Building a LNWR D1 wagon kit from Williams Models.

[Steve Cook]

I bought the kit from Mike late last year to accompany a D32 wagon that I had just finished (one wagon turned out to be not enough in the end!). The intervening time has been spent cleaning up the components and preparing everything ready for assembly. Alas, I wasn't on the ball enough to take photos on opening the box, so the first photo shows all of the components in their prepared state.



The preparation was largely down to removing moulding pips and feeds, cleaning up the odd bit of flash and chemically blackening the wheels and buffers. The buffers have been mounted in a lathe and had the outside edges radiused, the turning pip from the centre of the buffer filed off and a quick rub over with 600 grit wet and dry paper to smooth out the marks from turning. The only other bits to receive attention were the coupling chains - these have been filed to create a more rounded end. The wagon body was washed in warm water, before the coupling hook holes were filed out and the buffer housing holes drilled through.

The W irons were soldered up using the spacing jig that Mike supplies. I was a bit lax in cleaning up after soldering (Carrs Green Label flux and 145 solder) hence the rust evident on the parts. This has since been cleaned up as best as possible to give a complete unit.



The W iron assembly was offered up to the body and eyeballed into position. The holes in the W iron cross braces were used to mark the underside of the wagon to ensure it went back in the right location. It was glued into place using 5 minute epoxy, a pair of clamps holding everything square until the glue had dried.



The axleboxes were checked for fit (just needed a little tickle with a file to ensure they slid smoothly within the irons), then they were mounted on the wagon along with the dummy white metal springs to confirm all was square and free rolling.




Happy with the result, the springs and axleboxes were numbered so I'd know where they came from, then the springs were glued into place using 5 minute epoxy again. The buffer housings were glued in next, keeping an eye on the instructions to ensure that the bolt orientation was correct.



The mounting holes for the brake lever rack were drilled into the solebar (see photo above), then the brake lever brass overlays were soldered into place and the whole assembly chemically blackened. Once the brake lever support and rack had been glued in, the axleboxes and wheels were refitted and the brake gear assembled. The couplings and 3 link chains were put together and slipped in for the following photo



The last assembly job was to glue the horse hooks, label holders and number plates into position



That brings the build up to date, the brake gear remains loose at this point in time so it can all be stripped for painting whilst the axlebox keeps (not shown) have been chemically blackened and will be fitted after painting.
Next on the job list is to fabricate some tarpaulin cleats and fixing rings, then she'll be ready for the paintshop. The intended finish will not be as neglected as the D32 wagon shown below, but hopefully still pretty care worn and abused.



Steve

[IanT]

Great post Steve, looking  forward to seeing your paint job on this one too!

Regards,

IanT

[Steve Cook]

Great post Steve, looking  forward to seeing your paint job on this one too!

Thanks Ian.
Still not decided on the livery yet, I might just go for the diamonds again as they are easier to weather than transfers 
Steve

[Richard T]

Hello Steve, I though you had deserted us sad mortals ?

Richard

[Steve Cook]

My Grandfather once told me "If you're going to make more than two of anything, make a jig first." Wise words they turned out to be too, having put the idea into practice more than a few times and appreciated the time saving that results.

Thus, knowing I had to make 10 cleats for the wagon, it won't surprise you that the first job was to create a simple jig to make the process as easy as possible. A section of brass bar was cut to length and one end filed to create a small protrusion that was equal to the inside dimensions of the cleats. This jig was then mounted in a small vice and the process of bending up the 0.5mm brass wire started.

The first bend is 90 degrees to create a small tail. With the wire in the jig, what will become the bottom of the cleat is clamped to the jig with a pair of pliers so the long tail can be bent round another 90 degrees . The photo below shows the jig with a finished cleat resting in place which should help make more sense of the above.



If the first short tail is too long, it overhangs the jig and prevents being able to clamp the wire with the pliers – a couple of passes with a file are all that's needed to shorten it to length. The long tail was cut to a length of 8mm, each cleat being measured and marked against a ruler, then the excess trimmed off. The photo below shows the jig and bent up cleats (the red marking on the jig shows the filed areas and hopefully makes it easier to see).



The rings were formed by wrapping 0.5mm diameter brass wire around a 2.5mm drill bit.



