The Old and the New

Normally I think the saying goes "out with the old and in with the new", but I thought I'd try my hand at combining the old with the new.

Again I've been thinking about what skills I lack and also what I've purchased to have a go at and not had the courage to start. I think it was at a Letterhead Scaleforum that, with all the bravado of a newbie to the hobby, I purchased a Craig Welsh etch for a 9ft RCH chassis. After a very poor attempt at constructing a Bill Bedford etch for a 16T mineral wagon Mr Welsh's etch was allowed to languish in a box along with a couple of wooden mineral wagon kits. In subsequent years I've been enticed to purchased some Rumney Models etches so I thought it was about time I had a go at constructing a chassis etch od some description.

When digging out the box containing Craig Welsh's etch I found this very old Ian Kirk kit.

God knows how long I've had this kit. Unlike Ian Kirk's later offerings for this type of wagon there is no internal planking detail on this vintage kit. Even so I thought if I make a good attempt at marrying this to Craig's etch it could be permanently loaded with coal to disguise the lake of internal detail.

So...

The body goes together reasonably well, though I think I may have to cut a new bottom for the wagon. I've already assigned the brake gear to the bin and the next task will be to remove the W irons and V hanger from the solebars.

As I'd spent a few moments (well more than a few) mulling over this little project, reading the build instructions for Craig's and also Rumney Models etches, that was as far as I got during last evenings visit to the "Man Cave".

A white metal interlude

The other day I received an email from Missenden Abbey reminding me of the up and coming Spring Weekend that I've enrolled on. Of all the courses available, I'd chosen to attend the session on 4mm Locomotive Kit Construction. It was a tough decision as there were 4 other courses from which I could learn much: Weathering; Backscenes and scenery;Trackwork; also DCC Sound. In the end I realised that my skills in locomotive construction are currently my main weakness. Though I have had an 03 chassis built for me and have another area group member building a Beattie Well Tank chassis, I cannot rely on the good will of these guys for too long.

The decision I have to make is what to take to Missenden. My current options being:

• A DJH 1366 kit - with the aim to get a working chassis by Sunday afternoon.
• Another Beattie Well Tank - with the aim to get a working chassis by Sunday afternoon.
• A 57xx Chassis as well as taking first attempt at a  57xx chassis for correction.
• The white metal body kit of the Beattie Well Tank that the chassis is being built for.

In thinking about the last option it made me realise that I've not yet constructed a white metal kit. Would I really need to use my time at Missenden just to build a white metal locomotive body? Hmmm... That might not be getting the most out of the weekend.

So, to test my white metal soldering skills, I blew the dust off a couple of Four Most Models wagon kits. The first to get the heat treatment was a SR 12T 8 plank wagon.

 

Well, overall it's not turned out too bad. I don't think there is anything that a little filler cannot rectify. I'm not brave enough yet to apply more solder to fill some of the joints for fear I'll de-solder a joint. As a bonus the wheels are all in the same plain and it runs true with, so far, no derailments on Tredethy Wharf. I've not installed coupling hooks yet as I'm not sure if the white metal ones provided with the kit would be up to the task.

On to the next wagon, a  LSWR 10T round ended open.

I thought I'd compensate this wagon. Possibly no need to but had itching figures to use the MJT 2291 compensation units again.

After this brief trial of constructing these white metal kits my trepidation of tackling a white metal loco kits has lessened greatly. So this little interlude from the Brake Van Special has proven to me that my time at Missenden should be used mainly on one of the three chassis building projects not wholly on a white metal kit.

Weathered wood (Part 3)

With the repainting of the 7 plank progressing more to the warm dark shades of browns, I thought I'd try a different approach with the Bachmann 5 plank wagon. Below is the start of the process...

On this wagon I thougth I'd start with a light base coat so applied Lifecolor's Cool Base. You can see on the right od the wagon the start of dry brushing some light grey over the base coat to try to acheive a sun bleached effect. Unfortunately after further dry brushing of a darker grey, along with good old Bestial Brown from Citadel followed by a few strokes of Lifecolor's Dark Shade the result is again not totally what I'm after.

Further work is required on the internal woodwork of the above Bachmann wagon and I've only worked on one external side. Not sure if I have the courage to apply some light stokes of a silvery grey over the wagons current state but I think that is what it needs...

