STEP BY STEP

1 To add a slightly aged and less uniform appearance to the timber decking, I ran a profile cutting tool (available from craft stores) along the moulded plank seams. Just a couple of passes, drawing the tool towards you, is enough to add greater definition.

2 A small brass wire brush followed, helping to clear away debris from the seams, but also adding grain texture to the planks. The full benefits of this work will be felt later, during the painting and weathering stage.

3 Working with long, slender plastic mouldings can be a challenge when fettling away moulding seams and imperfections. The chassis frames and supports need to be flat and true along their mating faces, so a long file was employed.

4 Assembly began by adding the bogie supports at each end, along with the buffer beams, which butt up against each other. I used a slower curing cement to allow for fine adjustments of the parts. When happy, the supports were clamped in place for a few hours.

5 Beginning with one section of the floor, a side frame was installed, tacking it in place at intervals while checking that it was sat truly vertical. The other side frame was then added in the same way, while working on a hard, flat surface.

6 The other half of the floor was then positioned and fixed to the side frames, again checking the angles as I went. After a final check, more liquid cement was run into the joints and the unit was clamped to a flat reference surface and left overnight.

7 Clamping while glueing up the main chassis frames provided effective resistance to warping or bowing, something I’ve encountered on similar kits. Further strength was added once the inner trussing strips were installed, using a steel rule to aid alignment.

8 Liquid cement was great for adding the main structural parts, which required a rapid bond. But the Precision Plastic Glue proved handy when repairing a broken truss bar. Using the precision tip, a small bead of glue was applied around the break.

9 A thin piece of styrene strip was then placed within the angle of the truss, bridging the break and offering plenty of support. The Precision Plastic Glue allowed plenty of time for the patch to be positioned accurately and discreetly.

10 The same glue was employed for the lateral strengthening strips. The kit’s parts were deemed inferior, so strips of 2mm angle section styrene were cut and installed instead. They were made a couple of millimetres too long, allowing them to be trimmed flush later.

11 I managed to lose one of the bogie mounting bolts from my kit, so I modified the brackets to accept some small brass bolts I had in stock. The holes were simply drilled-out to a slightly larger diameter. The bolts will have to be trimmed to the correct length later.

12 I found that the countersunk bolts didn’t locate positively into the brackets so, in order to ensure that they remained perpendicular to the chassis, I secured them with epoxy adhesive. Holes were drilled in a jar lid to allow the bolts to hang while the glue set.

13 After fettling the bogie components, the bearing holes were redrilled to accept a set of brass ‘top hat’ pinpoint bearings. Wheels and bearings aren’t supplied with Cambrian kits, but are readily available from good model shops.

14 After fixing the brass bearings in place with a tiny drop of cyanoacrylate glue, one side frame was bonded to the bogie frame (using poly cement), ensuring a 90º angle. Check with a set square and allow the glue to dry for an hour or so.

15 Add the other bogie side frame, tacking it into place with poly cement and, while the parts are still pliable, insert the axles into the bearings. On a flat surface, check that the frames are square (all four wheels should contact the surface) and the wheels turn freely.

16 Leave the frames to cure fully before adding other parts to the bogies. Cross-braces are supplied for each end, but no brake gear. I found some spare brake parts from other wagon kits and mounted the shoes onto scraps of plastic angle.

17 The bogie mounting brackets can now be bonded to the underside of the floor, using the mounting guides to ensure correct alignment. Check again that the bolts are sitting vertically, using a set square.

18 The buffers were replaced with whitemetal parts which should prove more resilient and look better too. Any gaps around the shanks were filled with plastic putty. A brush dipped in cellulose thinners helps clean up the excess.

19 Chain securing rings are provided, which are a bit fiddly to handle but worth adding. Those rings that will be connected to securing chains were fixed in the raised position. Thankfully, extra parts are provided, as a few of them disappeared into the carpet!

20 After painting with a matt black primer, using an aerosol, the bogies were installed. A drop of Loctite on the threads will ensure the nut doesn’t work loose. The excess length of the brass bolt was snipped away with track cutting shears and were painted black.

21 The timber decking was dry-brushed with various shades of brown and grey acrylics, applied with a flat brush along the length of each plank. Most of the deck will be obscured by the track load, so the result didn’t have to be perfect.