Old Triang Blood and Custard Restoration

Discussion in 'Workshop Benches' started by DomMorris, Mar 15, 2018.

  1. York Paul

    York Paul Staff Member Moderator

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    Nothing like a good old mess up Toto... I do it all the time ... and get shouted at.:avatar:
     
  2. DomMorris

    DomMorris Full Member

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    Hey guys,

    Realised it has been quite a long time since I posted anything on these. To be honest, it's been quite a while since I've actually done anything on them, with other little projects getting more attention. I did however sit down the other day and just got cracking a bit. All 3 coaches have now had a decent go over on the cream section, and I have re-done some of the lining.

    20180727_104942[1].jpg

    This one is the least successful in my opinion, I think the state of the paintwork originally with whatever "rot" it was just meant it was very difficult to get even coats. Don't get me wrong, it still looks a damn sight better that it was, but there we are.

    20180727_104951[1].jpg

    I didn't actually realise I had a Restaurant Car, so I was quite chuffed to find this one! (Sorry for the over exposure.) This one turned out quite nicely, mainly because it was one that had a bolt through the chassis holding the roof on, so I was able to remove the roof, and the glazing to be able to paint the "cream". It was useful too, because the glazing didn't actually fit in so much that the curtains were always in the wrong positions. I was able to simply cut the glazing panel in the central white section and spread it over the entire carriage, so now at least the curtains look OKish.

    20180727_104958[1].jpg

    And the last one. This one has turned out alright too, so I'm fairly happy overall. I did the black lining top and bottom with one of my son's felt tips (sharpies were ever so slightly too chunky!). So now I just need to buy a black fineliner (do not want to steal SWMBO's, I'd never hear the end of it!) to pick out the door details (hinges etc) and then rewheel. I think I will leave the couplings as they are for the moment, until I have an actual layout and test how they behave. I don't want to mess about and screw them up if I don't need to!

    Anyway, there you are. Well done again if you have got this far! I may actually change the name of this thread and include the other little projects I've been working on (a little bridge over river diorama, a road/rail beer wagon tanker and a small experiment making fencing) but that will be for another time.

    Cheers,

    Dom
     
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  3. Toto

    Toto I'm best ignored Staff Member Founder Administrator

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    Looks like you've done a grand job on the coaches there Dom..... bring on your other projects :thumbs:
     
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  4. DomMorris

    DomMorris Full Member

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    Thanks Toto.

    They're not too shabby. Don't get me wrong, if you are looking for perfection and 100% modelling accuracy then they are bloomin' awful. But for the sake of £6 for all 3, a tester pot of house paint and a felt tip they'll do me. I've been sort of collecting wheelsets as I go along (If I see any going cheap I just grab them, I've got boxes and boxes of rolling stock that I know I will have to re-wheel at some point!) so gods knows how much they are. Maybe £2 a carriage ish? Not too bad really.

    I'll sort out the other bits shortly. I have photos of the dio build right from bare board upwards, so I will have to filter through them otherwise it will just spam the entire thing! The beer tanker has been good fun, but I have fewer pics of that. I will see what I can collate.

    I've also been working on how to make my own flocks, both sawdust and foam, along with an idea in the pipeline for a dio to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the end of WW1. Lots going on in the brain, not an awful lot actually happening but there we are.

    Cheers,

    Dom
     
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  5. York Paul

    York Paul Staff Member Moderator

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    I think they look great Dom and you give them a new lease of life considering some of these early Triangs are now knocking up over fifty years old, the early "plastic" ones were made from celluloid and they tended to warp and split, sunlight had the effect of shrinking the body and making it brittle in many instances.
     
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  6. Toto

    Toto I'm best ignored Staff Member Founder Administrator

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    They're fine and a great cost effective way of breathing life back into and older kit.

    Keep them coming good Sir.:cheers:
     
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  7. York Paul

    York Paul Staff Member Moderator

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    Absolutely Toto and Doms pictures brought childhood memories flooding back to me when Dad bought two exact same brake passenger coaches in Blood and Custard along with a Jinty 47606 and an oval of track which was the early taller thickness rail as a Christmas present once. I wish I'd kept it all now because it would have been a great link to Dad's memory. Anyway Dom's lovely pictures have achieved that instead so many thanks indeed Dom :tophat:and :cheers:... there is very often always a familiar social angle attached as well.
     
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  8. Keith M

    Keith M Staff Member Moderator

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    I too have just done a 'makeover' on a Triang/Hornby Mk1 coach, fortunately the paintwork was in good nick, but I decided to go the whole hog and do what I normally do with old coaches, which is painted interior, passengers, internal lighting plus in my case, as I use 'Kadee's as standard, fitting them too. If Dom or indeed anyone else wants to read on, this is how I went about it. After stripping the coach body into pieces, it's obvious that the whole unit is far too light, so I remove the roof securing screw bosses on the chassis floor, plus the 3rd moulding, none of which is needed on my conversions. I then cut a piece of lead flashing to 22mm x 136mm and glue this into the rectangular space created under the coach interior moulding.

    IMG_1264.jpg
     
  9. Keith M

    Keith M Staff Member Moderator

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    Next job is to replace the standard wheels with a new set of Hornby 2 hole wheelsets, and file off the rivet heads holding the metal tension lock couplings in place. (not necessary if you stick with tension locks, although they are a bit big!)

