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BR brake van duckets

Started by MEL 41, Sep 09 2011 15:57

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MEL 41

Guys, one of my next planned projects is to scratch build a BR standard brake van (the one based on an LNER design). I've got most of the build worked out in my mind, but the one thing I'm not particularly confident about making are the duckets. Does anyone know of a supplier of such things?

Andy B

What are you intending to make the rest of the brake van from, and why do you perceive the duckets as being difficult?
GRS do a kit for an LNE/BR brake van, so it is worth asking if they can provide the duckets separately.

Andy

MEL 41

The whole thing will be based on a modified Bachman Annie coach chassis Andy, the bodywork being built from plastic card and various plastruct. I don't really consider making the duckets as being difficult, it's just making them look convincing enough that I'm a bit unsure of.

Yes, the GRS route was one that I'd considered., thanks.

AllWight

Try making them out of plastic card by building up thin layers of 30 thou and then when you have the right profile face it off with 10 or 20 thou plasticard and use filler to hide all the odd gaps. The thin plasticard will follow the roll of the shape you create and give the impression of a sheet of metal that has been rolled to the required shape. This is a long slow boring process but do both duckets at the same time with identical sized pieces to keep them uniformed and the same from one side to the other.

Mark

keith Bristol

mel.
For reference having owned a brakevan the duckets are rough pieces of engineering so your have to look right but not coach smooth.. most were rusted pitted, bashed etc.

Keith

MEL 41

Good stuff, thanks for the info guys.

MEL 41

Just thought I'd bring you up to date with the scratch-built brake van on a re-gauged Bachmann Thomas Annie coach chassis. As you can see, I ended up scratch building the duckets too.

I won't pretend for one minute that this is a scale model, the dimensions being "bent" to suit the chassis, but hopefully it has the right look?

Just a spot of weathering left to do.


Traininvain

Nice one MEL 41 - I can see an article for the G3 newsletter coming along here! Deadline 6 November please.

Ian

AllWight

If you were a bit unsure of the dimensions as they are to fit the coach chassis. Perhaps it is closer to the SR 15 or 25 ton brake van also known as a pill box brake van.

Mark 

MEL 41

Yes Mark, someone else has made the same suggestion on another forum.

Just finished the weathering process with the airbrush. Photo will be posted later.

MEL 41

Photo as promised.


AllWight

Wow, you don't hang about do you. I thought that I could work fast and turn out the models quickly. Have you a production line that none of us know about?

By the way the wagon looks good. I see you have retained the original buffer stocks are they sprung too. On the Annie and Clarabel that I have with my Thomas I have been lazy and not bothered with sprung buffers or compensation. I do however feel they would benefit from a 3 point compensation unit on each coach. A winter project for all my four wheel coaches( the stroudleys as well as annie and clarabel).

Mark

keith Bristol

Or a room full of skilled craftspeople! Good job

MEL 41

Thanks guys.

OK Mark, you've found me out and it's confession time.

The beauty of this project was that the brake van cost me about ten quid - I know it's not a scale model, but at that price who's complaining? The reason being that a friend gave me the Annie coach which he had bought for his young sons, but one of them had managed to drop it resulting in a broken end and the loss of all of the actual buffers which couldn't be found. I made a new end panel for the coach body and turned it into a bogie coach for my narrow gauge railway, leaving the bare (buffer less) chassis for the brake van conversion and here's the confession................... the replacement buffers are large headed drawing pins with small segments of thin drinking straws for the shanks, all glued into the existing stocks which I drilled out.

They say confession is good for the soul.  ;)

AllWight

You missed your calling you should have a been a presenter on Blue Peter!!