Overseer
Western Thunderer
As requested in the thread on the North British 16T mineral wagon I am making another open wagon and taking photos along the way to explain how I approach making wagon bodies using polystyrene sheet. I encourage everyone to have a go and try scratchbuilding a wagon. It is not difficult and requires few tools. It is also cheap so if the first one doesn't turn out quite right just use it for weathering practice or as a business card holder (or any other use you think of) and have another go.
Feel free to ask any questions.
To keep things together the following photo shows all the tools needed (as previously shown).
From the top is an Olfa P cutter used to make grooves in styrene sheet, Olfa make a couple of different types and the blades are quite often available as replacements - they fit in No2 modelling knife handles so you don't really need the whole P cutter. Then a small piece of coarse emery or sand paper for applying texture to unpainted planks, a small square, a pin vice, vernier callipers, a cheap paint brush for applying solvent, a scalpel with number 11 blade, a steel rule, some needle files and a largish flat file. All on a cutting mat. Most modellers will have most if not all of these.
The next item is not absolutely vital but it makes things much easier and quicker. It is a cheap engineers square screwed to a piece of plywood. It makes cutting and scribing at right angles very easy and dramatically reduces the risk of making mistakes.
The size doesn't matter as long as the width is more than the length of the wagon being made.
There are numerous sources of high impact polystyrene sheet. But to start with I suggest buying a range of thicknesses of Slaters Plastikard as it is of consistent quality, both of surface finish and thickness tolerance. Larger sheets purchased from vacuum forming firms or others are also useable but will have been specified to suit their use - often with one high gloss face. The hardness can also vary, not usually a problem but it is another thing to get used to dealing with once you have had some practice.
As an example for this thread I have chosen an ex-LNWR diagram 84 open wagon in the condition it was in circa 1955. This is a fairly typical wooden open wagon, but at 18 feet longer than many open wagons. LNWR Wagons - Volume One has General Arrangement diagrams and photographs. A photograph on page 105 shows wagon M230481 in 1958, in the condition I will be aiming at. You can choose any wagon you have information for.
And to start -
Working outside for the light for photos, but the clouds came over so the following photos are not great.
The first step is to look at the drawing and photographs and work out the size and thickness of the various parts. I usually scribble dimensions in millimetres on a scale copy of the drawing. Select the closest thickness styrene sheet available for the body sides and floor. In this case I am using 1.5mm (60 thou) which is a bit thin for this wagon (it had 3" thick planks) but just right for the majority of open wagons with 2 1/2" thick sides.
Step 2: Measure and cut a strip from the sheet, the width matching the length of the wagon. Depending on the arrangement of the wagon a decision should be made whether to have the ends between the sides or the sides between the ends. In this case I have made the width of the strip match the length minus the thickness of the ends.
I use the vernier callipers to measure and mark the styrene using the scalpel held against the leg of the calliper. The scalpel mark is much finer than can be made with a pencil and provides a positive location to start cutting from.
Step 3: Score the styrene sheet a couple of times using the scalpel. The cut only needs to go about a third of the way through. Then snap off along a table edge or similar.
Step 4: Make a simple height gauge from an offcut of styrene matching the width of the planks and curb rail, again using the scalpel as the marking tool. I have added a bit of pencil to make it easier to see the grooves and to identify the top of the gauge.
The gauge is used to mark the styrene strip for the plank lines. If using the square cutting guide only one end needs to be marked. Mark the inside and outside for one side.
Step 5: Cut the end of the strip of styrene in the square guide to ensure that it is right angled.
Step 6: Use the P Cutter to scribe the grooves between the planks. Some practice will be needed to get the technique right. Get used to how hard you need to push down to make the depth and width of groove you want and the angle to hold the cutter at. The aim is to get consistency. A single cut is better than going over the groove.
After scribing both sides of the side, use the scalpel to make the cut at the bottom of the side and snap off. Repeat for the other side and the ends (usually two ends can be made from the length of the side). The next photo shows the grooves a bit closer, after a single pass with the P Cutter and no cleaning up.
