pit…
As you can see it is a World of work in progress, Which just about sums up Model Railways?



And in the living room is The MPD which is in it's 9th year and is 8' x 2'…About 2 years ago I converted it to DCC whilst in situ.



I left the controllerin place just to power the Turntable.


REgards…Alan

WOW ! Alan I was having a wee joke mate , but you really HAVE squeezed the proverbial quart into a pint pot !!   Looks great though

 Cheers. Matt