Model Railway Forum

The next device I made for haulage on the farm was an ex army Quad gun tractor.
I had long fancied using the Tamiya kit as a basis but they had been out of production for some time. Eventually I managed to get one and used an early Bachmann trolley as a chassis, it has a ringfield type motor and with some added weight runs very well.
The motor is hidden under a box in the back of the cab and the fiction is this covers a powerful electric winch with a cable emerging from the back of the vehicle. It is now fitted with a KD coupler on the front. It has four seats so is used to take tractor drivers out to the fields.
I been surprised by the number of gentlemen who have said “I’ve driven one of those during my National Service”




 



Peter M

Hi. Many years ago a friend who was into military vehicles bought a "Quad" which had been used for recovery purposes.
I drove it back up the old A5 from Stoney Stratford to Tamworth. About half way the front prop-shaft and pinion decided to escape from the front diff housing and thrash about hitting various bits of chassis etc.
We removed the prop shaft but from then on anything above about 20 mph resulted in wild movements of the chassis, the body,steering and the engine, each of which was suspended on a different frames and springs, not to mention the centre throttle pedal which went up and down with the other movements . We found out later it was due to tyre pressures and the loss of the permanent 4-wheel drive !
Photo below shows the offending prop shaft after removal.



Colin.

Thanks for that telling about that experience Colin. A friend of mine bought a Willys MB jeep which after a time started to run poorly. On inspection he did a compression test and found one cylinder low. Took the head off and found one of the pistons was made of lignum vitae wood.

Kind regards Peter M

One of the biggest problems I’ve found working in 1/32-1/35 is finding suitable figures. There seem to be two basic sources. The first are 1/32 scale figures intended for the tractor collecting community. There are serious collectors of the more detailed and delicate models, the rest of course are sold as children’s toys. Mostly these depict seated figures with one or two from the Britain’s range being standing figures. They are made of a hard flexible plastic that is not easy to modify. These are all 1/32 scale.
The other source are military figures who in the main are wearing a uniform of some sort. These can be modified with a scalpel and files but it isn’t easy. These are all 1/35 scale.
 
The photos show examples of the modified military figures. The hats they are wearing is a circle of ten thou plasticard with a hole cut in it to fit over his head and thus form the brim of his hat. I think more people wore hats in the 1950’s, the period of the model than do nowadays.
 




Peter M

Love the figure on his knees looking at the tractor - looks like a photo of a real person it’s so good.

Thanks for your comment Mick. Originally he was a German soldier but I've modified him somewhat.

Kind regards Peter M

I had never been very happy with the appearance of either the Porter 0-4-2 locomotive or the wooden side tippers. They are all Bachmann ON30 scale models, the locomotive has been modified slightly to make it look more 1/32 scale but the wagons have not.
I wanted them to have a rather neglected look about them but not too rusty or decrepit as they are all still used.
With the side tippers I basically painted the wooden sections a variegated pale greys and then applied thin washes of black to represent unpainted wood. The iron work being picked out in various rust shades.
With the locomotive it was washes of rust colours over the metalwork and the same treatment as the wagons with the woodwork.
I am now more pleased with their appearance, I think they look a little more interesting than they originally did.
The photographs were taken on my old American layout.









Peter M

Wagon looks incredible. Can’t say I’ve seen one like that before.

WTD, the wagons are side tippers and were used for carrying anything you could tip. Locally to me in Northamptonshire this type of wagon was used to carry iron ore from the quarries to the smelters.

Kind regards Peter M

Thanks Peter, I like wagons that are a bit out of the ordinary. I’ve seen the triangular shaped versions but no those.