Once about six whole turns were present, the resulting coil was slid off the bit and a pair of cutters used to slice down the coil. This gives a set of 'twisted rings' which need tweaking with a pair of pliers, then the two ends soldering together.
The cleats and the rings were then chemically blackened. The cleats were done individually by holding the long tail end with pliers and dipping the remainder in the blackening solution. The rings were all threaded on to another length of wire so they could be fully immersed and then washed off.



A small confession to make at this point. I assumed that the rings would be held in place by a looped coach bolt as I've seen on other wagons – alas, after making the bolts and gluing them into position, I was flicking through some photos to realize the rings were actually attached using a U shaped bolt.   Never mind, I guess that can just act as a reminder to look at pictures before modeling, or not afterwards...
Anyway, in case the following is useful for anyone, I've shown the four stages in making up the looped coach bolts.
Stage 1 (top). The bolt is made from 0.5mm steel wire, @40mm long and folded back on itself with ring resting in resulting loop.
Stage 2 is to clamp the wire with pliers just behind the ring.
Stage 3 is to cut off one leg (note, cut at an angle through the wire, not at right angles).
Stage 4 (bottom) is to close up the resulting gap with a pair of pliers.



The finished ring / bolt assemblies were then dunked in the blackening solution, washed off and left to dry.
A series of holes were drilled on the underside of the wagon to take the cleats, while 0.6mm holes were drilled in the headstocks to take the rings. Both things were glued in with superglue, then the cleats were twisted and bent to represent items that have seen a lifetime of abuse. The photos below show the end result – time to wash the body and let it dry ready for priming tomorrow (fingers crossed for tomorrow)...






Steve

[Steve Cook]

Hello Steve, I though you had deserted us sad mortals ?

Richard

Hi Rich

Not deserted, just took a small hiatus   
I'm still not sure what the G3 destination will be, but this is a nice project to ease myself back into the modelling mindset (and remind me just how big all this stuff is!).

Steve

[Steve Cook]

An early start this morning meant I managed to get the first coat of primer on the bodyshell before the heavens opened. The rest of the day was spent dodging showers and getting the rest of the components primed and painted. The photo below shows a rough and ready assembly job with everything loosely in place, I've separated all the bits now to ensure none get stuck together as the paint dries fully overnight...



Steve

[midnight miller]

Hello All

Take care Steve there could be a magazine article try to escape



                                                   John

[John Candy]

At the rate Steve is going, I shall have to convert it to an eBook for downloading, before the forum server suffers a nervous breakdown! 

[MikeWilliams]

Well done Steve.  Nice to se somebody researching futher into the details and not just taking a kit at face value.

Nice publicity for me too (blush!).

Mike

[Steve Cook]

Thanks for the comments Gents.

At the rate Steve is going, I shall have to convert it to an eBook for downloading, before the forum server suffers a nervous breakdown! 

It'll be a bit slower from here on in anyway as I experiment with achieving the desired paint finish, three failed attempts on a scrap body this evening, thinking cap on...

Mike...'Tis a pleasure

Steve

[Steve Cook]

No progress on the paint front, so I've added some extra detail to the capping on the perimeter of the body. Its a bit difficult to make out in the photo, but I've added the join lines in the capping between the ends and sides and an attempt to represent the fixings used to hold it in place.



Steve

[Steve Cook]

A bit of progress after a couple of weeks off.
Having decided that I didn't want the wagon to look too worn, but not factory fresh either, the outside was drybrushed with a variety of light brown and grey shades to create a slightly varied wood effect.



Maskol was then applied using the end of a sharpened cocktail stick.



The wagon was shot in primer again and the diamonds stenciled on.



The paint was allowed to dry for a couple of hours, then most of the maskol was picked off to show the 'wood effect' underneath the paint. The diamonds were given a first rub over with isopropyl alcohol to fade them down a touch.



Some of the maskol has been left to try and give the illusion of paint that is about to 'blow', I'm in two minds as to whether the effect is successful or not....



The interior woodwork was painted next using a base coat of light beige. Various shades of grey and brown were added to the mix and dry brushed over the base coat. A wash of dirty brown was then flooded over the top to tone it all in a bit.



Everything below the solebars has been painted in a dirty black mix, including all the axleboxes, wheels, buffers etc. It is all being left to dry properly overnight ready for assembly in the morning, I can then get on with the next stage of weathering and detailing.


Steve

[IanT]

Nice work Steve!

Ian T

[Steve Cook]

Nice work Steve!

Thanks Ian 

Some more slow but steady progress



Steve