Chivers LMS Tube Wagons

Another UFO getting close to FO status – this time with a much shorter gestation period! 

These LMS tube wagons date from 2012 when I saw some on eBay and purchased them.  They were duly made up in late 2012 and managed to get some paint on them in early 2013.  Since then, sporadic progress on transfers had LMS applied to 5 out of 8 sides, numbers applied to 3 out of 8 sides and that was it.  With 8 transfers per side (number, tare, Tube, L, M, S and a pair of small Ns to denote non-common user) I was well behind! I found them again during the tidy up period mentioned in pervious posts.

Transferring recommenced Thursday night and the models were completed over the Australia Day Long Weekend.  The models were then sprayed with Humbrol Matt Varnish out of the Humbrol rattle can – not overly disappointed with the fact the black is now looking more battleship grey as it starts the weathering process.

As I have mentioned before (way back in 2010!!) I have never been especially successful in getting the Chivers chassis to run well and these have proven to be no exception to the rule.  The kits came without wheels and I know the Parkside Dundas 6.2mm diameter ones are recommended but I have found a tendency with my Parkside wheels to come apart with the tire falling off the plastic centre.  Wheels therefore have been a bit of a problem for me.  I have tried a number of different manufacturers and, owing to my cack-handedness with building the chassis (previous LMS tubes in BR livery run on 2mm Scale Association etched replacement chassis – I can see already this happening with these – doubly so considering I will then be able to easily fit DGs and later 2mm wheels) there is a variety of wheels fitted, all in an effort to get them to run smoothly.  The best ones are a single pair I had which don’t match anything else in my bits box and I don’t know the manufacturer.

As with other UFOs recently FOd, they haven’t been weathered.  The weather hasn’t been good for attempting to spray anything over the summer – too wet and humid – and with the desire to emulate Tim Shackleton, some practice on scrap bits is called for first I think.