WEEKEND VARIETY

What with all the snow, spending a Sunday afternoon at my workbench seemed an attractive proposition and I managed to crack on with a number of rolling stock kits that I've been meaning to build for a long time. A MARC Models Night Ferry 'Fourgon', Ian Kirk LNER full brake, a Parkside LMS van and a bunch of Dapol/Airfix oil tanks have been started with varying degrees of success. The brass 'Fourgon' is to be appropriated and modified for my WW2 Egyptian layout, while the Parkside van kit has proved frustrating, with the body sides and ends not fitting together very well - a sign of its age, perhaps, as Parkside kits in general are usually excellent in this respect. A few internal reinforcements seem to have done the trick and a bit of filler work will have to follow. The Dapol tanks, on the other hand, despite the kits being 'donkeys years' old, almost build themselves.

I've also been stripping an Alan Gibson 'Jinty' for refinishing. Chris Leigh gave me this loco a few years back, having been expertly built by Dave Lowery. However, I want to add some extra details and paint it up in NCB colours, so the shell has been in a stripping bath for a few days to get it back to the etched primer coat (nothing's going to shift that!). The chassis, although motor-less, is fully compensated which is a novelty for me - not usually being into that sort of thing. I hope I can put it all back together again...