006 pit prop waggon

I wanted a pit prop waggon, based on my flat, using offcuts of code 40 rail as the stakes. There's no prototype for this waggon, it's based on how I'd imagine a small basic workshop would do the job.

To bend the rail into an inverted U I first cut part way through the rail with a razor saw then opened out the cuts to a V shape with a square needle file. The rail could then be bent through 90 degrees and the bend reinforced with solder. Two cradles were made, which were in turn soldered to a brass base, a rare outing for my little-used RSU;

All parts were pre-tinned using a conventional iron. The tinfoil is there to keep flux away from the brass sheet that I use as a base plate. I like my RSU, but I don't believe it to be the be-all-and-end-all for soldering. However, using the probe to hold parts in place whilst the heat is applied is useful at times.

I blackened the bodywork (Birchwood Casey Brass Black) before mating body and chassis together with epoxy;

A coat of red oxide Hycote primer followed;

Finished off with Vallejo black grey followed by Vallejo matt varnish;

Note that the stanchions aren't straight. When I made them I didn't quite get them square, so I left them a bit wonky as in use they'd get knocked about and bent being made from light rail. All well and good but...

This build has been, shall we say, awkward. Once I'd glued the body and chassis together (which took three attempts as the epoxy just wouldn't bond) I kept knocking the thing about, it ended up on the floor several times and in fact ended up getting trodden on. This bent the uprights even more, and on straightening then one whole cradle broke off. So, I cleaned it up and re-soldered it into place again using my RSU with a crocodile clip on the waggon's brass floor. This took a few attempts to get right and I ended up partially melting the floor into the plastic chassis (this was before the wheels were fitted). A little work with a scalpel and there's no sign of anything amiss, apart from the stanchions being a little wonkier than when I started. If I wasn't numbering my stock in the order that I'm building it this would be number 13 rather than number 5...

It's easy when reading peoples write-ups, whether on paper, blog or forum post, to get the impression that everything goes smoothly and mistakes do not happen. This isn't the reality, mistakes are made but most are so small that we put them right then put them out of our mind and don't bother to mention them. Maybe we should, if only to remind ourselves that we're not infallible and to keep our egos in check.

Paul.