WARREN KERFOOT shows us how to add a military train to your layout.
With the growing amount of Ready-To-Run models for the wartime era modeller coming available, I fancied having my own military train for my layout.
The new issues from Oxford Rail of the Warwell Wagon is fantastic and in my opinion these are great value for money for a superb looking model. This brief article however takes on a slightly fanciful journey for me. I wanted something a bit different to run with the Oxford products, a train I'm going to run assembled permanently. Though, what this train is doing in Salford will remain a mystery!
For this I started with the Dapol DAC044 Lowmac or Machinery Wagon kit. I picked this over the Airfix GMR and later Hornby variant simply because it bears a far greater resemblance to the wagons built and run by the Midland Railway and subsequently the LMS. There are of course many differences in the actual diagrams of these wagons, but as a very 'if it looks alright, it is alright' kind of modeller, the Dapol kit fits the bill.
The kits themselves have been around for a long time. Consequently, some of the ones I made for this project presented a few challenges. The plastic varies a bit and some had more flash than others. The key seemed to be patience. As with all plastic kit modelling, taking your time and working on the fit and finish before the glue arrives on site pays dividends in the end.
To improve running, open out the axle boxes from behind using a Pin Chuck with a suitable sized drill bit to give clearance for Peco bearings. The difference in running quality is astounding when these are used instead of plastic to plastic.
Painting was done with Humbrol Greys in the aerosol range, the decks picked out in enamels to depict wear and staining. Decals were mainly parts from the BR decals included with the Lowmac kits - with the BR bits removed of course.
Then came the task of building a few Airfix kits for the AX03306 Bedford QLD / QLT and the AX01314V AEC Matador. I also used a couple of the superb Oxford Diecast versions of the AEC Matador too, suitably redecorated to look like the ones I was making from the kits. I modified them all very slightly from the instructions, just to make them more personalised.
Bonding the lorries down with Deluxe Materials DLAD-45 Roket Max as usual, and DLAD-55 Glue 'N' Glaze used where necessary to flush up the windows.
With lorries mounted, they still looked like two elements had just been thrown at each other. To make the look make a bit more sense as a model, I fitted Chains to them. I also used the amazing Minitanks Block and Lashing set. These add greatly to look of the lorries being secured, rather than just coming along for the ride!