Below is a further photo of the current state of the revamped 7 plank. I think this one will eventually need more black (coal dust) washed over the sides as I'm not really happy with the way it's turning out.

Both wagons require numbering, then once I've added the brake gear, axles boxes and springs to the 7 plank, some delicate weathering will be applied to the sides and running gear.

Well... I'm still not quite achieving the results I'm after with these wagons but nonetheless I am enjoying the process.

Weathered Wood (Part 2)

Well the attempt at creating a bare wood effect on the old wagon is going OK but I'm still ending up with warm browns not the more washed-out effect I'm really after.

I'd recently purchased a set of Lifecolor's Weathered Wood acrylic paint. On the face of it this set contains some vibrant colours so I did wonder what all the fuss is about from good reviews. To find out I thought I'd trial the colours on this wagon.

I started off applying the UA714 Warm Base Color with a small brush to try and get an uneven coating. Next using the same technique, the UA715 Warm Light Shade was applied, followed by the UA716 Warm Light Shade 2. All seemed to be going well although the result was too bright for my liking. It was toned down after applying, again with a small brush with thin strokes the UA713 Warm Dark Shade which allowed some of the underneath colours to show through. I then tried to apply highlights using UA718 Cold Light Shade with an almost dry brush. To finish, a very thin coat of black was washed over the wagon to pick out the plank edges. For the moment the Iron Work has only had a coating of Chaos Black. Tomorrow I'll be weathering the iron work, also trying to pick out the bolt heads, and tidy up the plank edges.

Overall the result is not too bad, once finished it might pass muster and appear on Tredethy Wharf. Still room for improvement though especially as it has not given me the effect I'm trying to achieve.

Weathered wood (Part 1)

A few years ago (blimey it was in 2011) I built a 7 plank private open wagon and tried to paint it to represent bare weathered wood. Though I liked the outcome at the time, on reflection, I feel I'm a little off the mark...I now think my attempt was a tad too yellow. It needs to be a little more silvery-grey with subtle light grey-brown tones along with hints of yellowy warmth. With the doors on the barn for Tredethy Wharf requiring similar effects, I though I'd return to some wagons to trial weathered wood painting techniques

I'm going to use the following three articles off the web along with Craig Welsh's article in MRJ 200 as examples.

Craig Welsh rmweb blog
http://thief.washboardabs.net/textures/wood/ 

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/weathered_wood/
(If you explore the last link you should find some nice techniques for wooden effects when startng out with a blank piece of white plasticard).

So, to start this little project off, I dug out a very old, part built, wagon which, I believe, is an Ian Kirk kit.

On the left: 7 plank built in 2011: On the right: old 7 plank kit to be used as a test

In the picture above is the aforementioned 7 plank wagon on the left, on the right is the very old kit with a poor attempt at representing bare wood. We all must have some items that have been put away in disgust at our attempt to create an effective model and this one must have been languishing in a drawer for over 20 years. Behind the two 7 planks is a Bachmann 5 plank wagon that is also up for a bit of a repaint

More to follow...

Are tarpaulin ropes worth the effort?

Will adding tarpaulin ropes to my clay wagons be worth the effort? Hmmm...

Last Thursday I entertained the members of the local Scalefour Group who thankfully gave my clay wagons the thumbs up. When I mentioned that I'd been debating whether to add ropes to the tarpaulins there was a couple of playful comments of 'Oh go on, give it a go', 'You've got to finish them'.

Next evening my first thought was where were the ropes tied off on the wagon. After spending a pleasant hour or two browsing though my library of books trying to find decent photos of clay wagons with tarpaulins, I eventually remembered Mr Russell's book on "GWR Freight wagons and loads..." and Bingo...

Many moons ago I'd purchased some scale rope from a wargaming show which I thought would be a good starting point for roping down loads. The question was how to represent the hooks? I thought they're too small to be created with wire especially after the rope is attached. So I've glued the rope to the approximate locations on the wagon and added a small knot of rope to represent some bulk around the hook.

Door End

Fixed End

I thought, 'so far so good' until I added the roped wagon to the rest of the wagons to see what the effect was. It then became a game of spot the wagon with the ropes...

Spot the wagon that has ropes...

So will I be adding rope to the other wagons? When applying the two foot rule, probably not, as it looks like the rope colour is lost against the background colour of these clay wagons. On darker backgrounds of wagon loads/containers or even bauxite coloured clay wagons I think they might look effective so I've not totally given up on the idea.

