HO Some British H0

[cloggydog]

What's that? More H0 scale NPCCS? Haven't you got enough already!?

A recent delivery of a friend's surplus British H0 collection (Thanks Ian!) has enabled another planned project to be started, a Diagram 720 Post Office Sorting Van. I can run it on Poison Street Parcels and, following some interesting discussions about Far North TPO workings whilst exhibiting at Model Rail Scotland last year, Dounreay as well.

This marries the sides from the underlength Playcraft TPO onto a Lima BSK, with a bit of cut 'n' shuttery.

A bit of tidying to do around the former net recess/roof join and it'll be ready for a blast of primer.

This will get a pair of my BR1s (which will just about pass for the heavier BR2) and a coat of PO red.

A full illustrated write-up will appear in the next issue of Satellite 1:87, the free quarterly mag of the British 1:87 Scale Society.

 

[cloggydog]

Another day, another H0 scale NPCCS scratchbuild...

Ex-GWR Fruit D body pretty much there, just the end hoods to do and sort the roof. This will use MJT internal bearing units and cosmetic resin-cast W-irons/springs/axleboxes.


And the Thompson deal-sided BG I started last weekend on the British 1:87 Scale Society stand at Erith show has gained it's toplights and a roof, just the ends and ducket to do. 3D-printed 8ft Gresley HD bogies will go under that in due course.

What to do next... SR Bogie B or an LMS Motor Car Van? I'll need to restock on Evergreen 4167 and 264 first though.

 

[cloggydog]

Unsurprisingly, there's a flurry of activity on the bench ahead of Poison Street Parcel's outing to the Bentley MRG's Trainwest show in Calne 11/12 April.

The Thompson BG now has bogies and other undergubbins courtesy of Isinglass Models very kindly rescaling some of their bits to 1/87 for me and it and the Fruit D are now in the paintshop.


I've also pretty much done the one-off Mk1 Brute Carrier M85000 (later TOPS PCV) which was converted from a CK in 1970 with plastic/fibreglass sides and doors as an experiment. This has new plasticard sides on a Lima CK chassis/roof and is also in the paintshop for a coat of BR blue.

Finally, a new bit of motive power, a battered green Fleischmann Warship has been tidied, rewheeled and is becoming scabby maroon FYE D844 Spartan, based on a 1968 photo at Worcester.

 

[Ian@StEnochs]

Spartan. I saw that once as it whizzed past us schoolboy spotters on Cumnock station one lunchtime. Either on test or delivery from NBL on the G&SWR line south, she was in shiny green paint then!

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Finally, a new bit of motive power, a battered green Fleischmann Warship has been tidied, rewheeled and is becoming scabby maroon FYE D844 Spartan, based on a 1968 photo at Worcester.

It just shows how good the 1970s Fleischmann HO model was with its crisp moulded detail - still holds its own against today's 4mm models.

Mine has remained in green except I added yellow warning panels and repowered it with Roco drive bogies from a secondhand V200 providing an all axle drive. It also enabled me to lower the ride height.

 

[Simon H]

I've always wondered how good the Fleischmann Warship was...I remember seeing it in one of the catalogues Dad (who knew the Fleischmann importer) brought me when I was about 13. Those catalogues, and the odd item of rolling stock, still have an influence on 60 year old me...
Am I remembering rightly that there were some Bullied coaches that went with the Warship?
Hopefully see you and the layout at Calne next weekend, Alan.
Cheers,
Simon.

 

[cloggydog]

It just shows how good the 1970s Fleischmann HO model was with its crisp moulded detail - still holds its own against today's 4mm models.

Mine has remained in green except I added yellow warning panels and repowered it with Roco drive bogies from a secondhand V200 providing an all axle drive. It also enabled me to lower the ride height.

I've made use of Gibson 10.5mm Lowmac discs which are slightly under-size, but have a similar effect of lowering things to the right height. Luckily, Fleischmann use a 2mm axle, so a straightforward swap, albeit with the gear scavenged from the Fleischmann driven wheels and plenty of spacing washers to restrict sideplay.

