In which your scribe continues his narration of the construction of We198… In the first thrilling instalment of this little exposition, I presented a CAD render of the cylinder and motion. Those parts have since been refined, printed and cast. The cylinder/slidebar/motion bracket were cast as a single part, as this simplifies construction significantly and…
Here on the blog, I’ve pontificated on all manner of matters relating to Rewanui (real and model), but it has been a while since the line’s raison d’être has featured. The extraction, movement to the bins and loading of the coal is outside the scope of the model (taking place ‘off scene’ as it were),…
There are many occasions in model making where there is a need for small (0.2-0.6mm) holes. If you are building a kit these holes may be present, but undersized. You can, of course, use the correct drill to open out holes but you may not have the ‘correct’ drill on hand. In any case drills…
There’s been a bit of a burst of activity at Chez Finescale of late. While it’s all been pretty good stuff it probably looks a little random and scattergun from the outside. To be honest it feels like that on the inside too sometimes, but really the soft focus approach has been driven by two…
When a bunch of bits arrives in the mail there’s always the choice of what to work on first. In this case it was the Q hoppers, but once they were out of the way it was the turn of the La-2 and the various wooden Ls (L1/L2). As readers on the blog will know,…
New product update: Q1 and Q4 hopper wagon kits. These kits have been promising for a while. Final test builds have been completed, instructions are nearly written and stock is on order. So here’s a preview… The Q1 and Q4 were both unbraked iron bodied hopper wagons that could be found in both the Westport…
One of the really attractive features of the old NZR cars was their open verandahs. Great to hang off for railfans wanting a full sensory experience, not so easy to model the railings and gates convincingly… The venerable NZFinescale car gate etch (code number ES001) was the first etched part I did way back in…
Scale modelling is changing Remember the days when you went to the hobby shop and purchased the model you liked best from what was in stock? Or mail ordered whatever you could get with your fingers crossed? The Internet changed a lot of that, and now technology is offering even more choice. Model what you…
It’s been a bit quiet while I’ve been beavering away so here is a progress report on the F kit… To recap a little, the kit will be etched in nickel silver with cast bronze parts and some 3D printed plastic details. There are also some design novelties as well. Test shots of various parts…
The F class is an iconic NZR locomotive. It was one of the most numerically predominant and longest lived locomotives in the country. Examples continued in industrial service after withdrawal and a number of examples are preserved. Just about any NZR layout can justify one. The Fs were built by seven builders in the UK.…
Not NZ Labour party marketing, but the sentiment is probably similar to Adern’s. The W kit has been on the go longer than the incumbent government, so I’m in a mood to move on! Over the last few weeks I’ve been putting together the initial batch of kits, writing instructions and other significant, but not…
With the W kit becoming imminent, one of the final tasks to sort out was the number and maker’s plates. While doing that I also took the opportunity to do the WA, and F class plates as kits for these are on my drawing board. There are also car class plates on the stock list.…