China Clay wagons GWR dia 013 (part 6)

Back to modelling posts.

Eventually the first eight of my china clay wagons are ready for the paint shop.

Eight, Ian Kirk, china clay wagons

I've built four with independent Morton brake gear and four with standard four shoe Morton brake gear. On one of the latter I've not installed tie bars between the W irons as I've seen photographic evidence of a rebuilt clay wagon without tie bars.

I might leave these wagons in the unfinished state for a while and start on another eight clay wagons. My reason... well I'm thinking it might be better to have sixteen wagons in the above state available for Tredethy's first outing in May next year. This would enable me to run two trains of eight, one set of eight empty and the other eight with tarpaulins. If I get chance to paint a few before May I will. Leaving the wagons in a part completed state might also make a conversation point, and at least they will be in a similar state to the layout... still under construction.

So which clay wagons to be next, Ratio, Parkside Dundas or more Ian Kirk... I'll keep you posted.

GWR Clay wagons dia 013 (Part 5)

I'm gradually getting there with my first eight clay wagons especially as I've found more evidence of single V hangers on GWR diagram 013 clay wagons.

On page 54 of 'Great Western Steam in Cornwall' by Bradford Barton there is a photograph of a Pannier Tank 7714 hauling a rake of GWR diagram 013 clay wagons from the Burngullow branch. The first has a double V hanger but the second has a single V hanger with no tie bar. The rest are difficult to make out for certain.

Then on page 91 in the same book there is a photo of  Pannier 7709 hauling two clay wagons nearing Fowey. The first wagon has a single V hanger and looks to be a diagram 013. I think the second wagon is a BR diagram 1/51 as it has square ended buffer beams and looks to have a single v hanger but I'm not certain.

In discovering these photographs I'm more confident that there were a number of these GWR wagons refurbished during the 1950s with independent brake gear removed and replaced with standard 4 shoe Morton brake gear. This has encourged me to build four with independent brake gear and four with standard 4 shoe brake gear, more as a mistake than planed, as I'd installed a couple of brake gear castings the wrong way round.

The wagon front left in the photograph above is the first one which was converted from my EM days and shows the door stop straps in the wrong place. On the others I've scraped off the original mouldings and replaced them with stripes of Evergreen .010 x .030" strip, added small slices of Evergreen .010 x 0.20" strip to represent the bolts. The buffer beams have also had the ends cut at an angle, possibly not that accurate but at least the buffer beams don't have square ends anymore. All eight wagons need door stops, tie bars and couplings adding, plus some lead and then they should then be ready for the paint shop.

Bearing in mind that most of these eight wagons where originally EM gauge wagons, that have been ripped apart and rebuilt, I feel they are coming on nicely. The next challenge will be to achieve the correct finish.

The two foot rule.

I would not count myself as a 'rivet counter' just someone who would like to build wagons to represent the real item as close as my modelling skills will allow. My foray into P4 modelling standards is because I felt if I didn't have a go I would always regret it.

I met up with some old modelling friends recently and in an ensuing conversion I mentioned the time it is taking me to build a few clay wagons along with the amount of wagons I intend to build. Questions were raised about my sanity before I was reminded of the old phrase about applying the 'two foot rule'. If the detail cannot be seen from a viewing distance of two foot then why spend time adding the detail. I then made the connection with painting 15mm wargaming figures. When I paint battalions of 12 to 24 figures which are going to be seen on the table on-mass I paint them to be seen as whole units. Paint the figures so they give a visual impact when seen together as part of each battalion on the table. I don't necessarily cut too many corners with the painting but possibly don't put too much effort in, picking out buttons on tunics, adding shading on facial features, or any other small detail. Whereas I do put effort painting the personalities/command figures, picking out buttons, adding extra shading and trying to pick out facial features.

With this in mind and as most of the clay wagons will be part of a rake (battalion) of 8 or more wagons, I will be turning a blind eye to some aspects of the Ian Kirk kits, and taking a few liberties in building them. This may go a little against the grain of modelling in P4 but I feel I have to cut myself some slack otherwise I'll struggle to get all the wagons I will need built in my lifetime. When seen on-mass I'm hoping they will create the right picture that can be appreciated from two foot away when viewed side on. They might not stand up to the scrutiny of a close-up camera shot but then they are not being built for a diorama containing just a few wagons.