I think that might be the limit to the number of images so the next step will be in the next post.
Feel free to ask any questions.
To keep things together the following photo shows all the tools needed (as previously shown).
From the top is an Olfa P cutter used to make grooves in styrene sheet, Olfa make a couple of different types and the blades are quite often available as replacements - they fit in No2 modelling knife handles so you don't really need the whole P cutter. Then a small piece of coarse emery or sand paper for applying texture to unpainted planks, a small square, a pin vice, vernier callipers, a cheap paint brush for applying solvent, a scalpel with number 11 blade, a steel rule, some needle files and a largish flat file. All on a cutting mat. Most modellers will have most if not all of these.
The next item is not absolutely vital but it makes things much easier and quicker. It is a cheap engineers square screwed to a piece of plywood. It makes cutting and scribing at right angles very easy and dramatically reduces the risk of making mistakes.
The size doesn't matter as long as the width is more than the length of the wagon being made.
There are numerous sources of high impact polystyrene sheet. But to start with I suggest buying a range of thicknesses of Slaters Plastikard as it is of consistent quality, both of surface finish and thickness tolerance. Larger sheets purchased from vacuum forming firms or others are also useable but will have been specified to suit their use - often with one high gloss face. The hardness can also vary, not usually a problem but it is another thing to get used to dealing with once you have had some practice.
As an example for this thread I have chosen an ex-LNWR diagram 84 open wagon in the condition it was in circa 1955. This is a fairly typical wooden open wagon, but at 18 feet longer than many open wagons. LNWR Wagons - Volume One has General Arrangement diagrams and photographs. A photograph on page 105 shows wagon M230481 in 1958, in the condition I will be aiming at. You can choose any wagon you have information for.
And to start -
Working outside for the light for photos, but the clouds came over so the following photos are not great.
The first step is to look at the drawing and photographs and work out the size and thickness of the various parts. I usually scribble dimensions in millimetres on a scale copy of the drawing. Select the closest thickness styrene sheet available for the body sides and floor. In this case I am using 1.5mm (60 thou) which is a bit thin for this wagon (it had 3" thick planks) but just right for the majority of open wagons with 2 1/2" thick sides.
Step 2: Measure and cut a strip from the sheet, the width matching the length of the wagon. Depending on the arrangement of the wagon a decision should be made whether to have the ends between the sides or the sides between the ends. In this case I have made the width of the strip match the length minus the thickness of the ends.
I use the vernier callipers to measure and mark the styrene using the scalpel held against the leg of the calliper. The scalpel mark is much finer than can be made with a pencil and provides a positive location to start cutting from.
Step 3: Score the styrene sheet a couple of times using the scalpel. The cut only needs to go about a third of the way through. Then snap off along a table edge or similar.
Step 4: Make a simple height gauge from an offcut of styrene matching the width of the planks and curb rail, again using the scalpel as the marking tool. I have added a bit of pencil to make it easier to see the grooves and to identify the top of the gauge.
The gauge is used to mark the styrene strip for the plank lines. If using the square cutting guide only one end needs to be marked. Mark the inside and outside for one side.
Step 5: Cut the end of the strip of styrene in the square guide to ensure that it is right angled.
Step 6: Use the P Cutter to scribe the grooves between the planks. Some practice will be needed to get the technique right. Get used to how hard you need to push down to make the depth and width of groove you want and the angle to hold the cutter at. The aim is to get consistency. A single cut is better than going over the groove.
After scribing both sides of the side, use the scalpel to make the cut at the bottom of the side and snap off. Repeat for the other side and the ends (usually two ends can be made from the length of the side). The next photo shows the grooves a bit closer, after a single pass with the P Cutter and no cleaning up.
I think that might be the limit to the number of images so the next step will be in the next post.
The critical bit will be finding a piece of wood thats flat and firm enough, especially for my proposed enlarged one.
