Like many others my first scratch built styrene model was a WAGR D class four wheeled open wagon.
This was promptly followed by a model of a R class open bogie wagon. Satisfied with the results of both models, I then moved on to something of greater interest to me, end loading long distance country AQS passenger cars.
Most scratch building projects require time to be spent on planning, making jigs and sometimes fabrcating items on a trial basis, etc. These tasks are not as non productive as they seam, as they help the modeller devise the simpler, easier and cheaper methods of building models. In order to get the most from this time it I decided to build a pair of AQS carriages.
As time progressed so did my skills and confidence in using styrene. By the time I had finished the carriages I was ready to build something to "pull 'em" with.
As far as steam locos were concerned the choice was easy - a Vclass. For me the V class epitomized what a modern narrow gauge railway steam locomotive was all about.
I was advised that the "Bachmann Plus" 2-8-0 consolidation locomotive [item 31401] was most suitable donor mechanism for a V class and that Murray Hartzer had previously built a Vclass in brass using the same donor mechanism.
I used a piece of 32mm diameter electrical conduit for the boiler. All the other parts, e.g. fire box, cab, running boards etc. were attached to the boiler. The boiler was attached to the donor mechanism in the same way as the original Bachmann body shell.
In the case of the tender, this was also constructed using sytrene, except for the brass sheet used to form the upper curved pannels of the coal bunker. "Rails West" components were used to detail the the model.
The model was primed with Holts brand red primer and top coated with a spray can of Colourbond brand Rivergum Green. Black letraset tape was used to line the tender and simulate the boiler bands.
A light coat of Wattyl brand Matt Estapol was applied to the model to dull the gloss of the paint and seal the Letraset tape. The model was then weathered using Art Spectrum brand soft pastels [chalk] and sealed with a second coat of Estapol.
Recently I had troubles with my boiler, so I needed it to be repaired very quickly. I asked a friend of mine who has some experience in this area(he was a boiler technique abroad) so he suggested me http://www.gasboilerspareparts.com/ where I found the parts that I needed. These guys have parts for every make and kind of boiler! They are just great!
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