Wrack and Ruin

Now paint your model

...My least favourite phrase in any list of kit-building instructions. At six hours per coat, with two or three top coats, this stage isn't going to be over by teatime. I feel a pang of regret every time I walk past this unfinished guards van, because it's a lovely model with some nice markings and I just want to see it running.

The proper way to paint a model requires two coats of Halfords grey primer, followed by approximately a hundred coats of the final colour, rubbing down after each coat with progressively finer grades of Wet & Dry and ending with a gentle caress from a pair of silk cami knickers belonging to an expensive French whore, also wet and dry (that "bang" you just heard was Google switching on an extra data centre to cope with my increased hits).

My way involves a quick squirt of primer and then as many top coats as I can be bothered to do (so that's about two then), slapped on any old way while watching TV. Needless to say, the results aren't as exquisite, but you get a train running some time before Christmas even if it looks like it was finished by that dodgy decorator bloke who only gives a mobile number and expects cash. What I should be doing between coats is starting another kit, but I've only just cottoned on to this obvious time economy.

Speaking of which, the kits I received really were the gift that keeps on giving. Six months on, I've still only finished one of them, with another three in a partial state - and the last only begun this weekend. Don't turn up at Rhach station, because it still doesn't exist yet.

Rapier road test

Working at home gave me the opportunity for a quick lunchtime run of the finished Rapier on the line. I guess this is R&R loco No. 1. Despite the growling, it's a very smooth runner - possibly too smooth. Rather like the "electric mice" problem with indoor model railways, battery-driven locos lack the subtle variations in running that a steamer would demonstrate, where each small gradient and curve is reflected in the performance from the engine. But I'm not complaining at this stage; the mere fact that it's running without problem is a testament to both model and line. I heartily congratulate the builder of both. Hem, hem.

I'm contemplating adding a skirt to hide the wheels, which aren't very interesting, and if I come across any simple detailing fitments such as steps or an exhaust pipe, I may add them, but this kit is finished for my purposes.

What I've learnt from my experiences building this one:

• Superglue was definitely the way to go, even if it doesn't offer the strongest bonding and is risky around careless fingers. I simply haven't got the spare time or patience to chip away at a task like this one joint at a time, waiting hours for each one to set. You just need to remember to soak the area and test the joint carefully afterwards, or apply extra bracing where possible. An epoxy glue like Araldite may be better - it remains workable for longer and sets harder - but the constant mixing and limited working time (approx. four mins) put me off for this build.
• Painting is a little tedious given long drying times per coat, but you can quickly apply each coat inbetween other chores. Remembering basic wood painting practice, like sanding and using primer, helps.
• Almost nothing on this model is entirely square, or flush, or centred; it is pretty much thrown together. That's OK, it was a first attempt and I wanted to see something that ran in a hurry, rather than something that took months and would win prizes. I feel I could still build it better on a second and third attempt, which is the more important part. Not in any rush to tackle another one (how many does a small line need?), but I would definitely consider it without any concern.
• Kit-building isn't the fastest route to running stock, which can be galling if this is your first and only loco, but it strikes the best balance between cost, simplicity and speed.

Triumph!

Eureka, as the man said! It works!! Still the roof to go, and the couplings, but these are minor details, surely? The motor spins and the wheels turn, albeit very noisily and not entirely square to the body. But these are the little quirks that make up a narrow gauge loco.

Where are my navvies?! TRACK, DAMMIT! I must have a track to run on!! Faster! (whipcrack) Oh wait, that's me.

A tip on fitting the wheels: mark a line down the centre of the base (preferably before assembly), and other one in the centre of the 32/45mm gauging tool. Align the two lines when fitting the wheels and they should be centred with respect to the body.

I think the growling noise comes from the axle gear rubbing against the motor housing; in that case, I'd suggest having less than the recommended 5mm protruding from the underside of the body. (Incidentally, I had to file the motor hole just to make it fit.) Unfortunately, I've used way too much superglue on this so I doubt I can refit it now.

Building the Rapier

"Hey Ade, what happened to that Rapier kit you got?" The body shell of the IP Engineering Rapier diesel is, as you can see, assembled. It's taken about two weeks to get to this point, or roughly four hours of actual work. Now all I have to do is avoid wasting all this effort by making a hash of the chassis.

The kit went together fairly easily, although I should perhaps have obeyed my GRA's advice to read the instructions in full first, as I would then have realised that the engraved sides of the end pieces are supposed to face out so that you can position the buffer blocks correctly. (Alternatively, the instructions could have mentioned this in the first place, thus saving me from myself.) I used superglue to assemble the parts, as I couldn't face waiting 24 hours between each join. This works reasonably well, although it tends to soak into the wood, causing the first attempt at a join to fail. (Update after RTFM: Loctite suggest dampening porous surfaces prior to applying the glue.) However, as all the joints are along edges, they don't have much strength, so I have glued short sections of 5mm square section stripwood in the corners to provide additional bonding surfaces for the glue. I've managed to recall enough basic electrics and soldering to wire in a reversing switch, using a DPDT mini-toggle left over (still in its packet!) from the remains of the N gauge layout. (I understand NATO are dropping back to DefCon 4 any day now.) Ideally, it would have been the centre-off type, but this was not the sort I had.

For livery, I've gone with Humbrol Brunswick Green, as I'm a firm traditionalist (and again, I had some handy). Although I'm starting to think that crimson can be very attractive; perhaps it'll be green for diesels and red for steam. Or perhaps it doesn't matter. Somehow, I forgot how to paint bare wood and skipped the primer. The resulting grained finish is attractive but looks wrong on a locomotive; I'm sure someone can point me to pictures of prototype wooden-bodied diesels, but I feel it ought to look like a metal body. Still, first effort so I'm not going to sweat the details.

All that remains is to insert the motor, then attach the axle boxes and wheels. I would have done this last night but life intervened once more. This looks like the trickiest part, so fingers crossed. One approach that is definitely handy is to keep the model and all your tools on a tray, so that it can be stored safely up high, away from Little Fingers Of Destruction, and taken down when there's a spare hour.

Outside, autumn continues in full cry, with lashing gales and heavy rain, and thick clumps of fallen leaves accumulating on the curves of the line. I'd like to have a complete circuit ready by the time this loco is running, but it looks unlikely unless the weather abates. On the contradictory hand, I don't want a finished line with nothing to run on it either...