A
Alec K
Guest
Awaiting the arrival of the various Plastruct sections I need to complete my footbridge (and Mark II token exchange platform), I decided to take my courage and razor saw to hand to tackle a Newqida box van I purchased a couple of years ago. The inspiration for this is the step-by-step account given, and still available, on this forum by Miamigo 259 of his work to convert the Newqida vehicle to an Argentine ventilated van. Without that level of guidance, I would not have proceeded. Thank you, Stephen.
Stephen's first step was to remove the balcony end of the chassis with an additional allowance for a replacement buffer beam. I laminated the latter from two pieces of 80 thou Plasticard, having first cut out the socket for the central buffer and drilled two holes for the vac pipe. All the various fittings from the balcony have been retained for future use. I had already upgraded the chassis with metal wheelsets.
Stephen worked from a good prototype picture. Having downloaded a number of pictures of mainly pregrouping British examples, I wasn't entirely happy with the idea of using any of these as the basis for a much longer vehicle. That was until the 'Fruit D' vision came to me! The configuration of Stephen's modification seems to me at least to be entirely 'right' for this GWR vehicle.
I followed to the letter the guidance on removing the 4 side ventilator mouldings from the donor van, and then carefully sawed the roof to length. Four end ventilator hoods have been made from Plasticard, together with four infill pieces scribed to match the timber mouldings. The characteristic external angle irons are being added to the body, and all these are made up from individual 2mm and 4mm strips of Plasticard cut individually and welded together. Because the door arrangements on the donor vehicle and the real 'Fruit Ds' are completely different, all I can hope to capture is the essence of the latter. I have added overlays to both Newqida doors to reflect the strapping and corner plates found on the plywood box vans equipped with sliding doors. Another compromise!
There's a great deal to do yet. I need to cut and make a lot more strapping, add roof ventilators, lamp brackets, and mask ready for painting and reassembly. I'm tempted to finish the 'Fruit D lookalike' in the BR passenger red livery so that it reminds me of the Hornby Dublo version I owned far too many years ago.
All the best
Alec K
Stephen's first step was to remove the balcony end of the chassis with an additional allowance for a replacement buffer beam. I laminated the latter from two pieces of 80 thou Plasticard, having first cut out the socket for the central buffer and drilled two holes for the vac pipe. All the various fittings from the balcony have been retained for future use. I had already upgraded the chassis with metal wheelsets.
Stephen worked from a good prototype picture. Having downloaded a number of pictures of mainly pregrouping British examples, I wasn't entirely happy with the idea of using any of these as the basis for a much longer vehicle. That was until the 'Fruit D' vision came to me! The configuration of Stephen's modification seems to me at least to be entirely 'right' for this GWR vehicle.
I followed to the letter the guidance on removing the 4 side ventilator mouldings from the donor van, and then carefully sawed the roof to length. Four end ventilator hoods have been made from Plasticard, together with four infill pieces scribed to match the timber mouldings. The characteristic external angle irons are being added to the body, and all these are made up from individual 2mm and 4mm strips of Plasticard cut individually and welded together. Because the door arrangements on the donor vehicle and the real 'Fruit Ds' are completely different, all I can hope to capture is the essence of the latter. I have added overlays to both Newqida doors to reflect the strapping and corner plates found on the plywood box vans equipped with sliding doors. Another compromise!
There's a great deal to do yet. I need to cut and make a lot more strapping, add roof ventilators, lamp brackets, and mask ready for painting and reassembly. I'm tempted to finish the 'Fruit D lookalike' in the BR passenger red livery so that it reminds me of the Hornby Dublo version I owned far too many years ago.
All the best
Alec K
