K's Kits GWR 6 Wheel Low Siphon Completed...

... Well mostly completed, again as with the other models I have been working on of late, I have yet to add screw link couplings, but apart  from this, the model is pretty much there.

Talking about screw link couplings, I have been searching the net for some appropriate couplings, I find the Smiths screw links too coarse, using a small  tack as the adjustment bar, other offerings include Romford's which at £4 per pair, are way out of my league, or Scalescenes at £1.00 a pair which are better priced but not as prototypical as the ones available from Roxley Mouldings that work out at just .83p per pair. Smiths do have a Mk2 version of their screw link couplings which are listed on a few websites at around £1.80 per pair but they don't seem to have been released yet.

As can be seen I have added a Bachmann tension lock coupling at one end to improve compatibility which has been placed in a Parkside Dundas NEM mounting block. This will allow me to run guest stock or any stock that I haven't already converted to three link couplings. I have added vac pipes by Romford, and will be posting a tutorial in due course on how to quickly make these from scrap coax and telephone cable.

The paint used was Humbrol enamel matt chocolate brown No.98. In the pics it looks dark and rich but in real life it looks a little lighter and dustier, which I think will look the part once a bit of weathering has been applied. Transfers are from the HMRS Methfix range and went on with ease after Mikkel of the Farthing Layouts fame pointed me in the right direction concerning the tare weight.

As can be seen in a couple of the shots above, I have used some Peco milk churns, the photo below showing how they have been lined up to hide the lead ballast weight. The churns have not been fixed in place yet, I'm waiting until I have finished weathering, I then will secure them to both sides of the van. I'm not sure how accurate the Peco mouldings are but these will be fine as they are mostly hidden from sight.

  

The 14mm Maunsell wheel sets are by Romford. I have filed off the flanges of the middle wheel set to allow for unhindered running on smaller radius curves, even in the photos above off the track it fillet to both edges to allow the wheel to slide on or off the track as it goes around corners without any noticeable effect.

It is a straight forward Kit to build, although some of the details of the prototype have been left out of the kit, there is plenty of other detail to make an interesting looking model. Keep your eyes peeled on ebay and you may be able to pick one up!

Detailed Wrenn GWR Dia. X7 Mica B Refrigerated Van

I picked up this Mica B a couple of years ago on ebay, did nothing with it until this week.

This is the model in its original unpainted condition, mine was grubbier than this. The first thing I did was to remove the existing lettering then dismantled the model, sprayed the underframe black and painted the brake handle white. 

After this I added bearings to the little plastic inserts and fixed some extra ballast in the way of lead strip. The underframe is a one piece metal casting and the inserts provide a way of installing the wheel sets as there is no way that the axle boxes can be bent out to slip them in place.

After this attention turned to the body which received a couple of coats of white while the roof was repainted grey, followed by painting the detail on the door fasteners, handles and the steps on the ends.

Next came the transfers, with which I copied the livery of the Mica B at the Severn Valley Railway.

Romford vac pipes were added as were the coupling hooks ready for some Smiths Mk 2 screw link couplings. Finally the grab rails were repositioned, the cast instruction plates on the ends of the van were painted red and new wheel sets were fitted.

Obviously this won't pass as a fine scale model but I have enjoyed the detailing process and breathing some new life into this RTR offering.