Does that sound like a cop out for some poor modelling skills? Hmmm could be...

Clay Wagons GWR dia 013 (part 4)

Well it's been a while since my last posting, this was kindly pointed out to me at the last Scalefour Area Group meeting, but then I feel I've not much to report on the Railway front.

I've done some more running tests on the track and ironed out a couple more gremlins but also made a little more progress with the clay wagons. One evening, while browsing through some magazines, I came across issue 62 of British Railway Journal again. I suddenly realised that on page 196 there is a photo of a china clay wagon W92034 that has 4 shoe Morton brake gear. The caption beneath states '...Many of these ex-GWR vehicles were reconditioned in 1950 but replacement wagons, of similar design, were built by British Railways in 1955..." Seeing this one photograph does prove that some wagons had the 4 shoe independent brake gear replace possibly during the 1950 reconditioning program... So my first wagon was not so much of a mistake after all!

Above is the current state of my first clay wagon.

I'm starting to feel reasonably pleased with this first wagon though I have now noticed that the doorstops are too close together. I've positioned them in line with the doorstop straps/protectors moulded on the door of these Ian Kirk wagons...Doh.... does that mean I'll have to scrape them off and replace them? ... or is there an example/photograph/drawing with the protectors in this position? According to all the photographs I currently have in my collection,the new China Clay wagon produced by Parkside has these doorstop straps/protectors in the correct position, .

Last night, after contemplating what to do with the rest of my part rebuilt Ian Kirk clay wagons, I threw caution to the wind and scrapped off the doorstop straps on one wagon. Then out came John Hayes book on Coal Wagons to see if the maestro can help with ideas in how to replace them...I'll keep you posted if I succeed...

Clay Wagons GWR dia 013 (part 3)

On my first wagon nearing the completion of its rebuild, I've installed 4 shoe brake gear with connecting rod and the clutch handle towards the end door. This would seem to be how the vacuum brake gear was fitted to BR's diagram 1/051 wagons.

I'm just starting to realise that this might not have been the case with these older refitted non-vacuum braked GWR wagons. My understanding is that they were initially built with DCII non-vacuum brake gear with both the brake handles at the opposite end to the end door. After 1939, conversion to Morton brakes was initiated to conform to the 'right-handed' ministry rules (though possibly not to all as I've seen a photograph of one preserved at Brewdley with DCII brake gear). 

My problem is, was the DCII brake gear replaced with 2 shoe, 4 shoe, or 4 shoe independent Morton brake gear? If either of the first two which side was the clutch, handle towards the end door, or towards the fixed end? Looking again at the few references I have, and photographs I have since found on the web, it would seem that they had 4 shoe independent brake gear. Some photographs however are not clear and are confusing me slightly. So I'm wondering if there could have been a variation of brake gear fitted to these wagons.

I’m starting to think (partly as an excuse to my possible mistake) that, as St. Blazey wagon works repaired these older GWR wagons, there could well have been a variation in brake gear fitted. That said I would like to have the majority of these wagons fitted with the most common type of brake gear that they were equipped with. Though I will probably also include at least one with DCII just to 'tip my hat' to the heritage of these wagons.

I’ve posted requests for further information on a couple of forums. In the meantime, while I wait for confirmation/criticism of my thoughts, these wagons will be put to one side.

Clay Wagons GWR dia 013 (part 2)

Just a quick posting to show where I am with the rebuilding of the Ian Kirk clay wagons.

I'd taken the above photo to show progress about a month ago but never did post a blog. The evening had been spent reducing the thickness of two sets of solebars, which can be seen on the relevant wagons. I'd also finished preparing five sets of MJT RCH compensation units. In the foreground can be seen a simple plasticard jig that I'd cut ready for marking the centre lines down the middle of the wagon floor and of each axle. I'm hoping this will help position the compensation units on these wagons and the other dozen or so Ian Kirk clay wagon kits I have waiting to be started.

This next photo shows the current state of play and was taken about two weeks ago. I've only progressed five of the six rebuilds as I'm short on wheel sets. Scalefour North is fast approaching where I hope to be able to replenish stocks of wheels and other items. Waiting in the wings are all the thinned down solebars for these five wagons ready to be installed. Once I've a few more wheel sets in stock, I'll bring the sixth rebuild to the same state the the five above. I'll then make a start on a couple of the many un-opened bags of Ian Kirk clay wagon kits to bring this rake up to eight. So I hope to make a little more progress on these during May.