I've always wondered how good the Fleischmann Warship was...I remember seeing it in one of the catalogues Dad (who knew the Fleischmann importer) brought me when I was about 13. Those catalogues, and the odd item of rolling stock, still have an influence on 60 year old me...
Am I remembering rightly that there were some Bullied coaches that went with the Warship?
Hopefully see you and the layout at Calne next weekend, Alan.
Cheers,
Simon.

The tooling is very good indeed - apparently based on D832 so has a slightly odd mix of Swindon and NBL roof detail (according to a friend who has studied these things in depth), but easily tweaked to be a NBL machine.

And yes, there were 3 Bulleid coaches which accompanied the Warship - Brake Third, Composite and all-Third of equal quality to the loco.
I have one of the latter, as a dozen or so made it to Scotland in the mid-1960s, swapped for ScR Mk1s which were converted to REP and TCs. The Scottish Bulleids lasted (just) into the 1970s and most received lined maroon. I've done Sc1466S based on a photo found on Flickr.

There were strong rumours that Fleischmann were also tooling up a Bulleid Light Pacific in H0, but pulled the plug on the whole range due to poor reviews (it's the wrong scale!!) and resulting low sales.

Look forward to seeing you at Calne, Simon.

 

[cloggydog]

Spartan is now suitably battered and patch-painted and various NPCCS brought to a state of readiness ahead of Calne show next weekend.

 

[Virgil Wedge]

Hi Alan,
Awesome modelling on Spartan and the other rolling stock looks excellent too. Bravo!
VW

 

[cloggydog]

With Dounreay (and Poison Street Parcels) both having some upcoming shows, I’ve cracked on with finishing the Lincoln Locos 20 I started a while back.

I’ve no photographic proof that 20s worked the Far North line, but Inverness had a trio from 1960-66, so I’m invoking the ‘Plausible’ clause of Rule 1.

The intention was to recreate one of the original Inverness trio (D8030-2) which were headcode disc and tablet-catcher fitted.

The Lincoln Locos shell is cleanly 3D-printed in grey resin and is accurate against published drawings. The one-piece body shell comes with a pair of bogie frames, also 3D-printed in black resin.

I’d already cut the tablet catcher recesses into the cabsides and deepened the cabside windows. I fabricated 2 tablet catchers from assorted microstrip.

Handrails from 0.45mm brass wire in Alan Gibson handrail knobs - medium for the long bonnetside and short for the nose end.

I also fitted a single open white headcode disc either end (lower right) to indicate a Branch Freight service.

Oleo buffers are old ABS 4mm wagon buffers - they are a smidge long for H0, but head diameter and housing detail are prefect. Kadee #156s (long scale head whisker type) installed in cut-down #242 draft boxes and a final touch are 3-piece miniature snowploughs at both ends from plasticard.

Battery boxes were fabricated from cores of 80-thou sheet, overlayed with 20-thou access panels and microstrip catches and hinges.

The loco is finished in all-over green as D8032, decals all from Railtec using their custom H0-C2002 set. Handrails then picked-out using a silver acrylic marker pen. The IS batch remained all-over green well into the mid-1960s. D8031 got small yellow panels circa 1965, but 30 and 32 were plain green until transfer south in late-1966.

Individual panes of 15thou plasticard glazing then fitted using Krystal Kleer before weathering based on prototype photos.

The model is powered by an ARU Model 28.5mm motor bogie with the LL 3D-printed bogie frame. Trailing bogie uses the LL frame with plasticard layers to hold the axles in alignment. These are both attached to a scratch-built plasticard chassis block which contains a quantity of ‘liquid weight’.

 

[cloggydog]

Some better photos of D8032 on test at Dounreay.

 

[Lawrence Boul]

This thread evokes memories of NZR modelling of a few years ago where such approaches were a necessity.

It's all very grass roots and laudable. Nothing that cannot be done on the kitchen table on a budget, which is a bit of a change from I got out the 3D printer/pantograph mill/laser cutter/(insert tech of choice here).

I'm always amused/bemused by those who take a more difficult path (although I'm doubtless guilty of it myself). But it's a hobby, so doing things that you enjoy is the whole point.