    IMG_1265.jpg

    Here you can see that I've already fitted Kadee's, an easy job using the existing rivet hole and an 8BA Csk screw and nut.
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2018
  10. Keith M

    Keith M Staff Member Moderator

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    Now it's the interior for sorting. Lighting-wise, I fit one of my standard fit self-built mini full wave rectifier boards (I've previously detailed these amongst past 'how-to's) and to squeeze it into one of the toilet compartments, it's necessary to cut a slot in the outside wall of the compartment as shown, to allow the capacitor to stick through. You can paint this if you wish, but as it's not easily seen, I never bother. You'll also need to cut or drill a small hole under the adjacent compartment seat moulding so that the wires can pas through to reach the bogie pickups.

    IMG_1267.jpg

    At this point, I now remove the interior moulding to paint the seats, floor etc, and once dry, fit a selection of passengers. I usually use cheap Chinese 'seated figures', no need to go expensive (at least in 4mm scale) as you can't really see them clearly anyway. Now it's time to turn attention to the roof moulding.
     
  11. Keith M

    Keith M Staff Member Moderator

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    First job is to remove the 3 mouldings (2 for the roof securing screws, 3rd one no idea what it was for!) as the roof will be glued on after completion. I then glue a strip of plain white paper to the roof underside, partly to reflect light better, but also to help prevent light showing through the roof. Once done, I then glue centrally a strip of LED lights which connect to the circuit board hidden in the toilet compartment.

    IMG_1268.jpg
     
  12. Keith M

    Keith M Staff Member Moderator

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    Now it's back to the chassis, fitting a set of pickups between the bogie. This is just a small piece of copper stripboard (Veroboard) with 2 small strips of brass for the pickups, bearing onto the back of each side of a wheelset as can be seen.

    IMG_1269.jpg
     
  13. Keith M

    Keith M Staff Member Moderator

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    So now it's time to fit the interior, painted and passengers fitted. I glue the coach sides into place first before clipping in the interior, then solder the output terminal wires from the circuit board in the toilet compartment. Check first for fit, and when ok, I glue the roof in place, as It's doubtful the roof would ever need to come off again, and you really don't want to see those horrible brass screws down the middle of the coach.

    IMG_1270.jpg
     
  14. Keith M

    Keith M Staff Member Moderator

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    Finally, with everything secured, upend the coach and solder the 2 wires passed through the bogie swivel rivet and into the pickup terminals as can be seen. IMG_1271.jpg
     
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  15. Keith M

    Keith M Staff Member Moderator

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    .......and that's it, job done! I know there are far better Mk1 coaches than these elderly representations around, but with a bit of time, not much money and a bit of work, they can be brought up to quite a reasonable standard, fit for all but the "Poshest" layout or "Rivet Counters R Us!" Here's mine on the layout, lit up and ready to go!

    IMG_1272.jpg

    Not too shabby for a "Cheapy!"
    Keith.


    (My apologies for Hi-jacking the thread, I just intended showing how much further you could go in 'enhancing' a cheap coach, but this could be used for virtually any Coach, not just an elderly Hornby one!)
     
  16. Timbersurf

    Timbersurf

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    Nice run through Keith, thanks. I have 50 :eek: a lot of Blood 'n' Custards that need this treatment. I am still experimenting with the circuit (TBA). My intention is not to paint the seats, but to line them with paper printed as cloth and carpet floors and wood at the back panels, but printed as one strip per carriage. I doubt anyone will see, but I will "Know"!
    When I perfect it, it will go in my freebie download shop.
    The jury is still out on the pickups, but I was planning on phosphor bronze or a spring like the DCC concepts type (no copyright infringement as I thought of it first
    {10 years before}, Richard just beat me to bringing it to market!:avatar:). Do you have any problems with brass? do they cause much drag?
     
  17. Toto

    Toto I'm best ignored Staff Member Founder Administrator

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    Great how to Keith. Very easy to follow.

    Cheers

    Toto
     
  18. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    Excellent work from both Dom and Keith. :thumbs:

    I have replaced the bogies on my old Mk1's (60's vintage) with the newer Bachmann bogies with the smaller coupling. They roll so much better than the original Hornby plastic wheels/bogie configuration and they look twice as good ! Maybe one day I'll get around to lighting, maybe, just maybe one day... ;)

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  19. paul_l

    paul_l Staff Member Administrator

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    Hi Dom - nice results.

    For highlighting hinges, door lines etc, try using a black wash - very thinned down paint Humbrol have some ready mixed enamel based washes.
    Try on a coach or wagon before you start the rebuild process to practice on.

    Apply the wash - just touch a seam with a loaded brush and let capillary action do the rest. Let it dry then remove any mistakes with a Cotton bud dampened with thinner.

    Scroll down this post I did on a Fish van to get the idea.

    http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/parkside-dundas-ps36-lner-10-ton-fish-van.707/page-2.

    Paul
     
  20. DomMorris

    DomMorris Full Member

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    Cheers for that Keith, I particularly like your version of pickups for the lighting, I shall be using that in future if that is OK? Unfortunately on my Triang ones the only one that has any form of interior is the restaurant car so I don't really want to illuminate a shell of a carriage to be honest. Out of interest, where do you get your Veroboard and brass strips from?

    I like the idea Paul but the details on these ones are actually tiny protrusions rather than recesses so I'm not sure it would actually work unless I "wash" the entire carriage and then wipe off the details I want to keep.

    I have just finished finelining the little details in. I was umming and ahhing as to do whether to the actual door lines and I've decided not to because I think it might make them look a bit cluttered (and it will be very easy to spot the inevitable mistakes!)

    Here are the results. Just the rewheeling to do which won't take any time at all.

    20180730_110613[1].jpg 20180730_110637[1].jpg 20180730_110650[1].jpg

    Cheers

    Dom
     

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