Goods vans

"How do I glue van sides together?" was a question I asked myself when confronted with my first van kit for many years. To experienced modellers there is no doubt a simple answer but initially I was stumped.

The first kit I picked up was an old Ian Kirk BR 12T Van, which has buffer beams that are part of the van end so extends below the bottom edge of the van side. Unlike the mineral wagon kits that I'd previously built there seems no common edge with which to align sides to ends allowing me to get the ends and sides square and level to each other. After a few dry practise runs I was getting nowhere. I was trying to use the engineers squares along with packing to align the sides to end in the vertical position. When turning the engineers squares over the solution stared me in the face.

Once each end was glued to a side it was an easy task putting the two halves together. Certainly not ground breaking but I'm happy.

Clay Wagons GWR Dia 013 (part 1)

Clay wagons will play a prominent role on Tredethy Wharf and other projects that I'm hoping to build in the future. This fact is something that has been playing on my mind for some time. So, over Christmas, I decided to dig out all the kits from different manufacturers that I'd collected over the years: kits from the wagon works of Ian Kirk, Colin Ashby, Ratio, Cambrian, and some of the new Parkside Dundas kits. Also, while getting the Christmas decorations down from the loft, I discovered a number of part built clay wagons that I'd put together many years ago tucked way in a box.

Above are five of these wagons, part built to EM gauge from Ian Kirk kits. Looking at them afresh they are very basic not really coming up to the standard that I am now trying achieve. Rather than throwing them away, I'm going to attempt to rebuild them as a start in creating my clay wagon fleet. I've already been able to disassemble one other part built Ian Kirk wagon, just hope these five come apart as easily. Much work to be done but it's a start.... I've only 32 clay wagon kits waiting to be assembled..!

The paint brush has been put down

I think they're finished, that is finished to the best that my current modelling capabilities allow. I'm not totally happy with the wagons and realise that there is a lot of room for improvement. I could spend more time on trying to perfect my weathering techniques but could also very easily ruin one or all of them by over doing it. So I've put the paint brush down and will now concentrate on getting ready for the 'big day' on Friday.


My original intention was to build six or more wagons, from many manufacturers, and use different components, especially some etched brake gear. In the end I've only used kits from three manufacturers and components from a limited selection of suppliers. So looking at what I wanted to achieve against what I have produced I could think that I've failed. But on the contrary, in entering the competition I have pushed my skills, gained confidence and learned new techniques along the way.







The last wagon (above), the slope sided wagon, has been the most difficult to build. It has, however, developed into my favourite, the one I've gained the most satisfaction from building. More wagons will follow.......

Encouraging comments

A very quick update....

At this evening's Scalefour Area Group Meeting I received some favourable comments on three mineral wagons I took along for scrutiny. None of the wagons are completely finished, and with only four modelling evenings left, time is getting tight. But with the encouraging comments received this evening I'm starting to feel I'm getting somewhere.


Above is a shot of the slope sided wagon before I started to add the white stripes. I still need to work out how to blacken the Exactoscale wheel rims. I've tried all the Carr's Metal Blacks with no effect. However, after all my struggles, I feel it is starting to come together with this one.

All six still needing numbering, some touching up of the rust patches, and final weathering to be applied. Doesn't sound much left to do....... does it?

Kingdom of Rust

Apart from being a good album by Doves, a 'Kingdom of Rust' does seem to be where I might be heading at the moment.

The first wagons to hit the paint shop.......

They do look a bit of mess and as you may realise from viewing the above, I'm not quite sure what I'm doing at the moment. I did start a practice piece on some scrap plastic but with less than two weeks of modelling evenings left before Leatherhead I thought I'd better just get on with it.

On the two rusted wagons above I'm going to try Martyn Welch's technique using Maskol to mask the areas of rust I need to show through the grey top coat. I do hope they start to look better as I apply more layers of paint.

