LATEST PRODUCTS

Shown below are two of our latest commissions.

This is a 4mm scale (009) model of Festiniog Railway carriage 105. The client asked for a model in its current guise with a centre toilet compartment. The model has been completed to the client's specified level of detailing and is pictured here prior to painting (and the fitting of bogies).





A second model is being constructed as part of the same commission: FR Observation Carr. 102.

Also ready for painting are a pair of 7mm scale models of ex-SAR, now WHR, ballast wagons. These have been made to a high level of detail including bespoke etched brass handwheels and cogs for the ballast door mechanism. They have been finished off with resin waterslide transfer rivets. They are being supplied without bogies.



Please get in touch using the email address at the top of the page if you'd like to discuss a future commission.

THE BIG WHEELS

When the brake and ballast control wheels go on the AY's really start to look the part.



Not much more to go now. Just transfer rivets, some footsteps and a bar beneath the buffer beam.

COGS

Work has recommenced on a pair of 7mm SAR AY ballast wagons.

I had been waiting on some etches for the cogs on the ballast door mechanism arriving courtesy of Allen Docherty of Worsley Works. He has also produced enlarged etches of the wheels which control the hand brake and the door mechanism, which you can see below.

Here are the cogs on their shafts fixed in place on one of the wagons.

JUST OUTSHOPPED

The latest model outshopped at Boston Largs Works is this 4mm representation of the Welsh Highland Railway's Romanian built ballast wagon. A very complex wagon indeed as you can see below.





This example is destined for Colin Lea's 'Rhyd Ddu' exhibition layout.

We have already received queries about producing a 7mm version of this wagon. Feel free to contact us using the email address opposite if you're interested in having us make one for you too.

ORDERS BEING TAKEN NOW

A pause in the current projects (while awaiting etched brass components to be produced) means there is the opportunity for additional commissions to be taken on at this time.

Email us to discuss how we can produce a unique and bespoke model (in any scale) to your exact requirements at:

bostonlargsworks@btinternet.com

Below are some examples of our recent work.



A 4mm scale(009)model of the Ffestiniog Railway's newest carriage 103. This carriage is not produced by any kit manufacturer.



A 4mm scale model of an ex-SAR AY ballast wagon. A number of these have been imported to the UK and are in use on the WHR and the Vale of Rheidol lines.



Here are two of the wagons after painting. There is no kit on the market in any scale for these wagons.



We can also produced scratch built models of buildings. This is a modern corrugated steel type barn produced for our exhibition layout 'Bron Hebog'



This 4mm scale model of Minffordd Weigh House was commissioned as a retirement gift for the FR's Permanent Way boss Fred Howes. Every stone was hand carved on the model and the decorative barge boards were fabricated by us from styrene.

PLATFORM FOUR

A full day session on the ballast wagons and a lot of progress made with the details on the platforms at each end of the vehicles, which are mostly bits of the braking system.



The first task is also the simplest - the vacuum reservior tanks which are tucked underneath the Z shaped hopper supports. These are made up of styrene tube with a blanking piece glued on each end and chopped / filed to a circle.



Four shorter pieces of tube were cut to form the basis of the vacuum cylinders which are mounted vertically on the right hand corner at each end of the wagon. There's a lot of fiddly detailing involved in these to represnt the fluted ribs around the sides. Each is a seperate little triangle of styrene which has to be cut and filed to shape and glued on.

There's also a band that has to go around the cylinder about 2/3 of the way up. You have to be very brutal with the styrene for this, holding it in place and being very generous with the solvent and not letting up the pressue until the glue has set firm.

The next task was to fabricate the upside-down 'U' brackets at each corner of the wagon. These are formed from an L section. Although you can buy styrene ready formed like this it's almost impossible to get a 90 degree bend in them like this.

So these were fabricated from strip. 3 pieces are formed into a flat U shape, then another 3 are glued on around the edge, upright this time. With a little filing on the corners they're ready to be put on the wagon.

The most tricky job is the cuvred cover over the vacumm cylinders, made more awkward by the way it has to attached diagonally on one edge onto the bottom of the Z supports.

The easiest way to do it would be to cut and bend them from sheet brass. But I don't have any sheet brass in stock so I did it the hard way: with styrene.



It is possible to bend styrene and get it to hold its shape like this but there is only a 50% success rate - a lot of pieces will crack and snap as you make the bend. It takes patience and perseverance, but as you see it can be done.

Eventually.

HITTING THE BUFFERS

Another little job on the snagging list is completing the buffer beams / headstocks on the wagons.



Normally these would have been completed at the first stage of making up the frame but on this occasion they were left off to allow my client to decide on why type of coupling he wanted to use and how they would be fitted.

Just another example of how models made at Boston Largs Works are completely bespoke to you exact requirements.