The era I'm working to depict with Tredthy Wharf and other projects is 1961-2. In looking for colour photos of wagons in the early sixties, I've found one that shows mineral wagons with minimal rusting. This photo appears on the back page of Great Western Railway Journal no.66 showing Dulverton goods yard on 11/6/62 with two 16t minerals in view. Other B/W photos taken in the early 60s also generally seem to show minimal rusting on wagons. My recollection during the mid to late 60s and early 70s was of rust buckets travelling through our local station. So I'm a little undecided as to what state the wagons should be. I have to consider that my memory has been corrupted with seeing many colour photos taken during the 70s and 80s of repaired, rebuilt and well worn mineral wagons.

So maybe I will not fully enter the 'Kingdom of Rust', there might not be so much rusting involved on these wagons. I will look at numbering the two rusted wagons above from lots that were built in the early 1950s. On the remaining wagons I'll probably have a go at depicting minimal rusting. Well I'm going to try.........

A long overdue update

I don't seem to have had much time for any modelling since June. The original plan was to have six wagons completed by now leaving me time to build a couple more and pick out the best for the Leatherhead show. At this point in time, with only three weeks left in which to find modelling time before the show, I've still two wagons to finish building before any enter the paint shop. Best laid plans and all that........ Anyway it's not all doom and gloom. Today I have been able to find a few hours to work on the old Airfix kit and Parkside's slope sided wagon.

In building the Airfix kit I'd removed the over scale hinges. So picking up the model this morning it was time to recreate the hinges.

Not as neat as Geoff Kent's example in his book "The 4mm Wagon Part 1" but hopefully my attempt will pass reasonable examination.......especially after a little paint is applied.

Next was the slope sided wagon. I do like this wagon. Well that was until I started to build it..... it's becoming a pain especially as I've made a right c**kup of appling the first of the four side stanchions that are either side of the door. Previously to get the two elements of the sides to fit snugly I'd filed a little off the join. Then I applied a wash of grey paint along the join to see if I'd been able to disguise it. At this point I was very pleased with my progress. When I then presented the first stanchion to the side it seemed it would not fit. Out came the knife and a little was trimmed off the top. After carefully gluing in place I realised that it was too short......Ahhhhh...


At this point after much cursing this wagon had been put to one side, while I got on with the others. Over the last few weeks I'd looked at it a few times and was even contemplating scrapping. But today I decided to have a go at trying to salvage the mess.... A few bits of plasticard later and I think I might be able to get away with it.

The corrected stanchion looks a little long in the photo so with with a little more work it should be OK. After all, as long as the mistake does not jump out at you, once the wagon is part of a train of wagons it will just be another wagon.

There is still work do be completed on the other side, applying the stanchions, second V hanger, brake lever, door stop, then it's adding the buffers and couplings. Then all six wagons should be ready for the paint shop......There's a glimmer of hope that I might have these finished for Leatherhead.

Another first for a new boy

Soldering white metal kits may not be difficult for some but for a new boy like myself it is a daunting prospect. Having read many tales of white metal kits being destroyed by soldering irons I was reluctant to have a go myself. Then on the other hand I read that soldering white metal kits is the best option.... So 'have a go' I thought, 'I must', but the question was on what?

I'd previously used super-glue to fix the brass brake safety loops in place onto the white metal brake castings. This was a little fiddly due to the super-glue taking a little while to go off. So I thought I'd try my hand at soldering the safety loops. Thinking if I make a hash of it I've only lost a small, easily replaced, component in a brake gear casting.

So equipping myself with what I think is the right gear: Antex White Metal Master soldering Iron; Carr's yellow flux; and Carr's 70 solder, I got stuck in.

And the results are......

Not over tidy but I'm pleased with them....

This was an easy task with an instant result and no disasters that has given me some confidence to go a little further. It is going to take me a little while to sum up the courage to tackle a white metal loco kit but a white metal wagon kit could be a good stepping stone...... Another small hurdle crossed.

Parkside PC21 - BR 16T Mineral wagon (B594749?)

Construction is almost complete on my first 16t mineral wagon with the addition of axle boxes and brake gear.


The above shows the addition of standard BR split axle boxes from 51L, with springs from MJT. I have adapted Fore Most Models 2 shoe brake gear with Bill Bedford's Brake Safety loops and added 0.6mm brass wire between the V hangers. Adding the Brake levers will finish the fitting of the main components. Then it's some final bits of titivation, adding corner strengthening gussets, door stops, fitting solebar brackets and couplings. It might then be the first of the six ready for the paint shop.........